#yes I think most of these legends are fucking geezers

[motley-cunt]

rock scene geezers will come out and say shit nobody asked

[fyeahwildfire]

Spirit Bound

Chapter 3

Summary: You stand among the other Mortal Kombat contestants and witness two matches against the one and only Johnny Cage, the struggling Hollywood action movie star who wants his fame back.

Pairing: Mortal Kombat x reader; Bucky x reader (later)

Warning: Swearing, 

Character Powers: Telepathy and telekinesis

A/N: Gifs used down below. I love this outfit from League of Legends-Akali, so I used it for Reader’s kombat outfit. 

Moments later…

You, Lui Kang, and Raiden stood together amongst the other participants. Shang Tsung walks out with Jade and Kitana following behind.

“Kombatants. I am Shang Tsung. In the coming days each of you will fight. Some are here of their own volition. Others were brought here by chance.” He extended his arms.

You look among the other participants and notice the three Lin Kuei members. You remember your mother once telling you, you had two half-brother’s in the Lin Kuei. The one noticeably dressed in blue caught you staring, his eyes scan over you. You turn away as your attention is brought back to Shang Tsung.

“You participate in the most important mortal kombat in history. This tournament, the tenth after nine Outworld victories will determine Earthrealms fate. If you defeat all of your opponents, you will face one final challenge. Me.”

You can hear Johnny Cage mock Shang Tsung, “That old geezer is the final challenge. They might as well give me the belt right now. They do have belts right.”

Shang Tsung clears his throat and Johnny is surprised to see him standing beside him.

“What? How did you…”

“Appearances can be deceiving.” Shang Tsung floats back to his stage. “Our first Kombatant will be Mr. Cage.”

“Yeah.” Johnny steps onto the floor, he’s fully ready to take on anyone. He wants to prove to skeptical movie critics and the public that he is not a fake. “That’s right. That’s right. Who’s it gonna be?”

“Reptile.” Shang Tsung calls for Johnny’s opponent.

From atop the roof, a green hideous humanoid reptilian creature appears and jumps onto the floor. The monks clap as he does so.

“Nice stunt.” Johnny speaks with awe.

“Begin.” Shang Tsung orders.

Both Johnny and Reptile battle each other for a good 15 minutes. You’re impressed that Johnny is able to hold his own. Johnny lands one last blow and knocks Reptile down on his back.

“He got caged.” Johnny stands over Reptile and smiles. “That’s it. Oh yeah. I’m so pretty.” Johnny walks up to the other competitors and with confidence he says, “I’m taking you down. I’m taking you down. I’m taking you out. I’m taking you out and I’m taking you out…for dinner.”

Sonya scoffs with disgust and looks away. You can’t help but find it a bit humorous. After all, he was her soulmate.

You chance another glance at Sub-Zero and find one of his companions whispering into his ear. He nods but his eyes don’t move from you.

“Now, for your second challenge Mr. Cage.” Shang Tsung speaks from his spot. “Baraka!”

You look up to see a fucking ugly monster with razor-sharp teeth that no doubt could do some major damage. Baraka lets out a monstrous roar and jumps onto the floor.

Johnny nods his head, “Hmm okay, nice makeup but is it really necessary.”

Baraka unsheathes his retractable metal blades from his forearm.

“Woah.” Johnny leans forward to get a better glimpse at the blades.

“They will taste your flesh.” Baraka threatens.

While the two battle each other, you lean over to Lui Kang and whisper, “What the fuck is that thing?”

“Baraka is a Tarkatan. He and his people are mutant crossbreeds of Netherrealm demons and Outworlders. They are notorious cannibals and are feared for their barbarous nature.” Lui Kang whispers back, he immediately notices Sub-zero’s eyes on you. He becomes a bit defensive and stands closer to you. He narrows his eyes almost threatening.

“Oh, okay so best to steer clear of that one then.”

“Yes, in fact it’s best to steer clear of most of these competitors. Some are known to be very dangerous.”

You smirk and tilt your head to look into his eyes, “You talking about the blue Lin Kuei over there?”

He nods, “Yes, he hasn’t taken his eyes off of you. I’m just concerned.”

“Oh, I know he hasn’t. His name is Bi-Han and he is my half-brother.”

Lui Kang is shocked, “He is?”

You nod while you look back to the fight between Baraka and Johnny. “Lord Raiden knows. Don’t you?”

“Yes. Your mother was once married to sub-zero’s father, together they had two children. Bi-Han and his younger brother Kuai Liang.” Raiden’s eyes remained locked on the fight.

“What happened?” Lui Kang asked curiously.

“He took her sons away and had them join the Lin Kuei.” You reply with resentment.

Before Lui Kang could ask more questions, the fight between Johnny and Baraka finished with Johnny taking the win.

“Man I love those blades.” Johnny speaks with awe, he bends over to look at Baraka. “My producer has got to meet you. We’re doing Tommy scissor fists…”

“Congratulations, Mr. Cage. Now finish him.” Shang Tsung interrupts and orders Johnny to kill Baraka.

“Finish him? Yeah right.”

“Kill him!” Shang Tsung orders.

Johnny looks among the other competitors and find that they don’t have a problem with killing. In fact, they are just waiting for him to get it done with.

“Woah. Woah. Wait a second. I’m not gonna kill anyone.”

You and Lui Kang smile, then look over at Raiden, who also holds a smile on his face as it wasn’t known to spare your enemies during Mortal Kombat tournament. Despite being an egotistical asshole, Johnny wasn’t that bad.

“Very well, the tournament will resume at dawn.” Shang Tsung announces and turns to leave.

The monks rise from their positions and turn to leave as well.

“What that’s it? Really?” Johnny shrugs and turns around to find Sonya. “Now, where did that hottie go?”

The three of you approach Johnny, before he can take off to find Sonya and flirt some more with her. She’ll probably kick his ass in the process.

You look around to find where Bi-Han went. Since you were a child you had always been curious to know what your other half-brothers were like. You didn’t exactly search for them in the future, but since he was there you just found yourself curious. If things went smoothly here, then maybe when you get back you can seek out your two brother’s.

“You fought well.” Raiden tells Johnny.

“Thanks, nice hat and...” Johnny lowers his sunglasses to get a glimpse of you. He practically ogles upon seeing you dress in your green outfit. It fit you in all the right places and showed off your nice toned legs. “…nice outfit babe.”

“You should be more respectful of Lord Raiden and Lady Y/N. Raiden is Earthrealms protector and God of Thunder…”

“Look, I don’t know what kind of role playing you guys are into, but count me out.” Johnny interrupts Lui Kang as his eyes search for the blonde.

“This tournament is more than a chance at personal glory, we are fighting for the very survival of Earthrealm.”

“What are you talking about?” Johnny looks over Lui Kang’s shoulder and sees you slowly walking off. He sees the way your hips sway and he has to stop himself from looking. He had his eyes on Sonya, but there was no denying that you were hot.

“You’re last opponent was Tarkatan, he was born with those blades.” Raiden tries to explain.

“Yeah, those things are real.” Johnny looks over his shoulder to see an unconscious Baraka being hauled away.

“He represents Outworld, had you lost the emperor Shao Kahn would have come one step closer to physically absorbing our world into his.”

“Outworld, right.” Johnny shakes his head not believing either of them.

“The elder gods created the Mortal Kombat tournament, to give Earthrealm a chance to defend itself. But if we lose this time Shao Kahn will conqueror all.”

“Dun Dun Dun. Look guys I’m an actor. I save the world for the cameras. If this emperor is really a threat call the military. Me. I’ve got a date with a blonde.” Johnny walks off to go in search for his soulmate Sonya.

“What do you see in him?” Lui Kang asks Raiden as he looks behind to see you were gone.

“He is a hero, Lui Kang. Though he may not know it.”

“She’s gone! Where do you think she ran off too?” Lui Kang searched among the people trying to find you. He hadn’t heard you leave. How long had you been gone? With a bunch of murderers and assassins he feared for your safety.

“She may be after Sub-Zero.”

As soon as you part from Lui Kang and Raiden, you immediately sensed someone thoughts. The person was hidden away, you could sense he was injured. Instead of searching for Bi-Han you decide to help this person. You follow his thoughts leading to a secret part of the island, the dungeon. You carefully walk inside and find a man leaning against the cell. Slowly, you move closer towards his cell.

“Hello, Jax.” You whispered, placing you hand on the cell bar.

He looked up, “How? How do you know my name?”

“I’m telepathic. I’m here to help.” You examine the cell trying to assess its weak points.

“Run, girl, run…save yourself.” He grunted in pain, his head leaning against the bars.

“Yeah, I don’t run.” You whirl around the moment you hear Sonya’s voice coming from across the dungeon. She was not at all being quite. You could hear the sound of her boots scrapping against the ground.

“Jax! Jax! You in here?” Sonya looked around the creepy dungeon and found you standing next to Jax. “Oh my god. What did they do to you?”

You sensed Shang Tsung coming with two other bodyguards. “Shit, he’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?” Sonya was confused.

“Run, Sonya. Take the girl with you. Run.”

“Miss Blade! You do not disappoint! I have been expecting you.” Shang Tsung continues to walk closer and notices you standing there as well. His eyes widen slightly as he takes you in. His eyes travel to your eyes and all the way down to your green outfit. It’s in that moment where he decides he wanted you for himself. “Who might you be?”

Sonya stands in front of you to protect you. “Let him go! We’re not part of your tournament!”

“On the contrary. You are very much a contestant. You will face Sub-Zero, of the Lin Kuei clan of assassins.” Shang Tsung smiles proudly and puts his hands behind his back.

You see glaciers forming into a man, ice shards break to reveal Sub-Zero. He quickly gets into his fighting stance. Sonya moves forward and takes her stance as well.

“Now you will feel death’s cold embrace.” Sub-Zero’s attention is diverted when he sees you standing beside Jax’s cell. For a moment you sense his uncertainty, but it quickly disappears.

With Sonya fighting against Sub-Zero, you take the time to telepathically call Raiden for help seeing as Sonya and Jax were going to need his help. After nearly 30 minutes, Sonya finally manages to defeat Sub-Zero.

“Done! We’re leaving!” Sonya notices Raiden appearing out of lightning, though she pays him no attention as Shang Tsung steps closer. “Stand in my way and I’ll kick you’re…”

“A challenge?” Shang Tsung smiles.

From right where you are standing you can see Raiden having a vision. You take a peek and see Lui Kang defeating Shang Tsung.  “No. You will not be the one to challenge Shang Tsung.” Raiden holds his hand out to prevent Sonya from attacking.

“You want some too? Fine by me.” Sonya attacks Raiden.

Sonya is an impressive fighter but you could clearly see Raiden was holding back, he had no intention on hurting Sonya.

“Give us some cover, Raiden. I’ll help Sonya free Jax.”  You telepathically told him.

Sonya kicks Raiden and sends him to the ground, she stalks him and is about to punch him when he speaks, “Shield your eyes.”

“What?”

“Shield your eyes.” Raiden’s eyes spark and soon the entire room is lit with a bright light.

“Jax get back.” With everyone covering their eyes, you take the opportunity to use your telekinesis to pry open the bars.

Sonya walks back over to you and Jax, she puts his arm over her shoulders. “Jax, come on! We’re outta here!”

“Bout time…Nice job kid.” You follow behind them to make sure they get out safely.

Outside the dungeon, Jax struggles to move as his wounds are to grave. You decide to put his other arm around your shoulders. A big guy like him, well he was too heavy for Sonya to carry all alone.

“Come on, Jax! Move it! That’s an order.”

“Oh…so you’re in charge now?” Jax breathes heavily.

Sonya talks into her wrist com, “Special Forces Command, this is Sonya Blade! Where’s that evac?”

“Blade, they are en route…coming to you.”

You and Sonya set Jax down gently on the ground. You look around seeing a shrine and a fountain in the background.

“Affirmative! Almost home, soldier.” Sonya looks up to you. “You’re coming back with us kid. It’s not safe, here.”

You hated being called a kid. You were 20 for crying out loud. You sigh, “I can’t.”

“Why?” Jax winced as he looked at you.

“Because I was sent by the Elder Gods to help Raiden and Earthrealm warriors.”

“By order of Shang Tsung, no one leaves this island.” Kitana comes out from the shadows with Jade following beside her.

“I don’t have time for this. Outta my way.” Sonya groans and rises to her feet to face them.

You join her side and get into a fighting stance to face off against Jade. Jade wastes no time in heading towards you. She makes the mistake in underestimating you. You jump up and place both your hands on her shoulder. You flip over her shoulders and come down to a crouch, where you swipe your leg underneath hers. Jade falls on her back.

She looks up in disbelief. You just laid her on her back and you really hadn’t done anything. She pulls out her bo staff and whirls it around with expertise. From the corner of her eyes, she sees Kitana struggling to hold her own against Sonya. She tries to swipe at you, only for you to dodge by performing a sideways flip.

Jade looks at you completely angry that you’re taunting her. You aren’t even fighting back. She sends a flurry of punch and kicks towards you. You attempt to dodge every single one. But when she lands a punch to your face. You grit your teeth and look her in the eye. You were pissed. You were no longer going to hold back.

You throw a series of punches, uppercuts, lowercuts, and hooks. You even incorporate some kicks. Jade tries to dodge every single one of your hits but when you jump into the air and hit her with a flying punch. She is sent stumbling backwards. She looks up to see you illuminate yourself with a green telekinetic energy.

“Oh Shit.” She thought to herself.

You green energy comes out like streams as it wraps around Jade. Making her unable to move. She looks into your eyes and sees your irises are green. You perform a roundhouse kick that has been amplified by your telekinetic energy. Jade is sent backwards flying straight into Kitana.

“We sure don’t need any more surprises like them.” Sonya walked past you to get to Jax. “How you holding up?” Sonya kneels.

“I’m fine.”

“Liar. After I get you to base. I’m coming back. Kano’s still here somewhere.”

“Your obsession with him is gonna get you killed, Sonya.” Jax tilts his head, he wants his best friend to see reason. He doesn’t want her to get hurt.

“I trusted him.”

“Yeah, we all did.”

“But I was the one he used.” Her voice is filled with guilt and regret.

“I think your ride is here.” You look over your shoulder and smile.

Sonya smiles and waves her hands as she rises onto her feet. You sense something wrong. You hear Shang Tsung’s evil mind. He wants to destroy the helicopter to prevent them from leaving. But before you could use your telekinesis to shield the helicopter, Shang Tsung had used his magic to throw a fireball. The helicopter crashes down.

“No. Damn you.” Sonya looks over to see Shang Tsung smiling wickedly.

“You have a challenger. Kano.”

Kano puffs his chest out and walks towards Sonya. “Pretty boy isn’t gonna save you this time.”

You move over to stand protectively in front of Jax, while Sonya dealt with Kano. Your hands glow with telekinetic energy. You need to be ready in case if Sonya was defeated. You weren’t going to let anything happen to this man. He had been through enough.

The fight between Sonya and Kano lasts for about 15 minutes with Sonya being victorious. She looms over his unconscious body, “You’re coming with me.” She takes a step towards Kano only to be stopped by fire.

“Kano is not your prisoner.” Shang Tsung diffused the flames in his hands.

“At least help Jax. He needs a medic!”

Shang Tsung laughs wickedly, he sidesteps her and walks away. Kano, Kitana, and Jade follow after him.

“There they are!” Johnny approaches with Raiden and Lui Kang. “Sonya! You all right? Hey, looks like you found him. S’up, Sarge?”

“He’s a ma… Hey, what are you doing?” Sonya notices Raiden walking towards you and Jax.

You move to the side to allow him to heal Jax. “It’s alright, Sonya. Raiden won’t hurt Jax. He merely seeks to help.”

Raiden uses powers to heal all of Jax’s wounds. Sonya is still finding it hard to believe as she tries to interfere. However, Johnny holds her by the arm and tells her Raiden is an ally.

Jax smiles, he feels like a new man. “That’s amazing.”

“Told ya! Turn out he’s a god!”

You extend your hand out to help Jax back onto his feet. Afterwards, you move to Lui Kang’s side, where you see him shake his head.

“What?”

“You left without telling us… you could have been hurt.”

You raise your brow. Did he really think that low of you? That you couldn’t fend for yourself. That you were a damsel in distress, who needed saving. You narrow your eyes and fold your arms across your chest. Turning away from him, you see Sonya thank Raiden.

“I can take care of myself, thank you.” Before you can leave, Lui Kang grabs you’re arm.

Lui Kang didn’t mean to offend you. He just sort of clung to you, he couldn’t help that he was worried for your well-being. After all, this place wasn’t safe for anyone. Also, no woman had ever made him feel the way you did and the mere thought of you being hurt by assassins and criminals. No he couldn’t bear that thought.

“Forgive me, Lady Y/N.” He spoke softly. “I did not mean to offend you.”

“The Elder Gods sent me here to help. They wouldn’t have sent me if I didn’t know how to fend for myself. You get that right.” It was the only logical explanation you could give.

Lui Kang nodded his head, “Yes, I do. I am truly sorry. Please, forgive me.”

For a few seconds you remain silent, but then you smile. “I forgive you, but you must do one thing.”

“Anything. Just ask.” Lui Kang smiled, happy that you were no longer mad at him.

“Do not call me Lady Y/n. It sounds weird. Just call me Y/n.”

“Very well, Y/N.”

Right after, you and Lui Kang walk over to the others, who have gather around Raiden.

“I have foreseen event’s, like memories of my future. They lead me to believe that you are all connected to Earthrealm’s fate.”  

“What have you foreseen?” Lui Kang asks curiously.

“In my visions, Shao Kahn becomes invincible. He destroys all life in Earthrealm. We will all die.” Raiden looks over to see you looking down. “The Elder Gods have provided us with a second chance, they have sent Lady Y/N to help guide us.”

Johnny looks over, “No offense, but how can she help?”

You look up and narrow your eyes. Lui Kang takes a step back. He had made the same mistake before and immediately regretted it. Sonya’s hand go to her hips and the look on her face, says she wants to hit Johnny for offending you.

“Well, for starters she can kick your ass.” Sonya glares at Johnny.

“Yeah, like she did with those two girls back there.” Jax folded his arms, to keep himself from hitting the actor. “Say kid, what was that green glow? Never seen anything like that before.”

You smirk, “That green glow is telekinetic energy. I was born with the abilities of telepathy and telekinesis.”

Oh shit! She can read minds, fuck. Johnny thought.

You smirk, Oh I can do more than read minds. I can control and manipulate minds. I can perform neuropsychic surgery to heal or damage a mind. My telepathic ability is far too advance for a simple minded actor like yourself.

Johnny swallows and stutters, “So…uh…these visions of yours…”

“I believe these flashes are a guide to defeating Shao Kahn. But disrupting the flow of time can have serious consequences.”

You shake your head, “Or your visions could be a warning. Perhaps, the events you see have already transpired.”

 “Hmm, that may be possible.” Raiden thought this over. If that was the case then he couldn’t rely on his visions, but there was also a possibility you could be wrong.

“Then what now?” Johnny asked.

“The Elder Gods showed me the fate of the fallen Earthrealm warriors. At the end, Raiden is the last to defend Earthrealm, but he is defeated by Shao Kahn. They believe I can help change your fate and save the future of our people. But I don’t know how. All I know is we have to choose wisely.”

Lui Kang places his hand on your shoulder, he doesn’t need telepathy to see you were doubting yourself. The fate of humanity lied on your shoulders. Just like him you were burden with a glorious purpose. All will be well. The Elder Gods chose you wisely. You will help us succeed in defeating Shao Kahn.

Thank you. You’re words are comforting. You smiled.

“Alright, Raiden. We are with you and Y/N.”  

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Hello, hello, here’s my piece for the Halloween minibang organized in courtesy of the Chicken Tendies and Bacon Bits DabiHawks server~ and have the link to a more sensible reading experience (as t gets rid of formatting, too, and I’m lazy to put it all back in, at least for now): ao3

I was paired up with pineapple hair boy (dunno his url still rip) and our promt was haunted maze! \o/ I kinda included the other two we were gunning for, devil deal and ghost stories, so... multitasking, yo. Also put in my suggested fog, because as time passed, I realized how good it was even though I just put something into the box lmao

I’ll link pineapple’s accompanying piece as soon as they’re done with it, right here, in this line!! AND HERE IT IS!!!  👀

(Some of you may note... that I was supposed to be the artist. Well, it’s a long story, and likely on me tbh; I spent p much the entire week working on my piece, but I also started writing this one, and suggested doubling down on content, but unfortunately timetables are evil, and pineapple got mobbed enough as to likely run out of time if he also wanted to finish writing, so, um... yeah. This is not to say that we won’t do our original project, though, so stay tuned for the bonus round, hopefully soon! \[T]/)

(... also, I may or may not be considering to make this a full story, so there’s that)

Keigo trips for what feels like the millionth time on this way through the undergrowth- by day, the manor labyrinth is fairly easy to navigate, the kids frequenting it has kept it threadable. Nobody has legitimately tended to it for years, though. Or rather a decade, actually, it’s been a while he was here. Honestly, who cares, because--- oh, for fuck’s sake, more rose or blackberry or whatever vines to untangle his legs from. Great. Just… great.

He squints at his watch; still on time. Catching his breath after getting free surprisingly fast this time around, he takes a look at his surroundings. Not that he sees much, bear you. It’s near midnight and pitch dark. To top it off, the thick-ass fog often present, source: right damn here, has also crept into town. In fact, this is the worst it has gotten this year yet. There’s also barely anything he can hear from the dying-off autumn festival two streets and half an estate over.

It’s only him, his phone's flashlight, and the camera around his neck that also keeps getting caught in shit. That, and his own breathing that's getting his lungs numb from all the cool, wet air they are being exposed to.

Fooling around for so long has made him feel… antsy. Just a bit. The fact that his goal, that is to say the family crypt of the moneybags who used to live here is so close doesn’t help, either.

The entire plot is the stuff of local legends. The mansion is-was infamous for its… flammability, so to speak. Every few years, at least one room got totalled. Some believed that the last master had been a pyromaniac, up till the umpteenth house fire snuffed his line, and himself at the age of 60-something, out for good. But old folk said that the building had been ablaze just as frequently before his time- and truth to be told, there had been two more fires ever since, although those could have been the aforementioned kids or the occasional squatter. Two fires in about ten years is pretty normal in an abandoned place like this.

A few of those old people said the mansion had been built on hallowed grounds in their parents’ time, and the fires were punishment for disturbing the church ruins and the dead it used to house. Even fewer said the church must have been built on the very gates of hell and the ruins had kept the flames at bay.

And old geezer Giran in particular said that you could see the devil himself on the night when spirits roam free, around where the isolated belfry’s foundation stands still with walls crumbling- the place around which the crypts were erected on top of upturned graves. To be frank, the dude himself looked as if he escaped from hell, so what better myths to bust as an aspiring photographer? And even if the devil won't drag his ass outside, this will still make one hella Halloween photoshoot. He has loads of candles and some lampions in a backpack to get the mood right as well.

If anything remotely threatening pops up, though, like a mean stray dog… or a horde of drunk homeless, he's so ready to run for the hills, you have no idea.

He’s pricking his ears good as he closes in on the center of the once-upon large cemetery. One has to acknowledge the effort those rich bastards put into this dumb maze layout just to hide their own dead. It’s as if they feared a zombie apocalypse and concluded that they wouldn’t be able to get out if the hedges grow in a pattern, like, seriously. Then again, if the ‘horde of drunk homeless’ situation comes true, it will feel and work just the same, so who’s he to judge.

The scenery, too, is something to behold still. The entire area is surprisingly… not very foggy. One can see just as far as there is anything relevant to see, nothing more, nothing less. The waning moon even came out to play for a bit, shedding some decent light on his surroundings.

What catches his attention is not the excellent lighting to make photos, though, but rather someone sitting on the ruins of the old belfry, right under where the plump planet is working her magic.

He checks the display of his watch again- two past midnight. He’s late. Well, bummer… maybe next time.

That… guy, though? He doesn't look like any devil he knows of, but rather a human figure. One he also doesn't know of, actually. Which is remotely more interesting than Satan himself, because… that’s a goth silhouette if he’s ever seen one, and he’s seen all in town. All three of them.

They are a chill bunch, so he figures he might as well go up to this one. May be an acquaintance of Tokoyami and company’s who was also told about this spooky deal.

"Hey. Have you seen the midnight devil, or did he not get the memo this year?" He lifts a hand over his eyes to let him have a clearer look.

Just the way the other looks over to him, even while slouching quite a bit, is in a manner that’s nothing bar… uh… majestic, should be the word? Sublime? Yeah. That's peak cinematography. He’s… a bit at a loss of words here, because? People have waxed lyrical about the positively blessed relationship between him and sunlight, but this guy?? Has legitimately the most beautiful pair of eyes ever, period???

Before he could get too entranced by the sight of the sky blue pins of the overshadowed figure sitting between a moonlit sky and milky deep sea of mist, he notices that said eyes skim over him. Slowly, creeping down, and then up. Um…

Did… did he just check him out?

A hardly concealed grin can be heard out of his voice as he speaks up. “Hey there, angel."

… that's a yes.

This… coming from someone with eyes and a voice like… that, is actually… hm.

Like, look… he’s been looking forward college to maybe…  find someone he genuinely clicks with. But he has been through this immediate infatuation thing a hundred times already… and knows from experience that falling for mere potential is a grave mistake. What even are the chances that he’ll be the one? Put the aesthetic boner away and think rationally, Keigo. You don’t even know his name.

However, if, and IF he plays his cards well and this is not a total asshole… he could get both a photoshoot and a phone number out of this endeavor, which sounds like an excellent deal.

“Straight to the point, eh?” he acknowledges with a grin that's almost genuine. “Witching hour stuff aside, I don’t think I’ve seen you around…? A friend of Tokoyami’s?”

The other hops off the wall as he’s talking, stirring up some fog. Keigo could swear to hear absolutely nothing upon him hitting the ground. Must be the grass, but still, confirmed for cat. Not having to deal with the moon’s flare, he can now also tell that he’s about as old as expected.

The young man pauses to think for just a second before walking up to him. Nonchalance and weariness mingle in his steps.

“No, but I think I do know who you’re talking about. The kid with the raven.”

“Oh? Yeah, that’s him. Just visiting, then?” So he’s somewhat familiar with the area. Huh… how in hell did he never notice someone so obvious? Maybe he should come out here more often.

Also, is it just him, or did it get really cold all of a sudden?

“Him and his friends spend a lot of time here, I know enough. And yeah, something like that.”

As he stops in front of Keigo, an odd sensation trickles down his spinal cord, raising every hair on his nape. He’s had this once or twice when watching a legitimately good horror movie or catching a glimpse of an especially beautiful scene, or at least something very similar. It’s just the cold and being out in the middle of nowhere with a handsome stranger this time (which is kind of a combination of both), but still.

… this is not the time to be thinking ‘but what if he’s a serial killer and you are stuck out here with him alone’, brain. Thanks.

“Family business, gotcha.”

He’s onto something, because a certainly troubled look flashes over the hot--- the goth’s face as he reaches up to his own nape to rub away at it. “... yeah. That.”

The train of thought is seemingly swept out of the way after short consideration and his attention returns to Keigo. His neutral staring face is actually a little unnerving, no lie. “What about you, coming out here? Didn't quite catch what you first said.” He eyes him in a way similar to when he was sitting up on the wall, as if measuring him up.

“Oh, I wanted to take some photos,” Keigo starts, lifting the camera and the first candle he can grab from the bag, swinging it playfully around a few times with a smile to mask the nerve building up inside. “I figured it would be a nice opportunity even if the hearsay tale of the ~devil~ coming out at midnight was total humbug. This place is very atmospheric.”

What he says rouses a chuckle from the other. “Oh, so I wasn't imagining things. Been a while since I last heard that one.”

For someone deadpan he really has a cute smile. We are on a schedule here, but please never stop?

Keigo presses the tip of the candle into his cheek in contemplation, trying to steer his thoughts back on topic. “You mean, that local legend thing? I heard about it fairly recently… from the most suspect old dude." He rolls back and forth on his heels, watching out for reactions; "Giran, if the name is telling. But asking other old folks made them ring a bell, too, so I guess I was just ignorant.”

The other raises an eyebrow in amusement as the fading smile pulls into a smirk. "Maybe you are, a little bit."

Oh, come on. "Nobody is born cool, wise, or a folklore expert, okay…?" He pouts.

"I could already tell you were born without a trace of those things, alright."

"..."

He just said that. Looking him dead in the eyes.

Wow.

Dude's lucky his smile is cute, because that was so uncalled for and he's way too proud of himself. Sheesh. Anyway…

"Said the one who wouldn’t know manners if they hit him in the face…” He sighs. "Before we go down the name calling path, though… I’m Keigo." This was getting a little awkward without throwing it in, although he doubts the cocky asshole deserves it.

“Touya. My pleasure.”

Keigo hums as he moves to rummage through his stuff for the lighter he definitely threw in the bag before setting off. That’s not a very common name, but… “I think I’ve heard of you before…? Beats me where, though.” He’s pretty sure the conversation happened years ago by the crypt here, though.

Everything he says seems to amuse the other to no end. “It’s probably for the best. You seem like the type to run for the hills.”

Keigo gives him the side eye; being right aside, the hell is that supposed to mean…? And he’s so smug about it, too. About everything, really.

And no, it really wasn’t a line even remotely connected to serial killers, shut up, brain.

“Cryptic, are we?” he sighs, lighting the candle with a flickering click at last. The gentle flame sheds some dim, fog-broken light onto Touya’s face, and Keigo hates himself for being charmed by what he sees once more. That pale skin looks too perfect to be true… should feel like silk under one’s touch. If he ever gets a proper close-up look, he swears he’ll get a heart attack.

Touya blinks once, resetting his expression to nearly a default. “It's the two of us in a haunted, abandoned graveyard, inside a fog ridden maze, on the night after the 31st of October. You are basically begging to wind up dead. Coming off as cryptic and creepy as possible right now is elementary, angel.”

He… he legitimately can’t argue with that. The guy's almost as good at this as the bird kid is. “... touché.”

Stunned for words, he places his candle where planned instead. It's so stupid, but makes… so much sense. Is this why they all are like… that?

As he moves on like that without a word, Touya seems to get weirded out himself. "... You okay there?"

"I just had… an epiphany." He says, putting the first lampion with pinpoint precision. This guy just accidentally revealed some kind of arcane goth knowledge too advanced for him to begin to understand and doesn't even know it.

Touya heaves a deep sigh. "... you obviously got the wrong one out of that, but congratulations nonetheless."

“Maybe? I have not the foggiest what you were trying to imply.” He’s not that thick, but the dude’s being ~cryptic~ or whatever, and he’s not in the mood to write an essay on what edgy goths mean by what they say.

“Ah… figure that's why it's so clear out here this year… all the mist from the glade must have relocated to your head.” concluding that, Touya’s eyebrows pull closer upon seeing whatever else the blonde pulls out from his backpack while shooting a glare in his direction. “… what are those for?”

Keigo considers not answering at all, but decides against it. Being the bigger person by default is such a chore sometimes, but… “There’s some decent moonlight to work with, but these umbrellas help me get the little extra I need right where I want it. See?” With that, he turns the flashlight on and blinds the other with the sudden brightness.

“Ow, seriously?! I haven’t seen daylight in decades, turn that shit off…!”

… but, he can multitask and still be an asshole while answering the question. And laugh at the reaction, then laugh some more the decades comment as the other rubs his eyes, because he positively has the looks of a display-tanned indoor hermit. A hermit who is having a bad time.

“Wanna help, or would you rather brood somewhere the umbrellas won’t be able to reach you?”

A mechanical click can be heard in the distance; now that there’s no music playing in the streets, the bad (and always slightly ahead of time) clocktower bell can be heard signalling quarter past midnight. This seems to catch Touya’s attention and remind him of something as he stares into a nondescript spot for a while. At the very least, Keigo is certain he’s not thinking about the question that slipped out and which he will regret- if he says no, it’s gonna be the disappointment… if yes, then it’s because of all the things that will definitely go wrong.

“... well, it’s not as if I had no time to kill,” comes the apathetic answer a few seconds later, although the wrinkling eyebrows are telling of his misgivings regarding the idea.

“...”

Now, hold on… hold on, he may have an even worse idea that he’s definitely going to regret…

Keigo taps his pointing fingers against the camera anxiously. “Actually… say, what would it take for youuu… to be my model tonight?” He takes out his best puppy eyes as he looks over to him with the tiniest smile, blinking slowly.

It’s as if Touya had another light induced migraine immediately. He looks almost disgusted, which… is hilarious. “For that I'll take both your life savings and your soul.”

Keigo stifles both a giggle and a sigh at that, resulting in somewhat of a snort. He must be put off by those umbrellas quite a bit. "Really…? If that’s all, fine by me."

The answer brings back Touya to a much more reserved, if not vaguely sceptical stance. “You… sure are ready to jump the gun for that, huh.”

"Well I, too, am asking a bit much of you out of nowhere, aren’t I?” He asks, shrugging. “I figured it was worth asking, at the very least… you fit the mood a little too perfectly, one doesn’t get an opportunity like this every day. If all it takes is my birdie bank, that’s fine by me. … We can also talk about the soul part later if you want to.” It takes him every ounce of self restraint not to throw in a wink at the end.

“...” Touya stares in contemplation before taking a deep sigh and scratching his head. "Fine. I guess it’s going to be much less bothersome than posing for hours to have a portrait painted."

Keigo’s ears perk up at that. Like, a lot. "Y---you… there's a portrait?!"

Whaaa?!? A professional-ass painting, of him?? And, even more importantly, where?!?

"... I know what you're thinking of, and no, I have not the slightest idea. Who knows, maybe it even burned along with---" he cuts himself off right there. For the first time that night, he seems upset, or rather angry; whichever it may be is the strongest emotion the blonde has seen him display in these past minutes, affecting even him quite a bit. His hairs stand alert once more--- but the sentiment goes as it came, along with Touya’s stifled ire.

"... never mind. Let’s just… get on with this."

"..." He figures that being nosy would be straight-down rude, having just met and already asking for quite a bit… so he lets it slide as if nothing happened.

Keigo turns around to the lampion that he placed before the convo started.

Huh… that’s weird.

He doesn’t remember lighting it.

Overall, Touya seems to pay quite a bit of attention to what he's doing, visibly taking mental notes of the processes he goes through. First, it's a little embarrassing to be watched so closely, but eventually Keigo gets used to it and just does his thing. He soon finds himself in the zone, in fact. Hell knows how much time goes by as he keeps clicking away, barely even instructing, but rather just basking in whatever the other does, giving the okay to everything. He’s not even bothered by the bone cutting cold that’s now heightened by a breeze, because Touya seems to be a natural, and by god, does his presence do things to him. He’s had phases of architecture, mixed media with cutouts and shadow play, birds, and abandoned places, but this… this must be what finding a muse feels like.

When he's looking for the misplaced lighter for the hundredth time again, it's already shoved into his face.

"You should just keep this in your pocket, angel."

"Ah, thanks." He takes it, then turns to Touya sheepishly while pulling his jacket tighter as the light wind blows especially cold air down his collar. "I've been… stupidly quiet for a while. It must be really awkward, uh… am I really not bothering you?"

"It's fine. I like having the company."

Maybe his voice is softer than before… or maybe he’s just imagining things.

“I, uh--- same.” Keigo feels blood creeping to his face, so he quickly moves on; “I have enough of these candles left for like about one more location. Any ideas?”

It takes Touya only a second of consideration before he nods towards the belfry ruins.

He flashes a smile; “Gotcha.”

In barely 10 more minutes, Keigo is speeding through the hundreds (whoops?) of photos he’s taken, walking circles around the ruin. His breath hitches over the one where Touya looked directly into the camera right by the wall. He’s gonna frameit and putitonhiswardrobedoor andmmmakeit his ppphone wallpaper---

He can hear a chuckle behind him, and remembers that whoopsie daisy, he’s not alone. “You're pleased as punch over a few pictures… It’s adorable.”

Keigo gets red to the eartips this time around, realizing that he’s got that goofy-ass smile Rumi keeps teasing him for. Unfortunately for him, once it gets pointed out… it always sticks. “I’tsjustthat---…!! I… didn’t think I’d get such nice photos at all? Moody scenery is nice and easier to sell, but I prefer lived-in spaces and models, anything that feels alive. Especially when they’re so pret...ty. Patient.”

Someone kill him.

“...”

The thin eyebrows twitch the smallest amount and for a torturous, silent pause Keigo wishes for some kind of deity to strike him down and grant a merciful, immediate death.

“I suppose I’ve had a few years to put some patience practice under the belt.”

He fights the urge to run away crying. There’s no way anybody exists who wouldn’t see right through that… at least he gets to see that cute smile once more.

He forces one on, too. “... I can tell.”

The wind starts picking up, distracting the other. Touya takes a look up to the moon, which has made quite some progress on its route since they’ve been there. Then there’s three clicks echoing through the night, signalling that it’s nearing 1 a.m. “Well… you were babbling about showing me, too, so you better hurry. I don’t have much time left.”

Keigo snaps out of the shameful frustration only to be legitimately ashamed. “Oh… sorry, I… hadn’t even considered that you had other business tonight.” Shit. He just assumed he had all night, but Touya was just humoring him until he had other business.

The other shakes his head. “It’s no issue, just get your fidgety ass over here already.”

As he makes his way over to him, Keigo feels something grab onto his leg and the familiar itch of thorns scratching up skin through his jeans.

Fucking vines again.

He should have expected this, shouldn't he. As he stumbles forward, he sighs in immediate acceptance.

He would have never expected being caught, though.

Nor Touya’s hands being as cold as a frozen piece of meat that can be felt even through his jumper and jacket. His touch sends shivers down his spine, freezing him in surprise first; if the strap didn’t get caught around his arm, the camera would hit the ground as his hand loses its hold on it.

What he’s definitely not ready for, however, is the arctic chill radiating from every inch of Touya’s, the same icy presence that he’s been feeling ever since… since he got close.

The thing that makes him break into cold sweat and brings even the blood in his veins to a halt, however, is the pair of forget-me-nots staring into his soul from mere inches.

Those beautiful, blue eyes, that… that are glassy and clouded and definitely not… human.

His lips part, but the scream dies off in his throat.

The realization flashing in his eyes draws a lenient, gentle smile onto the pale face. “You’re slow, angel.”

Keigo's paralyzed in what he can only guess is sheer terror, his body's last resort in hopes that the threat will just leave if it's not interesting enough to investigate. His mind, however, is racing and panicked as his inevitable end leans in for the kill.

Fuck.

Fuck, he's… dead.

He's dead, he's dead, he's dead---

He’s dead.

At least, that’s what he remembers thinking before passing the fuck out… not knowing who exactly he was referring to anymore. Because he feels positively not alive when waking up on the belfry’s cold ground, on the patch of concrete that lay behind where the catafalque used to be, surrounded by what remained of the candles and lampions he had brought along, and some of the flowers that people decorate graves with.

The spot where everyone suspected a former hidden path… or another grave.

He turns around, because now he remembers where he last saw the name Touya- it’s barely legible, but there it is, crudely chiselled into the stone right above the grey ground.

At first he supposes that the cold, empty feeling that seeps through his entire being must be the nasty cold and pneumonia he gets after the deed. As the days go by, however… the shivers and cold sensation persist and his dreams are plagued by endless mazes, fires, and haunting, blue eyes all the time.

His second guess for the cause of it is lingering fear: on the camera, he finds creepy photos of himself lying in the grave once he gets better. When going through them all, he considers to delete the ones he took of the other or use them for digging, (there’s no fucking way he actually hung out with a ghost, is there?) but… they all pop up as vaguely distorted landscapes, with light spots where a pair of eyes may or may not be.

Having stared blankly for like an hour at the one he really liked back then, he throws the camera into the corner of his armchair and doesn’t touch it for weeks.

This carries on through winter, in spring, and he's convinced of how badly he fucked up when even in the suffocating summer heat he feels the veil of an icy embrace.

Once leaves start catching rust again, the chill makes his bones ache, much like they did after the encounter. And it only gets stronger by the day. He hasn't shown the pictures, developed or otherwise, to anyone. Somewhere down the line he figured… that he should just give him the photos and trade them back for his soul, because hell if that dementor did not help himself to it right along with the kiss he definitely got but doesn’t remember. Trauma alone cannot possibly cause this.

It's midnight again. This time, he's already there, waiting for the toll of the distant church bell they had fixed and reset sometime in spring. The autumn fog is as thick as ever.

His grip tightens on the envelope; deals like this are notoriously hard to break or undo. Hell, the guy agreed to have the photos taken, creating a nice little loophole. Whether he printed them, deleted them all or whatever might be a moot point.

… no. No, he can't start thinking about this right now, if he comes he'll get this thing annulled, get his damn soul back---

As the last gong dies off in the night, a pair of lean arms slink around his aching chest and pull him against a body so cold it's scalding his skin.

"Hello again, angel," greets the voice, sounding a hundred times sweeter than he remembers.

…

Or maybe… he'll just let him keep it forever.

[getoutofthewater]

[Detroit: Become Human Fanfic] Cloudburst

Rating: T

Warnings: Murder, horror elements

Chapters: 5/5 | Words: 21,549  [AO3]

Notes: A mystery/ghost story, vaguest 50′s setting, human AU. Not focused on ships, but there’s some Gavin/Leo and a bit of Markus/Simon. Main povs are Gavin, Tina and Leo.

Summary: When Gavin Reed agrees to drive his cousin Elijah Kamski to the Manfred Manor there’s no way for him to foresee the strange night that awaits them. 

                                                        CHAPTER 1 

“You have to come with me” Elijah Kamski said into the phone

“Why the fuck would I?” his cousin growled, never shy to show his annoyance and aggravation

“To do me a favor”

Skeptical silence was all that was heard on the other side of the line

“Come on, Gavin!” Elijah insisted “There will be good food and expensive booze, you can bring a plus one…” he added uselessly

“Can’t your girl go with you?”

“We have talked about this,” Elijah almost huffed “Chloe is not my girl, and she’s been at her sisters’ for the past month, as she should after what happened with her mother, any news on that by the way”

“If there were I couldn’t tell you,” Gavin barked “but no…”

Elijah huffed in frustration, not that he was expecting a different answer, was it too early to expect results from the police? Or was the case going cold? Not something he could simply ask his cousin without ruffling his feathers, not ideal when he wanted a favor

“So,” Elijah continued “if she were feeling like making it she would have contacted me already, I don’t want to press her at a time like this, but I don’t feel like arriving by myself… or leaving the villa by myself either…” he said in a desperate attempt to use the truth as a hook

There was a defeated groan at the other side of the line; his cousin was not as though as he’d like everyone to think

“Phck!” Gavin said “Listen, I’m picking you up and dropping you off, and that’s it”

“Fair enough” Elijah replied

“Whatever, see you tomorrow” Gavin slammed down the receiver, just like Elijah to drag him into something bothersome like this with such short notice.

“Who are you seeing tomorrow?” Tina asked curiously, sitting at his kitchen table, one of his cats sat on her lap, advising her on their match of Gin Rummy

“Fucking Elijah wants me to be his chauffeur” He replied moodily, sitting opposite to her, picking up his cards again

“Where is the genius going?” she said drawing a card

“The Manfred Manor”

“That’s fancy!”

“Is it?” Gavin asked without any real interest, more focused on his cards than in the conversation

“They say the Manfred Manor is incredible” Tina said enthusiastically “Carl Manfred has collected all sort of amazing things”

“Didn’t think you’d be interested in knick knacks and curios”

“Everyone but you is interested in Carl Manfred’s curious” Tina chided “The man is a legend, he’s traveled all over the world, he’s been a recluse ever since his accident but of course your cousin gets an invitation!”

Gavin sighed “Do you want to come?”

“Yeah, sure” Tina said with a small laugh

“I’m serious, he said I could bring some other damn idiot”

Tina instantly brightened up “I’d love to be that damn idiot!”

“We start at 5,” Gavin said drily “I’m not dealing with the morning rush and it’s 2 hours just to reach his freaking bunker, who knows how much more to reach Manfred’s”

“Perfect,” Tina smiled “Gin!” she called out fanning her cards over the table and scratching the cat’s head

“Phck,”

They started on their way in the dark and cold of the very early morning; Tina soon fell asleep only waking up when the morning sun hit her uncomfortably right in the face, she sat upright in the passenger seat, ironing the fabric of her trousers with her hands, belatedly wondering if she should have put on a dress instead, but she only had the pink cotton she’d worn to her nephew’s christening; it wasn’t unflattering, her mother knew how to pick a dress that’d favor her daughter, but she didn’t recognize herself in it, it made her feel awkward and uncomfortable, things she usually wasn’t at all.

When they arrived to the Kamski Villa, it was everything Gavin said it would be, uncomfortably sterile and silent. Tina was glad they weren’t staying around, Gavin’s place could be messy, and hers could be noisy, but she always thought they felt comfortably lived in, places where she could relax and feel at home, either dancing by herself in her own apartment or reading in Gavin’s couch with two or three cats piled on her, card games on fridays; if she was being honest the Villa left an odd taste in her mouth she hoped wouldn’t carry on to the Manor. She was really looking forward to that.

As they came back outside with Elijah in tow, she rushed to take the back seat while the boys put Elijah’s luggage in the back, leaving the cousins in the front seemed adequate since Elijah would need to guide Gavin to their final destination, she relinquished her usual shotgun without complaint.

“Thank you for taking care of my cousin, Miss Chen” Elijah Kamski said to her once they were on the road

“It’s not an easy job!” she chirped

“I can’t imagine it would be” Elijah huffed.

Gavin growled

“And please, Tina is just fine” she added ignoring him

“Elijah” he said turning on his seat to give her a handshake

“I see your girl has been teaching you manners” Gavin mocked

“She’s not my girl” Elijah said “and yes… she has…”

“I bet that’s not an easy job either” Tina said

“Elijah is worse than me, that’s for sure”

“I hope not!“ Elijah said “That’s a horrid thought!”

The city gave way to the country side, the sight of houses became more and more rare until they found themselves driving with only the sight of trees at either side, all of them in the cozy copper and reds of autumn, although the strong wind and the grey clouds rolling in and looking almost like smoke from a fire forecasted a storm

“Why couldn’t that fucking geezer live in civilization” Gavin complained, not one to enjoy an atmospheric view

“Is it true that he doesn’t leave the Manor at all?” Tina asked

“I’m afraid so” Elijah said “He used to live in the city, he was quite social, I’m told he had many wild parties. The Manor was only meant as a summer house, but after his accident he holed up in it”

“Guess you can relate” Gavin huffed

“I sure can” Elijah replied completely unbothered. That he was a well known recluse did not bother him, he was a young man but his patents and inventions were making him more than enough money for him to give himself the luxury of not holding back on any of his misanthropic tendencies.

Elijah frowned, then opened his mouth as if to say something else but seemed to think better of it, not that Gavin would let him get away with it. Gavin looked at Tina through the rear view mirror, their routine taking over. He’d let her do the talking on crime scenes all the time, she was good at putting people at ease, and people at ease tended to talk.

“Is anything the matter?” Tina asked  

“I was just… thinking…” Elijah said with a light scowl “this invitation is slightly odd”

“How so?” Tina added

Elijah shook his head dismissing the idea and remained silent.

Tina and Gavin exchanged a look, they would let it go for now, they had good instincts cultivated by years of training and police work. They knew it was something worth pursuing later, but right now they wouldn’t get anything more.

“Oh! Look!” Tina said, pointing at a hitchhiker down the road, a welcome distraction “We should give him a ride, we are in the middle of nowhere, and those clouds look like the sky will start falling any second”

“I’m already the chauffer for one person, I’m not fucking taking anyone else anywhere!” Gavin spat, even pushing down on the accelerator, unwittingly splashing muddy ditch water on the hitchhiker (unwittingly because Tina always gave Gavin the benefit of the doubt, if she didn’t who on earth would)

“What the hell, fucktard?!” the hitchhiker shouted, if for nothing else than to relieve some of his frustration with the day… the week… the month… the year… his life in general… the first car he’d seen in hours drove away completely unconcerned, and now Leo was muddy and wet and cold…

“Shit!” he slung his rucksack over his shoulder in a careless, rough movement, only managing to unbalance himself, his foot twisted painfully and he fell

“Fucking dammit!” Leo scrambled up, now he was muddy and wet and cold and he’d probably sprained his fucking ankle.

He started walking, now with a newly acquired limp, excellent, but if he waited for another car it could take all day, and wouldn’t it be just like him to die freezing in the woods, or mauled by bears? Or whatever else could happen to you in the woods during a storm, Unknown Man Dead by Freak Lighting Strike (page 30). And hadn’t some people disappeared around here or something creepy like that only a few weeks back? Leo thought he’d heard something, a voice? A scream? Well you always heard all sort of weird noises coming from the woods, foxes were odd little shits always screaming like murder victims.

A cold shiver ran down his back at the thought, and he became aware of how alone he was. If he were to be ambushed and killed right here, right now, nobody would hear him. If he was buried right under that tree with the creepy face-like trunk nobody would even think of searching for him. Markus would only think he’d dismissed the invitation, and to tell the truth that had been Leo’s initial plan.

It seemed almost insulting, a letter from Markus (not even his dad) telling him his dad was planning to have this get together, the first since his accident “I hope you’d like to join us, I’ve heard you are doing so much better now and –“ Leo hadn’t read the rest before scrunching it and throwing it in the paper basket.

He’d dragged himself out of his addiction all by himself, he wasn’t doing “so much better”; he was only barely getting by and keeping away from trouble, he owed like 3 months’ rent because most of his money went to cover old, dangerous debts. He was hungry all the time, he could barely make his bills although his job as a clerk in a bookshop wasn’t all that bad, he was trying to write something as well, that was going alright.

The day before this get together farce he sensed he was about to be kicked out of his apartment, before that could happen he’d grabbed everything he could fit in his rucksack, anything important, told Mr. Doel at the bookshop he would be out of town for a week visiting his ailing father (none of this a lie) and he’d hitchhiked with some farmers as far as they could take him.

And now he was here, essentially because he had nowhere else to go, and there was always that idiotic sliver of himself, that truly stupid yearning buried deep inside him that told him, maybe, maybe his dad would like him better this once.

He’d been walking for a few minutes on his newly injured ankle when a pickup truck slowed down beside him. Leo eyed it suspiciously, an older man was at the wheel, a second one, only slightly older than Leo sat on the passenger seat. Leo smiled at them in relieved recognition.

“Where you going, son? Not getting up to trouble are you?” Lieutenant Anderson said, as his big saint bernard peeked outside the window, drooling all over the side of the car “Hell, Sumo! Let me talk to the kid!” he said placing his hand on the dog’s head softly

“Not this time… I hope” Leo replied with a sheepish smile “Do you know the Manfred Manor?” he asked “It’s okay if you aren’t going that far I’ll take what I can get”

“We are going past it, to the lake” Connor said

“Connor!” Hank chided in fond exasperation “He doesn’t need to know our life story”

“I think it’s only fair when he’s shared his destination with us, Hank”

“Fine, fine” Hank said, “If you are sure you wanna go there, hop right on the back, son. Too much dog in the front to fit another person”

“Thanks a lot!” Leo said with a smile, swinging his rucksack on to the cargo bed and then climbing in himself, awkwardly trying not to put much pressure on his bad ankle. He took his beanie off to feel the wind going through his hair, the clusters of trees, the crisp autumn chill and the wind that already smelled like water seemed much friendlier now that he had company and he was in a car, with the trees passing by in a blur not giving him time to imagine creepy faces in them.

“Look, Hank” Connor said after a few minutes, pointing at a car at the side of the road “I believe that’s Detective Reed”

“Just pretend you don’t see him, Connor!” Hank said gruffly “We are already late and I’m not stopping again”

“Are you sure, Hank? “

“He’ll be fine, look he aint alone, got Chen and some other twit with ‘im”

Gavin looked up to see the passing car, not soon enough to see it was Hank and Connor’s but just in time to see the hitchhiker in the back flipping him off.

“Fucking –“ Gavin said giving the middle finger back to the now empty road

“You sort of deserve it” Tina said, sitting sideways on the driver’s seat “I’m pretty sure that was Leo Manfred too” she smirked

“Yeah, right” Gavin glared at her, then directed his words to his cousin “So, can you do something about the engine or what?”

“I’m trying to concentrate” Elijah said drily as he tinkered under the hood “Cars are not my specialty but I’m sure I can figure it out”

Gavin left him to it, he knew plenty about motorcycles but not that much about cars, plus the fucking genius may leave it better than he found it, didn’t hurt having Elijah doing some actual work for once either.

“Try it” Elijah said, Tina complied turning the key in the ignition; the engine came alive with a loud roar that hid the faint, distant ghostly voices trying to tell them they should go back.

[artificialqueens]

Alaska's Christmas Extravaganza ~ Hobnob

AN: You know, i love this time of year but people seem to really miss the true meaning of Christmas. I felt obliged to put it into context for the lovely folks at home. Lets have a look at some reviews shall we?

“The spelling was ok.”- Daily Mail

“There was a good attempt there.” -The Sunday Times

“I think i need to watch the show before getting any of this sweetie.” -My Mum

I hope Shangela reads this and finds the strength to win AS3~ Hobnob

–The scene sets in a small living room, adorned with various Christmas ornaments strung up around the mantlepiece. A crackling log fire fills the air with a certain smell akin to the time of year, and occasionally spits the odd ember onto the beige carpeted floor. An artificial tree in the far corner emits a low hum as it partially lights the dim room. Three individuals inhabit the area, sitting on a rather worn looking sofa whilst watching BBC news in ugly Christmas sweaters.–

Jinkx: Alaska you little shit.

Alaska: Hiee.

Jinkx: The nextdoor neighbours said you smothered their Christmas tree in faeces and ate their dog.

Alaska: (Gnawing at a bone) I can’t help it. Christmas is shit.

Jinkx: (Getting up and turning the telly off) You’re gonna have to go get it together before we go to my nans Christmas party on Saturday.

Alaska: If you make me go i’ll set her milky eyes on fire!

Jinkx: Jesus christ Alaska thats messed up.

Alaska: Yeah well you’re jewish. You don’t even celebrate Christmas.

Alaska: Christmas can suck my wang!!

Roxxxy: (Speaking up with a mouth full of mince pies #thickandjuicy) Sounds like you need…the spirit of Christmas.

Alaska: The spirit of Christmas?

Roxxxy: Didn’t you know? Legend says Shangela has the ability to grant unlimited holiday cheer with a single holy halleloo.

Alaska: Gay.

Roxxxy: (Sobbing, but continuing to eat) Its not gay Alaska!

Roxxxy: And you’d better find your Christmas cheer before Jinkxseses nans party.

Alaska: I don’t see it for me but ok.

Jinkx: I won’t have you ruining it like last year.

Alaska: Wasn’t that bad.

Roxxxy: You killed 5 salvation army workers with a decorative star.

Alaska: And I’d do it again!!!

Alaska: I couldn’t care less about that party. I don’t care for Christmas. Tiny Tim can contract ebola!!

Roxxxy: (Checking her casio sports watch) I’m late for the bus guys gtg. Bingo is in half an hour.

Alaska: Hmmmm…the spirit of Christmassssss🤔🤔🐍sssounds gay…

–Alaska gets up and walks to the window. The snowfall isn’t all that heavy as small flakes are illuminated by a street lamp with lewd drawings carved into the side. She could drive around to find the Shangela, except she owned a BMW, and rear wheel drive is shit in winter so she’d probably crash into some schoolboys on their way home.–

Alaska: Jinkx i need a lift.

Jinkx: I can’t, my cars in the shop.

Jinkx: you keyed the entirety of Aja’s Valentina speech on it last week.

–A shadowy figure in a Santa hat approaches the window and taps the glass with a skeletal finger.–

Ru: It’s me, God!

Ru: Wait.

Ru: It’s me, Rupaul!

Alaska: Rupaul? I thought Miss Fame set you on fire for eating meat?

Ru: (Neck rolling) My body is an illusion chiilde. My existence is merely a string of conscious decisions ive made prior to this mortal realm.

Alaska: Party.

Alaska: Please mawma. Help me find Shangela so I won’t be a cunt to my loved ones all the time.

Ru: Well…i suppose I’m all out of queens to block on twitter…

Ru: Aight lets make this quick, i have a bingo game in half an hour.

–They both get in Rupauls Toyota Camry and speed off whilst remaining under the speed limit. Road safety is important at this time of year as 70% of road collisions occur at Christmas.–

Alaska: (Shedding her skin) Where the bloody hell would Shangela be?

Ru: In todays maxi challenge, we’ll be traveling to the happiest place on earth!

Alaska: Lapland?

Ru: Close.

Ru: Scotland!

Alaska: Oh.

Alaska: (Hissing at the radio) Change the station rupaul this is making my ears bleed.

Ru: Oh? But this is the latest hit off my smashing Christmas album, ‘The beggining of the realness glamazonian peanut walk-the rumix.’

Alaska: Well turn it off. Its upsetting Jinkxes nan.

–The pair of them turn around to see Jinkxes nan having a Christmas seizure.–

Ru: If you don’t like it Alaska, get out. I don’t have to put up with tomfuckery. I’m God!

Ru: Wait.

Ru: No yes thats right.

–Alaska ejects the CD and throws it outside at a schoolboy. She takes a CD from her bra and pops it in as one of her many compelling songs begins to play.–

Alaska: Anus now available at your closest pound world.

Ru: Get out.

–Alaska is thrown out the car into a pile of snow.–

Alaska: Fuck you Rupaul you saggy bastard!!

Ru: See you at all stars 17 lad.

Ru: (Neck rolling) Oh you…forgot this.

–Rupaul throws Jinkxes nan into the pile of snow and speeds off.– Alaska: Shit.

–Alaska spots a warm glow in the distance. On further inspection it’s a humble pub. She approaches it, stepping over Jinkxes nan along the way. Once inside she spots a booth of old geezers.–

Alaska: Mrs. Kasha Davis? Tempest Dujour? Why you here?

Mrs. Kasha Davis: Us old folk have a hard time finding a place to stay during winter, and you know what they say!

Alaska: There’s always time for a cocktail?

Mrs. Kasha Davis: No. Mrs. Kasha Davis: (Tearing up) I have no grasp of my drinking problem and I’m sadder than I’ve ever been help me please.

Alaska: Lol hiee.

Tempest: Your aura is jacked. What’s troubling you?

Alaska: I need to find Shangela. Legend says a single halleloo can light a soul on fire with Christma-

Tempest: Dont talk to me about legend you lanky shit. I invented that story.

Tempest: Besides, that’s just a myth i created.

Alaska: But why Tempest?

Tempest: To get those kids off my danm lawn!

Charlie: (Raising her pint) Here here!

Alaska: Then that means…I’m doomed to hate Christmas forever…

Mrs. Kasha Davis: Yeah looks like it.

Alaska: I think I’ll go watch the Sherlock Christmas special.

Alaska: Thanks for literally nothing.

–Alaska hangs her head and pushes a pint glass off the table sadly :( She begins to exit the pub.–

Charlie: Wait!!! You have passed the test.

Alaska: (Turning back around) Pardon?

Charlie: Most people prefer the Doctor Who Christmas special, but the Sherlock Christmas special is far superior. You have passed the test.

–The seniors huddle together and whisper amongst themselves before turning back to Alaska.–

Tempest: Shangela is in fact real.

Tempest: We were only goofing you before because you’re sort of a dick.

Alaska: So Shangela is in the happiest place on earth Scotland?

Mrs. Kasha Davis: (Guffawing) Dont be silly.

Mrs. Kasha Davis: Scotland doesn’t exist. Shangela lives in Sheffield, up in the block of flats behind Lidl.

Tempest: I hear the Lidl fruit cake is very good this year.

Mrs. Kasha Davis: Yes Ive heard that too.

Tempest: Mmm very good.

Charlie: Bit too dense for me. Gives me diarrhoea.

–They all look around to Alaska who’s disappeared.–

Tempest: Shit.

–Around an hour later and Alaska finds herself outside a large council estate. She travels up the flight of stairs to a door with a Christmas wreath. She rips it off the door and knocks. A Christmas present rolls out the door and Shangela pops out.–

Shangela: Haleoo?

Alaska: Hiee are you…

Alaska: (Looking down at her hand) Shanjello?

Shangela: Maybe i am. maybe i arent.

Shangela: I just huffed an entire tube of paint i genuinely don’t know anymore.

Alaska: This entire holiday is aids.

Alaska: I got frostbite on the way up and i left Jinkxes nan to die in a pile of snow.

Alaska: I need some Christmas spirit.

Shangela: (Taking out a fat blunt and taking a massive chong) Listen here you lanky shit.

Shangela: Many before you have tried, and most have failed.

Shangela: Just like on drag race, consequence for failure…is death.

Alaska: I’m not sure that’s correct.

Shangela: Yeah sorry its the drugs.

Shangela: Alright go get me some Lidl fruit cake and i’ll give you my sweet Christmas goo.

Alaska: Ok but i never want to hear the phrase ‘sweet Christmas goo’ ever again.

Alaska: Biee

Shangela: (Waving and grinning) No problem giant purple rat.

Shangela: Is the sky melting?

–Alaska makes her way inside Lidl and grabs a big ol fruit cake. At the counter she couldn’t help but feeling she knew the cashier dressed up in a reindeer costume. She pushes a schoolboy over and places her baked Christmas goods on the counter along with a litre bottle of tizer which was only a quid insane bargain.–

Raja: 3 quid mate.

Alaska: Raja??? You work in Lidl???

Raja: Aye.

Raja: You know how it is. Crippling debt and all that.

Raja: Turns out 75,000 pounds goes quickly if you spend it all on grey hair dye.

Alaska: I didn’t ask but ok, werk.

Raja: What are you doing here? You hate Christmas and seasonal foods.

Alaska: it’s not for me, Shangela is exchanging Cake for Christmas spirit.

Raja: (Gasping) That idea is a boot from me. Shangela is a very vengeful and evil spirit!

Raja: OI RAVEN.

Raven: (From across the room working another counter) WHAT.

Raja: THE CUNTS ONLY GONE AND MADE A DEAL WITH SHANGELA.

Raven: WELL GET HER OUT THE STORE I WONT BE CLEANING UP BLOOD OFF THE FLOOR.

Raja: (Turning back to Alaska) Would you like a bag for an extra 5p?

Alaska: Vengeful spirit? What are you on about?

Raja: Well, back on our season there happened to be a Christmas challenge…

Raja: All was going well. The room was full of seasonal cheer! That was all until a large box was rolled out and we were all proper gagged.

Raja: Shangela popped out of the box after being eliminated from last season. She was ready to snatch the crown by any means necessary.

Raja: As it turns out she did so badly in the challenge, she landed herself in the bottom 2 once again.

Raja: Fuelled by her hatred for tulle fabric and Mimi Imfurst, she managed to stay in the competition. But at a cost…

Raja: Ever since, she’s hated Christmas! And steals the souls of those who cannot bring her Christmas cake!!

Raven: RAJA DID YOU TELL HER THE STORY?

Raja: I’M TELLING IT NOW FUCK OFF.

Alaska: (Hands over the money) Sounds fake.

Alaska: See you at Jinkxes nans party!

Raja: Bye.

Raja: Daft cunt…

–Back outside Shangela’s door, Alaska knocks three times. Did she have anything to worry about? Was Raja’s warning true?–

Shangela: Haleoo?

Alaska: I brought you fruit cake.

Shangela: Who are you?

Alaska: We met 10 minutes ago.

Shangela: Ah! Giant purple rat!

–Alaska hands over the cake and Shangela observes it for a moment.–

Shangela: This…this i-is not Christmas fruit cake…

Alaska: Oh man really? Haa i must’ve picked up partytime gyozas by accident my bad.

Shangela: (Fists trembling as she goes red) YOU HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE..

Alaska: Omf the look on your face right now…priceless.

Alaska: Hey what’s your wifi password?

Shangela: IM-IM.

–Shangela begins to transform as she morphs into a disgusting snowman creature. Finally she lets out a blood curdling screech and lunges at Alaska.–

Shangela: HAAALEEELOOOOOOOOOOO

Alaska: (Dodging Shangela’s punch) Hmm i think Raja may of been on to something…

Alaska: I’d better get out of here huh.

–Alaska begins to boot it down the stairs, Shangela hot on her heels, throwing glasses of Absolut cocktails at her. Alaska’s lanky knees give way as she clatters to the floor. She was at the mercy of Shangela, who towered over her menacingly.–

Shangela: I DONT HAVE A CHRISTMAS CAKE IVE NEVER HAD A CHRISTMAS CAKE IF I WANTED CHRISTMAS CAKE YES I PROBABLY COULD GO OUT AND GET ONE BECAUSE I AM WHAT? HUNGRY. YOU COULD NEVER HAVE A CHRISTMAS CAKE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL BABY EVERYTHING I HAVE EATEN IVE WORKED FOR AND GOTTEN MYSELF I HAVE BUILT MYSELF FROM THE GROUND UP YOU FUCKING BITCH.

Alaska: (Cowering and shaking in fear) IM SO CONFUSED IS THIS A REFERENCE TO SOMETHING?

–Suddenly a Toyota Camry screeches to a halt. The door opens and it’s Rupaul!–

Ru: Alaska! Get in!

–Alaska picks herself off the floor and hops in the car. They speed away as Shangela runs after them, her snowman body gaining power in the heavy snow.–

Alaska: Rupaul? Why did you come back?

Ru: Ive been listening to Anus!

Ru: I relate a lot to the message of nails.

–Shangela lets out another roaring halleloo as she continues to throw acid cocktails. Alaska cooks up an idea stew.–

Alaska: Ru! Drive back to Jinkxes house!

Ru: What? Why? She’ll destroy the place!

Alaska: Trust mawma.

–When they arrive at Jinkxes house Ru does a sick tailspin and stops in the driveway. They leg it inside as a confused Jinkx is setting out party foods and drinks.–

Alaska: JINKX! DID YOU BUY CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE FOR THE PARTY?

Jinkx: What? Yeah it’s my nans favourite.

Alaska: Your nan is dead Jinkx!

Alaska: Go get the fucking cake!!

Jinkx: Wait what?

Alaska: No time to explain go grab the cake!!

Jinkx: Did you say my nan-

Alaska: Jinkx really gurl priorities. Get the fucking cake.

–Jinkx goes into the kitchen and comes back with the baked goods in hand. Alaska hurries to the front door and swings it open to find a now 50 ft tall Shangela running towards the house. She readies her throwing arm into Shangela’s agape mouth and takes aim.–

Alaska: Merry Christmas.

Alaska: motherfucker.

–She throws it with her massively lanky arms as it lands in Shangela’s throat. Shangela munches for a bit before nodding her head and returning to her original size.–

Shangela: Bloody good cake that. Aight you’ve earned your Christmas spirit Alaska.

Alaska: Thanks.

Alaska: But you know, i don’t think i need it.

Alaska: I’ve learnt that Christmas isn’t about Holiday spirit, or even our loved ones.

Alaska: It’s about food. I get it now.

Ru: Good job chiiilde. You figured it out.

Ru: Looks like my work here, (Winks) is done.

Alaska: But where will you go?

Ru: Wherever I’m needed.

Ru: Plus i hear Michelle got in trouble with the feds for smuggling coke in her boobs, so i’d better go help her out.

Alaska: Bieeeee.

–People start arriving for the Christmas party. Tempest Dujour, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Charlie Hides, Raja, Raven and even Roxxxy take their places at the table and begin to chow down on the delicious munchies. Just before Alaska goes inside Shangela lets out a small cough.–

Shangela: Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. You’ve taught me the true meaning of Christmas, and I’m forever grateful for that henny.

Alaska: You know…there is an extra place at the table since we killed Jinkxes nan…

Alaska: Want to join us?

Shangela: Well, i am out of paint to huff…

Shangela: You know what? Halleloo i do!!

–And so everyone gathered around for this most festive of holidays, rejoicing and eating those mini sausage rolls that taste better cold. Roxxxy’s bingo game went well, the old folks had a place to stay, Jinkx was sobbing into the tablecloth, and most importantly, Alaska had found out the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas to one and all reading this, and i hope you go to Lidl for your shopping this festive season. Halleloo.–

[lavenderprose]

20: Yura with Vitya and Yuuri

Fuck you, Yuri hates those geezers. Yuri is so filled with hatred at the very sight of Stupid Viktor and his Pork Cutlet Disaster that he almost constantly feels like he’s going to puke. Why does Viktor have to be so fucking happy all the time? It’s stifling. No, he doesn’t want to come over for dinner. Fuck you, he’s not here for you, he’s here for Makkachin.. Someone has to be a good influence on him. Someone has to teach him the Correct Way. (The Correct Way being looking like you couldn’t care at all times. Don’t want it, Makkachin, just let it come to you. Be cool.)

In reality: Viktor is something to Yura like the brother he never had. Yura doesn’t consciously think of him that way, but that’s what he is. Yura never really knew his father and his mother has spent most of his life overworking herself to the point of exhaustion. Somewhere inside him, he knows that that means she loves him, but it’s hard to reconcile that idea with the fact that he sometimes goes entire months without seeing her for more than five minutes at a time. A lot of people think Viktor is some sort of parental figure for Yura, but it’s really not like that. He reacts viscerally to the idea that he considers Viktor a father figure because A: Gross and B: No? He really doesn’t? Later in life he’ll realize that he saw way too much of himself in Viktor to feel comfortable with considering him a father figure. Here they are, young men born into a nation still trying to recover itself and its identity. It makes it difficult for a person to figure out who they are. They grow their hair out long and dress crazily, act out in different ways–Viktor became very worldly at too young of an age, and Yura has so much unchecked anger–and they have both climbed so high and so fast–still are, in Yura’s case–that watching them is terrifying, like waiting for Icarus’ wings to melt as he flies too close to the sun.

Viktor is an idol and a cautionary tale all wrapped up into a too-bright package, and Yura resents him because he’s such a conflicting message but loves him at the same time because he’s one of the only people, at least before the 2016 season, who looked at him and said You can do everything you’ve ever dreamed of and more. Viktor is everything Yura wants to be and also everything that he’s afraid of becoming. 

Then Yuuri Katsuki comes into play and Yura sees parts of Viktor that he’s never, ever seen before. Suddenly the callouses are falling off of the World’s Living Legend at an alarming rate leaving behind this pink, raw Viktor that the world has never seen–or, at least, hasn’t seen for a very long time. Yura watches in half-awe and half-disgust because he thought they had an understanding. He thought that, if nothing else, Viktor understood eat or be eaten. He is literally letting Yuuri Katsuki rip him open at the ribcage and mess around with his heart and Yura is terrified. 

But then Yuuri Katsuki happens to him, too. 

Yuuri Katsuki’s competitiveness makes him physically shake sometimes, and he keeps his emotions tucked behind a pair of blue glasses and eyes full of anxiety and determination, and Yura can relate to that. But Yuuri also sets his small and gentle hands on Yura’s shoulders and asks him if he’s okay when they’re supposed to be competing against each other–Yuuri introduces him to his family and his family opens their arms to his scrappy Russian punk with too pretty of a face for the thoughts roiling through his head. Yura watches Viktor fall in love with Yuuri Katsuki, not just in the gross and demonstrative way but also in the quiet way–Viktor’s eyes follow Yuuri as he warms up in the skater area before the Rostelecom Cup and Yura has seen Viktor do this before, examining other skaters, but never like this. Viktor isn’t sizing Yuuri up. He’s looking after him. His eyes are gentle and his shoulders are relaxed and the curve of his lips can’t be called a smile, but–it might become one, if Yuuri looked at him, if Yuuri were to glance over his shoulder at this moment and smile at Viktor, he would melt.

Why do you let yourself do that? Yura wants to demand of Viktor. 

Yuuri moves to Saint Petersburg and Yura is suddenly alone with him all the time and one day, because he’s sixteen and his hormones don’t know what they’re fucking doing half the time, he furtively and silently tiptoes up to Yuuri in his and Viktor’s kitchen and kisses him. A quiet, clumsy and barely-there peck the likes of which Yura might give his grandfather, but they both know it isn’t a familial kiss.

Yuuri licks his lips and clears his throat and says, “Okay, so that wasn’t…good.”

Yura clenches his fists at his sides, stares down at his own shoes and feels his eyes fill with tears.

“You…can’t kiss people without asking their permission, Yura,” Yuuri whispers. “That wasn’t good.”

“You would have said no if I’d asked,” Yura growls to the floor, trying to make it sound like he’s angry and not falling apart from embarrassment and something like desperation. 

“Yes, I would have.” Yuuri sets a hand on his shoulder. “Because I’m engaged to Viktor and I’m also nine years older than you, and you’re sixteen. Yura? Will you tell me why you did that?”

“I don’t know,” Yura hisses. “I…why does…fucking Viktor, he’s always talking about–love, and I just–wanted to–I thought maybe I would know what it was–”

“Love isn’t about that, Yura,” Yuuri says. “Someday, maybe you’ll love someone that way, but I–I can’t be that person, and I think you know that. But i do love you, you know. Both of us, Viktor and I, we love you. It’s different from how we love each other, but it’s no less important. It’s more like how you love your grandfather, you know?”

“Grandpa is Grandpa,” Yura says, shaking his head. “It’s different, he has to love me, because he’s–”

“Oh, Yura,” Yuuri whispers, and then he hugs him.

Things are pretty awkward around the Katsuki-Nikiforov house for awhile. Yura is pretty sure that Yuuri tells Viktor about what happened, because Viktor keeps looking at him, and Katsudon can’t keep his mouth shut around Viktor. But maybe that isn’t as bad as Yura thought, because he gets invited relentlessly over to their place until he agrees, and he thinks it’s going to suck and it does, until he realizes that neither of them is treating him any different, and he realizes that maybe, here, are two people who accept him and understand him even though they’ve seen the nasty things that sometimes go on inside his head, and that’s a good feeling.

[merikathryn-blog]

SOA: Sins of Our Fathers Part 2: Welcome Home

Jax slowly headed to the door of the home.  Danny Weir’s home… How could this all work?  How was it going to be okay?  What the fuck was he doing?  He did not know but he knew he had already passed the point of no return.  He pushed the doorbell and waited for the old widow woman, Kari Christian, to answer the door.  However, he was surprised by a beautiful redhead with large perky breasts and big hazel green eyes.  Kari’s hair was long, waist length, and she definitely did not look like an old widow woman.  She opened the door and said, “This is the one and only time you will ever hear me call you this name.  Are you Jackson Teller?”  Jax looked at her and said, “I used to be.  Jax Teller was ran over by a semi yesterday.  He went out a true badass, a motorcycle legend.”  She said, “You have to stop that shit right now.  Jax Teller was a criminal and he was killed trying to escape the consequences of his actions. Danny, do you understand what I am saying?  You are a very straight arrow cop.  You have to remember that.  Jax Teller, the criminal, died yesterday trying to evade police capture.  Danny, you were just lucky that you did not happen upon the desperate criminal while you were coming home.  I am so happy that you are here.  I am so happy that you agreed to help me re-establish my life since my husband, David, died.” Jax flashed that sexy smirk that he has and said, “You do not look like a poor, helpless, old widow woman.”  Kari looked at him quizzically and asked, “Widow, yes. Woman, yes the last time I checked. Poor, not really….  Helpless, no. Old, how fucking dare you call me old??!!?? I am only just a few years older than your punk ass.  We are going to have to make you look a little bit older. Also, you are never going to be able to wear a t-shirt again in public.  You have ink and Danny has no ink.  You have taken a month off from work to get the matter of your divorce finalized.  I am here to help you because you are still weak from your cancer treatments.  This is our cover story.  YOU MUST STICK TO IT TO A TEE.  No variance, understand.  If you vary from this story, I will go to jail with you.  I have no plans on going to jail any time soon.”  Jax said, “Are you finished with your lecture?  I have been driving all night and I am fucking tired. I just want a hot shower and to go to bed.  We can begin good cop classes tomorrow.”  Jax took a long pause and asked with a smirk, “How many bedrooms are in this place?  Am I sleeping on the couch or is there a bedroom for me?  Are we just going to skip all of the pretenses and sleep together and get it over with?”  Kari was infuriated!  She screamed, “How fucking dare you just assume that you could walk in here with your gangster swagger, your bad boy persona, and your rugged good looks and assume that any woman would be ready to go to bed with you?”  He said, “I was just funning, Darlin’, but I am glad to know that you think I have rugged good looks.  I think you are pretty smoking hot for a widow woman too.”  Kari just glared at him and said, “Your bedroom is down the hall on the left.  My bedroom is on the other side of the hall.  If you need anything nonsexual, please do not hesitate to ask. Food, beer, and soft drinks are in the fridge.  I am headed to bed.  Tomorrow, we will start turning you into the straight arrow that Danny was.  I do not know what Danny saw in you to give you such a gift but I am going to honor his final wishes.”  Jax remembered he had a letter for Kari from Danny in his pocket. He handed the letter to Kari and took her hands into his and said, “Thank you so much for doing this to help me. You will never know how much it means to me.  Goodnight Kari.”  Kari looked at him with a startled look on her face as she clutched the letter in her hands and watched the young man walk down the hall and into his room.

Kari clutched the letter in her hands for a while, just crying and missing her friend, Danny.  He was the last link to her life that she used to have. Her life with David was full and happy.  She worked and he worked until he retired.  He then devoted his life to taking care of her.  Kari remembered the first time she met Danny.  She told him that if his tie was any tighter his head would inflate like a balloon because air would not be able to make it to the rest of his body.  Danny just looked at her and smiled.  He did not understand this woman at all.  He could not understand how an attractive young woman like Kari could be married to his cousin, an older man who worked a good job as a mechanic.  He provided her with a very safe life.  He was 30 years older than her but she did not care.  He never acted his age… Most of the time he was the one acting younger than her.  He rode a motorcycle and was known in the Southeast as the first white boy that was able to join the Mayans as a pequeño pato, a literal translation of a little duck. David was a grown-up man-child but a hell of a lot of fun.  He had massive street credentials so it gave Kari a pass on being a criminal profiler for the Department of Homeland Security.  Most of the people that David had street credit with believed that she was doing the country a massive favor by going after those towel heads that attacked us in New York and Washington D.C.  They did not realize that there was more to her job than just looking for international terrorists.  She also looked for domestic terrorists.  Most of the time she liked David’s friends.  They mostly just sat around and talked about the hell they raised and the crimes they committed before she was even born.  The statute of limitations had long since run out on nearly all of the crimes they discussed.  They talked about them with nostalgia but mostly with regret.  That is why she loved David.  He had grown up from being a street wise kid to a gentlemen who understood honestly, loyalty, and compassion.  David saw her for the intelligent strong woman that she was. Her looks didn’t matter to him. He was more impressed by the woman inside.  A woman who overcame an abusive home life to become an educated, impressive, and funny woman.  When he died, she wished she had died with him.  She knew that he would die before her.  It was a given because he was so much older than her.  She was still not prepared for it.  When Danny asked her to come to Tulsa, she jumped at the chance. She needed away from the memories of David.  She needed away from the life she had with him because it hurt too much to live it without him.  She and Diane got along really well and with Danny and her son both having cancer, Diane really appreciated the help of having another woman in the house.  When Diane left Danny, Kari became his rock. She helped him with the grief of losing his wife.  Danny felt so much guilt because Daniel had the same type of cancer he had.  Diane blamed Danny for Daniel’s cancer too. That is why she divorced him and moved to California where there was an experimental treatment that might could cure him.  Kari knew that when Danny went to California it was to be there for experimental treatments for Daniel.  Danny was going to try to find a way to pay for the treatments for Daniel.  He knew there was no way he could pzy for the treatments legally.  Kari knew when Danny left that she would probably never see any of them again. Kari missed the sound of other people in the house.  When Danny called her and told her that he was sending a man back to take his identity. Diane and Daniel were staying in California.  Danny then told her that he would be dying in California.  Danny would be the man that he was sending to her.  He wanted her to make the young man into him.  She owed Danny so much and besides, who was it hurting to honor Danny’s last wish?

Kari opened the letter.  It said, “Dear Kari, you have always been my best friend.  Ever since my cousin, David, came home with you, I have loved you. I was so jealous that he could go out and, even as an old geezer, he could get better women than I could.  You and I were both straight arrows.  We did not function outside the law.  I know that is why this request of mine will be so difficult for you.  I was standing at the foot of my mom’s grave telling her that I was dying and I would be dead in a few days.  I told her that I was such a fucking disappointment because my son was going to die of the same cancer I had because I could not pay for the treatments.  I knelt down crying and it was if the Lord and my mom both sent me this gift.  A few headstones down, Jax was talking to his dad.  He was having a similar conversation to mine.  He told his dad that he would be dead in a few hours to protect his children from becoming bad people like him.  The more he talked, the more that my heart heard.  Yes, my heart.  I was not thinking with my brain or my values.  I was just thinking that he needed a way out and I needed a way to save my kid before I died.  So I made a deal with the devil, so to speak.  He gave me money from a dirty cop that he had killed and I would take his place and die for him.  He could start over as me and be given a chance to be a good man by a good man. You are the only person I trust enough to help him.  If you tell anyone about what I have done, the police will go and get the money that Daniel needs for the treatments.  Diane will not return to Tulsa.  I believe that Jax is a good man who had to do bad things because of where he grew up and what he was groomed into being.  I know in my heart that when he becomes me, he will be a good man.  He will be a better cop than I am because he has been on the other side of the law all of his life.  He knows the tricks of the trade.  He just needs your help and guidance to survive and learn to flourish as me.  I would never trust anyone else with this secret.  I hate that I am burdening you with this task but you are the only one that I am sure can do it.  Thank you so much for helping him become me and in turn helping my Daniel live.  Your less amazing and deceased friend, Danny Weir.” Kari read these words and tears streamed down her face.  She was heartbroken that her best friend was at a place of no return.  She was heartbroken that he left her to do these unspeakable and illegal acts.  Most importantly, she was heartbroken that Danny was gone.  He was the last connection she had to David and now there was nothing left.  It was just her, alone, with some blue eyed criminal who had bounced through life on his good looks and charm.  “Fuck!” she thought. “How in the hell am I ever going to be good enough to pull this shit off?”  However, she was determined to try because Danny wanted her to and Daniel’s life depended on it.  She folded the letter back and stuck it inside her Bible.  She knew it would take an act of God to pull this masquerade off. She was determined to make it happen so she wandered into her bedroom and set the alarm for 5:50am, the exact time that Danny got up every morning.  She curled up to her pillow and drifted off to sleep.  Tomorrow would be a beginning of a long journey that would either grow success or total destruction.

Kari’s alarm went off at 5:50am.  Danny was an on the dot type of person.  He had everything figured out to how much time it would take to do things. She crawled out of bed, put on her robe, and headed to the room across the hall.  She walked to Jax and said, “Wake up, Danny.  This is the time you wake up every morning.  It is time for you to head to the kitchen and make breakfast. You are a very punctual sort so you must jump your happy ass out of that bed right now or I am headed to the kitchen to get a glass of ice water to force you out of that fucking bed.  Do you understand me now, Danny?”  Jax rubbed his eyes and ran his hand down to his impeccable chest to his testicles.  He gave his balls a good scratch and said, “Damn Darlin’!  You are definitely a hard ass.  Do I have to go by Danny?  Can I go by Dan or something else?”  “No.” Kari said, “You have to go by Danny.  Your grandfather was Big Dan.  Your dad was Dan Jr. You are Danny.  Your son is Daniel. It is a family name.  You just have to get used to it.  A young man like you should not take offense to being called Danny. Really?” “Hell, I had to ask,” Jax said, “I just wanted to be something different since I am a man who just got cured of Stage 4 brain cancer, got a divorce, and lost my kid.  You would think that I might want to change my identity.”  “Suck it up, Buttercup! You are Danny, you ungrateful little fucker. Deal with it, shithead, and… “Kari yelled. Tears were streaming down her face and she could not control her grief or her rage with him. Jax stood up out of bed and put his arms around her to hug her. She just beat him about his chest and cried.  She finally calmed down enough to cry and lean into his hug.  She just kept repeating, “You are Danny.  You have to be.”  Once Kari regained her composure, she told Jax to head to the shower. She headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast and get started on turning this bad man into her beloved best friend.  

Breakfast was always a time when Danny and Kari would gear up for the day. Since he was an investigator and she was a criminal profiler for DHS, they worked a great deal of cases together. They would have a full breakfast. Danny felt that a big relaxing breakfast set the tone for the day.  Kari went into the kitchen and started cooking.  She made bacon, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, and sliced fresh fruit.  She made coffee that was so strong, it nearly stirred itself.  She got the paper and left it folded beside Danny’s seat.  She looked at the empty chair and tried not to cry.  That was Danny’s chair.  The handsome young man in the shower was not Danny yet but he would be. She had a month to make him into her best friend.  She had to keep reminding him that Jax Teller was dead.  The young man came swaggering into the kitchen wearing a t-shirt and baggy jeans.  He had on a belt and steel toed boots.  Kari looked up at him and thought, “How in the fuck am I going to turn this hoodlum into a G-man in less than a month?  I am fucking crazy for trying.”  Jax sat down in the chair that she had obviously made for him.  He flashed that sexy little smirk at her and said, “Good Morning, Darlin’.  This is really an amazing spread that you have laid out here.  I normally just get some strong coffee and the maybe a little something to remove the hair of the dog, if you get my drift. So, tell me, Kari. What am I supposed to be doin’ right now, as Danny?”  Kari said, “Well, unless you are undercover, you never dress like that. You are normally wearing dress pants and a long sleeved button up shirt.  You wear a tie, nearly always.”  Jax looked at her in disgust and said, “Really? Okay, I guess I will have to change if we go out in public.  I assume you are afraid to send me out in public as Danny alone.  It is alright.  I get it.  I would not let anyone out of my sight if my life was on the line either.  I would have to trust first.”  Kari said, “Yes, you are right.  You will have to change if we go anywhere.  We normally look over the paper and talk about the current cases we are working.  We fuel up on a hardy breakfast and head out to work.  Danny took off eight weeks from work to go to California to get things settled there and to recover from the experimental treatments he is receiving. We can explain your early return by saying that Diane wanted you gone.  She blamed you for Daniel’s cancer and could not look at you.  The divorce will give us a reason for you staying out the entire eight weeks.”  Jax mumbled something under his breath while he was eating his breakfast.

[arcticzuko]

you were my new dream

For @onikushita! This was for skk valentines ^_^

Tis a Tangled AU! The idea was given to me by my mom @star-tear 

read on ao3 

This is the story of how Dazai dies.

Though, in actuality, the story isn’t about Dazai at all, but a short, fiery redhead named Chuuya. Technicalities, technicalities, whatever. The statement is still true.

Dazai supposes that the story actually starts with a man.

This man was named Mori Ougai, and he had a little girl he adored. Her name was Elise, and she had silky blonde hair that ran down her shoulders in perfect waves. She had the looks of an angel, is what everybody said when they saw her.

She was also dying.

Mori Ougai was not afraid of many things, but he was afraid of the bruises on Elise’s skin, of how pale she’d become, of her high fever and drowsiness.

So, in his desperation, Mori follows legends. He finds a flower made from a drop of sun, that can provide anything, that can heal anything at all, with only a simple chant to activate it:

O expectations, stale and dismal airs, leave this body of mine! I want nothing anymore but simplicity, quiet, murmurs and order. O acquaintances, grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again!

And he keeps her alive. He keeps himself alive, too. They live together for ages and ages and ages…

But then a certain, beloved queen becomes sick. And because life has the habit of piling misfortune after misfortune on top of each other, this queen was also pregnant. Her husband had sadly passed away just a few months ago.

The people are desperate, not wanting to lose one of the greatest and kindest rulers they’ve ever had—they begin to follow legends.

They find the flower by pure luck, Mori failing to hide it away properly. It saves the queen, and her son is born with fiery red hair.

In case it wasn’t obvious...the son is Chuuya.

To celebrate his birth, Kouyou releases a lantern into the sky; a tradition that would continue on Chuuya’s birthday for many many years.

But Mori doesn’t give up. He sneaks into the castle and finds that the power of the sun resides in the boy’s hair; but when Mori tries to cut it off, the hair darkens, losing its power.

So he takes the boy, and hides him away in a hidden tower in the woods, where no one can find them.

Chuuya, Mori and Elise grow into their own family.

But every year, whenever Chuuya would see the lights rise into the sky on his birthday…

There was always a yearning for something more.

“Hmm…” Chuuya frowns, tilting his head sideways as he studies his painting. “What do you think, Ryuunosuke?”

The chameleon blinks at him. Why are you asking me? Also, you have paint in your hair.

Chuuya scowls, turning to see that he did indeed have paint in his hair. He wipes his paint-stained hands on a towel. “Fuck. All this hair is such a pain…” Sighing, he decides to deal with it later, looking back up at his painting. It’s of him staring up at the night sky filled with lanterns, his long red hair tumbling down behind him.

“I’m gonna ask him,” he says to himself, “I’m really gonna ask him this year, Ryuunosuke.”

Akutagawa gives him a look that says, Sure you will, making Chuuya stick his tongue out at him. He climbs down from the ledge he’d been sitting on to paint the picture, irritably tucking his hair away from his face. He stands in the middle of the room, at a loss of what to do now that he’s finished the activity that’s been keeping him occupied for the last few hours. “I could read again…” He mumbles to himself, not really liking the idea but not exactly knowing what else there was to do. He studies the walls, covered in his paintings, at the shelves of books he’s read over and over, at the room he’s lived in his whole life, feeling a sudden surge of sorrow.

Akutagawa crawls up to his shoulder and nudges his face. I’m bored. Let’s go outside.

“You know I can’t,” Chuuya bites out, frowning. “Besides, I’m perfectly fine in here.” He glances at himself in the mirror, frown deepening at the paint still in his hair. “I guess I could fix that.”

Akutagawa makes a sound that Chuuya swears is a sigh. He gives the chameleon an annoyed look.

“Chuuya!”

He tenses, almost stumbling over his feet in his haste to get to the window. He hears Akutagawa shriek in irritation, clutching onto his shoulder for dear life.

“Chuuya, let down your hair!”

“Coming!” He shouts back, letting his hair tumble out the window and down towards the ground. He waves at the pair, Elise in one of Mori’s arms with a basket in her hands while Mori grips Chuuya’s hair with his other hand as the redhead hoists them up.

“Chuuya-nii,” Elise chirps as she and Mori slip through the window, reaching out to give Chuuya a hug.

“Hi Elise,” he greets, “how was your day?”

The girl scowls. “Annoying. Rintarou is so bratty, I can’t stand it. Always wanting me to do this and this for him.”

“Aw, Elise!” Mori whines, “It’s only because I adore you so much!”

The girl turns her head away, sticking her chin up. “Rintarou, you are nothing but an old, whiny geezer.”

The man sighs sadly, before turning to look at Chuuya, resting a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “Chuuya, how was your day?” He glances at the paint in Chuuya’s hair. “Some more painting, I see,” he muses.

Chuuya reaches up to touch his hair. “Uh, yeah. Speaking of that, there’s something I wanted to ask you, Mori.”

Mori frowns as he examines a bruise on Elise’s arm. “Before that, how about you sing for Elise and me, Chuuya?”

He bites his lip. “Alright,” he agrees, moving quickly, setting a chair down for Mori and Elise to sit in, slamming a brush in Mori’s hands and placing a stool for himself in front of them. He takes a deep breath. “Oexpectationsstaleanddismalairs—” He sings, the words zipping through his mouth so quickly they almost stumble over each other, his hair quickly glowing to his song in order to catch up.

“Chuuya, hold on a second—” Mori starts, before Chuuya interrupts him.

“I want nothing anymore but simplicity, quiet, murmurs and order. O acquaintances, grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again!” He finishes quickly, hearing Elise’s surprised sound when energy suddenly rushes through her, the bruise on her arm disappearing in a blink.

“Alright, so back to my question!” Chuuya exclaims, standing up and turning around, forcing a smile when Mori gives him a curious look. “Uh, I’m not sure if you remember or anything, but you know, my eighteenth birthday is tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course I remember,” Mori replies,  stroking Elise’s hair. She frowns at him, jumping off his lap and heading towards her room. “What about it?”

Chuuya falters. “Well,” he begins, moving to climb up to the painting he had finished prior. “For my birthday, I want to go out and see the lights. You know, the ones that always show up on my birthday.” He moves the curtain blocking the painting from view, looking at Mori hopefully.

There’s a moment of silence. Chuuya suddenly feels all his confidence leaving him, his self consciousness suddenly pushing him into a corner.

“You want to leave?” Mori asks, and his tone is so frigid Chuuya holds back a shiver.

“Just for one night,” he insists, climbing back down, though in his mind, voices accuse him for being a liar. “Just for my birthday. That’s all I want.”

Mori’s expression grows dark. “Have you forgotten how dangerous it is out there for you? You wouldn’t last a day. Have you forgotten that Elise depends on you to keep her health? What if something happens?”

“I—”

“Are you really that selfish to put Elise’s safety at risk for a mere birthday wish?” Mori stands up from his chair, looking at Chuuya with an unbearable intensity.

Chuuya freezes. “...Of course not,” he murmurs, after a pause. “I’m sorry, Mori.”

Immediately, Mori’s entire posture relaxes. “That’s my boy,” the man praises, resting a hand on Chuuya’s shoulder. His grip suddenly tightens, expression sharpening. “Never mention leaving this tower again, Chuuya.”

“Yes, Mori.”

Dazai laughs, dark brown hair whipping around his face as he runs through the forest. “So much excitement for eight am in the morning, huh, Fyodor?” He chirps, smiling grandly at his companion. “It almost makes me not wanna die!”

Fyodor just gives him a deathly glare.

Behind them, a bombardment of kingdom troops race after them. Dazai sighs as he glances at who the leader is.

“That damn Ango…” he murmurs, studying the poker face of the black haired man, glasses glinting in the sunlight as he rides a blond horse. “We used to be friends once upon a time, you know?”

“I don’t really care.”

Dazai sighs. As he runs, his satchel bumps against his side in a steady beat, reminding him of his crime. Stealing the crown had been awfully too easy, so Dazai felt the need to spice things up a bit, resulting in the current predicament they were in, much to Fyodor’s displeasure.

Dazai supposes he should feel a little guilty, stealing the crown of the missing prince that the Queen and even most of the kingdom still mourned over, but Dazai’s never been known for his compassion.  He was Dazai Osamu, the greatest thief in the entire kingdom, with a bounty worth more than a lifetime’s amount of work. He had no need for compassion.

He freezes, a piece of paper pinned onto a tree catching his attention. He gasps dramatically. “They totally ruined my beautiful face!” He exclaims, ripping the wanted poster off the tree. “Look at this, Fyodor! It’s an atrocity!”

The look Fyodor gives him could make roses wither. “I think it’s a pretty good depiction.”

He places a hand over his heart in offense. “Fyodor, how could you…”

Fyodor ignores him, beginning to run again, the flaps of his ushanka moving up and down with each step. Dazai sighs, stuffing the poster into his satchel before following the man.

They reach a dead end. Dazai hums, contemplating as he looks up at the top of the ledge. “Give me a boost, and I’ll pull you back up.”

“Give me the satchel,” Fyodor responds, giving Dazai a dark smile. He returns the gesture.

“Fine, fine,” he acquiesces, slipping the strap over his head and handing it over to the man. Fyodor slips it onto his own shoulders before pushing Dazai up with his hands, Dazai being just tall enough to grab the edge with his hand and haul himself up. As promised, Dazai reaches down to pull Fyodor up.

“Let’s go—” Fyodor begins, before Dazai grabs his knife, cuts the strap of the satchel so he can grab it without the hassle of pulling it over Fyodor’s head, and pushes the man backwards.

Fyodor stumbles, the backs of his heels on the edge of the drop, waving his arms around in an attempt to keep himself grounded. His eyes widen before immediately narrowing into a hateful glare.

“Let’s meet again sometime!” Dazai chirps, giving a small wave  as Fyodor falls back down the small cliff. He doesn’t bother checking to see if the man’s okay, instead tying the now broken strap of the satchel together with a tight knot and sliding it over his shoulders again. He begins to run, his laughter ringing through the trees.

The sound of horse hooves pounding catches his attention. He peers over his shoulder and groans when he sees Ango on his blond horse, charging towards him with a crossbow probably aimed at his head. He glances at the vine hanging down a few feet in front of him, and idea popping into his head as he runs full speed, jumping onto the vine and swinging himself out of Ango’s view, before momentum pulls him back. He has a glimpse of Ango’s shocked face before he knocks Ango right off his saddle and replaces his spot.

He smiles darkly to himself as the horse continues to run, leaving Ango behind. Suddenly, the horse freezes in his spot, almost making Dazai fall off from the unexpected stop. “What’s wrong?” He questions, pulling on the reins. “Move it!”

The horse snarls at him, before attempting to reach the satchel with its jaws. Dazai yanks it away. “No, no stop it. Bad horse. This is mine—” The horse almost takes his finger off with his next bite. Okay, what the fuck?

“Of course Ango has the craziest horse ever!” Dazai exclaims, struggling to hold on as the horse begins to buck wildly in an attempt to reach the satchel. It ends up resulting into a rowdy tug of war. The horse eventually catches the pouch of the satchel between his jaws, almost pulling Dazai off with the force of his tugging.

“Let it go, you stupid horse!” Dazai grits out, tugging back, before an idea pops into his head.

He smiles widely, letting the satchel go.

The horse’s head flies back due to the force he’d been using to pull against Dazai, the satchel flinging out of his grasp and onto a branch that hangs off a cliff, just about to fall.

There’s a pause, before the two of them scramble after it.

“Ha!” Dazai boasts, as he grabs onto the satchel, the shaking of the branch not bothering him at all. The horse glares at him, but the sound of wood snapping catches both of their attention. Their eyes widen, but while the horse’s eyes widen with panic, Dazai’s eyes widen with joy.

The branch snaps, and the two of them fall of the cliff. Dazai closes his eyes and blocks out the sound of the horse’s screeching. Instead, he focuses on the sensation of falling, a gentle smile spreading across his face.

Maybe this is it—  

He lands on a thick, gigantic cluster of bushes. He blinks up at the sky for a moment, before sighing. “Well, it was worth a try,” he says airily, “maybe I’ll die next time.”

His ears pick up the sound of horse hooves. He groans, moving quickly to hide behind a large boulder. What on earth did Ango feed his horse?

The sound comes unbearingly closer, making Dazai hold his breath, before quickly moving away. Dazai doesn’t move until the sound has completely faded, sighing as he stands up, stretching his arms over his head. He leans back on the wall of stone behind him, covered by ivy, only to completely fall onto his back with an “Oomph!”

He tilts his head up and realizes that he was in a small cave of some sort, the entrance hidden from view by the ivy. He sits up, examining the new area he’d stumbled into, the light at the end of the end of the tunnel sparking his interest. He stands up and walks deeper into the cave, eyes widening when he finally reaches the end.

A lone tower stood in an enclosed meadow, surrounded by trees. A waterfall cascaded behind it, filling the area with the soft sound of rushing water. He moves towards the tower, eyes lighting up with curiosity.

When he reaches it, the only thing that pops into his head is how the tower is a lot taller than it looks up close. The second thing he thinks is that it’d might be really nice to jump off of it. He walks around, searching for an entrance, but finds there isn’t any other opening in the tower besides the window looming high above. He grabs his dagger and begins to climb, stabbing his dagger between the bricks to help him get a secure grip as he makes his way up the tower. He hauls himself up onto the window ledge and slips inside, before turning around to see the view. He grins, slipping his satchel off his shoulder and placing it on the ground.

“Hmmm,” he hums to himself, “I might actually die if I jump off—”

Pain sparks through his head, the noise of what sounds eerily similar to a frying pan being banged ringing through his ears before his vision fades to black.

part two