#this man just wanted a pat unu

[suguru-getos]

genshin men when you try to initiate cuddles

-> genre: fluff <3

characters included: kaveh, cyno, diluc, childe, alhaitham

kaveh loves it deliciously loves it, who doesn’t love feeling special? it gives him a sense of responsibility to help you feel safe. his arms wrapped around you as you rant about your day and my precious baby unu architect listens to you and validates your emotions throughout. “whaat? they did that- what a snob.” “yeah they did that,” “want me to teach em a lesson?”  it is incredibly cute how kaveh would just softly kiss you, talking to you about your day and cuddle you through the night, his arms wrapping around your torso, toying with your body a little like an excited child. 

cyno the general mahamatra usually is not going to look soft, approachable even. “what are you doing?” his demeanor right now is unmatched. blushed cheeks, tender tone as he welcomes a hug from you when he comes home. needy arms wrapping around his torso as you feel him patting your head in utter warmth and gratefulness of coming back home to you. “i love you, welcome home cyno.” | “home is where the heart is,” cyno — yes cyno can turn poetic at times. what else could you want from him really? he is the perfect man you’d ask for, keeping you his priority and not ashamed to express how he feels when you dote on him. “why am i getting so many hugs suddenly?” cyno teases — softly smiling and kissing your forehead. “cus you deserve it dummy.” you manage to answer, feeling the blissful warmth of his body against you.

diluc had no idea you were so cutely inviting him to the bedroom at night. wearing comfortable pjs and looking at him with a doting smile. “welcome home,” you cooed, as the handsome man you had the privilege to call your husband dented the mattress with his weight, scooting closer to you. your hands quick to grab his, placing them at the curve of your ass— rightly so. diluc smiled and softly, playfully spanked your ass. “needy much?” he smiled, pulling you closer against his freshly showered body, leaning your head against his chest. “for you? always.” your comment had diluc blushing brighter than his hair. “me too, angel.”

you don’t really need to initiate cuddles with ajax, he is that fucking needy. always clutching onto you, holding your hand, hugging you from behind, carrying you princess style. however— you don’t really let him take the lead always. quick on your feet, you hugged him from behind as he returned home to you. clothing soiled, the musky scent of sweat lingering in the room as your hands glided across his chest. “welcome home, ajax.” childe could fucking swear his heart lost a beat, that he fell in love with you again the moment your affections reached him. how your care reached him. “happy to be back to you sweet little girlie.” childe is quick to pick you up as if you weigh absolutely nothing, wrapping your legs around his waist and take to towards the shower. sometimes… cuddles would end up in something else. today was one of those days.

alhaitham was immersed in his book as always, not batting an eye and being self indulgent enough to ignore all and everything that encompasses his surroundings. it was until you giddily walked towards him, hugging him and perching yourself on his lap; that a small, quiet, timid tut escaped him. you pouted, leaning yourself against him completely & letting your body turn to slime and melt up against his sturdy one. “i miss you, haitham.” you whimpered, watching your boyfriend hum with a soft smile, still immersed in the god damn book! petting your hair tenderly. “haitham —“ you whined, yanking the book off his hand as an audible, displeased gasp left him. “me, us, right now.” you glared, watching him smirk and pull you close by your waist. “you always get what you want huh? always wrapping me around your pinkie by hook or by crook.” alhaitham kissed your neck, while you hummed in approval. you really did get whatever you want with him. ;)

[djcarnationsblog]

Metal Family: Dee Headcanons

HC 1: Okay, I have to say this but, Dee’s got squishy cheeks. THE squishiest, and he hates it cause Glam likes to squish his cheeks when he’s being too edgy and it totally ruins the vibe and shit, so he’ll just get all huffy and walk away, cheeks puffed and everything and Glam finds that fucking hilarious.

HC 2: Yeah sure, it’s canonical that this boy sucks at everything love related, but then I’m like “He’s probably weak as fuck when someone kisses him.” and now we have this. He WILL buffer if his love interest gives him even the smallest kiss on like, his brow or something. He’ll just sit there, and process it for a whole minute cause what the fuck was that??? And then he’ll blush immensely and then completely leave the room. Mans just can’t take a tiny kiss to save his life-

HC 3: He craves touch. That’s it, that’s hc-nah just kidding XD. He does crave touch, but it’s not like he’s touch-starved or anything. It’s more like, he simply enjoys the feeling of someone giving him friendly touch, like a pat on the back, or a fist bump, any kind of physical contact he secretly enjoys, cause it just feels really nice to him.

HC 4: I wanna say when he’s in his last year of highschool, he’ll get a tattoo. Not anything too big and it’s pretty easy to hide, but it’s a nice hibiscus flower, pretty colors and all. I say it’s probably on his hip, since it’s not often he wears anything too revealing.

HC 5: This leads into my next hc, Dee likes flower language. He finds it clever and enjoyable that one can use such pretty flowers to create a nice message, dark message, a threat, or anything really. Flowers just mask the darker things, in his opinion. And he loves being able to tell a person a subtle ‘fuck you’ in flower, so he studied that shit quite a lot-

HC 6: Okay, hear me out here but...Dee’s flexible. VERY. Flexible. He just looks like that kinda guy who could drop into a split without absolutely torturing himself and all the boys are terrified of him for that. He can split, backbend, fold in on himself, and pretty much a whole variety of other things.

HC 7: Because of his flexibility, he actually finds a lot of weird positions comfortable. Breakin’ his body in half so his upper body is on the bed and lower body on the wall? Peak comfortability. Twisting himself really awkwardly and just sitting there? Fuckin’ nice-

HC 8: Okay, okay, one more, but bare with me here because I’m treading on canon territory as well as some fuckin’ bulls I made a while ago-

Dee, in the og au, I want to say is just a mess of bisexual. He’s all cool and collected on the outside, but Lord knows what goes on in his head when he sees a pretty girl or a handsome boy, all the red alerts go off in his head. He may not have a good grasp of love, but he’s had many, MANY internal bi panics thank you very much uwu (We see you and Lif, ya little son of a bitch-)

Okay, so, kinda nervous bout this one cause it involves an au where I made ocs for it, so if ya don’t wanna read this part, just keep scrollin’ cause this is the last of it XD.

Dee, in the au I created, is Bisexual and Polyamorous. He’s with two peeps, Lif and a foreign oc I made, his name’s Eden UnU. Literally, he’s with a hot girl and hot boy, he has even admitted to Heavy that he could never answer the question of ‘which one is hotter’ if someone were to ask him. A one time thing. Heavy never let him live it down-

(I also wanted to mention Eden cause my mind’s been screaming at me to ramble about him, but I wanna know if y’all would wanna see that too XD

is it alright with y’all for me to info dump bout my boy and his relationship with Lif and Dee??)

[doublerainebow]

Hawks x Reader

Just thinking about how pouty and unu my husband gets sometimes lol

~ Masterlist ~

~ My Hero Academia Masterlist ~

It's very rare when Keigo shows off his vulnerable side to you. He likes to be seen as the unflappable No. 2 Pro-Hero, especially to you, because he wants to be someone you can depend on. He wants to be the husband that can carry all your burdens and never leave a single one of his on you.

Of course, no one can go on being like that for too long.

It's unnoticeable at first, but his wings droop ever so slightly and his footsteps are a tad bit heavier (I headcanon he's light on his feet). The longer he goes feeling bleh, the more his wings droop and the heavier his footsteps get.

It's not until he can't handle his stress anymore that he slumps on to you with his full bodyweight. Guy may look small in comparison to other heroes, but he's 5'8"/172 cm with lean muscle and heavy wings. Depending on your size, he's gonna be heavy.

This is when he's at his most vulnerable and ready to depend on you.

Depending on what's weighing heavily on him, he'll mumble into your neck about what's getting him down or just ask for you to stay where you are while he tries to get his energy back.

At this point, please reassure him and hold him. Growing up, he never really had anyone giving him praises or hugs or pats on the back. Just cold "good jobs, here's your next assignment."

He's used to the lack of praise and touch, but it unknowingly gets to him.

The man is starved of attention and touch.

The moment you give him both of those, his heart is ready to burst because he's so unused to the feeling, but it makes him feel so good and loved and he can't believe that he actually found someone like you.

[bellafragolina]

Hello helloooooo!! i saw you where sick a few days ago i hope you feeling better!! I wrote you a thing that hope brights your day if you still sick. Anyway i am not pro but i tried my best when it comes to writting so my apollogize if it is wonky i draw but i cant write hahahah but i tried!! Is made with love 💕💖✨️🫂

Hope i made justice to Ren UnU

My ray of sunshine needs some rest

"My cute boyfriend, I am sorry... I catch a cold and I won't be able to go to visit you. Don't worry once I am fully recovered I will go to visit you! How does that sound?

- Ren 💖"

With that text, Kaede's soul left his body... a heavy boulder was crushing him and he was feeling anxious, some tears started to pour down his face...

"MY ARCEUS, W-WHAT IF SHE DIES?!? WHAT IF SHE ONLY SAYING THAT AND SHE ACTUALLY HAS A TERMINAL DISEASE?! WHAT IF SHE ACTUALLY NEEDS HELP!?! Smeargly!!!" The man started to uncontrollably sobbing, covering his face in despair "Smearglyyyyy come here!!" Hic...

The Pokémom arrived as soon as he heard his master, hugging him and comforting him patting his head to make him feel better

"Smeargly!!" Hic "I dont know what to do..." the man continue crying while more of his pokemon came closer to support him speaking to him to calm him down, Kaede cleaned his tears and looked at his partners "Ok... she is fine... but she needs me, i need to be brave! For Ren!!..." looking at his Sunflora he called for her "Sunsun bring me travel Bag! We are going to visit her!!"

As the time passed Renee was resting on her Bed, the fever got a little worse but she knew as long as she rested she will be fine. UNTIL! a knock on her door can be heard while a timid voice tried to make it is way.

*knock knock*

"my sunshine... are you there?... Smeargly are you sure this is the number? I know this is where she usually stay when she visits Johto"

A rustle can be heard when the door opened slowly "Kaede?... what are you doing here?" Before she could finish the man made his way inside the apartment, placing his things and searching for something on his bag. His Smeargle holding Ren hand to guide her back to the bed "Kaede!! If you stay you will catch my cold...I appreciate the visit but i don't want you to get sick!!" the man pulled what it seems a container with some home made soup and looked at her "Nonsense!! The great Kaede never fall sick! Now my dearest you shall rest and under my charge you will heal!" The pokémon looked at him with the most poker face a pokémon could make, if he could speak will definitly said "really?!?! Never?!?!" Ren apprecaited the gesture she giggle of how cute he could be sometimes with her.

She let herself rest, Kaede tucked her into the bed, placed a wet towel under her head and feed her the soup he made for her, it wasnt the best but it had the best intention. Ren feel content slowly falling asleep "thank you..." giving him a tender smile while finally letting herself be dragged by the world of dreams. Kaede smiled whispering a small "everything for you my dearest shine of light" patting her head he planted a small kiss on her lips and started drawing until she wakes up again.

After some time Ren heal and was like a new person! But now.... the one sick was Kaede resting on the bed of his studio on his pjs the man speaked with a drowzi gaze and his Furret at his side while he was petting it "My dearest sunshine come closer...." the man called for Ren she scold him "I told you, that you will get sick... i appreciate it but i just knew it!!" placing a wet towel over his forehead, the man coughing "it was worth it... i will give my life for you... but listen..." Ren sit next to him he hold her hand and as he speaks "my shunshine... my light of life.. Renee my dearest, as my last words..." cough cough Ren and smeargle just looked at each other moving their heads in negation "darling you are not going to die..." she knew how dramatic he can be sometimes specially when sick, the man interrupted opening his eyes "But what if now i do!!!" Ren just tucked him back to bed and told him "not under my watch now rest you doofus!"

Kaede did as Ren told him, he knew she was right... it was hard for him but he was happy that now she was back to normal, it was the only thing that mattered to him, seen his light of sunshine back at her brigthest self.

tadaaaaaa!! Fin💖

FBSOSBWOWBWOWNW

Ahhhhhh it’s so cute!!!!!! How precious!! I love it, darling, it’s so sweet!!! You’re so nice to me, writing something so sweet while I’m sick!!!

Ahh I’m gonna smooch you and Kaede both, you gosh darn sweethearts!! Mwah mwah mwah!!

You wrote Ren wonderfully! Thank you so much!! I really am so touched you wrote me something! It’s so cute and I adore every word! Thank you!!

~Renee

[seaofghouls]

Steps Forward: Chapter 1

[ heehoo x reader ] 

[ damien x reader ]

[ D.A Reader ] 

Spoilers for Who Killed Markiplier, Unus Annus ( although, U.A is gone now, unfortunately. ) 

taglist: no one, currently. let me know if you’d like to be in the taglist! :) 

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

The former district attorney sighed. Another long day of paperwork. They were an officer. An neighborhood officer. It wasn't too exciting, but enough to pay the bills. 

 It had been five years since they escaped from that bastard snake. The most exciting thing that happened on the job that day was reports of a breaking in. Of course, there wasn't much to find when they investigated the place. 

 Walking into their apartment, they hung up their coat and too of their shoes, stretching. It was time to relax. They immediately noticed something was off when they walked into their room. 

 There was a huge breathing pile of blankets in the far corner of their room.

 "I know for certain that they don't allow pets here. Whoever you are, reveal yourself! I'm a police officer." Y/N demanded.

 They pulled out the taser from their utility belt that they hadn't taken off yet. The said person snarled as Y/N pulled off the blanket, taser still in hand. 

 It was a nude man with wavy black hair and brown eyes. He looked oddly similar to.. 

 "..Damien?" The D.A whispered.

The man tilted his head in confusion. 

 "Ah.. nevermind. Just.. an old friend." Y/N mumbled. "What is your name? I'm Y/N. I'm not going to hurt you." They said.

"Heehoo." He said, though it sounded more like a grunt.

Putting their taser back into their belt, they crouched down to Heehoo’s level. He snarled, but Y/N put their hand in front of him as a sign of peace.

It was like taming a cat, almost.

“Like I said, I’m not going to hurt you, so you needn’t be afraid or threatened by me.” Y/N said.

Heehoo sniffed their hand cautiously before sitting up much more calmer. 

“See? It’s alright. Do you have anywhere to go?” Y/N asked.

Heehoo tilted his head.

“Like.. somewhere to live?” They tried to explain.

Heehoo seemed to be feral, like a wild animal or a caveman. He didn’t seem to know how to say anything other than Heehoo and incoherent grunts.

Heehoo shook his head.

“..No, huh?” Y/N mumbled.

He seemed to be able to understand what they were saying and how to do small gestures, strangely.

“Y’know what? I’ll lend you a hand. I’ve been in that exact same position. Some people who you think you can trust.. aren’t always the nicest, I’ll tell you that. You can live here with me and I’ll help you become as civilized as I am. That way, you can get a home and job of your own.” Y/N said.

Heehoo’s eyes seemed to light up. 

“First of all, though, we’re going to get you some clothes on. There’s no way in hell I’m having you live in my apartment with nothing on.” Y/N said sternly. 

“Come on, boy.” Y/N said. 

Heehoo followed after them.

Looking through their drawer and closet, they pulled out a pair of boxers, shorts, and a tan sweater. 

“This should do it. Thanks to my guardians for the extra clothes, heh.” They laughed to themself.

“What do you think?” They asked.

He answered with a grunt of happiness. 

“Alright, then.” Y/N smiled.

They helped him to put on the clothes. 

“That’s much better. Now.. come up here on the bed. We need to lay out some things.” Y/N said, patting the soft sheets of the bed.

Heehoo jumped onto the bed like a cat. Y/N suppressed the urge to giggle.

“So! I’ll be teaching you how to act like a proper human, basically. I won’t be home all day for five out of the seven days though. I’ve still got my job as an officer, after all. My days as an attorney may be over, but I’ve still got to find some way to pay for the bills.” Y/N explained. 

“I do expect you to be good though. Y’know, don’t wreck the place while I’m gone. Don’t hurt yourself or anyone else, either.” Y/N said. 

Heehoo nodded in understanding.

“We’ll work on training. Luckily, today’s a Friday, so we’ve got the weekend to start off.” Y/N said. 

Yawning, Y/N stretched. “We’ll work on that tomorrow, though. Where do you want to sleep, pal?” 

Heehoo leapt off of the bed and snuggled up in the corner where they found him. 

Y/N realized why he liked that corner so much. There was a heater there. It was March, after all. He had to have been freezing.

Funny.. Damien was always cold easy too. 

Y/N mentally slapped themself.

Now isn’t the time to be thinking about that.

Really, when is the time to be thinking about him? 

They knew that he was long gone, but they couldn’t help to think back.

To their university days, days spent in their flower fields, and..

that fateful night.

Luckily, Y/N wouldn’t have to ever look at Mark’s face again, but it still hurt.

They were snapped out of their thoughts when they heard snoring.

Heehoo was fast asleep.

Right, focus on the present.

..

Steps forward. 

[pebblee-penguin]

Hai @ficsandgiggles !! I'm your squealing santa!!! I hope you enjoy your fic, and happy holidays!

And thank you to @ticklygiggles for organizing all this!! <3

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

(A post-Unus Annus tickle fic!! Lee!Ethan and Ler!Mark, platonic.)

Ethan is nervous because he thinks that since Unus Annus is dead, no one will remember him or his channel. Mark seeks ways to comfort him

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

It was a couple days after Christmas and Mark had invited a couple friends over, safely. Some of his “YouTuber friends” took the C0vid test, and all tested negative so they got together, still being as safe as possible. Along with Ethan, Mark had the entirety of “Teamiplier” and more. Everyone was thankfully safe beforehand, and afterwards.

The others had left for some personal business, but Ethan stayed for a bit longer, not entirely motivated to drive home by himself. Mark was used to having Ethan around his home. Thanks to Unus Annus, Ethan felt like a roommate to him every once in a while. And he didn’t mind! As much as he made fun of Ethan, the two were best friends.

Ethan helped Mark and Amy clean up after the dinner. Amy had noticed Ethan’s eyes began to look wet, and seemed like he wasn’t doing okay.

“Hey, uh–would it be okay if I sat down f-for a moment. I’m—feeling dizzy.”

The other two looked up from their work and nodded.

“Yeah sure, go sit down.” Mark motioned his head towards the couch.

“Thanks..” Ethan sat on Mark’s couch with his hands on his forehead. Mark immediately got back to cleaning up. Amy smacked his arm.

“He’s clearly not feeling well. You should go talk to him.” she whispered.

“He seems..fine. I thought he was just dizzy...”

“Something’s on his mind. Just–go!”

“I don’t want you to hafta clean up everything by yourself-” he whined.

“I’ll be fine, just go talk to him.” she smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she nudged him towards his friend. Mark smiled and headed towards Ethan.

Ethan heard footsteps coming toward him, so he quickly wiped his eyes and masked a slight smile for Mark.

“W-What’s up?” he stuttered, hoping his friend wouldn’t notice his current condition.

“What do you mean what’s up? Somethings not okay with you. Do you feel sick or something?” Mark sat down next to his friend. He was genuinely concerned. He didn’t want Ethan to feel bad.

“No, not sick.. Just…..tired. I guess..” He smiled, truly trying to be considerate, he shoved his emotions down inside himself to not burden anyone else. “I feel fine, Mark. Don’t worry about it.”

“You do not feel fine. I’m here to help! We can talk if you’d like. I just wanna help.” Mark’s eyes were locked on Ethan’s, making no error in showing him that he wanted to help. Ethan scoffed a bit and  looked away.

“I’m fine..just don't worry about it-”

Mark sighed. He hated seeing his friend feel down.

"Tell you what. Can I at least try to make you feel better, however you're feeling?" He raised his eyebrows, feeling determined to make sure Ethan could go back to being his best self.

"Yeah..sure." he chuckled slightly.

"Good. That's all I need." Mark ran past the kitchen for a moment, then ran back dog in hand.

"Heh, hi Beeks." He ruffled the top of Chica's fluffy face. Mark's eyes widened at Ethan's lack of emotion.

"Really?? Chica can't even help?" He put Chica's paws on Ethan's leg and pretended that Chica had a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling it!" Ethan threw his hands in the air for a moment. Mark stared at him, ideas flowing through his head for what could work even better than shoving a dog in his face.

"C'monnn! C'moooooon~" Mark cood while poking all around Ethan's torso. "I just wanna heeeeelp~"

Ethan swatted Mark's hands away. Mark noticed the slight grin forming on Ethan's face. He was attempting to hold down the bubbly giggles in his chest.

"Ohohoh... I got an idea to make yous feel bettah~" Mark used his 'Yancy' voice, indicating a playful tone towards Ethan.

"Mahark, don't you dare. It's not the time for this-" Instead of getting up from the couch, he began to shrink himself in to the couch's corner. With the realization that this idea wouldn't be the greatest, he continued executing it.

"Ohhhohoh I think it IS the time for this~" Mark playfully wiggled his fingers towards the younger man's stomach.

"Nohohoho!!" Ethan sunk further into the couch. As far as he could until Mark's fingers barely made contact with his quivering stomach.

"Yes!" Mark pounced and dug his clawed hands into Ethan's sides. Ethan twitched and squirmed as if he just got electrocuted, laughing hysterically.

"NAHAHA YOHOHOU AHAHAHASS-" He writhed and locked his arms in a position that almost made him look like he was operating a jetpack.

"Ass? I'm trying to help you out! Trying to make you feel better! I don't even know the reason for the horrid feeling has overcome you!" Mark's clawed hands scribbled over to the side of Ethan's ribs, Making Ethan's loud giggles go up an octave.

"NAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MAHAHAHARK QUIHIHIHIHIT IHIHIHIT-" Ethan jolted again to the side.

"Nnnope! I'm gonnnnnnnnaaaaa......tickle your tummy! Tickle tickle!! Tickle tickle tickle!!" Mark's teasy voice was one Ethan had never heard before, but was enjoying thoroughly.

Through Ethan's incoherent giggles, Mark could barely understand all of what he was saying except for a mere "whyhyhyhy".

Ethan's major giggle fest was urging Ethan to fall off the couch. Before Ethan could 'escape' in any way, Mark thrusted his leg between Ethans' to keep him in place.

"Nuh-uh-uh~" Mark clicked. "I will sit here and tickle the information out of you if I have tooo~"

Ethan had no time to retaliate when he was at Mark's mercy once again. The tickling fingers moved and began vibrating at the crevice of Ethan's neck.

"FAAAHAHAHAHAHAHACK NAAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Ethan screamed as his hands moved to try to push away Mark from his sensitive neck. The two could even hear Amy giggling at them from the kitchen.

"AAAHAHAHAHAHAMY AHAHARE YOHOHOU ENJOHOYIHING THIHIHIS-" Ethan squealed to her from across the room.

"Am I doin' good Amy?" Mark began attacking Ethan's exposed underarms, from blocking his neck.

"You're doing great hunny!" Amy giggled again from the kitchen.

"YOOHOHOU TWOHOHOHO SHUHUT UHUHUP" Ethan's laughter grew twice as loud, and thrice as joyous. Mark chuckled at his friend who was clearly smiling. Not just from the tickling sensations, but he seemed to be feeling a lot better than before.

After what seemed like hours, but was really about 20 minutes in all, Mark slowed his tickles down to slight scratches on Ethan's back. Ethan, who was laying face down on the couch now, was giggling, almost sleepily.

"You feelin' any better? You ready to talk?" Mark moved so Ethan could sit up and breathe if he needed to.

"Yeah, I feel better." He grinned. "But..do we hafta talk about shit?"

“Come on, I really want to help whatever you’re going through. Please?” Mark nodded his head, showing that he was being serious.

Ethan saw Mark’s intent, and unraveled his feelings.

“I’m just having a bit of a harder time with Unus Annus. I’m fine with it being over, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad..but it’s making me feel like I’ve been forgotten already.” He looked down, avoiding eye contact. What he was feeling seemed so silly, so inconvenient. He didn’t know why this made him anxious, it normally never did. Mark’s eyes widened.

“Man are you serious? You’ve got literally nothing to worry about! Your fans absolutely adore you! You've got touring plans! You just hit 2 mil!! That’s a win in my book!” He pat Ethan’s shoulders.

“I know, I know! And I’m nothing but thankful! But.. I just feel like ever since Unus Annus is gone....people are forgetting about me already. Views have gone down and likes have gone down and ‘hate comments’ have gone up and all sorts of shit like that! And I know it’s petty to just think about views, but to be honest it kind of hurts my feelings. Which is really stupid.”

Mark understood Ethan’s feelings. It’s hard to feel unfulfilled. It’s hard to feel forgotten. He’s had times like that too.

“Hey, no one is forgetting about you. If anything Unus Annus probably boosted your channel!” he chuckled unharshly. Ethan sighed.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I really think you’ve got nothing to be worried about. Honestly, I see you working harder than ever now that Unus Annus is dead. And you’re making so much progress. You’re progressing faster than I hoped to have when I was where you are. You’re doing so much, and your fans love you. You’re amazing, man.” Ethan looked up and smiled at Mark.

“Damn, that really means a lot to me. Thanks Mark.” he smiled widely.

"No problem, you ticklish dork." He ruffled Ethan's hair like a child. "And thanks to you for being ticklish enough for me to get you to talk." He winked and Ethan chuckled.

“No problem, asshole.”

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

Wow! This is the first full fic I've written and posted to tumblr! I hope yall like it!! :D xx

[luminary-gremlin]

Illinois’ Escape Room

"ILLINOIS, GET YER BOOTY BACK HERE AND PAY THE PRICE FOR TRYIN' TO CHEAT OUT OL CAPTAIN MAGNUM"

Magnum's voice boomed through the manor. You see he and Illinois made a bet on who could escape their escape room faster and when Magnum finished his course he had found Illinois waiting for him, but discovered he cheated by not going in at all!

"Old may be right old man!" Illinois shouted as he ran, cutting corners and slipping past others while Magnum caught up to him with his long stride. Illinois was just about to turn another corner when he felt like he ran into a wall.

Illinois made the mistake of running into the tea room where Author, Unus, and Annus sat. He had accidentally knocked over a tea pot, prompting Author to use his powers to prevent it from spilling and made Illinois run into a wall before Magnum barged in. He swore, if he didn't know Magnum had experienced his escape room he would have narrated him to it.

Magnum grinned as he held a squirming Illinois spouting about how unfair it was, "Thanks Author, ye saved me the trouble of tearing the manor apart!"

Author hummed as he sipped his tea, "Don't make me change my mind and go after you, Captain."

Magnum nodded and carried the explorer to the escape room and set him in front of the door.

"Look, Magnum buddy. I swear I was gonna go but i thought about it and since I know you were having so much fun I thought to give you a practice round!" Illinois lied through his teeth to try and slip away, not that he didn't want to do this, but more so embarrassed. He always kept a cool, cocky head about things and was embarrassed at the thought of being hysterical after his cool facade.

Magnum smirked and opened the door, giving Illinois a reassuring pat, which in turned pushed him in, "Don't worry, now you'll get all the time to practice! Oops!"

Illinois fell into a soft landing of leaves, it seemed his room was jungle themed. Illinois hummed in thought as to what challenges was in for him. But now was not a time to dilly dally. The room was decent in size, he could see the exit so it wasn't like this was an entire new world, that's what King's forest is for.

Illinois took a step before jumping back when he saw feathers poke out from the walls and the floor before retreating when he lifted his bare foot. There were several panels of different types of animals on the floor and it seems stepping on the wrong one will trigger a tickly trap. Illinois smirked, he already was loving this. He closed his eyes and took a blind step before squealing when feathers slid between his toes and started wiggling.

Illinois cackled and reluctantly pulled his foot up, since the feathers would have to slide between his toes again to retreat. Illinois was shocked that his luck was not on his side until realizing that whatever magic he has is cancelled out and he was going to actually figure out puzzles like before he found his luck.

Illinois hummed as he thought to himself, which of these does not belong? There was a lion, a snake, a cat, a mouse, and a hawk. Perhaps the hawk is the one out because it has wings? Or the snake that no feet or arms? The cat because it is small? No because there is the mouse...and then he got an idea. He placed his foot down on the mouse panel, and nothing happened.

"Right, cause the mouse is the only one that isn't a predator! It's....prey."

Illinois groaned at the meaning that in this room he was going to be prey before stepping on all the mouse panels, but as he went on some of the panels were covered woth feathers, making it tickly and hard to see. Illinois giggled and covered his mouth as the feathers teased his soles while crossing  before finally reaching the end of the panels.

Illinois noticed in front of the door was a golden statue of some kind of beast. He assumed his challenge was to grab the treasure and escape without his natural luck on his side.

However, one trial stood in the way of his treasure. A handleless bridge covered with fluff hovering over a pit of goo that looked like acid, but i assure you it was not. Host and Google would never put anything in that could cause actual danger. Instead it was a gelatin monster ready to catch the explorer.

Illinois noticed across the bridge seemed to be a very obvious switch and to the side of him were two pails of water on a stick. Illinois thought to himself that perhaps the switch was weighted or needed to be held down and so lifted the stick over his shoulders and rested on his neck as he slowly crossed the bridge. He scrunched his feet to make the steps tickle less so he could get across. But he had one other obstacle coming into his peripheral vision.

The gelatin monster piled on itself to view the explorer and was so eager to play. It began to wiggle a nub over his unprotected side, making the man jerk a little in reaction and nearly lose his balance, with one hand he carried the stick holding the buckets and gently pushed away the nub until it poked his other side.

"Hehehey now, quihihit it. Ihi know you're just adohohoring to see me but I gohohotta keep going sweetheart!"

The monster whined and kept nudging his sides to try and make the cool explorer fall to play before tracing his hips. Now Illinois was in trouble. He cackled and writhed around  desperately while crossing the bridge, nearly losing his balance. You could say Illinois deserves to fall into a tickly demise for tricking Magnum but i'd say root for the man.

Illinois nearly fell at the end and took a leap of faith, thankfully landing on the floor, he rested the buckets down and wiped his brow before hearing a sad gurgle. The man spun around to see a sad gelatin and sighed and reached out his hand, the monster gladly nuzzled into it and could give puppy eyes if it had eyes.

"Ah don't worry sweetheart, maybe next time....i.....i pinky promise" Illinois muttered that last part and held his pinky, which was then covered by tingly gelatin. Illinois had a promise, and this time he intended to keep it. What can he say, he loved the playful little booger.

Illinois then made his way to the treasure. Now you might expect a Indiana Jones reference with switching the statue out with something of equal weight but something spurred inside Illinois. He had thought about his journey. How he relied on his good luck not allowing him to be touched or trapped. He was so embarrassed at the thought of being hysterical that he forgot the joy of it.

That tingly feeling all around your body, the feeling of pure helplessness yet the comfort that came with it. The whole reason of this room was to remind him of what his love of exploring was really about, the danger!

Illinois hovered over the statue, looking around to see what could possibly happen. A ball of fluff to chase after him? Perhaps some of the egos dressed up as a tribe that he has to run away from? Perhaps it's a curse that will trap his hands at the statue as hands poke out from the walls to tickle him until time runs out! He lifted the statue up over his head and the door opened. Illinois got excited and ran out ready for a run for his lifetime and....ran into Magnum.

Illinois was confused and looked around to find he was in the manor again, a twing of disappointment filled his guts, "w-wait, that's it? That's the escape room?"

Magnum chuckled and patted his back, "Mhm! From the looks of it ye were having fun, and I hope ye learned yer lesson about making deals and promises."

Illinois bit his lip and looked back, "Yeah, speaking of promises there is one I need to keep!"

Illinois ran back to the entrance like a little kid and jumped into the door, falling into a bush with a laugh. When he opened his eyes, he found the room entirely changed! Now there was a stone slide puzzle just barely above his head with two holes where his hips would be. Some very attractive spirits awaited by the treasure surrounded by a cage, flexing their long nails and their little ghost tails, and of course, the gelatin monster who wiggled happily to see him, holding not just one key, but a bundle of random keys that he has to swim through. Illinois couldn't be more happy as he haphhazardly walked across some soft grassy brush which vibrated under his feet.

[breakingsomething]

Fall Crickets - Part One

Basic summary: What would you do if you had a year left to live? This is the question that Mark and Ethan's newest creations are asking themselves after they discover the catch in their creation - they were given an expiration date.

Content warnings: discussions of car accidents and death, murder, violence, and cannibalism mentions, manipulation

[365:00:00:00]

In the beginning, they know three things. The clock, the channel, and each other.

The two of them are born with closed eyes, hands gripping the others tightly, knees already weak and heads spinning. The first thing the older entity sees when they blink in the light is pale blue eyes and white skin and a silky black suit, spotless and expensive. Parted pink lips and brown, wavy hair falling into a thin face. Haunting, in a sense. From the way they stare at them, the entity could see the other thinks the same of them.

"Who are you?" croaks the being in black. Their voice is hoarse, their Adam's apple bobbing in their throat. "I… head, I -"

Their legs give out, and the other entity follows immediately, grateful to have something to hold onto. Neither being has let go of the others hands. In fact, their grips have tightened, and they seem to drink each other in desperately, shivering with cold and fear.

"I do not… remember much of anything," murmurs the first entity. They look down at their hands; darker than the black being's, and their sleeves are a crisp white instead. A glance at their chest, their legs, tells them they're wearing a fine snowy suit with a vest and tie to match. They can feel something in the pockets. "Who are we, and... why?"

It's then that they glance around themselves. They seem to be in a rather fancy looking room, with white walls and pale cream curtains covering a window that shines through with light. A set of glossy black armchairs sit in front of it, right next to the two entities, and a white rug is sprawled out across the dark wood floor. The two of them turn in unison, and catch sight of the cameras; tall and complex, with mics and lights set up like something is being filmed. On the floor sits a laptop that's open to a page already. The white suited entity glances at the black one, and notices two more things.

"Your suit," they say, and note how their voice is smooth and deep, more certain than the other's. "You have the word "Unus" imprinted on the front. And you… you have a timer above your head."

The other entity's hands immediately release theirs and fly to their chest, running over the stitched embroidery, and then above their head, where the timer floats perfectly above them. Their pale hands pass through the numbers, the black numbers that read "364:23:57:32." Days, hours, minutes, seconds. As they watch, the numbers tick, tick, tick downwards. 31. 30. 29. 28.

"Annus," whispers the black entity. They lower their hands slowly and tap the black entity's chest, drawing attention to the inscription on their suit. "And you have a timer too. White. It says -"

"364:23:57:10," they chorus together. Their voices, so different, seem to fit together. Like they were made to sing one song. Blue eyes sparkle in the white entity's vision. They can't look away from them.

It takes a moment for them to draw away from each other and crawl unprofessionally over to the open laptop on the ground. They're greeted by a tab entitled "YouTube - Unus Annus." The names from their suits, say their eyes when they glance at each other. The header of the page is decorated with a black and white spiral, and there is only one video. Annus immediately recognizes Unus, in their black suit and white skin and waves of dark hair. But who… Oh. This other entity must be themself. Tan and bold, less skinny and small than Unus, black hair swept back from dark eyes. They're beautiful. A hand has found theirs, and they squeeze it without even thinking.

"Us?" Annus says softly, puzzled. They take a sharp intake of breath. "That is us, I think, Unus. Looks like us."

Unus shifts almost uncomfortably. "Do we watch? Why do I remember nothing of who we are or how we got here?"

Annus shakes their head. "Neither do I."

It's then that someone appears in the open doorway. A slim person who is also in a suit, this one mostly black with a white shirt and red tie, with a mess of wavy hair half pulled into a small bun. Tan skin and red-blue eyes, black tattoos etched into their skin. Annus squints. They look almost… like themself.

"Good morning," says the person in the doorway, a soft smile gracing their lips. "I take it you will be our newest -" Their gaze falls on Unus, and their warmth dims. "You do not look like us."

Unus blinks in confusion, struggling to get to their feet while still holding Annus's hand. Annus follows, and they stand before the tattooed person almost awkwardly. Unus clears their throat. "Pardon our… intrusion, my friend. We are not quite sure how we arrived here, and we seem to have found -"

"Yes, let me guess," the tattooed one starts, holding up a jewelry coated hand to stop them. "A video on Mark's channel, featuring yourselves. I am… not sure what the smaller one of you is doing here, but we shall welcome you all the same. Now, let us see your video, so I may get a better idea of what you are and what you do."

The entities step back as the other one comes forward. Annus opens their mouth to speak. "May I ask what we should call you? I believe our names are Unus and Annus. They seem to fit right."

The tattooed one pauses. "Unus and Annus," they murmur, tapping their chin. "Well, I go by many names, in many languages from many cultures. I believe the two of you may wish to know me as Tenebris." They extend a hand to shake. Unus and Annus use the hands they aren't holding the others with to shake back, silent. "At your service. Now, let us see this video…"

Tenebris picks the laptop gently off the floor, carrying it to one of the black armchairs that the entities spawned next to. Already they're frowning. "This does not make sense," they murmur, thick eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "This is not the correct channel. Were you made as a joke, like so many of them?" They suddenly look up as if remembering Unus and Annus are there, then pats the seat beside them. "Come, sit. This is very important for the two of you."

They do so. Tenebris is flicking through the channel, mumbling to themself, then taking a deep sigh. "Oh, dear. It looks as though the two of you are involved in Mark's latest project, which he is seemingly doing with another man, his friend Ethan - hence you." They look Unus right in the eyes. Something sad dances in them. "Oh, dear."

"Who is Mark?" Annus pipes up. Their chest feels strangely tight. "What project? Explain, why are we here?"

Tenebris blinks, their eyes falling back down to the screen. They look exhausted, like they haven't slept in weeks. Instead of answering, or maybe as an answer, they read.

""What would you do if you only had a year left to live?"" they begin, voice softer now, lighter. ""Would you squander the time you had left? Or would you make every second count?""

Their eyes flutter closed. ""Welcome to Unus Annus.""

Unus squeezes Annus's hand. They don't turn to look at them.

""In exactly 365 days,"" Tenebris continues, though how they're reading with their eyes closed is beyond the two entities. ""This channel will be deleted along with all the daily uploads accumulated since then. Nothing will be saved. Nothing will be reuploaded. This is your one chance to join us at the onset of our adventure. To be there from the start. To make every second count. Subscribe now and relish what little time we have left or have the choice made for you as we disappear from existence forever. But remember… everything has an end."" They pause, and open their eyes. ""Even you.""

Annus can't breathe. They don't lower their gaze, however, staring straight ahead with a steely glint in their eyes. Unus's grip on their hand loosens, just slightly.

"Mark and his friend," Tenebris says sharply, something dark in their voice, something furious. "Have given the two of you a death sentence."

[364:15:22:18]

They feel far calmer about this than they should.

Tenebris, to their credit, tries. They offer to introduce the entities to "the others" - more poor souls created by this same Mark person. Annus asks if they also are ticking time bombs, given expiration dates for which to go off. Tenebris sadly murmurs a no. Annus then nods, and politely asks for them and Unus to be left alone until they can adjust themselves. Tenebris leaves them, although their gaze seems to linger on the two of them as they go.

Now they're sitting on a roof. Neither is quite sure how they got here - they don't remember walking upstairs, but the times above their heads are the same, so they must have arrived quickly - but it doesn't matter, because they're both together. From here, the world is beautiful. They seem to have spawned in some sort of mansion, with a pool and garden and golf course and even an enormous chessboard down below, somewhere in the middle of the mountains. Around them, all they see is fog and rock and trees and sky and stars. Somewhere far off, lights dance. A city. Annus dimly wonders if Mark and Ethan, their reckless creators, are out there. They hear fall crickets sing loudly, searching for something in the dark.

"A year," Unus says aloud. Their voice is high, yet stable. Their eyes are trained on the far off lights. Maybe thinking the same thing as Annus. "We have a year to live, Annus."

"Mhm," the white entity agrees, trailing their fingers across the rooftop material. They're not quite sure when they let go of Unus's hand.

Unus looks at them. Something sparkles in their gaze. "A year is a long time," they say loudly, confidently. "A whole year. That is - that is such a long time, my friend! A whole year! What do you think of that, Annus? A year to do whatever we want!"

Annus takes a moment. One year. They still have so much time, don't they? So much time. What is there to worry about? 365 days is a great many days to spend being alive.

"A year," they nod back, and a grin cracks their face. "We have plenty of time. No need to start mourning now."

Unus's face lights up at Annus's agreement, and the two of them bask in the warmth for a moment. Because of course a year is such a long time. Why spend the days worrying? They should live instead.

Annus takes Unus's hand and they watch the stars.

[360:20:59:45]

They start to learn things.

First of all. Mark and Ethan, true to their promise, upload daily on the channel. Unus and Annus watch every video. It helps for them to know what their creators are up to, to know if they'll do anything else stupid that will affect the two of them. But no, it seems they're simply having a lot of fun - in the first few days alone, they cook a meal with the most unsavory of appliances, pour warm water in their nostrils, attempt to eat a great deal of hot dogs all at once, and create a homemade sensory deprivation tank. In all honesty, this amuses Unus more than anything. "Let them have their fun," they tell Annus one day, a playful grin on their face. "They have their year, we have ours. We do not need to concern ourselves with their ridiculous antics all the time!"

It does bother them that Mark and Ethan own suits identical to theirs, and seem to enjoy pretending to be them in certain videos. They would appear in front of a black and white spiral, talking seriously about time running out and video subscriptions - something Unus and Annus find ridiculous. "They wish they were us," is all Annus says to Unus about it. "Foolish idiots."

The two of them are also, gradually, introduced to the rest of Mark's creations. After a couple days of continuing to be introduced to more and more, Unus starts realizing why Tenebris was so nonchalant about them showing up. Mark is reckless, it seems. Very, very much so.

One of Mark's older creations, a man named Caleb, who everyone apparently calls "Silver" or "Argentum" as a nickname, tells them a bit more. "Mark has always been a little uncaring about who or what he creates," he says to them as they walk through the gardens, admiring the flowers that were allegedly planted entirely by the man known as the Host, who is blind and mutters narrations under his breath as he hurries around, dropping papers behind him. Annus picked up one of his sheets one day and refused to tell Unus what was on it, eyes blown wide. The others are very strange. "However, he doesn't know he has the power of creation, so we give him the benefit of the doubt."

Annus looks up sharply, startling Unus, who had been lost in thought staring at the flowers. "He does not know? How?"

Argentum sighs, tapping his hands on his dark blue jean pockets. Unus, ever unable to concentrate, stares at a red stain on the man's green plaid shirt as he talks. "A long, long fuckin' time ago, shit happened with Mx Dark - who you know as Tenebris, I believe - and Wilford. I don't know if you've met him - pink themed, mustache, bow tie and suspenders?"

Unus and Annus nod. Wilford was odd - calling Annus "Damien," and asking if Unus was there to serve them ice cream. Argentum nods with them, seemingly relieved he has one less thing to explain. "Right, well. They're the only two here who technically weren't created by Mark. A long time ago, like a hundred years or so, they were friends with some guy who was fucked up and did fucked up shit or something like that. He died over and over again, but always came back. Dark and Wilford chased him for years as the guy bounced from host to host… but now we're here. He's clung to Mark as a host and seemingly gave him creation powers. Mark isn't aware." Argentum shrugs at the entity's awestruck looks. "That's all I know. But now, whenever Mark makes Youtube videos that feature characters - and trust me, there's a lot of them - another one of us appears."

Unus has a great deal of questions about that. But Annus speaks first. "Then how did Unus get here?" they ask, gently knocking against the black entity's shoulder. "Does this Ethan have the same powers?"

Argentum looks uncomfortable. They walk slowly over to the wall that looks down on the forest below, extending into the mountains, and leans against it. "I dunno," he mutters, adjusting his glasses on his face. "Dark doesn't know either, but they don't seem too concerned, so it should be fine."

Unus clicks their tongue. "Weird," they whisper, then looks to Annus and giggles. But Annus isn't looking back. They're staring right at Argentum, and their eyes are dark as they bore into the back of the man's head.

"This man," they say, and Unus notices them clenching their fists tightly, then loosening them, then tightening them again. "This man who is possessing Mark, who's giving him these strange powers - how old is he?"

Argentum turns and shrugs, glancing at the leather strapped watch around his wrist. "'Bout a hundred or so. He lived in this very house, once, this mansion where we all live now. Achieved immortality or something and is off bothering humans like the bastard he is. We try to stay out his way."

Annus breathes unsteadily for a moment. Unus, unsure of what's wrong, takes their friend's hand. Annus jumps, then looks down. Unus tries to smile and look reassuring. The older entity seems to sag.

"Alright," they say, like nothing had happened. "Thank you, Argentum. It was pleasant talking to you."

Argentum looks up, puzzled. "But aren't you going to see the rest...of the... garden."

He's alone by the time his eyes have left the clock.

[325:09:17:16]

The entities, they discover, are not bound to the House like they had thought they were.

"Of course you can go outside of here," says seventeen year old Ayano, a small Japanese-Korean girl who is also apparently one of Mark's. "None of us particularly have to stay here, except for the Attorney. They stay in the mirror on the bottom floor."

Unus doesn't question that. They don't question much of anything anymore. "I was not aware that we could leave," they admit sheepishly, shrugging in a motion that they learned from Erik, the socially anxious boy with the yellow handkerchief who had run from the entities on their first meeting. They had made only a little progress since then. "Do you often go visit the humans down the mountain?"

Ayano tilts her head, and Unus unconsciously follows the motion. This makes the girl smirk slightly, and she brushes a scruffy red fringe out her eyes and draws her knees to her chest on the kitchen sideboard where she's sitting. "I'm homeschooled, so I have no reason to. Or, if Edward asks you, I have no reason to." Her brown eyes glint mischievously, and she lowers her voice. "I like to go check out the American boys at the nearby school."

Annus snorts. Unus ignores them. "Right, right... good to know. Thank you, Ayano. We may go down soon."

Ayano twirls her hand and says nothing. Unus and Annus leave the room, barely dodging one of the four coloured robots with the G's on their chests that often walk the house. Annus speaks before Unus can. "So," they start, grinning in the same way Ayano had. The mischief in their head shines through their eyes. "Do you want to go visit some humans?"

[325:08:53:00]

Tenebris's manor, it turns out, isn't too far up the mountain from the city below. In fact, given Unus and Annus's strange ability to seemingly teleport occasionally without meaning to, they get down pretty quick. It's only once they start coming across more humans, however, that things begin to feel different.

They're on a large street now, surrounded by shops and other roads and a bike rack and bins and what looked like a courthouse not far off and people, lots and lots of them, surrounding them completely. Annus can't help but feel curious. Humans, without timers on their heads. They wonder how long these people have to live. They wonder if they themselves look like they are near death. If people would act any differently if so.

They jump, however, when they realize Unus is talking. "Annus," they hiss softly, knocking the back of their hand against theirs. Annus notices they also look slightly overwhelmed, paler than usual, gnawing at their bottom lip. "This is weird - do you agree this is weird?"

Annus nods, grateful that they're not the only one having strange thoughts. "I know, right? Because there are so many people around us right now, and we were talking about how unlucky it is that we were created with an expiration date, but honestly? There could be someone here who could die within the next ten minutes. We are lucky we have a year, a whole year, because even though we could have had more, we also could have had so much less and it is beautiful how life works that we -"

"Actually," Unus interrupts, grimacing slightly. "I meant it is weird that no one is questioning the suits. Or the magic floating timers."

Annus deflates slightly. "Seriously? Tenebris literally told us that there is a magic called the Veil which manipulates the senses of humans to believe that we are completely normal. They gave us the rundown on all the different magics just yesterday."

Unus pauses. "Oh," they say, sounding faintly embarrassed. "I was not listening. Apologies."

Annus rolls their eyes. Already they're going back to thinking, and maybe it's bad to have so many philosophical thoughts in their head all at once, especially so early in the day - so they're lucky when Unus interrupts yet again. "So what do we do now? Mark and Ethan do odd things because they have a year left to live. Should we?"

That's a thought Annus had considered. "We do not have to be like them. They have decided to live ridiculously for their last year. It is completely undignified. There is no need for us to lose any respect we may have from Tenebris or the others simply for a bit of… whatever it is that Mark and Ethan get out of being idiots."

Unus, it seems, has stopped listening. Without Annus even noticing, they have slipped into the doorway of a nearby shop and grabbed something before immediately darting out again, falling into quick step beside them. They grin at the disbelieving Annus, proudly holding a bag of pink and white marshmallows in their hands.

"You completely just stole that," Annus says, stunned.

Unus shrugs. "Eh, no one saw. Somehow. This Veil thing really does work wonders. Say, Annus -" They pop open the bag, cramming a marshmallow into their mouth before holding it out to their friend. "Do you think we have magic like Tenebris's or Wilford's? We can sometimes do something close to teleportation, yes, but that is not exactly the kind of magic I -"

Annus holds up their hands, pausing in their tracks. "Hang on. Are we going to completely skip over the part where you stole a bag of marshmallows?"

Unus also stops, widening their eyes in a motion of mock shock. "I did, didn't I! How fantastic! I do wonder if I will be arrested!"

They almost skip ahead, humming to themself, the timer ticking noiselessly above their head.

[301:20:45:01]

To the entities, Mark and Ethan are an embarrassing mockery of humankind, and a childish, disgusting one as well.

"Bugs," Unus grimaces. The two of them aren't even watching the video in which the youtubers ate bugs; they're sitting in one of the dimly lit rooms Tenebris assigned for them, Annus's one, and watching today's video, which is about salsa dancing. But Unus hasn't shut up about the bugs since it happened. "Annus, I cannot get the bugs out my head."

Annus sighs. "They also ate Play-Doh and drank each other's piss, Unus."

"A whole bug head. He ripped it right off."

Annus pauses the video and turns to face Unus seriously. "We get it. They ate bugs. They are gross. Why are you so stuck on the bug thing, anyway?"

Unus leans back in his seat, slumping against the glossy pleather and sighing dramatically. "He tore the bugs whole head right off, Annus. Can you imagine?"

The room is silent for a few moments before Unus's dreamy expression wears off and they open their eyes to meet Annus's unimpressed glare. "What?" they say, throwing up their hands. "I just admire him."

"You are not supposed to admire him," Annus says through gritted teeth. Their shoes are tapping off the floor; they can't seem to stop it. "They are both fools and will likely get themselves killed before the year is up. What is there to admire? Their lack of survival skills?"

Unus bobs their head from side to side, staring at the paused screen. "They have fun. All we do is walk around and talk. The marshmallow stealing I did was the most fun I have had so far."

Annus's room is rather empty. There is a bed they don't use, because sleep is nothing to them, as they've learned, and there are white curtains over a large window, and there is a red rug and black wardrobe and a bedside table with a knife-carved spiral in it. Annus insists they don't care for mortal belongings and that physical objects mean nothing to them. Really, they think they're just scared to own anything, but they won't admit this to Unus. Especially now, when the emptiness seems to stretch, far beyond the room and into Annus's chest, tightening painfully. Something in them aches. The timer above Unus's head ticks, ticks, ticks without sound. Annus wishes there was sound. Tick. Tick. Tick.

"What sort of fun," Annus hisses, dangerously low. "Do you wish to have?"

Unus doesn't pick up on the danger in their voice. "Anything. We are wasting our time like this, Annus."

Annus closes their eyes. "We have all year," they murmur. "We will make the most of it. We have all year."

Unus hums. They say nothing more. Their thoughts are loud, however, and Annus almost drowns in them.

They unpause the video.

[292:17:22:10]

Los Angeles is big. There are lots of places for someone to hide, should they wish to.

Annus never wants to be separate from Unus, they don't. But today they are. It's for their own good. Of course it's for their own good. It's silly to get attached to someone who's going to die, and maybe Unus needs a reminder of that.

It wasn't hard to get Mark's address. And that wasn't even the scary part. No, no, that wasn't the scary part. Annus knows what the scary part will be.

Mark, when Annus sees him, is smaller than they expected.

Not in terms of physical size. Physically, they're identical. No, it's the way Mark carries himself. He raises himself, tall and bold, but Annus sees what he hides behind. Not a lack of confidence. Not an unsureness. It's something more, and they can't quite pin it. But Mark feels small. Annus feels powerful. Annus feels big.

Mark is tired. Annus can feel it. The man is dressed in a pair of joggies and a white hoodie - merch for the channel, which makes Annus's heart rate spike with anger. Mark's hair sticks up at the back, like he's just awoken from sleep at six am. His glasses are crooked. His eyes are brighter than Annus's. Something about that aches.

Mark makes toast. Annus waits for him to see them.

And when Mark turns, when Mark's bright, keen eyes widen, when his mouth falls open and his plate slips from his hand and shatters on the floor next to his bare feet, Annus is ready. Annus is beside Mark before he knows it, a hand on the back of his neck, one hand over his mouth. Annus smiles. They can see the spirals in their black eyes reflected in their creator's glasses.

"Shh, shh," they soothe, pushing Mark's hair back from his face. "Good job. Quiet now, Mark. Quiet."

Time is strange. It flows in one direction at the speed of 24 hours per day, 1440 minutes per day, 86400 seconds per day. Annus is suddenly aware of all of it. They are aware of the over 11,200 days, the 270,000 hours, the 16,00,000 minutes, the 966,080,000 seconds that Mark has been alive. They are suddenly aware of all of it.

Life feels strange in their hands.

[291:11:56:58]

Unus Annus uploads "Mark Punishes Ethan." Unus is very silent as they watch it. Annus is also silent, but for a different reason.

"That was fake, right?" Unus says in a small voice after the video's done. "Ethan edited this one. Mark wouldn't have made him edit his own - he loves Ethan, right? Annus? That was fake, right, Annus?"

"Su-ure," Annus says. Unus bites their lip.

That night, Annus watches Mark hit Ethan over and over again and remembers the feeling of Mark being putty in their hands.

[275:10:49:59]

Annus has paid Mark a few more visits. It is, they find, almost too easy, to inspire bloodlust in a previously stable man. Or was he previously stable? Annus checks Mark's eyes. They can see a past in there. Maybe Annus's work isn't far off from what Mark does to himself anyway.

On their last visit, Mark sits up and grins with a fire in his eyes.

"Clever, clever," he purrs in a voice silkier and darker than his own. "Maybe this year will last well for you yet."

When Annus leaves Mark that day, they're shaken. They track down Argentum and corner him, immediately demanding to know the name of the immortal man who had possessed Mark, the one who'd given him the power of creation as well.

"Well, funny story," Argentum says, sounding slightly nervous with the way Annus has him pinned against the wall. "Funny story, but I believe his name was Mark as well. To tell them apart, we all call immortal Mark "The Actor." Why do you ask? Annus? You don't look well. Annus? Hey, Annus?"

[255:13:15:55]

Unus is many things, but they aren't stupid.

They know Annus is visiting Mark. They just know. Watching Mark's behaviour on the channel change, hearing the blood thump in Annus's veins when their creator appears on screen - they know. They know their friend is lying. And they know they broke their promise, the mutual agreement not to speak with the men who made them.

Therefore, Unus doesn't feel bad appearing in Ethan's house at three am one day.

Ethan is strange up close. Strange, because he's so Unus-like, of course, but there are the slightest differences. Ethan has darker hair, while Unus has found theirs to be lightening. Ethan has pinker skin, while Unus is paler, grayer. Ethan's chest rises and falls as he sleeps, small, whistling breaths escaping through his teeth. Unus's chest is still, most of the time.

Ethan's eyes, when they open, are a more vibrant blue.

"Do not," Unus says immediately. Ethan shuts up. Unus glances around Ethan's cluttered room, clicking their tongue at the piles of clothes and papers and workout equipment strewn across the floor before dragging over a chair, dumping the jacket and bag that was on it to join the rest of the mess. They sit. Ethan has propped himself up on his elbows, staring, eyes wide with shaky fear. Unus likes it. They find it's almost fun to make someone afraid.

"This is a dream," they say. Their head bobs slowly, hand tapping off their knee as if to some unheard rhythm. "You are dreaming, Ethan. I am not here."

A shaky breath leaves Ethan's lips. "Not here."

"Not here," Unus agrees. They drag a hand across Ethan's forehead, smiling softly. "Not here. Are you enjoying your year, Ethan?"

Ethan hums, eyelids fluttering shut. "Mhm. Been making good use of… time, think…"

Unus raises an eyebrow. "Uh huh. Have you noticed a change in Mark lately, Ethan?"

Even as out of it as Ethan now is, he still looks slightly distressed at the question. "Y-yeah. He acts… scary, sometimes. I think it's for a bit, but then he snaps a bit. His eyes change colour. They turned, like, white the other day… I dunno if it was a bit, he didn't say…"

Unus listens. Unus goes home.

[255:11:46:09]

"You lied," is the first thing Unus says when they arrive in Annus's room. "You have been seeing Mark. Manipulating him, even. What is your deal, Mori?"

Annus had been expecting this. They are standing by the open window, staring down at the golf course next to the cliffside below, but they turn when Unus comes in. The death omen is blazing with rage. Their eyes are black and hollow, and something seems to radiate from them, something dark. Annus decides to tread carefully.

"I want to drive him and Ethan apart," they say simply. That's not entirely a lie. "Why does it matter?"

Unus shakes their head in disbelief, momentarily stunned silent. "I - Why? What do you gain from that?"

Annus finds a smirk on their face. "Entertainment!" they exclaim. This is also not a lie. "Look, Unus, Mark and Ethan abandoned us. Created us with an expiration date then left. Why not fuck about with them a bit?"

Unus lowers their arms to their sides. Their black eyes melt back into their normal white sclera and blue irises, and they sigh through their nose loud enough for Annus to hear. "You said so yourself," they say quietly. "We are lucky to have the time we do. Mark and Ethan… this is their last year before death too. We need not ruin it for them."

Annus says nothing. Unus walks over to them and hesitates before taking the other's hand, holding it gently in their own. Both of them are cold.

"Let us live, and let them live," Unus says softly. Their eyes are burning cold. Annus could drown in them. "And let us not waste time."

[234:22:55:01]

"You start with casting on," Bim says loudly, holding up the yarn and knitting needles in his hands. "This is how you turn loose yarn into neat little stitchy stitches that sit oh-so perfectly on your needle. Now -"

"May I ask," Unus interrupts, tapping his own needles together on their lap. "Why do so many of Mark's egos wear suits?"

The sun is bright today. Unus didn't expect to be sitting on a bench in the garden learning to knit with Annus and a few other egos today, but Erik had come to their rooms and asked politely, all shy, and how could one say no? So now they're soaking up the sun, practically sweating in their solid black suit, breathing heavily and swinging their legs back and forth through the warm air. Erik, sitting in the grass with Ayano and the Host (who's at his most undignified that Unus has ever seen, criss cross on a picnic blanket and somehow weaving a daisy chain with bandages over his eyes), flashes Unus a grin and answers for Bim. "He thinks he looks good," he says, voice trembling slightly, which isn't unusual for him. Erik clears his throat and adjusts his collar. "So a lot of us have… interesting outfits. Annus, you got off lightly."

"I can imagine," Annus says dryly. They wipe sweat from their forehead, groaning softly. "I have seen King once or twice around here, although he does not seem very social. One of his squirrels broke into my room the other day and tracked peanut butter all over the floor."

"Is that why you told me to stay away from your room?" Unus says, a small smile splitting their face. "Aw, Annus, you do care. Guys, they care about me!"

Annus flips them off while Erik, Ayano, and Argentum, who is laying in the grass near Annus, laugh. "I actually hate you and I am terribly glad we need only spend a year together," they say curtly, raising their chin. "You are all awful."

"Notice how they go all formal and dramatic when they are trying to be angry," Unus whispers to Ayano, who giggles. Annus rolls their eyes again.

They've only been here a few months, and already, Unus and Annus have become quite close with most of Mark's other creations. Argentum, Ayano and Erik are the most friendly ones - Argentum cooks elaborate, unusual meals for them to try, Erik leaves them little trinkets outside their doors, and Ayano is teaching them both Japanese swordfighting and self defense. The Googles are seen around on occasion. Blue prefers to stay close to Bim or King, often hiding out in the forest, and Red stays out of their way, generally. Yellow and Green are the kindest. Unus and Annus once spent an afternoon with them while Erik repaired them after a fight with Google Blue, the five of them talking for hours. Then there's Ed Edgar, who's constantly high and speaks in proverbs. He doesn't seem to mind having the entities around, but makes for rather circular conversation. The Host is weird and mysterious, which the omens enjoy. The doctor, Edward, acts as a parental figure for Erik and Ayano, and therefore tolerates Unus and Annus. He taught them some medical terminology, just for the fun of it. King prefers to stay in the forest with the squirrels, and Bim is often not home, but when he is he has blood on his sleeves and his too-sharp teeth. Bing, the other android, is athletic and funny and acts as a fitness trainer for the both of them. And the Jim brothers, CJ and RJ, are excitable, noisy and far too in love with the concept of a self destructing channel for their own good. They're teaching Unus and Annus ASL, which is fun. Honestly, the two omens are starting to learn to love it here.

Because of all the people they're sharing a home with, they've had a lot to do. Lots to learn, lots to keep up with - cooking and languages, sports and exercise… and apparently, knitting. This one was Bim's idea, and Unus was pleasantly surprised to see they have a hobby outside of cannibalism. To be honest, the death omen has no clue what they're making, but the air is warm and smells faintly like rain and barbeque and it's fun, not thinking about the clock above their head. It's fun just simply being.

"Anyway," Bim says, sounding slightly irritated from being interrupted. "To cast your yarn, you need to pinch the yarn and make a small loop, leaving a yarn tail. Grab the unattached yarn and bring it up behind the loop -"

"Why do you two have to die?"

This outburst startles everyone, and they all turn to look at Erik, who is red in the face and whose lip is quivering like he's near tears. "Sorry," he mumbles, and it seems he really is near tears, eyes sparkling. He scrubs at them fiercely with his yellow handkerchief. "I just - it's h-hard, loving people and see-seeing them d-die all the - all the time - I c-c-care about you g-guys, and I - and I - and I don't want to l-lose more people -"

The Host is already moving closer to Erik, murmuring soft reassurances into his ear. Ayano is holding him in her arms, a fierce protectiveness in her dark red eyes. Argentum dithers nearby, staring down at the boy sadly. Bim is opening his phone, suddenly silent and refusing to look up. Annus just looks uncomfortable, twisting their hands in their lap. And Unus… Unus feels something heavy sinking in their stomach, something they can't explain. Without even meaning to, they slip off the bench and to their knees next to the crying boy, which startles him enough that he looks up. Unus and Erik stare at each other for a moment. Unus's lips part. Their skin feels like it's burning.

They don't realize they've placed a hand on Erik's shoulder until they're no longer there in the garden.

Their eyes open to the inside of a bus, bright mountain scenery going by the giant windows. It's small and cramped, and seems to somehow be fitting what looks like an entire family inside. Fifteen people and sixteen dogs, Unus counts instantly, all of varying ages and styles. The youngest looks to be about twelve, dressed in white overalls, while the oldest is a cheery looking middle aged man wearing all white and lounging across the seats at the front. Unus spots Erik immediately. Sitting in between two brothers - because these are brothers, of course they are, this is a family - and laughing. He's laughing. Laughing, and wearing a pair of shorts with a tucked in collared shirt, covered in orange flowers. No prosthetics. Not shaky, not near tears. Unus has never seen the young boy as happy as he looks here.

"Pass me the DS, Terik!" Erik crows, grinning as he makes a grab at the device his older brother is holding.

The other boy, pimpled and wearing a baggy yellow hoodie, laughs and holds it away from him. "Fuck off, I'm training Maggie! I just managed to get a new chihuahua and I'm gonna win gold with this gal, don't you think? Look at her! Look at her, don't grab - Larik, will you restrain the orange menace for me, please?"

The boy next to the window, who is short and stout with curly hair and braces, teasingly tugs at Erik's arms. "Give the man some space," he says in a deep voice, grinning. "He's playing his super important game, let's leave him to concentrate on his deeply intense gameplay -"

"Nintendogs is intense gameplay!" Terik protests, and shoves Erik into Larik's side. "If you two are gonna be assholes, go sit next to Smerik or something. He's passed out, probably stinks of vom - Hey, Denny, when are we getting there? We've been on this stupid school bus for hours!"

Unus turns to face the front. It's then that they focus on themself, and notice something strange - they are holding a long black scythe in their right hand, their face reflected in the blade. Their eyes are a solid, empty black, their hair a glossy white. Something about them seems much more gaunt and hollow. Unus takes a moment to gape at themself, and is disgusted by how old and brittle they look, grey and pale and broken.

"Listen, dude, I'm not gonna go over the goddamn speed limit!" someone shouts, startling Unus from their thoughts. A man, sitting in the driver's seat, with patchy facial hair and wearing a blue cap and jeans, a crumpled cigarette hanging out his mouth. He glances away from the road, making a face at his brothers behind him. "We'll get there when we get there!"

"Fuck the speed limit!" cheers another boy, this one wearing black sunglasses and a baggy hoodie that hangs over the ends of his arms. He kicks his flip flops into the air, whistling. "We're in the mountains, Den-Den, no coppers anywhere near here! Why don't you let me drive?"

"Because you're bloody blind, Sterik?" the driver deadpans, and the bus erupts with laughter. Unus watches the boy sink lower in his seat, face burning with humiliation, even as Denny continues talking. "And I don't wanna risk Dad getting a call. He's already gonna flip his shit when he gets a call from Renny's school about the missing schoolbus and connects it to us being missing. He'll fuckin' kill us, but hey - some time away from him and his stupid business will be good for all of us. Especially you, Erik. He hasn't let up on you since -"

"He got Mom killed?" Sterik suddenly snaps. The bus goes silent. Erik, previously giggling with all the rest of them, goes very silent. The youngest boy, frowning, shifts in his seat.

"Not his fault Mom died," he mutters. He brushes biscuit crumbs off his overalls and glances nervously towards Sterik, then towards his other brothers for support. "It was an accident -"

"Termites," spits the angry boy, flapping his sleeves and practically sitting. "She fell through the fucking floor because of him -"

"Language," says another boy loudly, this one with dyed blonde hair and black tattoos. This immediately earns him a harsh laugh from Sterik.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" the boy cheers. Erik, Unus notices, has shrunk down completely in his seat. Familiar tears well in his eyes. Unus grips their scythe and bites their lip, unsure of what to do. None of the brothers have seen them. They cannot intervene in what's happening.

Without warning, Terik stands and staggers to the middle aisle of the bus. "Course it's Erik's fault," he booms, waving his DS in the air. Erik, next to him and still sitting, visibly flinches. "But who fucking cares? I wanna get to the mountains and streak naked through the trees. Who gives a fuck about anything Erik did right now? Come on, Denny, speed up a 'lil."

Larik, still sitting next to Erik, sighs deeply. "Let's shut up about this," he says, sounding tired. "Hey, Killian, come here, kiddo -"

"Oh yeah, let's shut up." This is Sterik. He is standing now, facing Terik and grinning coldly at the ground. "Let's never acknowledge what happened and drive off to the stupid fucking mountains away from Dad and leave him alone to break his hand punching holes through the walls in Mom's room again when he's pretending not to miss her but he's sitting in her bed reading through her notebooks." He spins round, getting his bearings and stepping towards the driver's seat. "Come on, Denny, lemme drive. You're no fucking fun."

"Sterik!" choruses at least three brothers at once, not including Erik. Erik is covering his ears, sinking low in his seat, gripping his yellow handkerchief tightly. A jolt shoots through Unus - hadn't the boy said that had been a gift from his mother?

They aren't given time to comprehend it. A tall, slim boy with shaggy hair has also gotten up, pushing past Terik to get to Sterik at the front of the bus. "Enough," he shouts, tugging his little brother's arm roughly. "Siddown, bro, this is silly -"

Unus's body goes cold, and Sterik shoves and grabs the wheel, and a dog barks, and Erik - Erik. Erik looks Unus dead in the eye. For a moment, he sees. He looks so much younger and smaller than the Erik Unus knows. He has seen death, and - and he is about to see more. The tragedies in this boy's life are not yet done. Unus's pulse quickens, and a strange peace settles over them. They close their eyes.

The bus screeches, and then the wheels no longer touch the rocky ground -

Unus raises their scythe -

And they are in the garden again, and Erik's eyes are once again wide in front of them, full of the fear of death, full of guilt and grief, and Unus understands.

"You lost your family," they murmur, drawing their hand away from Erik's shoulder to his chin. His face is pale and sweaty, and Unus feels his breath hitch as their eyes meet. Unus's hand feels empty without the scythe to hold. "You have not yet finished grieving them. A mother, fourteen brothers, pets - and you blame yourself."

"H-how do - do you kn-ow that?" Erik whispers, fear piercing his trembling voice. He looks over at the others sitting near him, but Unus doesn't break eye contact. Erik swallows, and shrinks back from Unus's gaze. "Unus - Your h-hair, your - your eyes - Wh-what are you d-d-doing?"

Erik Derekson has seen death. Unus can see it in his eyes. There is something dark and haunted there. He doesn't understand, yet. Unus doesn't either.

"We have a year," they say to the shivering, unlucky boy who has seen more death than any child his age should have to. "You will not lose us just yet. Time is ours, for now. Do not be scared. We have a year."

[234:17:12:00]

Later, Unus tells Annus they have no clue what happened, which is true. Annus fills them in. According to them, one moment Unus had just been sitting there, then they had touched Erik's shoulder and the air had gone cold. Their hair had begun to glow white, and their eyes had melted to black before they suddenly started talking about Erik's family. There had been no explanation for it, and Erik had been rather terrified. Bim nearly threw a fit when the boy left his knitting materials to go back inside, Ayano and Argentum in tow. Unus hadn't meant to scare him. They'd merely wanted to offer reassurance.

"I am not sure what came over me," Unus admits, their shoulders rising to their ears. Their hair has faded back to brown, albeit a bit lighter than before, and their eyes are blue again, albeit slightly darker. Their reflection looks wrong. "I believe I… saw Erik's memories. I saw the deaths of his brothers when they went over the mountainside. I was there." They look Annus right in the eyes. "Mor, I held the scythe that killed them. What is happening to me?"

Annus can't answer. They take Unus's hand and they both look at their reflections. Unus sees death in their eyes.

The timers over their heads continue to tick. The soundlessness is beginning to drive the entity insane.

[233:15:23:12]

Unus speaks to Erik the next day.

"I am sorry," they say. "For what happened. I did not mean to get into your head the way I did. I… do not know my own power."

The two of them are on the porch, late at night, staring out across the gardens that spill close to the edge of the mountainside. Erik's glasses are fogged up, so Unus can't see where he's looking exactly, but they can tell the boy is shivering in his baggy red hoodie that they're pretty sure belongs to Ayano. "That's ok," Erik mumbles, tapping the wooden fence with his fingers. His nails are chipped black. Unus wonders which of Mark's creations painted them. "I know you didn't mean it. It's just strange, knowing you saw… that."

Unus nods stiffly. Their neck aches, and their collar feels like it's choking them. "Mhm. The abilities I have been given are strange." They pause. "I am sorry about your family."

Erik shrugs, glasses glinting in the light of the porch lantern above them. "Not your fault. F-freak accidents have killed just about everyone I love. That's just… a fact of life that I can't ch-change. I'm unlucky. I guess that's the - that's the c-curse Mark put on me."

Crickets chirp in the grass somewhere. Unus and Annus had gone out a few nights ago to hunt for them before eating tuna sandwiches on the chess board. They're thinking about that as they answer. "Does Mark intentionally create flaws in his creations, or does he really not know?"

Another shrug, and Erik bites his nails. He doesn't seem to notice he's doing it. "A lot of us have weird catches in our c-c-creations. Like, Bim is a game show host, but his shows never take off, like, proper. The Googles have to obey whoever has their command phrase. Bing breaks easily. Dark has really bad insomnia. Wilford can't remember anything from his past. Host is blind and bleeds constantly from his eyes. Silver can't tell his girlfriend the truth about who he is or about Mark. The Jims only have each other. Ed is an asshole, although I don't think that's Mark's fault necessarily. King is a bit of an idiot - not that I don't like him! He's j-just an - an idiot. Doc didn't go to med school. Ayano can't keep a boyfriend cause she's too, uh, possessive. And… me." He takes a deep, shaky breath. "I'm unlucky. I g-get people I love k-k-killed."

Unus doesn't know how to respond to this.

"Death comes for us all," they say, which isn't the right response.

"I kn-know that b-better tha-an anyone," the seventeen year old boy responds. He sniffles and wipes his face. "I don't wanna l-lose - I don't - you and Annus -"

Unus pats Erik's shoulder gently. "We have time. We have time."

Fall field crickets, which is the most common cricket type in this area of LA, usually only live for up to a year. Just one year. They sing every night, searching for a mate. Searching for purpose. Unus can almost understand that. With a year to live, not much can be accomplished, and of course no one would want to be alone for so long. It almost hurts, hearing their neverending song. It sounds like loneliness. It reminds Unus of the days they have left, the days that they're desperately trying to cling to.

Above their head, the time drains in the humming of the lantern and the chirping of crickets who sings a year long song.

[mayhembunnywrites]

Eskimo Kisses and Starsent Wishes

Pairing: Nafla x Reader

Summary: Falling into your future.

Nicholas Choi typically doesn’t get angry, but in this moment he can’t help but be a little pissed off. He had been in a public park after finishing up the photoshoot for unu, just trying to relax a little bit, when some woman had knocked into him. Oh, she had apologized, but it was half assed and he could tell! So he chased after her, and now he has finally caught up to her.

“Excuse me,” he says somewhat impatiently, noticing the toddler in front of you but not really paying attention to the little girl. Distantly, he does know that what happened next was very, very creepy by normal standards but, in his own defense, he couldn’t help himself. 

The moment you turned around to face him, clearly suspicious of this random man who you had never met, his world had stopped in its tracks. You were drop-dead gorgeous in his opinion, and he was dumbfounded as he stared at you.

“Uhh, dude,” you say hesitantly, nervous as this stranger, no matter how handsome, stares at you without words. “Sorry for running into you earlier, are you alright?” The minutes drag on as he stares at you, jaw dropped open. You hide your daughter behind your back as warning bells ring preemptively in your head, worried about this man who creeps you out to no end.

“Well then,” you say as you begin backing up, “I’d say it was nice to meet you but I would be lying, and I don’t want to do that in front of my daughter...Bye.” You turn around and pick up your three year old with a practiced ease, diaper bag hanging across your body as you nearly run away from him.

Nicholas shakes out of his stupor, reaching a hand out as if to stop you in your tracks as he watches you walk away. “No, stop,” he says quietly, the words feeling as if they were spoken through a megaphone to him, and he watches in horror as you leave his sight. He shuffles his feet sheepishly, turning around and moving to leave the park.

He ends up back at his apartment, staring up at his ceiling as he laments over his actions, redoing the scenario and imagining how it could have ended differently.

One month has passed before Nicholas next sees you at a party being thrown by Kid Milli, the small and friendly event being thrown for Giriboy’s birthday. He was shocked to see you there, interacting with these normally rough men and melting them to the core as you simply talk, not even noticing what you were doing to your good friends. 

As it was the first time he had met you, Nicholas was dumbfounded as he looked at you, the black and white t-shirt dress hanging off your form in a way that wasn’t sloppy in the least, and he can’t help but be amazed by the way you had dressed, even your shoes are black and white, and it appears as if you match the birthday boy in color scheme.

You flush as you notice the familiar man staring at you, and the smile falls from your face as you shift, moving yourself behind Giriboy and seeming to become part of his shadow. Your gaze drops to the floor, your hand lifting and gently hanging onto the back of Giriboy’s oversized and yet fashionable t-shirt. You accidentally tug on it as you casually attempt to move to a more secure position, only to freeze under Siyoung’s questioning gaze. Your eyes dart nervously from Siyoung to Nicholas, and Siyoung follows your gaze to notice Nicholas staring at you from across the room. 

Siyoung raises an eyebrow at the other man, drawing Wonjae’s attention to the situation and causing him to scowl slightly. 

Siyoung gently loosens your grip, a smile brushing his lips as he listens to your whispered protests. He squeezes your hands before approaching Nicholas, finally causing him to break from his stupor as he realizes that he appears to be in a lotoftroubleohshit. Nicholas feels as if the world is in slow motion as he watches the normally calm man approach him, noticing as Siyoung’s fists clench. Nicholas swallows air in his nervous state, unable to rip his gaze from Siyoung as he finally stops in front of Nicholas.

“Hey Nafla,” Giriboy says with an easy-going smile on his face, contradicting his tense body language, “How’s it going?”

Nafla feels as if he is under the gaze of a wolf on the hunt, and he can feel himself growing smaller under the other man’s assessing gaze. “It’s going well,” Nicholas manages to force the words out before he feels Siyoung wrap an arm around his shoulder.

“That’s good,” Siyoung says cheerfully as he starts leading Nicholas to the guest room in his home, knowing that Kid Milli is distracting you easily after so many years of friendship. Your little trio of friends was truly as tight-knit as could be, having been through so much shit together. The most prominent event that you had all been through together was definitely your little miracle, the result of a one-night-stand. 

You had contacted the man, but he had no interest in being a father, and you felt no need to push him into the position. Siyoung and Wonjae had been unsure whether to be happy or upset on your behalf at the news of your pregnancy, but they settled for holding you while you cried as you told them. They had only hugged you more tightly, and sometimes it feels like they never let you out of their embrace.

You had moved into Siyoung’s home for the duration of your pregnancy, staying in the guest bedroom as he gladly renovated the basement. The once large and unfinished basement had been turned into a series of sizable rooms, two bedrooms and one bathroom being added and customized to your liking as the months fly by, your stomach growing more heavy and your due date rapidly approaching. 

Siyoung or Wonjae accompany you pretty much everywhere when it gets close to your delivery date, assigning their friends or colleagues to the task if they can’t be there. From Reddy to Yun B, your friends had assigned suspiciously single rappers to guard you in their stead. Much to Wonjae and Siyoung’s mutual disappointment, you had befriended everyone you met, but that was as far as you all ended up getting. 

Wonjae and Siyoung had been on stand-by in the last month of your pregnancy, and you had never been more grateful for their presence than when they were by your side in the delivery room. They had both been glued to you during labor, planting kisses on your forehead and comforting you better than a parent ever could. It had been a long 20 hours of labor before your baby girl was delivered, So Min’s angelic features captivated both men and caused all three of you to coo over her.

The past year of her life had flown by in a flurry of smiles and giggles, crying and restless nights for both of you. Siyoung and Wonjae had begun to take So Min to the studio whenever you needed a break, both men taking to their roles as uncles with glee. Most of the time you were fine with it, but occasionally you would find bags upon bags of designer baby clothes and toys, accessories galore. Everything from a diamond-encrusted hair-clip to a Gucci diaper bag, if they felt you needed it then they would buy it for her.

You had been absolutely shocked to come home to your closet stocked with designer maternity clothes, the small amount of maternity clothing being replaced with soft dresses and shirts, maternity jeans and soft pajamas, even soft pairs of slippers to wear around the house. Yourself and Siyoung had gone furniture shopping when your rooms had been completed, and you had been shocked at the prices of the furniture. 

Siyoung had ended up with your permission to buy whatever he wanted for you so long as you didn’t see a receipt, and he happily agreed to your conditions. You had come home only a day later to find your room and the nursery full of the necessary furniture, all of it truly the best quality money could buy.

As the year had passed, more and more baby clothing had seemed to appear out of thin air, all of it beautiful and fully intact. All in all, living with Siyoung had been great since the beginning, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Setting up parties for any of you was now a whole lot easier than before, the location automatically settled to Siyoung’s house. You had dropped So Min off at Siyoung’s parents house earlier, the older couple gladly acting as grandparents for a night.

Nicholas was currently walking with Siyoung towards the nearby balcony, Siyoung’s arm slung casually around Nicholas’ shoulder, the empty balcony a welcome reprieve from the noise of the party. 

“You know,” Siyoung begins as he lowers himself into the comfortable armchair, “she’s single. I’ve been trying to get her to date for ages now, but she might scare you away.”

Nicholas blinks in shock, having expected to be told off for staring at Siyoung’s girlfriend but instead being encouraged to ask you out. “Y-you mean, you’re not dating her?” he says in disbelief, having thought that you were after you had hid from his gaze.

Siyoung lets out a laugh, smiling brightly as he thinks of you. "No, I could never date Y/N, we have too much history. Besides, she's too much of a sister to me. Let me introduce you to her." Nicholas gets a friendly pat on the back as he trails behind Siyoung in a dazed state. He is shaken out of his daze as he stops in front of you, noticing your questioning glance at Siyoung as he stops with a wide smile on his face.

“Hey Y/N,” Siyoung says without a hint of the nervous feelings that Nicholas is hiding fairly well, “I would like you to meet Choi Nicholas, otherwise known as Nafla. Nafla, meet Y/N. She’s one of my favorite people, so take care of her. Now then,” he nods at Wonjae with a smirk, “we’ve gotta go check on the rest of the guests, you two have fun!” Suddenly you’re both standing together, and you fidget in place and flush as you notice Nicholas’ handsome features.

The two of you stand together, taking in each other's features with shy glances and both of you shifting nervously before you clear your throat, taking a deep breath. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Y/N, I think we ran into each other in the park that one time.”

“Ah, yeah,” Nicholas says with a slight blush, “Sorry about that, I must have looked like such a creep.” You move to protest before a shake of his head stops you in your tracks, “I just--you were so beautiful and I couldn’t do anything.” Nicholas stops talking, feeling as humiliation at his word-vomiting washes over him. His gaze falls to the floor and he doesn’t notice as your jaw relaxes into a smile, his words cute and making you flush.

“It’s okay,” you laugh, smiling fondly as his head snaps up and a relieved smile settles onto his handsome face, “I think I quite like you, as well, if that’s what you were getting at.” Nicholas gulps nervously, a smile still on his face as he mentally prepares for the next move.

“Well then, would you be interested in going out for a coffee with me?” he asks you, and your eyes widen as you bounce in place, the unexpected words taking you by surprise. Normally the men that try to flirt with you are much less blunt, but his straightforwardness is refreshing to you.

“I’d like that a lot,” you say, giggling nervously, “we can do it tomorrow for lunch, if you want.” You twirl your hair casually around your fingers, gently tugging on it as an outlet for your nervous state.

You let out a breath that you had been holding without your knowledge as Nafla, Choi Nicholas, nods. “That sounds amazing, should we go ahead and exchange numbers as well?” As both of you pull out your phones, you both feel giddy with delight. You don’t notice the eyes of your friends, your brothers, on you as you allow yourself to enjoy the night with Nicholas. 

The night passes as if it was a dream, and later that night you strip down and lay in your bed, reminiscing over your bold actions earlier. You are torn between joy and agony, the day running through your mind as you’re dragged into unconsciousness. The last thing you see as you fall asleep is Nicholas’ smiling face, and he is in your dreams that night.

A/N: This is part one of two parts, with maybe some drabbles later! I worked hard to get this much out and will probably revise it in the future, but it’s at five pages in the Google Doc with no sign of stopping so far. 

[obsidiancreates]

Mori waits until Mark goes to the bathroom to snatch his phone. He grins, logging into Tumblr. Time to see what chaos he and Memento have wrought upon their audience!

He scrolls through the memes and humorous exclamations of horror and/or concern. He likes a couple, enjoying the way the mortals reacted to he and Mem’s shenanigans.

He wondered if he should thank Mark again for letting him borrow his form. It did put the poor man on a few demon hunter’s lists... 

Maybe he could buy him some of that mortal dish the man loved so much. Chicken and... something. Dumps? No, but he was close...

And then his mood falls.

A scam? People were attempting to scam his audience? With the very limited time available to mortals, one or more had chosen to use it by swindling those who just wanted to use their remaining days to have a good time?!

“You know you can just ask,” Mark says, coming back into the room.

“Look at this!” Mori shoves the phone into Mark’s face.

Mark frowns. “Ah, shit.” He takes the phones and reblogs the screenshot, simply adding the word “scam” to the caption. “Ethan and I can write a PSA for the next video’s comment section if you want.”

Mori gapes at him. “You’re not shocked? Livid? Is this common?”

“Unfortunately.”

Mori scowls. “Mortals are disgusting.”

“It’s just a few assholes, not all of humanity.”

Mori glares at the phone. “True. Their time is wasted anyway, they’ll find that they’ve paid the price of that eventually.”

“Uh, right.” Mark tries not to look wary. “It’ll be fine, most of the fans can recognize scams when they see them.”

“I trust that they can. I’m still angry.” He crosses his arms and fumes.

Mark pats him on the back. “Here, just keep looking at the memes and stuff, they’ll make you feel better.”

Mori takes the phone when Mark offers it. He looks at Mark. “Do you need any help recording? I could add some spooky effects to the background.”

Mark hums in thought. “I’ll call for you if I need you.”

Mori nods. He goes back to scrolling, chuckling. 

Mortals could be frustrating and enraging, but damn, sometimes they were just hilarious.

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

(I don’t know, just liked the idea of Mori and Mark being chill buds and Mori getting all mad that someone was trying to scam people using Unus Annus.)

[vitavitale]

prompt  |  @vaenaku​ sent:  G A R Y & V for the meme unu

Gift — He’s pretty shit with this, I’m not going to lie. He’ll just give you a little charm or trinket he made himself, or a few flowers, and call it good. Financial constraints don’t help, but he doesn’t necessarily need money when he can get creative and make...odd things for you. He may even prefer to write a little something for you instead.

Affection — Openly, unabashedly, freely. Next to nothing holds him back from showing his affection to his sweetheart. He answers to his heart before he listens to reason, and he will delight in it. To his detriment, perhaps, but one cannot turn their nose up at his warm smiles or the fondness in his eyes. Frankly, V will not care if someone else is annoyed by his displays of affection. That’s just too bad for them; V does not have long to live on Earth and believes he must enjoy every present moment. So, he’s going to be mushy and impossible. The kinds of affection he gives are really all the usual ones: hand holding, kisses, nuzzles, hugs, sweet nothings, pet names, flirting. He’ll go the extra mile and write poetry for his beloved, read things aloud to them. Passing touches, of course, he will give; petting hair, patting or cradling their face, leaning on them and allowing them to lean on him, the works. Of course, he shows tact in most cases, behaving sweetly and subtly. It’s in his nature to be a little “demure,” I suppose. He is coquettish in his own way, and he can be a real stinker to his sweetheart deliberately, but it’s all out of love. He never means to insult or injure. All in all, affection is a must.

Romance — Plainly, V is more a romantic man than a cynical one—and a Romantic. Actually, he can be as cynical as anyone, and there is cynicism in the Romantic philosophy. However, because V’s interactions with others have not been quite so encouraging, he cannot help but be skeptical of others, even timid to an extent. He’s seen a lot of evidence that more or less proves that his fellow man is less than wholesome. On the other hand, he likes to think that people on the whole deserve the benefit of the doubt. He has the hope that people will ultimately be better when it counts. V has both a realistic and idealistic view of life, and I’d say he strikes a fine balance between the two.

When it comes to love, he is almost entirely an idealist. His sweetheart can only be good, and even the things he sees in them that would raise questions in his own mind would be excused straight away or dismissed. He loves blindly, an utter romantic about it.

Yours — Guilty as charged. The man can’t help but want to protect those he deems in need. It’s a part of his nature to care for others, he simply cannot help it, even when his help is unwanted. It’s essentially his job to protect others, so there’s that element to it as well. He’ll understandably want to protect his sweetie more than anyone, but he keeps himself in check. If they’re capable of protecting themselves, he won’t go very far with his actions. But, of course, he’ll never fail to remind them to be careful; and, whether they like it or not, he’s going to keep an eye on them when a dangerous situation arises. In combat, he will have their back and never stray from their side. He has glue all over him, he can’t be pried away no matter the situation. 

Valentine — Valentine’s Day is generally like any other day for him. Being as sentimental as he is, however, he does appreciate the fact that love and romance have a full dedicated day. In his ship verse, he will undoubtedly want to commemorate the day with his beau. It’s, really, an excuse to be even more mushy and attentive and lovey-dovey, and he’s more than okay with that. 

[fmdxyoungjoo]

Our Songs : Episode 3 Solo

Premise: youngjoo being shocked over getting 2nd place because well..she thought the worst lol Word Count: never as much as hyeri in her verification or solos i’m jealous unu 887 words A/N: ESTELLE KEEP OUT :)

nerves-- the first things that she registers, followed by the fact that her reflection in the waiting room mirror prior to the filming of episode 3 of our songs reflects the deep amount of her own incapability of making herself feel better since the last episode to its current one about her hopes with regards to her own song, E.T. 

it would do well, wouldn’t it?

needless to say, those hours and days of endless worrying had taken its ultimate form in the eyebags that sagged beneath her eyes upon her face, dabbled and hidden away cleverly by her makeup artists with a flick of their hands and a plump pat of concealer upon her delicate face. 

tsk. she smiles a little ruefully as her makeup artist brushes the blusher against her cheeks in preparation for filming, the sound of annoyance bubbling between the older woman’s lips as she frowned fussed over the state of her charge’s face--a tumultuous task, there was no doubt about that, considering how much youngjoo felt she had aged over the endless days of worrying. 

“don’t look at me like that.” she tugs on the sleeves of the older woman, watching as the other sighed in disgruntledness at the rare pout upon youngjoo’s lips. “ i didn’t mean to lack in sleep.” 

“you always say that.” came the clipped reply of the older woman, followed by stronger pats of the brush upon her cheeks. “ do you know how terrible it is for me to conceal all those terrible eyebags? lacking in sleep causes wrinkles, darling. there’s only this much i can do to cover up that you’ve finally turned thirty, even though you look like a middle aged twenty year old at best.” joo grins as the older woman flicks her forehead lightly. “what were you worrying about this time? the next man that would want you enough for you to marry? life after stardom?” 

“ what? no-no!” joo bats her hands at the woman, thoroughly scandalised. “i don’t have that many male fans as you’d like to think. and i’m not that eye catching, unless you count my height.” a slight self deprecating chuckle bubbles from her lips. “ i was just worried about E.T. did you listen to it?” she prodded the other woman a little tentatively, watching as the older lady frowned as she tried to recall the song from her memories.

“oh, you mean the movie? yeah of course i’ve seen it. its ancient--” the cheeky grin on the makeup stylist’s face tells joo enough for her to know that she’s being played, and almost immediately, she cries out in indignation, smacking the older woman’s hand and shaking her head. 

“no! the song!” she blushes, a little unused to promoting her own songs made by her own two hands. “you know, my song. the one i made for our songs.” she’s still a little shy and apprehensive on mentioning and crediting things to her own name, preferring to rather, stay in her own small category of things that she was comfortable with and remain behind the scenes. but with our songs, she’d made the conscious decision to actually step out and make herself known in the song writing world, hadn’t she? 

a soft smile lightly plays against her lips. 

“well? what do you think?” she watched her stylist’s eyes intently for any feedback, watching intently enough for the older woman to blush at the intensity of her stare.

“well,” the older woman blustered. “ i’m sure you’d find out later on, but i voted for you, like the loyal person that i am.” joo couldn’t help but giggle at the older woman’s loud declaration, feeling her own steps fall a little lighter as soon as she stepped out of the waiting room to heed the call for filming. 

...

jo youngjoo, 2nd place. 

she stares at the screen, a little disbelieving at the score that she’s earned--out of luck, she’s more than sure about that, just because there were so many others that had great songs around and about, and yet somehow, hers sat up there, praised for its dreamlike qualities and relaxing essence of a travel music. 

a shy smile crosses her lips as she dips her head, almost sheepish and excited at the same time. the only person that she dares to actually let her eyes meet next to her own is jaewon’s, just because he’s outdone her, and gotten his acclaimed first place out of every single one of them. she doesn’t dare to turn her head back and look at ash, or at kami--unsure if her place amongst the few top scorers would be considered as well deserved or deserving enough amongst the royalty of the songwriting family amongst idols. 

still, this slight fortune only makes her more nervous for the next round, and no doubtedly--all the more determined to be ambitious enough to remain where she was to be, just as she’s told to dip her fingers and draw out a sheet of paper, without any prior explanations. 

red. 

the paper crumples in her hands, smoothened repeatedly as she folds the small paper over and over on its creases as she makes her way back to her seat, a sigh passing through her lips as she plops back down in her seat. 

[flowerboyethan]

Goodnite Socialite

Chapter 1: "Difficult For Me To Do, Quiet The Brain"

We all go through phases in our lives, right? There's ups and downs, high and lows, it's all part of the human existence.

Human existence seems subpar as of lately.

This voice has crawled into my head and made a home, filling my thoughts with nothing but negativity, sucking my motivation dry. I've done nothing but wake up, record a video, send it to my editor, and then crawl back in bed. I've been stuck in this damn routine for the past month, and people have noticed. What could I do? This voice refused to give me a break.

Luckily, Mark hasn't given up on me. Last week, we proposed a plan, a plan to create a channel to end in one year. He told me it might bring my motivation back, and I couldn't agree more. He dragged me out of bed today to record one video for Unus Annus and then drag me to some bar to watch his friend perform.

"A break from your routine would help," Mark had said as he dropped me off at my house to get ready. "Get you back on your feet."

I didn't want to be out in public, and certainly not inside a crowded bar. But Mark was right, I needed a break, I should push myself to get out.

I stood in front of my closet now, filing through different shirts to wear. Something nice, but not too nice. I glanced at my yellow hoodie.

A hoodie makes you look like a slob, the voice mocked.

I moved on to a long-sleeve.

Plain.

I huffed, grabbing a random shirt. It was a button-up, red, yellow, and blue geometric shapes against a grey background.

There was no snarky comment from the voice.

I put it on, shrugging in the mirror. I looked good, but I couldn't let myself admit it.

I texted Mark, letting him know I was ready. I gave Spencer a scoop of food, gave him a quick pat and headed out the door. Mark smiled as I hopped in the car.

"Lookin' good, man!" He exclaimed, backing out of the driveway.

"Thanks, where's Amy?" I asked. Amy was supposed to join us, but she wasn't in the car.

"Already there. She's helping Salem set up."

"Salem?"

"The friend you're going to meet."

I nodded. "That's a badass name."

"Fits her personality, too. She's sweet, just a little…" he paused. "Out there."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how I have a big ego?"

"All too well, my friend."

He ignored my comment. "She's that and then some."

I winced.

"You'll like her better than most people she's associated with."

He was making her sound like a bad person. I started to regret leaving my house. I wasn't up for dealing with a bigger ego than Mark's.

"She's a socialite," he continued. "She just does this cover band thing for fun."

I kept quiet. A socialite. So, she's rich. I hated the rich.

"Listen, man," Mark sighed, picking up on my silence. "You know me, I'd never be friends with someone that I didn't think was a good person. Amy's known her since they were teenagers. She's a good person. I didn't mean to give you a bad impression of her."

"It's okay," I finally spoke up. "I just don't know if I have the energy to meet someone like her."

Mark nodded in response, pulling into the bar's parking lot. It wasn't too packed, but we had to park a ways away from the door. We spotted Amy near the center of the bar, sitting at a small round table with several baskets of fries and a few beers.

"Hey!" She greeted us as we sat down. "You're just in time, they're starting in a few minutes." She slid a basket of fries and a beer bottle to me. "These are from Salem."

I was being buttered-up already by someone I haven't met yet. I smiled, masking away the truth. "Tell her thank you."

"You tell her yourself," Amy sipped on her own drink. "She wants to meet you after the show."

Puzzled, I asked why.

"'Any friend of Mark and Amy is a friend of mine' she said to me. And she always loves meeting new people."

"And she likes to show off," Mark piped up through a mouthful of fries.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's true. She can be a bit flirtatious, but she means well."

A flirtatious, egotistical, narcissist. A perfect reason to get out of the house. I sighed, looking down at my fries. Was I really stubborn enough to not eat these just because she bought them for me? I've barely eaten anything for the past month, I guess a few fries wouldn't hurt.

The lights flickered up on stage, drawing my eyes to a woman adjusting her base strap on her shoulders.

She looks pretentious, the voice mocked again. For the first time, I disagreed. She was stunning, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt tucked into her jeans. All my previous thoughts of her faded away. She was graceful but powerful in the stage lights, as if she belonged in the spotlight.

"Good evening, everyone!" The woman on stage purred in a singsong voice, placing her round glasses on top of her head to keep her wavy hair back. "Welcome to tonight's show!"

The crowd cheered as the rest of the band walked on stage.

"If you are new, my name is Salem. This is Melanie." She gestured to the soft-looking keyboard player who blew a kiss to the crowd. "Pike," an androgynist guitarist winked. "And Vivian," the drummer danced in her with her drumsticks in hand. "And we are Witch Haven!"

"Witch Haven?" I leaned closer to Amy, questioning the band name.

"An homage to her ancestors," she whispered back. "They were witches during the Salem Witch Trials. She gets her name from that, too."

"Really?"

"Yes, now hush!" She waved me off with a smile.

Salem continued to speak upfront. "We have a few covers lined up for you tonight, starting with Goodnight Socialite by The Brobecks." A few people in the crowd cheered. "Mel? Will you start us off?"

Their show began. For a cover band, they played well together, and didn't try to outshine the original artist. Salem, the lead singer, sang beautifully, and I could hardly look away.

Halfway through the song, her eyes landed on me. The anxiety that I had felt this whole month increased. My stomach turned, my palms sweating. Every time I glanced back at her after taking a swig of my beer, there her eyes were, dark, and fixed on me. I gulped, and she must have noticed. She winked at me. Was she into me? I felt myself give into that idea.

You think she'd ever be with a loser like you? The voice shot me down. You? She's rich, Ethan. She has no interest in you. Why would she ever be into you?

I covered my ears, trying to drown it out. Would this ever end? This low-point? Would I ever get a break. It was a mistake leaving my house, I should have protested to Mark more. I should be at home, with my dog, curled up in bed while I wallow in misery.

"Ethan?" Mark's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Ethan, are you okay?"

I paused, what could I say? They both knew what was wrong with me, so why ask?

"Is it too loud?" Amy asked.

I nodded, a good excuse.

"The next song is quieter. Or do you want to go home?"

I shook my head. Something in me wanted to stay, to possibly talk to Salem. Maybe I had a chance despite what the voice said.

After an hour, the band finished their show, and the bar started to clear out. Mark left to go talk to the band, Amy headed for the restroom, leaving me alone at the table with an empty beer bottle and a basket of fries. I watched Mark disappear backstage, I was truly alone in the bar now. Should I wait by the car? Do I wait here? I didn't know what to do.

Salem walked out from backstage, beginning to pack away the instruments and cords.

You should leave.

I stood up.

Leave! Now!

My feet involuntarily started towards the stage.

What are you doing?! What do you think will come of this?

I reached the stage, Salem’s back turned to me.

She doesn’t see you. You can still turn away and-

“Salem?”

She turned around, her shoes squeaking against the floor. She smiled, her tongue sticking out a bit. “Hello,” she cooed, crouching to meet my eyes. “And who might you be?”

Hazelnut. Her eyes were the color of hazelnuts. “I, uh- I’m Ethan.”

“Ethan!” Her eyes started to sparkle. “Amy told me about you. Come, come!” she stuck her hand out, waiting to pull me up onstage with her. “Any friend of Mark and Amy is a friend of mine.”

I took her hand, pushing off the ground with my foot to climb up. She fixed the collar of her Hawaiian shirt, shaking it out a bit. “How did you like my show?” She took her glasses off her head, cleaning them on her shirt.

“Oh, it- it was incredible,” I fumbled my words a bit, trying not to look at her stomach that was slightly exposed.

“Ah! Good!” She placed her glasses on her face. “I love meeting new fans. Now, do you have a favorite part, dear Ethan?”

My heart jumped. “Well, I- uh…”

She tilted her head a bit. “You seem so nervous! Is everything alright?”

“I'm- I'm just going through this anxious episode, thing.”

Stop talking.

“Oh, you poor thing!” She grabbed my hands, holding them close to her chest, causing me to stumble forward slightly. “I do hope my show helped!”

“It- it did! It did!” I stuttered. God, I couldn’t think straight. “It’s just that-”

“Did I upset you somehow?” She started to lean closer, concern covering her face.

Spit it out.

“You were making eyes at me!”

Salem dropped my hands, taking a step back. “I was doing what?” Her singsong voice disappeared.

You shouldn't have said that. 'Making eyes at me'? Who even says that? She winked at you, nothing more, you idiot.

“I was sitting near the back, and you couldn’t take your eyes off me, and-”

“Oh!” She started laughing. “Oh, no, my dear Ethan. My girlfriend was sitting in the back. I was making eyes at her!”

Every ounce of hope left my body.

“You must have been sitting in front of her,” Salem continued. “Her name’s Cherry. I love her to death.”

“You- you must be- you must have been- been together for a while, then?” I stuttered, shoving my sweaty hands into my pockets.

“Five years!” Her eyes lit up, clasping her hands together. “I couldn’t be happier. She always takes off after my gigs, though,” she stood on her toes, peering over me to scan the room. “She’s a busy woman, taking calls left and right. I’m proud of her!”

“I’m happy for you,” I cleared my throat, rubbing the back of my neck. “Look, I’m really sorry for thinking-”

“Don’t be!” She took up my hands again, just like before. “You are so sweet and respectful, Ethan. Stuff like this happens more often than you’d think!”

“Wha- really?”

She nodded vigorously, her glasses slipping down her nose a smidge. “Some guys will straight up try to kiss me after a show without even asking. Pike will have to step in and throw ‘em out.”

“I’m so sorry that happens to you,” I was itching to leave now. I felt my stomach turning.

“But you are a gem, Ethan. Will you come to my next show?”

“When is it?” I was filling in words to get this over with. I had to leave.

She shrugged. “It’s never set in stone.”

“I’ll try my best, then,” I pulled my hands away. “I gotta go. It was so nice to meet you, Salem.” I hopped off the stage, speeding towards the door, hardly hearing Salem call after me.

“Goodbye, Ethan! Lovely to meet you!”

I stumbled through the exit, sprinting towards Mark’s car. I fell to the ground, dry heaving into the ditch. The parking lot was almost empty now, only a few cars parked on the other side.

I’m an idiot. A loser. How could I be so stupid to even think of talking to Salem? Let alone think she even had a desire to be with me. Of course, she was in a relationship. Of course, she had a girlfriend. Just my luck, falling for a girl who had no desire to even be with a boy.

Since when did I start crying?  I stopped dry heaving at this point. I sat on my thighs, knees digging into the dirt, sobbing into my hands.

“I’m such an idiot,” I choked on a tear. “Look at me, crying in a bar parking lot. Pathetic.”

“Ethan? Ethan!”

Oh, god. It’s Mark.

Mark grabbed my shoulders from behind me, gently pulling me to his chest. I kept my face in my hands. “Ethan, what is going on?”

“Ethan.” I heard Amy’s voice next to me. She started rubbing my arm with one hand, the other on my knee. “Ethan, everything’s gonna be alright.”

I whimpered, shaking my head, still covering my face. “No, it not.” I pulled away from Mark and Amy. I had nothing more to say. Everything was going wrong. This low-point, it felt like my world was ending. I wanted this voice gone, I wanted my motivation back, I wanted this anxiety to leave. I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have spoken to Salem. I should never leave my house again.

They were silent for a moment, Amy rubbing my back as I hunched over, crying.

“Do you want to go home?” Mark asked, his voice soft.

I nodded.

“Will you be fine alone?” Amy chimed in.

I nodded.

“Let’s get you up,” Mark coaxed, placing his arm around my waist and a hand in mine. I never protested as he lifted me up and brought me to the car door. I usually would, claiming that I could do it myself. I was too tired to protest.

So tired…

[spacegabaxy]

Hey! I don’t normally make posts like this, but two of my favorite content creators ( @markiplier​ and @crankgameplays​ ) started a new channel called Unus Annus! They’re making the content that they want to make without having to worry about YouTube’s demonetization mess. 

I think the whole concept is pretty cool and they’re really funny dudes, so if you’re interested you should check them out! @unusannus​ includes such hits as “Two Grown Men Cook Breakfast Using Sex Toys” and “Local Man Tries To Murder Friend In An Extremely Salty Bath”. Don’t wait too long though, Mark and Ethan are deleting the channel in a year, so join while you can!

I got a little inspired by their weird death motifs, so if you’d like, please keep reading down below! And thank you so much if you do!

“Remember, your time here is limited,” a voice croons - it’s soft from somewhere within your skull. The feel of it makes your world spin for the barest second, the ground unstable beneath your feet and you think that’s it, this is the moment. You can catch your breath, but the air is still too thick. Just don’t think about it too long. Go about your day, forget about it for one second more. 

“Why drag on the suffering?” the voice calls again, and you feel it this time too, on the inside of your ears, “The sickening illusion that time won’t ever run out, that the clock will forever continue to tick. Do not fool yourself.”

You can’t deny it. And how many times have you had that exact thought? Your stomach twists at that, your core feels like static and the edges of limbs feel fuzzy, weighted. This is something you’ve realized long ago, perhaps something you’ve known the whole time, that everything comes into being is created with an expiration date. Nothing lasts forever. 

“How much time do you really have left, anyway? A year, maybe?” it’s a hum now, you can hear it, but you’re no longer paying it any attention. If you focus hard enough, you can feel the rush blood inside your veins, hidden just under your skin. It’s sticky. Pulsing. Don’t focus too long, or you’ll forget to breathe. And counting your breath wastes as many seconds and counting the clock. Will you continue wasting time, or will you make every second mean something? After all, there isn’t much time left. Tick tick tick...

“But why wait?” you’ve forgotten where the voice stops and your own thoughts begin, “Count your blessings and kill yourself. You could end it all while you’re still ahead.”

Somehow, you feel as though you’ve heard that before and your head swims for a moment. The world beyond your eyes distorts, like your looking at it through warped glass. You take a deep breath and fight it. It’s not like you could, even if you wanted to. Though, you’re not sure why. Everyone dies before they can be born, for death is an inevitable cycle. 

“Remember,” it says.

You count the fingers on your hands, pat you stomach and your sides, make sure you’re still there. You keep moving forward, but you remember. Remember your time is fleeting. Remember all things one day come to an end. Remember nothing is at all what it seems. Remember the light at the end of the tunnel. You remember death.

Momento Mori.

[xme-reboot]

XME-Reboot

Chapter 45: Untouchable

Rogue’s powers go berserk and a new mutant gives the X-men a run for their money.

~~

"Okay so!"

It was another day and another training session in the danger room, the setting low as the New Mutants tried to find a stride. "We all have nicknames."

Rogue nodded, watching from above. "Uh-huh?" She replied.

"Iceman, Multiple."

"Riiiight."

"Even Augie, with Pulse! What I don't get is MY name." Alex rolled away from a blast, grimacing at it.

"What's not ta get?" Rogue asked.

"Havok? What kinda name is HAVOK?"

She could only smirk a little. "I'unno. Anyone wanna offer Havok some reasons for his codename?"

"'Cry havoc, and let slip,'" Jubilee released a volley of sparks, "'The dogs of war!'"

"You do pack a punch, dude," Augustus chuckled.

"Also you broke the danger room first day!" Jamie added.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "Sss.. Fair enough~?"

"I think it suits you," Augustus's eyes began to glow, and the lasers were shut off.

Alex faltered a moment. "A-ah yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah. Focus." Bobby urged him, giving Augustus a nod.

"Amara!" Jubilee called. The younger girl had been standing at the side, and jolted at the sudden attention. "You've got an opening, hurry!"

Grunting, Amara ran forward. Rogue watched, frowning slightly.

She couldn't help but feel some kinship for the girl, all things considered.

Amara ran as fast as she could. Walls rose up under her feet, making her stumble and have to jump. The goal was in sight, an illuminated pedestal amidst a swarm of obstacles. Amara started to blast the walls that rose up to block her, careful to--

Her foot caught, and she fell, hitting her chin hard on the floor. Her body acted on its own, flames suddenly covering her and firing from her outstretched arm.

"Oop!" Jamie skittered away, eyes wide.

Rogue stood quickly, ready to end the simulation if needed. "Ya alright?"

Amara tried to get up, but her heart was hammering and her limbs were shaking. The fire spread, becoming stronger. "I-I--!!"

"Alright, we're done!" Rogue calling, canning the simulation. "Breathe, Amara, it's okay!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm--!!" Amara couldn't bring the flames down. The new recruits hurried out of the Danger Room.

Rogue ran down herself, eyes wide and trying to remember what she was supposed to do. First things first, calm her down. "Amara, it's okay! Everyone's fine!" She called in.

Amara tried to control her breathing. The flames pulsed with her struggled breath. "I..." She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut tight. Slowly, the flames started to die down. "...I'm sorry..."

"It's okay." She assured, moving in once they'd died down enough. "You did better. Calmed yourself down."

Amara couldn't look at her. She stood shakily, flames still licking off her body. "I wouldn't call that 'better'."

"Baby steps, Amara." Rogue looked back to the rest of the group. "Take a break, all of you."

The group filed away. Discomfort was thick in the air, and the few who dared glance back at Amara seemed to regret it.

"Alright." Rogue started once they were alone. "Let's talk."

Amara grunted, "Okay...'

Rogue nodded, sitting and patting the spot beside her. "So. What do you think happened out there?"

"I-I...freaked out, I guess."

"Hmm..." Rogue nodded. "Powers can get pretty scary, huh?"

Amara nodded. "...I don't think I'm ever going to get the hang of this."

"Mm. Why not?"

A scoff. "You saw what happened."

"I did. ...I'm gonna tell you a secret. One that doesn't leave this room, okay?"

Amara paused. "O...Okay?"

"I'm scared of my powers too."

"...Oh," It was a little weird to hear her say that. Rogue always seemed to confident.

"I lost control of them once. It..." She gripped her arm a little tighter. "It was a bad scene."

Amara was quiet for a moment. "...And?"

"I got help. I still need help." She gave Amara a slight smile. "Like to think there's nothing wrong with that."

"I...see."

"You're a smart kid Amara. You can figure this out."

Amara twiddled a bit of her hair. She offered Rogue a small smile. "Thanks."

"You bet. If you want, we can work one on one."

"I'd like that!"

"Awesome. Ya free now or you wanna schedule something?"

"Um--" Amara looked around at the now ashy floor. "...Maybe later."

"Can't blame ya." A phone buzzed, Rogue perking. "...That for you?"

Amara jolted. "U-Uh!" She quickly glanced at the notification, "Yeah, I, uh...I better go."

Rogue looked over her a moment, more than a little amused. "Alright. I'll clean this up, don't worry about it."

Nodding, Amara quickly headed out. She paused to peek back in the door for a second, "Thank you."

"You bet. Go take yer text, we'll figure out a time later."

Amara hurried away, flipping through her phone. Her nose scrunched with new frustration. "Again.."

The messages were all pretty mundane, really.

Asking what she had for breakfast, how her day had been.

The issue was more in the sender.

Amara started typing a reply, "How did you get this number???" She'd asked this many times before.

"I can't make friends?"

The previous replies had been just as dodgy.

"WHY would you wanna make friends???" Amara replied exasperatedly.

"Why not? You're a cool chick. Well, a hot one but, you get the point."

"STOP"

"C'moooooooon. You could just give me a shot?" The was a pause.

"It's not like I have anyone around here to talk to."

Amara sighed loudly. She started to type out "Uuugh," but deleted it. "Whatever."

"Haha, nice. So seriously how ya doing this morning? Holdin up?"

"Fine."

"Good." A pause, then another message. "You got any good tunes? I need to mix it up."

Amara sighed, softer this time. "IDK What are you into?"

"Ah, ya know. Whatever. Shit I can dance to?"

She considered it a moment. "Mother Goose."

No, she would not explain who that was. It was a mystery that had to be solved.

There was a pause. "Do I get a hint?"

"Nope."

"A treasure hunt then. Alright, I can dig it!"

Amara chuckled a little, despite herself. "Cool. Lemme know what you think."

"Can do. Thanks."

Amara tucked her phone, silencing it before she got another text.

This was weird. Very, very weird.

Rogue rolled her neck, looking at what was left of the scorching on the floor. She liked to think she was making progress, at least with this.

"How's it comin'?" Augustus peeked his head in, whistling, "Looks like you're, uh...making progress."

"Somethin' like that. What'd you need?"

"Just thought I'd check up on you," Augustus stepped in, "Need any help?"

"Appreciate it. Get me a clean bucket, would ya?"

He gave a dramatic bow. "As you wish."

She sputtered a short laugh. "Thanks. Don't have to do this with your break."

"I know. But I want to."

"Well, I appreciate it. So!" She started, popping her back. "Imagine you're pretty settled in by now?"

He nodded. "Pretty much."

"Havin any problems?" Outside the obvious, of course.

Augustus shrugged, "Not really. I mean, it'd be nice to have some more control, but...'

"Ah...Yeah. I feel ya." She wished she could promise it would come with time, but.. well.

"...Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Hrm?" Rogue paused, looking over him.

"To be in control."

"Hmm... Yeah. But hey, bright side. you've made a lot of progress already."

Augustus stared at her for a few seconds, his face unreadable. Then, he smiled, and said, "Heh, well! I have some good teachers."

"Shoot~ Yer a little flatterer, ain't ya?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Me~?" Augustus moved past her. For the briefest moment, it felt like his hand brushed hers, but...it was so fleeting. She paused a moment, glancing at him.

But the contact had been so brief, she had to doubt it was even there... and there was no reason to embarrass him, especially if he hadn't. "You." She replied, popping her back. "Alright... Think we're about good. Wanna grab lunch?"  

"Yeah, I'm starving!"

"Oh yeah? Well damn, guess we'd better feed ya then." She waved him along. "Can't have you fade away on us."

Augustus chuckled. "You really are a superhero..."

"Ppfft what? Don't be so dramatic man~"

He laughed. "What can I say? I have a flair for it."

"Apparently!"

They walked along quickly, Rogue rolling her neck. "So what are you in the mood for?"

"Aah, I'm not picky."

"That narrows it down." She chuckled, rolling her shoulder next. "Right. Let’s get to work."

She wouldn't be the only one.

Miles away, on the Island of Genosha, Gambit found himself before Magneto's door. He found himself here a lot, lately.

But he decided to take that as a good thing, knuckles rapping against the solid metal.

The door opened. "Gambit."

"You wanted to see me, Boss?"

Magneto didn't waste time with small talk. "I have a very important extraction for you."

"Sure boss. Where am I goin?"

"Chicago. We've located a mutant who is, apparently, untouchable."

Gambit perked at that. "Ya don't say... Well. Guess I'd better go introduce myself, ah?"

"Indeed." Magneto replied, "We could use an immovable object at our disposal."

Gambit smirked. "I guess havin' Juggernaut charge him to see how immovable is out of the question?"

"Just be sure to get this one this time."

Gambit raised his hands, only a bit defensively. "A'course, boss. Consider it done."

"I will expect it done."

"A'course, boss. Anything else?"

"No." Magneto turned the page in the folder he was reading.

"Alright. I'll be off then." He said, turning on a heel. "Chicago... Of all the places for a fighter to be."

~~~

"YOU ALL CAME FOR A SHOW, YEAH?" In Chicago, a bat would be clanged against the bars by a young, muscular man.

He would get a group shout in return. "WHAT WAS THAT WEAK SHIT? C'MON, I WANT AN ANSWER!!"

Gambit was honestly impressed by the roar he managed to incite.

Another fighter entered the cage. The crowd went even crazier.

Well this worked out quite nicely; better than having to test the kid himself.

"OOOHOHOHO," Unus cackled, rolling his neck. He set his bat aside, cracking his knuckles. "Don't even NEED the swatter fer you!"

"Yer gonna want it, ya little shit!" The bear of a man launched himself at him,

Unus wouldn't even have to move to knock the man away. And it was a forceful knock back to boot, sending the man head over heels. The man was certainly stunned, but only for a few moments. Wheezing a curse, he stumbled back to his feet.

Unus taunted him, "Man, really? Was that your BEST go at this? That was just sad."

"C'MERE!" A punch was swung.

It would stop dead, Unus giving an exaggerated yawn. "Ya finished warming up?"

"Wha...What the FUCK?!"

"I'm the UNTOUCHABLE Unus, ya dingle." He replied, slamming a punch into the man.

The fighter staggered back, utterly dazed.

"Looks like YOU ain't untouchable though!" He cackled, rolling his neck. "You wanna try again? Every shot's a free one! Well, mostly."

The fighter lunged drunkenly, but not for Unus. He picked the discarded bat up from off the floor and sent it hurtling down right onto Unus's head.

It just...stopped. Unus' smirk suddenly vanished. "Ay, AY! NOBODY. BUT NOBODY." He would crack a punch into the man. "TOUCHES WHAT'S MINE!"

With that, the fight was over. Bells sounded, and the crowd roared as the fighter crumpled before the young man’s feet.

Unus cackled, grabbing his bat back up. 'THAT'S RIGHT!!" He called, cackling. "Anyone else want some!?"

Gambit smirked. Oh yeah. They had to have this kid.

And so it was that, after the whole shebang was over, Gambit found himself in the back, slipping past security.

Unus was posturing in his jacket, a black and gold trimmed thing. He'd pulled a shirt on to boot, his 'swatter' over one shoulder. "Lookin' damn good, champ~" He snickered to his reflection, jolting when he noticed Gambit slipping in. "Wh-"

"Easy Mr. Untouchable~ I'm with... well let's call him a potential friend."

Unus would turn, glowering down at the other man.

Gambit didn’t let it faze him. "Oof. That's a sour face. Come all this way for Magneto himself, and that's what yer gonna give me?"

There was a sudden pause.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

That... had not been what he had expected.

"You're with MAGNETO!? Holy shit, wait." He paused, waggling his bat Gambit's way. "Aaah man we goin' to Genosha?"

"...I mean." Gambit smirked, giving a half shrug.

"Well damn, Creampuff!" He grabbed a duffle bag. "Spit that shit out sooner!"

Okay. Alright, he HAD to put this enthusiasm to work. "I mean. First, you gotta pass a lil test."

Unus paused. He gave Gambit a way, wry grin. "Bring it on."

~~

"So, ya know. We're kinda similar issue wise but her powers are a bit more uh. Volatile. Wanna help her out, but I ain't sure where to start." Rogue was, currently, having girl time with Kitty.

"I mean, Fred and Jean like to meditate. Maybe get her into that?" Kitty grimaced as she did battle with a tenacious knot in her hair, "A lot of powers are tied into, like, your mental state."

"Fair enough. I think it's like.. she thinks somethin' will go wrong, so when anything does she just... She psychs herself out, I think?" Rogue huffed. "So maybe, if I can, just get her meditatin' and have something go right for her?"

"Ouch. See, there ya go!" Kitty prevailed over the insidious knot, and started to redo her ponytail. "You're a genius!"

"Pft." Rogue snickered. "Dunno if I'd say THAT. But thanks."

Their break would suddenly be broken by Jean knocking the door. "Kitty, Rogue! Professor wants us!"

Kitty sighed. "We know what THAT means."

"We do. But it needs to be done."

Rogue sighed heavily, moving to a stand. "We're comin'..."

It wasn't long before a team was assembled. The mission was a typical, high stakes- a mutant causing mayhem.

"Don't know why they keep doing this." Jean was saying. "As if people aren't scared enough."

"Some people just react to fear with fear," Evan replied, "And some...well. Some just wanna take advantage of it."

"Sounds like the latter, in this case." Rogue said. "Robbin’ a bank? Come on now."

Evan offered his friends a smirk, "Nothing we can't handle, right?"

"Of course not." Jean chuckled, setting a course to Chicago.

Unus would have a suitcase of money and be standing before the Bank, a shot suddenly ringing out. "That was a warning, mutant! Put the money down and your hands up, no funny business either!"

He grinned, long and wry. "Or WHAT?"

That did it. Several officers suddenly fired upon him. A few started to stop when, to their horror, the bullets just dropped meekly at Unus's feet.

"HAH!" He cackled, bat over one shoulder. "How did I know~? Man, at this rate, I'm a shoe in!"

Some continued to fire, perhaps in the vain hope that one was bound to hit. Other officers fell back, and one foolishly brave policeman decided to try and go at him with her baton.

"Last mistake, lady!" He told her, swinging down.

It would suddenly pause, his hand shaking against the sudden force on his bat. "Wha-"

"That's ENOUGH." Jean told him, coming upon the scene, hair lifted slightly. It was taking a surprising amount to hold the bat in place.

Evan, spiky as ever, fired a few projectiles to try and pin Unus by the pants.

When they fell limply, he was perturbed. "Ooo..kay."

Rogue would blast Scott's eye beams at Unus. Shouts went up as they ricocheted back, digging into the concrete of the bank's entrance pillars. "Oh you gotta be KIDDING! Jean!"

"I... I can't get a read on him." She realized. "It's like he's not THERE!"

"HAH! Holy shit, this is what he wanted me to prove myself too? Geesh, come ON~~"

"Alright," Evan ran forward, firing into the ground around Unus, "Different approach!"

Unus didn't even flinch, head tilting slightly. "The fuck is this?"

Soon he was entirely encircled. "A cage."

"...Oh." Unus looked around. "Oh that's. That's some real craftsmanship my guy!" He said, giving his bat a waggle. "It's a shame I gotta break it."

And break it he did, spikes splintering and falling to pieces.

He was slightly stronger than Evan had anticipated. He tried to keep up, putting up new spikes where old ones fell, but there was only so much Evan could do on his own.

Jean was holding Unus back as much as she could, but she was starting to feel some crowd control would soon be in order. Rogue grunted, fists clenched. There wasn't much choice... "Evan!" She called, glove coming off. "Give me a hit, just a short one!"

"Uh- okay!" Evan quickly released a line of spikes before he took a step back towards her.

They would be fine! This would be fine! What happened before was a fluke, it wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't let it.

Rogue had barely registered she and Evan had made contact until spikes tore through her suit, Evan's immediate thoughts rushing through her head.

--cops are scared we gotta be quick.

Evan had to shake himself. "HOO. Okay."

"Y-Yeah." She agreed, shooting spikes from her hand.

"Oh!" Unus grinned, pausing in his smacking. "Man, y'all got some fancy powers!" He told them, smirking suddenly before slamming his bat into the spikes around him. "But nothin' as good as what I got!"

"Just keep 'em coming," Evan told her, "He'll tire himself out eventually."

"Y-yeah! Right!"

"Oh WILL I? Y'all ain't landed a single hit! I'm Unus the UNTOUCHABLE!" Jean would grab his bat again, having failed to lift Unus himself. "And ain't NOTHIN’!" He growled, area around him suddenly cratering. Jean flinched as he tore the bat from her grasp with.. whatever he did, the spikes around him shattering.

Onlookers cried out in fear. In reflex, one officer fired a shot at Unus, one that whizzed by the X-men dangerously close.

Rogue jerked, stumbling back. Her heart raced, and she jerked, spikes up along her arm suddenly growing almost overtaking it.

"Whoa!" Unus stepped back, whatever force he'd exerted back to normal levels. "Holy SHIT lady!"

Evan had had a similar reaction, but he was able to maintain control. "Rogue!"

Rogue, unused to Evan’s powers and mind racing, was not okay. Spikes sprouted along her back, which only added to it. She tried to pull them back in, eyes widening and heart racing when they refused to budge. "E-Evan!"

Unus made a run for it. "And that's my cue to go folks! Been fun!"

Jean jerked her gaze away from Rogue, suddenly torn.

Evan wasn't. He kept by Rogue, "You're okay, just..."

The police and other onlookers watched in horror. Quickly, a gun was raised.

That brought Jean back to them, standing between the spiked mutants and the crowd. "We need to go. This is out of control."

"I-I'm sorry-"

"Not your fault. It's okay Rogue."

"Keep a shield on us," Evan told her. He took Rogue's arm and quickly led her away. "Just breathe, Rogue, it's okay."

"The-They won't STOP!" She replied, spikes sprouting along her brow.

When they got back to the Blackbird, Evan had to sit her down. (He'd apologize to the Professor about the seats later.) He rubbed her arm, hand gliding softly over the smooth spikes. "Take a deeeep breath."

She nodded, taking it in slow. It was a little easier without all the extra stimuli, and the lack of said stimuli let her focus. The touch on the spikes was an odd sensation. She could feel it, It was distant... but even the distant touch was welcome. "Mm.."

"Let it out slowly," Evan held out his arm to show her as his spikes receded with his breath. "See?"

She nodded, following his breathing. Her spikes would slowly, surely recede, leaving holes and tears in their wake. Many still remained, but at least they were at a manageable length.

"There you go," He offered her a smile, "You got it."

"Mmhm... Th-thanks..." She replied, Jean taking the Blackbird into the air.

"No prob...Ahem," Evan scooted away, averting his eyes.

The thing about Rogue's suit was that it didn't reform like Evan's did. It was a little awkward.

Jean flipped it to autopilot. "So." She started, shrugging off her jacket and offering it to Rogue.

It was an appreciated gesture, Rogue accepting it and tugging it on. "That was the WORST."

"What even was that?" Evan asked, "What's his deal?"

"I don't know. I couldn't feel him, or hear his thoughts or.. anything." Jean told them.

"I don't think anythin' could hit him! It all just! Bounced off!"

"So it's a...force-field type of thing?" Evan suggested.

"Looks like it. One he just... has on." Jean replied. "At least we got a name out of him?"

"Yeah but. What did he WANT?"

Evan shrugged. "Money?"

"If that was all, why the big show?" Jean asked. "And what did he mean by 'proving himself'?"

"...Oh hell."

"What? What's wrong?"

Evan scowled, "What if somebody else got to him first?"

"Oh... Oh no." Jean muttered.

Rogue frowned hard. "Question is... Magneto or Mystique?"

"Either way, we need to plan."

"No kidding. We'd better get back, ASAP."

~~~

"This..." Xavier was troubled by the news. "Oh dear..."

"Jean was kind of able to stop him, but not for long." Evan told him, "I don't know how we're going to fight this...yet. But we'll think of something, right?"

"Of course." He replied. "There must be some kink in his armor, somewhere..." Xavier muttered. "Thank you all, for bringing this to my attention."

"...So," Kitty spoke up after some silence, "What do we do now?"

"I'll talk with the other instructors. And once we've figured something out... Well, I'll let you know then."

Rogue nodded, rubbing her arms. "Mmhm..."

As they were dismissed, Evan glanced at her. "...How're you doing?"

"...Mmfine." She replied. "It's... Just another notch, heh."

Evan was doubtful. But, he didn't want to push her. With one last pat on the shoulder, he left Rogue to her own devices.

Rogue being left to her own devices would involve her moving to the kitchen, trying to get something to calm her nerves.

The spikes would go away over time. Until then, she just had to remain calm.

If she didn't think about it for a second, Rogue could have sworn Augustus hadn't left the kitchen. He was in the middle of drinking a soda, and when he noticed her come in he sputtered slightly. "Mmp! H-Hey!"

"Oh." She said, giving him a little wave. "Hey." She was a bit distracted, fumbling the bag of cocoa powder from the pantry.

Auggie watched her, slowly wiping soda from his mouth. "You, uh...have an incident?"

Rogue grunted, setting a mug aside. "... Could call it that, I guess."

"Geez." There was a pause. "...Do you want to talk about it?"

"Mm... I guess? Not much to talk about." She replied, mixing her drink. "I messed up, and we lost the guy."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't all your fault."

"Maybe not all of it." She admitted. "But my freaking out didn't help things..."

Augustus's mouth quirked up in a sort of smile. "Well..." He leaned against the fridge, "I don't think you could've helped it, right?"

She paused, heating up her mug. "How do you mean?"

"I mean," He shrugged, "The situation was totally out of control, wasn't it?"

"I mean... I guess? Could have done SOMETHING..."

"Sometimes you just can't do anything, right?"

She didn't reply, instead removing her mug to stir it. If you paid close enough attention, you'd notice the tips of spines start to peek through her jacket.

"Some things are just...out of your control.'

"Hrm." She sipped it, spines growing ever further. "They shouldn't be..."

Auggie's smile grew, minutely. "It's not like you can help it, right?"

She growled sharply, spikes jutting out from every which-way. A few embedded themselves in the wall. "I just need time to get used to them, alright!?"

Augustus hissed. He held his shoulder, wincing in pain.

Rogue jerked, stumbling away from him. "Oh-- oh geez! A-Augustus I'm sorry-- Are you...oh god."

"I'm fine, I-I'm...Sss," He gripped his shoulder tighter, "I'm okay."

"No you're not! I-I just! I HURT you! I hurt you bad!" She managed, tone rushed and gripping at the spines coming forth. She yanked a cluster out, hissing loudly. "I-Go get help. I can't..."

Augustus turned quickly, "Hey- anybody! HEY!"

"I-I need to go." She told him, moving out of the kitchen and clenching the spikes tight. "I... I'll send someone your way- I'm so SORRY Augustus."

"Rogue..." Augustus watched her go. He let his hand drop off his shoulder- his pristine, undamaged shoulder.

Again, his mouth quirked up.

~~

Rogue had chosen to seclude herself in her room.

The door was locked, and she was sitting on her bed, hugging her legs close and face buried in her knees. Her coat had been shed, spines up along her arms having receded to nubs at least.

But they still existed, as did a number of them in her trashcan. She'd been there for hours, guilt knotted and thoughts cycling.

There came a knock on her door.

"Rogue?"

Kitty shuffled from foot to foot. She hoped Rogue would answer- she needed to eat after all, not to mention this dinner plate was getting a little warm on her fingers.

"Mm?" Rogue replied, muffled.

"I brought you food."

"Mm." There was shuffling behind it, the door unlocking after a minute and opening up. "Thanks..."

Kitty stepped in, and she winced at the sight of her friend. "Oh, Rogue..." She handed her her food, "How can I help you?"

"Ah.." Rogue gave her a wry attempt at a smile. "It's okay. Brought me food, yeah?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"It's... I'll be fine. Is uh... is Augustus okay...?"

"He's perfectly fine." Kitty took Rogue's hands. "Are YOU okay?"

"I... Yeah." She replied. "Will be, anyway."

"Okay...Well," Kitty held her arms out for a hug, offering a small smile, "I'm here if you need me. Whenever."

Rogue perked, pausing a moment. "Shoot, Kitty." She chuckled, glancing at her arms a moment. It was an awkward hug, Rogue keeping the nubs pointed AWAY from her friend. "Yer the best."

Kitty squirmed a little uncomfortably, but she kept her hug firm. "I know~"

"Pft." Rogue pulled back, nudging her. "And humble too."

"Aren't I~?"

"Mmhm." She replied, ruffling her hair. "It'll... it'll be fine. Just gotta keep my distance while they run their course."

"Well...Okay." Reluctantly, Kitty headed out, "Just let me know if you need something! Or wanna chat or...whatever."

"I will. Thanks Kitty." She replied. "For dinner and.. everything else."

"What are friends for?"

"Heh. Fair enough." She replied, looking to her dinner. Truth be told, she hadn't been that hungry... but it was looking pretty good.

~~

"No, not good. I was the BEST~!!" Unus was... making friends, back on Genosha. "Couldn't even TOUCH ME!"

Gianna was very impressed. "Whaaaat? Man, I wish I coulda seen that!"

"Well hey, guess what?" He replied, smirking. "You stick with ME, and you'll get'ta~" He replied.

Mellencamp, sitting and hunched beside Gia, was tentatively impressed. He wasn't sure how much of this he bought, after all.

Gia grinned up at her scaly friend. She gave him a light jab in the ribs, "He's got a big mouth. I like him."

Randy, as he fiddled with one of his prosthetic legs, gave her a look.

Mellencamp gave her a snicker, nudging her back. "You WOULD."

"WHO WOULDN'T~?" Unus added.

"Soooooo, did you actually HIT anybody?" Gia had her priorities. "I'd wanna hit them. I'd wanna hit them a lot."

"... Ya know." Unus paused. "I broke all their shit, but nah."

"Are you serious."

"I was havin' fun gloating! I'll crack one ‘a 'em next time."

Gianna cackled, "LAME!"

"'EY, EY." He replied sharply. "I still WON, didn't I?"

"Is it a win if nobody hit anybody?"  Seamus pointed out.

"Yeeeeah," Gia sneered, "It's like you just ran away~"

Unus snorted. "Alright, so where's YOU guy's victory stories, ah? YOU ever actually beat 'em?!"

"We've hit 'em."

"Alright FINE!" He replied, waggling his bat at them. "Next time I see 'em, I'll crack one of the dweebs!!"

"I'll believe it when I see it." Randy muttered.

"HAHA! Yeah!" Gia agreed.

Unus scoffed loudly. "Well yer gonna! And it's gonna be AWESOME!"

"Uh-huh."

Gianna smirked, "HEY NILS!"

A younger kid passing by jolted and turned quickly. His dark skin was like yarn, wound thickly around his frame, and it seemed to unravel slightly in his alarm before shifting back into place.

"Think this guy can hit an X-man~?"

"U-Uh..."

Unus cackled, smacking his bat against a nearby half wall for emphasis. "Sure he does! He’s smart, ain'cha Nils?!"

"Uuuuh--"

"I'm just saying, Ni-ni! If he's 'untouchable' does that go both ways?"

"Well I mean like- HEY!! NO! SHUT YER FACE!"

Mellencamp couldn't help but crack up, tail thumping.

Gianna grinned, "WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME?"

Nils started shaking, and he backed up. Randy took one look at him, then at Gianna and Unus. He pointed a finger and-- ZAP!

"OOOW!!"

"OW SHIT!"

Unus, for all his bragging, wasn't COMPLETELY untouchable. His shield had to be active, after all. "What was THAT FOR!?"

"Being assholes," Randy answered, waving Nils along, who scampered away before things could get worse.

Unus scoffed loudly. "Whatever, man! Point is, I'll get it! Got everything TOTALLY under control!"

Randy smiled, a tight, humorless thing, "We'll see."

"Damn right we will." He replied, snickering and turning to head on his way. "Gonna be a good time..."

~~~

Rogue, days later was still not having a good time. The spike had finally, FINALLY receded.. but she wasn't exactly feeling up to par yet.

Of course, some things you had to fake until you made, so she was out on the porch, getting some air and... thinking. She'd been thinking a lot lately. She swung idly on the porch swing, wringing her hands in the early winter chill.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Scott poked his head out of the door, two cocoas in hand.

Rogue glanced back at him, shaking her head and scooting over for him. "If ya want."

He sat beside her, then offered her a mug, "Pretty chilly out, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She accepted it. "Won't be able to go outside before long." Rogue managed a chuckle. "Not without Kurt or Jamie ambushin' us."

Scott smiled. "They're relentless."

"No kiddin. Mm..." She settled in, sipping away. "Thanks for this, by the way."

"Figured you'd need it," Scott took a sip of his own. "...You've been pretty quiet lately."

"Well...Ya know." She replied, shrugging. "Had a lot on my mind."

"Like?"

"Just..." She huffed, watching the slight cloud her breath made. "Stuff."

"Oh." Scott leaned back, "Alright."

"It's... really not a big deal."

"I think it is, Rogue."

Rogue didn't look at him still. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes. You're obviously hurting."

"I'll get over it Scott."

Scott sighed. He was quiet for a while, as he stared out at the sinking sun and glistening snow. "...I know it's scary."

Rogue swallowed hard, gripping her mug a little tighter.

Scott continued, "And I know it's frustrating. But isolating yourself isn't going to do you any good."

She couldn't help the scoff that escaped her. "The alternative ain't much better."

"I don't agree with that."

"Well! What else is there, Scott?! Hurting my friends, my team?!"

"You can't do this alone, Rogue!"

She would stand suddenly, tears brimming. "I can't do it all, Scott!"

"Yes you CAN!" Scott followed, "I promise you, you can!"

"I can't control ANY of them, Scott! I thought I was doing better but-but I'm NOT!" She rubbed her eyes furiously. "I'm exactly where I started! I-I'm broken or something."

He grasped her shoulders tightly, perhaps tighter than he'd meant. "You are NOT broken!"

"Then what's WRONG with me?!"

"You're disabled," Scott's tone was firm, but gentle, "So am I. So are a lot of mutants. It's not something you can help."

Rogue swallowed hard, trying to compose herself.

She didn't quite manage that, instead grabbing him in a tight hug.

The action stunned him, but only for a moment. They stood there for some time, warm despite the settling chill around them. Finally, Scott broke the silence, muttering against the fabric of Rogue’s knit hat. "You're not broken."

Rogue sniffed sharply, quiet for a moment. She gripped a little tighter, giving him a nod.

He gently rubbed circles into her back, "You're going to be okay. I've got you."

"It's just! I feel like I keep going backwards! I know it's not true, but!"

"I know. It's going to get better."

"Mmhm..." She replied, pulling back and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I.. Thank you."

He smiled. "Don't sweat it."

"I mean it." Rogue managed a slight smile. "This all.. it gets really heavy sometimes."

"I know...We got you, alright?"

"Alright... Just. Remind me every once in awhile?"

He chuckled. "I promise."

"Heh.. H-hold ya to that."

Scott's smile widened, and he opened his mouth to say something.

He didn't get the chance, as a snowball suddenly hit his cheek. "Ack! Nope!" He took her wrist quickly and tugged her inside. "Take cover!"

"Oop!" She ran after, holding her hat on before sputtering a laugh. "The dorks started early this year!"

"I don't want ANY PART OF THAT."

"Nope. Let's just plot our revenge inside. Where it's cozy warm." She chuckled, gripping his hand just a little tighter.

"Y'know, that is an excellent idea." Smack! Another snowball hit his back. “Ack!”