#wwoww yan

[wwoww-au]

Family Business

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  Henrik jumped instinctually when he heard a knock on the door of the clinic. He was still getting used to Yan’s frequent visits; the only person who normally stopped by outside of patients was Jackie, and even then those were scheduled. He opened the door and was greeted by the red-haired ball of joy themself.

    "Good afternoon, Henrik." Yan beamed and moved past him into the clinic, only speaking again once the door was closed. "I got those books you asked for." They put their messenger bag down onto the counter and began emptying its contents; two leather-bound books with yellowing pages and ancient symbols etched into the cover.

    "Thank you, Yan. You’ve been a great help," Henrik said. 

    "It’s no trouble." Yan handed the books to the doctor. They then rummaged through their bag again, pulling out a tupperware container. "I also brought cookies. B ate most of them while I was at the Library though..."

    "You didn’t have to..."     Henrik trailed off when he heard a shout from the basement. But this was different from when he normally heard Anti shouting from the basement, this time he sounded... happy? There was a loud rhythmic thumping of Anti running up the stairs before the trap door burst open and he stumbled out into the room. 

    "I’ve made a breakthrough!" Anti was beaming, holding out a piece of notebook paper covered in his messy handwriting. 

    "Anti, as exciting as that is, please check next time you come stomping up the stairs,” Henrik scolded, worry creasing his brow. “What if Jackie had been here? Or someone from the Crime Department? You really ought to be more careful." Still shaking his head, he took the paper from Anti and began reading. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Anti rolled his eyes. "Just shut up and listen. I was poring over that old book of remedies Yan brought over a couple of days ago and after brushing up on my ancient Greek, I was able to translate the recipe for a potion that stalls the symptoms of corruption. Not exactly a cure, but it’s a start."  He turned his attention to Yan, eyeing the container in their hands. "You brought food? You’re the best." He grabbed the container and immediately shoved a cookie into his mouth. 

    Henrik stared in awe of the notes, a small smile tugging across his face. "This… this could actually work! Anti, you’re brilliant."

    Anti swallowed and looked sheepishly at the floor. "It’s not a big deal. Just trying to keep myself from fully corrupting, is all."

    "Not a big deal?" Yan’s eyes lit up. "You’ve managed to find the first step to a corruption cure, that’s incredible!"

    As Henrik continued poring over the notes, his eyebrows furrowed. "As incredible as this is, it’s going to be extremely difficult for me to get these ingredients. The only place I could possibly get most of these things is Derekson's, but I'd have to get Jackie to escort me. Not to mention the Committee would find it suspicious…"

    Anti shrugged, taking a bite out of another cookie. "No problem, I’ll swing by later to grab everything you need to start making this thing."

"Are you sure? It might not be safe for you to be walking out and about."

"It'll be fine, I'll wear a scarf. You worry too much," Anti said, scratching at his neck wound. Henrik sighed and left the room, closing the door to the apartment behind him. "Yandere, you wanna come with?"

"Sure." Yan hesitated. "Where are we going exactly?"

"Derekson's," Anti said. Yan still looked confused, so he continued. "It's an apothecary across town. The guy who runs it is under Committee surveillance, too." He glanced over at the apartment door and lowered his voice. "Apparently, all of his children were born mundane, and he tried to turn them into wizards by himself. Ended up killing all but one. The only reason the Committee hasn't thrown him into a prison cell yet is that he's such a talented potion maker."

"That's horrible," Yan muttered.

"Yeah..." Anti trailed off. "But he’s the only one who has what we need to make our potion. So I hope you don’t have any plans this afternoon, because we’re leaving as soon as I finish these cookies." He turned and walked back down into the basement, taking the whole container with him.

.

.

.

The walk to the apothecary was surprisingly tense -- Anti had insisted they walk there, not wanting to spend even a few minutes on crowded public transport. He spent the whole time looking over his shoulder and tugging on his scarf like it was suffocating him. 

"Are you okay?" Yan asked, sensing how nervous he was. 

"I'm fine." He glanced at them over his sunglasses. "I just don't like walking around during the day. Too many people. I feel like they're all staring at me." Yan opened their mouth to say something comforting, only for Anti to cut them off. "We're here."

Yan looked up at the building they stopped in front of. It was a brownstone, the worn bricks painted green. A few strange-looking flowers and herbs grew in the windowsills. Above the door was a wooden sign that read "Derekson's Apothecary: family-owned and operated since 1812." Yan quickly followed Anti up the steps and into the shop.

The shop was empty when the two walked in. A wooden counter stretched around all sides of the room. Tall shelves filled with glass jars and bottles lined the walls behind the counter, each containing loose ingredients or brightly colored liquids. A rolling ladder was attached to the shelves, and in the center was a door marked "employees only".  It reminded Yan of a candy store, only instead of chocolate and jellybeans, the jars were filled with dried herbs and what looked like eyeballs.

The back door swung open and a man in a patterned shirt walked out, putting on a big smile when he saw the two standing in the shop. He was followed by a teenager with similar features, walking on a pair of crutches. The teen stood in the back, staring at the ground while the older man walked towards the counter.

"Welcome, welcome! What can I do for you today?" said the man, whose nametag identified him as Derek. He gestured to the shelves behind him. "We carry potions for any and all circumstances. One that turns any creature into a harmless goldfish, one that can make your flower garden into your own personal army of floral warriors, one that makes the drinker fall in love with the first person they see for 24 hours. I know that one is popular with you young folks." He winked at Yan, and they only scoffed in response. He hesitated before starting his sales pitch again. "You two don't work for the Committee, right?"

"No?"

"Good! Because here I have a few things that blur the lines between potion and poison-"

"We don't need any of that!" Anti snapped, clearly running out of patience with the overzealous salesman. "We just need these ingredients." He pulled a list from inside his coat and handed it to Derek.

Derek gave a dejected sigh and took the list, turning and climbing the ladder to retrieve what they needed. He quickly maneuvered the shelves, seemingly knowing where everything was despite all the jars being unlabelled. He came back down only a few minutes later holding a few jars, piling them all on the counter. 

"Is that everything?" Anti asked.

"Not quite," Derek said. "Some of the things you're asking for are highly dangerous, so I don't keep them in the front of the shop. Eric." He turned to the young man behind him, who flinched in surprise upon hearing his name. "Can you get the rest of this fine customer's order from the back room?"

"Yes, Dad," Eric muttered.

"I can help you with that," Yan chimed in, hesitating when they saw how stunned Eric looked at the gesture. "If you're alright with that."

"Sure," Derek said, waving his hand. "Just don't touch anything you're not supposed to." Yan moved around the counter over to Eric, smiling and opening the door for him. He gave a reluctant smile and went inside, Yan following shortly after.

The backroom was essentially just a kitchen. A few small cauldrons were simmering on top of an electric stove, empty glass bottles crowding the counter next to it. The linoleum floor was covered in shimmering, multicolored stains. A few barrels were pushed up against the back wall next to a staircase leading up to the second floor of the house. The walls were lined with cabinets, many of which were padlocked.

Eric hobbled over to the cabinets, leaning his crutches up against the counter and leaning against it for balance. He pulled a ring of keys from his pocket, unlocking one of the cabinets. Before he opened it, he turned to Yan. "Oh, right," he mumbled, as if he had forgotten Yan was there. "You can, uh, grab the fireroot for me. It's in the fridge." 

"You got it." They smiled, walking over to the fridge and opening it. It was filled to the brim with potion bottles, as well as a few leftovers in tupperware containers. 

"So, what's all this for, anyway?" Eric asked, before immediately looking away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright." Yan walked over with the bundle of fireroot he asked for. "We're working on, uh… medicine. For someone who's sick. My friend's a doctor and he asked us to pick up some supplies for him."

"That’s weird. I’ve never heard of medicine with these kinds of ingr-" He cut himself off with a strangled cry. His legs suddenly buckled out from underneath him, and he gripped onto the counter for support. He shakily lowered himself to the floor, back against the counter. He scrunched his eyes shut and suppressed a pained whimper, pulling his leg to his chest.

Yan dropped to their knees in an instant. "What's wrong?" they asked quickly. "Do you need me to get your dad?"

"No!" Eric yelped, eyes wide. "It'll only make him upset… I'll be fine. I just need to sit for a minute."

"What's wrong?" Yan repeated, more gently this time. 

Eric bit his lip, looking at the door to the shop and back at Yan. "You know what my dad did, right?" They nodded, remembering the story Anti told them. "The ritual he used to try and make me a wizard, it didn't work, but-" He rolled up one of his pant legs, revealing unnatural scars twisting up his leg. They looked like burns, only iridescent and an unpleasant shade of green. Yan clapped a hand over their mouth. He covered the scars and curled in on himself. "Dad says it's a form of corruption. It flares up every now and then," he continued. He gave a feeble smile. "It's almost funny. I'm not even a wizard and I still managed to screw up and get corrupted."

Yan winced, sensing a wave of sadness and guilt coming from Eric. "Hey, that’s not your fault. None of that is,” they said, trying to console him. They were quiet for a moment, mulling over what they were about to say. They lowered their voice.  "I think I have a way to help you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, that includes your dad. " 

Eric looked back with confusion before simply nodding.

Yan glanced at the door before speaking,  "A friend of mine is working on a cure for corruption. I know it sounds impossible, but we’re making progress. It will take some time before we have an actual cure, but once we do, we’ll be able to help you. "

 "You- you’d really be willing to help me?" Eric said. He gave them a weak smile.

Yan smiled back, opening their mouth to reassure them before being cut off by yelling from the front of the shop.

"Eric! Hurry up!" Derek yelled. "We have a customer waiting!"

"Oh no..." Eric muttered before yelling back, "I’ll be right out!" He grabbed the edge of the counter, wincing as he scrambled to his feet. He grabbed his crutches, gesturing to Yan to pick up the miscellaneous items on the counter before going through the door. They placed them on the check-out counter before walking back over to Anti, who looked down at them over his sunglasses.

Derek looked over at Eric, drumming his fingers on the counter with impatience.  "What took you so long?" he said, barely containing his frustration. 

"I- uh," Eric stammered, trying to avoid eye contact with his father as he began to pack all the items into a box. "I couldn’t find the time cacti needles they needed, m-must’ve put it in the wrong cabinet when I was organizing."

"Yeah? Well, next time double-check to make sure everything’s in the right place." Derek turned to Anti, his glare turning into a smile as he rattled off the prices for everything, occasionally slipping in a sales pitch for other potions. Anti ignored his rambling, placing a stack of bills on the counter and taking the box of ingredients from Eric. He promptly dropped it into Yan’s arms and quickly made his way out of the shop. Yan gave Eric one last smile before following after.

.

.

.

"God, I hate that Derekson guy. Did you see the way he talked to his own son?" Anti scoffed. The two were walking back to Henrik’s clinic now, Anti a little more relaxed now that the streets weren’t as crowded. "What were you and that Eric kid doing back there, anyways?"

"Just talking," Yan said. They decided it was best if Anti didn’t know they’d told Eric about the corruption cure. 

"Of course you were." Anti smiled. "You have a real knack for befriending everyone you meet, huh?"

"I guess so." They smirked. "I managed to befriend you, didn’t I?" They nudged him with their shoulder. 

Anti chuckled. "Yeah, yeah you did." The two kept walking, keeping up some light conversation to pass the time. Yan was in the middle of recounting the time they and B had gotten lost in a cave somewhere in the geography section at the Library when a man jogging by them accidentally bumped into Anti. "Hey, watch it!" he yelled at the man before turning back to Yan. They were about to continue their story when they felt a sudden surge of mixed emotions from behind them. Disbelief, sadness, joy. 

"Chase?"

Anti froze in place. He chanced a look back, his heart sinking when he locked eyes with the man behind him. He stared at Anti as if he had just seen a ghost, the faintest smile pulling at his lips. His eyes were sunken yet bright, brown hair poked out from under his beanie. He looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. He surged forward, wrapping his arms around Anti and pulling him into a tight hug. "Oh my god, Chase! It’s been so long, I thought I’d never see you again!" He laughed.

Anti finally moved, shoving the man off of him and taking a step back. "I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else."

"Are you kidding? I’d think I’d recognize my best friend."

"I’m sorry, but I have no idea who you are," Anti growled.

"It’s me, Sean! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for years." The man, Sean, reached out to Anti. Tears started to fall when he flinched away. "You just disappeared, and I was beginning to think- everyone thinks you’re dead, Chase."

"Anti," Yan said softly, wincing from the waves of intense emotion coming from the two men. "Who is this?"

"Anti? Your name is Chase!" Sean yelled. He grabbed his head, struggling to make sense of what was happening. "You’re my best friend! Fuck, we have matching tattoos!" He quickly rolled up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing a trident-shaped symbol. Yan recognized the symbol; they had seen it tattooed on Anti’s right arm before. Sean kept yelling, tears pouring down his face. "What happened to the friend who promised he’d always be there for me? What happened to the guy who would never abandon his family no matter how hard things got? What happened to you, Chase?"

"I'm not Chase," Anti snapped, low and dangerous. "Now, I need you to leave me alone before I do something I regret." 

Yan looked down to see his hand was glitching with red and green magic. "Anti." they grabbed his arm. "Please, don't."

Anti looked over at them, then back at Sean. "Yan, we're leaving." He turned to go.

"If you’re going to go, you should know Stacy remarried," Sean said. He averted his eyes from Anti, tears still falling down his face. "Nice guy, he’s a tennis instructor or something. The kids are doing well in school; Emma's been filling out college applications. They still ask about you sometimes. They do miss you, you know. Stacy too."

Anti stood for a moment. "Come on, Yan, let’s go home," he said, lifting an arm to wipe at his eyes with his sleeve. He walked away from Sean, not bothering to look back.

.

.

.

The walk back to Henrik's was tense. Neither said a word until they got back. Anti opened the door to the clinic, immediately locking eyes with Henrik, who was sitting at his desk going over the notes again. "How'd it go?" he asked, standing up. Anti stayed quiet, storming past him and wrenching open the trapdoor. He slammed it behind him, and moments later the two upstairs heard him start yelling. It was a heartbreaking sound, laced with anger and sorrow. The sound of anything he could get his hands on colliding with the floor soon followed.

"What happened to you out there?" Henrik said, wincing at the sound of something glass shattering below. 

Yan placed the box of ingredients on the desk, gently wiping fresh tears from their face. The emotion coming from Anti and Sean had been too much for their ever faltering emotion magic, and they had started crying from the sheer amount of sorrow coming from the two. "Everything at the store went fine. But on the walk back, we ran into a man named Sean," they spoke softly. They looked up at Henrik, seeing a flash of recognition on his face. "Henrik, who's Chase?"

Henrik sighed, gently removing his glasses and rubbing his face. "Chase is someone who Anti was a long, long time ago," he hesitated, looking down at Yan with regret. "It's not my place to tell you about his past. I'm sorry. You really deserve to know more, but-"

Yan held up their hand. "I understand." They pulled him into a hug.

Henrik froze at the sudden contact, then gently placed his arms around them. "It would probably be best if you went home. You don't want to see him like this."

Yan pulled back, giving a weak smile. "I'll see you next week. Call me when he's feeling better."

"Of course," Henrik said, watching as Yan walked out the door. As soon as they were gone, he sighed, leaning against his desk. He wanted nothing more than to get a drink, wait it out until Anti's rage faded, but he knew that wouldn't be good for either of them. He walked over to the center of the room, gently opening the trapdoor before heading down the stairs, bracing himself as the noises got louder. He gasped when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

The room was in complete disarray. All the books that had been precariously balanced on Anti’s desk were thrown to the ground, papers strewn everywhere. The desk chair was knocked over; all the dirty plates and glasses that he had hoarded in his room were in pieces on the floor. His knife was buried in its usual place in the wall next to the doorway. The only thing left untouched was the murky green jar on the desk, where Sam was repeatedly bumping his eye against the glass in an attempt to get Anti's attention.

Anti himself was hunched in the center of it all. His jacket and scarf were discarded on the floor. His sunglasses lay against the wall across the room, one of the lenses missing and the other shattered. His entire body was glitching. He was scratching at the wound on his neck. 

Henrik quickly moved next to Anti, careful not to kneel on any broken glass. "Are you alright?" He spoke softly. Anti breathed heavily, barely acknowledging the man beside him. Henrik reached out, gently placing a hand on his back and rubbing circles. Even through his gloves, it felt like touching a broken tv screen. Slowly, Anti's breathing evened out and he removed his hands from his neck.

It felt like an eternity before Anti spoke. "I miss them so much." 

"I know," Henrik said, barely above a whisper. 

Anti looked back at him, his mind racing with a million things to say. He decided to stay quiet, just this once. He leaned against Henrik, letting the silent sorrow wash over him.

[wwoww-au]

Lonely Heart

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Yan knocked a few times before slowly cracking open the door to Henrik’s office. They peered inside to make sure the coast was clear before opening the door the rest of the way and stepping inside. Henrik was nowhere to be seen, which was fine. Yan wasn’t supposed to arrive for their appointment for another half an hour or so. Their mentor had let them go early so they could make it on time. They had a good reason for telling their mentor their checkup was sooner than it really was though. They wanted to see if they could help Anti with research today.

“Anti?” Yan called, kneeling down by the trapdoor. “It’s Yan. Can I come down?”

“Yandere? Yeah, come on down, kid,” came the slightly muted reply.

Yan frowned at the nickname. No matter how many times they asked Anti to drop it, he didn’t seem to listen. They opened the trapdoor just in time to see the light in the basement turn on, lighting the stairs down. They stepped carefully over the papers spread out over the steps, holding tight onto the handrail so they didn’t slip.

“You’ve been busy,” Yan said, finding a spot of ground to stand on that wasn’t covered in paper.

Anti stuck his knife in a piece of paper, holding it to the wall, before turning to Yan. “Yeah,” he huffed, tapping a piece of paper with his foot. “I think I’m getting close to something. Not sure what yet, but, uh... You’re here for your appointment with Henrik, right?”

Yan nodded, slightly distracted by the absurd amount of papers surrounding them. “Where is he?” they asked, hopping to another bare patch closer to Anti.

“Mr. Sleep-lestein is taking a nap,” Anti chuckled. “He’ll be up in a few minutes, don’t worry.”

“Is he…?” Yan trailed off, giving Anti a worried look.

Anti waved them off. “He’s alright,” he answered. “Just had a long night. Don’t worry about him, though. He gets enough worrying from Jackie.” He shook his head and scratched at his neck, and for a small moment Yan could sense worry from him before it was gone. “But, uh, enough about that,” Anti coughed. “You want to help me with something?”

Yan nodded and stepped to another spot towards Anti.

“Take this,” Anti said, tearing the piece of paper off the wall where he’d stabbed it earlier. “There should be a page almost just like it, but, uh, without the tear. And a diagram. I set it down somewhere earlier and now I can’t find it.”

“That’s it?” Yan questioned with a frown. They took the paper from Anti’s hand and began to look it over.

Anti shrugged. “You’ve got an appointment soon, kid,” he said. “I don’t want you getting too invested in something and missing it. If Henrik isn’t up by the time you find it, I’ll have something else for you to do, okay?”

“Fine,” Yan huffed. They knelt down and began to pick up papers, comparing them to the paper in their hand. They tried to work quickly; they had a lot to go through.

It didn’t take long for Yan to find the paper. It had been tucked under Sam’s jar, likely so Anti wouldn’t forget where it was, and yet it had been forgotten anyway. Yan gave Sam a wave before bringing the paper back to Anti, who set down his notebook to take the page from them.

“Perfect!” Anti exclaimed, comparing the two nearly identical papers in his hands now. “Thank you, Yan. Where was it?”

“Under Sam,” Yan answered with a chuckle. Anti huffed. “What did you need it for? Why do you have two papers that are almost exactly the same?”

Anti took a moment to respond, scratching at his neck as he squinted at the pages. “Different editions,” he muttered distractedly. “This one-” He waved the one Yan had found. “This one has a few very interesting lines that were taken out of the later edition. Don’t know why, other than whoever was printing or editing wanted the information kept from the public.”

Yan sat down on the floor next to Anti, looking at the paper in his hands. “Why would they want that hidden?” they asked, tucking their knees up to their chest. “If it could help find a cure for something like corruption, why would they get rid of that?”

“Who knows,” Anti huffed. “Some wizard bullshit. Henrik could probably answer better than I could. Maybe they thought people would use the information for… less helpful stuff. Lots of things that can be used for good can be used for evil too, kid. If it was taken out, it was probably for a good reason.”

“And if it wasn’t?” Yan pressed, glancing up at Anti.

“Well then it doesn’t really matter now,” Anti said with a shrug. “What matters is that we’ve got it now.” He elbowed Yan, causing them to yelp and almost fall backwards before catching themself. “And if we’ve got it, we can use it, right?”

Yan nodded. They opened their mouth to speak, but stopped when they noticed Henrik standing at the bottom of the stairs. Yan had to resist flinching against the wave of tiredness and anxiety coming from the doctor. Henrik didn’t bother stepping in clear spots, walking right over the papers to Yan.

“Are you ready for your checkup?” Henrik asked, resting his hand on Yan’s shoulder. He looked tired, like he’d just woken up and immediately come downstairs.

Yan nodded and placed their hand on Anti’s shoulder, bracing off of him to push themself up. “Can I come back later?” they asked, looking between Henrik and Anti.

“You can come back any time, Yandere,” Anti said, smiling up at them. 

Yan beamed, barely noticing the tinge of worry from Henrik as they followed him up to the office.

.

Yan took a seat on the examination bench while Henrik grabbed a clipboard off his desk. Even after only a couple of appointments, it already felt like routine to Yan. As Henrik approached the bench, he gave them a clearly forced smile. At least he was trying for them, Yan noted, returning the smile.

“How have you been feeling?” Henrik asked, stifling a yawn. “Any more trouble with your magic?”

Yan shrugged and shook their head. “It still gives me some trouble sometimes, but doing magic hasn’t really been that bad.” They tugged at the locket around their neck. “I’ve been extra sensitive to emotions recently though,” they added. “Like, it feels like someone dialed up my sensitivity to an eleven.”

Henrik nodded and finished a note on his clipboard. “You’ve been careful with your magic, yes?”

“Yeah, as much as I can,” Yan answered. “The headaches aren’t too bad after a while.”

“Still feeling tired and stressed?”

Yan hesitated before nodding. “I- I’m trying not to let it get to me, but it’s really hard. It’s all just-” They tightened the grip on their locket. “It’s all really exhausting.”

 “Have you tried talking to Jackie?” Henrik asked, tapping his pen. “You don’t have to tell him about your corruption, but he would be more than happy to listen if you just need to talk. I can give you a note to go see him if you’d like. That should get you out of any obligations, yes?”

“But what about you and Anti?” Yan asked, worry digging in their chest. “I still want to help you guys.”

“And you can,” Henrik said calmly. “You don’t have to visit Jackie every day. Just whenever you need to, set up an appointment and he can work you into his schedule.” The doctor tore a piece of paper from his clipboard and handed it to Yan. After a moment of squinting, they could deduce it was a referral note to see Jackie. That or a drawing of a lion. Probably the former.

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Henrik nearly flinched out of his skin before going to answer the door, tapping the trapdoor with his foot as he went. He opened the door slightly at first, and then, after a short exchange, all the way, letting B into the office.

Yan froze. They briefly considered diving behind the bench so B wouldn’t see them, but it was already too late. B bounced over to his friend, not hesitating to pull them off the bench in a hug. Yan wanted to disappear. Why did B have to be here? It wasn’t that they didn’t enjoy seeing B, but they didn’t want him accidentally finding out they were corrupting. Yan already felt guilty enough knowing B still didn’t know they’d stolen the scissors. Keeping secrets from their best friend tore Yan up inside.

“What are you doing here, Yan?” B asked, seemingly oblivious to Yan’s slight discomfort. He backed away from the hug and gave them a lopsided grin. He kept his hands on their upper arms.

“Checkup,” Yan answered vaguely, hoping that would be a satisfactory answer. “What are you doing down here?” They wriggled out of B’s grip, playfully batting his arms away.

“Oh!” B exclaimed, suddenly remembering he’d come to Henrik’s office for something other than Yan. He spun around to face Henrik. “We’re out of bandages in the Library,” he explained, “and the Library’s been really feisty this week, so G wanted to stock up just in case one of us gets hurt. I already almost got hit by stray books, like, seven times today. And then G was- Oh!”

Henrik cut B off by shoving a large box of bandages into his arms. “Tell G I’ll need the next volume of Kingsman’s series soon. He’ll know which one.” Forcefully, Henrik spun B around to face the door and began to push him out of the office.

“Wait, Yan!” B cried out, pushing back against Henrik. “You want to come with? I’m almost done with work today!”

Yan hesitated for a moment, but a quick glance at Henrik’s face told them he wanted B out of his office as soon as possible. “Sure!” Yan said, putting on a grin as they joined their friend at the door. “Thanks for the checkup, Henrik!”

Henrik sighed gratefully and gave Yan a slight smile before closing the door behind them and B.

“You coming?”

Yan nodded quickly, realizing they’d been staring at the closed door for a moment too long. They turned to face B with a smile, taking his free hand as he shifted the box of bandages under his other arm. The sun was beginning to set, giving the Crime Department hall a warm golden glow. A few of its employees passed B and Yan as they walked, but barely acknowledged them past a polite nod. The pair walked in silence until they reached the end of the hallway.

“So,” B began, breaking the stillness that had settled between them, “what was your checkup for?”

Yan hesitated, brain quickly scrambling for an excuse. “Just- I’ve been, um, stressed lately,” they said, relaxing slightly as B nodded. “I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t, uh, have any effect on my magic, y’know?”

“And?”

“I should be fine,” Yan continued. “Dr Schneeplestein gave me a note to see Jackie, though.” They pulled the piece of paper from their skirt pocket and waved it before putting it back.

“That’s good,” B said, giving Yan’s hand a squeeze. “I went to see Jackie a few times when I first started at the Library, and he really helped. You would not believe how stressful that job is when you have no clue what you’re doing. Plus, it took super long for G to start warming up to me, so I couldn’t really, like, lean on him much in the beginning. He’s gotten better now though. I think he just wasn’t used to having an apprentice. I don’t know how he was getting by before me, honestly.”

Yan let B ramble on as they continued their walk. Listening to him talk, it was easy to forget their own troubles. They could do that with B. Just… lose themself and live in the moment. Hearing all his stories from the Library, they could almost pretend they weren’t corrupting, that they weren’t helping a dead man and a doctor make a potentially impossible cure, that they weren’t constantly racked with guilt from cutting Senpai’s string to Osana.

“Yan? Earth to Yan?” B waved their clasped hands in front of Yan’s face. “Dude, you good?”

“Huh?” Yan blinked. “Oh, yeah, sorry. I must have zoned out.”

B frowned. “Are you sure, Yan?” he asked, giving them a concerned look over the rim of his glasses. “You’ve been ‘zoning out’ a lot lately.” He stopped walking, forcing them to stop too. “I know you said you’ve been stressed recently, and I get that, but I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Yan could feel the blood drain from their face.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” B continued, seemingly oblivious to the panic Yan was feeling. “Just- I don’t want you to feel like you have to keep secrets from me, Yan. You’re my best friend, dude. If there’s anything I can do to help you, I want to be able to do it.”

Yan didn’t know what to say. The kind, understanding smile on B’s face made them want to crawl into Henrik’s basement and live there with Anti forever. “I’m- I’m sorry, B,” they finally stammered out, chest tightening as they held back tears. “It’s just- It’s not just my apprenticeship I’m stressed about.”

B looked at them with obvious interest.

“It’s Senpai too,” Yan admitted, staring down at the floor.

“But I thought-”

“I know, and you’re still right,” Yan interrupted. “Everything is going great with him. We’ve been hanging out a lot, and we’ve even got a real date next Saturday.” They reached up with their free hand to hold onto their locket. “I’m just so afraid. I love him so much, but I’m so worried that I’m not the right person for him. I’m not afraid he’ll find someone else and leave me, but that I’ll see he’s got a string to someone else, and I won’t be able to let him go.”

This was stupid, Yan scolded themself. They were just telling B old troubles. They already knew that they couldn’t let Senpai go. That they’d seen his string to Osana and acted irrationally. They’d been selfish. They still were selfish. They were just airing old grievances, pretending they still mattered.

“Oh, Yan,” B said gently, “you don’t have to worry about that. You’re such a good person, I know you’ll make the right choice, no matter what.”

But they hadn’t.

They’d stolen and lied, and now they were paying the price.

“But what if I can’t?” Yan fretted. “What if I make a mistake, and someone gets hurt?!”

B backed up a step, eyes wide. “Yan, calm down,” he said. They could feel his own worry and stress building. “No one’s going to get hurt. You’re getting worked up over something that might never happen.”

Yan’s head pounded as tension rose. “You don’t get it!” they cried, tears finally beginning to run down their face. “I’m supposed to be good at this! I’m supposed to be able to tell who’s right for who, but I can’t! I don’t know what I’m doing anymore!”

“Yan, I-”

“Just leave me alone!” Yan shouted. They tore their hand away from B’s, letting out a bolt of red magic that went wild, barely missing B. There was a cracking noise as it hit some distant wall.

B’s eyes had followed the bolt, but they now looked at Yan with fear. “Y-Yan, what was that?”

Yan’s hands covered their agape mouth. Their heart was pounding harder than their head, and they felt like they’d just stuck their hand in an electric socket. “I-I- I’m-” they stuttered. “I’m sorry, B.” Before their friend could respond, Yan turned and ran back the way they came. They didn’t look behind them to see if B was following. It didn’t matter. They ran blindly, pushing past a pair of startled Department employees, down a darkening hallway until they reached Henrik’s office. They slammed the door open, charging right into a startled Henrik and wrapping him in a hug.

“Yan, what happened?” Henrik asked, hesitantly placing his arms around them as they sobbed into his shirt.

They only gripped his shirt tighter, barely noticing as Henrik shuffled them closer to the door so he could close it before moving them closer to one of the examination benches. He let them cry on his shoulder for what felt like ages. Yan didn’t want to let go. They wanted their head to stop hurting and their hands to stop burning. Eventually, though, their tears ran dry, and they were just standing there, stubbornly refusing to let go.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” Henrik asked quietly, removing his arms from around Yan.

 Yan backed up, hopping onto the bench behind them and rubbing their puffy eyes. Their throat felt tight, but they nodded still. “I- I don’t know what came over me,” they stammered, their voice catching. “I just- I got really freaked out when B asked me what was going on. I panicked and yelled at him, and- and then I-” Yan felt the tears begin to run down their face again. “-I almost hit him with c-corrupted magic.”

Henrik’s eyes went wide for a second, and Yan flinched. He was going to be mad at them. He was going to kick them out of his office. He was going to tell them they couldn’t help Anti anymore. They were going to lose everything. They were going to lose B, and now they were going to lose Henrik and Anti too. They-

“Yan, it’s okay.”

Yan’s panicked breathing caught as they felt Henrik’s hand on their shoulder. They sat stunned as he moved to their left and, with a grunt, hoisted himself onto the bench. Gently, he wrapped his arm around their shoulders and pulled them close, so they were leaning against him.

“You know,” Henrik began softly, staring at the distant wall, “I used to have a very good friend. We were as close as you and B are. We were like brothers. He- he helped teach me English when we were very young. We did everything together. But I made a terrible mistake, and betrayed his trust. I was careless, and ruined our friendship. He has hardly looked at me, much less talked to me, since then.”

It was Yan’s turn to look wide-eyed at Henrik. The misery coming from him was so potent, they felt like they could reach out and grab it. “Do you think I’ve ruined my friendship with B?” they asked fearfully.

Henrik shook his head, and Yan noticed the tears in his eyes. “No, I don’t think so,” Henrik said, mustering a smile. “B… B is much more forgiving than my friend was. For you, it is not too late to fix things. I know it feels like you have created an unbridgeable gap between you and him, but you are a very smart and loving person, Yan. If anyone can cross that gap, it is you and B. He is just as hurt and scared as you are right now, but he does not hate you.”

Yan nodded slowly, tugging at their locket. “What do I do?” they asked.

“Talk to him,” Henrik answered. “When you’re ready. And be honest with him. B… B will be more understanding th- that way.”

Henrik had interrupted himself, Yan noted. What was he going to say before he changed his mind and said ‘that way’ instead? It… It probably wasn’t important. Maybe they’d just imagined it. Still…

“Can I stay here for a little bit?” Yan implored. “I think helping Anti will help me think things through before I talk to B.”

Henrik nodded. “If you think that’s best,” he said, still staring off into the distance. “You can go down whenever. I- I’m going to work up here tonight.” Carefully, the doctor slid off the bench. He turned and gave Yan a reassuring smile before retreating to his apartment. 

The moment the door closed behind him, Yan walked across the floor and crouched to reach the trapdoor. "Anti?" they asked after knocking a few times. "Can I come down?"

"Yan?" his muffled voice called back, his confusion was obvious. "Uh… yeah, sure."

Yan opened the trapdoor, carefully treading down the steps to the basement. Their movements were apprehensive, all their senses still on edge from their outburst. Once at the bottom of the stairs, they noticed that Anti had since moved from the floor to his desk, although his mess of notes still remained scattered across the floor.

Anti looked over at them, idly swaying side to side in his old leather desk chair. "You're back early," he said. "Unless you're not, and I just fell asleep working and didn't notice, again." He shrugged.

Yan chuckled half-heartedly, not moving from their spot in the doorway. "No, I did come back early, I just-" they hesitated. Knowing Anti, he would probably just laugh at their outburst at B, just like he did when they revealed their corruption. That was the last thing they needed right now. "I just need to take my mind off things for a while. Anything I can help with?"

"Not really," he said shortly, turning back to his own work. He paused, realizing how rude he sounded. He cleared his throat. "I guess you can organize my notes. Just pick up everything on the floor and sort them by subject."

They huffed, looking down at the basement floor, cluttered with so many strewn papers and books you could hardly see the hardwood. It would take them a while to clean it all, but they were grateful to have a distraction.

.

.

.

Yan looked down proudly at their work. Every scrap of paper was now organized into neat piles. With their distraction gone, their fears and doubts began to creep back into their mind. They turned their gaze up to Anti, who was caught up in his own work at his desk. They locked eyes (or, well, eye) with Sam, who then proceeded to nudge himself against the glass of his jar to get Anti's attention. He looked up from his work, mumbling "What?" as the eye pointed at Yan with its tail. He turned in his chair, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask you something," they said, looking at the floor. "How… how do you deal with being corrupted?"

Anti let out a short chuckle. "I'm not exactly dealing with it, kid." He leaned back in his chair, looking around at the basement. "I don't have an answer for you, really."

"Oh…"

"All I can say is, being corrupted is hard, but it's harder when you're alone. When I became corrupted, I had no one. I was in a bad place, and if I didn't have Henrik I would've never made it through it. But you've got so many people who care about you, Yan. And they're gonna support you no matter what happens. You've got your whole life ahead of you, and that's a wonderful thing," he paused, scratching at his wounded neck.  "I should know, I already lived mine."

Yan nodded, tugging gently at their locket. They wanted to say Anti's words of encouragement made them feel better, but they honestly didn't know what to feel anymore with their faulty powers picking up every strong emotional impulse in the room. They just knew they still felt bad. 

They shuffled on their seat on the floor, before reaching for their phone. They hadn't touched it since they started cleaning the room, so they hadn't noticed the eight new notifications: two missed phone calls and six unread texts from B.

Are you alright?

What happened back there?

You can tell me if somethings wrong. I'm here for you.

Yan, are you okay?

Did I do something wrong?

I'm sorry if I did something, I just want to know that you're ok

Yan stared down at the messages with bleary eyes. "I think I know what I need to do. Thanks for the talk, Anti," they wiped their eyes, standing up from the floor. 

"No problem,"

Yan nodded, crossing the room to the stairs. As they ascended the steps, they quickly tapped out a response to B.

I'm okay now. Can we meet up tomorrow?

.

.

.

Yan was waiting on the front steps of the Library before it opened to the public. They tapped their foot against the marble steps; part to calm their nerves, partly to cut the eerie early-morning silence. It wasn't long before they spotted a streak of orange racing across the courtyard. 

B was up the steps in moments, nearly collapsing as he reached the top. "You're here early," he said between pants. 

Yan opened their mouth to reply, but they were cut off by the sound of the heavy, wooden doors of the Library opening behind them. G stepped through the doors, hands clasped behind his back. "And you're late," he peered over his glasses at B. "I've told you countless times, you're supposed to arrive before the Library opens."

His apprentice stood up straight, smoothing out the wrinkles of his shirt as he faced G. "I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. I slept through my alarm." 

Yan felt a pang in their chest. They sensed the guilt coming off of B when he talked to G. They couldn’t help but think they were the reason B overslept, he must have stayed up worrying about them.

"Come along, B. There's work to be done." G gestured towards the inside of the Library. When B walked inside, G looked over to Yan. "Good morning, Yan. I take it you and B have something to discuss?" 

They nodded.

"Alright. But don't be too long." He turned on his heel and entered the Library, Yan following soon after. The heavy, wooden doors closed behind them.

B was waiting off to the side as they entered, tugging at the end of his scarf as he watched them walk over. Yan walked up to him, a weak smile on their face. "Hey," they said with uncertainty. "Um, can we talk someplace a little more private?"

"Of course. This way," B nodded down a row of bookshelves. Yan followed as he led them down the row. A couple of twists and turns later and the two found themselves in a small but cozy room. There were two large armchairs in the center, separate by a coffee table with two steaming mugs sitting atop it. Yan glanced at one of the bookshelves around the room, and found it lined with books boasting titles like The Guide to Good Mental Health and Self Help Tips. It was as if the Library itself was trying to help.

B apprehensively sat in one of the armchairs, and Yan followed suit. They were the first to break the silence. "I've come to apologize. I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday."

"It's okay, you've been stressed."

"No, it's not okay!" they raised their voice, before settling back down and taking a deep breath. "I have been stressed lately, but I shouldn't take it out on you. You were only trying to help and I nearly hurt you. It's not fair to you." They took a deep breath to keep their composure. "I've just been going through something lately and it's make me so upset all the time."

"Whatever it is, I'm here for you," B jumped up in his chair. "Just tell me what's happening, I can help!"

"I can't tell you. I want to tell you, so, so bad, but I can't risk it. I trust you more than anyone in this world, B, so please just trust me."

"I… I do trust you. You're my best friend, dude." He stood up from his chair. "You don't have to tell me anything. No matter what happens, I'm here for you."

Yan practically jumped out of their chair, wrapping their arms around his shoulder in a tight embrace. He instantly hugged them back. "Thank you," they whispered into his shoulder.

.

.

The two friends emerged in the central hall of the Library. G was at his usual place behind his desk, and a few early-morning patrons sat at the tables around the room. 

B turned to Yan. "I have to start my work for the day," he said, patting them on the shoulder. "If you need anything, let me know."

"Of course, I'll see you around." They gave him a smile. He smiled back, before disappearing into a row of bookshelves. Yan began walking in the opposite direction, to the Library doors. Right as they reached the threshold, they felt a hand on their shoulder. They turned to see who it belonged to. "G? What is it?"

The Librarian stood behind them. "Before you go, I want you to take this," he handed them a book. The dust clinging to its green cover made it apparent no one had read it in years. "It's a collection of ancient Life Magic remedies. I think you might find it useful." He peered over his glasses with a knowing look in his eyes.

Yan felt as though their heart stopped. "I- I don't-" they stammered. They dared to sense his feelings, to look for answers using magic despite their corruption fighting them. However, G didn't feel angry, or fearful. Instead they sensed a great swell of warmth, a comforting sensation that put them immediately at ease. He was trying to help. "Thank you, G," they said. 

He nodded in response, with the faintest of smiles on his face, before returning to his work.

Yan stepped out onto the steps of the Library. With the book clutched close to their chest, they breathed out a sigh of relief. Although their corruption was still hidden from B, it was as if the weight of the hefty secret was lifted from their shoulders. Now all that was left was to deliver this book to Anti, and to find the cure that would free them both from the burden of corruption.

[wwoww-au]

Do you have any more secret memes you can share with us

Here’s one I dug up from the public discord server (which anyone can join btw just ask for an invite)

-mod static

[wwoww-au]

Lovesick

I’ve always been afraid of being alone. For as long as I could remember I was terrified that my world would always be cold, empty, incomplete. I could only hope that I would find someone special… and one day I found him. My Senpai. From the moment I met him, I knew he was the one. I felt complete. But he was destined to be with someone else.

She likes him, but not in the way I like him. She could never appreciate him the way I do. She is a selfish, shallow human being. She doesn’t deserve someone as good as him. But I found something to stop her. Something to cut their ties -- their heartstrings -- before she could take him away from me. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting Senpai from ending up with the wrong person.

I knew it the moment I cut the string. The searing pain in my hand where I had held the scissors, the jagged red scar etched beneath my ring finger. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done this. It wasn’t my choice to make. I-

“Yan?” Senpai waved a hand in front of their face.

“Huh?” Yan looked up at him. The two were sitting across from each other at a small table in a cafe. They had been meeting like this a lot in the last few weeks; getting lunch or walking through the park and simply getting to know each other.  Yan cherished these moments more than anything in the world.  “Sorry, lost in thought.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Senpai leaned forward, a look of concern on his face. “You haven’t been acting like your normal, obsessively cheery self lately. And you look awfully pale.”

“I’m fine, I promise,” they reassured him, placing a gloved hand over his. “I’ve been tired, that’s all.”

“Are you sure it’s just that? You could be coming down with something. Maybe you should see a doctor.”

“Oh, alright. If you say so.” Yan gave a half-hearted smile. “I’ll get a checkup tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Senpai sat back in his chair. “I care about you, you know. I don’t want you to get sick.”

"You're just the sweetest, do you know that?" Yan said. The pair smiled at each other. "So, what were we talking about, before all this?"

"Your trip to the library?"

"Oh, right! So yeah B and I get to the Gardening Section, and then this giant vine shoots out of nowhere and-"

.

.

.

Henrik rarely got appointments these days. His patients mainly consisted of officers from the nearby Crime Department or special cases assigned by the Committee themselves. Sitting at his desk, he checked his schedule for the day. It was completely empty, except for one person who had scheduled a checkup for later that afternoon. He was a little surprised, but he was grateful to have something to do that day. 

They arrived five minutes early to the appointment, greeting him at the door with a smile. "Good morning, Doctor."

"You can just call me Henrik," he said, politely shaking their hand. Their greeting reminded him of Jackie, another positive force trying and failing to brighten his ever sour mood. "Yan, was it?"

"That's me," they answered cheerfully as they followed him back into the office. They perched up on the edge of one of the beds. Henrik pulled a clipboard off of his desk and read what was written there.

"So, it says here you've been feeling sick? Can you describe your symptoms?"

Yan looked down at their hands, folded in their lap. "I've been really tired lately. I guess I've been a little more irritable."

"Anything else?" Henrik barely looked up from his clipboard.

"Well, I-" They hesitated. "Uh, I've been struggling with my magic a bit."

Henrik's eyes went wide upon hearing this, and his head snapped up to look at them. His grip tightened on the clipboard. He spoke slowly, but with urgency. "What did you say?"

"I've been struggling with my magic a bit? Nothing too serious, I've just been getting headaches when I try to sense emotions or look at strings…" They trailed off when they saw the look Henrik was giving them. It was a look of fear, and of sadness.

"Did you use any core magic, other than your own?"

"W-what?"

"Did you use any core magic other than your own?" he repeated, his tone urgent and serious.

"I…" they trailed off and slumped their shoulders. They pulled off one of their gloves, holding up their left hand to reveal a small red iridescent scar on the knuckle beneath their ring finger. "Yes."

Henrik's heart broke for the person in front of him. Someone so young, having to endure the consequences of such a horrible decision. He so badly wanted to tell them everything was alright, but they needed to hear the truth. "You're corrupting."

 "I thought because I used an item, nothing bad would happen. But I guess not," Yan continued, their breathing picking up as they spoke. "It was such a dumb mistake, and now my life is over! I'll lose my apprenticeship, they'll break my locket, they'll throw me in jail and- oh wizard god, what will my mom think?!" They broke into a sob, covering their face with their hands.

Henrik froze. He didn't know what to do; it had been too long since he had comforted someone. He moved forward and put a hand on their shoulder, a gesture Jackie had used to comfort him countless times. "Hey, it's alright. You're going to be alright."

"How?" Yan choked out between sobs, tear-filled eyes begging for some sort of answer.

"I-" He paused to consider what he could say, if he could trust the stranger in front of him. Something about them told him he could. "I'm working on a cure. Something that can stop corruption before it can destroy the wizard. It's slow work, but I have help." He decided not to go into detail about Anti. The poor kid was already so afraid, it would be best not to mention the walking corpse in the basement. 

"You- you are?" They sniffed, a small smile tugging at the corners of their mouth. "And you'd be willing to help me?"

"Of course," he said softly, managing to return the slight smile. 

"Then I want to help you, too." They wiped a few stray tears from their eyes. "Where do we start?"

Henrik stepped back. He was hesitant to bring someone else into this, but the need for more help outweighed the worry. "First you have to promise not to tell anyone about any of this. The Committee already has me under watch, and if they find out I'm messing with corruption they'll break my item even more. You'll be fine; you're in a very early stage of corruption. It's barely noticeable. Keep that scar covered, and don't tax yourself too much when using magic."

They slipped their glove back on and nodded. They had a new look of determination on their tear-soaked face. Henrik bent over and shifted the carpet to the side, revealing the basement door.

"I keep my research down here," he said, lifting the hatch to the stairs. "I'll go grab some of it for you to look over, see what you can do to help, though admittedly, there's not much. Wait up here." He disappeared down the dark steps.

Yan stood up from the bed and began pacing around. They absentmindedly fiddled with their locket as they began to process their feelings. On one hand, their selfish decision led to their own corruption; on the other, sheer luck brought them to someone working on a cure. Yan halted their pacing in front of the trap door. The sound of Henrik's voice, along with a second, harsher voice, drifted from below. Using the smallest bit of Heart magic, they could sense strong emotion from below. Concern, fear, anger. It put them on edge. 

They moved towards open door, gently padding down the steps. They spotted Henrik arguing in a hushed tone with another man, whose back was turned to them. "Henrik, are you alright?" they said quietly.

"Yan," Henrik said quickly, eyes wide with panic. "I told you to wait upstairs."

"I heard you talking and I wanted to check-" They were quickly cut off when the other man turned around, revealing his haunting features. Blood oozed from a cut on his neck, and his skin clung to his bones, as if he hadn’t eaten in years. Jet black eyes glared at them, green and blue irises seemingly glowing with fury. Yan clapped a hand over their mouth. "Oh m-my wizard god… your neck-"

"I told you this was a bad idea!" the man yelled back at Henrik. He stalked towards Yan, a hideous sneer on his face. His hands flickered with glitchy, crimson and dark green magic. 

"Anti, calm down," Henrik begged, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"No! Listen to me!" Anti whipped around, throwing Henrik’s hand off, and pointed an accusing finger at the doctor, who shrunk visibly. "You're way too trusting! That's what got you into this mess in the first place!" He turned back to Yan. "You! Get out!"

"I'm- I'm sorry! I shouldn't have-" Yan stuttered out the best they could. They backed away slowly, heart practically beating out of their chest. 

"GET OUT!" Anti screamed. The magic gathering at his hands burst out, knocking back everything around him. Yan flew back into the stairs with a strangled cry. The room settled, unbearably quiet after the blast. Yan stood on shaky feet before scrambling up the stairs, a few fresh tears streaking their face.

"What did you do?" Henrik broke the silence, pushing past Anti to get to the stairs.

"I didn't know I could do that." Anti flexed his hand, staring at it with curiosity. "Honestly. You know I can't control my magic."

Henrik was already midway up the stairs. "I don't care about your magic,” the doctor snapped, “what you need to be controlling is your temper. We'll talk about this later." He disappeared up the stairs, calling after Yan.

Anti huffed, and slumped over into the worn desk chair. He glanced over at the jar on the desk, where Sam was silently bobbing in the green potion. "Don't look at me like that," he grumbled. "Okay.. maybe I overreacted, but I have every right to be on edge."

 Sam bumped up against the glass. 

"It would be nice to have a little more help... But how do I know we can trust them?"

Sam bumped the glass again, making a few bubbles float to the surface.

 "You're right. You're always right. I'll go apologize."

He stood up, grabbing the tattered notebook and numerous loose scraps of paper that made up his corruption research, as well as Sam's jar. With one last look at Sam for reassurance, he made his way upstairs, carefully lifting the trap door with his free hand when he reached the top. 

He peaked out, glancing around the room with wild eyes. His gaze landed on Henrik, hands resting on a shaking Yan's shoulders. Tears ran down their face, and the doctor was muttering something in hopes of calming them down. Anti cleared his throat.

Henrik turned around, immediately moving in front of Yan. "That was fast. Already coming to apologize?"

Anti shrugged before climbing up the last of the stairs. "Sam convinced me that we could use more help, okay? They can stay."

"Sam?" Yan whispered to the doctor, peering around his side. "Is he talking about that thing in the jar?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Henrik sighed. "All that time sitting alone in the basement is making him lose his grip on reality."

"Are you two going to stand around insulting me all day, or are we going to get some work done?" Anti cut in, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I have some books on old life magic in my room, I'll go get those while you two start going over notes," Henrik said, walking over to the door that lead to his apartment. "Anti, if you try anything, I'll make sure you stay dead this time."

"Yikes, low blow," Anti gasped, and held a hand to his heart to feign hurt. "But your point stands."

"I mean it. Play nice." Henrik stepped into his apartment and shut the door, leaving the two alone.

Anti kneeled down on the floor, laying out all of his work and Sam's jar in front of him. He glanced up at Yan, who still watched nervously from a few feet away. "Well, you wanted to help, right? Come here," he grunted, waving them over. They slowly walked over and sat in front of him, cautiously watching him. "So, Yan, what'd you do?"

"What?" Yan flinched slightly, half expecting Anti to lash out at them again.

"What did you do to get corrupted?"

"Oh, that." They looked away. "I used an item with a Soul core in it. I have a Heart core." 

"Really, that's it? Why?"

"Well," they hesitated, "I really like this guy, and I was scared I was going to lose him to someone else. So I used the item to cut their heartstrings." They looked up to see Anti staring at them with disbelief. His mouth slowly curled into a smile and he started to howl with laughter. "Why are you laughing?!" 

"Are you kidding me?" He spoke after catching his breath. "You got corrupted over a crush?! Oh my god, you know what this makes you? A Yan-dere!" He began to laugh harder at his own joke.

"Stop laughing, it's not funny," they huffed, crossing their arms. "Whatever! How did you corrupt then, if what I did was so ridiculous?!"

"How do you even know I'm corrupt?" 

"You literally just threw me into the stairway with glitch magic."

"You got me there," Anti admitted, reaching up to gently scratch at his neck. A few bits of caked-up blood flaked off. "It's a long story. I was at a low point in my life, thought magic would help. Obviously, that wasn't the case."

"How did your family react to finding out you're corrupted?" Yan asked. They tensed when they saw his face grow solemn. "Sorry, I just- I'm really worried about what might happen if my friends or family find out."

"No, it's fine," Anti said. "My family was out of the picture long before I corrupted."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," Anti scoffed, shaking his head. "I doubt they miss me much, anyways." Those words hung in the air for what felt like hours before he spoke again. "Hey, Yandere, now's not the time to mope around. We got work to do."

"Are you seriously going to keep calling me that?"

"Absolutely." He handed them a notebook with a wink.

"Whatever," they grumbled, snatching the notebook from his hand. Their brow furrowed as they flipped through the crumpled, occasionally bloodstained pages. "Your handwriting is terrible. Does this say 'soul' or 'seal'?"

Anti leaned forward to read the scribbled words. "That says 'core'."

Yan looked at the page again. "You're such a mess."

Anti snickered. "Oh yeah, well-"

Henrik opened the door to the apartment, a pile of old books precariously balanced under one arm. He watched the other two on the floor, quickly exchanging playful insults back and forth. He couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. His efforts always felt so hopeless,yet such a small exchange between strangers made him feel optimistic for the first time in months. Maybe there was some hope left.

[wwoww-au]

Yan who was Senpias other suitor

Yan: This girl named Osana. She's always so mean to him. I don't care if you've known each other since you were kids, it's just plain rude!

[wwoww-au]

two more members of the Wizard Committee! please give your warmest welcomes to JJ and Yan!

-mod crow

[wwoww-au]

Fun at Your Local Library

Dark rarely found themselves with time off. Even when they weren't physically chasing after Wilford, they would be cooped up in their office analyzing evidence, searching for leads, anything that would get them closer to finding the thief. It was rare to find days where there was nothing for them to do.

Today was one of those days. While going over some old reports on the Warfstache case, Dark had found an inconsistency in the timeline of events. They figured that it must have been caused by him jumping through time again. Unfortunately, as soon as the Committee got word of this breakthrough in the case, they took the reports in for review. This meant that Dark would have to wait at least a day for them to go over the reports and rule out any other possible reasons for the inconsistencies before they would allow them to time travel again.

And that is why they decided it would be best to just stay out of the way and go to the Library instead. They’d learned a long time ago that it was easier to just let the Committee do as they please, rather than argue and make things worse.

They pushed open the heavy door to the Library and walked in, boots squeaking on the shiny wooden floor. The room was comfortably silent. G sat at his desk as usual, lifting his gaze from his work to take a brief glance at who just came in. A teenager with red hair sat at one of the work tables, scrolling through their phone and mindlessly fidgeting with the chain of the locket around their neck.

"Good morning, G," Dark said, walking up to the main desk. G was busy reading from a large leather-bound book and taking notes, his enchanted quill making an exact copy of said notes as he wrote.

"What can I do for you, detective?" G finished a page of notes and put down his pen, the quill following suit by lying itself down on its own stack of papers. "Do you need something for the case? History books, Committee files?"

"No, none of that today. I'm off duty." Dark looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact with the librarian. "Actually, I was hoping to study up on magic. Spells and all that…" They trailed off. G watched them with a look of understanding.

"Fair enough, just wait at one of the tables and I'll have my apprentice find something for you," he said.

Dark nodded in silent thanks and sat down at a table near the front desk. They looked over at the teen at the other table.

"Are you waiting on books, too?" Dark asked. They normally didn't start small talk, but the sudden random quiet of the Library was becoming too unbearable.

"Hm?" They looked up from their phone. "Oh, no. I'm just waiting for B. We're gonna hang out after he gets out of work. I'm Yan by the way." They smiled, leaning forward on their hands and looking at them curiously.

"Dark," they replied. "Speaking of, where is B? He's normally around here somewhere."

"G sent him to go organize one of the sections. 'Early Survival Techniques' or something like that." As if on cue, B emerged from one of the opposite bookshelves. His face was covered in ash, and the ends of his clothes were singed. He was patting out a small flame on the sleeve of his sweater when he walked up to Yan.

"All finished, you ready to go?" He smiled at his friend.

"Not yet, B," G interrupted. "I need you to grab some books on basic soul magic for Dark."

"But you said I could leave early today," B protested, looking disappointed.

"I know what I said. It shouldn't take too long." G spoke with the voice of a stern parent. "You can take your friend along with you if you want." He gestured vaguely towards Yan, and sat back down to finish his work. B smiled and grabbed his friend by the hand.

"Thank you! Come on Yan, this is gonna be fun!" He dragged them with him into the rows of bookshelves. Yan waved to the other two as they disappeared down the aisles, a giddy smile on their face.

"It was nice meeting you, Dark!" they called back.

.

.

.

As the two teenagers walked down a row of bookshelves, it grew increasingly more cramped as more and more stacks of books  began to take up space. Eventually it grew to the point where the stacks were so tall that it was hard to see the top, and books would occasionally drop from somewhere up high.

"Sorry about this," B said sheepishly, maneuvering as best he could through the stacks. "I was supposed to organize this section, but I guess things just got piled up. Literally." He jumped back as a heavy binder filled with various files fell in front of him. "The Committee is in the process of backlogging a bunch of their old files, and all of it is getting shipped here." He picked up the binder and placed it on the nearest shelf.

"No worries," said Yan. "It's actually pretty interesting to see what you do all day. Being an apprentice at the Great Library must be pretty cool." They stepped around a pile of more binders, only to bump into it and knock one off the top. It hit the ground with an explosion of glitter.

"It's alright. Just very, very weird." B brushed the glitter off the binder and placed it on the shelf next to the other one. "Hey, how's your apprenticeship going? I'm sure it's a lot easier than all of this." He gestured at the whole of the Library, stopping in time to lunge out of the way of a heavy leather bound book that hit the ground with a loud thud to his left.

"Well it's certainly less dangerous, I'll tell you that," they giggled. "But matchmaking does have its challenges from time to time. It helps to have a built-in guide, though."

"Guide?" B scrunched up his face in confusion. "Like your boss tells you what to do or…"

"No, not that. The heart strings." Yan looked over at B to see he was still visibly confused. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Okay, this is really hard to explain to someone who isn't a heart core so just bear with me." They took a deep breath and rubbed their hands together. "So when two people are compatible as a couple, a red string binds them together. Matchmakers follow these strings and use them as a guide to bring people together. Pretty much all heart wizards can see them, but no one really talks about it 'cause it's a super personal thing."

"Oh, I get it," B said. "Like soulmates?"

"Not exactly." Yan thought for a moment. "It's not really set in stone. People can gain strings after getting to know one another, or lose strings over time. Some people don't even have them."

"So, anyone can have a heart string? What about… G? Does he have one?”

“Well, like I said it’s rude to talk about someone’s strings… but yeah, his is super weird,” Yan leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.

“Man, must be nice to know who likes who. Wait, can you see your own string? Or is that like, against the magic rules?”

“Oh yeah, you can see your own. I don’t have one, but, well… there’s this one guy I like,” Yan said, eyes going dreamy. “I met him in the city while at work. He’s so nice, and handsome, and he helped me out of the rain, and he’s super sweet, and oh, he’s perfect B! My Senpai… but he’s… well, he’s already got someone else.”

B looked back at them worriedly having noticed their tone shift, and almost tripped over a large root on the ground. That was when Yan noticed the foliage- branches grew off of shelves, roots and grass sprung through the floor, flowers of various shapes and sizes began to pop up, and leaves started to appear to create a sort of canopy above them. Up ahead, a curtain of ivy cut off the aisle of bookshelves.

“Oh hey, we’re nearly at the Gardening Section,” B said, trying to change the subject.

“What’s the Gardening Section? Is it nice?”

“Oh yeah, I guess. It’s where all the books on gardening are. It’s really pretty, though you gotta watch out for the plants.”

“I’ll say,” Yan said as they picked their way through the increasingly dense undergrowth. “I bet it would be the perfect date spot, if it wasn’t so wild. Story of my life, though, huh?”

“So, uh, that detective, right? Dark? Man, are they a mystery. Do they have any heart strings?” B said, trying to change the topic again. Talking about this Senpai clearly made them sad, and he’d hate to see his friend like that.

“Them? Oh yeah, they’re weird too. Why does everyone-“

Their sentence was cut short as an enormous vine shot forward, wrapping around Yan's leg and dragging them screaming through the ivy.

"YAN!" B shouted, running after them through the foliage. He had worried something like this would happen, the Library was full of danger for anyone who didn't know how to navigate it. He pushed through the curtain of ivy and stumbled into the Gardening Section.

The narrow row of bookshelves opened into a large courtyard where flowers of all kinds grew across the grass-covered ground. Trees blooming with blossoms and fresh fruit towered above it, reaching the vaulted ceiling where sunlight poured through a tinted glass window. A small gardening shed sat to the side next to a tree stump with a hatchet still embedded in its surface. Bookshelves coated in a thick layer of ivy formed a wall enclosing it all in.

At the very center of the courtyard was a giant orange flower, over four times as tall as B. Normally its petals were closed together like a Venus fly trap, but today they were open, revealing the sharp and dangerous barbs lining the inside of the petals, and its many vine-like appendages were whipping around like crazy. B had to duck to avoid more than one almost smashing into his head.

Up ahead he saw Yan struggling against the vine wrapped around their leg. They had managed to grab onto a flowering cherry blossom tree and were struggling to hold on, trying to kick the plant off them with their free leg. B jumped into action- he sprinted towards the stump by the shed, bobbing and weaving around the violent plant appendages. He dove for the axe on the stump, nearly getting slammed in the chest by a vine that he thankfully narrowly dodged. Yan’s shouts grew louder and more panicked as they felt their arms start to slip.

No time to lose, B yanked the axe out of the stump and charged forwards, leaping and dodging with great agility. Just as Yan’s grip finally gave out he raised the axe over his head and lunged forward, cleaving the vine connecting  Yan to the plant in two with great ease.

"We have to get to cover!" B pulled Yan to their feet as they let out a string of curses. He frantically looked around, eyes landing on the storage shed. "Follow me!"

B grabbed Yan by the wrist and started running back to the shed, pulling them along behind him. They both sprinted as fast as they could, doing their best not to trip or get separated. B dove towards the door, slamming it open with his shoulder and just barely managing to turn around close it before a large heavy vine slammed into the wall. A few more slams came after, followed by more angry thrashing sounds before things seemed to calm down a bit.

“What. The wuck. Was that!?” Yan yelled gesturing wildly. “What the wuck that, B!?”

“Look, dude, I’m real sorry. I didn’t know Daisy was going to be so touchy today. I’ll have to deal with that later,” B sighed, running a hand through his hair. He slumped on a bench sitting by the wall, just glad to be able to stop and catch his breath a bit.

“That thing has a name? And what do you mean touchy today!? You knew it was there and you didn’t think to mention the giant plant monster in the middle of the ‘pretty little garden’!?” Yan started to rant and pace back and forth a little, still jumpy from the scare. Eventually they just collapsed to the floor, sitting with their back to a worn trunk. "What are we gonna do now?"

"We'll have to make a break for it once she tires herself out," B shrugged.

"Maybe there's something in here to help us fight it? This is a storage shed after all, maybe there are some shears or something.” Yan turned to the trunk and flipped the brass latches, pushing the heavy wooden lid open.

"Wait, Yan, don't-!” B tried to stop them but Yan already opened the trunk.

"Woah," they muttered. "What’s all this?"

The trunk was filled to the brim with a strange collection of items; a pearl necklace, a mini bronze statuette of an octopus, an old mp3 player, a stuffed fox, a dagger with a bejeweled hilt, a diamond ring, a gilded hourglass, an Altoids tin, and a picture frame holding a photo of a smiling family.

"They're magic items," B explained as he stood up to look at the contents of the trunk with them. "They're all filled with super powerful core magics. We store them here until that fades into pure magic and the item can be used again. We keep them in little hideaways like this, scattered across the Library. That's why Daisy is here, to protect the items."

"So all of these used to belong to wizards?" Yan asked, B nodding in return. They reached into the trunk and pulled out a pair of scissors. It had a red handle. On one side there was a little image of a heart, and on the other an image of a person with a small circle over their chest; the symbols for heart cores and soul cores, respectively. Yan couldn't help but stare at them- something about the scissors fascinated them. They could practically feel the powerful magic it contained radiating off of it, much stronger than the other items in the trunk.

"It looks like Daisy's calmed down a bit." B pulled them out of their thoughts. He had the door cracked open, enough to look out into the courtyard. The orange flower was drooped over, the vines beginning to recede back into the base. He opened the door and took a careful step out. He looked back into the shed to see Yan still sitting in front of the chest, holding onto the lip of it. They hesitated before closing it with a dull thud. "Yan?"

"I'm coming.” They stood up and moved to stand behind him.

"Follow my lead," B said. He skirted the edges of the courtyard, back to the ivy-covered bookshelves. He held his breath as he moved slowly so as to not disturb the drooping flower in the center. He held the axe in one hand, the other in front of his friend. As soon as they reached a hole in the bookshelf wall, B dropped the axe and the two broke into a sprint, running as fast as they could until the foliage underfoot became plain carpet.

"That was insane," Yan said between heavy breathes. The two stopped at a junction between bookshelves to catch their breath. "You seriously deal with this kind of stuff on a daily basis?"

"You don't know the half of it," B panted. He pointed down the aisle to their left. "Soul Magic Section should be down that way."

Yan looked around at the spot they stood in. Their eyes rested at a sudden new aisle across from them with confusion. Unlike the rest of the Library, it was dark, as if the lights overhead were out. So dark they couldn't even see what went beyond it. They could've sworn they heard whispers coming from that direction, so far away that they couldn't distinguish what was being said. "B, what's that section?" Their voice was shaky, something about it unsettled them.

"Huh?" B turned to look at the section. His face dropped. "Nope." He grabbed Yan by the shoulders and quickly steered them down the left row. "That's the Dead Zone. We have to stay, far, far away from that."

"What?" Yan turned to look at him. "What's the Dead Zone?"

"It's where all the darkest, most forbidden magic is stored." B's voice was laced with panic. "It's incredibly dangerous. Only one person has ever gone in and made it back out alive."

"Who?"

"I-I'm not supposed to say," he stuttered. Now that they were far enough away, he let go of Yan's shoulders and slowed the pace down a bit. They continued walking on their own.

"Why not?" Yan was concerned, they'd never seen B so nervous before.

"G doesn't want me to talk about it.” He tugged at the end of his scarf. "Says it brings up unpleasant memories, something about the last apprentice. But they're banned for life, I think. They scare me a bit to be honest. If someone other than the Head Librarian could survive that, they must be pretty powerful."

"Have you ever gotten near it?" Yan asked.

"Once. Biggest mistake of my life. I had nightmares for weeks, not to mention what happened when G found out I got too close.” B's voice dropped to a grave tone, “he gave me a forty minute lecture and made me clean the bathrooms."

"That sounds awf- wait, this place has bathrooms?" Yan smirked at the idea.

"Oh yeah. Kind of hard to find though, depending on how badly you need it," he shrugged.

"From what I've seen today, I shouldn't be surprised."

"This place really is crazy, huh?" He was smiling again. "I mean, there's a garden, a gym with a pool, a section full of life-sized board games including D&D, a room full of cats, a bit of Antarctica, the sun room-"

"Oh," Yan said. "Like a patio?"

"No, it's a room with an actual sun," B corrected them. "It's huge, and it has little models of the planets revolving around it. It's really cool looking."

“You should show it to me some time, as long as it doesn’t turn out there’s a super deadly alien living there that you forgot to mention. Though let’s take a less dangerous route next time, please.”

"Sounds like a plan," he smiled.

The row of shelves ended abruptly with a bronze spiral staircase leading up to a trapdoor on the ceiling. On the door was a plaque engraved with the same emblem of a person with a circle over their chest. B quickly climbed the staircase, Yan carefully following after. He reached the top, pushing open the trapdoor and climbing inside. He held out a hand to help his friend through.

Yan stared in awe of the room as they climbed in. It reminded them of an observatory. The room was covered by a large dome, the ceiling made entirely of stained glass forming a mosaic of wizards with colorful magic dancing off their hands. The walls and floor were made from sturdy wood, doors of the same material lining the walls. The most remarkable thing, Yan noted, were all the books floating through the air, held aloft by sparks of pure magic. Some floated near the roof, others only a foot or so off the ground.

"G said they needed some books on basic soul magic," B recalled. "So just grab something close to the ground and we can leave."

Yan nodded and set to work, strolling around the room to find what looked appropriate. They looked up at the books floating high above their head, filled with yellowed pages and adorned with ancient runes. The kinds of books you could find in the hands of only the most powerful wizards. The ones closer to the ground were more simple, reminding Yan of the textbooks at Academy. They eventually settled on a copy of The Art of Soul Magic: An Introduction, which they almost stepped on because it had been hovering barely an inch off the ground. They turned to see B, partially hidden by a stack of spell-books.

"Do you need help with that?" they giggled.

"Nah, I got this," B said, blatantly ignoring the fact that he had just dropped two. "This way." He turned and walked over to one of the doors, letting Yan open it for him. It lead into another narrow row of bookshelves. The two walked for maybe ten feet before suddenly arriving back in the lobby of the Library. G and Dark were still sitting in their respective spots from when they left.

"Wait-" Yan glanced around in confusion. "Didn't we go upstairs? In the opposite direction?"

B nudged past them and placed the pile of books on the table next to Dark, who jumped at the sudden loud noise. "Don't think about it too hard, you'll give yourself a headache."

G stood up from his desk and walked over to Dark's table, where they were looking over the books B had just dropped there. The quill followed him, quickly jotting down the book titles on a small notepad. G looked up at his apprentice.

"Thank you, B," he nodded. "That's all for today. You're free to go."

“Sweet!” B said, pumping his fist in the air. He started to make his way to the front door, an excited grin shining on his face. “Come on, Yan, I can’t wait to show you this cool show! It’s called Little Shop of Horrors and it’s supposed to be real funny.”

“Can’t wait,” Yan giggled, hurrying after him. They turn around before they leave, calling “Good luck with your studies, Dark!” And waving goodbye at the tired detective before quickly moving back to catch up.

“Ah, to be that young and careless again,” G mused as he finished double checking all of the books.

“You care about them, admit it,” Dark said, opening the copy of The Art of Soul Magic: An Introduction.

G rolled his eyes, walking back to his desk and almost relaxing in his chair. He felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Maybe he did care for them, just a little.

[wwoww-au]

How good is Yan at their job? How many matches have they made?

Yan is pretty good at their job, but they haven't made many matches because they're still just an apprentice

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[wwoww-au]

So Yan *is* competent in their powers if not egear?

Yes, Yan is very good at their job. They just get,, over excited at the possibilities of a match.

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[wwoww-au]

Sp there is not actually anything that stand out about Dark and Will? Like Yan doesnt see in them characteristics the other may value, physical attractiveness, etc, just "they'd be cute"? Is that how match making magci works or ate more seasoned people able to pick up on things like that?

When it comes to matchmaking magic, it's more than just "they look cute together". It's a combination of sensing emotions and chemistry between people that allows for matchmaking wizards to, well, make matches.

As to what Yan senses between Dark and Wilford, you'll have to wait and see ;)

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[wwoww-au]

So Yan thinks Will and Dark should be a couple right? What sort of chemistry do they sense if any? Like, what makes them think they could be a good relationship match?

Ah yes, Yan's favorite crackship.

The main reason is because, as a matchmaker, Yan is a little bit ship-crazy. They see chemistry for people everywhere. It's a gut feeling.

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