#this is yet another reason why I have to cut off conversation with them eventually

[thisismycorneroftheinternet]

Shit's happening again yet again back at home, my baby sister was telling me about it, and that is stressing me out.

[discodeerdiary]

There's a good reason why I try not to argue publicly with anyone under 18, and it's not that I think they're inherently stupid, it's not that I think their brains are "underdeveloped", it's not that I think they can "do no wrong", it's that I never know how much freedom they actually have to think freely, or how many of their opinions are actually their own. Of course, under-18s *can be* capable of thinking for themselves and developing their own opinions, but (here in the US at least) law and culture put a lot of roadblocks on their ability to do so.

Of course parents and teachers cannot actually control the inner thoughts of the children they wield power over, but they can restrict the information that they have access to, can punish them for saying the wrong things, can cut them off from healthy diverse social groups, and can convince the child their thoughts are being monitored through religion, psychology, and other appeals to higher authority.

Thus if a random teenager says some headass shit in my mentions I have no way of knowing if these are opinions they arrived at on their own, or if they are dogmas forced on them by the people holding food and shelter over their head. If it's the latter, there's nothing to be gained from a public confrontation: people are generally unwilling to change their opinions in a direction that threatens their social support system, and they are especially unwilling to do so at the behest of an internet stranger who cannot offer alternative forms of support. If a teen is genuinely curious about my opinion (that is *if they consent* to a discussion of disagreements) and if I have the mental bandwidth for a potentially emotionally loaded conversation, yeah I'll have it, but I'm not gonna maintain any illusions about my ability to change their mind until they can find a way to live independently.

This is also why my leniency toward the not-yet-adult tends to also extend to the recently-adult. Coming up with a system of beliefs that you're actually willing to stand behind? Shit takes time, and I'm not necessarily gonna expect it of a 20-year-old who may, for all I know, have been living under conditions of near-absolute control up until their 18th birthday. Sure they may be opening their mind in college, or college may be their parents way of keeping them too occupied with busywork to develop new opinions, as they continue to hold financial support over their head. It's around their mid-twenties that I'm willing to go full gloves-off antagonistic with strangers, knowing that they've had a few years of legal and social adulthood under their belt, and that even if they're still financially dependent on their parents it's a different sort of dependence, one where they're given default legal permission to run away from home.

A lot of people are deeply uncomfortable with this line of thinking because if you look too far into the factors that influence young people's thoughts, you eventually have to start asking yourself which forces of dependency are influencing your own beliefs and opinions. Yeah, as an independent adult you may have the option to quit your job, divorce your spouse, ditch your friends, move to another country, but realistically how many of these can you accomplish at the same time? How many do you even want to? And how are all of these forces *in aggregate* setting the acceptable limits of what you're allowed to think and feel? It can be upsetting to think of yourself this way, it can be easier to think of yourself as a true free thinker and children as mindless automatons, but I urge you to think of mentally coercive environments as a continuum rather than a binary. The point is not to free yourself from all influence, but to gain the ability to see yourself as an influenced mind, and to have compassion for those dealing with all the bullshit you don't have to anymore.

[ogh-rambles]

In Your Absence.

summary: you finally get to see things (things mostly comprised of pretty people) and console a crying child in the midst of it all. joy. word count: 2.1k status -> unedited

Chapter I: Familiar

It has been a few hours, you guess— since you had last been sent to the ‘Knights of Favonius Headquarters’ to be put into a more comfortable bed.

Unable to do as much as lift a finger, you had listened to the person everyone had all called ‘Honorary Knight’ leave with his companion.

Barbara left to tend to her deaconess duties, Jean had not yet returned after leaving to find this ‘Albedo’, and now you were all alone again.

The room is painfully quiet. So quiet that you could feel your head spin. Now that your ability to see and to move had been taken from you, every other sensation had been multiplied tremendously. Every click, tick, and rustle makes you shudder and want to writhe out of your skin.

It certainly doesn't help that you had been covered head to toe in oily gauze and bandages. The material clings to your skin making it tickle and itch. It was overwhelming to say at least. You want to move.

You want out.

So, it could only be a relief to you when you hear the muffled sound of voices outside the door, Jean being the most familiar.

“... Have you been getting enough sleep, Acting Grand Master?” You overhear a cat-like voice, teasing Jean with the slightest snappy undertone. “You’re telling us that… they’re here? The one who—”

“ --- I know. ” Jean cuts the other off, frustrated, and rightfully so. “I… know. It sounds outright bizarre and impossible to me as well. But that is exactly why you both are here, Kaeya… Albedo.”

A pause of silence encapsulates the conversation before eventually, you hear an exhausted sigh.

“Just, please. Take a look at them.”

“I do not see any reason not to.” Another voice responds, soft-spoken and aloof. You pick up on a shuffling of a pencil on paper before you hear them speak again. “Shall we head in? Or would you like to stay—”

“It is quite alright, Albedo.” Kaeya is fast to refute and you can essentially hear his thin-lipped smile underneath all that bedazzling demeanour. “Let us go inside then, shall we?”

You hear the doorknob promptly shift and creak open, bringing the waft of wind with it... There's a feeling in the air, you can tell. But you can't seem to put your finger on what it is. The three had paused as soon as the door had opened. It was as if Jean was giving them a moment to take you in like if she had not, they would just believe it to be a dream. A well-thought-out morbid prank if you will.

Your hand trembles at your side. Come on, move, move, move...! Open, open, open. Your damn eyes! You were so sick and spent at the lack of sureness and knowing that this darkness had cast upon you. 

Your brow twitches, furrowing the slightest amount. Jean gasps. It divots once more.

"They look like they are in pain," Albedo states plainly after clearing his throat subtly. It was as if he hadn't been expecting himself to react in such a way. Hadn't been expecting... You. "Their injuries seem very similar to the ones that they had before they..."

"Does it not?" Jean agreed rather hastily, the clicks of her shoes swiftly approaching you.

She did not wish to hear the end of that sentence, you realised... You would have been less irritated if you had felt the same way.  

A sliver of brightness beams through the dark that is your world. 

Finally.

Your eyes flutter open to a dimly lit bedroom and... a face. Wavy blonde hair frames it perfectly as pretty blue eyes search your face. Jean. She looks at you like she’s waiting for… something. Anything. But what, you wonder?

Your gaze flickers to the corner of the room, where standing next to the door — are people equally as breath-taking as Jean.

The tall man you think is ‘Kaeya’ stares at you warily. With lengthy blue hair tucked into a ponytail and a narrowed periwinkle eye (and hold on, was his pupil a star?), his stance emanated a sassy energy. Over his right eye was an eye patch, embellished with gold lining. 

While his relaxed stature doesn’t let up, his expression grows more rigid as he notices your eyes on him. How mysterious, you quip to yourself— before your stare flits over to the other.

Standing a bit further back is an ash-blonde of smaller stature, that you guessed is Albedo.

He has some kind of tattoo on his neck, in the same star shape you had noticed in Kaeya’s eye— only in gold. The mark was hard to miss, almost as if it were drawing you in. Teal eyes follow your gaze to his neck before glancing back up at you with an imperturbable look.

Witty and teasing. Reserved and observant. Both men somehow radiate the way they speak, you think. 

“(Name)...? ” 

Jean’s voice snaps your attention back to her. The bare mention of your name sends another shiver down your spine and if she had noticed your flinch, she had ignored it.

“How —” You grimace at the initial scratchiness of your voice before clearing your throat. “... How do you know my name?”

Her breath hitches in her throat and her greyish-blue eyes go wide and misty. Oh joy, you wince. The sheer mess that your voice has become after not speaking for a short while, has brought someone to actual tears.

“You are… really (Name)?” She asks again, slowly.

“Yes… I think so.” You suddenly feel a lot more nervous than you were under the eye of these three strangers. “It’s the only thing I can remember, really.”

Jean purses her lips, finally tearing her eyes away from you to Albedo. 

“Could you…?” She begins and Albedo nods— quickly understanding.

Side-stepping around Kaeya, Albedo approaches your bedside. Jean leaves the chair she had been sitting on and makes way for the blonde. She swiftly ushers Kaeya out of the room with little hassle, giving you one last look you can’t decipher before turning and leaving herself.

And then there were two.

Now that you were much closer, you notice a strange pattern in his eyes as he looks away from you to pull out his pencil and clipboard. You swear it swims and swirls around in his pupil every time he moves around. 

“Is there something about me that you find interesting enough for you to stare so passionately at?”

You blink. Albedo is staring at you and he seems genuinely intrigued, maybe even a bit amused.

“Ah. No, I just think your eyes are very strange,” you catch yourself before continuing. “Sorry, I mean... In a good way, of course.”

He lifts his brows slightly. “A good way?”

“They’re strange in a pretty way.”

“Hmm.” Albedo’s lips part a bit as he searches your face, just as Jean had— albeit more curiously. “... Thank you.”

Silence overtakes the conversation again, but it’s unlike the ones that came before— so loudly silent.

It’s a mellow stillness that sits well in your stomach. Doesn’t make it churn and holler like the other did and somehow it feels familiar to you in a way. A lot of things had felt familiar to you in a way, you reckon.

“Have we met before?” 

Albedo’s head snaps up at you, frozen. His eyes go wide, slightly. It’s an expression that you feel as though it isn't like him to have, but you have no clue why.

You blink at him. He blinks back before reverting back to appearing passive, shoulders relaxing.

“... Why do you say so?” He asks.

“I have no idea.” You ignore the way he refutes your question with another. “You feel familiar to me, I think... The others too.”

He looks at you pointedly. 

"You sound unsure about a lot of things. Do you know anything?"

It was strange… and a little irritating. What was with all these pretty people being overly ambiguous and avoiding your questions? You wanted to know.

You shrug. “I know about as much as you do about me.”

Albedo taps his pencil lightly on his clipboard, shuffling to make himself comfortable in the chair. He scribbles down something obscure to you. While he does whatever he’s doing, you look around the room. It was a guest room, you assume, a bit cramped sure— but okay. You can see a bit outside the window from the bed, the hundreds of tiny little stars blinking back at you as you gaze at them.

“She never answered.” You say after some time.

Albedo looks up from his writing. �� Pardon ?”

“How she knew my name, I mean. She didn’t answer.” You glance back at him. “Do you know how she knew? Did you also know my name?”`

Albedo does not answer, he just… stares at you.

You press on despite the unease that grips your heart.

“Do you know… me? Did you know me?” 

The blonde runs a gloved hand through his hair, the strands falling gracefully in place. His face slightly contorts into a subtle frown, a crease forming between his brows.

“So similar…” He catches your gaze. “Ah, never mind.” 

You sigh.

---

Albedo asks you a few more questions before he leaves, explaining how he needs to go 'check up on his experiments' as he has not been keeping an eye on them for a while.

He hadn't needed to explain to you a reason why he was leaving, but he had anyway, to your surprise. You asked him if he was some sort of scientist. He had responded with a quirk of the lip and a curt 'somewhat' before shutting the door behind him.

Then there was one.

Albedo hadn't given you orders to stay in your room, but you still were somewhat hesitant to go outside your bubble of short-term familiarity. 

In the meantime, you found the silence wasn't so overwhelming when you could finally move about and see things. The room wasn't much to stare at, though the window would give you an opportunity to distract yourself from your amnesia.

So you sat, in the chair that you had dragged over -- with more effort than you had thought you needed -- staring through the misty window into the chilliness of the night.

Mondstadt was stunning at night. The houses, paths, and architecture remind you of storybooks that you could barely recall. What would the city look like in the day? You wonder.

You’re not sure if you should go out so soon though. Your lips twitch into a grimace.

You did give the citizens quite a first impression when you arrived looking half-dead in the Honorary Knight’s arms. Speaking of whom, you still had to thank them for, to put it simply, saving your life.

A couple of rapid knocks ring from behind you, making you jolt.

“Helloo ?” The person whispers, voice slightly muffled. “Can I please come in, I need to ummm… hide from someone!”

You stiffen. “Ah, sure…?”

The door opens ajar slightly, and you see a red blur come in and quickly close the door behind them. 

You stare absentmindedly. It’s a... child. 

Platinum blonde pigtails bouncing wildly under a red beret, they turned to face you. What an interesting eye colour. You watch crimson-red eyes comically widen as the silence stretches onward.

Suddenly, she barrels into your stomach in a blur— hugging where it hurts the most. You hold back a grunt of pain as you look down at her, confused.

Her eyes look up at you, all teary and shaky. Your heart clenches at the sight, hands hovering everywhere and nowhere. What do you do??

“Big sibling (Name), I knew you’d come back!” Her grip, although small, tightens around you.

“That’s…” You froze. “ What ?”

“Miss Lisa said you had to go somewhere and weren’t coming back! And, and, and —” She sniffled loudly, making your eyes furrow as you listened closer. “When I asked if I could follow you, she told Klee that she would never, ever get to see you… ever !”

“I… Big sib… ling?” You stammer — unable to take in anything — barely settling on resting a hand on her back. “I’m...  sorry, Klee. I don’t seem to remember a lot.”

“You don’t remember… Klee?” She looks up again with big, wide, and watery eyes.

... You don’t think you can handle another tear from her. You pat her back, racking your head as to what you can do for a crying child. 

“Uh-- But! But, maybe… you could help me?” You quickly cover for yourself, watching her red eyes light up with a new fervour. 

“Okay!” She chirps. "Klee will help Big Sibling (Name) remember everything. Then we can go fish-blasting like we did before!"

Your shoulders visibly sag in relief as you let out a quiet sigh, closing your eyes a bit. When you open them, you do so with a wonky smile that Klee happily returns with much more enthusiasm.

“Okay.”

You pause, backtracking slightly.

“What’s… fish-blasting?”

Prologue > Chapter 1 > Chapter 2

[hclymoonsblog]

Memory Arc

GN!Child of Aphrodite x Luke Castellan

Author’s note : I imagined the reader as female but could also be read as gender neutral. Listened to Memory Arc from Rivale Consoles as I wrote.

Warnings : Angst to comfort, with a bit of fluff at the end. Mentions of self-isolation, self-deprecation, nostalgia, fear of death, smoking, acne breakouts, implicit depression from the reader, Luke is insensitive but makes up for it. 

The Aphrodite cabin was awfully quiet. It had been for a while, considering all of your step-siblings had, once again, failed at the tedious task of getting you to attend the nightly campfire. 

It wasn’t their fault, really. But there was no try. Putting on a face and trying to maintain somewhat a form of social life among your peers had been the very least of your concerns. They knew it, and so did you, which is why assuring them that spending your evening listening to music, dining off a few snacks and enjoying silence was perfectly fine with you, had been enough to get them to go. The cabin residents had eventually agreed to leave you on your own, abandoning you to your chosen isolation. 

And, indeed, that’s precisely what was happening. Faint Lana Del Rey was playing in the room – Thunder, the unreleased version, to be exact. You could have recognized the song among a thousand, thanks to its distinct first notes and the familiar grain of the device it was being played on: the mp3 Luke had stolen for you about a year ago, when you first arrived at camp. 

A wave of nostalgia hit you as the boy crossed your mind. You mindlessly inspected the small, grey box, letting your manicured nails trace over the small stickers glued onto the metallic surface. He had never outwardly expressed where he got it from, nor why he chose to gift it to you, among all people. 

You remembered the moment vividly.

***

This was on your second day at camp, at breakfast. You had barely slept, plagued by distressing nightmares all revolving around the implication of being the child of a literal god — or goddess, you weren't sure. It all seemed too surreal to you, and the fact you hadn’t been claimed yet wasn’t helping with it either. Luke Castellan, for some reason, happened to be sitting right next to you at the Hermes table, which welcomed unclaimed children like you, as Mr. D had said in a way that you guessed to be willing to remind you you didn’t belong. Hopefully, that wouldn’t last for long. The thought made you frown unconsciously.

The camp counselor had observed you fiddle with your food for a while, almost thoughtfully. Without a word, he pulled a small object out of his pocket and handed it to you.

“You talk in your sleep.” He commented, giving little to no context regarding his gesture.

Your eyes went from the item, to Luke, to the item again, not moving an inch.

The lack of sleep, combined with all of the information you had to interiorise, made you glare at the box both with curiosity and suspicion, waiting for him to elaborate. Was this another unknown, mystic artefact to, magically, grant you a dreamless sleep?

He blinked, staring back at your emotionless eyes from the insomnia, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“This, is a mp3,” He explained, gesturing to the small screen and the music note on the back of the device, maintaining the eye contact between the two of you, as if it was trying to get his point across. “You can download songs, and, y’know, listen to music with it.”

“I know what a mp3 is.” You cut him a bit defensively, your cheeks flushing a bit from the slight embarrassment. 

To punctuate your sentence, you pressed a button to switch it on, in order to let him know you actually had owned a similar thing in the past, back when things were still normal for you. Why was this guy showing you off his mp3, anyways?

“I’m sure you do.” The slight mocking tone and the faintest smirk you detected onto Luke’s lips left you questioning the whole point of the conversation. 

Conveniently, the look on your face must have told Luke everything he needed to know as he picked up the conversation. “I thought this might help you relax. Take your mind off things, and, hopefully, make you feel a bit more at home, with songs you like.” 

Your eyes softened. The slight irritation you were feeling towards him evaporated from your body. His friendly gesture had taken you aback, and in a good way. The mp3 may have been in a questionable state, the fact the boy — which was just as much of a stranger than you were to him — had tried to make you feel good, and therefore, welcomed in your new place, was touching.

“… Thank you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.” Luke’s whole face brightened. An unfamiliar warmth spread across your chest. He ran a hand through his dark curls, looking to the side for a split second.

“How did you get that, though? I didn’t know there was a mystery Apple Store at camp.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s just say I stumbled upon it.”

***

Unexpected was the word. Nevertheless, you had truly appreciated the friendly gesture. He had been the first person to act kindly towards you ever since your arrival – at least, not in a way that felt exaggeratingly forced, unlike some other camp residents. You could say this present had sealed the beginning of your friendship. As you stared at it, it left you reflecting onto the day you first met Luke and wondering about where the two of you stood. 

Soon enough, you had no choice but to face the harsh reality of things, which led you inevitably into spiralling into your thoughts.

The two of you hadn’t had a real conversation in months. You didn’t spar together anymore, neither did you share the mp3 he had gifted you, one earbud each, to make him listen to music he claimed to hate — a supposed disdain which had never prevented him from singing, quite awfully, the lyrics along with you. 

You didn’t sit next to one another anymore, didn’t hang out anymore. All of that was quite simply gone.

You had to content yourself of occasional, fleeting from across the hall, nods of acknowledgment. 

People had noticed. They came up to you, asked you about him, probably as much as they asked him about you. 

Of course, you knew. Deep down, you knew why it all went down. 

It is an obligation for demigods to demonstrate constant, unwavering strength and courage. For all you knew, those two had never been qualities that you particularly lacked. 

But when it came to the dark haired boy, it seemed like all the traits you thought you owned came crashing down, and you were left bare, defenseless, while he could see right through your soul.

And you hated that. You thought befriending — though the verb doesn’t quite fit — the best swordsman in camp would help you get rid of the weakness Aphrodite children tend to be associated with. But, truly, it had in fact only been the opposite.

Your barriers all came undone, without fail, one after the other. Your heart only grew fonder, more passionate. And yet, one thing you learned the hard way about being a demigod, is that there is no room for weakness. 

You knew you wouldn’t be capable of balancing both courage and attachment, so the only option left was to flee, to disengage yourself from such a bond, before it was too late. 

Once you got back from your first ever quest, the one in which you almost got violently murdered by a giant scorpion and a bunch of other terrifying creatures, the one which sent you into a concerning amount of sleepless nights, you were convinced of it. 

You wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of forcing yourself through this life without him.

You had believed, foolishly, your avoidance would make things easier.

The truth is that it had only made you feel more heartachingly miserable.

Time had flown by, and despite all your efforts, Luke was still the first thing you thought of when you woke up and the last thing on your mind when you went off to sleep.

For a daughter of Aphrodite, you sure sucked at love. 

The irony of it all left a bitter taste in your mouth.

This was why listening to Lana, despite the affection you held for her, was so dangerous. It always sent you into an uncontrollable overload of emotions.

Fully intending to get rid of the sadness wave before it fully hit you, you stood up from your bed and switched off the device before carefully putting it away in a drawer.

Then, you picked up a pink hoodie, not sure what step-sibling you were borrowing it from, and carelessly put it on. 

As much as you loved the tenth cabin and its coquette aesthetic, you weren’t really feeling that coquette at the moment, which is precisely the reason why you got on your knees in order to grab the pack of Malboro’s carefully hidden under your bed. 

You were glad any of your step-siblings hadn’t picked up on the fact you were smoking, or you would not have ever stopped hearing about it. You could already hear Silena lecturing you about the effect it would have on your lungs, or worse, on your skin. 

Surely the Silena you were imagining in your head was right, though. The frequent smoking, which had been intensifying lately, could explain why you had been breaking out a bit more than usual. 

Thankfully, the perks of being part of the Aphrodite cabin always involved somebody always being kind enough to help the other with spots coverage, so it hadn’t been much of an issue to you. Ever since, you had been perfectly capable of doing it on your own.

You walked out the wooden cabin, shutting the door behind you with a barely audible creak. Immediately met with the cool air, goosebumps erupted on your skin. Maybe cotton shorts weren’t the move for such weather, after all. Too bad. You felt like you had gone through worse — you were more than capable of fighting off the not-so-warm spring evening air. 

It was dark. The moon was your only source of light, since you hadn’t thought about picking up a flashlight before leaving, but that was quite good enough already. Your legs were always bringing you to the precise spot in camp you had in mind, and as you walked, you were straying further away from the woods. 

As tall grass tickled your ankles, you silently prayed to your mother you wouldn’t stumble onto any harpy. The thought still emitted a dry chuckle from you, picturing the creature interrupting your smoking break in the middle of the night. If things went shit, you could always try to charmspeak them away. That would be, in fact, surprisingly entertaining.

Harpies rarely roamed around the beach. That was a reassuring thought to you — firstly because you weren’t too keen on the idea of fighting a monster so late at night, and secondly because that’s precisely where you were heading.

Before you knew it, the smell of salt had invaded your nostrils. The crisp touch of the sand underneath your feet made you shiver as you made your way to the shore, intending to sit down for a while — and enjoy your well-deserved cigarette. 

You put your hand down and shoved it in your pocket, instinctively expecting to get a hold of the familiar surface of your lighter. It was even more unexpected to realize there was no lighter to be found, sending your brain into a haze. The possibilities were endless. You could have either forgotten it in the cabin, accidentally dropped it into the tall grass as you were walking, or dropped it somewhere among the sand–

“Looking for something?”

You spinned around, eyes widening, looking up at the person the masculine voice belonged to.

Luke Castellan. Standing in front of you, holding the silver lighter, but not quite handing it to you. You got a weird sense of deja vu as you both scrutinized the other. 

His hair had definitely grown. The dark curls were more defined than you remembered them to be, and there was a new scar down the sight of his face. The sight made you raise a brow, and you met his eyes once again, examining them as much as the distance allowed you to. As a matter of fact, they looked pretty much the same, except for the lack of emotion. They looked weirdly bland, almost glacial, full of indifference. You weren’t used to him looking at you in such a manner.

“Thank you. I must have dropped it earlier.” You explained, trying your best to keep your voice neutral, hoping he would simply give you the object back, so you could both escape the awkward situation. You didn’t believe for a second he had accidentally found it and magically brought it to you at such a late hour of the night. You didn’t feel like confronting him about it anyways.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” Luke stated, letting his deft fingers trace over the small object. Then, he lit it, as if he were checking if it did work. Was there a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice or had you imagined it? You were unsure.

“Happens, from time to time.”

The dry chuckle your ex-friend let out only left you made you grow more confused about whatever was happening. You were left with an uneasy feeling in the chest.

“Sure. Then, I guess you haven’t bought, like, three packs from Connor in less than a week.”

“It soothes me!” You defended yourself, feeling small under his disapproving glare. “Why do you keep records of who he sells cigs to, anyways?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you try to get into meditation, or some yoga shit, detox tea, guided hypnosis from Cabin 15, or anything else, really, for all I care? Why’d you have to destroy your health for some temporary relief?” The dark-haired boy snapped back, gradually rising in temper.

“I don’t know, maybe because, unless you haven’t noticed during all the years you’ve been stuck at camp, there’s not much to cope with here?” You mirrored his voice, hastily getting up from the small pile of sand you were sitting on.

“Oh, all right then, I get it.” He threw his arms in the air as he spoke, his brown eyes flashing in anger. “You’re a little depressed, but there’s no psychiatrist available here to help you fix your issues, so you choose to ignore the hell out of me and throw your health out the window instead. Real smart choice.”

Your mouth opened in shock, and before you knew it, your vision was blurred from the tears building up in your eyes. You felt your heart twist painfully in your chest at his insensitive words, and you choked back a sob.

“Why would it matter if I fuck up my health, wether that be to me, or to you? (You had to pause to catch your breath, your chest heaving up and down from the mix of negative emotions invading your body.) “I’ll be dead in no more than ten years, maybe less— We’ll all be.” You inhaled, your voice cracking at the end of your sentence. “You know it.”

His brown eyes widened. Your two last sentences seemed to take out the anger out of his body, leaving the two of you in a heavy kind of silence. Luke’s face went from great anger to deep sadness. He took a step up, gradually lessening the distance between you two, and put his two arms on each of your shoulders. The boy knelt down, so the two of you were on eye-level. You were able to see every one of each of his features now.

“Don’t say that.” His voice was lower, and his brown eyes had considerably softened, and it’s as if you were back to when you first fell in love, about three months ago. “We can’t think of life as just an end, or we won’t live at all.”

Your eyes dropped to the sandy ground, unable to hold his gaze any longer. You hadn’t cried in so long that the sensation of the pearly tears dripping down your eyes felt almost foreign, to you. “I can’t help but think of it that way. Knowing our days are counted, threatened by the doings of the gods, is too much to bear, on most days.” You sniffled. “Makes me wonder if there’s truly a point living it all, and if it’s not better to try and lessen the pain as much as you can.” 

Luke was silent for a bit, reflecting onto what you just said, carefully picking out the words he was about to use next. “The one thing about being a demigod is that we’re fundamentally different compared to regular mortals.” He mindlessly wiped a tear off your face with his thumb. “We die young, and most of the time, terribly. This is what differentiates us significantly from mortals.”

You pursed your lips. “Is this how you think you’re gonna make me feel better?”

The dark-haired boy chuckled, a small smile etching its way on his lips. “No. Of course, it’s unfair, but what I mean is that not much mortal philosophy actually applies to us. We have to look up to those who worshipped the same gods we did. See— take Horace, and his whole Carpe Diem belief. He happened, in fact, to be quite right. We need to enjoy our days, live them to the fullest, and make the most of what we have.” He paused, looking away for a split second, before looking back up into your eyes. “You can’t just deny yourself from happiness. Not only you don’t deserve that, it’ll only make your existence as a demigod even more complicated than it already is.” Luke first hesitated before tucking a hair strand of yours behind your ear. “And, especially as a daughter of Aphrodite, you can’t deny yourself from love.” His voice was barely above a whisper now.

His words really resonated with you, for some reason. Of course, all your problems wouldn't disappear out of thin air thanks to his philosophical words, but they were all you needed to close the remaining distance between the two of you, crashing your lips against his. It was a bit bold, and indeed, it took Luke aback. He froze for a split second, but the camp counselor was quick to come to his senses. One hand went up to caress your jaw to deepen the kiss, almost desperately, and the other pulled you in his chest, a strong arm securing you against him. 

You were the first one to pull away, gasping up for air, and he begrudgingly imitated you, his dilated pupils betraying him. He let out a slight chuckle and ran a hand through his hair, trying to play it off cool.

“Didn’t expect you’d be taking my advice so soon.” The boy joked, still squeezing you against his side, practically towering over you. “I’m not complaining, though.” He hurriedly added.

“I didn’t know you’d gotten so wise. If I knew ignoring you would turn into a son of Athena, I would’ve given you silent treatment earlier.” 

Your playful words only made him press you into his side even more, until your cheeks were squished into his hard chest. It was actually quite enjoyable, except for the fact you’d probably end up suffocating and it would then ruin the romantic mood set between the two of you. “Don’t you dare. I’m not letting you go anytime soon.” He replied, a bit of a warning in his voice.  “Even if that means locking you up in the Hermes cabin and tying you down to my bed.”

That made you chuckle. It didn’t exactly sound like a bad situation to you, for numerous reasons, although you wouldn’t admit all of them out loud. Luke must have noticed the slight blush dusting your cheeks since a shit-eating grin appeared on his face. But before he could say anything about it, you spoke up. “I’m sorry. For pushing you away, for keeping you at distance. I—”

“It’s okay, I get it. I appreciate that you’re apologizing, but I’m not blaming you.” He pressed a kiss into the crown of your head, wrapping both his arms around your midsection. “I’m sorry, too, for the way I talked to you, earlier.”

“We’re good, then.”

“Never better.”

“ … ”

“ … ” 

“Does that mean I’m getting my lighter back?”

“Well-tried.”

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

© hclymoonsblog - Tumblr, 2024.

[ambiguous-avery]

Chasing Shadows, Part 2

Dean Winchester x OC fem!Touched!Reader/You | WC: 6224

Summary: She’s never been afraid of the dark, not really. She’s more concerned about getting lost in it. He’s haunted by every dark deed he’s ever done. It’s constantly nipping at his heels like a hell hound. He’s her light in the dark, and she’s the one bit of darkness he’s willing to embrace.

A series of murders has drawn the Winchesters to your small town, and for some reason, you’re at the center of it all. What are you hiding? And why does it seem to be painting a target on those around you?

Tags/Warnings: No use of Y/N, canon-typical violence, eventual romance,  eventual smut,  fluff and angst, POV alternating (sometimes a little all over the place), no beta we die like men

Disclaimer: The base concept of Touched comes from @aylacavebear and is used with permission. I’ve taken creative liberties with it. Chasing Shadows Series Masterlist

“How do you lose a dead body, Sam?” Dean asked, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel of the Impala. They had spent the better part of twenty minutes searching the alleyway and another thirty driving up and down the roads of the town. They had even gone back to your place and snooped around. There hadn’t been any sign of you. Calling your cell phone had turned out to be a dead end too. Every attempt Dean made just went straight to voicemail. The police scanners had been silent all night and into the morning, no reports of another attack or victim. The only evidence left that anything had happened the night prior were the three spent bullet casings and a small puddle of blood that had likely dripped from the fatal neck wound you had sustained. 

“I don’t know, Dean,” Sam snapped. Dean had only asked him that question half a dozen times, and he was tired of it.

“You’re sure she was dead?”

“For the millionth time, yes. There was no way she was coming back from that. And even if she did, she wasn’t going far.”

“We were gone for, what, five minutes? Maybe ten?” The two had gone in circles with the conversation, and Sam was getting sick of Dean’s implications that Sam had somehow missed something very obvious.

“I dunno. How fast did you lose sight of the thing?” Sam spat back. He wasn’t salty. Not at all. Not the least bit. Dean didn’t have a quick comeback for that one and instead opted to give Sam the silent, brooding treatment. 

“So what’s our next move? Our only lead is gone in the wind, and we still don’t have any idea how this guy is targeting people,” Dean finally said after a bit. Sam shook his head. He was over Dean asking him questions that he didn’t have an answer for. He was part way through formulating a new plan of attack when,

“Dean, that’s her!” Sam practically shouted, leaning forward and pointing across the road. Dean slammed on the brakes, causing the car behind them to do the same and blast his horn before cutting around the Impala, flipping the brothers off as he did so. Neither of them noticed. Dean’s gaze followed in the direction that Sam was pointing. The two of them watched as you strolled down the sidewalk across the way, gaze lowered as you maneuvered around the others on the sidewalk.

“You sure it’s her?” Dean’s voice was almost a whisper, though Sam wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like you were going to hear them. 

“I guarantee it’s her.” The image of you from the night prior was burned into his mind’s eye, and Sam wasn’t likely to forget it anytime soon. Innocent and blameless in this mess, yet here you were, out and about as if nothing had happened. Dean pulled the Impala off to the opposite side of the street that you were walking on, and both boys ducked down as you strode past where they had parked. You dipped into a coffee shop before they sat back up and looked at each other.

“None of the others have popped back up like that, have they?” Dean’s tone was conspiratorial. Finally, he was asking something Sam had an answer for.

“No, none of them.”

“So... new working theory?”

“Well... we know for sure that the creature from last night is definitely a vamp. And they don’t bite their own–”

“Unless she’s the alpha.”

“Agents?” The word had barely passed over your tongue before the two of them pushed their way into your place and closed the door behind them. Gone were the professional suits. Now, both of them were all denim and flannel. You had been milliseconds away from asking them what in the hell they were doing here when Dean drew a gun and aimed it at you. Your hands flew to either side of your head, eyes widening with fear. 

“You’ve got thirty seconds to tell us exactly what’s going on around here.” He cocked the gun. “Less if you lie.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you began, the words stumbling over themselves to get past your lips. “I’m not– I didn’t–”

“You said you knew all the victims. You were with them shortly before each of them were attacked. Is that how you mark your targets? So the rest of the nest knows who to go after?”

“What? What are you on about?” You looked between the two of them, hoping that one of them would give you the slightest bit of lenience. Even though he wasn’t pointing a gun at you, the one with longer hair was staring you down with hardened eyes. You swallowed hard, taking a slow step back. Both men matched your step back with a step forward of their own, keeping the distance between you and them at a minimum. “I genuinely have no idea what you’re getting at.”

“You’re a vampire,” Dean said simply. You let out a single humorless laugh.

“Vampire,” you repeated incredulously. “Is that the thing that attacked me last night?” There was a beat of silence between the three of you. “I can assure you that I’m not that. And correct me if I’m wrong, but considering that you haven’t put a bullet through me yet, you’re willing to hear me out?” There was a tense moment where no one moved, but as it passed, the gun was lowered.

You moved slowly, still keeping your hands where the two could see them as you motioned for them to take a seat on the couch in the living room again. When the three of you were finally seated, you dared to take a long, deep breath.

“Do I get to know who you guys really are at least? I think it’s safe to say that you’re not FBI,” you said, keeping your breaths as even as possible despite the fact that your pulse was racing beneath your skin.

“I’m Sam. This is my brother, Dean. We’re hunters,” Sam introduced. His expression seemed to have softened slightly, but you weren’t ready to fully believe he wouldn’t pull a weapon on you if the situation called for it.

“Hunters,” you breathed, “Okay... we’re just gonna pretend I know exactly what you mean by that.” You let your arms drop and began wringing your fingers together in your lap. “Why do you suddenly think I’m involved in all of this? Besides the obvious ‘knowing the victims’ thing.”

“You called last night and told us that you were being followed. When we showed up, we saw that vamp attack you. Sam said you were dead.” Dean motioned to your neck with his free hand. “And even if you weren’t, you don’t have a mark on you.” Your own hand pressed to the spot where you had been bitten the night prior.

“There’s not really a good way to explain it... Then again... I guess we are talking about a vampire. Like real life, in the flesh vampire. Maybe it’s easier if I just show you. Do either of you have a knife?” 

The boys looked at each other for a moment before Sam pulled one from his pocket. There was another beat before he slowly offered it to you. Moving equally as slow so as not to spook either of them, you took it from Sam and brandished the blade. You ran the sharpened edge against the palm of your hand, wincing as you sliced a line from thumb to pinky. Blood welled up, and you set the blade down, keeping your hand out, palm up. You waited a few seconds before grabbing a kleenex from the box sitting on the table and wiping away the blood, offering your hand to them again. Your skin had stitched back together, leaving no trace of a cut. “I don’t know what it is, but I can heal from just about anything. Small things are gone within moments. But bigger things take more time.”

“Gotta be honest with you, sweetheart. Vamps can do the same thing. Your case isn’t really as strong as you think it is,” Dean said simply, his voice tight. You sighed.

“Okay well before you get too trigger happy, let’s try something else.” You pulled your keys from your pocket. They jingled as you set them on the table, pressing a button on them as you did so. There was an LED light attached to them, the same kind that people could attach to a pet’s collar, that began flashing, cycling through four colors. The boys looked at it in confusion as you stood up. “Promise me you won’t shoot me.” You were only half sure that a bullet wound wouldn’t be able to take you out, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. Plus, it wasn’t a gamble you were willing to take. Your abilities were still wholly untested, and the limits of them weren’t something you weren’t keen on finding at the moment. You took a few steps to the side, maintaining eye contact with Dean because it seemed like he was going to need a lot more convincing than Sam that you weren’t dangerous. You took a steadying breath. “Don’t touch those,” you said, the tone in your voice serious. “I mean it.” And when you were confident that neither of them would mess with your keys, you Stepped into the shadow of the table.

The first step into the shadows was always like a breath of fresh air. Darkness pressed in on all sides in a familiar sort of way, like a hug from a close friend. It was comforting being here. Looking around, it was just a vast expanse of nothingness, stretching on as far as the eye could see. It was quiet here. It was always quiet here. Even the sound of the blood in your ears was muffled. This was the Void. And it consumed everything. All sound, all pain, all warmth, it was all the Void’s to take. You swallowed nervously, turning around in the darkness, searching. There, several feet in front of you, you could see the flashing light from your keychain. Your beacon home. The void could swallow everything it touched, but it couldn’t take the light, not all of it. You eyed the flashing light before daring to venture away from it, just a bit. Keeping it in your peripheral vision, you moved through the void, taking note of the other light fixtures in the house that you recognized. The lamp above the kitchen table several feet away, the light in the hallway, and most importantly, the flickering light that mimicked a candle flame. The longer you lingered here, the more the solid light fixtures began to fade, their beacons slowly falling prey to the bottomless appetite of the void. But not your flickering sign home. You moved to it, your steps steady so long as you kept your focus on it. You drew closer and closer to it, reaching towards the glimmering light and willing yourself to Step out from the darkness. 

All at once, your senses returned. You could feel your heartbeat racing, hear the blood pounding in your ears, feel the shuddering breaths you took. As you had planned, you had reappeared in your room, the flickering bulb of your nightlight casting faint, dancing shadows. You left your room, heading down the stairs back towards the living room. Dean and Sam had stood up, looking between themselves and where you had disappeared right before their very eyes. You cleared your throat and watched as they both visibly jumped before turning to look at you, Dean raising his gun again.

“How did you do that?” Sam asked, glancing at you then back to where you had initially been.

“I... don’t really know. I just do it.”

“How long have you been able to do this?”

“As long as I can remember,” you replied earnestly. “I don’t really understand it. I got lost in the shadows one too many times, and I don’t do it unless it’s necessary.” You watched as Sam and Dean shared a long glance, seemingly holding an entire conversation with a single look.

“Lost how?” Sam asked, knitting how brows together in confusion.

“When I’m there... in the Void – that’s my name for it – it...” you paused for a moment, searching for the right words. “The Void consumes. That’s the easiest way to put it. It takes everything. Feelings, emotions, sounds, light... When I’m there, I can see light sources that are close. But if it’s steady, like the overhead light,” you pointed up at the bulb in question, “the Void eats it. It vanishes, and I don’t know where to exit. But lights that move or flash or something like that? I don’t know why, but the Void can’t take those. Think of it like a lighthouse. That’s how I get home.”

“So then... What are you? And why is this vamp going after you?” Dean asked. He lowered his weapon again, but his shoulders were still tense. You moved back to your seat in the living room and scooped up your keys, clicking the flashing light off. 

“As far as I know, I’m just human. Then again, I don’t know anyone else who can do what I do. I’ve looked all over online. I’ve dug through forums and all sorts of different mythology websites, but nothing really fits the bill. I feel like a human.” 

“And your parents?” Dean pushed. You offered him a bittersweet half-smile that didn’t quite touch your eyes.

“Very human. They were in a car accident a few years back. Truck driver dozed off at the wheel and drove them off the road. Their car wrapped around a tree. Everyone said that they died on impact.” And before the mood could get too somber, you added, “But I might have an idea for why it’s going for those around me. Real vampires are still drawn to blood, so it would stand to reason that if someone's blood had a special quality to it, then a vampire could smell that, right?” Both boys nodded. 

You picked up the knife with one hand and held your other one out expectantly. When neither of them moved, you rolled your eyes at them. “I’m gonna need a bit of trust from one of you. If I was looking to seriously hurt you guys, don’t you think I would’ve done it when I had the jump on you with shadow walking?” That seemed to be the right thing to say because Dean finally offered his own hand, setting the gun down on the arm of the couch. You took that as a win. 

“What’re you doing?” he asked as you turned his hand so it was palm up.

“Little cut, okay? Nothing serious,” you warned him. Then, giving him enough time to pull his hand back if he changed his mind, you ran the edge of the blade against the pad of his thumb. He made a quiet noise but otherwise kept his hand fairly relaxed in yours. You tugged another tissue from the box and offered it to him before bringing the knife to your own fingertip. “Promise I’m clean,” you said before pressing your wound against his. Your blood smeared along the cut you had given him, and he and Sam watched as it seemed to melt away almost instantly. You all shared a look.

“I think that explains a lot,” Dean finally said.

While the air of suspicion never fully dissipated, the boys seemed to be a little more relaxed in your presence. They explained their ‘hunter’ profession to you in broad strokes and seemed only slightly surprised when you took their explanation of things in stride. In your defense, vampires and werewolves and ghosts actually existing didn’t seem all that far fetched when you were capable of traversing through the shadows. And while they had never encountered someone else with the same set of abilities as you, they did explain that Sam himself once had supernatural abilities on par with demons – those were real too – and maybe you were in a similar sort of situation that he was in.

“So... what do we think is going on here?” you asked slowly, making a vague hand motion to bring the conversation back to the current situation.

“Working theory is that however your blood works to heal other people’s wounds, worked on the vamp too which is why the Dead Man’s Blood didn’t affect it. He probably attacked all the others thinking that they were the ones he was smelling,” Sam mused aloud. 

“He said I ‘smelled like a dream’ to him last night,” you said. “I thought he was just being a creep before... you know.” Dean nodded slowly as you spoke, eyes still watching your every movement.

Now that he wasn’t pointing a gun at you or questioning you like he was expecting you to lie at every opportunity, you could appreciate the fact that he was incredibly attractive. The well-worn military jacket he wore over a simple t-shirt suited him much more than the proper, crisp suit from before. Not that you were complaining about that either. You were a firm believer in finding a guy who could pull off rough and rugged equally as well as tidy and clean. 

“Did he mention any others? A nest or something like that?” Dean inquired, dragging you out of the depths of his gaze and back into the situation at hand.

“No, nothing like that. I didn’t see anyone else either. Do vampires usually travel in packs?”

“Usually, yeah. Occasionally you find one of two who have gone rogue. It’s pretty uncommon but not entirely unheard of.”

“If it’s just one, then that makes this easier, doesn’t it?”

“Mm, much.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. What happened after you were attacked? Where did you go?” Sam chimed in. 

“I slipped into the shadows. At least, I think that’s what happened. I wasn’t exactly conscious for it. But like I said, bigger wounds take longer to heal. If I Step into the shadows, it’s much quicker.” Sam shot Dean a pointed look, and Dean suddenly seemed very keen on looking anywhere but at Sam. 

“Okay, so once a vamp has your scent, it’s got it for life. He’s probably drawn to you because of whatever you’ve got in your blood. And as long as you’re alive, he’s gonna keep coming back,” he pressed on. “Most important thing is that he doesn’t bite you again. If that happens, we won’t be able to kill him.”

“So is this the part where you tell me that you’re going to set a trap for him with me as the bait?” You spoke slowly, not entirely keen on the idea of it. However, you could understand it. Logically speaking, it made sense to bait a trap with something valuable. That didn’t make you any more excited over it. Just because you could heal didn’t mean you didn’t feel pain. Dean shook his head.

“If there were another option that didn’t require that of you, we’d go with it. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone short of you would be a good enough decoy. But I promise, sweetheart, Sam and I won’t let you get hurt.”

Dean and Sam had taken up residence in the guest room of the house, bringing in a small armory with them. While you had been around guns plenty of times before, – your dad used to hunt deer occasionally – they had quite a few more. You watched in fascination as they went through the motions of prepping for the worst. Dean loaded a pistol, cocked it, and held it out to you, handle first. You perked up slightly and reached out to grab it.

“You ever fired one of these before?” he asked, and you noticed that the edge in his voice from before had softened.

“I helped my dad sight his rifle a time or two.” You checked that the safety was on before raising it and looking down the length of the barrel. Shooting a gun wasn’t rocket science, but you weren’t certain how you would respond coming face to face with the vampire again. The night before, you had frozen like a deer in the headlights. Dean had reminded you on multiple occasions that you couldn’t afford to freeze like that again. No pressure, of course. It was easy for him to say. It sounded like he faced down things much worse than vampires on a weekly basis. He had quite a bit more experience than you.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to be right here. Ideally, you shouldn’t need it, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” Sam offered you a reassuring half-smile, and you lowered the gun, nodding. It was just insurance. 

Your place was the best spot to lay the trap. Not only did your scent permeate throughout the entire house, but it was also easier to set up an ambush since they had studied the layout of the home. Granted, the slightly cramped halls and rooms weren’t the most ideal, but it was something Sam and Dean were used to dealing with. You paced back and forth in your room, the gun still in your hands, safety preemptively switched off. The last thing you needed was to go to shoot the thing and not be able to. You ran a hand through your hair and checked the clock beside your bed. A full minute hadn’t even passed since you last glanced at it. The longer you thought about it, the less this whole thing made any sense. Weren’t you effectively trapping yourself just as much as the vampire was in this room? And what if the thing didn’t even show up? Were you just supposed to play the waiting game and do this each night until he did come? This was so dumb. 

You flexed the fingers on one hand, curling and uncurling them. They were ice cold and on the borderline of losing feeling. You had half a mind to march downstairs and tell them that this was the worst plan concocted in the history of every plan ever thought up. Ever. Your gaze flicked over to the nightlight beside your desk, and the sight of it alone was enough to soothe you, even if only a little. If things went sideways, you were supposed to Shadow Walk to safety.

Don’t let him bite you. You reminded yourself. It was a mantra in your head. That was really the only absolute in this entire plan. Dead Man’s Blood was the only thing they had to even the playing field against the vampire’s enhanced speed and strength, and your blood would cancel it out. Not to mention you weren’t too keen on a repeat of the previous night.

A thudding sound above you caused your blood to flash-freeze in your veins. Was that him? Was he on the roof? You hadn’t expected him to just come in through the front door or anything, but the thought of his other entry points hadn’t crossed your mind. You turned and raised your gun to point at the window, eyes wide and heart racing. Your breaths came fast and shallow, gun shaking slightly in your white-knuckled grip. As badly as you wanted to call out for Sam or Dean, they had told you that it was better for them to keep some distance until necessary lest the vampire catch their scent and figure out that this was all a setup. So instead, you chewed on your lower lip.

The crash through your ceiling had you pointing the gun and firing blindly into the air, the shots ringing in your ears. Your eyes met your attacker’s, and you saw recognition flash in them. A sinister looking smirk curled his lips upwards.

“Well, well, well... Here I thought my nose might be deceiving me, but here you are, alive and smelling divine,” he drawled, his voice low and dangerous. You reigned your nerves in as best as possible and aimed at him. He stepped forward, and you found that your feet were rooted in place by terror. “Kitten’s got claws this time,” he taunted. You squeezed the trigger, and despite your shaking, the bullet dug into the vampire’s shoulder. His predatory grin faltered as he looked down at the wound, confusing creeping across his features. His dark eyes lifted back to you, somehow looking more dangerous than they had a second ago.

“Leave me alone,” your voice came out squeakier than you had meant. 

“That fucking hurt!” he snarled, lunging for you. The gun was knocked from your hands, and the vampire grabbed at your wrist and pulled you close. His nails bit into your skin, drawing pinpricks of scarlet. You grimaced and tried to kick his legs out from under him, but he had pulled you off balance and had you half falling into him. His fangs descended, and the previous night in the alley flashed in your mind’s eye. Another gunshot met your ears, and the vampire groaned in pain, his grip on you loosening for a brief moment. You heard your name called out in Sam’s voice.

“Shadow walk!” he shouted. Right. That was a thing you could do. You ripped your wrist free from the vampire’s hold and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over your own feet.

“Shadow walk, now!” Dean’s voice boomed, authoritative and demanding. You caught the briefest glimpse of him, gun raised – not pointed at you this time – and expression serious. His green eyes met yours for the briefest half-second, and you could see his promise of your safe return there. You trusted him. 

And you Walked.

The shadows welcomed you with open arms, and the grip that fear had on your heart slackened as the Void ate away at it. Unfortunately, the Void didn’t have an appetite for your adrenaline, so even though you were detached from your feelings, you were itching for an outlet for... whatever was left. You screamed, and the Void swallowed it whole. The overhead light went next, and as it winked out of existence, your gaze flicked over to your dancing night light.

You huddled next to the flickering light, not daring to let it out of your sight. 

How am I supposed to know when it’s safe? You wondered, watching as it moved. You and the Winchesters hadn’t set up any sort of system for this, having never expected for you to end up in this situation. And to be fair, you hadn’t been fully transparent about how your abilities worked. They didn’t know that you were completely cut off from the world of light when the Void had its grasp on you. It wasn’t like you had lied on purpose, though. The thought just had never occurred to you. The light abruptly stopped flickering and almost immediately the Void began to consume.

“No, no, no, no, no, no!” You were sure you were speaking, but the Void ate the sound as soon as it left your lips. You frantically grasped at the fading light, as though it were something tangible and grabbing it would keep it safe from the Void’s eternal hunger. Your fingers closed around nothing, and all at once, you were left in the dark. You stared in numb disbelief, trembling, staring at the spot where your light – your way home – had been. 

Instantly, you were back in the closet, the first time you had ever been trapped in the shadows. You had hidden there as a young child, playing a game of hide and seek. You tucked yourself behind the coats, giggling to yourself at how genius of a hiding spot it was. You could hear the thudding footsteps of the seeker drawing close. The closet door opened, but you were tucked so far back that the shadows must have hidden you just right that he didn’t see you. The closet door shut, and you listened with excitement as the footsteps retreated. All too soon, there was nothing. You listened intently, expecting the footsteps to come back. 

They never did.

You didn’t know how long you sat in that closet. Everything was far too quiet. You couldn’t hear the laughing from the other kids. Eventually, you figured that you had hidden long enough, but when you looked around for the closet door, you couldn’t find it. Your fingers found emptiness no matter which way you turned. You called out for your mom, but you couldn’t even hear your own voice. Finally, a sliver of light drew your attention. The sliver widened, and you raced towards it. All at once, the world was right again. You could hear kids clamoring around you, and you raced out of the closet into your mother’s arms. You were crying, and you hadn’t even felt your tears until they were soaking your mother’s shirt. She held you close, murmuring soothing words and stroking your back.

“You’re safe. Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” she cooed. You held her tighter.

Flashing pulled you from the memory. You stood and looked around, eyes wide and hope blooming in your chest. The feeling was fleeting, but the determination it left in its wake couldn’t be taken. Three more flashes. You honed in on it, but it didn’t flash again. A half a moment later, it flashed again, this time in a different spot. Another series of three. 

Three. A hunter’s universal signal of distress. Your father had taught you that. No. It wasn’t a distress signal. Not this time. It was your beacon back. When the next series of flashes happened, you dove towards them. Your senses returned to you. The metallic smell of blood was the first thing that hit you. You had Stepped out of Dean’s shadow, hand still reaching out towards the flashlight he was holding. Your eyes went wide at the sight of him and without thinking, you threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and reveling in the feeling of feeling him. He grunted, but you felt him return the hug. 

“Welcome back, sweetheart,” he said softly. You pushed away from him slightly to look him in the eye, and he brushed a tear from your cheek that you hadn’t noticed was there.

Adrenaline was still coursing through you, and as you stared at Dean, you thought, fuck it, and pressed your lips against his. Your eyes closed as you felt his initial tension slip away, and he relaxed into the kiss, returning it. Dean was warm, his presence grounding. Sam coughed somewhere beside you, and you broke the kiss, suddenly very aware of the moment at hand. You felt heat creep across your cheeks, taking several steps back away from Dean.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, the adrenaline fading away and leaving embarrassment in its wake. You weren’t quite sure where that boldness had come from. “Um... thank you.” Dean flashed you a smile so bright that you were sure that you would’ve been able to see it in the Void.

“That’s one helluva thank you, sweetheart.”

“Maybe let us get stitched up before you go thanking him again,” Sam said, shifting somewhat awkwardly. 

You looked at them, really looked at them. Sam had several cuts across his face and a particularly nasty looking laceration along his shoulder. And Dean– holy shit how had you missed the three gashes cut across his chest? How was he still standing? You took in the situation. There was a headless body lying on the floor. Your room looked like a storm hard torn through it with the bedside table having been smashed, and the remnants of your nightlight lay shattered on the floor. You just about retched at the sight of the body and instead chose to focus on the brothers. Maybe you could see if there was a limit to how much your blood could heal.

“Either of you got a knife?” Sam offered you the bloodied machete he held.

Dean typically passed out hard after a hunt, though it surprised him just how deeply he had slept this time. He was used to sleeping in unfamiliar places which meant he kept some semblance of his hunter instincts even when conked out. But when he woke up in the guest room, back surprisingly not sore from a shitty motel mattress, he found that he was the last one up. His hand went to his chest, fingers dragging over the spots where the vampire’s claws had dug into him. There was hardly a whisper of the wounds left, and Dean found himself horribly conflicted. He never would’ve asked for you to bleed for him. Sam, maybe. But Dean was fine taking a bit of punishment. God knew he deserved it for not thinking of a better plan that didn’t involve putting you in harm’s way. He shook his head. What was done was done. 

He pushed the guilt from his mind and allowed himself to be lured to the kitchen by the smell of bacon and coffee. You and Sam were already sitting at the kitchen table chatting animatedly. There was a plate of eggs sitting on the kitchen counter, sunny side up with the yolks still soft. Bacon sat on the other side of the plate, and while it looked like the original portion had been plated in an orderly fashion, there was a second portion that seemed like it had been thrown on haphazardly. 

“Good morning!” You beamed up at him from your seat at the table. “I was gonna get you up earlier, but Sam said you needed your beauty rest.” Dean stretched and grabbed the plate of food, taking a seat across the table from you.

“Yeah, it’s hard work looking as good as I do,” he quipped, flashing you his most charming smile before digging into his food. When he glanced up, he noted the slight flush of your cheeks. He hadn’t been up for anything immediately following the events of the previous night, but with the way you had kissed him, Dean couldn’t help but think that it couldn’t hurt to stay in town for another night. Maybe two if you’d have him.

Sam cleared his throat, and Dean looked up from his plate, half a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth.

“She had a question for us, right?” he said, glancing over at you. Dean bit down on the bacon and set the other part of it on his plate, grabbing a napkin and wiping his face. He was letting his good mood get the better of him, but that was no excuse to let his manners fly out the window.

“What’s up, sweetheart?” You straightened up in your seat, and Dean watched as you ran a finger along the rim of your mug.

“I... I’d like to go with you guys. When you leave town, I mean.” Dean shook his head.

“Trust me, sweetheart, you don’t want to be a hunter.”

“It’s not necessarily that I want to be a hunter though. I mean, it would be interesting for sure. But that’s not the main reason. I’ve spent my whole life being something not quite human. There’s always been something about me that I’ve never been able to figure out. I’ve spent years and years trying to solve that side of me, and I’ve never made any progress. But you two show up, and suddenly I feel like I’ve actually got a chance at cracking the mystery I’ve lived with for my entire life.”

“No, this is too dangerous, and I can’t let you just throw everything away for it. You’ve got a good, normal life here, and you should really be grateful for it.”

“Except it’s not normal!” You stood up from your seat, jaw set in determination. While you weren’t yelling, you had gotten louder. “I’m not normal! I want to know why, and you two are the only ones who have given me a glimpse into a world that might actually have the answers I need. And you’re going to leave. And I can’t just stand and watch it happen. I can’t spend the rest of my life hiding a significant part of who I am. People would commit me to a mental hospital if I told them. Or worse, scientists get wind of me, and I would spend the rest of my life as a lab rat getting poked and prodded. I need to find my place in the world, and I know it’s not here.”

Dean looked down at the table, and he could see Sam eyeing him out of his peripherals. Sam would’ve said something already if he disagreed with her. His silence said volumes. Your argument had hit close to home, as much as Dean didn’t want to admit it. Life as a hunter was much the same, keeping the true nature of who one was under wraps and never truly letting anyone get too close for fear of losing them. He wet his lips and glanced back up at you. It was a mistake. Sam was right. He really was a sucker for those big, doe ‘help me’ eyes. He heaved a sigh. Just his luck that he could empathize with you.

“Alright, but I’m getting the silver, salt, and holy water first.”

---

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Part 1 --- Part 3

[definesanity]

Lords and Dames That Sung in The Chapels on a Sunday

There was a library in Laplace, which many borrowed books from. Likewise, there is one in the SPDM, too.

Due to circumstances, the one from the former to had to help the latter, leaving Mesmer Jr. to take the part as the librarian in Laplace.

Which also meant she had to deal with the genius herself.

Every so often, at the exact same time, she always came by. Either to borrow or return a book, and always making sure to say at least one thing to Mesmer Jr. before she left.

It made her want to tear out Vertin's throat and--

Vertin came towards the desk, holding a borrowed book. "Good day, Mesmer Jr."

"...Good day, Vertin." replied the girl who did not want any interaction with any Arcanist ever. "Returning?"

"Yes, I am," she passed over the book to the Mesmer child. "I found it quite interesting, if quite morbid."

It was, of all things, a book detailing Jack The Ripper. Insane.

Mesmer's expression did not shift, but she did look from the book to Vertin. "I did not expect you to enjoy such grotesque stories, Miss Vertin."

"I don't, really," she replied, face equally stoney. "But I found it interesting on the many factors involved with the cases in 1888 Whitechapel."

"'Factors', you say?" Mesmer Jr. replied. No one else was in the library, meaning she had to keep the conversation going. "Like what? The police dogs?"

"Indeed," Vertin nodded, which was not what Mesmer was expecting. "The Metropolitan police failed with a number of aspects; using bloodhounds was one of them."

"I hope you realise that the story isn't true."

"I know, yes; I still find it intriguing. Moreso when you consider the fact we still know not many details of Jack the Ripper."

"And why, pray tell, are you so enamoured with that madman?"

Vertin shrugged. "A current interest. And, it helps to converse with others."

"Ah, yes. Because people would love to discuss serial killers." Mesmer rolled her eyes.

"And what we are doing right now, then?"

"..." Mesmer paused. Then, placed the book back on the shelf. "Are you here to borrow another book, Miss Vertin?"

"No, just wanted to return it." Vertin gave a smile and a bow. "Good day."

She started to walk out.

After a moment, Mesmer followed after her.

"You appearing every day is a plot, isn't it?"

Vertin shook her head. "Not at all."

"You had never used the library prior to my starting there. You must have a reason behind it."

"..." Vertin looked, for once, conflicted. Eventually, she gave a short sigh. "A guilty consciousness. That is all."

"And who's fault is that, hm?" Mesmer Jr replied, her tone clipped. "Need I remind you of--?"

"Mesmer." Vertin's voice cut her off. It was quiet, but Mesmer could hear anger in it.

"Oh? Touched a nerve, did I? I'm surprised that exposed nerve hasn't healed yet, all these years later."

"Mesmer, I'm warning you." Vertin's expression was stormy, eyes narrowed.

"Now you're warning, huh? Could have saved a group of innocent children, had you warned us!" she wasn't shouting, but her voice had been raised.

"Mesmer."

"Oh, no, but you thought you had everything planned out, didn't you?! Our dear little girl, our dear little genius, a leader for a group of children!"

"Mesmer!"

"And look where we are now, Vertin:" she stared directly at Vertin, hatred in her eyes. "Us, alive. And Isabella and The Ring? De--"

SLAP.

It took both parties to register what had happened. Vertin was the first, eyes filled with fury. "THE FOUNDATION KNEW, DAMN IT!"

Mesmer Jr. placed a hand near her right cheek, feeling a stinging sensation. "What did--?"

Vertin grabbed a hold of both of Mesmer Jr.'s hands, and slammed her against the wall, staring down at her, body shaking in pure, unadulterated, anger.

"Every move we made on that day, every fight, every step, even the timing in which we defeated Lilya? All planned by Constantine."

Mesmer had never seen this side of Vertin before. Like all bubbles, you can only make it grow so much before it bursts. And in this case, it bursted violently and swiftly.

"There was no way of knowing I'd lead them to their deaths!" Vertin exclaimed, their voice now slightly hysterical from 4 years worth of repressed feelings and emotions. "And no way in knowing I'd become the Timekeeper!"

She squeezed hard on Mesmer's arms, and the girl knew it would leave rashes. "So for once, in your goddamn life, DON'T. RUSH. TO CONCLUSIONS."

With a rough sigh, she let go of Mesmer Jr's arms. And, without looking back, left.

Mesmer slid down the wall, and looked at her arms. Peeling back the sleeves, she saw red start to form.

She should be hateful. She should go and report Vertin. Heck, she can, right now.

...But then...

Why is it that she feels...

...She deserves this?

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

She did not often use Arcanium. But this was an exception.

She used it to stop the rashes from vanishing from her arms, and spent the next day trying to figure out what was going on.

Mesmer Jr. thought on Vertin. Not the Timekeeper, not that small, idiotic child, but Vertin.

And found that, no matter how hard she could, she could not feel any distate towards her. If she tried, all she felt would be... an empty feeling.

Vertin was just... Vertin. A girl thrust into a role she did not want.

Like herself, in some ways.

She rolled down her sleeves, and got to work.

She thought during it, too.

Arcanists were chaotic, it's in their nature.

It was Constantine who showed her that...

She stopped dead in her tracks in her room.

Was that... also apart of what happened--?

"That's a curious expression."

She turned to face the intruder, a mask set immediately. "Get out, X."

X did not listen, that smile on his lips taunting her. "You know, being a researcher, my field often overlaps with others. In this case, I can safely say I can fully understand that you're experiencing some... interesting emotions."

"..." Mesmer Jr. sighed. "No, you know what? I don't have enough energy to deal with you. Good day."

She slammed her head into the desk, and as planned, fell unconscious.

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

She woke back up in her own bed. She could tell it was, because she was the only one to have air fresheners in her room.

Her eyes didn't have to adjust to the light, it being low in brightness, and saw a retreating figure.

One with a top hat.

"Wait." she rasped out.

Vertin stopped. Then, turned around.

"Hello, Mesmer." she said. "I... owe you an--"

"If you're going to apologise, then let me do it." she said, controlling her breathing as the headache (unexpected) began to set in. "I provoked you. It was only natural you'd respond, what with so much repressed emotions."

Vertin stayed silent, but she looked momentarily surprised. Not that Mesmer Jr. could blame her. She isn't one to be trustworthy, after everything.

"...What I'm trying to say is..." she breathed in and out, struggling to get the words out. Saying aorry is not something she often does. And for good reason. But in this case...

"...I'm... sorry, for my behaviour."

Vertin looked at her. And then, smiled. "Thank you for being honest. I also apologise, although that is for the..." she trailed off, and Mesmer rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't have kept the rashes if I didn't want to. Whatever you did, it made me think on a number of things; the fact that I have never gotten to know Vertin was one of them."

Vertin, once more, looked quite surprised. "...If that is the case... when you have recovered, would you care to do that?"

Mesmer looked at Vertin. And, for a split second, Vertin swore she saw the lips of the girl upturn. "Provided there is coffee. It is not often that I indulge, and I want to make sure that I do not perish due to boredom during it."

Vertin gave a nod, smiling. And then left, leaving Mesmer Jr. alone once more with her thoughts.

She looked over to her bedside.

It was a music player, and it has a cassette in it. She leaned over and turned it on.

A song she did not recognise started to play. And the calmness to it, like being near a beach, lulled her into a sleep.

She did not recall the dream. But when she woke up, she found her lips in a smile.

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

She drank from her coffee slowly and carefully, taking time to enjoy every ounce of it.

As she said, she did not partake in it often. But if there is one thing Mesmer Jr. enjoys, it is the taste of espresso. A comfort, in a world of stupidity and nonsense...

Speaking of nonsensical, Mesmer Jr. looked at Vertin, who drank heartily from a cup of mocha.

The two sat in silence in the Suitcase. There was no one here but them.

Mesmer Jr. took the time to truly study Vertin. Her face was a healthy flush, and Mesmer could smell remains of soap and deodorant on her.

"For the record, pineapple does not suit you." Mesmer Jr. commented.

"It was the only one I had at that current moment." Vertin replied.

The two, once again, went into silence. It felt... strange. One was meant to hate the other and, yet, that very same person who sat there did, in fact, not hate the other one.

Hatred is an emotion that is something Mesmer feels often, mostly towards those in the ward. And, yet, she felt none towards Vertin.

And it annoys her greatly.

"If you don't mind me asking..." Vertin spoke up. "You have heard quite a bit about me, either thorough Laplace or the Foundation; so, would you like to share anything about yourself?"

"Not particularly," Mezmer Jr. immediately replied. "...But, since you are insisting, there was this one event I can remember from my childhood.

"When I was younger, I just so happened to write down my thoughts or any passing interests on pieces of paper. This came to bite me as, one day, my father noticed them and brought me downstairs.

"'Jane, Jane!' he yelled, waving the piece of paper in his hand. 'Look at how intelligent our daughter is! It is certainly a strange way of seeing the world, but one oh so interesting!'"

Mesmer Jr. looked deeply unimpressed. "My mother took the paper, gave it a quick glance, looked at my father, and said: 'James. These are the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody."

A small but noticeable snort came from Vertin upon hearing this.

"After that, I can't remember any more, because I was sent to the SPDM." she gave another sip of her coffee. "By the way, having all that sugar could lead to a heart attack."

Vertin immediately put the cube of sugar she had in her hand down. "And you?"

Mesmer Jr. took another sip. "I will be fine. I measured the exact amount I needed and used it."

"I've always noticed that you recall the times of ceratin things; it's rare to meet someone with a photographic memory."

"Well, congratulations to you." Mesmer Jr. remarked, and finished her drink. "..."

She looked away. And then, back. "...Thank you for the coffee, Vertin."

"My pleasure," Vertin smiled. And then stood up. "And, before you go..."

She passed a gift box to her. "Here. Sorry if it's nothing special."

Mesmer Jr. gave a non-committal hum and left the room.

She arrived back at her own in the Suitcase, and opened the box.

It was a plant. A very distinctive one, too.

Lycoris radiata. The red spider lily.

She could have simply returned it. And left it be. A memory.

Instead, she held it gently, and stared.

And stared.

And stared.

And, then, as the stared, she noted a feeling inside of her stomach.

A flutter, as she stared at the gift in her hands.

Maybe...

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

They met again and again, over the course of three weeks.

During that time, Medicine Pocket was seen entering Mesmer Jr.'s room and later seen leaving via running out, their right hand broken. Both parties deny that Mesmer Jr. had any influence.

During it, both also thought more on each other.

Vertin saw Mesmer Jr. as an enigma, one that had many mysteries, and Vertin was curious about each and every one of them.

She was a girl that had so many things go wrong for her, and no one was there to help pick up the pieces. During that short time, Vertin felt as if she had gotten to know someone she both knew, and did not know both at the same time.

She... loved Mesmer Jr. And she knew that Mesmer would never return it.

To Mesmer Jr., she saw Vertin much like the flower she was given. Mesmer Jr. knew both of their hands were dirty with many deeds, but Mesmer Jr. learnt something during these interactions:

That fluttering was caused by intense emotional responses. In layman's terms, she... loved Vertin.

And that scared her, more than it did disgust her.

She did not want to become the one Vertin loved, as Mesmer did not want anything bad to happen to her.

Mesmer was afraid. Afraid and, she can admit to herself, cowardly.

And, yet...

That gentle embrace gave both new worries and made old ones vanish.

"Mesmer..."

The two stood in silence. A gentle one, once more.

And, very slowly, Mesmer held Vertin, too.

"...Jane."

"Hm?" Vertin looked at Mesmer, who looked back.

"When it is merely you and I, call me by my first name."

Vertin nodded. And smiled to herself.

Jane Mesmer Jr. What a beautiful name.

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

The door opened, and Vertin looked up. "Hello, Jane."

"Don't." Mesmer said, sitting down on her bed. "I know that I said I wanted to try and talk to other Arcanists, why did you stick me with Regulus?"

"She was the only one available."

"..." Mesmer sat in silence. Then, looked up. "My term as the temporary librarian has come to a close. I was informed on my way back five minutes and thirty-one seconds ago."

"Shame," Vertin said. "I... enjoyed you being there."

"You only did to come and see me. And, besides, Jack the Ripper?"

"It was the only book I saw at the time," Vertin tried to defend herself.

Still, Mesmer looked at her. And then, sighed. "I suppose... as far as Arcanists go, anyways... you..."

"..."

"...'

Mesmer looked at Vertin, a very small, but still there, smile on her face. "You are... alright, I suppose."

[property-of-tojifushiguro]

You climbed out of the cab into the cold night air, slightly regretting the dress you were wearing. You paid for your ride and then walked towards the door of The Last Drop. You walked in and made your way through the bar until you got to the counter, sitting down on one of the open stools. The bartender immediately noticed you and walked over.

“You look absolutely stunning. Now, what can I get for you tonight, love?”

You blushed. As much as Vander complimented you, you were never able to get used to it. But you did feel rather pretty tonight, so you didn’t try and fight him.

“Uh, just a raspberry cosmopolitan, please.”

“Of course, love.”

You watched as your boyfriend made your drink. You still weren’t sure how you had managed to start dating him. As far as you were concerned, he was way out of your league.

“Here you go, dear.”

You blushed again.

“Thank you.”

Unfortunately for you, it was a rather busy night. You sat there, sipping your drink and waiting for an opportunity to talk to your busy boyfriend, but any conversation you got to have was short lived as there was always someone who wanted to order a drink. There wasn’t really any reason for you to be here. You could have just come to see him when he was done with work. However, you had had a long, hard day and wanted to relax with a few drinks.

You were still on drink number one when a fairly attractive man walked up to you and tried to start up a conversation, even offering to buy your next drink. You tried to politely decline, making it clear that you weren’t interested, but the man seemed to refuse to leave you alone. Unfortunately, at the moment, Vander was busy mixing drinks, so you were on your own for the time being.

The man continued to try and make conversation, and you continued to give brief answers to any questions asked, trying to make your disinterest clear.

This continued for another five or ten minutes, you weren’t really sure, but the man started to get bolder and decided to turn your head to face him and try to rest a hand on your waist. The same moment you felt his hand touch your waist, you heard something slam into the counter behind the bar. Your head whipped to the side, and you saw a clearly angry yet eerily calm Vander standing there, staring down the guy who now looked absolutely terrified.

“I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.”

His hands shot to his side, and he took a few steps back.

“Uh, sorry man. I didn’t realize she was taken.”

And with that, he scurried away to wherever he had come from.

“I’m sorry about that, love.”

“Sorry, I should have been able to handle that…”

“Nah, that’s why you have me.”

Your conversation was once again cut short as someone was waving him over to make them a drink.

The night continued on, and by the time the bar was closing, you had made it through nine drinks (due to Vander forgetting to keep count). Needless to say, you were wasted.

Everyone was gone now, and Vander was finishing closing everything up while you laid your head on the bar, spacing out.

Eventually, Vander finished up with his tasks and came over to get you before leaving.

He tapped your shoulder, and you raised your head and looked at him before breaking out into a goofy smile. You pointed a finger at him.

“Boyfriend!”

“Yes, darling. Let's go home now, alright?”

“Okayyyyy.”

You stood up and wobbled a bit before you stumbled into Vander. He laughed at your behaviour and scooped you up in his arms before walking out of the bar and locking up. You laid your head on his chest as he carried you to his apparent that was in the building next door to the bar. You were watching the world as it moved past you and listened to your boyfriend's heartbeat. By the time he had reached his door, you were asleep.

He opened the door, careful not to wake you, and carried you inside. He took you into his bedroom and laid you gently on his bed. From there, he slipped off your heels as well as your dress and pulled the covers over you.

He watched you for a moment before getting ready for bed himself. You looked so beautiful, even when you were drunk and asleep. God, he was glad you were his.

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[novankenn]

Broken Slumber (1/?)

/==/

A mare is a malicious entity that walks on people's chests while they sleep, bringing on nightmares. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_(folklore))

(A/N - As I looked further into it Nightmares, which are also known as Mare or Mora. These are all beings that cause bad dreams, and sleep paralysis while draining the lifeforce/vitality of their victims. So this story will cover a generalization of all those entities.)

/==/

Jaune was exhausted. The trip to Vale had been more arduous that he had expected. Yet, it had been necessary. It was an act of rebellion against the gilded cage his family subjected him to. While his sisters adored and doted upon him... his parents were another matter. It had been in his fifteenth year that his... nature had been revealed to him.

The reason behind him having to sleep in a well lite room. The reason why his favorite tree with the knotted and entwined branches, that loved to climb into was cut down. He and his twin had suffered VTS, or Vanishing Twin Syndrome. He had a potential brother or sister that had died in his mother's womb, and had been reabsorbed by him.

It was a rather macabre and frank talk with his parents, but that was not the end of the conversation. Jaune's mother Jasmine was a believer in the old stories. Often decorating the home with talismans designed to repel malevolent entities. In fact Jaune's room was cluttered with the homemade things.

Jasmine informed her only son that he had been born cursed circumstances. That was a statement Jaune had found very odd, but she had continued, much to jaune's and his father, Nicholas' displeasure. Jasmine explained that under normal conditions such a curse would have twisted Jaune into a werewolf. That was an idea that jaune found completely laughable. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts! Those were all fiction!

Jasmine undeterred, by her only son's lack of belief, continued...

"The death of your twin has cursed you in another way." Jasmine explained. "Unlike most males, for some reason you now to the spirit realms are seen as a female."

"Bullshit!" Jaune yelled at his mom. "That's utter fucking bullshit!"

"Jaune, don't speak to your mother like that!" admonished his father.

"You don't believe this crap do you dada?" Jaune asked. "Spirits, ghosts! I could have been a werewolf?"

"Jaune, whether I believe or not, is not the point."

"Really? REALLY?" Jaune yelled.

"Strange things happen around you and with you Jaune." Nicholas informed his son. "Things that can not be explained."

"Is that why I have to sleep with the lights on? Why I have all this junk hanging around my room? you know how embarrassing it is to have a potential friend over and them to see this shit!"

"Jaune, you need to listen and be on guard. You are not responsible for the circumstances of your birth, BUT they are affecting you!" Jasmine pleaded with her son, trying to get him to understand, or at least listen.

Jaune scoffed and before his parents could stop him he stormed off. Disappearing into the vast family home, and eventually sneaking out and into the barn. It was out there hidden from his family, he spent a restless night, and made his plan. He was going to leave. Make his way to Vale and out from under his family's unrelenting observations.

"It took three years, but I did it." Jaune commented to himself, as he secured himself a cheap motel room. Jaune felt somewhat guilty to run as he did, but he also felt vindicated, and finally free.

The trip to Vale had been twisted, convoluted, and took much longer that he had originally anticipated. Though it had worked in his favor, or at least he assumed it did. But he was also nagged by the... occurrences that followed him during the whole trip. Animals being wary of him. Some of his travelling companions waking up utterly drained and listless. Whispers of bad dreams, and nightmare afflicting those around him.

But he pushed those thoughts from his mind. They were just... coincidences. Nothing more. The drivel his mother believed in was pure fantasy. Nothing more. Taking a deep breath he sat down the bed nearest the door of his cheap room. He needed a plan. His meager savings wouldn't last forever, he need a way to support himself.

"There's not much I can do, but look for a job." Jaune mumbled to himself, and then sighed, as he realized that he wouldn't have many options for work. With his age and lack of formal education in any of the career paths that would best allow him to support himself.

Rising from the bed, he left his room. He would need a couple of things before starting his job search. A newspaper, and a new sim-card for his scroll. The scroll that he hadn't used in weeks, out of paranoia that his family would try and trace it.

An hour or so later, Jaune returned to his pitiful lodgings. A rolled up paper under his arm, and his freshly reactivated scroll in his hands. Prior to swapping the sims, he did text his mother. Letting her know he was safe, and guiltily informing her, that he was in Vale. He couldn't help adding that. As much as his mother's beliefs b othered him, she still loved him, and deserved to know why he was safe.

Before they could send a reply, he swapped the cards, and activated his new number. He still had their contacts, and would reach out to them again once he proved he could take care of himself, and that their worries were unfounded. Sitting down on the edge of the bed nearest the door, Jaune began his search for employment.

As Jaune was beginning his employment search, a small meeting was being held at Beacon, in the headmaster's office.

"So with the particulars of applicants and the format of this initiation settled, let's move on to other business." Ozpin informed Glynda, his Deputy Headmistress. "I understand we have a few staff positions to fill?"

"We do." Glynda replied. "The maintenance staff would like some additional staff. Preferably apprentices. As well Mrs. Primrose has requested some assistance with the library."

"Let's reach out to the trade schools, about the apprentices, as for the library... did she have any specific requirements for the position?"

"Just that they should be energetic, driven and love to read." Glynda replied, "She feels that someone interested in literature and books would be an overall better asset."

"Okay, then let's issue a general request for applications. She can help with the screening process."

"Should we specify and closing date?"

"A week?"

"That should be sufficient." Glynda answered. "I'll draft an advertisement and have Mrs. Primrose review it prior to posting it publicly."

"Alright. If there is nothing else, I would say we're done for the day."

While the meeting at Beacon was wrapping up, Jaune tired from scanning job postings, and want ads, tossed the paper and his scroll onto the second bed, before laying down and getting comfortable. He was tired, and wanted to have a bit of a rest, before getting something to eat.

Jaune's eyes closed, and his breathing grew relaxed and steady. Sleep had overtaken him. Time slowly ticked by, and as Jaune's slumber deepened, a slight misty form arose from him. It floated away from the bed, solidifying slightly, but still very much misty in overall composition.

The apparition moved further from the bed, and Jaune's sleeping form, it's featured solidifying further, until to an casual observer a more feminine version of the resting young man was standing at the window of the cheap apartment. It paused there, as if silently consider some choice, before floating forward and vanishing through the wall.

/==> Jaune's of the Monster-Verse Collection <==\

[shootingscar]

The last summer dairies

To my someone :

I don't know about happily ever after, cause I feel we're not meant for 'forever', we part and we live life on our own and might never get to see eachother or even if we do we may be too grown-up or too hesitant/awkward to start a conversation like we do now.. who knows? Who knows what future has in store for us..

Eventually everything ends like it meant to be, not everything can stay with us for an eternity, not even our own flesh and blood. Then why shall I dwell on the possible loss or departure in future, instead of cherishing the moment cause it won't last long, why shall I fear all the what if's and destroy what's happening?

So for the every moment that I've spent with you, I've learnt to cherish it, I've learnt to cherish our time together. It's like a part of you, part of us - a memory - that I'd carry with me till my last breath, even if we're together or just somewhere far away.

I realised I don't wanna name 'us'. I feel we're beyond every bond, every relationship tag that we humans invented. I believe, to love someone doesn't require any tags, all it requires is a heart full of love. To name us or to tag us, is to limit us, to limit our love only to the tag that describe us. If I tag someone as a friend or family I can only love them as such, nothing more. And I feel I love you limitless, tho platonic it has no limits I guess, so I don't wanna tag us and hope you never ask for one, it might sound silly or look like a messed up situation ship, but trust me I just love you, like a person who love another person without any reason, without any tags.

Sometimes I feel like we're romantic in a way, like damn I flirt with you more than I possibly could with my future someone, and we're definitely the friendliest cause we are, we're what not?? We're everything! So baby why limit us with a tag? Why limit our love?!

After all I've said and wrote for you, if you still question your position or the priority I give to you in my life, you're as dumb as a rock! I said what i said.

No tag means no importance?? Just cause I said you're more than a friend but couldn't say what you exactly are meant you mean nothing to me?? You think! When I wanted tagless and limitless love for us, you - unaware and insecure of your role - asked me to limit us?! I understand your inner turmoil but bruh you're dumb sorry!

I may have many people in my life with different tags and different priorities,some might even meant more than you but that doesn't mean you're any less, you remain the same, you remain as the same tag less, strong, pure and silly bond I've got. You're not this, not that, you're everything. Not romantic nor platonic, just soulful.

Remember even if I got hit by a huge, like very huge truck (if!!) And got diagnosed with amnesia, then remember that it's the body, the mind that is effected not my heart or soul. I might forget about your existence, the bodily materialistic existence, but your love remains the same. I might still feel the tears forming in my eyes when I see you in the hospital ward who came to check on me after the incident, I might struggle to remember you but my heart already dwells up and squeezes out the love in form of tears off my eyes, a heavy unknown yet familiar lump forms in my throat cutting the oxygen supply, all cause my heart still loves you while my mind forgot about your existence.

That is how pure our bond is..

That is how pure my love is..

I loved you, neat and clean..

Soulfully and heartfelt..

and will ever do! 𖹭

Tags : #the last summer dairies

Author's note : Idk why half my summer dairies were filled with the love letters I wrote to my bestie (ik I said no tags but it's as in the love, it's beyond the love I show for any friend, while l call her ma or momma, I still describe her as my bestie to the world) but trust me there's other stuff too.. right?!

[dragonmasterhiccup]

(shhh, no one can know that lol🫣)

Freya lightly rolled her eyes at his claim, the corner of her lips tilting upwards as she spoke: "Hey, the first few times were because of Ayla...but, it looks like you managed to get my attention after a while."

Together. She enjoyed the sound of that. It was new to her, yet it felt so..right. She knew, as long as Hiccup was there alongside her, she'd be able to fully grasp the whole concept of this love thing - although she already understood what she held for him was love. So, gently allowing her hand to brush against his, a bit nervous to completely hold it, her voice was softer than before; "..If we're both working it out, then I think we won't lose what we have.."

Blaze grumbled his laughter quietly with an amused grin, trilling a response that said: 'Humans are very stubborn..!'

"Mhm!" Freya hummed enthusiastically, "I haven't finished counting th--" Thankfully, she cut herself off before she could give away her unspoken of challenge to count all of the freckles across his face, hastily clearing her throat as she lifted her chin to glance at the walls again. "..Yeah. Yeah, I do like them.." His compliment on her smile, however, only seemed to increase the heat she felt on her ears, subtly grinning while now staring towards the ground. "Don't ya think it's a bit early to act lovey-dovey, Hiccup?"

In actuality, she didn't mind it at all. She was purely teasing him to try and avoid the 'spotlight' in hopes of calming her fluttering heart down.

Not expecting for him to talk how he did, she briefly snorted, firmly pressing her lips into a thin line as she held back from laughing. What was he doing? It was funny either way. Pretending to make her expression more serious, failing in the process, she nodded politely. "And I'm Freya Leif, your real girlfriend. Also, don't worry. If you're not out of the forge soon enough, I'll be sure to get you, cause you're definitely not going to overwork yourself now that you got me around."

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

Allowing her eyes to observe his face from where she sat on Blaze, Freya sighed, a part of her wanting him to be there while she talked with Ragnar. It could be another potential risk of Hiccup getting hurt somehow, even though he didn't do anything. "..Okay, fine. I could use the extra support...but if he grabs another dagger, I won't let you come around for any of these types of conversations. I seriously don't wanna give him the second chance of harming you.."

Did she sound a little too overprotective? Maybe. Probably. But if there was a way to prevent him from experiencing the anger of her father, she'd most definitely take it.

The nerves that jabbed at her from every side attempted to increase once they landed in front of her hut, shaking it off with a heaved sigh while she dismounted Blaze. Cracking her neck to release any hidden tension, she gave a determined furrow of her brows. "Let's hurry up and get in there."

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

Surprisingly, they made it out unscathed.

Almost immediately they were greeted with an intimidatingly larger figure of Ragnar folding his arms, asking in his usual gruff voice, "Where have you two been?" And attentively listening while Yrsa also heard their explanations from next to the fireplace. His daughter didn't specifically say why they had originally gone out there in the first place, but she did say it was an accident that they met each other in the cave.

"We had a, uh..argument..and needed some time to..figure it all out. We didn't mean to stay away overnight, it was raining and it wouldn't be safe for us to--"

At that point, Ragnar didn't entirely care for the rest of the reasonings, too focused on the word 'argument' and kept staring in Hiccup's direction with a look that uttered: 'What. Did. You. Do..?' Freya was quick to recognize the expression and swiftly intervened, stating that it was mostly her fault for it anyways. He eventually let them go, ordering them to leave so he wouldn't get more upset.

It took her a minute to acknowledge that she and Hiccup still needed to do their 'normal' tasks around Berk, making her short goodbye a bit awkward. While she helped repair a group of huts, the abrupt realization that she was actually in a relationship with the future Chief decided to hit her right in the middle of carrying pieces of wood, causing her to stumble where she walked. If it wasn't for Blaze, she would've collapsed flat on her reddened face.

After that, she'd pass by the forge every now and then, stealing a glance to where Hiccup was at as she hauled different supplies to multiple areas on the island, staggering in her steps when she accidentally made eye contact. She knew the weather was much colder, leaving no excuse for the scarlet tint which dusted over her cheeks.

The phrase of 'falling head over heels' proved itself true to Freya; it was shown as she, quite literally, tripped on her own feet when she passed the forge, which she was finally entering. Much to her relief, she had a couple of minutes to spare earlier when arriving at her hut to properly clean herself off from the previous day's events, half of her hair neatly braided like usual as she put down a small crate of sharpening tools. "Gobber! I got the supplies my dad borrowed! Sorry we turned them in a little late..!"

As she brushed her hand against his, he finished the action by holding her hand, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. Looking down at their entwined hands, he smiled warmly, bringing his eyes back up to meet hers. "Good, because I'd hate to lose that."

Toothless snorted, completely agreeing with Blaze. He knew just how stubborn humans could be, especially Hiccup.

Hiccup's brows raised in amusement, a playful smile on his lips. "Did you say counting?" Holding back laughter, he asked, "Freya Leif, were you trying to count my freckles?" His laughter wasn't teasing, not in the slightest. In fact, he thought that was adorable.

Shaking his head, he insisted, "Nope! No, the way I see it, I have a lot of time to make up for! Besides, the rest of the tribe thinks we've already been dating for weeks, so it's long overdue!"

He lifted her hand, lightly kissing the back of it, keeping his eyes on her. "There's so much I held myself back from saying to you, it might take a while for things to even out."

As she uttered the words 'real girlfriend', his smile brightened, and he chuckled lightly at her phrasing. "Oh, really? Well, you might just have to take it up with Gobber and my dad, because they think I slack off too much!"

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

"I'll be fine, even if he does. I've got good dodging reflexes, you know." He sat up straighter, oozing false confidence, hoping to make her smile again.

He wasn't too keen on the possibility of that happening again, but he had a plan, of sorts. Regardless of that, knowing how Freya felt about her father, Hiccup was not going to let her deal with this situation alone.

As they landed next to her hut, Hiccup laid a hand on Toothless' muzzle, telling him to stay outside when they went in.

Standing next to Freya, he took her hand in his, nodding. "I'm with you."

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

Hiccup tried not to be intimidated by Ragnar, reminding himself that Ryker and at one point Dagur was much worse.

As Freya explained, he helped as best he could. "It was a misunderstanding, really--and between the heavy rain and the cold, it was safer to wait out the storm than fly home through it."

The piercing stare Hiccup received did nothing but ignite his nerves. This man wasn't an enemy, he couldn't just glare back. But he also couldn't be seen as weak, either. So he held Ragnar's gaze, his jaw set firmly.

When they finally left, Hiccup let out a sigh of relief once the door was shut behind them. Giving Freya's hand a soft squeeze, he hesitated to say goodbye.

However, work had to be done, so with the promise of seeing each other later, Hiccup gave Freya a kiss on her cheek before saying goodbye to Blaze and flying with Toothless to the forge.

As he worked, he'd remember that Freya was now his real girlfriend, and he'd smile to himself. After a while, Gobber teasingly inquired about it, to which Hiccup casually shrugged it off, giving different excuses. The older Berkian would just shrug, going back to work.

Any time someone passed by, he'd look up, hoping to catch a glimpse of his girlfriend. Though, he only did so if it was safe to. He knew she'd kill him if he got injured again.

When he did catch her eye, a lopsided grin formed each time, before she was out of sight and he had to return to work. The fact that she was blushing just increased the brightness of his smile, thinking it was cute when she did that.

Hiccup was feeding Grump some scrap metal when Freya came in.

"Oh, I had forgotten about that," Gobber said, lumbering over to the crate. Getting an idea, he gestured for his apprentice. "Hiccup! Why don't you take care of this, eh? Thanks for bringing it back, lass."

Hiccup was immediately on his feet, brushing his hands together and smiling when he saw Freya. "Don't worry, Gobber, I got it!"

Giving the two a knowing look, Gobber nodded, "Aye, I'm sure you do. I'll just be...in the other end of the shop, working."

Whistling, he stepped away comedically, moving towards the back of the forge.

Hiccup chuckled at his mentor, shaking his head. He had a smudge of ash on his cheek and chin, and some on his apron, but his hands were clean, having wiped them on the cloth hanging out of his pocket.

Beaming at her, he said, "Good to see you, Fey!" Moving to put some of the tools away, he asked, "How're things going around the island?"

[mamaito]

[Housamo] Tezcatlipoca's Date Quest

On this very night, the lights shone brightly against the ground as the person in question revels in utter luxury on this special occassion.

Ito received an invitation into one of the highest ranking restaurant in all of tokyo, located at the very first floor of a building.

And in this nightscape is Tezcatlipoca, who's figure could be seen in the window, gazing. Immediately he notices Ito's reflection through the glass.

[(His chibi self caught the sight of me through the mirror.)]* [(His now artificial body catches the sight of me through the mirror.)]* *(He brings whichever body you chose to the date. If you picked chibi then throughout the date he will be small lol)

Retreating your gaze away when both of your line of sight locked with one another, you looked once more, only to see that Tezcatlipoca meeting yours again.

Whatever the reason was for feeling strange when gazed at so fondly, one cannot help but feel giddy at the sight of laughter.

-- It has been awhile since you've been summoned to this tokyo, encountering many friends along the way.

However, there was one person in particular that has taken a surmount of Tezcatlipoca's life. Giving special attention to this person's existence in return--

From the many battles they have fought and overcame, came were laughers and tears shed together-- Eventually, the distance between them came closing in, resulting in them becoming more acquainted with one another.

But, what to make of these two's so called relationship remains to be seen. And so they decided to make their intentions clear this time.

Now-- It is just Tezcatlipoca and his companion who have decided to come out and play.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Hahah, such excellent scenery, does it not? Makes one want to run off and carry it with them into the darkness--"

"Besides, as if one can resist this very night when the nightlights are shining so brightly. Tell me, would you consider running off into the night with me..?"

["I'd love to go with you."] ["That's what you'd normally would do."] [Answer vaguely.]

[Tezcatlipoca] "Heheh, Hahah! I see, I see. If that's the answer you've given me then there's no reason for me not to believe you."

"Regardless, this invitation I've given isn't just for us to go out and play. Surely you've taken interest in what're my plans in bringing you to this restaurant."

"That is all I will have to say for now, that alone is not why I chose this place. The chef's skill from this establishment is one of the best of the best so be reassured."

Tezcatlipoca did his usual hearty laugh and the line of his mouth pulls off another kind smile.

Moments later, his line of sight was then fixed onto Ito, peering through with such intensity of wanting nothing more but for their eyes to reconnect again.

[(It's embarrassing to be stared at so much like that.)] [(.. Something's off about him today.)] [(.. No matter where I look, he is rather good looking.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "… You were thinking of something in regards to me, weren't you? I wish nothing more but to return the favor and fulfill your requests."

"I wonder what other absurdities you'll be showing me from now on, that's what I love about you, after all."

As the two converse, a group of staff came with a silver dish, opening it to reveal a rather delicious cuisine.

Each ingredient was explained to you in detail till Tezcatlipoca cuts them off and giving a sharp thank you--

Their face goes red and vigorously bows down apologetically at the two of you, quickly returning back to their position.

[(Stare at Tezcatlipoca.)] [(Intimidate the staff.)] [(Be the calm one.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "Hmm? What's with that look, I haven't even done anything yet, was I not suppose to do that?"

"But that look ain't that bad.. Not bad at all, hahah! Even the emotions surging through those eyes of yours, hahah."

He was expecting something when he said that to Ito, wondering just what sort of reaction he'll be able to see next.

Making use of the catering utensils in an elegant manner, you brought the meal into your mouth in small bits and began chewing whilst he watches, quietly gazing at your face.

[Tezcatlipoca] "What my eyes have seen is nothing but fulfilling joy. It has been a long time since I've felt it, but this time it has changed to a rather wonderful ability."

"Just look at this, me, simply watching you eat. It was served just at the right time but I feel it is still too early, shall I explain myself?"

[(Say "Isn't this what you usually do?" but in truth you know it isn't.)] [(Look on as you eat.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "Heheheh, good, isn't it? I can see your expression plastered on that face of yours."

"In regards for tonight's fee, I've went and asked for a favor in today's food preparation for your sake."

"I know nothing in regards to the cypress and taste buds, I thought you'd be glad to know the details of it, I've entrusted everything--"

"I was the one who planned all of it and let the staff experts execute it. The chef was rather reluctant but I won eventually."

Before Tezcatlipoca and Ito could continue eating, they timed each other and conspired till their dinner was over.

The staff workers for some time have already emptied out the table to lessen the pile in accordance for the next batch--

Following the same actions as they managed all the cuisines and start to exposition just as briefly. A sudden warm sensation is placed on Ito's leg.

Ito is pulled further to Tezcatlipoca as his tail entwines itself onto her leg, and a devilish smile hangs onto his visage.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Thank you for the exposition. Yes, this was the dish that we've been waiting for.."

He calls out to the staff with his usual intimidating expression, grabbing a set of utensils and starts to eat.

[(I'm so embarrassed.)] [(Caress the tail.)] [(Start eating with no reaction.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "I see, would you look at that, you have the guts after all! Don't tell me, this is payback for that tail of mine you've been aware of!"

"Heheh, it makes me happy to know your eagerness. Just so you know I don't intend to lose."

He pries the utensil from Ito's hand and slides his hand into hers, their hands differing in size made painfully obvious as fingers are wedged in each finger and clasped on tightly.

The act eventually ends as you were made aware of the surrounding staff members averting their gazes at the two of you after that affectionate display.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Oh my, what's wrong, you suddenly surprised me. Were you aware of the escalating nature pounding in my chest?"

"Relax, I've already lent my heart to you, I'm not the least worried about anything else, though, I should've spoken to you beforehand."

"Heheheh, not just in war but in dates, too! No matter what I prepare, you always find a way to crack it open!"

[(Provoke him.)] [(Decide not to be escorted back home.)] [(Keep eating.)]

Tezcatlipoca scoots closer, his mouth drawing in and landing onto the back of Ito's palm for a kiss before setting it down.

[Tezcatlipoca] "I fully intend to behave as much as possible but it's just as I thought, I just can't bring my very nature to match yours."

"You're the same as I. This kind of provocation is like a dream, at this point we might as well continue this dinner back home!"

As if they knew beforehand, the staff picked up their pace with the plates with no further interruptions.

Tezcatlipoca ordered for a one on one full course set in his quest for a reaction out of you--

To think that someone like Tezcatlipoca would seek such a simple praise, for it would be enough to have him be utterly delighted.

At long last, the full course date is coming to it's near end with a desert.

The fine details carved into this cuisine was regaled in earnest, presented in writing also, and yet there is a black fog emitting from somewhere--

Suddenly the entire room was engulfed by a blackout and the staff then began climbing on stage to position themselves.

In the midst of darkness, you could tell where this was all heading to as a large cake appeared before you.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Heheheheh! Were you surprised? Today's the day where we celebrate, it is a special cake for our anniversary!"

[(Ask what the two of you are celebrating about.)] [(By any chance, is this…)] [(This a proposal.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "Is it not obvious? It is about you and I, it is a celebration for the two of us spending the rest of our lives together henceforth."

"Now, come and cut the cake with me or do you wish to cut the thread instead?"

[(Cut the cake together with the knife.)] [(Be sad that it wasn't a proposal.)]

The two go hand in hand, squeezing against each other tightly.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Isn't this what they call a [Joint Collaboration], this is my first time doing something together with someone. Hahah, I understand it now, it's such an exhilarating feeling!"

"I'm afraid we'll have to wrap this session for on our way back home, though that doesn't mean we can't later on."

"I can't possibly appreciate this cake all by myself now, can I? If only I could rewind the time spent with you, I'd do it right away!"

[(Hold the food in your mouth.)] [(Take some cream and eat it.)] [(Have a taste.)]

[Tezcatlipoca] "How do I put this, it has been rather adequate so far, but did it peak your interest?"

"Ah.. But it's sad. This moment of bliss just goes by in a blink of an eye."

"But I'll remember it forever, seeing your face in the flesh even if just for a moment."

Within the contents of the coffee cup, was the reflection of his face peering back into Tezcatlipoca.

There is something strong emitting from it but only for a short moment that entered his system.

[Tezcatlipoca] "It's unusual for me to be this quite calm, I've become used to having war and battles in my life but--"

"It's honestly such a strange feeling… I've become calm that my own smoke has departed by itself--"

"… Ito. Come with me just for a short minute, I wish to walk alongside you just like this."

It was vague.. Whatever Tezcatlipoca wanted to talk about outside where no one would get to hear.

[Tezcatlipoca] "I figured this would be good to pass time while walking with one another but… Please."

[(Say you want to go with him.)] [(Make a sad face.)] [(Show that you're pleased with the current events.)]

Tezcatlipoca looked please with what Ito said--

But that was all that's been exchanged with one another, and just like that, the relative silence took over.

In the end, the strange conversation that occurred turned sparse and the two cups were then emptied--

After making arrangements in advance to the restaurant, the bill was then paid--

Ito wanted to speak about the overall payment, the staff that was left behind in the establishment, but decided to do it later.

[Tezcatlipoca] "It is too late to go and meet them again, I'll tell them later, for now let us go home."

".. I cannot simply let you haggard yourself. But will you still accompany me?"

["You don't want to go home yet."] ["It is as you say, there is a long night ahead of us."] ["What did you want to talk about suddenly.."]

Tezcatlipoca's gave a troubled expression and sagged his shoulders after hearing your calm voice.

[Tezcatlipoca] "I do not want this to be our final farewell to one another, I- I still wish to see you again…"

Those words uttered out loud, just what reaction should be most appropriate for such words you wonder-

["You should've said so from the start."] [(Chew him out for not growing a backbone.)] ["I've been preparing myself long ago."]

[Tezcatlipoca] "I'll come out and say it, Ito. I have nothing of value to offer back to you."

"Today's dinner date was a gift, for me and me only. It was for my sake that I did it."

"For compensation, I wanted you to hand me your feelings. That's what I've been thinking."

"As you've already know that I cannot feel anything anymore. You were something irreplaceable to me that I wanted to offer something that's equivalently worthy of what you meant to me."

His heart grieves, and yet his words were the only thing he could offer in the end. Tezcatlipoca one by one assembled it in order.

[Tezcatlipoca] "I'm sure you already have another-- Someone that you hold up in high regard. Someone who's more worthy to be yours."

"I am already empty, I cannot fully become yours."

"Even if I were to say it to you, and the two of us did return each other's affection, we would have nowhere to go."

["Stop fucking around and trying to make me cry."] [(Get mad.)] [(Laugh back at him.)]

["It's too late for that."] ["Only I get to do that and only I get to decide when."] ["I'm not letting you go anymore."]

[Tezcatlipoca] "… You're always surprising me by how passionate you always seem to be in my eyes. I.. Just how do you want me to respond back?"

["Say less--"] ["Don't say anything else--"] ["I have nothing to give you either, so--"]

["You can have me all to yourself back at home."]* *(YO!!!!)

Ito, having said that, something unraveled within Tezcatlipoca's eyes, his tail flickering.

Knowing that there wasn't much requirement to accomplish brought immense relief that in spite of his hollow body, that somewhere within it was recognized back.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Ito, my sun, you really are something else-- To think I am to be dazzled by your radiance."

"Now the sun is mine and mine alone. Now that you've permitted me to do such an act, I ask that you to extend me your hand--"

"You have already granted my wish, now it is my turn."

Tezcatlipoca's smile resurfaced, the genuine joy showing through--

As if he was preparing himself, he then turns to face Ito.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Heh… Forgive me. I'm lending you my heart from now on. You're the only one who I hold up in such high esteem."

"This new cold smoke that appears to be seeping through, has been carried off by the wind."

"-- However, that is simply because of this. Let this be known to the whole Tokyo, that I, have offered my love to you."

"If you were to say it back to me, that you'll love me back… I can guarantee you that after this, I'll never tire of pledging my affections for you--"

Tezcatlipoca looked directly at Ito's eyes, making sure that their gaze are affixed between each other, then knelt down on one knee and proposed.

[Tezcatlipoca] "This has been plaguing my mind long now. Back when I was sure that you were irreplaceable and worth devoting myself to--"

Usually, everything would go back as it were but Tezcatlipoca wore a rather gentle look this time and held your hand.

[Tezcatlipoca] "-- No, that's wrong. Could it be perhaps I was in love again, hence why you were irreplaceable to me?"* *(This line is probably not protagonist centric hence why I wrote 'again' and not 'still'.)

"Whatever the case may be, there is only one match for me in this world and I would have it no other way that you would be the one bestowed to me."

As affectionate words were uttered for Ito only, Tezcatlipoca found it natural that they should go somewhere--

[Tezcatlipoca] "There's also something else I'm interested in. As you are my one and only, This is a perfect opportunity--"

"As always, I wonder what's that face you're making. Are you suggesting that you're about to cry for joy, or is it something else…"

"Such wasted opportunity, but I needed to make sure. Could you say it one more time..?"

["Hold my hand, Tezcatlipoca."] ["I do."] [(Laugh.)]

Once he heard those words, Tezcatlipoca flashed a sly smile and embraced Ito tightly.

[Tezcatlipoca] "Like a butterfly stuck on spider's web, you're going back on your word after all that.. Pfft, Hahahah!"* *(You tried to run away from him lol)

[(Hold him back.)] [(Back track on that wish.)] [(Return back to when you couldn't tell which one of you was prey.)]

With that, the two went to a hotel and entered a suite room that Tezcatlipoca resides in, pledging to one another the entire night.

The night sky burying itself onto the glass ceiling-- As if it was drawing up close.

The morning rouse and curtains were opened. The two figures reflecting through the glass window revealed their figures close to one another where they leaned shoulder to shouler.

As though foretold, a magnificent horizon awaits them and their story will begin onto the new day.

[END]

[pacificwaternymph]

Sequel to this

-

Finn stumbled outside, rubbing his temples vigorously. It was nursing a killer headache and felt more than a little nauseous, no surprise there. He groaned as the pain spiked, and squeezed his eyes shut against the relentlessly cheerful sun.

The first sound that filtered in through his ears was arguing. It groaned again, already regretting ever getting out of bed, and turned to see which of its fellow Kites had gotten into a spat this early in the morning. (Was it morning? The sun was so high in the sky it may as well have been noon)

He stopped short at a familiar face, contorted in an unfamiliar expression of frustration. All signs of Joanna's disheveled appearance from the last time Finn had seen her had vanished. She wore a new dress, and an expensive looking one at that, probably a gift from Inigo, and her hair was back to its normal braid, tied off with an equally expensive looking ribbon.

It didn't recognize the Kite she was fighting with, though. Finn wasn't awake enough to process what words were being said, but it was clear from both parties' body language this had been going on for a while.

Jo spotted him first. Her irritation melted away as she broke off mid-sentence, face lighting up. She dashed towards it, ignoring the indignant shout from her abandoned opponent.

"Finn!" A body barreled into him and arms wrapped around his torso. Finn stiffened, although it quickly realized that Jo wasn't attacking it. She sighed, relieved, and for a few moments Finn stood there frozen, unsure what to do. Then its mind caught up with it, and it pushed her away, looking her up and down for signs of trouble.

"Jo? What is it? What's wrong?" He didn't see any immediate injuries , which was good, but he remained on guard. Could it have misjudged the situation, and her argument with the Kite turned to physical blows after all? Gods knew she wouldn't do anything to defend herself.

Jo's face twitched in confusion, before alighting in realization.

"Oh- no, no, nothing's wrong." She brought her hands up to cover his, where they were still set on her shoulders, and smiled softly. "I wanted to come check on you. See how you were doing after... yesterday."

Oh. Finn twisted its expression into something decidedly neutral so as not to give anything away. Joanna chewed on her lip nervously.

"I would have come yesterday, but Inigo said I should probably give you some space," she explained. Her hands moved away from his to play with her braid.

"I..." Finn glanced around. The only other person near them was the other kite, who snorted when it met their gaze, and walked off. He gave Jo a terse smile. "Um, thank you. But I'm fine now."

Jo's brow furrowed, disbelieving. Which- yeah okay that was fair. "Really?" she asked, her tone betraying what she thought of its answer. "Are you sure?"

Finn nodded quickly. "Promise."

Despite his reassurances, Joanna didn't say anything, or make any move to leave. Obviously she had been prepared for a longer conversation than that, but what else was there to say? It was fine now. He didn't want her to make it into this whole... thing.

But after a few moments of silence, Finn sighed. "Okay, look, just come inside before someone else sees you. You know how the kites feel about you."

~

A few minutes later, they were back inside Finn's lodgings, sitting down across from one another at the table. Neither had said anything yet, and the silence only grew louder as the seconds ticked by. Joanna shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You don't have to answer this, obviously," she said eventually, which was always a promising start, "but... Is there a reason why you... you wouldn't swim?"

Finn stilled, not even trusting itself to breathe. Trust Jo to cut right down to the bone on her first sentence.

"I mean, you're a pirate. I assume you know how. Seems kind of counterintuitive not to, doesn't it?" She laughed nervously, going back to playing with her braid. Finn's jaw clenched so hard he could feel the bones creaking, and he closed his eyes. "Did something happen? I mean... obviously something happened, you nearly drowned, but... I mean before yesterday. Do you..."

"I don't want to talk about this," Finn said, eyes flying open and face shuttering closed. Its tone was as blank as its expression, and it startled Jo. Her eyes blew wide and her mouth snapped shut immediately. Finn winced. Maybe he'd been a little harsher than necessary. "It's... complicated."

Unexpectedly, the tension drained from Jo's shoulders. She took a deep breath and gave Finn that same soft smile, completely unfazed by its rudeness.

"Okay, that's okay. Sorry for prying." She huffed, fidgeting with her thumbs. "But you do know that I'm here if you change your mind, right? Any time you need to talk, I'm here. I'll always be willing to listen."

Finn found himself at a loss for words, completely thrown by the pure sincerity in Jo's voice. Who was this girl? Who in the Isles was that genuine? Who could afford to be that genuine?

It stuttered a few times, mouth opening and closing like a beached fish. He cleared his throat, and turned away.

"Yeah. Whatever." After a moment's pause, it added, "Thanks."

Jo beamed and reached over to squeeze his hand. Finn suddenly felt overwhelmed by guilt, remembering the last it had seen of her yesterday. How she could be so gentle towards him after his callousness in response to her saving his life?

"I'm... I'm sorry," it blurted, bringing its free hand up to rub the back of its neck. "For ignoring you yesterday. I didn't mean to... I mean I wasn't trying to... I just..." Fuck, he was bad at apologies. Its vision started to blur.

Thankfully, Jo seemed to understand what he couldn't say. "It's okay," she reassured it. "I get it. I wasn't mad at you or anything. I was just worried. I'm glad you're okay." She cracked a grin. "Inigo might be a bit more miffed, though."

Finn snorted and laughed wetly, trying and failing to keep its voice from wavering. He swiped at his eyes before he could do something really embarrassing, like start crying. Jo stood up and walked around the table. She set one hand on Finn's shoulder, and pulled him into another hug. It still stiffened, unused to touch without the intent to harm, but slowly brought its arms up to return the embrace.

He closed his eyes and buried his face into her shoulder. If a few tears managed to escape from behind its eyes, soaking into the silk of Joanna's dress, she was polite enough not to say anything.

Despite everything, he really did feel a little bit better.

-

Finneas belongs to the ever lovely @finnified :) I'm sorry, I couldn't just LEAVE it there. So here, have some comfort for both Finn and our readers lmao.

[host-the-radio-guy]

Well. Here's a bit of writing on it for ya

Grian's felt like he's had to guard the rift. Quite literally stand waiting there, to make sure Mumbo won't get past him to try and leave. He hasn't known rest. Not since the first time when Mumbo tried to politely scoot past him while he was working. Keeping him busy with conversation. Getting him to talk about what's been happening this season.

Mumbo wasn't stupid. He knew he didn't belong to this time and place. He knew something was off, and looking at Grian made him feel like all he was seeing was wrong. Some sort of a fever dream, or maybe a delusion. But Mumbo knew this wasn't right. He's talked to other hermits and all of them had acted like it was Mumbo that had something wrong with him. Like he was a throwback to something.

Something bad.

Mumbo didn't get it. And he wanted out. Back home. Back to his season, back to his Grian, his Impulse, his Pearl, his Scar. None of these people were his. Whatever happened to him this season, whatever this Entity was, Mumbo will figure it out when he gets there.

He'd found himself returning to Grian's base once again. Back to the Rift. Back to the madness. He looked at Grian, plopped down in front of the swirling, beckoning purple portal, and they immediately locked eyes.

"Mumbo." , he said, making Mumbo shiver, despite having seen him, and having known he'll speak eventually.

"Yes, Grian?", it was an old game. A battle of wit, a graceless dance of words to see who will emerge victorious, and who will lose a piece of their sanity. So tastless.

Grian narrowed his eyes, slightly soulless from exhaustion, and maybe just their nature. Maybe something was slipping through the cracks the more tired Grian got from guarding the Rift, day in and day out.

"Why are you back here again, Mumbo?", every single time, Grian had managed to convince Mumbo to stay. He seemed so. Desperate. He missed the Mumbo he'd lost to something he refused to even explain. And it seems he forbade everyone else from talking about it. Because Mumbo was yet to actually get someone, a single soul, to tell him what happened here.

Mumbo's brain was quick to reel back into the conversation when he saw Grian get up, and begin to move towards him. Same old game, Mumbo thought to himself, but you gotta win this time.

"I think we both know why I'm here, buddy.", Mumbo moved back to avoid Grian, taking smooth and slow steps backwards to avoid both Grian and the little traps he'd set for Mumbo to stop him getting close. Mumbo knew all of them like the back of his own hand by now.

"Well, you can't go, Mumbo. You have to stay.", Grian had been trying to reason with Mumbo for what's felt like months. Mumbo had been trying to reason with Grian for what's felt like an eternity. Every encounter a century long in its extensiveness and its difficulty. But recently it's felt like both of them had been losing their patience with one another.

"I can't stay, you know i can't. This isn't where i belong, i need to go back to my season, Grian." No nicknames. Mumbo hasn't called Grian anything other than his full name for the entirety of the time he's been here. Grian couldn't blame him. But he wanted to. He just wanted his best friend. Was that really too much to ask?

"But- but you're Mumbo! You're my Mumbo! You belong here, this is where you're meant to be!" Grian knew this was the wrong Mumbo. He did something wrong, missed a variable in his calculations, throwing the entire equation off. Now he was forced to face the mistake he's made in the shape of Mumbo, somehow from last season, standing here before him, and desperately trying to go home. He just wanted to go home. Was that really too much to ask?

"I'm not, Grian, I'm not from this season, i don't remember anything, and you're acting as though I'd died!", A shout, an unexpectedly loud one at that, stunned Grian into complete silence. Mumbo's sharp voice cut through the cold air of the rift room, Grian's self-made lab. He was stood right in front of it, back facing the purple swirling portal. Mumbo knew he was there from the purple light cast on the ground, his own long shadow and the strange purple glow in Grian's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Grian, but i must go." His whole body was tense, he slowly turned to face the Rift.

"I'll see you next season." And with that,

> MumboJumbo has left the game.

so i was like haha what if grian accidentally rift-yoinked season 8 mumbo. then spent my whole weekend on it

[fnaf-phoenix-au]

Hello and welcome!

This is the blog for the Phoenix AU, formerly the Everyone Lives AU.

I'll try to answer questions when I have time (and if I don't forget the blog exists but that's a secret between you and me), but chances are your question will eventually be answered!

You can ask a character a question, or me if it's about the AU itself that either can't be answered in-universe or you want a response from me as the creator (please specify if it's the second one, but otherwise any questions answered directly by me are because the characters can't explain).

There's very few rules to this blog, but there are some boundaries to what you can ask for my own safety (and sanity in some cases).

You CAN: - Ask silly things! The Phoenix AU is basically just my "it's my AU and I decide what's canon" AU, so asking every character you can if they can do a flip is definitely within the ruleset. - Reblog the post to continue a conversation! I'll probably cut it off in the tags at some point to keep one ask chain from taking over the entire blog, but until then feel free to keep going.

You CAN'T: - Ask sexual things. I was going to say general NSFW, but since blood and gore is often considered NSFW I will specify sexual. This doesn't mean you can't ask about a character's sexuality, that's completely fine! There's a difference between asking if a character is gay and asking if you can fuck one of the characters. - Spam the ask button with the same thing over and over. There has to be different question and/or character for each ask.

I am very ready to add to these rules if I must.

DNI if you are:

A pedophile, necrophile, zoophile etc.

Proship

Racist

Sexist

LGBTQ+phobic (yes, this includes you, TERFs)

Zionist, pro-Israel, or neutral

I will probably be adding to the DNI list at some point. These are just the things I can think of off the top of my head.

Finally, now that everything else is out of the way, we have the sheer insanity of just how many characters you could theoretically ask in this AU! It takes place a bit after Ruin, maybe a few weeks/a month. I'll sort the characters by game/first official appearance (characters who are technically the same as another will be listed as the name/appearance they use in the AU, such as the Withereds being the Classics):

FNaF 1

Classic Freddy

Classic Bonnie

Classic Chica

Classic Foxy

FNaF 2

Toy Freddy

Toy Bonnie

Toy Chica

The Mangle

The Puppet

Shadow Freddy

Shadow Bonnie

Charlie Emily

FNaF 3

Springbonnie/trap

William Afton

FNaF 4

Evan Afton

Sister Location

Funtime Freddy

BonBon

Funtime Foxy

Ballora

Circus Baby

Yenndo

Bonnet

Lolbit

Michael Afton

Elizabeth Afton

Pizzeria Sim

Rockstar Bonnie

Rockstar Chica

Rockstar Foxy

Funtime Chica

Mr. Hippo

Orville Elephant

Happy Frog

Nedd Bear

Music Man

Helpy

Henry Emily

Security Breach/Ruin

Glamrock Freddy

Glamrock Bonnie

Glamrock Chica

Roxanne Wolf

Montgomery Gator

Daycare Attendant

Vannesa

Gregory

Cassie

Other

Susie

Gabriel

Fritz

Jeremy

Cassidy

Unavailable Characters and Why

Golden Freddy/Fredbear: by this point the animatronic is too damaged to function, and while Michael could fix him, he's not sure he wants to (everyone understands why, for one reason or another)

Jeremy Fitzgerald: something happened, I'm not sure what yet but it leaves him unavailable

The Phantoms: they're hallucinations and not real characters you can hold a conversation with

The Nightmares: similar to the Phantoms, they are nightmares and you can't hold a conversation with them (they'd just kill you)

Bidybabs/Minireenas: this is going to sound lazy but honestly I can't be bothered with them (yes this counts for Electrobab too)

Rockstar Freddy: Everyone Lives was technically a lie since the fire absolutely fried his circuits beyond repair

Lefty: Charlie shoved Henry into Lefty and he hasn't gotten out yet (Charlie's letting him figure that out on his own since he thought trapping her in the bear-shaped timeout box was a good idea)

Glitchtrap: it's basically just a lil bit of William's soul that got into some circuit boards and didn't get the "I'm in hell" memo, so it's pretty much the same as asking William something

DJ Music Man: Michael and the Funtimes couldn't move him out of the ruined Pizzaplex, so sadly he's still left there (don't worry, he understands)

STAFF Bots/PatPats/Map Bot/Mask Bot: I hopefully don't need to explain why

The Mimic: let's just say there was a scooper incident while Michael and the Funtimes were getting Cassie and the other animatronics out of the Pizzaplex

None of the characters from Fazbear Frights or Tales from the Pizzaplex are here If I did do something like that it would be a different AU blog!

And that concludes my Mr. Hippo story of a post on a probably overambitious project that luckily I am doing on my own time and can figure it out as I go!

[guytheporn]

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[frogtanii]

[buckle up; this one is a long one (1.6k words)]

things weren’t supposed to turn out this way.

she was supposed to show up, apologize “sincerely,” and the boys, her boys, were supposed to welcome her with open arms and swiftly discard of you.

instead, she was sitting in the back of a cramped police car with two pigs, one of which had a horrible b.o. problem and an affinity for sauerkraut.

it was so frustrating.

and, of course, it was all your fault.

you’d been blocking her from true happiness ever since the beginning when you’d first met in middle school. it was crazy because you’d actually seemed nice; kind, understanding, and you didn’t judge her for what her father did to her mother or for how she acted out because of that.

sure, you were a little weird and sometimes you could be downright rude to other kids in your class but you cared for her in a way that no one else had before.

(un)fortunately, you didn’t come alone — you were a packaged deal. your childhood friend, daishou, came into her life right along with you. she didn’t mind at first; daishou was fun when he wanted to be but he was mostly full of snarky comments and sarcastic quips.

the three of you spent all your time with each other; from playing at the playground to helping her begin her makeup youtube channel in 8th grade.

you all got along pretty well up until you got to highschool. once there, you threw yourself into your studies, sort of retracting yourself from her and daishou.

how selfish.

she couldn’t help but feel betrayed by you—you knew how bad she was at making friends and you didn’t even care, leaving her all alone to fend for herself.

well, not all by herself.

daishou was a constant. no matter where she was, or how alone she was feeling, he was there to provide entertainment at the most, and his presence at the least.

it wasn’t always the healthiest, most functional friendship, she could admit that. there were weeks that daishou would choose to ignore her for no apparent rhyme or reason, citing his explanation as he just didn’t feel like it.

obviously it sucked but he was her only friend, ever since you so cruelly abandoned them. i mean, you still ate lunch with them every day and invited them over to study and hang out, but it was not the same.

with you so absent, she grew closer and closer to daishou to the point she was spending almost every waking moment with him. and, as the story so goes, she fell for him, head over heels.

she knew it was a bad idea, if their friendship was anything to go off of but she didn’t care. she was desperate for love and physical affection and he seemed willing to at least give her the latter.

after she decided to confess, nerves all the way in her throat and a box of chocolates behind her back, daishou took her virginity in the back of his ford fusion, hard, fast and nothing like she’d imagined.

the next day, she’d cornered you in the library (where you always seemed to be) to tell you the good news. your face was unusually blank as she detailed the best night of her life to you, your response being less than stellar when she was done. “please be careful,” you had said.

what did that even mean? you clearly wanted to keep daishou safe from her which was ridiculous because weren’t you supposed to be her friend too? she’d stormed out of the library after that, determined to demand a kiss from daishou to make her feel better.

that day was one of the last that she’d see you for a while. you got caught up with clubs and schoolwork (and apparently therapy for god knows what) while she got caught up with daishou.

things with him weren’t... great. they never really were but things were getting even worse. his random bouts of silence got longer and though it was only freshman year and they’d been dating for less than 5 months, he’d meet with her after school with a hickey plastered on his collarbone that she knew she didn’t put there (she sucked even harder over the spot to claim it as her own).

as she said, things weren’t great but they weren’t horrible either. they remained that way all the way up until sophomore year.

you and her had drifted even further, hardly speaking to one another unless it was for a project or to vaguely greet one another in the halls. it was okay though. you had all your other friends and she... well she had daishou.

speaking of, her “boyfriend” had been more distant than usual. she wasn’t an idiot and she knew he’d been seeing other girls on the side, but she believed she would be the one he’d end up with, the one he’d marry.

how foolish she had been.

it was prom night and she felt beautiful. her beauty channel had finally begun picking up traction (she’d just hit 13k subscribers the night before!!) so she filmed a prom night makeup tutorial, making sure that every square inch of her face was perfect. donning a silky blue floor length dress, she felt like a princess and she certainly looked the part.

she showed up to daishou’s house about 30 minutes before the event, ringing his doorbell with an elated grin painted all over her face. he had mentioned in passing that his parents and older sister would be out for the weekend, leaving the house for themselves. that meant sex and sex meant being wanted.

after the third ring of the bell, she started to get nervous. maybe he wasn’t ready yet? maybe he needed help with his tie? just when she was about to wring the bell again, the door swung open to reveal daishou... not in his suit.

“oh, it’s you,” he’d grumbled. “‘m not goin’ to prom.” she felt her breath catch in her throat. she’d protested and begged for an explanation but he wouldn’t give one to her. eventually, she’d followed him into his house, furious because how could he do this to her? on her night?

it didn’t take very long for him to get fed up, his snake-like eyes honing in on her, filled with venom. “‘m not goin’ because i don’t like you anymore. you still look pretty though.”

just like that, with just a few words, he’d shattered her heart. she was frozen in place, completely disconnected from daishou, her love, as he not-so-gently pushed her out the door, slamming it in her face.

she felt tears stream down her cheeks and before she knew it, her legs were carrying her to a place she hadn’t been in months.

banging frantically on the door, she cried out, begging for someone, anyone to hear her. the door opened quickly and there you stood. you’d clearly been studying but as you took in her frazzled appearance, it seemed as though your heart broke.

you ushered her inside, sat her own the couch, and began to make her a cup of tea, your parents having been out for the night as well. once the kettle went off, you quickly prepped her drink and gave it to her, the words flowing out of her like liquid once she had taken a sip.

she didn’t know why she was even there but despite the animosity between the two of you, you seemed like you truly... cared. (neither of you mentioned the tears that stained your favorite t shirt or the quiet apologies you muttered into her hair).

that night quickly went and passed and by the next day, she was feeling rejuvenated and more like herself. however, that feeling quickly dissipated when she caught you in the hallway between classes speaking with daishou behind the stairwell in hushed tones.

within the span of a few hours, her heart had been broken twice and she was sure she’d never felt such heartache before.

she turned on her heel and darted away, avoiding your every attempt to talk to her for weeks and weeks until you just... stopped trying. after you’d cut off conversation, yet again, the sadness quickly festered and morphed into anger.

that anger only grew when she watched you graduate at the top of your class in your senior year, your smile blinding as you accepted your diploma. it only grew when she saw that you had made it into the university of your choice on your instagram story, her own rejection letter torn up in the bottom of her wastebin. it only grew when she saw you’d made your own youtube channel, her own going untouched and neglected (her last video had been a half-assed “get ready with me” that had more dislikes than likes due to her horrible makeup and even worse attitude).

soon enough, the rage had intensified until it had taken over her whole being. she was just so angry at all that you’d done to her, all the ways you’d ruined her life that she couldn’t keep herself from plotting your demise.

when she got the email from the hyper house management team that invited her into the house and offered the option that she could pick someone she wanted to move in as well, her anger turned into excitement.

this was her chance. this was her moment to turn your life into a living hell, to make it at least a fraction of what she went through by your hands.

she was going to make you pay and god, was it going to feel great.

the metal of the handcuffs chafed her wrists as she adjusted herself against the cool leather of the cruiser, the discomfort removing her from her reverie.

yeah, right. it seemed as though she was the only one “paying” right about now.

she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, tears filling her eyes but refusing to fall.

things definitely weren’t meant to turn out like this. not at all.

℗ poker face

not like this

series masterlist

(●’◡’●)ﾉ

an - OMFG THE BACKSTORY REVEALED I AM SO OVER IT >:(( this took me forever to write and i still wasn’t able to include everything i wanted to so hop over to my asks if you need any clarification!! oh oh && just a reminder, this playlist is from meiko’s perspective so chances are, things didn’t exactly go just like this wink wonk KAJS ANYWAYS DONT FORGET TO FEED ME ILY <3333

taglist - if your name is in bold, i cannot tag you

@boosyboo9206 • @geektastic84 • @elianetsantana • @trashy-simp • @infinitebells • @6mattsun9 • @suhkusa • @katsulovee • @kotarosbabygirl • @fucktheworlddude • @insomniacwreck • @calumsfringe • @saltylettuce • @chai-blu • @al3x1ss • @hawksyoongi • @jooleuuh • @loubells • @kissungjae • @liberhoe • @tetsurocore • @animeoverdosee • @duhsies • @saiKishaircLip • @afire24 • @premiyagi • @kit-kat428 • @doctorspencereid • @daphnxy • @kyomihann • @maer-333 • @sinoflust19 • @peteunderoos • @peachiikichu • @iidanotlida • @yongboxerrr • @kac-chowsballs • @tanakaslastbraincell • @memorableminds • @risjime • @starry-magicshop • @sugavwara • @smuttyanimeslut • @kiwibirbs-library • @haijkk • @airybnb • @crybabygumi • @iwaisa • @decaffinatedtealover • @notameera • @kawaii-angelanne • @rintarovibes • @urlocalsimp • @keiarma • @shrimpypenis

the rest of the tags will be in the replies!!