#we doin kid reporters now

[emilsgrippers]

get their asses OFF the mic

[yuriisclumsy]

Love's Dance

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 1,234

Part 1 | Part 2 (You are here) | Part 3

Authors note: I'm feeding you all good with this.

Four days have passed since I arrived here. 

I spend most of my time gathering intel and familiarizing myself with the place. One thing I noticed was the lack of underground operations here in the Henituse’s territory. The Count made sure to eradicate all sorts of dangerous activities for his people and family’s sake. 

Gotta give it to him, he did a spectacular job. The only underground activity—If you can call that—I was able to find were a few gangs in the semi-slums that didn’t have much strength. 

Aside from this, I also investigated and searched for the people on the list. Good news, I only have one last person to check. Bad news… 

It’s the Count’s son. 

“*Sigh…* Why does fate hate me so much?” I asked, looking up at the sky. Covering my face from the sun's rays with my hand, I search for writings, a sign…anything that could answer my question.  

“...oh, who am I kidding? Fate won’t respond to me, even if I were to beg for it.” 

Walking down a street full of vendors trying to sell products, my mind wandered to how I'll manage to get close to Cale Henituse, Count Deruth’s oldest son—and possibly his successor. 

A loud voice interrupted my state of mind, much to my dismay. It came from a woman standing on a podium. She had gathered a crowd with her excessive yelling; both adults and children were listening excitedly. 

Hmmm. Seems interesting My feet moved on their own, trying to get me as close as possible to this small curiosity. 

Getting a good listen at the girl, she seems to be announcing something. 

“Everyone! There will be a Festival in the next upcoming days!” The girl yelled excitedly. 

“A festival?”  

Having a festival means there is going to be more security, and knowing the Count’s record…yeah, no This was turning out to be a real nuisance. I don’t want to deal with that while doing this mission. I better find a plan to get to Henituse before the festival. But how…?  

Just as I turned to leave, the girl shouted again. 

“The Henituses’ are hosting this festival and are going to be in attendance through the whole thing! So don’t miss out on it!” 

This! I shot my head towards the girl, having a few stares at me. But I could care less. What is more important is the fact that I can use this festival to my advantage!  

If I can get him to mingle with the people, it’ll save me a lot of time! I grinned like a madman. 

“Look mama! That lady is smiling weirdly!” A kid pointed at me. 

“Don’t point,” the mother quickly grabbed him and walked away while staring at me weirdly. 

 Realizing I was acting out of line, I left the area to stop making an embarrassment out of myself. 

Ah! There is no time to waste! I need to come up with a plan fast! Otherwise, I'll lose this once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you fate, I'll never doubt you again! 

I made my way to the room that was rented out for me. I did not notice the older gentleman in front of me and bumped into him, causing some of his groceries to fall. Luckily, he managed to catch all the items before they fell on the floor. 

“Oh, I am really sorry!” I vowed while apologizing, I went around him and stayed on my path. 

The older gentlemen stared at me until I faded into nothing. 

“...” 

… 

“So, there are two high class agents currently in the city?” Cale asked. 

“Yes.” Choi Han confirmed. Ron was right next to him when they made the discovery, so they went straight back to report. “One of the agents has been living in the city for a few years with little activity, the other recently arrived.” 

“From what we gathered, the newer agent is most likely the one assigned to whatever mission they gave out.” Said Ron right after Han finished. 

“Those are a few fries! I could go right now and destroy them!” A young dragon spoke while playing with his food, he smashed a cookie signifying what he’ll do. 

No, thank you. You’ll just destroy the city while doing so. Cale sweated at this image. 

“One of them is a bit odd if I have to say.” Ron spoke. 

“What do you mean?” 

“When me and the punk were searching, we ran across one of them. She seemed to be happily skipping while putting up bombs.” Ron said with a smile. 

You call that odd? She seems to fit right in with those weirdos. Cale thought. 

“What Ron said is true. She is really weird.” Choi Han agreed.

 

“What is odd about that? If anything, she matches Arm’s whole craze-quota.” 

“She was placing bombs in abandoned homes and alleys; places people didn’t frequent. Don’t you think this is a bit strange?” Ron finally said. 

Cale grabbed his chin in thought.

That is strange. Usually, Arm does not care for casualties. As long as they’re plans were met, anyone could go up in flames… Still, her placing bombs while skipping is concerning. 

“...keep an eye on her and take Raun and the cats with you. I want to dismantle the bombs to be safe.” Cale ordered his subordinates. 

“Yes, master Cale.” 

“Yes, young master.” 

“You ready big sister?” 

“Hm! Can’t wait to teach the youngest how this is done!” 

“I’ll show you, human, that Raun is the greatest!” 

“Good. Now go.” Cale dismissed the group. 

… 

They really just sent me on a suicide mission I thought, looking over the information I had on Cale as I sat in a desk in complete defeat. There were papers scattered all over the room; they covered walls, floor, and bed—there were even some in the bathroom. It wasn’t a pretty site. 

They were detailed plans I had been brainstorming, but so far, all the routes had flaws and countermeasures from the opposing party. I grabbed my hair in frustration. 

Cale’s party consists of powerful individuals: from skilled butlers to beast men. All beings I could not take down on my own, heck, I don’t think even with competent members of Arm, would I, in a million years, take them down. I can’t even hold a weapon correctly. 

“Agh…mmHGHMGHMM” I hit my head against the wooden desk. The despair I was feeling was immense. 

“Maybe it isn’t too late to run away yet…” I say hopeful, before turning on my rationality. “Oh, who am I kidding!? They’ll find me if I run away!” I cry out. 

I glance at the papers on the floor, but one gets my attention. The festival flier had beautiful dancers covering its frame along with some instruments. Flipping the paper to its back gives some information on one of the events of the festival: every day of the festival, right after sunset, citizens and guests can take part in a dance. 

I don’t get how they can plan all of this in a matter of days…the Henituses’ are incredible. Wait a second. If I can get the count’s son to dance, then I’ll be able to get to him! It still needs polishing, but I can combine this with a scraped plan. 

“Looks like I need to contact Agent Lance for a local dress.” 

…

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚜: @lureslutes, @cruzerforce4256, @narcise63, @potterhead-whovian-117, @margieee194, @zenix108, @vimenorie, @lunavixia, @potterhead-whovian-117, @alithurism, @matchalyne, @minteaspoon, @dontknowhowtousethis, @valacz29, @rainalovesouya, @vimenorie, @lunavixia, @ru8yx. Re-blog or Comment if you want to get added into the Tag section for Lout of Count's Family updates. Back to Lout Of Count's Family Master-List

Master-List

[the-fifth-rascal]

TW: Death, blood.

Lunch almost seemed to go by in a blur. Kaveh and Dehya were just yapping about some random-ass stuff. Makeup, gossip, more gossip, SIMS, and god knows what. He was just tuning everything out as they dug into the nuts, as his mind went to the blazing red glow he saw Dehya emit. Didn’t Kaveh say that he could see others in the color of the element they wield? If Dehya was red…does that mean she could be…what element was red again? Fire? Mauvika? Pyro! She had a vision too? And fire powers no less.

That was crazy. He was crazy. But all genuises are just a little bit crazy, aren't they? He could be onto something! If if one of the first people he'd met at this school already has a vision, then how many potential or recruited vision wielders exist already? And why hadn’t he heard of them before that very day?

His stress was clearly getting to him. Again, Tighnari was a very self aware person. He knew that he was overthinking everything. But overthinking is what kept his ancestors alive. And it'll probably be the one thing to keep him alive too.

Before he knew it, he was sitting at math class. Zoning out. Again. What a shocker. The thing that made him realise that he was zoning out was the multiple notifications that went blaring in his pocket. Not just vibrating, blaring. And it wasn't just his phone too.

Multiple phones were frantically ringing across the classroom. As teachers are bound too, the math teachers forehead creased into a frown.

“Haven't I told you all MULTIPLE times that phones must be silent during class hours?! Kids these days.” He shook his head in blatant disapproval. That was until the infernal noise echoed from his pocket. His eyes widened as he muttered ‘I could've sworn I muted it….’ under his breath. He whipped it out and scrolled through the alert, his face flashing with multiple emotions all at once. Fear, concern, confusion, horror, and even more confusion.

At that, the others in the class simultaneously took out their own phones. Tighnari followed suit as well, scrolling through the news. If it was so bad it had cause an alert, then it'd be better if he knew what it was for. A tornado? A kidnapping? Who knows.

He just hoped it wouldn’t be worse than any of that.

‘Multiple sources from all over Sumeru city are reporting a large strange creature of an unknown and unrecognized species harming and terrorizing citizens. This is not a drill, keep all citizens out of harms way and evacuate the premises to the nearest indoors.’

‘It has been reported that it was heading to the Sumeru Akademiya. What is this strange thing? What are its motives? Around 13 people have been slaughtered by it and 43 injured. More information of the Steambird app.’

And below it all was a blurry image of the creature. Blood stained its teeth red and mangled human flesh wrapped around his claws. It was also kinda..brown and furry. With a white mask. Tighnari didn’t get nightmares from stuff he see’s often. But if anything ever would, it’d be whatever this is.

Naturally, as all children would do in this situation, they started cheering. “NO SCHOOL!” someone cheered, slamming their desk triumphantly. Another kid immediately whipped out their phone. “Guys, group selfie! Apocalypse edition!” “Can we go home now?” someone whined. The entire situation was so frustrating it almost made Tighnari want to pull his brain out of his nose. The teacher, meanwhile, looked like he was having a stroke. “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE! SAVE YOURSELVES!” he hollered, before sprinting out through the doorWAY. He could hear the sound of him tripping over his own shoelace in the hallway.

Tighnari rushed outside to help him, and others followed suit only to create chaos in the hallways. It wasn’t just them either. Everyone poured out of their respective classes, screaming and running and locking themselves in closets and lockers. It wasn’t long until he found Kaveh doing the same. He promptly tapped him on the shoulder, which made the blond jump half a foot into the air.

“We should escape.” Tighnari whispered “if what the monster or whatever?”

“Monster?! There’s a monster?! What do you mean?! I was just freaking out because everyone else was.” he replied, which made tighnari slap his forehead. He grabbed his hand and attempted to drag him towards the exit.

Then the wall beside him cracked.

It started as a thin line, but the concrete quickly splintered, fractures racing outward like the concrete was fragile as glass. Tighnari’s ears twitched, almost immediately picking up the sounds of heavy thuds behind the wall which made him grip Kaveh’s hand even tighter and pick up the pace.

Poor Kaveh was just blindly letting Tighnari heaven him around like a sack of potatoes, bumping into every nook and cranny as his friend carelessly dragged him around. He could've sworn he heard the sound of something rough slamming against the wall, making debris crumble fron the ceiling. Was this monster thing really legit? Damn.

They managed to reach the bathroom, latching the door of it behind them and heaving sighs of relief. “You use your phone to check Teyvatgram, celestiachat, and akashatube. But not the news?! When there's an alert no less.”

“I got my phone confiscated dumbass.” Kaveh hissed pacing around the bathroom. “Monster?…that seems like it's made up. It's been ATLEAST 500 years since those things went extinct. What could it be, a science experiment that went rogue? An alien from outspace? Rakshasas from hell??”

“The only theory that makes sense here are the science experiment one.” Tighnari replied, walking beside Kaveh. “Isn't it strange?”

Kaveh looked at Tighnari with a single raised eyebrow. His fists were clenched tightly and his eyes lowered into slits as his lips pressed into a thin line. “I just said that, didn't I?”

“It's not just the monster thing. I still don't understand, why is all of this weird stuff happening now? Just because an evil entity might try and destroy Teyvat as we know it, how would the archons know that if they're dead or in hiding? And what's so special about now?” He sighed “I'm overthinking. I hate this.” Groaning, he put his face in his hands, his breathing slightly ragged.

With a look of concern, Kaveh casually wrapped his hand around Tighnari's shoulder. “How about we both head home? It's not like the teachers are gonna teach in all this chaos.”

Scepticiam crossed Tighnari’s face. He was one who rarely cut class. Even when he was sick, he'd find some way to work around it. He even had multiple boxes of surgical face masks that doctors use at home. But there was a minimal chance of classes still going on, especially seeing how his math teacher had panicked.

“Alright…” he murmured, the slight hint of his unconvinced thoughts lingering in his speech. “let's get out of here.”

They both walked towards the door, but a sudden crash through the door sent them reeling backwards from the force of the impact. And it wasn't through the doorWAY, it was through the door. Like, straight through it. The noise of the concrete smashing with the impact was so loud Tighnari had to practically shove his hands into his ears.

When the dust cleared, Tighnari and Kaveh found themselves frozen in their spots, unable to move. Before them, was….a pikmin! No it wasn't, it was obviously the monster from the news. And the monster from the news, had a blood stained, metal, AXE.

Tighnari and Kaveh were glued to their spots, blood running cold. The monstrous creature breaths were heavy, huffing and panting, catching it's breath. It reeked of all things trash, and it's murky for was just disgusting. But it was also ten times the size of both Nari and Kaveh conbined.

They were done for.

Or so they thought.

The minute the monster raised its axe, a blur of blazing red whizzed past them, clocking the thing on the side of its head with a force so strong it toppled over. It let out a roar from the bottom of its throat and flailed around blindly, a deep burn smoking out of the side of his head.

The thing that burned the monster landed on the ground, panting at the sudden exertion of energy, both Tighnari and Kaveh recognising her instantly. That brazen aura. That deep-brown hair.

“What are you both just standing around for losers?!?” Dehya exclaimed ”get out of here!”

*******************

She didn't need to tell them twice. They were out like cardigans on a July, with the creature and Dehya hot on their heels. Luckily for them, only one of them managed to catch up. “So what'd you do to get that monster pissed off?” Dehya asked, sprinting beside the two as they screamed like toddlers.

“WE—DIDN’T—DO—ANYTHING!” Tighnari huffed and puffed with every minute he sprinted, fear taking over his relief of the confirmation of his saneness. Or non-craziness? Whatever.

“YOU—COOL—FIRE—POWERS!” Kaveh gasped out extatically, unable to hide the exuberant gleam of admiration in his eyes. Dehya smirked at Kavehs’ excitement and Tighnari’s frustration as she pulled the two into an abandoned room. Before flicking the power switch of it on, the room was so dark Tighnari could barely see his hands in the front of his face. Just BLACKKKK BLACK AS IT CAN BE 다가가면 갈수록 깊어지는

“Kaveh for the love of god stop singing alien stage you don’t even know Korean.” tighnari groaned, while Dehya just looked confused at the boys sudden outburst before erupting into peals of laughter. When she slapped her knee, that was when he suddenly noticed the boxing gloves on Dehya’s hands that were now a mush of burnt fabric and charcoal.

“Why do you know Korean Kaveh?” “I don’t know Korean, but I know depression. Which means I know Alien stage.” he comments more proudly than he should’ve, earning eye rolls from the others. “Back to the matter at hand,” Tighnari interrupted, silencing the other two as he took in his surroundings. Training mats, an assortment of balls (heh, balls.) and other sporting goods, it should’ve been obvious to them at first glance. But Tighnari’s head was just plain cloudy. Cloudy with a chance of panic. What, did you think he was gonna say meatballs?

Dehya and Kaveh were silent, just staring at Tighnari blankly like they were both sharing a singular braincell. The sudden focus on the boy made him suddenly uncomfortable for some reason. “What are you two looking at me for?!” he demanded nervously, biting down on his lip. “We’re waiting for your plan.” Dehya claimed like it was the most obvious thing ever as Kaveh vigorously nodded his head in agreement.

Tighnari’s face contorted into one of shock as his posture suddenly stiffened, mouth agape in a silent gasp, motioning towards Dehya “Aren’t you the one who has the cool fire powers!? And you saved us, so you should be the one having the plan!”

Now it was Dehya’s turn for the shock, her eyebrows raising high on her forehead as she let out a scoff “I know you have powers too! Don’t even try hiding it you two.” “We weren’t exactly subtle.” Kaveh admitted defeatedly, his shoulders slumping as his face fell.

“You think I didn’t know that?!” TIghnari argued, massaging his forehead exasperatedly. “But we barely know how to use them!” an awkward silence hung in the air, everyone just stealing glances at each other, hoping someone would say something to get themselves out of the debacle. Luckily, Kaveh opened his mouth “Lets just do what we were gonna do before.” he shrugged “go home.”

Tighnari and Dehya looked at him like he was the stupidest person in the room, until the realization hit them both simuntaneously. “Hey…he’s right!” Dehya said “This isn’t our problem to deal with. Lets just walk all the way home and ditch this shithole. Sticking around here is either a death wish or just plain useless. I bet the monster’s gone already.”

“I hate to admit it, but she’s right.” Tighnari concured, his mind going back to all the damage the strange monster had caused, glancing at the cracked crevices of the ceiling “I still don’t like the idea of skipping, but it seems unlikely that anyone would try to take class at this rate.”

“Great!” Kaveh hollered, practically leaping across the polished floors of the gym to get to the doorway. “Then lets go..” the minute before Kaveh could finish his sentence, the door he was about to open and walk through was ripped of its hinges and THROWN at him. Kaveh didn’t have time to react as he was immediately thrown backwards with the sheer force of the door, and was knocked out instantly, stars and darkness clouding his vision as his body throbbed with a sudden surge of pain.

The monster’s roar ripped through the air like a thunderclap, making Tighnari’s ears ring as debris rained down from the ceiling. His heart pounded wildly as he stumbled toward Kaveh. “Kaveh… Kaveh, don’t pass out!” he urged, shoving the broken door off his friend with trembling hands. Relief washed over him when he saw Kaveh’s chest still rising and falling. But he DID sport a massive ugly looking bruise on his forehead that Kaveh would be more horrified at than the possibility of a concussion.

Dehya immediately came forward, fists blazing and a confident determination burning in her eyes “Hey ugly!” she mocked, nervous sweat dripping of her forehead, her brain repeating the words why am I doing this why am I doing this oh i’m so dead in her head like a mantra. But she still held her own. The fire blasts that shot out of her own fists had managed to do quite a bit of damage, but it wasn’t enough power. It wouldn’t be enough to take it down. It wouldn’t be enough.

She started getting exhausted, her chest aching and the fire starting to sear her skin just the slightest. What was she to so now? She couldn’t die now! That would be incredibly embarrassing, and Tighnari would probably faint at the sight of blood anyways. So that meant he’s dead too.

But before she could give up all hope as the monster raised his weapon, ready for the kill, with a whizz and a thwack, something bright and red struck the monster square between its eyes. which made his grip on the blood stained axe tighten as he was knocked backwards. A bright ball bounced off of his head and simply fell to the ground with a tinier bounce.

Dehya turned to see Tighnari gripping a dodgeball as tight as he could, the fear obvious in his eyes but a determined resolve within him arose. “Wow—” he stuttered, letting out a laugh “Why am I doing this? I must be crazy.”

The monster crushed the ball under his heavy foot, deflating it, before charging at the boy. But he reacted quickly, moving out of the way, which left nothing between him and the wall, crashing straight through. While the monster was in a state of distortment, Tighnari turned his attention to the boy splayed on the floor, groaning. He helped him up as he rubbed the new formed purple bruise on his head.

“Mmmmmmhhgg—” he groaned “mwwha—what happennt?” He shook his head and blinked woozily, trying to get back to his senses. “A door slammed into you.” Tighnari replied simply. Kaveh massaged his head and analysed his surroundings, before picking up a baseball bat. “That isn't gonna do shit.” the other boy commented snidely. “And dodgeballs are?!” Kaveh exclaimed astoundedly. “It was meant for a distraction.” Tighnari shot back as the monster was slowly rising up to its feet, huffing and puffing in rage.

Kaveh raised his bat and hit the monster with his bat, but it snapped in half. Looking at the half snapped bat, he giggled sheepishly as it turned to face him, being so close that he could smell the devoured rotting corpses from its breath.

He instantaneously recoiled backwards and held his hands out in front of himself in defence, screaming as the monster raised its axe. Without a second thought, Tighnari rushed forward and pushed him out of the way.

The floor was painted red. Blood seeped through the cracks of the wooden floor as the boy fell to his knees, only hearing the sound of screams all around him. A searing pain shot through his abdomen, so blinding it forced the air from his lungs. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he tried to breathe, his vision blurring at the edges. Screaming, screaming, and screaming. But none of it was comprehendable.

Ah…it hurts….

This really….sucks…

Is this what dying feels like?….

The blood pounded in his ears as he choked on the blood that came up from his abdomen, unable to bring himself to look at the weapon wedged in between his as he fell to his knees, unfelt tears running down his face. His body was in so much pain, yet it somehow felt numb.

Why isn’t…anyone…helping me? Kaveh…Dehya….

Other people make it look so easy…..

Is this really how it feels…?

And that, dear diary, was the story of how the fifteen year old, Tighnari Valukshuna, had met his demise.

The end.

@smileything I'm sorry in advance

[patibato]

[Bitter Sweet Sixteen] 002-A26 - All Grown-ups were Once—*

Momiji: Phew… that was refreshing. Feels like it's been forever since I could take a relaxing soak in the bath.

(I've been so on edge over the kids this past while… I did pretty well for a job I'm not used to, if I do say so myself.)

And that's why—I think I ought to reward myself a little bit!

Udon snacks and olive oil mochi! Wasanbon sweets! And of course, local alcohol!

Alright, here I go! Chew chew…

*ding*

Momiji: S-so good…!

The refreshing olive oil aroma hits your nose first, and a savoury aroma follows it! The flavour is satisfying, but not heavy at all!

Coupled with a scent that stimulates the appetite, you can't help but reach for the next…!

(This time yesterday we were still at Shodoshima, making a ruckus. Feels like a week has passed since then already…)

…It sure is quiet.

Sakujiro: You appear to be basking in the afterglow of Shodoshima.

Momiji: Sa-Sakujiro-san. Sorry, I was talking pretty loudly to myself…!

Sakujiro: Not at all. I simply came to grab a drink while taking a break from work.

Momiji: …Ah. Right, the report cards for those five—how did they go?

Sakujiro: I am currently right in the middle of grading them.

Momiji: (Their score will determine whether or not they can become Ward Mayors…)

(They're at the very bottom of the school caste system, five problem children…)

I'm getting kinda nervous, after all this time.

Sakujiro: Though it seems the ones in question have completely forgotten about it.

Momiji: Ahaha, you've got that right— …

Sakujiro: Whatever is the matter?

Momiji: Ah, well… it's just sinking in how happy it made me, that even though they were all uninterested and lacked motivation at first, in the end they really pushed forward and gave it their all.

Sakujiro: Indeed, they all had such wonderful spirits.

Momiji: …Personally, I've felt this since high school, but when it comes to looking before you leap, or rather… with the disagreements and failures that may happen as you get older—

How do you come to terms with those when they actually stand in your way…?

Watching them made me realise that I may have grown accustomed to rationalising those situations.

Sakujiro: …Yes, that's certainly true.

I'm the type who could never find hopes and dreams as passionate as they have—

It certainly helped that I had my sunglasses on for the trip. Else I would have been blinded.

Momiji: Ahahaha! That's true!

Sakujiro: That goes for seeing you in front of me right now, too.

Momiji: What are you talking about? It's fine to spend your whole life searching for hopes and dreams.

I've seen plenty of older people smile and tell me they used to think travelling didn't suit them and was a pain, but as they got older, they came to love it.

Sakujiro: Oh my, that's splendid. I'm envious.

However, just as there are people who can eventually find them in the prime of their life, so too will there be those who can't.

Momiji: …

*shuffling*

Sakujiro: ? Chief, this is…

Momiji: Here. It's the tastiest treat I have.

Sakujiro: … Thank you very much. I shall accept this, along with your feelings.

Momiji: And—if they manage to become Tourism Ward Mayors, it might spark a revolution in the school caste system, so please remember that I gave you this, and…!

Sakujiro: No can do. Even with a bribe, I shall grade them without bias.

Momiji: Kh…!

Sakujiro: Well then, I shall go and push through a little longer. …Until tomorrow.

Momiji: Yeah, see you tomorrow—

(It'll be fine. I know those kids can do it…)

Akuta: Hee~y, I have arrived! It's been two days, how's everyone doin'~? Yay yay!

Ushio: So noisy, this early… you don't need to do a weird dance, so hurry and close the door. You're letting in the hot air from the hallway.

Akuta: Today's when we finally get our results, yeah~! I'm excited! Thought I wouldn't be able to sleep 'cause of nerves but I was out like a light!

Nanaki: Aah, that energy takes me back. Feels like we've returned to Shodoshima.

Muneuji: Yes, it's been a while since we've been face-to-face. My heart is leaping.

Nanaki: Mine isn't at all.

Ushio: Honestly, I don't care about being a Ward Mayor. In fact, I hope I fail. It's a hassle.

Muneuji: You two aren't honest in the slightest.

Nanaki: Eeh.

Ushio: …That's not true at all.

Akuta: Ahaha, it's so funny when Ushio acts like a stereotypical tsundere~!

Anyway, Kiroku, why're you in ultra depression mode?

Kiroku: …

Ushio: Poor thing only found out the egg went missing after the fact.

Muneuji: I know you were more attached to it than anyone else. Don't fret—I'm sure it's living a happy life among the sea anemone.

Kiroku: …

Ushio: Come on, get over it already. It's humid enough as is, and you're just making it more oppressive-

*door opens*

Momiji: Good morning, everyone!

Sakujiro: Good morning.

Akuta: Mornin' Sensei and Kari-sen. Your hair and clothes are as perfect today as al… hm?

Who's that~? The guy behind you.

Ushio: …

Kiroku: …

Sakujiro: Very good. It took but one second for you all to settle into silence.

Today is the long-awaited announcement of your results from Shodoshima, but there is something to talk about first.

Allow me to introduce him. This gentleman is the President of Hama Tours—

*chalk writing*

Kafka: It's nice to meet you all, who stand at the bottom of the school caste system. I am Oguro Kafka.

Nanaki: …

Kafka: Today, I thought I'd come to talk to everyone about something you won't have been informed of.

It'll take a little while, so get comfortable and listen. —Chief Momiji, the data hologram.

Momiji: On it!

Kafka: I believe Chief has explained this to you already, but the "Special Tourism Ward" Hama is in an unfavourable state as a tourist destination. To put it bluntly, it's starting to go under.

We at Hama Tours are working to break that status quo—

Ushio: …

Momiji: (As expected from Kafka… he's great at holding a talk… Even Ushio-kun is listening attentively, without butting in. I have to learn from this…)

Kafka: …And so, we've been looking for companions to liven Hama up together with. I would be very happy if you could be that for us.

Kiroku: … …

Kafka: —Next, why were you the ones chosen as candidates?

Momiji: (I haven't heard that yet myself…)

Kafka: When my mother was alive, she was close with the Principal's "relatives". The motivation was getting advice from an educator's perspective on what kind of people would be good choices for Ward Mayors.

Muneuji: …The Principal…

Ushio: What's up, Muuchan?

Muneuji: …It's nothing.

Kafka: The idea of choosing students who have room to grow was agreeable to me. I'm quite the fan of the potential that dwells within imperfection.

And so, after careful consideration on our part, we chose you.

*The chapter title is likely a cut off quote from "The Little Prince", so I translated based on that (with the full quote being "All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.")

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Masterlist

[zoroara]

OCtober Challenge Day 17 - Greedy

Tyr never liked being dragged out to talk to Timoteo, yes it was part of his job but he'd very much rather stay home. Admittedly though, despite their usual back and forth it was less that he didn't like talking to the man and rather he just didn't want to leave the Varia HQ if it wasn't a mission.

As he reported details to the older man in the garden, someone passes by, despite the room outdoors, made sure to try to bump him as they do. Of course he moved slightly to avoid, only to lower himself slightly as he looks behind him, darkening his visage as he pulls a smile.

"Did ya need somethin' from me?" The only response from Xanxus, the brat that Timoteo took in be a slightly annoyed face. Tyr could tell the kid was testing his limits here. To most people he always seemed like Timoteo's dog, listening to the man's orders despite clear contempt at time. But that's how he likes them to see him, because it means when they make mistakes, they never suspect him to be able to act.

He always can use Timoteo's words as a shield and Timoteo knows this, having to constantly fight him to keep him in this dance, and even then the leash Tyr gifted him had never existed. He was no dog, but much like a coyote, he was easily mistaken for one. And if this child who is so full of himself, despite his clearly greedy nature when it comes to his power, were to be tasked with this, Tyr knew he would fail.

Not only because he would ruin any leadership position he touched without his own leash, but because he already had assumed what everyone else did.

"Tyr, can you stop trying to intimidate my son?"

He looks back to his boss, he had honestly forgotten his slight annoyance at the situation so whatever look he had on his face was incidental.

"Hm? Ah that's not what 'm doin' that's just my face. Where were we again?"

Yeah fun fact, Tyr fucking deeply dislikes Xanxus and his personality, he sees him as an inherent failure of a leader. Even though Tyr himself is a man who is filled with selfishness, he understands that leadership requires you to make sacrifices for your men.

As a leader you are to serve your men as much as they serve you.

But to him Xanxus is an eternally greedy little brat who only wants to take and take and take until there's nothing left to take. Tyr knows damn well, that it kills people.

and while he doesn't care about the lives of his men, he does need them in order to continue operating the Varia. He does need them to keep the comfortable position he has, and his ability to continue fighting strong fights. But if you keep destroying your own men, you will weaken your own forces, and then what?

You won't have anything.

Tyr may know he's only a teenager right now, but he knows at this point the way he acts will keep up unless something changes.

[angsty-prompt-hole]

OC in 15

Tagged by @ceph-the-ghost-writer

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well!

I'm leaving this as an open tag.

I'm gonna do this for my OC Henny because he says a lot of unhinged things and he also has the most stuff I've written for him.

"Uh...that's complicated. You know how Payton can't stay dead? Well, it's actually nothing like that now that I think about it, but point is they're kinda in the middle. Perpetually. Forever."

"...Would it be disrespectful to say I lived bitches? Kinda feel like it would be."

"...Fine. Fine! Spooky scary tunnels it is. Great."

"No wonder so many of y'all fuckin' die here. You fuckin' lunatics are just askin' for it. I'll never understand humans."

"I'm not supposed to help anyone in this hellhole, but considerin' the excessively gruesome threats from Payton, guess what I'm doin'."

"Humans create the weirdest shit I swear. Those Monster Energy coffees are very chuggable, but everyone said I'd be bouncin' off the walls and I feel nothin'. Your coffee drinks are broken."

"Swear to gods if I have to save one more tourist from going into the mines I'm gonna lose it. Don't follow weird whispers into the mines, kids."

"Apparently I actually have to report what's goin' on in this hellhole. Not sure why, considerin' there's only like one person in this entire fuckin' town who has no idea what's goin' on ever. Anyways, ritual sacrifice takin' place at the church later so maybe don't go there."

"What the fuckin hell is Scooby Doo?"

"I'm up at super strange hours of the day and I like whatever those things you humans eat are that are like tortilla tubes filled with beans."

"Didn't know I could actually get tired, but here we are."

[spoke9]

Debridement

By Michael S. Harper

Debridement

Black men are oaks cut down. Congressional Medal of Honor Society United States of America chartered by Congress, August 14, 1958; this certifies that STAC John Henry Louis is a member of this society. “Don’t ask me anything about the medal. I don’t even know how I won it.” Debridement: The cutting away of dead or contaminated tissue from a wound to prevent infection. America: love it or give it back.

Corktown

Groceries ring

in my intestines:

grits aint groceries

eggs aint poultry

Mona Lisa was a man:

waltzing in sawdust

I dream my cards

has five holes in it,

up to twenty holes;

five shots out of seven

beneath the counter;

surrounded by detectives

pale ribbons of valor

my necklace of bullets

powdering the operating table.

Five impaled men loop their ribbons

’round my neck

listening to whispers of valor:

“Honey, what you cryin’ ’bout?

You made it back.”

Caves

Four M-48 tank platoons ambushed

near Dak To, two destroyed:

the Ho Chi Minh Trail boils,

half my platoon rockets

into stars near Cambodia,

foot soldiers dance from highland woods

taxing our burning half:

there were no caves for them to hide.

We saw no action,

eleven months twenty-two days

in our old tank

burning sixty feet away:

I watch them burn inside out:

hoisting through heavy crossfire,

hoisting over turret hatches,

hoisting my last burning man

alive to the ground,

our tank artillery shells explode

killing all inside:

hoisting blown burned squad

in tank’s bladder,

plug leaks with cave blood:

there were no caves for them to hide—

In the Projects

Slung basketballs at Jeffries

House with some welfare kids

weaving in their figure eight hunger.

Mama asked if I was taking anything?

I rolled up my sleeves:

no tracks, mama:

“black-medal-man ain’t street-poisoned,”

militants called:

“he’s an electronic nigger!”

“Better keep electronic nigger 'way.”

Electronic Nigger?

Mama, unplug me, please.

A White Friend Flies In from the Coast

Burned—black by birth,

burned—armed with .45,

burned—submachine gun,

burned—STAC hunted VC,

burned—killing 5-20,

burned—nobody know for sure;

burned—out of ammo,

burned—killed one with gun-stock,

burned—VC AK-47 jammed,

burned—killed faceless VC,

burned—over and over,

burned—STAC subdued by three men,

burned—three shots: morphine,

burned—tried killing prisoners,

burned—taken to Pleiku,

burned—held down, straitjacket,

burned—whites owe him, hear?

burned—I owe him, here.

Mama’s Report

“Don’t fight, honey,

don’t let ’em catch you.”

Tour over, gear packed,

hospital over, no job.

“Aw man, nothin' happened,”

explorer, altar boy—

Maybe it’s ��cause they killed people

and don’t know why they did?

My boy had color slides of dead people,

stacks of dead Vietnamese.

MP’s asked if he’d been arrested

since discharge, what he’d been doin’:

“Lookin’ at slides,

looking’ at stacks of slides, mostly.”

Fifteen minutes later a colonel called

from the Defense Department, said he’d won the medal;

could he be in Washington with his family,

maybe he’d get a job now; he qualified.

The Democrats had lost, the president said;

there were signs of movement in Paris:

Fixing Certificates:   Dog Tags:   Letters Home

Our heliteam had mid-air blowout

dropping flares—5 burned alive.

The children carry hand

grenades to and from piss tubes.

Staring at tracer bullets

rice is the focal point of war.

On amphibious raid, our heliteam

found dead VC with maps of our compound.

On morning sick call you unzip;

before you piss you get a smear.

“VC reamed that mustang a new asshole”—

even at movies: “no round-eye pussy no more”—

Tympanic membrane damage: high gone—

20-40 db loss mid-frequencies.

Scrub-typhus, malaria, dengue fever, cholera;

rotting buffalo, maggoted dog, decapped children.

Bangkok: amber dust, watches, C-rations,

elephanthide billfolds, cameras, smack.

Sand&tinroof bunkers, 81/120 mm:

“Health record terminated this date by reason of death.”

Vaculoated amoeba, bacillary dysentery, hookworm;

thorazine, tetracycline, darvon for diarrhea.

'Conitus’: I wanna go home to mama;

Brown’s mixture, ETH with codeine, cortisone skin-creams.

Written on helipad fantail 600 bed Repose;

“no purple heart, hit by ’nother marine.”

“Vascular repair, dissection, debridement”:

sharp bone edges, mushy muscle, shrapnel: stainless bucket.

Bodies in polyethylene bag: transport:

'Tan San Nhat Mortuary’

Blood, endotracheal tube, prep

abdomen, mid-chest to scrotum—

“While you’re fixin' me doc,

can you fix them ingrown hairs on my face?”

“They didn’t get my balls, did they?”

50 mg thorazine—“Yes they did, marine!”

Street-Poisoned

Swans loom on the playground

swooning in the basket air,

the nod of their bills

in open flight, open formation.

Street-poisoned, a gray mallard

skims into our courtyard with a bag:

And he poisons them—

And he poisons them—

Electronic-nigger-recruiter,

my pass is a blade

near the sternum

cutting in:

you can make this a career.

Patches itch on my chest and shoulders—

I powder them with phisohex

solution from an aerosol can:

you can make this a career.

Pickets of insulin dab the cloudy

hallways in a spray.

Circuits of change

march to an honor guard—

I am prancing:

I am prancing:

you can make this a career.

Makin’ Jump Shots

He waltzes into the lane

’cross the free-throw line,

fakes a drive, pivots,

floats from the asphalt turf

in an arc of black light,

and sinks two into the chains.

One on one he fakes

down the main, passes

into the free lane

and hits the chains.

A sniff in the fallen air—

he stuffs it through the chains

riding high:

“traveling” someone calls—

and he laughs, stepping

to a silent beat, gliding

as he sinks two into the chains.

Debridement:   Operation Harvest Moon:   On Repose

The sestina traces a circle in language and body.

Stab incision below nipple,

left side; insert large chest tube;

sew to skin, right side;

catch blood from tube

in gallon drain bottle.

Wash abdomen with phisohex;

shave; spray brown iodine prep.

Stab incision below sternum

to symphis pubis

catch blood left side;

sever reddish brown spleen

cut in half; tie off blood supply;

check retroperitoneal,

kidney, renal artery bleeding.

Dissect lateral wall

abdominal cavity; locate kidney;

pack colon, small intestine;

cut kidney; suture closely;

inch by inch check bladder,

liver, abdominal wall, stomach:

25 units blood, pressure down.

Venous pressure: 8; lumbar

musculature, lower spinal column

pulverized; ligate blood vessels,

right forearm; trim meat, bone ends;

tourniquet above fracture, left arm;

urine, negative: 4 hours; pressure

unstable; remove shrapnel flecks.

Roll on stomach; 35 units blood;

pressure zero; insert plastic blood

containers, pressure cuffs; pump chest

drainage tube; wash wounds sterile

saline; dress six-inch ace wraps;

wrap both legs, toe to groin; left arm

plaster, finger to shoulder: 40 units blood.

Pressure, pulse, respiration up;

remove bloody gowns; scrub; redrape;

5 cc vitamin K; thorazine: sixth

laparotomy; check hyperventilation;

stab right side incision below nipple;

insert large chest tube; catch blood drain bottle ...

The Family of Debridement

Theory: Inconvenienced subject will return to hospital

if loaned Thunderbird

Withdrawn. Hope: Subject returns,

Treatment:

Foreclosure for nine months unpaid mortgage;

wife tells subject hospital wants deposit,

Diseased cyst removal:

'Ain’t you gonna give me a little kiss good-bye’

Subject-wife: To return with robe and curlers—

Subject tells friend he’ll pay $15 to F’s stepfather

if he’ll drive him to pick up money owed him.

“This guy lives down the street,

I don’t want him to see me coming.”

“It looked odd for a car filled with blacks

to be parked in the dark in a white neighborhood,

so we pulled the car out under a streetlight

so everybody could see us.”

Store manager: “I first hit him with two bullets

so I pulled the trigger until my gun was empty.”

“I’m going to kill you, you white MF,” store manager

told police. Police took cardload, F and F’s parents for

further questioning. Subject died on operating table: 5 hrs:

Subject buried on grass slope, 200 yards

east of Kennedy Memorial,

overlooking Potomac and Pentagon,

to the south,

Arlington National Cemetery.

Army honor guard

in dress blues,

carried out assignment

with precision:

[dreamtydraw]

Hello from the Fishbowl!

I have come to report that I, Fishy, have fallen ill :’( I’ve been in bed unable to breathe out of my clogged nose scrolling through Tumblr for the past hour- Funny thing is I don’t even know what caused it one day I was fine then suddenly me and everyone else where I live got sick. So basically I’m doin great today in my fishbowl haha, I do hope you’re doing well! Being sick sucks but hey what can you do other than endure it (after I send this I’m gonna go conk out though lol)

Now my sickly ramblings aside, as I was scrolling through Tumblr I came across your Blooming Panic MC (gonna use They/Them pronouns for them as I didn’t catch what their pronouns were hope that’s okay for now) and I was wondering if you’d be cool with sharing some info on them since I think they’re really cool and interesting! Ramble about as much or as little as you want I just wanna learn more about the MC and read your fun rambles :)

Farewell!

-🐟

Hi fishy ! We both fell, I have a soar throat and can’t stop coughing- 3 days before school starts again 😭

Just if you have Covid symptoms don’t forget to take a test !

And woaaaah dusting an oc I haven’t talked about in a while ! Her name is aisha, you can get general info here !

I really haven’t talked / drew her in months ! My poor meow meow-

On fun facts I a haven’t said yet would be that she’s a non pratiquant muslim, which mean she grew up with a muslim culture but don’t actively practice the religion.

Other would be that her family ( exept her older brother ) lives in France where she lives in the US.

She likes Lebanese food.

She’s a fan of sanrio.

She likes kids but don’t want to have one. ( cool auntie vibe )

Her and her older brother got their lips pierced together so they would get less reprimanded by their mom.

And that already a lot of fun fact :}

Thank you for liking her !

[swatthefox]

Poker Night Valentino: Oh oh! Romeo you should tell da guys dat story yous were tellin' me earlier! The one about you's hot great-grandad's case! Romeo: I dunno, I'd hate to bore anyone one. We're here for fun, not old stories. Leon: *Gets visibly excited* Wait that's right! You're great-grandpa was a private eye right! Redd: Groans Oh here we go…. True crime. Leon: Ya gotta tell us! *Frank and Cerb excitedly nod to Romeo* Romeo: Oh ok, well so back in the 40's my grandma's dad was a former police officer turned private eye. Funny how these things turn out huh? Anyway, he had one case the cops were totally bungling. An elderly mother reported her daughter as missing. Thing is *takes a puff of his cigarette* because the daughter's husband said his wife was on a trip they couldn't do anythin', even though all her friends said she didn't say anythin' like dat. Cerb: *leaning closer to the table* I feel like I should be doin' some art right now. Frank: *nods* Yeah for real. Leon: *Absolutely enthralled* What happened next?? Romeo: Well, my great-grandad was able to actually talk to his client's grandkids, none of 'em were happy. Said they were the most scared kids he had ever seen. Followin' dat hunch, he did a steak out with his friend, a big buff guy. He was in a spot where he could see right into the man's bedroom window. He noticed several times throughout the day he'd disappear into the bedroom closet. As soon as the man left to drop off his kids at school and head to work, my great-granddad broke into the guy's house and checked out the closet. Frank: W-What was in the closet? Romeo: A coffin, dude just nailed some wood together, inside da coffin was his wife's decaying body, his client's daughter. Leon: I knew it! So he killed her?? Romeo: Hold on, I'm gettin' to it! *takes another hit of his cigarette* So my great-grandad called his contact in the da police. Thanks to his tip they were able to enter the house and arrest da husband. When neighbors were interviewed they complained that the man could be heard crying several times throughout the day. At first, they suspected his wife was cheatin', but then dey started smellin' somethin' awful coming from the house anytime he opened his bedroom window. Redd: Ugh, it musta been awful. Romeo: Grandma mentioned he nearly gaged. But yeah so they arrested da husband and he had some kinda mental breakdown. What da cops were able ta gather from da kids and their dad's insane ramblings was that his wife fell down da stairs holdin' their youngest in her arms. She took da brunt to save her kid but she broke her neck in da fall. Da client's son-in-law snapped seein' what he saw. He said he was gonna try to bring her back. Had some weird book on magic. He was gonna hold her body for a few nights and on da full moon he was gonna do some ritual and bring her back. Poor guy just couldn't be without his wife. Frank: What happened to the kids? Romeo: The journal said dat they were takin' in by my client's other daughter. He tried not to take any money but the old lady just slammed it on his desk and left, he never heard from any of 'em again. Cerb: You should host a podcast! Frank: *starts laughing* Valentino: Da hell is a "podcast"? Redd: Nothin' you need to worry about. Ya'll don't have the patience to sit that long and talk anyways.

[themrswallace]

A very real sentence by a fictional man

You know when you're just dabbling with story chapters in your head and you hit a really intense part that fuels itself and your brain is just a projector to watch the scenes play from and suddenly the character arcs are writing themselves? -- Example: my OC's husband, a very family/town-oriented person focused on just raising his kids and getting from work to back home, eating dinner then reading report cards, is simple, easy, and direct but is by his morals. He has questioned them in the past (More in the terms his father set like Ghoul-folk are evil and all that crap, turning on the bias/racism to marry the son of a long-feared/hidden deity written to bring the end of times/a new era of hell) though stuck to the main ones like "Help the police, protect others, be good". While the projector was rolling he said something that got me incredibly selfish and preserving, unlike him and felt so real... S: The families will get their closure someday, playin' martyr for that psychopath won't give them anythin' B: I led the pigs to slaughter- S: Goin' by someone else's orders. No man should go to jail for openin' a fuckin' door- B: I was an accomplice! S: Listen up right now, big fella, you were a kid, doin' what his daddy said, followin' orders. Wanna play the blame game? we can go all fuckin' night. B: I murdered those people...someone needs to give them justic-- S: So you're gonna be the one to do that and leave us? the boys, your boys? And Me, the man who stood by you for all these years? Questioned his own tribe? His fuckin' chief?! Could've been disowned, but I held it together because it was supposed to be us against the world, and you wanna toss that to the wind so a bunch-a cultists can feel better for five fuckin' minutes? B: It's not that simpl-- S: Know it ain't, but you going away gives him the media parade he needs to do this shit all over again! He's sent down on insanity charges and given all the book deals he needs to keep things runnin', you put us in a shit storm for the moral high ground- B: That's not fair- S: You ain't your daddy! You don't need to abandon your family to prove that. I mean, fuck! What about me? You're all I fuckin' know in this world! What happens to me if you're gone? We grew up together, I gave you my heart, my body, my goddamn soul, I risked everything for what we got and after all these years you're worried about doing the right thing for people who don't even matter! B: Don't want to become a monster-- S: You ain't a monster, You're you, you stupid shit. You're too good for this world, too good for him, too good for me but while I still fuckin' breathe I'm hanging on as tight as physically fuckin' possible to you because you're my goddamn husband. You're a daddy, to three asshole boys but they need you, I need you...Please don't leave me, not for some old man with delusions of grandeur. B: I can't testify, not knowing what I do- S: Then don't, stay right here with us, be the traumatized 17-year-old boy you came to my family's farm as and say nothin'. They won't find anythin', and they won't find it, I'll make sure. But don't leave, not every momma and daddy get to sleep knowin' where their babies are...we're lucky, we do...sometimes God's cruel like that B: When did you become alrite with blurring the lines?

S:...'shows binding ritual scar' When I found the person worth blurring them for...

[judesmoonbeauty]

Ghost House Report: A Requiem For You - Jude Jazza Epilogue

Time for a healing ending. Also, I will share a link to one of my favorite artist's who rendered a scene from the epilogue at the very bottom. There are no CW's, therefore, no cut will be included.

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do not post my translations elsewhere. If you'd like to be added to my translations tag list, please comment below.Thank you, for you support! ☾.

When I visited the lounge, Jude was there alone.

Jude had been working, when he looked up from the documents he had spread out on the desk, and gazed at me.

(……Just as Victor said. His complexion looked worse than usual.)

Kate: Good evening, Jude.

Jude: …...It's time for the princess to sleep.

Kate: There are times when I feel like I can't sleep. Jude, would you like some tea?

Jude glanced at the tea set I had brought and lowered his eyes.

Jude: ……No need.

Kate: That’s a problem. Jude, if I drink your portion, then my stomach would get bloated.

Jude: Dunno. Let it get bloated.**

I expected it to be flatly rejected. I ignored Jude's reply and prepared tea for the two of us.

Kate: This tea is said to have a sleepiness effect. Here you are.

Jude: ……

Kate: Jude, if you don’t drink it, I'll have to throw it away.

Jude: ……Tch.

As expected, Jude clicked his tongue and accepted the teacup, as if he couldn't tell me to throw it away.

Following Jude, I took a sip from my teacup.

However……

Kate: It’s bitter!

What spread in my mouth was an eye-opening bitterness.

Jude: ……Oi, quit screwin’ around. It’s a commotion rather than a g’night’s sleep.

Kate: I-I’m sorry. It wasn’t on purpose……Was the steep time too long……?

Kate: Let me make it up to you, this is next!**

I took out a picture book that I had prepared.

Jude: Oi, no way……

Kate: Once Upon A Time, there was a placed called……

Jude: ……Wait.

Jude confinscates the picture book that I was trying to read aloud.

Jude: Watcha been doin’ all this time?

Kate: I was worried when I heard that you haven’t been sleeping Jude, so I thought I’d do something to help you sleep……

Jude: Ya expect me to fall asleep after ya give me a cup of tea and read me a story?

Kate: You never know unless you try.

Kate: Jude, I don’t know how you usually sleep.

Jude: ……Generally, it’s a case of takin’ care of others.

Jude’s fingertips trace around my eyes.

Jude: .……Ya look horrible.

(I was trying to hide it, but……he found out that I’ve got dark circles.)

Feeling awkward, I averted my gaze and saw the documents that Jude had spread out.

It contained information about the people who had been bought by the owner of the haunted mansion.

Kate: Are you perhaps, ……trying to find the trafficking route to the haunted manision?

Jude: Among the kids sold to the haunted mansion, there are a few whose endin’s ain’t clear.

Jude: Was over 50 years ago, but doesn’t hurt to look into it.

Kate: In this book, there’s something……

I opened the book that Jude had put down, and picked up the bookmark stuck inside it.

The bookmark is made of pressed clover flowers and looks too pretty for Jude to use.

Kate: These are the pressed flowers that Anne made, right?

Jude: It’s a useful marker, so I’m just usin’ it.

(Although I said I wouldn’t forget, Jude has no intention of forgetting either.)

It’s painful when I think about Anne, and I can’t sleep. Still, I don’t want to forget this incident.

I was a little happy that I could share those feelings with Jude.

Kate: Jude, let me help you too!

Jude: ……Ya here to make me sleep, aintcha?

Kate: That’s true, but when I saw the documents, I got interested.

Kate: When you can’t sleep, you can’t sleep no matter what you do, and if that’s the case, it’s better to make the most of your time!

Kate: Now Jude, where do I start?

Jude: ……Heh. You’re makin’ it harder to sleep.

We spent the rest of the night scrutinizing the documents.

The information was finally compiled as the sun rose.

Kate: Finished…..Three shady organizations that seem to be involved in the human-trafficking have come to light.

Kate: All that remains…. is to follow the history of the group’s activities and then……

Jude: ……Kate?

Even though I was in the middle of talking to Jude, I was attacked by severe drowsiness.

(It’d be no good…… to fall asleep in a place like this……)

As my eyelids became heavy, my body tilted to the side……

I ended up leaning on Jude next to me.

(I’m sure Jude will shake me off and wake me up……)

(……Then, I’ll apologize and go to sleep in my room.)

That’s what I thought, but Jude never woke me up. On the contrary......

I opened my eyes slightly as I felt the weight of something leaning on me.

(Huh, Jude is leaning on me to sleep……?!)

I rested my head on Jude’s should and he rested his head on mine, supporting each other as we slept.

Even though we don’t understand each other, we feel the same pain and pursue this case with the same anger……

……Right now, it’s strange that we’re sleeping while sharing the same warmth.

(……But, maybe I’m the strangest one to feel happy about that.)

**In this line, Jude uses the kansai-ben dialect to say: 知らんわ (shiranwan), which means, (I don't know/How should I know.) However, 勝手にちゃぷちゃぷさせとけ(katte ni cha puchapusasetoke), was a beast. From what I can tell, both he and Kate (in the line beforehand), seem to be using a form of onomatopoeia when talking about her stomach bloating. I won't go into the remaining details as to why I chose to translate it this way, but I did.

** The word revenge was swapped for: “Let me make it up to you”.

Link to an epilogue scene as rendered by the OP creator is here. And it just made my heart melt.

This was the sweetest epilogue ever!

[Master Lists] Tag List: @theimaginativelyreticent @sapphire-323 Dividers: @/brokenbard

[toehwa6]

So I been doin this shit lately we’re I’m trying to be super positive and helpful and do favors for people and shit

It’s literally just dumb shit like opening doors and saying thank you/youre welcome(surprisingly important to some people), honestly being super cool in traffic

I helped some old bitch at the dispensary cause she had a walker so I was like bitch you need some help? And she was like omg yes thank you and she was like super embarrassed

But I was like naw bitch don’t worry

Then I was in line behind her and she had to move to another register across the room and she was in my way

And again you can tell she was like super embarrassed by taking a long time but I was like naw bitch you killin it keep it up and she super smiled and walked away

This bitch I’m cool with at the dispensary was like yo that old bitch really appreciated that thanks for bein cool

I try extra hard when I go to the dispensary cause I feel like it’s an opportunity to try and talk to people

I’ve made some cool friends there nothin crazy but when I walk in we’re excited to see each other

I like relationships like that. There’s no pressure, just convenience.

But yeah so they fuck with me and it makes me feel good especially when I can just do well talking to someone

But dawg fr the reason I’m writing this is cause I’ve been trying to be super positive and shit(and holy fuck it’s working omg) but the people around me just bitch and complain or they talk about negative shit like venting 100% of the time

Like I spent a lot of my time talking “constructive” shit but now I’m like now dawg I wanna talk about cool shit or make something idk just anything

But now I got a friend who’s goin through shit and now when we hang out it’s just like a “catch up” sesh to talk about problems but it’s like bitch honestly my life sucks but I’m cool I’m killin it at life rn(other than being in pain constantly lol)

So yeah idk I got this other friend who is in a bunch of trouble but he just got his first real job in like 5 years after being a NEET and now it’s like he’s none stop bitching about the usual shit that just happens when you work a job and have to talk to people

I literally just stopped acknowledging when he would say fucked up shit fr

Like omg idk if I wrote about this but I helped a bunch of kids like a week or two ago and I was super pumped about it

Basically this bitch was being fucked to a group of D/A kids she was supposed to be taking care of

She got reported by one of the kids, then she punished him cause of that and said “grievances don’t matter”

Like LMAO how much they gonna matter where you tanked your entire facility’s report and you got TWO formal complaints comin your way

I wrote up my reports on the situation and showed my boss and he legit just goes “lol yeah she’s getting fired”

I was so excited because I got to actively participate in a situation that is going to help a lot of kids

I was like, lmao I took someone’s job today. And I’m happy not because that would make you feel powerful, it’s because I’m happy the right thing is getting done to help these kids. That’s nice. And I’m just happy I could help with that.

So FUCKING anyway I’m tellin my friend about this bullshit and how I’m excited about fixing a problem

And he goes

Well what about the supervisor

And I’m like what? And he goes well the kid reported them what are you doing about the supervisor?

I was like you know what bitch? Next time I’ll try and dismantle the systemic issue but let’s fucking fix this first.

He was like idk and I was like you know what you’re doing? You’re speculating. You have no idea what went on, and honestly it’s not your job to figure it out.

I told him, you know what you’re doing? You’re being “bold” and my boss told me to cut that shit out, cause who the fuck am I? Honestly

Then

This motherfucker is telling me about some shit I 100% don’t care about, and I fucking warned him about doing this shit

So basically he’s in an IOP program rn, and they have a group limit of 10 people

They got up to like 8/9 and split up the group. Apparently there were some people that were being difficult and like not participating and shit

So they get split up, and the bad some people don’t like the therapist, so they legit just all stopped coming, so now there’s like only 2 and they’re not exactly fucked but it’s annoying. Just some administration shit fr.

But this motherfucker is talking to his therapist about this situation, and about how he didn’t think was a good idea, and apparently she’s like yeah idk we’ll figure it out

And bro this shit is legit pissing me off cause you’re a patient mind your fucking business and be a patient

So I was like, yeah if I was your therapist I would have said don’t worry about it and stopped because that’s inappropriate

And he was like what why?

So I was like because you’re therapist shouldn’t talking back end shit with you that you don’t need to know about and you have no involvement in

So then he does this weird fucking thing where he stops talking but starts like whispering shit under his breath.

He’s like, idk I don’t think it’s a big deal what’s the problem

I’m like because it’s fucking unprofessional and inappropriate she shouldn’t be talking to you about that shit

And he goes, “well I don’t mind”

And I’m like, listen you stupid bitch

You’re literally in a position be taken advantage of so honestly it doesn’t matter what the fuck you think.

So then he gets quiet again and like acts weird so we’re at the grocery store getting water and I’m trying to keep it light

So I’m like listen guy I took this bitches job today I’ll take your therapist too(haha sarcasms get it)

And he’s like well idk I don’t mind

And I’m like

Oh yeah? It’s cause you got the CoOl therapist, the one that keeps it casual you know? Like maybe pushes the boundaries and swears or talks about some shit they shouldn’t.

Yeah the “cool” therapist fucking awesome

Like bro shut the fuck up I literally said everything BUT my opinion matters more than yours

So that’s the end of that part

BUT

We’re driving back now, and we’re talking about he wants to throw out the system blah blah blah

And I’m like, bro that’s the dumbest shit ever

And he’s like? Oh yeah? You think it’s fine?

And I go, no I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s doesn’t need completely thrown out.

I say “it doesn’t need to be changed, just adjusted.”

Now anyone reading this, please, do you understand what I’m saying with this? Honestly just read it back again and be like what IS this guy sayin.

Bro this motherfucker looks at me and goes

Those are the same thing

And I’m like, “what?”

He goes change, and adjusted, they mean the same thing

And I’m like, literally, “what the fuck are you talking about?”

And he says it again

I’m like do you seriously not know what I mean or are you being difficult and playing semantics?

He literally goes, “what? You’re the one playing semantics!”

So I’m dying inside furious right now

I need to say something first so you understand

I give people surveys about services and report back to the insurance companies that pay for those services. The state is involved, and county is involved, the insurance companies are involved

This year, after like 15 years, the county is coming in and making us change our survey

(My boss and the head of the insurance companies are literally like “this is the dumbest shit ever but we’re going to let them fuck so they learn their lesson. They call them the new kids that don’t know anything.)

That’s actually how the conversation started, I told him he’s like the county, and that’s when he said the system needs changed

ANYWAY

I’m like okay you fucking idiot

When the county came in and SCRAPPED our survey, and said, make a fucking new one. They CHANGED it.

Later on, when we got our turn to pick it apart, we ADJUSTED it.

I was like bro wtf do you understand that? Why the fuck are you being an idiot rn.

I can’t remember the rest of the convo but I think it was cool after I called him a shitter

But honestly bro

I’m so tired of this motherfuckers bitching and nothing talk

I joked about it to my girlfriend. He like bullies the friend I talked about first. He always plays devils advocate and antagonizes her

I was like huh he don’t do that with me but it sounds annoying. (I’ve seen him do it to both her and my girlfriend and it’s annoying as fuck)

Like my girlfriend worked at a bath and body work

Me her and friend were talking about it, and she tells my friend, yo I work here we have good candles

And he goes

What makes them better from dollar store candles

And she’s like ours are better

And he literally fucking goes

Oh yeah? You know the materials they use? You know what factory they come from?

I’m like bro my bitch is a fucking sales associate at a retail brand why are you being a dick

It was fucking with my girlfriend so I literally had to be like

Stopped fucking doing this shit over I 100% know you don’t give a fuck about. Drop it.

And he fucking did

But bro the first taste I get of that and I’m like yeah naw I’m not gonna chill with you if you’re being a dick fr

Or in a bad mood

Me him and friend 1 all went out to eat for his birthday(friend 1’s bitch came too)

We all met up at friend 1’s place, and when I got there bro was fucking furious!

Turns out some guy cut him off on an on ramp on the way there

So he literally pulled up beside them, and threw a handful of change and rocks at their car

Like bro, you’re literally insane. Why the fuck did you do that

Anyway, he continues to be mad the whole time, and on the way to the restaurant it’s super awkward, so I’m like making jokes

I literally sarcastically was like lol I’m uncomfortable and he goes

What? Do your feelings trump mine now?

Like bro wtf

It made me think of the times I get really mad. But I only do that with my gf and my mom fr

I don’t act like that around friends or in public

It’s fucking awful

He called me a pussy for being like WTF and I was like bro you’re the pussy for not being able to handle this shit

Bro I get cut off I go fuck you! And then I keep driving.

You get cut off and it ruins the rest of your day

Bro just all this shit has been too much to handle

I’ve really just been alone a lot

I don’t mind. I’m busy and having fun

Like I said I feel like I’m killing it rn. Handling a bunch of bad stuff super well. Getting picked to do important shit at work. Figuring out this fucking health insurance

Shits alright. I’m just trying to stay positive.

But straight up the people around me are fucking miserable

Ugh

Alright cya

[nieuws-maar-in-piraten-taal]

13:58 - Kerk haalt van kindermishandeling verdachte dominee van de kansel

Th' Hersteld Hervormde Kerk 'as a dominee from Ouddorp per direct suspended. 'E may fer nowt lead services.Arrr, the man be suspected o' abusin' his own young'uns fer years, Rijnmond reports. 'Tis a right shame, it is, an' the landlubber church board be agreein' on it. They done suspended 'im from doin' any more o' that.'Tis be about Dominee Hendrik J. (60) an' 'is wife o' 58. Last Tuesday, initial 'earin's be took place in th' Rotterdam court 'gainst th' couple. 'Ere, six o' their eight now-adult children be a-filin' complaints. First o' th' mistreatment be happenin' back in 1992, 'twas. That be on th' Veluwe, in Elspeet, where J. be dominee at th' time. After, th' couple be also mistreatin' th' children in Arnemuiden, Nieuwe-Tonge, an' lastly, in Ouddorp on Goeree-Overflakkee.Th' children say that they were regular-like gettin' whaled on wit' a clothes hanger, skillet, vacuum cleaner rod an' a slipper. In one case, th' couple is said t' have held one o' th' children's heads under water fer an extended period o' time.Argh, Hendrik J. took t' th' stand 'imself th' other day an' asked fer th' trial t' be postponed. "We were mighty pained t' hear of yer accusation," 'e says t' 'is six kids what were all present in th' courtroom. "Th' last three years were mighty sorrowful, it were a nightmare fer us. We be wantin' t' mend things. What be yer thoughts? Maybe we could sit down an' talk it out under professional supervision-like?"Arrr, the prosecutor be wantin' no delayin'. "The children be grown now, they can be decidin' fer themselves how their lives be goin'. Arrr, if ye be seein' what be happenin' fer years. Those what ye trusted most, those what should be protectin' ye, they weren't there. Home be a terrible place. Home felt like a livin' hell."Arrr, th' children be feelin' no love fer any kind o' mediation er delayin' o' th' trial, says thar spokesperson. "They found thar father's actions ter be shockin'. One o' th' children hasn't had any contact fer eleven years, an' now all o' a sudden they be wantin' ter talk?"'Tis yet unknown when the case be handled in full. Hendrik J. and his wife remain on free feet, though.In collab'rashun withRijnmond be a Dutch region what be located on the southwesterly coast of the Netherlands, on the Rhine River delta. 'Tis bordered on the north by the North Sea, on the east by Zeeland province, on the south by Belgium, an' on the west by the province of Zuid-Holland.Regionaal nieuws Arrr, mateys! Check out the latest news from around the region.Arrr, 'tis a right shame that so many good articles be gettin' left behind in the dusty old corners o' the internet. But never fear, me hearties - with a bit o' help from yer friendly neighborhood pirate, ye can learn how t' translate any article into the language o' the seven seas! Ye start by takin' all the words in the article and addin' a "y" to the end o' each one. So, "the" becomes "they," "and" becomes "andy," and so on. Then, ye take all the "ing" endings off o' the verbs, so "translating" becomes "translate," "unreadable" becomes "unread," and so on. After that, it's just a matter o' makin' sure ye keep the same general meaning as the original article - which, in this case, should be easy enough, since we be talkin' about pirates! So, without further ado, here's how ye can translate this article into the language o' the seven seas... Arrr, 'tis a right shame that so many good articles be gettin' left behind in the dusty old corners o' the internet. But never fear, me hearties - with a bit o' help from yer friendly neighborhood pirate, ye can learn how t' translate any article into the language o' the seven seas! Ye start by takin' all the words in the article and addin' a "y" to the end o' each one. So, "the" becomes "they," "and" becomes "andy," and so on. Then, ye take all the "ing" endings off o' the verbs, so "translating" becomes "translate," "unreadable" becomes "unread," and so on. After that, it's just a matter o' makin' sure ye keep the same general meaning as the original article - which, in this case, should be easy enough, since we be talkin' about pirates! So, without further ado, here's how ye can translate this article into the language o' the seven seas... Arrr, 'tis a right shame that so many good articles be gettin' left behind in the dusty old corners o' the internet. But never fear, me hearties - with a bit o' help from yer friendly neighborhood pirate, ye can learn how t' translate any article into the language o' the seven seas! Ye start by takin' all the words in the article and addin' a "y" to the end o' each one. So, "the" becomes "they," "and" becomes "andy," and so on. Then, ye take all the "ing" endings off o' the verbs, so "translating" becomes "translate," "unreadable" becomes "unread," and so on. After that, it's just a matter o' makin' sure ye keep the same general meaning as the original article - which, in this case, should be easy enough, since we be talkin' about pirates! So, without further ado, here's how ye can translate this article into the language o' the seven seas... Arrr, 'tis a right shame that so many good articles be gettin' left behind in the dusty old corners o' the internet. But never fear, me hearties - with a bit o' help from yer friendly neighborhood pirate, ye can learn how t' translate any article into the language o' the seven seas! Ye start by takin' all the words in the article and addin' a "y" to the end o' each one. So, "the" becomes "they," "and" becomes "andy," and so on. Then, ye take all the "ing" endings off o' the verbs, so "translating" becomes "translate," "unreadable" becomes "unread," and so on. After that, it's just a matter o' makin' sure ye keep the same general meaning as the original article - which, in this case, should be easy enough, since we be talkin' about pirates! So, without further ado, here's how ye can translate this article into the language o' the seven seas... Arrr, 'tis a right shame that so many good articles be gettin' left behind in the dusty old corners o' the internet. But never fear, me hearties - with a bit o' help from yer friendly neighborhood pirate, ye can learn how t' translate any article into the language o' the seven seas! Ye start by takin' all the words in the article and addin' a "y" to the end o' each one. So, "the

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

The kids and Batmom! on social media?

"Hey Y/N?" Steph asked from behind her phone, filming you as you put jars into the dishwasher to get them ready for canning, "Whatcha doin'?"

"My best," you sigh, wiping sweat off your forehead.

And Bruce's lips twitched, just slightly. He's been watching the kids' videos of you. Watching the way they captured your humor and your love. Everything from reacting to their report cards to cheerfully threatening to force feed them cookies. You adored them and they adored you.

"That guy hasn't seen a vagina since he came out of one," Babs observed.

"Pretty sure he was removed. Like a Tumor." And then the camera zoomed in on your face. The disgust and the nose crinkle that had become a meme.

And he chuckled. For all that he couldn't get you to give an interview, if the kids stuck a camera in your face you'd answer. And it was the only online presence you had. But now? He was glad he had this. The catalog of all these little moments. Little memories.

"Father?"

Bruce looked up from the laptop and smiled a little, "What is it, Damian?"

"Has there been any word?"

"Dr. Tompkins has her stabilized," he said softly. "She's not quite out of the woods but-"

"What are you watching?" he asked when he heard your voice. The Screaming about something silly that you did to break the tension in a room.

"Just... videoes people took. Little clips."

"Father I- I didn't mean to-"

"Damian, it's not your fault," Bruce said, standing slowly to walk around the desk. He knelt down and squeezed his shoulder, meeting his eyes, "Cavalry knew the risks. She's always known. And I know that if she had to make the choice again she'd do the same thing."

"But why?" Damian asked, feeling stupid. "She should hate me."

"She doesn't hate you Damian," Bruce said, stroking his hair. "She never did- it's just... it's complicated. But she doesn't hate you."

"I don't want her to die," Damian said, his voice soft.

"I don't think she's done with us yet, Damian," Bruce said, kissing the top of his head. "We just have to hold on."

[friendly-neighbourhood-spiderm4n]

Was wondering if you’d be able to write an Eddie Munson one shot/imagine with Hoppers (Gn) kid. :)

A/N - Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. (I am currently binge watching Gravity Falls.)

“Hey, officer! We need to report a crime!” Jason, and two of his friends ran up to you. You knew they were some of the kids from the basketball team, considering when you tried to have a conversation with Lucas, it’s all he would talk about.

“Yeah? What is it?” You didn’t like him, he seemed like a popular douchebag.

“It’s Eddie! He’s dating someone thats as hot as you!” He was grinning, his two friends behind him laughing.

“Haha, you’re so fucking funny. Get out of here before I punch your fucking teeth out.”

“Officer! Relax, we’re just having fun. Did you forget what that is?” He still didn’t know how to fuck off, did he?

“I have more fun writing papers then your girlfriend could ever have riding your dick, cunt. Now screw off.” You walked away, leaving the stunned possum there to be mocked by his friends.

“What they want?” Dustin came up to you, and now walked alongside you.

“What do you think? They almost always mess with me. It started right after-“

“You arrested Jason cause you caught him underage drinking, I know. By the way, Eddie is looking for you, he wants to show you something.” Dusting grabbed you by the forearm and walked you somewhere.

“I’m guessing you know but you’re not going to tell me cause he told you keep it secret?”

“Yep.”

“Wonderful. How’s your mom doin’?”

“She’s fine, she’s nearly always fine unless she can’t find me.”

“Hey! Remember, I have to keep a close eye on everyone and their cats. Especially considering my dad was chief of police. I have a major role to step up too, and it’s not easy when everyone considers you a joke cause you’re barely out of high school.”

“I see where you’re coming from, but I feel like I may be the wrong person to complain to. Nancy would understand better than anyone.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just frustrated is all. How’s hellfire doin’?”

“It’s going great. Mine and Mike’s costume shirts are almost done. Thanks for telling us about the club, we might’ve found out too late otherwise.”

“Nah, Eddie would’ve let you join, he likes you both. That and I would have convinced him to if he had told you no.”

“Yeah, cause we’re your favourite teenagers and you love us.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Henderson.” You watched in amusement as he turned to you, mouth agape and brows furrowed, looking insulted.

You chuckled, it was easy to annoy the kid. He was loveable, but slightly gullible.

"Well, are you at least telling me where we're going? You've dragged me nearly across the school."

"Parking lot."

"How many bullies you got so far?"

"I don't know, at least 12 though."

"R.I.P."

"Whatever, we're here. Eddie!" Dustin stopped you at Eddies old van. The side door opened and Eddie stepped out.

"Hello Love." He pulled your hand up, and kissed your knuckles. "I hope my friend treated with respect."

"I've known him way longer then you have Munson. Second, he treats me with respect cause he knows ill beat his ass."

"They'vedone it before."

"I hit you once."

"I still threw up."

"Hey, treat my guy/gal with respect!!"

"Sorry."

"Yeah, anyway, look here." Eddie pulled you towards the van, the door he existed still open.

When you peered inside, it was a mini cuddle space. Blankets, pillows, and two containers with music and candy. Fairy lights were hung around the posters that were on the vans walls.

"Holy shit! This is epic! Did you do this today?"

“Yeah, I skipped my last two periods to work on it beanie.”

“What have I said about skipping school? You can get in trouble for that shit. And don’t act like you don’t fucking know.”

"I'm sorry, Y/N, but I really wanted it to be special for you." He cupped your face with both his hands, smiling down at you softly.

"It is, but don't skip class for me, Dork. I thought 86' was your year?"

"It is baby, I promise. Just thought I should surprise you is all, you deserve to be spoiled.”

“That sounds sweet and cheesy. Let’s go!”

You climbed into the back of his van and sat down on the blankets. Eddie grinned and closed the door, walking around and jumping into the drivers seat.

“Where are we off to?”

“A cliff of sorts, I wanna stare gaze and snuggle up with you in the blankets.”

He chuckled. “Can do babe, but it won’t be dark for a few more hours. Wanna do anything in between then?”

“Ice cream?”

<3.

[soulmate-game]

Hawkmoth was a bitch, and Marinette meant that with every fiber of her soul. Fu was also a bitch, and Marinette actually had good memories of the guy. Not many, but she had some. The fact that the guy got two ten-year-olds to become super heroes and fight a supervillain for him kinda soured those memories, though. But with Chat Noir not allowed to leave his house? Yeah, even as young as they were it only took about a year to find out who HawkMoth was and another year to take him down.

Except, that left Marinette alone. The final battle took her mom away, and Chat had to move out of Paris after his dad was arrested. Luckily Jagged allowed her and her papa to move into his house in Gotham, and everything was…

Well, it was okay. For about a month.

Then her dad was gone too, and she had no way to talk to Jagged, and the police were scaring her—

Yeah, that was the basic order of events that led to where she was now. Pushing fourteen years old, ex-superhero, protector of a magical box of gods, stealing the tires off of a very nice motorcycle.

Marinette was tempted to just take the whole thing, she loved bikes and knew she could drive it. But the thing had more security than she knew what to do with, and the fact that it belonged to Red Hood… she didn’t want to deal with trackers today, thanks. So the tires it was.

Should she maybe care more about the fact that she was stealing from a vigilante with a violent streak? Maybe. Did she? Hell no. For all she knew, maybe Red Hood was a bitch too. (Yes, she was still learning English slang. She was fluent by educational standards, but learning how to curse in a foreign language was fun and she still had a little bit to go. Her few street friends were very happy to help).

A shadow dropped down in front of her, and Marinette’s hero instincts kicked in. The tire iron she was using cut through the air, slamming right into the side of Red Hood’s knee.

—*—*—*—*—*

“Hood,” Batman’s voice grumbled over the comms, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone else who was on the comms. It wasn’t as gruff as he usually sounded, in fact it almost sounded like… he was trying not to laugh?

“Did you get gassed by Joker?” Dick asked before Jason got a chance to respond. “Need backup?”

“No,” Batman responded, sounding a little more composed. “Not a rogue. But Hood, I need you to join me at my location as soon as possible.”

Finally getting the chance to talk, Jason responded a little warily; “Sure, B. Wait,” he blinked at the location that was sent to him. “Isn’t that where my bike is parked?”

Batman didn’t respond at first, only the sound of labored breathing— again, as if he was trying not to laugh. “Just get here, Hood.”

Sighing, but not too mad since the night had been fairly quiet so far, Jason decided to humor the old man and head over. When he could see the cape-clad back of Batman, he easily leapt over the last roof and sauntered over.

“Okay, B,” he had his thumbs tucked in his pockets as he drawled. “What’s the issue?”

Batman was grinning. As in, actually showing amusement. And he just pointed down, straight at Hood’s bike.

Jason rolled his eyes under his helmet, turning to look. At first he didn’t see anything amiss, until he saw movement and looked harder. Oh. Oh, holy shit.

“Is that a kid?”

“Yep,” Batman’s grin grew.

“Is she… stealing my tires?” Hood was so, so glad he wore a helmet that hid his expression. Because… wow.

“Yep,” Batman finally lost his composure, chuckling. “This seems like Karma, don’t you think?”

“And you just watched her so you could rub it in,” Jason groaned, throwing his head back in exasperation. Of course he would. Nobody knew it (except the other heroes who knew him) but Batman was a petty little jerk when he wanted to be. He bought the whole Daily Planet just to spite Clark, for crying out loud.

“Don’t adopt her,” Batman said as he stood up, patting Red Hood’s shoulder. “It looks like she’s almost done.”

“Shit,” Jason hissed, looking down to see that she was, actually, very close to being done. She had already had one tire completely free by the time he had arrived, and now she was only seconds away from getting the other one completely free.

He took a quick assessment— she was tiny, and really thin. Definitely a street kid, he thought, though he didn’t recognize her. He knew most of the street kids that stole to get by, nowadays, which meant she must have been fairly new. But even though she seemed to know what she was doing, her small frame made her take longer unscrewing the tires than it normally would have taken. Sure that she wasn’t a threat by any stretch of the imagination, he jumped down. His plan had been to startle her a little by showing up out of nowhere, but he didn’t want to scare her too badly. Just make her jump a little.

But he had underestimated her, it seemed. Without wasting a second, she jumped up and swung her tire iron at his knee. He cursed, she was a lot faster than her had been expecting. He was able to move so that the weapon only clipped the side of his knee, his knee pad thankfully taking the worst of it. She still hit hard enough to make him stumble and hiss in pain though, which was an accomplishment.

That’s when she abandoned her weapon and her tires, darting to try and escape only for Batman to drop down and block her escape. Though really, it was the grin Batman had that scared the girl most of all, apparently, making her slowly back away from him.

“Please stop smiling,” she begged with a faint French accent to her words. “It is not natural.”

That made Red Hood laugh, already recovered and right behind her. He plopped a gloved hand on her head.

“I know, it’s creepy right?” He joked. “What’cha doin’ stealing my tires, kid? I kinda need them to drive anywhere,” he was careful to keep his voice light and devoid of any anger. He wasn’t really upset, all told. It would be hypocritical of him if he was.

She looked between the two vigilantes for a moment, clear intelligence behind those bright blue eyes as she seemed to consider something. Suddenly she pulled away from Red Hood and stepped away from his reach, straightening up and trying to look tall.

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said as firmly as she could. “My father was Tom Dupain, he was killed in a mugging three months ago. We were living in a house that our family friend leant to us after my mother’s death six months ago, and we moved here from Paris. I haven’t been able to contact him, and the police… I don’t trust them,” she admitted, clearly seeing this as the chance she had been waiting for. “I have been living on the streets since my father died. I am sorry for trying to steal your tires, Monsieur Red Hood. But it was a risk I had to take.”

“Did you expect us to catch you?” He asked, crossing his arms as he re-evaluated the girl. She was a lot stronger than he had assumed earlier, both physically and mentally. She seesawed her hand to indicate ‘kinda’.

“Even if you didn’t, I could make good money off your tires,” she justified with a shrug. “To me, I would win either way.”

“Who is your family friend? Can he help you now, take you in?” Batman asked, moving forward and kneeling down to be closer to Marinette’s height. Neither he nor Jason had missed the part where she was an orphan, but they had expected that considering what they had caught her doing. And they both knew that she wasn’t likely to take any apologies they tried to offer very well. It was best not to show pity, or she might get angry.

Marinette frowned. “... Our family friend is Jagged Stone. He lets me call him Uncle Jagged,” she told them, clearly expecting the disbelieving grunts they gave. “I mean it! You can call him, he might even be looking for me! I—“

“We know,” Hood assured her, now kneeling down as well. Man, she was short. “Calm down, we know you’re telling the truth. Jagged has made several public announcements about his missing honorary niece, we just didn’t recognize your name right away. And Jagged doesn’t have access to very many pictures of you, those he does have the Mayor isn’t allowing him to show because that spineless jackass—“

“Language, Hood.”

“—Cares more about keeping bad press off the air than finding a kid, even if it’s a world famous rockstar who’s asking. That’s probably why you haven’t heard anything, the mayor’s keeping it off the radio and not many reporters are brave enough to take the story and get on his bad side.”

“Oh…” Marinette took a deep breath, fighting the tears that were threatening to rise up. “He has been looking…” she sniffled, curling in on herself a little. “Can you take me to him?”

“I think we can do that,” Batman agreed, standing up. “I’ll contact him. Red Hood, can you handle everything here until I give you a place to meet up with Jagged Stone?”

Jason nodded. “No problem, B. Come on, little rabid pixie. Step one of gettin’ you back to your uncle is to help me fix my bike back up.”

Marinette sighed, shoulders dropping. “All my hard work, undone…” she playfully complained. But in the end she didn’t argue or fight against it, she just sat down and helped him reattach his tires.

All the while, Jason’s family kept teasing him over the comms. Clearly they were also thoroughly amused by the cosmic display of karma.

“...Monsieur Hood,” Marinette asked once they were done repairing the motorcycle and he had given her his too-big extra helmet. He tilted his head a bit to show he was listening. She squirmed. “Can… can we stop by my hideout? I have something really important I have to get.”

Jason smiles gently under his mask. She might not have been a street kid for very long, but she really did bring back some memories for him. He got on his bike and held a hand out to her.

“Sure thing kid. Wanna grab something to eat after? Can’t have a reunion on an empty stomach.”

She gave him a lopsided smile— not quite overjoyed, but definitely hopeful and thankful. Maybe this was the end of her streak of bad luck, she could only hope.

“Only if you don’t mind, Monsieur Hood,” she agreed before taking his hand and letting him help her onto the bike.

“No skin off my back, pixie,” he assured her. Then they were off. He followed her directions until they got to an abandoned building about three miles away, not in a good part of town at all but at least not in crime alley. Marinette easily led him through the building, skirting around other piles of ratty blankets and up broken stairs until they got to the badly-maintained top floor. She led him over to an almost invisible door in the concrete wall that pulled out to reveal what was probably a broom closet once upon a time. It was crowded with what looked like junk and empty boxes, along with a few blankets and two or three changes of clothes that were clearly her’s. A few belongings scattered around— a book, a small pink purse, and… Marinette came out of the pile of mess holding what had clearly been a very carefully hidden box. She also grabbed the purse and slung it over her shoulder, but didn’t seem worried about anything else.

Jason frowned at the box. It wasn’t that big, but it was clearly made of old wood. There were intricate carvings that were painted pink, in a symbol that was itching at the back of his mind. He recognized that symbol, but from where?

“Ready to go, kid?” He asked as he thought about it, getting a nod from Marinette. Twenty minutes later they were at a Batburger, sitting in a shaded booth that couldn’t be seen from the street.

She never let the box out of her sight. She kept it on the seat next to her, and Jason noticed that she tried to keep one hand on it at all times. But when she spoke, now her French accent stood out to him even more than before. But why—?

And then it clicked. Paris. Hawkmoth. Ladybug, Chat Noir, magic artifacts called Miraculous. Wonder Woman had raised a fuss when the heroes disappeared, declaring that something was wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on what. Then the magic users they trusted were called in, and returned from Paris with the grim news that the former Guardian of those artifacts had activated a failsafe and passed the guardianship on to someone else while erasing his own memories at the same time. But nobody knew who he could have passed it on to, so Batman had been given the green light to do all the research he and his team could into the Miraculous box to try and help track it down.

And here it was. The carvings were in pink now, which might have been the “cosmetic change” that Constantine had mentioned might happen when the box changed guardians. He had found the box full of super powerful magical artifacts… in the hands of a newly orphaned street kid who couldn’t have been older than fourteen at best.

What the hell?

“...” Red hood reached into his pocket and pulled out an old receipt and a sharpie. He scrawled on the back of the receipt and handed to Marinette. The girl was halfway into a bite of her burger when he did, and blinked at him owlishly before swallowing and cautiously reaching out to grab it. She frowned at the numbers scrawled there.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“My contact info,” he explained. “I won’t ask questions about why you have that box,” he watched her instantly stiffen but continued as casually as he could; “but it doesn’t matter. You can call me if you ever need help with anything, kid. Help with that box, help if you get in trouble in Gotham again, or even if you’re having a bad day. You can call me for whatever, got it? I don’t care if you think it’s stupid, if you can’t talk to anyone else in your life you can always call or text me and I’ll do whatever I can. Got it?”

“...” Marinette sniffled for a second and looked down at the table in silence for a second. “... what if I want your motorcycle?” she joked, but the watery tone of her voice gave her away.

Jason laughed, patting her head. “I need my bike, but we can talk about getting you your own once you are old enough to get a license. You almost done? Bats says that Jagged is ready to meet you, I can take you to him right now.”

“Yeah, lets go!” she was newly energized and shoved the last bite of burger into her mouth greedily. “And Red Hood?” She asked as they headed out to where he had parked.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thanks.”

—*—*—*—*—*

Permanent tag list (I remembered it this time!)

@rosalineandrosemary @neakco @justanotherfanficlovinbitch @trippingovermyfeet @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @bigpicklebananatree @fantasylover-92 @prongs-flowers @jumpingjoy82 @prettylittlebutterflie @queenz-z @literaryhiraeth @waffelyunsure @deathssilentapproach-blog @waiting247 @theirlmikan @unoriginalmess