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twistedlymad · 4 years

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Hello there, hope your well. I’ve read all of your work and I’m in love with MC and the TW guys. If you have the time, can I have a request. Can you do a scenario where fem reader accidently summons the Pink Elephants from Dumbo and have them causes a lot of mischief and trouble for the TW guys. Thank you and stay safe.

Wow, this was a surprising request! I never thought about having the Pink Elephants pop up in the Twisted Wonderland universe! You’ve got quite the imagination there!

By the way, I referenced the Pink Elephants from the original animated film, the scene where they appeared in the House of Mouse and the 2019 live action remake. I watched Pink Elephants for at least 10 times now and the song is stuck in my head.

Anyway, I hope this story is up to your standards! Thank you for the request and have a lovely day!!

What if you accidentally summoned the pink elephants from Dumbo? (Ft. Grim, Ace, Deuce, Epel, Jack, Sebek, Kalim and Jamil)

“Puppies! Pay attention!” Professor Crewel shouted to the first-years and hit his cane on the table. It was a joint class between all the first years so the professor looks pretty worn out. “I will not tolerate any mistakes in this potion, do not disappoint me!”

“Yes Professor!” All the first-years replied, slightly terrified of the professor. Since this was a joint class and all, Professor Crewel decided to sort you into groups. You and Grim were sorted with Ace, Deuce, Epel, Jack and Sebek.

“Man, who knew we would have a joint class like this?” Ace said to you all.

“Poor professor, he looks pretty worn out.” You said, glancing at the professor only to see him being absolutely tired.

“Well, we have to concentrate on the potion in order to not fan his flames any further. Sebek, have you prepared the ingredients?” Deuce asked the Diasomnia dorm member.

“Yes. I have taken all that we need.” Sebek nodded as he placed down the ingredients on the table.

“Good, let’s not screw this up then.” Epel commented.

“Let’s do this! Fgnaaaa!” Grim exclaimed happily. So the 7 of you decided to get to work. You and Grim were in charge of stirring, Jack, Sebek and Epel were in charge of ingredients and Ace and Deuce were in charge of measuring.

“So, what’s the next step?” Jack asked. You took a look at the recipe.

“Um, we let it sit for 5 minutes.” You replied as you and Grim stopped stirring and everyone took a break, you set the timer before taking a seat with your friends to chat with them.

After 5 minutes, you read out the next step.

“We have to boil it for 20 minutes.” So you and Jack get to starting the fire. Once you did, Epel had already started the timer.

“Fgnaaaaa, why did it had to be 20 minutes? I’m bored!” Grim said as he laid in your arms. You just patted his head.

“Because that’s what the recipe said to do. Now be a good creature and wait patiently.” You said as you set Grim down on a table.

“Yeah Grim, there’s no rushing these things.” Deuce said to the furball. Grim just pouted slightly and focused on the cauldron. You and the other first-years payed no attention to him as you guys were chatting about what to eat for lunch.

“You know, if we heat it at low fire for 20 minutes, that means if we heat it at high fire, it would take less time!” Grim mumbled to himself. “Fgnaaaa! Leave this to The Great Grim! We’ll be done in no time!” So the creature went close to the cauldron. You were listening to Ace rant about how he almost broke another rule of the Queen of Hearts when you realized Grim was not beside you.

“Guys, have you seen Grim?” You asked your friends and they looked at you.

“Uh, wasn’t he beside you just now?” Epel pointed out.

“Yeah, but he’s gon-“ You were cut off when you heard a familiar shout of ‘Fgnaaa’.

“The cauldron!!” All of you shouted at the same time to see Grim was right beside it, taking in a deep breath.

“Grim!!! No!!!” 6 voiced were heard as Grim decided to puff out a huge flame, causing the whole cauldron to heat up immediately. After a few seconds, a bubble began to form on the surface of the cauldron. You quickly grabbed Grim away from the cauldron, causing him to cease his fire.

“Yanno! Why did you do that for?” The creature thrashed in your arms.

“You! I told you to be patient didn’t I?” You lectured Grim as the others were looking at the two of you. It wasn’t long before Epel noticed something wrong with the potion.

“Uh, guys? Why is there a giant bubble?” He asked as you all stopped to see your cauldron. There was a giant pink bubble which kept getting bigger and bigger. The heat of the cauldron is slowly inflating and expanding it. Soon after, the bubble separated itself from the cauldron. The professor is nowhere to be found

“A-Ah?!” Deuce exclaimed.

No one dared to pop it as you all were scared it was going to blow up. Slowly, the bubble began to take a shape. It slowly turned into a square at first, then it changed again. It grew a head? A pair of large ears? 2 pairs of legs? You were all gobsmacked. Never have you ever seen anything like that in your life…. Well, not up until now at least.

“W-What is that?” You asked, slightly terrified of the bubble that manifested in front of you.

“It looks like…” Sebek tried to answer you but Jack beat him to it.

“An elephant?”

“Why would there be an elephant?” Ace asked frantically.

“I don’t know! The potion wasn’t supposed to have a huge bubble pop out of nowhere!” Deuce said as he looked at the bubble in terror.

The elephant-like bubble took a few steps before blinking it’s eyes at the 7 of you. You all froze.

“Are….Are you guys seeing this?” Jack asked as you all nodded.

The pink elephant bubble then took a deep breath.

“Everyone! Duck!” Sebek yelled to the rest of you. You all took cover as you all thought the elephant was going to either blow something at you guys or explode. But instead, it blew another elephant out of his trunk. You all just stared in awe.

“What?” You questioned.

“IT CAN MULTIPLY?!” Ace exclaimed. As soon as he said so, the 2nd elephant decided to blow another elephant out of his trunk.

“W-We have to do something!” Epel said as there were now 4 elephants. Sure, you would’ve done something, but, what could you do? And before you even knew it, the elephants were leaving the laboratory one by one. The 7 of you just stared at the doorway.

“Well, that settles that! Back to the potion!” Grim said and started to head towards the cauldron but you pulled him back.

“No, no, no. This is your fault and you are going to have to fix it!” You said to the creature as he puffed his cheeks out.

“Fine. But how to we do it?” Grim asked.

“Maybe they’re actually just bubbles? They’ll pop eventually?” Epel suggested. As soon as he did though, you heard trumpets outside of the lab. You turned to see that a few other students noticed but they just shrugged it off. As for the professor, he didn’t hear it due to him concentrating on something, well, you weren’t sure, so you went up to check on him.

“Professor?” You asked on a soft whisper. When you approached the teacher, he was fast asleep! Looks like he was too exhausted and must’ve fallen asleep when you guys were mixing your potions.

“Professor Crewel musn’t know about this, let’s quickly wrangle the elephants up and get back on the potion before we face severe punishment.” You said to your friends. So, 7 first-years sneakily exited the laboratory without anyone noticing.

Once you got out, you can clearly see some students were running away in a frenzy. But, what were they running away from? It was then you heard the sounds of trumpets, drums and a lot of other instruments.

“Guys, this way!!” You said and lead your friends to the direction of the sound. As you took a right turn from the hallway, you were in Main Street. There, you saw a parade? No, a pink parade! No, wait, it was a pink parade of elephants! They had it all! A conductor, drummers, trumpeters and many more. But what really caught your eye, is that everyone was an elephant in this parade. And this parade was a rather loud parade.

“N-No way!” Deuce exclaimed, as shocked as you and your friends.

“Is this a dream?” Epel asked with widen eyes.

“What is this?!” Jack and Sebek asked at the same time. However, in your shocked dazes, you were the first to snap out of it.

“We have to stop them! They’re making too much noise!” You said to your friends, but they couldn’t hear you for the parade was too loud for them to hear anything other than the marching music.

“What?!” Ace asked you, with a hand covering one of his ears.

“I said, WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!” You yelled to him.

“We can’t hear you!! They’re too loud!!” Sebek yelled to you. You can’t hear as well, but you read his lips to know what he was saying. So, you pulled them away from the parade where the music wasn’t so loud. You repeated your sentence to them again.

“We have to stop them before they make more trouble.”

“But, how?! We don’t know if magic works on them!” Deuce said back to you.

“And what kind of spell would get rid of them?” Jack asked. You were all brainstorming for ideas until a voice spoke up from behind you.

“You know, they’re only bubbles, all you had to do was pop them!” The 7 of you then turned to see Kalim and Jamil.

“Kalim-senpai and Jamil-senpai?”

“Yo kouhais!” Said the dorm-leader as the vice dorm-leader nodded his head at you guys.

“We heard the commotion, let me guess, you overheated the potion?” Jamil asked you guys as you all looked at Grim.

“Fgnaaaaa….” Grim said sheepishly as he buried his head into your arms.

“Don’t worry, we had this problem too, and all we had to do was pop them.” Jamil said to you as he and Kalim both fired a spell from their magic pens towards the elephants, popping them.

“See? It’s simple!” Kalim said to you cheerfully. However, with that pop, the elephants were terrified and they scattered away, blaring their sounds as loud as ever.

“Quick! After them!!” Sebek said as you guys realize they were getting away.

“We should split up! That way we can pop more elephants!” You suggested and they nodded.

“Alright, me, Grim, Ace, Deuce and Kalim-senpai will take the left side. Epel, Sebek, Jack and Jamil-senpai will take the right.” You instructed.

“Sounds good!” Jack commented.

“Alright! Let’s get this done with and head back before the professor kills us!” And with that, the 9 of you split up and went your separate ways.

You, Grim, Ace, Deuce and Kalim were running from hallway to hallway, following the sound of trumpets and terrified student screams. You guys were doing well actually, popping every elephant you came across and helping the students who fell down back on their feet.

However, while you were popping one of the elephants, a student straight up complained that you guys started this mess which resulted in Deuce switching on his bad boy mode and almost beat the living daylights out of the student but it took you, Grim, Ace and Kalim to stop him from even touching the student. It literally took the manpower of the 4 of you (Yes, Grim is included) to successfully drag the dark-haired boy away from the student.

At last, as you, Grim, Ace, Deuce and Kalim were on one side of the hallway that led you back to Main Street as Jack, Epel, Sebek and Jamil were on the other side.

“There! The last elephant!” Epel shouted to the bubble which situated itself in between the two groups of students. You all slowly approached the elephant as you didn’t want to scare it only to have it run away again. But the elephant noticed the 9 of you before any one of you could do anything, and it ran away again. You saw this and a plan popped into your head. You couldn’t say it was an original plan, as this plan was slightly inspired by Deuce when you first met him.

“Grim, I’m sorry for doing this.” You said to the creature as you picked him up.

“What are you doing?” The furball asked as you winded the hand you held the creature with. And without a warning, you yeeted threw the creature to the elephant.

“FGNAAAAAAAAAA!�� Grim yelled as he landed on the elephant. The elephant popped due to his claws digging into the bubble. The creature then landed on the ground, head spinning from the dizziness.

You went to pick the creature up as your friends were laughing out loud.

“Consider that punishment for not being patient and giving us trouble.” You said to Grim as you held him in your arms.

“I.. Hate you.” The creature said while his head was still spinning.

“Aww, I love you too.” You retorted with a smirk.

You then thanked Kalim and Jamil for helping you as they just smiled to you in response.

“I remember making the same mistake last year.” Kalim said as Jamil just shook his head.

“You guys better hurry back, we wouldn’t want the Professor to get more upset now.” Jamil said to the 7 of you. You guys nodded and gave a small wave to the two upperclassmen before running back to the lab.

When you arrived at the lab, Ace spoke up.

“Now guys, we pretend that what happened didn’t happen at all. Understand?”

“Yeah, sure, wouldn’t want Professor Crewel to know right?” Epel replied.

“Wouldn’t want me to know what?”

You all froze. As you all slowly turned around, you guys saw a man dressed in black and white, holding a cane and staring at the 7 of you.

“Ah…. Hi there, Professor.” Deuce said, shaking.

Well, the 7 of you got punished. Your punishment was to clean the laboratory and tend to the garden for a month. Oh, because you were busy capturing the elephants while they were playing their music, you now had the tune stuck in your heads.

Well, it could be worse, right?

#disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fic #twisted wonderland x reader #ace trappola #deuce spade #epel felmier #jack howl #kalim al asim #jamil viper #sebek zigvolt #grim #pink elephants #mc/yuu #twisted wonderland imagines #divus crewel #requested

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stressedoutteenager · 4 years

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Since the Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows Netflix series is going to be released soon (hopefully), I read Shadow and Bone and then reread Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. While talking to @nothesc about how much I love the characters, I had an idea for a short scene I would like to see between the crew and it escalated into something a little different but I thought I might as well share it.

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some things don’t change

summary: A couple years after the Big Heist Inej and Nina are back in Ketterdam and the whole crew stays at Wylan and Jesper's house. They are (becoming) close friends, after all.

AO3 link

"They're in their own little bubble again.", Jesper says.

Wylan and Nina follow his gaze, but they really don't have to. They already knew who Jesper is talking about, who is sitting at the far end of the dining table hunched together slightly, in quick conversation. Even if the room were full of people, they'd know.

"Some things don't change.", Nina shrugs and can't help herself and smile slightly.

Wylan chuckles and draws his eyes away, focusing on the two Grisha in front of him. "Well, they're definitely aware we're talking about them. So… You're right."

As if on cue, Inej and Kaz look up. Wylan quickly looks away, Jesper grins at the two of them and Nina, as brave as ever, saunters over to them and grabs Inej's hand. Jesper's eyes follow that action and when Nina whispers something into Inej's ear, she stands up laughing, hooking her arm in Nina's.

His eyes wander over to Kaz, who keeps a straight face but doesn't hide that he's looking after the two women walking out of the room.

Finally, he turns to Wylan and Jesper and raises a single eyebrow. Jesper holds up a deck of cards, which by now is only used for leisurely games at home, usually between Jesper and Wylan alone.

They're staying at Wylan and Jesper's house. Nina always does, if she's ever in Ketterdam. And so does Inej. Officially. She might slip away at night and come back in the morning, but her belongings settle in the guest room she's currently in once she steps off her ship. Kaz.. Well, he is the leader of the Dregs, he has his bedroom in the Slat. You could say it all belongs to him, but he only takes his bedroom in the attic and his office on the ground floor as his alone. The rest is his Dregs'.

When Inej comes back into town, Jesper and Wylan have their friends over but Kaz never stayed too long. Always busy with something. Always the first to go back to the Slat, to leave the rest behind. But for the last couple of visits from Inej (sometimes accompanied by Nina, but not nearly as often) that has changed. Kaz stayed later and later each night and for the third time now, he has not refused Wylan's offer to stay the night.

Inej slips into his room, not long after everyone retires to their rooms. Kaz stays next door to her and it's been like this since he started staying the night when she visits. When Nina and her visit. When they come together at the van Eck home. The room is lit by a small light on the windowsill and her eyes are immediately drawn to Kaz who's leaning against it. He was expecting her. His gloves are nowhere in sight, his shirt is unbuttoned on the top, his cane stashed away in a corner.

"Didn't bother to come through the window this time?", Kaz asks Inej, his eyes following her slow movement towards him. The window was slightly ajar.

Inej meets his strong gaze, she might have missed the familiar feeling of his eyes on her more than she could imagine. Inej shakes her head.

"Nobody is going to hear me either way.", she answers, they didn't want the others to hear or see. She stands at the windowsill for a second, before placing her hands on it and pushing herself up, turning mid-air and sitting herself on the windowsill. The candle is between her and Kaz. She looks at him and sees his eyes already trained on her. She can tell that he wants to say something but when he doesn't, she doesn't push it either.

They sit in silence for a moment. How is it possible that she missed even this small thing. Keeping Kaz company while he does his work in his office, perched on the windowsill, feeding crows. She didn't like being alone all the time and he didn't expect anything of her in those moments, she realizes now how soothing it had been to have those quiet moments in his office.

Kaz turns his head first, and turns completely to look at Inej. His gaze wanders over her face, her jet black hair that is falling out of its braid, her throat, her bare shoulders. She didn't bother with a nightgown, only a simple shirt she'd sleep in.

"I missed seeing you on my windowsill.", he finally says and knows it to be a hundred percent true.

It's been a couple years since Inej started hunting slavers, it's been a couple years since Kaz looked at his window and expected to see her but was faced with disappointment. He wouldn't have her stay behind for his sake anyway. He knew, he couldn't give her what he deserved. She deserved so much more.

Yet, he tried. He worked on himself. When he met Jesper for a game of cards or on business, he tucked his gloves away as soon as he got to their door. When Wylan came to him on questions shout merchants of the city, who to trust and who to avoid, Kaz slipped his gloves off. He didn't necessarily touch them at every meeting. They didn't always shake hands, they rarely hugged (Jesper tries every time, and sometimes Kaz lets him). However, the knowledge that it could happen and that he needed to prepare himself for it helped immensely. He wouldn't try it with anyone he doesn't trust. He is still the Bastard of the Barrel. No matter how much he grew up in the past years, how many deals he struck, how many alliances he forged. He couldn't show weakness. Not to anyone. Expect the few people in this house tonight.

Inej holds his gaze and smiles. That smile. Kaz wants to engrave it in his eyelids just to never forget it. "Is this your way of recreating all those moments?", Inej asks. She's always been bold, always said what she thought. But she had become more open towards him. And he liked it. It terrified him, but he liked it.

"There has been no premeditated planning.", Kaz answers but his eyes tell a different story. He moves to stand in front of her now. The candle on his right. Kaz puts his hands on the windowsill, on each side of Inej's thighs.

Her concentration on him doesn't waver, not even when his fingers move closer. They’re at the point in their relationship to each other, that they know they can handle this. At least most times. Still, Kaz stays still when he gets as close to touching her as he can without laying skin on skin, until Inej gives a nod.

Kaz slowly puts his hands on her thighs, takes a second to take a breath and when she seems comfortable and he doesn't feel the waters rising around his ankles immediately, slowly drifts his hands up. A light touch on her bare thighs, until he gets to her shorts. He lets himself enjoy every second of being able to do this, so does she. She shivers under his touch and when he meets her eye, he can see the glimmer in her eyes. When his hands arrive at her waist, he lifts her in a quick motion and sets her down right in front of him. They're only touching where Kaz's hands meet Inej's waist over her shirt. But he can feel the warmth through the material, he can feel her breath quicken when he draws slow circles with his fingers.

In this moment, Kaz wants to pray to and thank every God he has ever heard of for the fact that he can do this. That he can touch her, that she can rest her hands on his cheeks and let her fingers trail down his arms. It's slow, a light touch, but they know that's what they need. At least at first.

Being close to each other, touching each other, hasn't always been possible.

The first time they had tried, when Inej came back for the first time, Kaz couldn't do it. He instantly felt the waters rising, he got nervous, he broke out in sweats. He was ashamed and simply.. Sad. He didn't want to admit it to himself yet but jumping off the deep end straight away was not going to work for either of them.

But they tried. He did his best. He concentrated on Inej, her pulse, his feelings toward her, he let himself feel them.

After that first attempt, they tried each night Inej was in Ketterdam. Sometimes they just sat and talked about new info he had about slave trades happening in Kerch, giving her all the information he had. Sometimes they sat and talked and Inej told him of her adventures, of her parents she goes to see as often as she can. Sometimes they sat as close as they could. Sometimes they were able to lay next to each other, to touch briefly, to hug. And sometimes they could do so much more - they could make their dreams come true, however big or small.

Still, it was never guaranteed that each day would be better. There were setbacks but there was also progress.

Inej's hands make it into Kaz's hair and he sighs. Who would've thought Kaz likes having his hair played with, but only by Inej. She threads her fingers through his hair and suddenly he shudders. She quickly takes a step back but Kaz holds her tighter around her waist.

"No.", he says briefly, and after taking in a deep breath, "I'm okay."

She knows he wouldn't say it, if he didn't mean it. Not only did he change throughout the years when it comes to working on being able to touch her, touch his friends. He also changed in behavior. Not towards everyone, of course. He had a reputation to uphold. But when it comes to his friends, he lets them closer, he lets himself see them as friends. As people that don't need a stoic front every time they talk. It hasn't made him less sarcastic though.

He smiles at her and leans his head lower, their faces almost touching. "You've been gone too long this time, not getting rid of me so easily."

Inej smirks. She has been gone longer than any other time. Following a slaver ship that was harder to catch than her crew thought would be, a visit to her parents and then to Ravka's capital to pick up Nina, made her stay away longer than she ever had.

"I'm here now.", she feels his hands slip under her shirt now, slow and steady. He closes his eyes for a moment and rests his forehead against hers. She knows that it helps that she's talking and that her skin is so warm. She loves how hard he has been trying. "And will be here for another week."

At that she can see the change in Kaz's facial expression. She hadn't told him how long she'd be staying, he'd apparently assumed it would be less than this. Surprising him is always fun, especially when his hands roam around her waist, up and up.

Still, they know their boundaries. If Kaz doesn't want to admit it, she will now. She takes one of his hands in hers, and leads him to the bed. She sees his chest move quicker and his free hand clench.

"I arrived just a couple hours ago, all I want to do right now is sleep.", she says plainly and knows that he understands. He chucks off his button-up and still has an undershirt on. Inej lays down, turning her back to where she knows he'll lay down in a few seconds. She feels the mattress dip, she feels his hands slide up from behind her and he rests them on her stomach, over her shirt. A quick movement backs her up and she's settled right in front of him.

"Good?", he asks her.

She nods. Being confined like this isn't easy for her. She knows this is Kaz, that she's safe with him. It's none of those men from her nightmares. She breathes in and out deeply an rests her head against him slightly.

"Good?", she asks him now. She can still feel his breathing being quick, his chest moving up and down faster than usual. It takes him a minute or two but he calms down and nods against her hair.

"Sleep tight, my Inej."

When Inej wakes up before him, she slowly stands up, trying not to wake him. He needs every bit of sleep he can get. And they wouldn't want the others to know that she slept in his room, she should get back to her own room. When she goes to open the door, she notices that Kaz did not lock his door. He always does, be it with or without her. He's letting his guard down, even if he's not realizing it.

The door to her room is locked and she makes quick work of getting the key from under the rug in the hallway, where she put it last night. She freshens up a little and sees it's later than she would ever wake up. But she had had a good night's sleep and that wasn't always a given. She smiles to herself, remembering Kaz's chin on her shoulder, his cheek touching hers. He was sleeping, didn't even notice it, it was a good sign.

She decides to go down into the kitchen and see who's already awake but when she opens her door, she is greeted by a still sleepy Kaz. He brushed his hair back and put on a proper shirt, but his eyes looked sleepy enough. It always spreads a warm feeling in her when she sees him like this.

"Good morning.", she says, as he says, "Everything okay?"

She nods. "Why?"

"You…", he begins but cuts himself off, "I woke up alone."

Inej has to lean back a little to be able to look him in the eyes. "The others.. ", Inej says and looks around the hallway. They both like their privacy. They're working through their own issue and their friends are part of it to some extent but they had decided that it might be better this way.

Kaz shakes his head. "I don't care."

Inej smiles at him instantly, can't help herself. They went from 'I protected you because you're my investment' because he couldn't admit anything to her or himself, to him not caring that anyone else knows what he is feeling.

"Alright.", she says.

"Good.", he says, lips drawn in a small smile.

"I'm starving.", Inej finally says after a couple seconds silence.

Kaz steps aside and says:" Lead the way, Ghafa."

When Inej and Kaz arrive in the kitchen, Jesper and Wylan are already there. Wylan looks up from his coffee and wishes them both a good morning. Kaz only nods but Inej says good morning with a bright smile.

"Somebody is having a good morning.", Jesper comments at that.

Inej and Kaz sit down across from Wylan and Jesper.

"Your guest rooms are very comfortable, thank you for letting me stays here.",Inej says, looking from Wylan to Jesper.

They just wave her off. "You know, you're always welcome here.", Wylan answers and means it. Without Inej none of them would be here today.

"And if she weren't, she wouldn't be without a cozy room anyway.", Nina says, as she waltzes into the room. She looks well-rested and finds her place at the head of the table. Wylan coughs to cover up his laugh, Jesper doesn't bother. His laugh echoes through the room and all eyes turn to Inej and Kaz.

Inej smiles at her friend and says: "Good morning to you too, Nina."

"Morning, morning.", Nina answers and looks between Inej and Kaz. Kaz sits straight up, letting his eyes wander over his friends. Wylan is still sometimes surprised to see him in his kitchen. Kaz always held up his end of a bargain, he has helped Wylan more than he might be aware and sure, Kaz usually never does something if there's nothing in it for him, but him sitting here with the rest of them on a lazy Saturday morning is a welcomed surprise.

"So Kaz, how did you sleep?", Nina asks, leaning forward in her seat and resting her chin on her propped up hand.

"Like a baby.", he answers, "Your guest rooms are indeed very comfortable.", he adds turning to Wylan and Jesper.

"Would you look at that, Wylan. Never have we gotten so many compliments on this particular subject.", Jesper muses, "Might have to see if the room they stayed in is more comfortable than even our bed."

Nobody misses the singular form of room and even if they did, Jesper's grin would've explained what he meant anyway.

"I can't believe you didn't go back to the Slat last night, Kaz.", Nina says, batting her eyelashes at him, which makes Wylan bite his lip to refrain himself from commenting himself.

He shrugs. "Had plenty of reason to stay here.", then adds with raised eyebrows towards Nina, "How's Ravka treating you?"

Suddenly everyone stops whatever they're doing. Wylan sees Kaz's lip tug in the smallest smile at the reaction he just got. He's satisfied.

"Is Kaz Brekker inquiring about my well-being?", Nina asks with a loud gasp.

"It's not like it's the first time he does.", says Inej, but gets ignored because Jesper shoots out of his seat. Wylan just smiles up to him.

"Oh isn't this wonderful. Kaz and Inej had a great night", he sends them a meaningful glance and expects something to be thrown at him but nothing comes, so he continues, "they had a great morning, Nina is happy. Wylan, we're doing a great job as hosts. And next time we can just prepare one less room."

"I see, nobody really grew up then?", Kaz smirks and leans back in his chair.

Wylan notices Inej leaning slightly towards Kaz.

"Hey! Not true", Jesper interjects, "Wylan grew two more centimeters since the big Heist."

Wylan rolls his eyes and laughs:"And Jesper learned not to pair every single pattern in his wardrobe."

"Hey!", Jesper jumps in, but the rest of them murmur in agreement with Wylan.

"Wow, okay. In my own home, when I'm happy for my friends… unbelievable. I might need to eat all these waffles on my own then.", he theatrically grabs the plate with the waffles and moves to the other side of the room.

Nina shakes her head: "Jesper, just because our love sick Brekker here started something, doesn't mean you have to punish us all."

"I can still hold up a fight against each of you, don't forget. Grisha or not.", Kaz warns them, but there's no real danger behind his words.

"You could.", Nina says, and Jesper and Wylan finish her sentence, "But you wouldn't."

Kaz raises his eyebrows in question and Jesper answers: "You've grown soft on us."

"Kaz is not soft.", Inej remarks. Her thoughts of his hands on her, his word in her ear beg to differ, but they didn't have to know that. There's always that instinct in her to protect Kaz's facade, his reputation. It's hard to turn off.

"I said, he's grown soft on us. Not everyone else.", Jesper sets the plate on the table and rounds the room to stand behind Kaz.

Without moving, without looking up, Kaz says: "If you try to hug me, I'll show you soft.", and Jesper's arms freeze mid-air, he's hunched over Kaz.

Wylan then says: "Jes, set your ass down next to me please and let's eat. I'm starving." Jesper nods and Wylan notices Kaz showing Inej a look that could pass as flirty if it wasn't Kaz.

"Oh, I bet you're starving, alright.", Kaz says now and Nina jumps in on it.

"If we're talking about a good night, we should be talking about you two.", she says, pointing between Jesper and Wylan. Jesper just grins and Wylan can feel his cheeks turn red.

#six of crows #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #kanej #shadow and bone #nina zenik #jesper fahey #wylan van eck

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wickednerdery · 4 years

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Title: Scorched Earth: Little Fires Everywhere Author: @wickednerdery Fandom: Marvel Pairing/character: Thor, Valkyrie, OCs Rating: Mature Summary: “What do you propose I do then?” Notes: This is the third part of what’s shaping up to be a legit series - 1st is FrostBitten, 2nd HoarFrost Hel - and the masterlist is here. The story on whole is gonna be very dark, this piece - which occurs some days after the last Thor one - has a bit of sexual dialogue and angst. For consistency and length, it gets a “Read More”.

“Perhaps I should return them to Midgard, before they come to more harm.” Thor frowns deep in his worry.

“They’re fine. They’ve all their lives and limbs, no scars,” Valkyrie counters. “They’re doing a lot better than most I know.” Who were all dead.

The god sighs, still unsure. He promised Stark he would care for them and, thus far, he’s failed. Not only did they end up in grave danger on Sakaar, but he could not even save them. Instead, they had to save him and that did not speak well to his abilities. “Ash does not leave his quarters, Gabe obliterates himself with drink and drugs -”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s not the same...actually, it is, I imagine, but you can handle far more.”

She finally straightens up to sit. “The man-child killed a being most thought un-killable, Ash bested me without training, and the girl tore down a complex, realm-wide, infrastructure almost singlehandedly. These beings, mutants, are like the gods of Midgard, they’re not weak.”

“Lynk.”

“What?”

“The girl, woman’s, name is Lynk.”

“Lynk...” Valkyrie smiles. “Right.”

Lynk knows Ash is struggling, he always does after emotionally intense situations, and she knows it’s best to leave him be. Though, as time passes, she too grows worried for him. This is lasting longer than normal and, soon, they will arrive at The Creator’s.

She knocks on his door before slipping in. He lays in bed staring out from under his covers as if not truly there. Lynk approaches, stands over him. “Ash.” He gives no reply, no acknowledgement of her existence. “Ash. Look at me.”

After the drugs faded from his system all that panic, terror, anguish, pain, and rage pouring from Sakaarans had quickly overwhelmed the mutant. Drained him of energy and peace. Now he drowns in the chaos, the darkness, even while no longer near the planet.

“Look at me,” Lynk insists. When his eyes finally find her she speaks again. “You need to get up. Shower. Shave. Change your clothes.”

Ash groans, but does leave the bed to stand before her.

Taking his head in her hands, she forces him to look at her. “Sakaar is over, we need to keep going.”

“The people will never be the same. Any of them.”

“They’re free.”

“But the cost.”

“Is the cost.” She tries to drum up feelings of joy, triumph, and hope for him. “You need to focus on the good.” Her forehead hits his and that little bit of worry - for him, for what she knows he’s taking in and what it’s doing to him - seeps in. “You need to come back.”

He growls in irritation, pulls her hands down and moves away. “Don’t do that, I can tell when you’re faking.”

“No, Ash, I-”

“Just...” He steps back with deep breath. “Let me process, Lynk. Please, leave me be.” Ash at least avoids the bed, instead going to a chair where he turns away and curls up once more.

Lynk takes a deep breath to keep herself together, but leaves him be. She heads back towards the cockpit, hoping to take over the autopilot once again, but runs into Gabe.

“I don’t like my piercing anymore.”

“Then take it out.”

“I don’t know how. I can fix it after, but I...need help.”

Now she gets it. “Come on.” She orders, making a point to soften her voice, extend her hand. When he takes it she leads him back to his sleeping quarters, grabbing a med kit and needle-nose pliers on the way. “Take off your pants and underwear, and sit down.”

Gabe strips completely before plopping on the bed. Only after Lynk gets on her knees in front of him does he was start to shift, squirm a bit. He’d learned to enjoy - or at least tolerate, forget with the help of drink and drugs - the things The Grandmaster and others did, but this is different. “This is weird.”

At first she says nothing, focusing only on examining the piercing. First with eyes only, then she reaches out. “Don’t worry, I’ve done this before, just try to stay still.”

“I can see why you don’t like sex.”

Her hand stops just shy of his member, she looks up. “That wasn’t sex, that was being used. Nobody likes that.”

“Have you ever....been used?”

“No.”

“Oh.” He pouts slightly, feeling foolish and all the more alone. Apparently he’s the only one stupid enough to fall for The Grandmaster’s and other’s tricks. Everyone else managed to escape the man’s touch, just not him.

Lynk frowns, moves to sit beside Gabe on the bed. “But I know others who have. I know that you can’t blame yourself, because it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. You survived, Gabe. That’s never wrong.” She makes the effort to look him in the eyes - the second time in one day, almost a record. “Do you understand?”

“I guess.”

“When we get home we will talk to the professor about it.”

“Okay.”

“Do you still want me to get rid of the ring?”

“Yes.”

“I have to touch you, you know.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

“Good.” Lynk shifts back into the best position to remove the piercing.

***

When she returns to the cockpit she passes by Thor and Valkyrie in nearby seats. “Are we close?”

“Very,” Thor confirms.

“Good.”

“Do you want to continue?” Valkyrie asks the other woman.

“Of course.” Lynk slips into the pilot’s seat, checks in on the ship.

“Do the others?”

“Yes. Why are you asking?”

“Thor wants to bring you home.”

The god looks to the warrior, then to Lynk. “I promised Stark I would keep you safe.”

“And I said I’d help you,” Lynk counters as she rechecks coordinates.

Valkyrie smirks to Thor. “Then it is settled.”

Finally catching up with Thor and crew, haha! It’s a bit of a wrap up from their time on Sakaar, showing some of the continued fallout from that and how they’re handling it. Surprisingly - or maybe not? - the ladies are actually doing better at the moment. I think a lot is compartmentalizing with Lynk and Valkyrie drinks, so she’s got that, haha! Probably just have them arriving on the shitshow that is The Creator’s planet next, lol!

Gifs found on Google, adjusted/combined by me.

Tagged: @chibiyanai @wadeyouwitch @creedslove @lady-crowned-with-stars @moonfaery @annievvv7 @ladyfluff @holykryptonitekitten @lokilvrr @janebrownnie @lokis-little-kitten @alexakeyloveloki @theangelsfightwithdevils @the-blue-tiefling @lokis-lady-death @dangertoozmanykids101 @prometheasmother @vethrvolnir @wintertink @amethyst-dreams-and-candy-canes @drakonwild @starscreamloki @skoulsinner @hiddles-rose @the-lady-witchitery @galaxies-inside-my-head @jackheart180 @lukeevansandjdmobession @endlessstairway @steph-1986 @tom-fucking-hiddleston-1981 @lovekrystina @madoka73 @lokikingofasgardslover713 @partiallyinthecloset @ultrarebelheart @gravitational-anomaly @manip-loki @sweetfictionalworld @lowcarbgem @tarithenurse @beccaliciooouuusss @michellearel1 @toozmanykids @erasnegras @iwasbusybeingdead @hearted-words @foofyschmoofer @kellatron55 @kpopgirlbtssvt

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maydaymemer · 3 years

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Hitman 3 - First Impressions w/ Spoilers

I’m posting this just after I’ve beaten Hitman 3, and I wanted to do something productive with my experiences playing it both for when I look back on my first time playing this game and also to do something more than just play video games like a degenerate

If you want my basic yay or nay opinion I think Hitman 3’s great, maybe the best of the trilogy but I might just be burnt out on replaying 2’s levels and am not thinking right, but keep in mind this is after playing thru each level once. Not to say these levels don’t make good or bad first impressions for a reason but I know not to trust myself when I say I enjoy or dislike something especially a Hitman level after only a little time with it. Keep in mind I didn’t like Sapienza and liked Colorado at first, but at the same time my opinion of Whittleton Creek and Marrakesh either haven’t changed much or only gotten more positive with time. So it’s a roll of a dice

Anyway I’ve written down my notes on every level I’ve played right after finishing it, which I’ve put below. There are going to be spoilers of elements like mission stories (which I dabbled a little bit in) and objectives and I’d recommend going in as blind as possible with Hitman. I don’t mind spoilers myself but I think you feel smarter when you stumbled on half the shit you do in these games

Dubai: very strong opener. I think that some of the shortcut design, one of the few new features of 3, kind of limits up front exploration but I still really liked the verticality and how climbing up pipes could take you up like two floors. Targets seem to have the appropriate amount of blind spots, tho I’m not sure how I’d tackle Marcus in that big open area. To me this level reminds me of House of Cards but better, out of the other first levels of the trilogy (Paris, Hawke’s Bay and Dubai) I choose this as my favourite so far. I killed Marcus by snapping his neck after knocking him out in that white room near the elevator, I got caught and killed some witnesses only for Omar to find the bodies. I killed Carl by throwing him off the building, sacrificing his waiter to do so

Dartmoor: Actually managed to SA this one, I didn’t go forward with the murder mystery just yet as I wanted to see 1) if it could be cheesed since it’s a one target mission and b) to see how well it holds up without doing that. To see if it’s just a gimmick or not. Turns out? Pretty darn well. I did encounter some of the stuff I didn’t like about the Hitman 2 AI with Alexa, namely if you have a weapon out and she gets a slight glance at you she goes into lockdown and while trying to cheese her under a chandelier when she goes to meet with you/the detective. However, it was at least consistent this time until in WoA2, she never fell for me trying to cheese it whereas if this was Hitman 2 it’d work 50% of the time and drive you mad. I did manage to get her under a chandelier, because in this game’s case personal bodyguards are easier to get rid of and there’s usually only one if they have one so I was proud of that. I love doing non-laid out kills in Hitman, one of my favourite things. I love the level design here, the mansion is big and brooding and so is Alexa’s route it seems. I loved finding out the secrets like using the cane to open doorways and using the camera to find pieces of the code for the Edwards safe. I got the 9, 7 and 5 ones and was going to brute force the code but turns it the solution was 1975. The level takes atmospheric cues from Beldingford Manor but I got real Paris vibes from the verticality which I loved

Berlin: I thought this mission wouldn’t impress me with its gimmick but it’s my favourite so far. The atmosphere and rave soundtrack gave me chills, and THIS is how you do target AI. There are a total of eleven or twelve potential targets I think, and all of them use guard AI. You have to track down and kill at least five of them, giving a unique and dynamic gimmick for this mission which I’ll love to replay. Target routes seem good too and your first playthrough where you’re winging it is even more fun here when you don’t know where your targets are really coming from. The mission is also really surprisingly massive, it might be the biggest one so far despite only having ten disguises (I don’t think we’re going to top Miami’s 29). I also loved that you could poison some fast food and have a biker take it inside

Chongqing: this is a great example of the knee jerk nature of these first impressions, not that this level will be bad but I feel like I’m speaking a little too soon when I say this might be one of my favourite levels of the trilogy. I was a little disappointed when the level wasn’t Mumbai 2.0, being more vertical than horizontal in scale but I ate my words when I experienced it. This is probably the weirdest level of the trilogy but so cool at the same time. At first I tried getting Hush with his satellite dish, and sniping him from his little area. I died. Then I became a test subject and started messing with his brain, making him take a break and killing him when he’s at his desk. I got caught however and had to make a break for it. Then I infiltrated the ICA data banks by becoming the board member, but then I had to sneak into his apartment since I didn’t know the code, but then I heard the code when I answered his answering machine. I really like the introduction of keypads and hope they stay, they reward map knowledge and let you skip having every door be locked via lockpick. Then I distracted and KO-ed Imogen’s guard and pushed her off the data core railing. What proceeds is a great bit of fan service where it shows almost every target from the trilogy as 47 deletes the info ICA has on him and then one of my favourite moments of the series (in terms of scripted stuff, I’ll always prefer stuff like sniping Rico from the jungle) where you have to escape the burning facility while avoiding the now entirely hostile guards. I’m super glad this and other story beats are confirmed optional on replays, but I’d happily replay this regularly because it was so fun to Splinter Cell the level for the last minute

Mendoza: Another great level. I wasn’t expecting it to be so big but even that big field you can see over the balcony is explorable. Feels more like A Vintage Year throwback than Santa Fortuna was. I quite like the kill opportunities that I saw, sniping Yates from the top of his house and finding wine to serve Vidal was what I went for. Also love that Diana is in the level physically, she even hides behind a box if you caught an alert. Yates’ house is very intimate but very well designed. Wasn’t expecting the tactical wetsuit to be here as a disguise but it was a cool thing I found

The Train: this level is simultaneously an awesome and disappointing end to the trilogy. The idea itself is great and the hallucinations that begin the level are really imaginative, but that nightmare intro gameplay wise is just you walking forward. It’s the exact opposite of the reason why I like Hitman, I like Hitman because it isn’t like those triple A “walk forward while dialogue plays” kind of games. It’d maybe work better if they had you shoot every target you’ve ever killed in this dream and then top it off with the one proper gameplay moment that’s in the real thing where you press the button that kills Diana’s parents. Then the level itself after that intro is way too linear, I know it’s a train but there could’ve been way more options with how to go about it. There is a great final moment with Edwards and I love that it encourages combat for the first time in the trilogy, but it could’ve been a lot better. Ideally this would be the seventh level after a proper sixth but I think it’d be more palatable if it was more replayable than it is. Because at the moment it doesn’t have Contracts mode, probably won’t get escalations and definitely won’t get an ET. Which puts it behind Hawke’s Bay, which is a regular punching bag for its lack of content

The Story: surprisingly, I loved it. I’ve always thought this trilogy had excellent worldbuilding but used some plot contrivances to get from level to level. This time while the worldbuilding isn’t quite as solid the story is actually pretty great and goes in a lot of interesting directions which I think would make great sequel material. 47 essentially kills the ICA and the game ends with him and Diana becoming independent agents. So they’ll be doing the same thing without the immunity a giant organisation like the ICA has, which could lead to interesting conflict in the ninth Hitman game. I also like this game’s portrayal of the ICA, they’re a lot more professional than in Absolution but it goes for a similar take of showing how brutal they are

In Conclusion: For the most part Hitman 3 is excellent and I loved it, probably about as much as the previous Hitman 2 and the Paris level of Hitman 1 in terms of first time experiences with these games. There were some downs with the Carpathian Mountains and elements of the game design but it’s still another solid new Hitman game. I can understand why the reviewers loved this one over Hitman 2, while I loved that game’s levels this game’s levels feel a lot weirder and that’d leave a much stronger first impression. Ofc being the second sequel to 2016 nothing’s really changed much. While there are improvements to the way guns feel and the fluidity of 47’s movement it’s nothing groundbreaking. The new map features, while cool, aren’t selling points IMO. If you love Hitman buy this, if you love stealth buy this, if you love mucking about in a sandbox buy this, but if you’ve never been interested in Hitman or this gameplay style of Hitman it’s best to avoid this. It’s a very good third season of Hitman, whether you like it or not. In terms of my thoughts on the levels my personal ranking rn would probably be Chongqing > Mendoza Berlin> Dubai > Dartmoor > Carpathian Mountains (AKA the Train level)

#hitman 3 #hitman #gaming #hitman 3 spoilers #review #first impressions

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overlordofawesomeness · 3 years

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A Man for Himself (Norton xEli)

Genre: Romance, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy

Rating: R-18

Pairing: Norton x Eli | Prospector X Seer

Chapter Trigger Warning/s: N/A

Chapter 3

Darkness. Norton opened his eyes only to witness himself surrounded by darkness. The candle on his helmet barely provided light. It didn't do much of a help. However, upon examining his surroundings, he's able to identify his current location. He's inside a tunnel. And it wasn't an ordinary tunnel. This was the site where the tragedy had taken place.

His chest tightened. Suddenly, Norton felt claustrophobic. He's aware that this was merely a dream, but everything seemed real to him. He could feel the rough floor underneath his boots, the way it ground against his sole as he walked. The air felt damp and smelled like mud, like he was inside an unstable man-made cave that could collapse any second due to heavy rain. They were all too familiar sensations to him.

The tunnel seemed to go on endlessly whichever way he went. He tried to keep himself calm despite having a hard time breathing. Panicking would only burn whatever remaining oxygen he had around him. But then again, this was supposedly a dream. Dreams couldn't hurt him.

After a while of walking, the miner began to pick up his pace until he found himself running at full speed as if something sinister was after him. He dared not look back, afraid to confirm his imagination and be devoured by his fear. Running felt like an eternity to him until he tripped over a rock and fell. Or at least that's what he thought it was. He was out of breath, so he could only manage a soundless gasp when he realized that he'd fallen on a pile of decomposing bodies, their foul smell making it harder for him to breathe. Those were the corpses of the miners.

Norton picked himself up, but he slipped and fell as soon as he got up. He staggered back in panic, a scream he never imagined he'd ever make escaping his throat and echoing throughout the lonely tunnel. As he was trying to process everything, the burn scars on his face and body began to hurt as though they were fresh.

"You belong with us, Norton," said a voice in his head, sounding like it came from the abyss. "You should've died with us."

The miner began shaking, his hands gripping his head as if the action would get rid of the voice all the while kicking at the undead corpses that were starting to crawl towards him.

"No! Leave me alone!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to push the bodies off of him. "It was an accident!"

Yes, it's all an accident.

A corpse that had gaping sockets for its eyes managed to get on top of him and sit on his chest, squeezing the remaining air out of his lungs. In its bony hands was a large chunk of stone. It raised the stone in the air and was about to smash it onto his head when he managed to pull himself back to reality and wake up with a strangled scream.

Norton was drenched in sweat, his hair disheveled and his eyes wide in shock. The dream was over, yet his heart still beat so fast that it almost wanted to escape his ribs. Taking a few deep breaths, he ran his hands over his face and looked to the window. The light shone through its heavy white curtains, illuminating the entirety of the room. Somehow it gave him a sense of safety and security. It's good even though it's false.

"Had an eventful night, eh?"

Norton searched for the source of the voice and spotted the same gray-haired male from last night sitting in his bed across from his. He wouldn't have noticed his roommate's presence if he hadn't said anything.

"Who are you again?" the prospector inquired, blinking away his sleepiness.

"Your resident embalmer," the other responded as he secured his gloves. He seemed to be getting ready to leave. "Your teammates for today came over. They said they wanted to eat breakfast with you before the match," he continued. "I'm Aesop, by the way. I prefer working in peace, so I hope you won't be making noises in your sleep again." He stood up and picked up a case from his bedside table. "Norton, right? Stop living in the past. You're attracting Death. Don't make the same mistakes again."

He never left any room for Norton to respond. He walked out as soon as he finished his quick introduction. Norton figured his roommate wasn't a fan of social interaction. Not like it mattered.

Still groggy from his nightmare, the miner didn't want to waste time overanalyzing Aesop's ominous words. He stood up and took a towel from his drawer. A shower would help on clearing his head.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Campbell!"

Norton wasn't expecting himself to be invited to a morning tea party when he was told to meet his teammates. There was a stone pavement outside the manor house that led to a large pavilion. A few tables were set up and one of them was occupied by three women wearing fancy clothing. He felt a little underdressed with his dark green button-down and trousers.

The one who greeted him was a brunette wearing a blue hat, a frilly white blouse and a billowy skirt that was just as frilly. Her green eyes shone bright with her cheery smile. Her spirit seemed too high for someone who would be participating in a deadly game.

"Take a seat, please," she invited, standing up from her seat and pulling an empty chair for him, which he found surprising.

So polite. He gladly took the seat and smiled at the expecting faces.

"I'm Emma." She offered her hand and sat down. "And these are Helena and Martha. We'll be your teammates for today."

Norton shook the brunette's hand and scanned the faces of the two other women. One of them was a redhead, wearing a pink hat that resembled a cake with wafer sticks on top of it. Her dress was of the same shade with a mix of pastel green and had frills and ribbons. Overall, Norton had to admit that she's adorable and eye-catching especially when she tried pouring tea into empty air next to a cup in front of her. Hot water was about to spill from the pot when the woman next to her guided her hand in the right direction.

Helena giggled softly. "Oops. Sorry."

Norton didn't notice it earlier; but upon closer look, the girl appeared to have glassy eyes behind her round glasses. She's blind, and the stick that resembled a long lollipop resting against her chair was her cane.

How could a blind person join this game? How could she even decode those machines?

As if sensing his doubt, Emma scooted over and whispered, "Don't worry. Her blindness does not stop her from being an outstanding decoder. She's fast. But, of course, we need to protect her. And that's why we have Martha."

The miner turned his attention to Martha, a well-built woman with a curly side ponytail. Her hair seemed to have been dyed blue to match her clothes. She's wearing a white blouse with frills and a long white pencil skirt with blue stripes. Unlike the two girls, Martha had an air to her that made her different. Perhaps it's the pistol that sat next to her teacup. She seemed to radiate an aura of power and authority. A leader.

Still, Norton wondered why they were all dressed up for a party and why he wasn't given any notice.

"I'll do my best to keep everyone alive." Martha smiled in Helena's way, but the ginger wasn't aware of it. "Especially Helena. We can't lose her, so I'm counting on you to protect her." She faced Norton. "And you. I've heard that you've done a great job on your first match. Don't let us down."

Norton nodded and took a bagel from a woven basket at the center of the table. "I'm not promising anything, but I'll do my best."

He would never promise anything.

Eventually, he started to relax in his seat, enjoying the taste of pastry and sweetened tea. He might as well take his sweet time since he might not be able to get the chance to do it anymore after this.

"Good morning, Mr. Clark! Good morning, Mr. Subedar!" Emma stood up from her seat and waved her hands wildly in the air.

Norton's eyes followed the direction where the cheery girl was looking and found Eli and his grumpy buddy walking their way to the pavilion. Like the girls, they seemed to have received the notice to dress in eye-catching clothing.

Eli was wearing a gold-trimmed robe in a lighter shade of blue. It had patterns that resembled constellations. As if to complement him, Subedar was wearing formal clothes of the same shade. A suit with a hood and ruffles. On top of that, his hair seemed to have been dyed blue as well to match them.

"Aren't they just perfect?" Emma sighed dreamily, her eyes glued to the two men. "I had a chance to be on the same team with them before. They're amazing."

Eli waved back and smiled in their direction momentarily before turning his attention back to Naib. They were headed to a vacant table. Naib didn't seem to like when Norton looked at them as he shot daggers his way and moved to block the view of his partner.

"Hey, Emma." Norton took a sip from his cup. "Who's that guy with Eli?"

He'd already heard about Naib from Eli, but he didn't really know much about him except for the fact that he obviously didn't like Norton.

"That's Mr. Subedar," Emma answered. "He used to be a mercenary from what I've heard. He doesn't really interact with anyone that much except with Mr. Clark. They're always together; so if you want to know more about Mr. Subedar, you may need to ask Mr. Clark himself."

"I see." Norton nodded slowly.

Is he seeing me as a threat to their bond? Now that makes things more interesting.

Two more people joined the two men: William and a woman sitting on his shoulders. She was wearing a headdress that resembled the horns of a goat.

"Is that Fiona?" Norton asked, remembering the name from a conversation he'd heard from the previous night.

Emma nodded. "Ah, yes. Ms. Fiona Gilman."

"She's pretty," the miner commented, studying the woman's features.

Fiona had her red hair tied in a single side braid. She's wearing a purple hood over a black dress that had slits on either side that were too high Norton wondered if she was wearing any underwear. William had to be a saint to be able to endure that.

"Yes, she is," Emma agreed. "Makes us wonder why Mr. Clark still hasn't asked her out yet. We've been rooting for them since both of them get along really well when it comes to mysticism. You should see them when they talk about their gods. It's like we don't exist to them. But it seems like they're not interested in each other. After all, Mr. Subedar is always keeping Mr. Clark to himself."

"I think I understand why," Norton muttered under his breath. "It's not easy to find someone like Eli."

Eli was a gem. And Norton hated that fact.

* * *

Two cipher machines left. The last time Norton encountered someone from his team was when he saw Emma dismantling a rocket chair near a carousel. After that, he never saw any one of them again.

They were at an abandoned theme park. It's a large walled area that was divided in half by a river. Communication was impossible. He only knew that there were only two machines left since he heard multiple popping sounds. As to who the hunter was or where it was, he had no idea.

Inside a large tent, which he assumed to be previously called Circus Hullabaloo because of the sign outside, he was halfway on finishing a machine when tapping sounds caught his attention. He looked up to see that it was Helena limping towards him. Her pastel pink stockings were soaked with blood. There was a clean cut on one of her legs that seemed to have been made by a sharp blade.

"Help," she gasped, catching her breath.

Behind her was a large creature that resembled a large mechanical spider. Its large body was covered with a filthy rag. There were movements from underneath the cloth which made Norton's hair stand on end. Its legs were a combination of ball-jointed doll hands and large metal blades. What made it more hideous was the head that had a face of a marionette doll. It was terrifying.

Norton stepped out of the way when Helena reached her arms out to him. For a moment, he didn't say anything as if he's trying to conceal his presence from the blind girl. He was determined to abandon her; but in the end, he decided to grab her and lift her in his arms. He could've easily left her there, but it would be too cruel to leave a helpless blind girl in danger. He wasn't that remorseless.

One cipher machine popped. One more left. He had a bleeding girl in his arms, and they were both running for their lives.

#mara writes shite #fan fiction #idv #identity v #seer #prospector x seer #prospector #norton campbell #norton x eli #eli clark #norteli

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dreaming-gamer · 4 years

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Magic Touch – Nero X V Chapter 4

Firefighter Nero x Massage Therapist V

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story! 💜💜💜 I'm sorry this chapter took so long to finish, but it's longer than usual! I hope you enjoy! 😀😀😀

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Nero could admit he struggled to not gaze out his window, just to check the process of V’s move for the rest of the day. Whenever he realized his gaze had stuck on the moving truck, or just straight over to the other apartment, he tried to keep busy for a bit. Cleaning up his own apartment was an efficient way to get rid of some energy because hey, even though he hadn’t gotten V’s number this time either, at least they were actual neighbors! That was still something to be happy, not to mention feel hopeful about. When the apartment looked great, he sat down on the couch, trying to occupy his mind with checking the TV.

The distance between his and V’s new home was too far for Nero to really see what was going within the apartment but dammit if his curiosity didn’t make him try, even from the couch. But when sight didn’t help, he turned to imagination.

And when he had been imagining for long enough, at least until he realized that an episode of the current show Nico had ordered him to try watching, Once Upon a Time, had passed with him having no memories of what happened in it, he abruptly tried to stop. Not watching the show, that felt like something Kyrie would enjoy, rather than Nico that was usually so much more into sci-fi shows, but thinking about V.

Or at least trying to stop. The gears in his mind seemed determined to spin in only one direction, producing more thoughts about V.

Nero’s gaze went one more time toward the window and he groaned, stretching himself out further on the soft couch. With a jab at the remote, he paused the show and let his thoughts be heard. Maybe he could head over, just ask how the move was going? But V was probably too busy focusing on his new home to want to see Nero. Or maybe he’d be happy for the distraction? Maybe he wouldn’t mind Nero’s help?

But then again, V already had the help of the moving company to get his furniture in place… maybe Nero was just better off praying for them to meet in the door or something soon, but he had no clue how V’s schedule looked or anything and he still didn’t have that stupid number dammit—

A simple guitar riff, only a few notes, made him aware of a new message from none other than Nico. Stretching his arm toward the living room table, Nero grabbed his phone, unlocked it and swiped the screen once, revealing the message in its entirety. Not that the content made him any wiser.

“Alright, ya can thank me now.” That was all it said, together with a ton of emojis, including a satisfied devil emoji. Nico had cackled at him, through text, when he had revealed that V’s number had escaped him, yet again, but then she had gotten back to work. Rather than trying to figure out whatever crazy plot or invention she had come up with now, he found it easier to cut to the chase:

“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Nero sent back, checking what time it was. 16:42, meaning work was almost over for her, of course that meant she’d start texting again. It took mere moments for him to get the next message.

“Your mysterious massage therapist friend called a while ago! He’s coming around to pick up the car tomorrow instead so I’m giving you a heads up!” More emojis before the message continued. “But that’s not even the best part!”

Nero waited, for about a minute or two for the continuation, but there was none. With quick thumbs, he tapped a reply. The heads up was certainly a ticket for him to once again try to get V’s number… but what else had she planned?

“Don’t leave me hanging! What’s the best part?”

“He asked if there was any way to rent a car trailer, says there’s something he needs to pick up. I asked what and he said bookshelves! Big ones!”

“How’s that the best part? Not following, Nico!”

“Duh! Ya don’t got work tomorrow, right? I told ‘im there’s one in the back that Dante’s not using. And that ya can help him out!”

Nero stared at the screen. Was she serious? His heart sped up from the feeling of hope.

“What did he say?!” Had V accepted the suggestion?

“I think ya might have a shot here Romeo, cuz he said yes, if yer fine with it. Took the liberty to say yeah for ya, so ya better holler yourself over here tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon, sharp!”

“Got it, will be there!” Nero hadn’t really asked for this favor but… it was nice of her to arrange it. “Thanks, I owe ya.”

“Music to ma ears!” Lots of emojis followed. “I’ll call in the favor when needed.” The mischievous emoji that followed made him think that she might have watched the show just a little too much recently.

“I took a break from watching. And I can get you an iced latte tomorrow.”

“That’s what I wanna hear! Make it extra strong and ask for some cream on top!”

Nero shook his head with a grin, Nico was the same as ever and while he wouldn’t admit it to her face, he loved her for it.

“Roger that.”

***

Nero felt like giving a shout of victory when the clock finally closed in on 4 ‘o clock. Anticipation had kept him checking the time way too often during the day, only to find that not as much time as he had hoped had passed, every check. But now, with half an hour to spare, he was ready, dressed in a chill hoodie with short sleeves and a new pair of shorts as he descended the steps. Maybe he should knock on V’s door and ask if he wanted to walk together to the garage, or he could simply walk ahead and meet V there…

Nero’s thoughts were cut short as V emerged from his new apartment building, wearing a cotton shirt, with only a few of the buttons buttoned over a black t-shirt with no print, and black trousers. The massage therapist seemed to notice him immediately, meeting him without a cane in his hands today.

“Good afternoon, Nero.” His voice was deep, smooth and accompanied by that smirk that made the butterflies in Nero’s stomach return full force.

“Hey.” Nero grinned back. “Heard from Nico you need some help. What was it, picking up bookshelves?”

V’s smirk remained and he gave a little nod.

“That is correct. She offered your assistance, with the words that you don’t have work today.”

“Well, she was right. Just promised her to get an iced latte before showing up at the garage, you fine with making that small detour?”

“No problem at all.” V claimed as they started to walk to their destination.

“So how’s it going, settling in and all?” Nero was looking forward to seeing a glimpse of how V’s apartment could look, even if it was probably a bit messy still.

“The furniture is all in place thankfully. I do admit that the unpacking of the boxes has not been as… swift as I would have liked. I had to leave for work, just after the moving company left yesterday.”

“Whoa, were you okay getting there without your car?” Nero wondered, there weren’t that many buses that passed by V’s working place, from what he knew.

“Let’s just say I arrived… a while before my assigned time, courtesy to the bus.” V smirked.

“Man, if I’d known, I’d have given you a ride again.” The words slipped out of Nero’s mouth before he even had time to think about them. “Didn’t have work yesterday.”

“I see. Thank you, for the offer.”

In his peripheral vision, Nero noticed that devilish smirk soften a bit. The butterflies in his stomach flew around with greater force.

“No need to thank me when the offer’s a bit too late!” He pointed out, one hand scratching the back of his head.

“Hm. I’d say that it’s the thought that counts.” V replied, just as they arrived at the café.

"You want anything?" Nero offered, he didn't need anything for himself, but it was a hot day.

"I'm fine, thank you." While Nero went inside, meeting the pleasant chill of an aircon, V waited outside on a bench in the shade. With V's sort of pale complexion, Nero had a feeling the sun could be an enemy. It didn’t take long for Nero to appear again, holding the iced latte, custom made after Nico's preferences.

Had Nero been the one waiting on that bench, he knew he would have had his focus on some silly mobile game or something. But V? His eyes seemed glued to the pages of a leatherbound book, with an emblazoned V on the cover.

"That's how you got your nick?" Nero joked with a nod to the book.

V chuckled.

"I admit it is my favorite… But that is not the case. It's the fifth edition." He replied, standing up. As V left the shade, Nero could see hints of dark bags under V’s eyes.

“Of what? Poetry?” Nero guessed, did novels even get published in five editions?

“Correct.” V smirked. “Shall we?”

“Yeah.” Nero nodded, matching the massage therapist’s stride while holding back a comment to ask if V had been sleeping too little. There was a slight slouch to V’s shoulders too, Nero noted.

The last of the walk didn’t take them long, the iced latte in Nero’s hand still cold when they stepped into the garage, Nico greeting them with a grin.

“Hiya! Yer beauty is all ready, attached the car trailer for ya!” She proclaimed, handing the car keys to V.

“Thank you, I’m glad to hear it. I shall return it tomorrow.” V took the keys with a polite smile.

“Great! There’s just the little extra payment for renting that, so let’s get it outta the way huh?” Nico showed the way towards the office, grabbing the iced latte from Nero with a wink and a grin. V followed her, while Nero remained, glancing at V’s car. It did look better than it had when it had been standing by the road, dripping oil a few days ago. And now, they were neighbors. Actual neighbors. Nero sometimes felt like he needed to pinch himself to be sure this wasn’t a dream...

It didn’t take long for Nico and V to return, the massage therapist giving Nero a smile.

“Are we ready then?”

Nico grinned knowingly at Nero from behind V, giving him a knowing grin as if to say: “Oh, I think yer ready alright.”

Nero had to fight the urge to roll his eyes at her, because V wasn’t aware of what was happening behind his back.

“Yeah, ready when you are. Let’s go. See you around, Nico.”

“See ya!” The mechanic grinned at them and opened up the garage gate for them, while the guys got into the car. Inside, the car seemed very clean, mostly because there wasn’t a lot of things in it. Nero only spotted a pair of sunglasses, close to the gear lever. The seats were old, like the rest of the car, but clean and comfortable. Upon starting, the engine sounds were surprisingly pleasant, not really rumbling, but rather a soft purring.

Nero waved at Nico as they passed the garage gate, just as she pulled out a cigarette to smoke. V’s driving was calm and steady.

“I’m grateful you agreed to help me with this, Nero.” The massage therapist admitted softly.

“Hey, no worries. Are we heading for the furniture store?”

“Not exactly, I found an advertisement.” V replied. “As long as you pick the bookshelves up yourself, they are completely free. The lady that posted the offer is apparently moving to a much smaller space, and will have no room for them.”

“Sounds like a great deal to me.” Nero grinned, and honestly, with V’s arms so twiggy… he could imagine why he needed some help.

When they arrived and he got to see the size of the two bookshelves himself, he was definitely glad he’d accompanied V. The bookshelves looked nice, he could admit, but they were two meters tall and made of rather heavy wood. With his regular training as a firefighter, Nero wasn’t worried for himself, but could V take it..?

He got his answer pretty quickly, since they had to cooperate to get the bookshelves onto the car trailer and Nero’s uncertainty must have shown, because V sent him a smirk when they grabbed a hold of a side each.

“I am not so frail Nero, remember?”

“Right, sorry.” The tips of Nero’s ears burned, he remembered very well how V had proved the strength, or perhaps rather technique he had, despite his lean frame. Both of them giving a nod, they started to carry the first shelf between them. It was heavy, but Nero’s grip was firm and he walked slowly to make sure V could keep up. With just one verbal confirmation that everything was going alright on both sides, they soon loaded the first shelf onto the car trailer and their cooperation went just as seamlessly with the second one.

“Well, that went great!” Nero grinned, tightening the last strap around the furniture before they could go and he was delighted to see V smirk back at him.

“Indeed. Let us hope it will go as smoothly, transporting them up three floors.”

Nero couldn’t lie, it sounded heavy. But it also meant he’d see a glimpse of V’s new apartment.

“Don’t worry, we got this.” His grin widened at the amused grin in V’s eyes.

***

“You… have been a great help.” Nero turned to find V smiling at him.

The apartment was still rather chaotic, consisting of two rooms. Taped boxes were still stacked here and there but from the furniture, most of it in wooden, natural colors, that was already in place, the apartment seemed nice. The smaller room contained the bed and now, the two bookshelves against the opposite wall.

“Told you we got this. No need to thank me.” Nero grinned.

Nero wondered how many bookshelves one person could need, because he counted four big ones, so far, compared to the single one in his own home. And he had lost count of how many of the boxes had “books” written on them.

“I would still like to. Would you like to stay for dinner? If you do not mind takeout? My treat.” V suggested.

Nero’s heart did a small, happy jump in his chest.

“Sounds great, I’m craving some good Chinese.”

V chuckled.

“Then perhaps you have a good recommendation?” He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly, with that charming little smirk on his lips.

“You bet I do.”

***

“I am honestly surprised you could eat that.” V looked at him curiously, when Nero finished his takeout dish of hot noodles, the sauce spicy and a bit sweet due to the touch of peanut. V’s vegetable wok looked really tasty too, but he was eating much slower than Nero.

“It’s not that spicy, just a pleasant tingle on my lips.”

“I would most likely find that too much. I do not eat spicy dishes very often.” V admitted, putting down his finished box on the round living room table before leaning back into the couch.

After all the unpacking, there seemed to be a slight slouch to V’s shoulders, even though he was sitting down to relax. It had been a nice experience, eating takeout by someone else’s living room table for once. Since Nero broke up with Kyrie, it hadn’t really been a common occurence to eat with someone else.

“You know, I could massage you?” The words stumbled out of Nero’s mouth before he had time to think about them.

V’s eyes widened.

“Pardon?”

“You look like your shoulders could need it. Come on, I can at least try, right?” Nero pressed, hoping the grin on his face looked as innocent as he wanted it to be.

V’s lips curled into a small smile.

“Very well.” With long fingers, he started to unbutton the soft cotton shirt, as he turned his back to Nero. The intricate patterns of the tattoos on his arms came into view, as he was now wearing only a black t-shirt on his upper body.

“I will tell you if you need to use more… force.” V’s tone was teasing.

Nero snorted, but the sound came out more as a chuckle.

“I apologized, didn’t I? Maybe you should tell me when I need to use less.” Nero set his hands on V’s slim shoulders and started to knead. Careful touches wasn’t his strong suit, but Nero did try to not put too much force into his palms or fingers. V’s skin was so pale under the tattoos, looked like it could bruise from so little, but he didn’t seem to complain yet. Until Nero found a rather big knot and V’s entire being stiffened.

“Sorry, too much?” Nero was about to take his hands off him, but V’s voice made him pause.

“No, if you do not mind… continue. It would help a great deal… to get rid of it.” V sounded like he was talking through clenched teeth.

“You sure?” Nero was doing this to help him relax, not make him stiff with pain!

“It will be worth it. And a knot like this is quite hard to get rid of, on your own.” The massage therapist replied firmly. Nero didn’t find it within himself to refuse, because V looked like he honestly could need it. Especially after the bookshelves they had worked together to carry up the stairs.

“Alright, if you say so…” Nero slowly put his hands more firmly on V’s shoulders, closing in on the knot and started to knead at it a bit more gently. He shifted between using his fingers and his palms, took note of when V seemed to be pained, or when he was fine. V gave him some pointers that made it easier to focus. Heat engulfed Nero’s fingers, not just from the massage he was giving, but also from how V’s pale skin was flushing so red that Nero could feel the heat through the t-shirt.

When Nero felt the knot dissolve a few minutes later, he swore he could both see and feel V’s back sag, a light sigh escaping the therapist’s lips. It wasn’t hard to feel that there were a few more minor knots here and there, but for now, maybe this would have to do. Nero used his fingers and knuckles for some gentle strokes over V’s skin. The massage therapist said nothing, his head sagging a little bit, as if he was collecting himself.

“Hey, lean back a bit.” Nero suggested, before he gently pulled on V’s shoulders, keeping his grip steady and V didn’t protest, letting himself be guided backwards. He blinked as his head ended up in Nero’s lap, but his eyes remained half-lidded.

“Blood rush to your brain?” Nero guessed with a smile, wow, V’s black hair looked silky, this close.

“Yes, a minor one.” V replied quietly, remaining where he was. Nero noted the dark bags under those beautiful green eyes again and the realization ached in his chest.

“You’re taking care of people for a living, but who’s taking care of you?” The words slipped out without Nero meaning to say them. The move, his work… V seemed to be working himself too hard.

V’s eyes widened, just a tiny bit, as if he clearly was not expecting those words. He opened those plump lips, paused before letting them form a fond smile.

“You need not worry, it is just a stressful period. Once I am more properly settled in, I am sure it will be better.”

“You’re not doing anything relaxing each week, are you?” Nero tried to keep his voice light and casual, but he found himself unwilling to let the subject go, just yet.

V chuckled, a light hint of tiredness in the sound.

“Are you using the words of my profession against me?”

“It seems like I need to.” Nero pointed out, then he puckered his lips in a rather humorous manner.

“One relaxing activity per week, like a bath… or a swim. Or if you find it relaxing, a massage.” He made sure to make his voice sound deliberate and deep, but in a completely over the top way.

Another chuckle left V, sounding close to a laugh.

“I do not sound like that. Nor do I look like that.”

“You do.” Nero grinned, still using his makeshift voice.

V stilled his next chuckle and locked eyes with him.

“Then, are you offering?” The smirk that grew on his face gave Nero’s good shivers down his back. Until he realized his mind had ground to a halt. Had he heard that right? V just watched him and Nero wasn’t sure what was on offer here.

“Huh?”

“To remind me, once per week. We will be living… close to each other now so perhaps… we can remind each other? Once per week, to do something relaxing.” V explained smoothly, observing his confusion, while Nero was still processing what he had heard. It sounded like he was dreaming.

Something forlorn came over V’s green eyes and he averted his gaze, but the smirk remained. “Pardon if my suggestion does not sit well with you, never mind it--”

“Sure.” The word stumbled out of Nero’s mouth, but he had never felt more sure about anything before. Whatever those moments would include just a massage or two, or a small talk or maybe… maybe a date, he didn’t know but either way, he was all for reminding V to relax, at least once a week. “Definitely, I’m in. It’s a good plan.” He quickly added, almost rambling. His heart skipped a beat when V’s smirk softened into a smile, his green eyes lighting up with mirth.

“I’m glad to hear it.” He replied softly, slowly straightening up from Nero’s lap, the slouch to his shoulders less noticeable.

Nero was watching him and V was observing him in turn. The living room was still filled with a few boxes, the smell of Chinese food in the air. Nero couldn’t help it, his eyes went to those plump, attractive lips.

V seemed to notice, as he chuckled. The flushed skin on his neck and shoulders wa returning to its original color. Tattoos peeked out under his t-shirt, just a few lines on his throat and Nero wondered again, how much they must have hurt to make.

Nero felt a shiver down his spine as V’s long, slightly cool fingers cupped his warm cheek.

This was happening. His heart beat like crazy as he leaned in, feeling V’s warm exhale on his lips…

And V’s phone rang.

He didn’t miss the flash of defeat in V’s eyes. Nero’s hand reached for V’s cheek, about to silently ask him to ignore it, just for now.

“Pardon me.” V said quietly, pulling away as he stood up, moved to collect his phone on the kitchen counter. Nero lowered his hand, along with the stone forming in his stomach.

“Yes?”

What followed was conversation that Nero barely caught, because he sank into the couch with a huge sigh. His heart still beat hard, like a drum at a festival. It had been so close! And V seemed occupied with whatever the call was about, in the kitchen.

Was the moment stolen? Gone? Would they continue when V returned? Nero felt himself gripping one of the soft cushions V had placed on the couch earlier, he really didn’t know what to do with his hands, or himself.

“I beg your pardon, I am a bit preoccupied at this… yes, yes… Is there truly no one else that can…?” A pause, a soft inhale of breath. “Very well, I understand. I will arrive shortly.” Nero didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but his stomach dropped at the words. It felt like V’s chance for relaxation tonight was slipping out of his fingers.

The apologetic look on V’s face as he returned, confirmed his suspicions.

“I apologize, but I appear to be urgently needed elsewhere.”

Nero gave a small nod, holding in the disappointment that created a small twinge in his chest. V looked bothered, so Nero pushed it down, for now.

“Everything alright?”

“I am part of a… association for literature lovers, I suppose you could call it. We are but a group of individuals that sometime gather for discussions about various pieces of literature. We sometimes attempt to arrange various activities, such as book fairs.” V explained, seemingly checking his schedule in a leather bound calendar. There was no sound of a sigh on his lips, but it could be seen in how his shoulders seemed to tense, again.

“We are meant to host a public poetry reading, pretty soon. I have been asked to help arrange it, as well as participating. Now, we have encountered some unforeseen difficulties and my presence has been requested to solve it.” V looked up again, lips slightly parted. The mirth in his eyes from earlier seemed replaced by determined calculation.

Nero felt his heart sink, for two reasons. The moment was completely gone with the wind, or rather the tones of a cellphone signal. And V was probably not going to relax anymore tonight.

“I truly apologize, Nero.” V said, his tone quiet. “I’m afraid I must be going.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Nero assured quickly. Sure, he was disappointed that this was cut short, but it seemed to be for something really important for V. Poetry seemed to be so close to his heart. Nero didn’t want to stand in the way for that, he rose from the couch easily. “It’s fine, really. We can just do this… some other time?” There was a small hope in his voice, he couldn’t help it.

V smiled, his gaze softening a bit.

“Yes, I would like that. Let’s remind each other, once per week.”

“Once a week.” Nero agreed, as V followed him to the door of the apartment where half of the things still needed to be put in order. “You taking the car?”

“No, it is within walking distance.” Nero opened his mouth, about to offer to walk with him, but slowly closed it again. Perhaps V needed time to think, he didn’t want to act stubborn. Silence drifted between them, broken only by their steps down the stairs.

“Oh, and Nero?” V said as they stepped outside his apartment building, about to separate. “Thank you for the wonderful massage.”

Nero felt his cheeks, as well as the tips of his ears blush red at the compliment, especially since that smirk was in place again. V chuckled as he held his cane in a sure grip.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, later!” The heat in Nero’s cheeks didn’t lessen as he watched V go. A massage therapist, a poet. A man with a determined gaze and a new apartment, suddenly living right across the street from Nero’s.

He walked into his own apartment, touching his lips lightly, feeling those damn butterflies flutter around in his stomach again. It had been so close and yet so far. But they had made a promise now, there was hope. And Nero had a plan, he’d just go get some paper from his apartment…

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Tagging: @la-vita and @thedyingmoon 💜💜💜

#devil may cry fanfiction #devil may cry #nero #v #nero x v #magic touch #chapter 4 #au #my fic #my writing #dmc5 nero #dmc5 v

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dregstrash · 5 years

Text

Fever Dreams and Shadow Games

A/N: Co-written by the amazing and talented @wafflesandkruge and we’re so happy to finally be able to share this with you all!

You can also find it here on AO3

Tagging: @aditiiparasharr @strummoner @itsbrilliantjustlikeyou @but-she-was-aelin-galathynius @shadowbusiness @privateerrezni @roonill--wazlib @the-jennster @the-regal-warrior @kazual-crow @ipizzippy

CHAPTER 1: Deals with Demons

Dark tents, the thrum of over-eager bodies, men and women in painted costumes. Nikolai smiled to himself as he looked at the display before him, and couldn’t help but feel at home. After growing up in a household with a father who was on the border of being a rake, and a mother who thought herself a queen, his childhood felt like a constant dance of endless parties that swirled around painted clowns and false tricks.

He took a deep breath and inhaled the sharp smell of sweat, popcorn, and sugar interlaced with the smoke that had become a permanent feature of the London sky. He could practically taste the excitement and the mystery in the air, and he wished that he could join the smiling crowd who “oohed” and “ahhed” at the displays of the sideshow and the decorations set up. But he couldn’t. Tonight wasn’t the night for his attention to be captured by the mystery of the Cirque de Lie. He kept his gaze low and on the people surrounding him. He strained to spot any sign of the messenger that was supposed to meet him. He took his pocket watch out to mark the time.

He’s late, he thought snapping his watch shut.

Nikolai had no choice but to follow the line of people inside the big top tent and search the stands for the section printed on his ticket. That’s when a raggedy boy ran up to him. A small silver crow pin was fastened to the side of his cap.

“Note for ya, Mister.” He said, shoving a scrap of paper into Nikolai’s hands.

Nikolai nodded and dropped a few shilling into his waiting palm before moving to the side, away from potential prying eyes. By the dim lantern light, he squinted and deciphered the untidy and familiar scrawl.

“West end tent, half-past midnight, don’t be late, don’t be followed. -K”

Nikolai smiled at the brevity, then made sure to light the note up with the set of matches he had in his coat.

The note caught and was soon nothing more than another pile of ashes trampled into the packed dirt floor.

The lights began to dim, and string music struck up from an unseen section of the stage. Nikolai found his seat, and let himself relax slightly. The beat of strong drums reverberated through the space, and in a flash of smoke and a bang, Kaz Brekker, Ringmaster of the Cirque de Lie, emerged from the fog resplendent in his signature suit and top hat. The crowd roared in delight. Nikolai just smiled.

Yes, tonight was all about business, but Kaz did put on a spectacular show, and he would be a fool to not enjoy himself.

It was the circus after all. ---

The tents at the west end of the encampment were cloaked in shadows. To Nikolai’s understanding, this was where the performers and crew members retired for the night. But as of right now, the canvas stood empty and stoic, betraying no movement or life.

The sounds of the dispersing crowd had all but faded into the night, and the comforting glow of the lantern light was nowhere to be found.The only thing that gave Nikolai any sense of life was the large, hulking form of a man in front of the grandest tent in the space.

Nikolai opened his mouth to state his intent, but the man just gave him a once over and jerked his head towards the tent.

“He’s expecting ya, sir.” He said gruffly.

Nikolai nodded, and stepped into the dark tent. A warm fire blazed in the center of the room where an opening had been made to let out the smoke, and sitting in a large desk right by it was the man of the hour.

“Lantsov,” Kaz rasped as a greeting.

“Mr. Brekker.” Nikolai said back, not waiting for an invitation to take a seat in front of the oak table. “Fantastic show as always.”

He huffed, neither confirming or denying the statement.

“You’re running for chairman of the city council.” Kaz hadn’t looked up from whatever he was reading. “You’re losing.”

Nikolai chuckled, “I hope you didn’t waste any of your good spies for that bit of information, Brekker. That’s not a secret.”

“No, it’s not. But what is secret is the fact that you’re a Red sympathizer.”

Kaz’s dark eyes met Nikolai’s, and he fought the urge to tense at the accusation.

“Rumors and speculation are hardly good basis for fact.”

“Yet they all have a little bit of truth hidden within their folds.” The young man leaned away from his desk, sinking further away from the light of the fire. “It’s also the reason why you’re losing to the likes of your idiot older brother and that eccentric duke’s son.”

“I didn’t take you as a politics man.”

“I’m not. I tend to be on the side of those who could be most useful.”

Nikolai raised his eyebrows at that. When he didn’t say anything, Kaz continued.

“Talk like that might get you support from the suffragettes, the factory workers, and some of the quieter nobles, but that means practically nothing. Those kinds of rumors only alienate you from the other councilmen, and those are the bastards that apparently matter.” Nikolai didn’t bother ask where he got that information. Kaz always had a way of knowing things that he shouldn’t. It made him a terrifying enemy, and an indispensable ally. “What you need is the police chief’s endorsement to sway the vote to you.”

“I might just fire Zoya as my campaign manager, and hire you instead.” he said, grinning.

Kaz’s face remained still. “I doubt Nazyalensky would let you live if you were to deliver that kind of news.” He shrugged. “Besides, you couldn’t afford me.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Not being able to sit still, Nikolai got up and started to pace in front of the desk, “Don’t think you’ve concocted some brilliant plan, Brekker. I know that I need the police chief’s endorsement, but the fact of the matter is that Rollins hates me.”

“Rollins hates anyone with a spine.” There was a sharper edge to Kaz’s words that had Nikolai looking back at him. A brief flash of absolute murder flickered in those dark eyes, before returning back to its indifference. Had he imagined that?

“I suppose this has something to do with the information you have for me tonight.”

This time it was the boy who grinned, a sharp and wicked thing that would make hardened soldiers flee. “You were always a smart one.”

Kaz got up and limped over to where Nikolai was. He caught sight of the crow head cane supporting most of his weight. Not for the first time, Nikolai wondered what had happened to the boy who was four years his junior. He was far too young to have fought in the War, but the haunted look in his eyes always reminded Nikolai of the older soldiers he sometimes paid visits to. He had never asked about Kaz’s past, but he highly doubted that he would answer honestly anyway.

“Here.” Kaz handed him a sheet of parchment. He squinted and read the contents of the note.

“A shipment of Parem? In London?” Nikolai said incredulously. While the use of opium, cocaine, and morphine ran commonly enough in the streets, there have been whispers of a newer and more intoxicating drug being distributed amongst the slums and the coast.

Kaz nodded grimly. “Rollins is supervising the shipment and distribution himself.”

“If people knew...that would ruin him.” Realization flashed through Nikolai’s mind, and he almost laughed outright. “You want him ruined.”

“I want him eviscerated.” Another flash of that feral emotion, disappearing just as fast. “But I’ll settle for ruin for now. With him gone whoever’s the next in line to take the position could be more in your favor.”

“Why?” Nikolai said crossing his arms, giving his companion a long look. If Kaz had any sort of ulterior motive, his face betrayed nothing. “Why help me?”

He shrugged. “You and I have a shared interest for the moment, and like I said, you’re useful to me. Like I can be useful to you.”

“You sure know how to woo a man, Brekker.” Kaz gave him a blank stare, and Nikolai sighed as he fought the urge to run his hand over his face. “So you want to help me get elected?”

“Not necessarily, but I can run Rollins out of office.”

“I’m assuming that the future of a better London isn’t going to be payment enough?” Nikolai paused and weighed the cost in his mind. Zoya would hate him for even considering Kaz’s help. “Usual bounty for exposing corrupt politicians is five thousand pounds, I’ll give you ten.”

“I’m not in the business of doing charity, Lantsov. Rollins has been re-elected three times with no one stopping him, and I’m getting rid of an official that’s been a pain in your ass for the last year. I’ll take thirty.”

“Thirty thousand pounds?!” Nikolai exclaimed. “What makes you think I have that kind of money?”

“I could ask for more if we are basing this off of what I know of your inheritance.” He rested his hands on his cane, giving Nikolai a self-satisfied smile.

Nikolai scowled. Thirty thousand pounds was a lot, but then again how much did he spend on travel and campaign expenses in the last month? And what did that get him? An overzealous mob who could promise him nothing. Thirty thousand pounds could get him an endorsement, and on top of that Rollins’s reign of terror would finally come to an end. Surely, the benefits outweighed the cost.

Kaz Brekker was a man who dealt in tricks and secrets. He was an untrustworthy showman with a strong likelihood to ruin Nikolai’s reputation. However, he could be the only solution to this situation. Zoya’s glare surfaced in his mind, and Nikolai pushed the image away. He’d deal with her reaction later.

“You have a deal, Brekker.” Nikolai extended his hand. “Thirty thousand pounds to expose Rollins and help my campaign.”

“One last thing,” Kaz’s smile was a razor blade and Nikolai had a sinking feeling that he was the one to get more out of this bargain. “If we’re jumping into bed together, I’m going to need you to trust me.”

Nikolai felt his brow furrow. “As a rule, I don’t usually trust people whose livelihoods depend on tricks.”

“You’re going to have to make an exception. No questions. No pestering. Just your trust that I’ll get the job done.”

Nikolai opened his mouth to clarify, but thought better of it. Some things were best left to mystery, and when the hammer came down, he had an inkling that he would rather be kept in the dark to whatever Kaz was planning.

“Fine.” Nikolai thought for a moment, flicking at a nonexistent piece of dust on his suit.

“One last thing: I’m going to need an invite to that big fancy party you have tomorrow at Smeet’s house.”

“Be careful, Brekker, any more conditions and I’ll start to think you’re cheating me.” The younger man didn’t respond. “And why, pray tell, do you need to go to the house of one of the most sought out lawyers of the city?”

“I thought you’d trust me.”

“A decision I am currently regretting.” Another pause, and Nikolai sighed, “Alright. I’ll make the arrangements.”

“The deal’s the deal then.”

They shook hands, and Nikolai fought the shudder that tingled at the back of his neck.

What was it that his mother said when he was a child?

“Be careful of quick demons for they make deals in the dark and then eat your heart in the sun.”

--------

Kaz left the main section of his camp as soon as Nikolai left. His leg was aching again. It was always worse in London. It was as if the injury remembered its origins and was making sure to remind Kaz that it was his fault for its misery.

He rubbed at the place above his knee before he crossed a hidden slit in his tent that led to the dining area. There were few things Kaz learned during his time with Haskell, but the one that really stuck was the need for a ringleader to have space. Haskell had settled for a medium sized tent furbished with liquor and whatever old men filled their time with. Kaz didn’t want to settle. He made himself an entire space that guaranteed separation and privacy.

The sounds of his most trusted crew members eating and drinking did little to relax him, but it was a familiar sound at least.

“Ah, the mighty ringmaster makes an appearance.” Jesper grinned. He was still wearing the sparkling green pants that was part of his costume, but his exposed brown chest glinted warmly against the lanterns lit in the space. Kaz didn’t miss the way Wylan’s eyes kept straying over to his friend’s display of skin, and Kaz rolled his eyes at the slight blush that was staining his cheeks.

“Fahey, put on a shirt will you?” Kaz said dropping down to the chair at the head of the table. He needed everyone to focus on what he was going to say, and if Jesper caught Wylan staring, that was going to be a whole other headache he didn’t want to deal with.

Instead of following directions, Jesper just grinned and leaned forward on the table. “I don’t mind you staring, Kaz.”

He returned a blank stare. “Well I mind that Van Eck won’t be able to concentrate, so just do it.”

Wylan’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “I wasn’t looking!”

Jesper just gave him a wolfish grin before picking up a discarded shirt.

“What’s so important this couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?” Nina yawned from her place by Matthias’s shoulder.

“We have a job.”

“Like another performance?” Wylan squeaked in an attempt to regain his composure.

Before Kaz could respond, a warm voice materialized behind him. “Kaz just had a meeting with Mister Lantsov.”

It was no surprise Inej had been spying on him, she wasn’t his best spy for nothing after all.

“Ooh…” Nina crooned fixing Kaz with an amused smirk, “Which Mister Lantsov? The stuck-up stupid one or the handsome, Communist one?”

“The latter.”

Matthias’s eyebrows sunk down at the mention of Nina’s description, Kaz was surprised his scowl could deepen further. “The man who claims to be able to fix the class gap and makes false promises to the poor?”

“That very one.” Kaz agreed, taking a long sip from a glass of wine. “And we’re going to help him.”

#six of crows #soc #king of scars #kos #the dregs #kaz #inej #kanej #zoya #nikolai #zoyalai #fdsg #the Grishaverse #soc fanfiction #kos fanfiction

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darkvalkyrie6 · 4 years

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Catch the dream

I was moving stuff around my room and saw something that gave me the idea for this story. From this simple Item, my imagination came up with this. I hope you like it :)

I didn't use any movies, books or series for inspiration, the story is my original work. It’s still just a story, like all of my other stores. It doesn’t have a deeper spiritual, moral or ethical meaning.

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When Sofia remembered her dreams, she only remembered the nightmares, never pleasant dreams. In the last few months, she had a nightmare every night. There was no connection between the nightmares every nightmare was different. The only thing that repeated in the nightmares was that Sofia saw a man dressed in black and purple each time He was always there but she could never see his face.

Some nightmares were about natural disasters, some about running through the woods away from zombies, a lot of them were about parts of her body falling off and one of the most disturbing was the one where all her teeth fell out. Sofia also hated the ones where she was traped or tied down to a table and tortured. Each time she had that kind of nightmare she woke up all covered in sweat, breathing heavily.

Her boyfriend Aiden started to worry about her. It wasn’t normal for someone to have nightmares each day. When Sofia told him about her last nightmare, where Sofia was at her own funeral, burying her dead body and watching bugs and maggots eat her. Her dead body tried to scream, but couldn’t. Aiden decided that having such nightmares for months wasn’t normal, so he went to a store and bought a dream catcher. The woman selling them assured him that it will work and if it doesn’t that she’ll give him the money back.

Happy that he did something to help Sofia, Aiden came home and drilled a hole over Sofia’s side of the bed. He hanged the dream catcher and waited for Sofia to come home from work. After she came back, he immediately took her to the bedroom and, with a smile on his face, showed her the dream catcher.

“A dream catcher. Are you serious? You do know that they don’t work Aiden?” Sofia said.

“What’s the harm in trying it? Maybe it will help. You never know.” Aiden said. “Wouldn’t you like to sleep normally for a change?”

“Oh yes! I had enough of these nightmares.” Sofia said.

“Then wats the harm. Let’s try it. The lady at the shop told me that if it doesn’t work she’ll give me my money back.” Aiden said.

“Ok. I’ll try it.” Sofia said. “Now, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

After dinner, they watched a movie and drank some beers to relax. Around midnight they went to sleep. Sofia lay down on her side of the bed and looked doubtfully toward the dream catcher. It looked like a normal circle, with strings imitating a spider’s web inside, decorated with beads and feathers. Sofia knew about dream catchers and she knew that it was just a marketing scam for superstitious people. But Aiden looked happy that he found a way to help her so she couldn’t break his heart. She decided to let it hang on the wall for a few days and let Aiden see that there was no point to them.

In the morning, Sofia woke up, rested and refreshed. She couldn’t remember her dreams, she couldn’t remember the nightmare. Sofia looked at the dreamcatcher and it seemed like half of one of the strings in the circle was glowing purple. Sofia woke up Aiden and hugged him telling him that she didn’t have a nightmare and pointing at the string in on the dream catcher. Aiden was happy that the dream catcher worked, but he couldn’t see the string glowing. Sofia gave it no more thought, she rushed out of bed happy and made breakfast.

After months of nightmares and sleepless nights, Sofia felt like a different person. Even people at work looked asked her what happened and gave her compliments that she looked better. Sofia still couldn’t believe that a simple thing like a dream catcher actually worked.

Next few months Sofia slept peacefully. She had more energy, her relationship with Aiden got better, they were doing so well that Sofia thought that he’ll propose to her soon, and she could concentrate more easily at work.

It seemed like without the nightmares she finally had a normal life. The only thing bothering her that each morning, when she woke up, another piece of the string in the circle of the dream catcher glowed purple. This morning almost all the strings were glowing purple.

Sofia asked Aiden where she bought the dream catcher and he gave her the address of the store. After work, she went to the store to talk to the person who sold the dream catcher to Aiden, to ask about the glowing strings. When she got there, an old woman was sitting at the counter so she headed towards her.

“Sorry, I don’t want to bother you, but I have some questions.” Sofia said.

“Yes, how can I help you?” The old woman said.

“My boyfriend bought a dream catcher from your store a few months back and there is a problem with it.” Sofia said.

“If it doesn’t work I’ll give you money back.” The old woman said.

“That’s not the problem. It works perfectly, but something’s wrong with it. Almost all of my strings in the circle are glowing purple.” Sofia said.

“If it’s working no money back.” The old woman said.

“I don’t want money. I want to know why the strings are glowing. What does it mean?” Sofia asked.

“You don’t want money. Then I tell you. Your nightmares are in the strings of the circle, but they only glow when something is trying to get them out.” The old woman said.

“Get them out? What does that mean?” Sofia asked.

“You are possessed by a creature that causes and then feeds on your nightmares. They are in the dream catcher and he is trying to eat them, but can’t get them free, the dream catcher too strong.” The old woman explained.

“So what happens when all the strings glow?” Sofia asked.

“If the creature strong, the dream catcher loses its power.” The old woman said.

“So give me another dream catcher, a stronger one.” Sofia said.

“Won’t help. The dream catcher must be full so the other can take in the nightmares.” The old woman said.

“But if the one I have brakes, my nightmares will start again? So another one should start collecting them again, right?” Sofia asked.

“Won’t work.” The old woman said.

“Why? Are Dream catchers not built for that?” Sofia asked.

“Yes, But not if you have a creature eating your dreams.

“Then what do I do? How do I get rid of it?” Sofia asked.

“You must find out his true name. They can’t hear their true name. They hear that and they leave you alone.” The old woman said.

“How do I do that?” Sofia asked.

“You saw the creature in nightmares. Search for its name. I wish you luck.” The old woman said and left into the back room. Sofia left the store and headed home.

‘Learn his true name. How? I remember him from my nightmares, but it’s like trying to remember a lullaby my mother sang to me when I was a baby. The only detail I clearly remember is that he had a cane with a human skull, with black diamonds in the eye sockets, and black and purple clothes. I have my work cut out for me.’ Sofia thought on her way home.

It wasn’t easy to find any kind of information about creatures that had something to do with dreams. Most pages on the web just had articles about interpreting dreams and nightmares, so Sofia decided to go to the library. She asked about books on the topic of demons, spirits and evil creatures tied to dreams and the librarian brought her a dozen books. Sofia looked at the pile of books and started with the ones that had pictures.

That day Sofia read all the books with pictures and took the rest of the books home with her. At home, Sofia sat on her bed reading one of the books when she heard a noise behind her, she turned around and saw the dream catcher swinging on the wall. There were just one and a half strings empty, the rest of them were glowing purple. That made her worry so she started to read the books as fast as she could.

The next morning only one string was left empty, which meant that she only had two days to find out the real name of the creature feeding off her nightmares. The old woman in the shop told Sofia that the creature would continue to give her nightmares after it finishes feeding on the nightmares in the dream catcher. But if the dream catcher works, why didn’t the woman tell her that a new dream catcher wouldn’t work. Sofia had a bad feeling about the whole situation.

Sofia took two days off work to concentrate on finding the creature’s name. Aiden thought that she was overreacting, that this kind of creatures didn’t exist and that the glowing dream catcher was all in her mind. Sofia didn’t care what he thought, the bad feeling in her chest got worse with every passing hour when finally, in one of the books, she found a description of a nefarious spirit that causes and feeds of peoples nightmares.

The description matched the creature she saw in her dreams, the creature was tall and slender, had a cane with a human skull, with black diamonds in the eye sockets, had black and purple clothes and no one could see his face in the nightmare. She wrote down his name so she wouldn’t forget it and marked the page, in the book, with his description. That night Sofia went to sleep a little less afraid, but she could still feel the bad feeling in her chest.

The next day Sofia read the rest of the books, just in case that the creature she found wasn’t the only one with that description She saw that only one half of a string on the dream catcher was empty and the dream catcher swing a few times during the day. Thinking that a new dream catcher would work and that the old woman was just trying to scare her she went out, bought another one and put it on the night table beside her bed.

After Aiden came home from work, they had dinner and watched a movie. Everything was like any other night except that Sofia couldn’t fall asleep. She lay on her back looking at the dream catcher above her. It was glowing, pulsating and swinging from side to side a little. The bad feeling in her chest was so bad that it wouldn’t let her go to sleep. She turned to her left side and took the paper with the creature’s name on it, hoping that the name she found was the right one. At one point, she fell asleep.

Something woke Sofia up, it wasn’t a noise or a nightmare. She was laying on the bed and tried to get up. She couldn’t move, her body was paralyzed. She looked right at Aiden and saw him sleeping, snoring quietly. ‘Oh, no! The dream catcher!’’ Sofia thought and looked up. She saw the dream catcher with all the strings in the circle broken outwards. There was a purple stream of light flowing towards a dark corner of the room.

After the stream of light stopped, still paralyzed and laying on the bed, Sofia saw the creature walk out of the dark surrounded by purple light. It was the creature from her nightmares. Everything about the creature matched, the cane, the clothes and the lack of face, but in her nightmares, the creature didn’t glow purple. The tall and slender creature walked towards her slowly and stopped next to her side of the bed. It put its cane on the edge of the bed and towered over her looking straight into her face. Sofia could feel energy pulsating from the creature.

“You can’t do anything to me. I have another dream catcher and this one is stronger.” Sofia said and looked towards the nightstand.

The creature followed her gaze, tilted his head, saw the dream catcher and took it into its hands. After eating so many nightmares at once, the creature was so string hat it broke the dream catcher into small pieces. After seeing that Sofia tried to get control of her body, she started to move around on the bed as if she was trying to escape from the creature.

The creature turned its attention towards Sofia again and climbed onto the bed towering over Aiden. He lifted his left hand and he extended his index finger. Slowly he pressed his index finger on Aiden’s forehead and started to draw a symbol.

“No! Stop it! He has nothing to do with this!” Sofia yelled crying. She didn’t want Aiden to suffer as she suffered.

“Stop it Marebram!” Sofia yelled.

The creature stopped drawing the symbol on Aiden’s forehead, straightened up and looked at Sofia. He jumped towards her and grabbed her neck, strangling her.

“Stop it Marebram.” Sofia said quietly.

A mouth appeared on the creature’s face and it started to scream. Aiden woke up and saw the creature strangling Sofia disappear while screaming. Sofia was crying but there was a smile on her face. Aiden, confused, looked at Sofia who was just lying on the bed crying and smiling. She quietly said. “Eat that you bastard.”

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I know that my dream catcher doesn't work. What about yours?

Thanks for reading :) Every comment is welcome

#dream catcher #dream eter #evil spirit #psychological horror #original work #slice of life

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sending-the-message · 6 years

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The Night a Demon Called My Late-Night Radio Show Part 3 by blackfridayswitch13

Part 1 Part 2

As I mentioned before, there have been numerous experiences throughout my life. It just went into overdrive after the phone call from Randy the night he and his demon or whatever he was possessed with called me.

Not to mention, there was that woman in green that kept popping up throughout the following years, so let’s address that. I had gotten married and we had a daughter, Olive. Olive was always my pride and joy and she was a lot like her mom. She was smart from a very early age and even had a bit of my sense of humor. She had started kindergarten and after that things started to get weird.

She was just a normal 5-year-old, at first, then she began to tell her mother and I stories about her new friend. Her new friend would visit her on the playground at school. She said her new friend was nearly 7 feet tall and after a while based on the stories she told about Henrietta we confirmed that she wasn’t real. There was the fact she could fly for one, and the other walk into walls and go through them.

My wife, Beth, and I just played along as it isn’t unusual for little kids to have pretend friends. We would hear Olive talking to herself in the attic that we had converted into a playroom for her. She played with her Barbie dolls talked to no one and she was basically a kid with a lot of imagination.

One afternoon my wife was showing Olive how to make Christmas cookies. They had the kitchen a complete and total mess and Olive was just giggling playing and rolling out the dough and making things out of them. Beth was trying to show her how to use the cookie cutters, but Olive being who she was wanted to make her own things. That was Olive, always thinking outside of the box.

My mother looked at the shape of one of them it appeared to be something with a head and feet but couldn’t make out much more. She put them in the oven and they made every color of the rainbow to ice them with.

Finally, they were done and cooled off enough to decorate them. My wife showed her how to put eyeballs on Snowmen with little black sprinkle eyes she had bought at the local craft store. Olive laughed at the eyes and she seemed to want to put them on everything even things that shouldn’t have eyes like the candy cane shaped cookies.

Then Olive got out the icing and started to really concentrate on making one of them. She was serious and determined to make it look perfect. Beth noticed her daughter seemed to really be concentrating on her little project.

“Olive what are you making there a Christmas tree?” my wife asked puzzled because Olive had been using all the green icing and most of the black.

“No, this is Henrietta my friend.”

My wife stood over her and just watched as Olive painted her little cookie. “What is Henrietta like?” she asked as she watched Olive take out the red icing for lips.

“She is nice, she tells me things about stuff.”

“Like what things?” asked my wife slowly beginning to realize that something was odd about this Henrietta.

“Like stuff mommy, like how her friend the Master is always watching and how Evan and Maria are only nice to me because they want to trade the sandwiches with me you make for me.”

“What? Who is the Master?” Olive laughed, and my wife just looked at her. “Look Mommy I made her belt just like she wears on her green dress.” My daughter didn’t know the difference between a suit and a dress but when my wife told me later I knew then that the woman in green had been visiting my daughter.

Things got even weirder after that though. Olive had been told by my wife she was not allowed to hang out with Henrietta until we met her.

“Okay I am excited for you to meet her!” she had said and then running off to play.

My wife and I looked at each other. I had told her about the weird radio show call and the story of the weird woman in Green. Who was she? At least I had some sort of name for her now. I pondered calling a priest even though I was not Catholic. We hoped by telling Olive that we needed to meet her friend that if she was just a ghost she would maybe stop bothering with her on her own. Then maybe this woman would leave my family alone once and for all. I know it sounds crazy, but it was worth a shot I thought.

The next day I was sitting at home alone and my wife was in the backyard with Olive. They were hanging up Christmas lights and Olive was playing in the snow. I heard a knock at the door and when I went to the front door to open it there was no one there. I thought maybe it was Olive trying to be funny and went back to my chair and the television show I had been watching.

I heard the door knock again and I got up irritated this time. I opened it wide and again there was nothing there. I was about to go tell Olive to stop playing around but I let it slide. Kids would be kids.

I went back to my seat and sat there for about 10 more minutes when the knocking began again. This time I had it. I looked out the back window and I could clearly see Olive and my wife building a snowman. There was no way Olive could have gotten to the front of the house and then the back that quickly. I gulped and went to the door again and slowly opened it this time.

Again, there was nothing there and I started to feel uneasy. I looked around and then I looked at the front porch. There was a box just sitting there unopened with a red bow on top of it. Had it been there before? I just grabbed it and took it inside and sat it on my kitchen counter. Whoever had left it must have really wanted me to find it since they kept knocking. Who left this box? What was in it? I looked at the package it was a gold box with a big red ribbon on it and a little card.

I opened the card as it did not have a name on it. I looked down at it reading it in disbelief.

“KJ, Master is still waiting, in the meantime please enjoy. -H”

It was short and simple and all the proof I needed that Henrietta was real. I looked inside the package and it was an Obituary for a Randy of Louisville Kentucky. Randy? Randy? This was all the proof I needed that Henrietta was indeed real. Who was she? What was she? My face went white as I stood there. I read and re-read the obituary numerous times but nothing really stuck out.

When my daughter came in the house she smiled at me. “Daddy did Henrietta bring you the gift she told me she was going to give you?”

My wife and I just looked at each other. I had to find a way to rid myself of this woman.

The next few days I noticed Olive seemed depressed and so my wife and I sat her down to ask her why she seemed so sad recently.

“Henrietta said you guys don’t like her, so I can’t play with her anymore. Why can’t I play with Henrietta Daddy?” I had so many things going through my mind as what to say but my wife spoke for the both of us.

“Because we asked to meet Henrietta and since she doesn’t want to meet us, you can’t play with her.” It sounded reasonable but later that night my daughter woke from a nightmare, at least I thought it was a nightmare.

She was balling her eyes out about her favorite teddy bear trying to pull her hair and how it had hurt. My wife and I were not sure if it was real or if it was just another bad dream, as kids often have them.

“We have to do something!” my wife said to me.

“I don’t know what to do!” I said to her.

Then it dawned on me, Jim now had a group of friends he hung with that did paranormal investigations. I figured I would call him in the morning and have him come by.

I had not seen Jim in almost 7 years, but I found him on Facebook. I messaged him that night to see if he was free to have a beer the next day or sometime in the coming week. I left him my cell number and told him to call me or text me.

The next morning, I got a call from a very enthusiastic Jim. He had not changed one single bit.

“Hey man I’m free tonight after Abby takes the twins to ball practice.”

I agreed, and we met up later that evening. I found it easy to talk to Jim even after all the years that had passed by. We both were married now with families. When I asked him if he recalled the woman he had seen that day she came to my door he nodded and seemed uncomfortable.

“She was freaky as freaky comes man!”

“Yeah, I don’t know how to explain it, but she has been following me for years.”

“Years?” he asked confused. I then told him about the night Randy called me from that radio show, and what happened to me that night and even weirder how after I moved in with him she followed me and that is when he met her. I explained to him about Olive and the package.

“There is only one reason I can see she is around you. It’s Randy.”

“But why?”

He chugged the rest of his beer and sat it down hard on the table. “That is what we have to find out. What do we know about Randy?”

I pulled out the obituary, I had brought it with me just in case. He looked at it and then gasped. “Did you even look at the date of death on this?”

“I think why?”

“It’s three days from now.”

I looked at Jim and I could not feel my feet. It all didn’t make any sense. How could I get an obituary for a guy with a date in the future?

We decided to track down Randy and find out if he could help us figure out what was going on.

I told my wife what we had planned to do, and she offered to help in any way she could.

What we managed to track down his last address thanks to the White pages on the internet. Randy didn’t have social media or anything like that, that would have been useful. Instead, we did things the old-fashioned way, we got in our car and traveled to Louisville.

There was a cold front that caused a mighty snow storm on the way which we both found odd. It was like some sort of supernatural force was against us from the beginning. Of course, Jim was in his element and was enjoying every second of this adventure.

A stroke of luck hit as soon as we crossed the Ohio boarder. There was barely any snow in Kentucky, so we kept driving. We found the little house that was where Randy lived and when we got there we braved the way up to the door and knocked.

We waited for what seemed ages and were about to leave when the door opened. I thought I was going to be sick. It was Henrietta that greeted us with a smile.

“Hello, can I help you?” smiled the older woman. There was something off about her, though she wasn’t wearing 5 inches of caked on white makeup and she wasn’t wearing the green suit. She had her hair up in a bun and wore a white sweater like someone’s sweet little grandma. There was no way this was the same person.

“Is there a Randy that lives here?” Jim asked first.

“Oh, yes that is my son. My name is Pamela perhaps I can help you. What can I do for you?”

She must have recognized the strange look on both our faces and she noticed the cold brisk air.

“You know what? Why don’t you two come in and chat I just made some homemade eggnog. Please.” She said insisting. We both looked at each other and went in.

I sat the table and she handed both of us a napkin and a cup of eggnog. The house was small but very clean and I knew then this was not the same woman.

“You two look like you just seen a ghost.” She laughed sitting across from both of us.

“It’s because you look like someone.”

That is when she got a strange look on her face. “You must mean my mother.”

We both looked at each other. “Did your mother wear a green suit by chance?”

“Oh, that horrible color was her favorite. She died in 1947 when I was just 6 years old. She was a horrible person, and mother. Tell me what did that evil witch do this time?”

I slowly explained to her my story and she listened and seemed to understand. Then she took out something from her glass curio cabinet. It was a small photo album of a little girl with black hair just like her mothers. The woman standing next to her was a much younger and more attractive version of the woman in green.

Henrietta, it seemed, was very involved in a practice of occultism that involved making sacrifices to the ancient God Moloch. It was crazy she soon went crazy and apparently, she only got this way after getting involved with a very influential man in the local town. He was very involved in an organization like Satanism or something. She had nearly tried to kill Pamela in a ritual when her father came home from work just in time. He ran her off with a gun and she never saw her mother again. She died in a car accident a few weeks later, as she was on her way to meet her lover.

“She is still haunting people and wherever she shows up bad things happen. I noticed it with Randy when he was younger. He had some weird encounters and then I had to call a friend of mine who was sort of a medium. She told me the only way to get rid of her is to always have something around you that is either lavender colored or smells like lavender. She hated lavender I know it sounds crazy, but it is like its own exorcism.”

“Why would she send us here? I mean she gave us this obituary for Randy? "What about Randy? This was left on my porch the other day, that is actually partly why we are here." I said handing her the obituary.” asked Jim

“It was to scare you. She wasn’t counting on you being smarter than her. Demonic entities often try to trick people. It is the fear she feeds off. You can’t be afraid no matter what you do.”

We sat with her for a long while and then thanked her.

So far, we have followed her advice, and we keep lavender flowers all around our home, and my daughter’s room is adorned with lavender flower decorations now.

Olive still has strange encounters but so far none of us have seen Henrietta. That was over a year or so now. I’m just hoping it stays that way. There are signs that she is still around, I have heard of other people having encounters, but my family has been free of that old bat in green since the night we met Pamela. We couldn’t be more thankful for her.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

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shooter-nobunagun · 7 years

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Unseen Village: Yahar’gul [Bloodborne AU]

//At last we explore the “forgotten village” proper, Yahar’gul. Spoilers abound for the latter half of the game, especially after the events of the blood moon!

Note: I ended up writing waaay too much (was wondering why this chapter never seemed to be any closer to being done) so I split it. I gotta pace myself better...

“This place...what happened?!” Once again they stood before the bloody moon, only this time the sky seemed to have changed with it as well. Gone were the murky clouds and dim sky, now replaced with a garish streaks of purple and yellow and the color of fire. Sio hadn’t seen much of the actual village during her first trip here, but it seemed like perhaps it was for the better. “The moon...it’s so large now!”

“And that color...I don’t like it.” Hunter shook his head. “This must be the blood moon that Rom an’ everyone else is talkin’ about...though I’m more worried about those things.”

“What things—oh...” Her gaze turned upwards and suddenly it came into view, sitting like a monstrous human spider, its body an alien blue-grey and a head that appeared more like a rock. It sat there, hanging off the spire with its too-long limbs and many-fingered hands, the numerous eyes constantly opening and closing in rapid succession. Sio felt her frenzy growing rapidly as she continued staring at the terrible creature. It wasn’t until she nearly burst did she finally tear her gaze away, panting and gasping as her frenzy slowly dissipated.

“Oy, Sio...you all right?” Adam’s worried gaze peered at her, but she simply nodded, leaning against him for a few seconds to regain her senses. “Careful; those Amygdalas are everywhere now, it seems...”

“A-Amygdalas...that’s what they’re called...” Groaning, she rubbed her temples, trying to will the headache away. Was this another symptom of her blood sickness? Sio felt a sudden sense that there was something she should be trying to figure out, in this strange world of blood moons and unnatural skies and filled with creatures beyond her imagination. But for some reason the more she tried, the less she seemed to understand.

“Sio...will you be all right? If you’re not feeling well, you should head back to the dream and get some rest.” She and Adam were trailing a bit behind the group, partly for safety (so a large-scale attack wouldn’t wipe them all out at once) and also because she sensed that Adam was trying to keep her away from those who might use her condition against her. “There’s nothing to be gained by pushing yourself too far.”

“N-No...no please, I’ll be fine. Trust me,” she searched his eyes, and he could only sigh and nod. “I’ll be all right...after all, I have you and Hunter to help me out.” A pause, before he gently placed a hand on her shoulder as if he was about to say something but instead he just rubbed the junction slightly, before nodding wordlessly.

The Amygdalas. Where did they come from in the first place? From what she’d heard the others talk about, there were suspicions that they’d been there all along, but for some unexplained reason, weren’t visible until now. Vidocq was insistent that the blood moon had something to do with it, but Sio felt there had to be something else, either triggered by the blood moon or maybe it was what she’d heard from Rom...

‘When the blood moon rises, the line between man and beast will become blurred...’

She shuddered slightly and tried not to think too hard about what those words specifically meant. There was no doubt what the end result of her blood sickness would entail: victims became the very beasts they hunted, stripped of all reasoning and humanity and replaced with a lust for blood and mindless killing. Already she could feel the primal urges increasing, especially when they fought; at times the frenzy was so strong it was all she could do to focus it on their enemies, rather than her fellow hunters. Swallowing thickly, she tried her best to catch up with the rest of the group, as they approached what appeared to be a deserted plaza.

“Careful...remember what we encountered las’ time, those blasted chime maidens—”

“Sshh, you’ll give our position away!” Geronimo gave a severe frown at the surgeon, who only returned it with equal fervor. “I think I see her; against that stone wall? Trying to blend in, eh? Cheap tricks like that don’t work on me...” Without another word, the crow hunter dashed forward with her axe raised, but before the killing strike could be dealt—

SSCCHHWWWWWIIINNGGG—

An intense beam of blue light, similar to the one they’d encountered in Byrgenwerth and against Rom sliced the ground in half, a trail of flame scorching the rock as everyone dodged haphazardly to the sides and alcoves.

“God damn it, what the hell was that—”

“—It came from the Amygdala—but why would it attack us now?”

“Nevermind that, get that chime maiden before she summons anyone!” Adam barked at the other hunters to get back on their feet, but it was too late; already a hulking troll and several hunting dogs were materializing, followed by a crowd of insane villagers, all of whom were more than ready to tear them to pieces. “Blast it all to hell! As if we don’t have enough to deal with...!”

Whining was for losers however, and as soon as he could get a clear path Adam dashed towards the ghostly maiden and sank his stake into her body. Now there was just the matter of getting rid of her minions...and that alien creature. Adam cast a wary glance upwards, trying to fight off the brick troll while watching for the next time it decided to fire that magic beam. “Umph—” His side exploded in pain as the troll swung a particularly brutal left hook as he barely sidestepped the fire, sending him face-first into the stone ground. “Fuck...”

“Adam!” He heard the sound of her gun before she came into view, the spear ripping into the troll’s body as she pulled off another spectacular visceral attack, tearing out its guts with a gleeful smile... Wincing, Adam blinked a few times, trying to convince himself that the girl hadn’t actually grinned like she enjoyed killing and bloodshed; it was probably just the angle that he saw her at, and the light...had to have been, after all Sio was just an ordinary girl caught up in something so much larger than all of them combined...

“Adam! Adam, are you all right?” The face that appeared now was frightened and worried, but determined. “Hold still, you might’ve broken a rib or something—”

“—Let’s get out of the open, first—that Amygdala, it seems to be firing whenever it sees anyone,” he grunted, limping around to a half-ruined gateway with Sio’s help. “Thanks for that, back there; shouldn’t have gotten sloppy like that...” he coughed up a few bloody strands of saliva, Sio carefully checking his torso for any broken bones as she gingerly touched each rib. “Ughn—”

“Sorry! But, it’s here...” Taking a small knife from her pouch, she quickly sliced away at the fabric, revealing a mass of bruised and bloodied flesh. “O-Oh...that looks pretty bad...”

“Tell me about it...sure as hell feels broken,” Adam hissed through his teeth as Sio cleaned it the best she could with some alcohol, before attempting to bandage it without hurting him any further. “Where’s Hunter?”

“Uh, last I saw he and that Tell guy were trying to get rid of the last of those dogs, down the steps...” Sio glanced around nervously, peeking at the Amygdala that was still curled around the rooftops. “Do you want me to go get him?”

Adam shook his head. “No, there’s no sense in running out there and putting yourself in danger just for one person; we’ll regroup with everyone after the battle. ‘Sides, you’ve gotten pretty good at this,” he ran a hand over the bandages, nodding in satisfaction. “This’ll do for now. Can’t be wasting blood vials for every little scrape.” Grunting, he rearmed the Stakedriver, but Sio noticed his movements were more hesitant.

“But...Adam...” Despite her worries, she knew he was right; it would be easier if they got rid of the remaining enemies first, and then find a place that would shelter them from the Amygdala’s gaze. Steeling herself, she followed him out from their hiding place, making sure to take the lead in clearing their path and warning him whenever she heard that peculiar sound of magic. ‘I don’t think we’ll be able to defeat that Amygdala...not from here, at least.’ She’d fired off a few bullets just to see if it could be dissuaded, but they only bounced off its skin harmlessly. Besides, every time she merely glanced at the creature she could feel the frenzy boiling up; if they didn’t get out of its sight soon, who knew what other difficulties they’d have to deal with.

It took a few seconds for her to recognize their chosen “hiding” spot, but after the others started commenting on that broken lamp, Sio suddenly realized they were back at the top of the Hypogean Gaol, where she’d first arrived after being knocked unconscious and dragged around in a dirty sack. “Th-this is...” Unconsciously she shuddered, gripping her weapon so tightly it felt like even the spear’s shaft would snap in two.

“Easy there lass, there’s no need t’ fear. We’re all here now, an’ yur much stronger than before, ye?” Hunter gave her a kindly pat on the back, though Sio was only slightly reassured. “Mind ye, doesn’t mean we should let our guard down...”

“No...we need to get ready,” William Tell was sighting his bow off into a dim corner. “We’re not alone...”

Nobody said a word, but all gazes turned to the direction of the bow’s aim. Three figures in the dim light, standing there but Sio knew the second they got their attentions, they would be in for a fight.

“There’s three of them, I’m fairly certain...” Tell lowered his bow and it changed back into a single blade. “Since we’ve a large group as well, it makes sense to split up and face them separately. We’ll have a much better chance of success than tackling them when they’re together.”

“A spear, cane whip, and...what are those, claws of some sort?” Sio was looking through her own monocle at their foes; the first two hunters wielded fairly standard weapons that one could easily find, but the third... “He’s all crouched over...like a beast itself...”

Before she could make more sense of it however, the others were already assembling into three teams. “Ogura, you go with Hunter an’ Tell; you’ll be taking on the whip wielder. Vidocq’ll be with Jess and Mirza against the spearfighter, and I’ll take the last one with Geronimo.” Adam’s tone left no room for discussion, and so she could only nod in agreement, despite the fact that he was about to take on the unknown hunter with only one other person for back-up—and it wasn’t her at that. Though she hated to admit it, she was slightly miffed that he hadn’t asked her to team up with him—but after having been with him all this time, something told her that it wasn’t because of personal reasons. ‘But still, did he have to ask Geronimo of all people? I thought they disliked each other...’

“No need fer the green-eyed monster, lassie. I’m sure Adam’s got his reasons...” Hunter gave her a slight nudge, after she kept turning around and staring at the other two. “‘Sides, Geronimo’s too professional t’ be stickin’ her beak in others’ businesses.”

“I-I—wha—I didn’t say anything!”

“Ye don’t hafta; yer eyes say it all, Miss Ogura,” Hunter teased, but got serious soon after. “Anywho, ye can chew ‘im out after ‘f ye want; but fer now, let’s figure out how the hell we’re gonna deal with this mess.”

“Have either of you had any experience fighting against this type of weapon?” Tell split the bowblade apart, turning the single blade into a formidably-sized bow. “I’d rather keep my distance of course, but if need be, I can do melee-combat...”

“A threaded cane, similar to what Vidocq has; it was contrived as part of the original Workshop, and fairly common among hunters. You can use it as a bladed cane, or split it into the whip for crowd control. ‘Concealing the weapon inside the cane and flogging the beasts with the whip is partly an act of ceremony, an attempt to demonstrate to oneself that the bloodlust of the hunt will never encroach upon the soul,‘ or so they said... We’ll have to time our attacks carefully, it’s probably best to strike when he’s switching between forms.”

Though Tell did not say anything, his eyebrows raised slightly at the girl’s impressive description; not only on the weapon’s detailed background but the strategy to fight against it, as well. “...You are Ogura, correct? And according to the others, this is your first hunt...?”

“A-Ah, yeah...I’m not exactly experienced, so...” Sio rubbed her head sheepishly, suddenly keenly aware of how much younger she seemed compared to everyone else.

“That doesn’t matter; clearly, you are much more knowledgeable than even some of the most veteran hunters.” He gave her another peculiar look, not threatening but curious. “Are you perchance from a family of hunters...?”

“H-Huh? O-Oh no, no no no—I’m just your average girl from a regular old family, I guess...” Well all right that, wasn’t quite true, otherwise she’d still be back in her village and not about to face a deadly enemy in the middle of an abandoned prison. “I...I’m an only child, but I never had much friends...so I just mostly kept myself busy, studying weapons and strategy...a-ah, n, not that I hated it! I actually found it quite fascinating...”

“Hm. Fair enough. Perhaps you will become one of those they speak of in legends...” Tell sighted his bow once more, as the others started heading down to separate their quarry. ��Careful; we’ll have to move quick so they don’t try and rejoin each other.”

The spear was now engaged in combat with a Kirkhammer, Vidocq’s whip-like blade cutting through the gloom with a silver gleam while Mirza worked to parry the blows. Their opponent headed towards their corner as well, Sio switching her rifle spear into its trick mode and Hunter separated his blades in two. Tell was off on his perch, firing shots when the opportunity presented itself, but even while dodging the serrated whip and striking back, she noticed that the third hunter, and Adam and Geronimo for that matter, were nowhere to be found.

“Where did those two go? This place is only so big...!”

“Focus on the battle at hand, lassie! Those two can take care of themselves!” Hunter grimaced as he nursed a gash on his cheek. “Knowin’ them, they probably took the fight outside...where there’s more space.”

Although she knew it was logical, and that Geronimo was honorable enough to not try anything, somehow the very fact that those two were out of sight didn’t sit well with her; Sio didn’t recognize this strange burning in her chest, but she knew she didn’t like it. ‘Am I really that jealous...? Even though I trust Adam, and Geronimo wouldn’t...she wouldn’t do anything to him, right?’ Not just those illogical feelings of possessiveness, but the uneasy fear that Geronimo wasn’t someone they could trust completely.

Her anxious feelings translated into an increased frenzy on the field, the bloodlust growing as she lunged straight down at the hostile hunter, effectively splitting his spine in half as she landed on the bloody corpse with a ‘thump’. Neither Hunter nor Tell said anything much aside from the usual acknowledgements, but she could sense that both of them were viewing her with a sort of feared respect. Elsewhere, the other trio had also finished their fight, and was now in the middle of salvaging and weapon repairs.

“...I’m going to go look for Adam and Geronimo; they’re still not back, and it was only the two of them.” Without even waiting for a response, Sio armed her weapons and headed out the entrance, with Hunter and Tell looking silently on. --- “Watch it! He’s transforming...already more beast than man!” Adam dodged the claw’s swipe, countering with a ferocious thrust as the man-beast howled in fury.

“Hmph, that’s not a problem...” Licking her lips, the Crow Hunter neatly blocked the monster claws with the blunt side of her axe, before firing a shot and nearly decapitating the mad hunter. “Muirhead!”

“Don’t even need t’ ask.” With a grin, the Stakedriver plunged into the beast’s chest, Adam ripping out the insides with a visceral attack that was not unlike the one Sio had pulled off earlier.

“Well, we managed to make a pretty good team, Muirhead,” the other woman drawled, pushing aside the remains with the end of her giant axe. “Sure you don’t want to change your mind about changing partners?”

“Hn. Thanks but no thanks; besides, don’t you work alone? Why are you still hangin’ around? The beckoning bell’s effects ended a while ago.” Adam didn’t even bother looking at Geronimo, instead more concerned with studying the mangled, mutated body and those claws. “I wonder...if this weapon accelerates the beasthood process...”

“That doesn’t mean I won’t consider the prospects of teaming up...especially with a strong hunter like yourself, we could do a fair bit of damage...maybe even end this scourge, and prevent more hunters from becoming beasts...” Before he knew it Geronimo had gotten much closer than he liked, those dark eyes narrowed into a enigmatic smile as she brushed the bottom of his chin—

“—Adam! Oh...” He pulled away immediately, but not before he caught sight of the petite huntress’ expression: shock, a slight embarrassment, and...anger? “...Geronimo, Muirhead. We’re uh, all done inside...so...”

“Sure.” Geronimo slipped by cooly, as if nothing had happened at all except for a whisper—

”—she’s an interesting one, isn’t she, Muirhead? Very interesting...”

And then Adam was staring at that cape of black feathers, the Crow Hunter whistling casually as Sio slowly trudged forward.

“Sio...you all right?” The air was thick with some sort of unspoken tension, but Adam had enough sense to know that this was not the time nor place to sort it out...whatever it was. “Everyone else all right?”

“...Yeah...” She was definitely upset; her single-word, callous answers notwithstanding, the girl was deliberately not looking his direction, instead adamantly pulling her hat lower and stalking back to the Hypogean Gaol. Great, just what he needed to deal with in a realm that was already more dangerous than usual: emotions. Not for the first time, he questioned the wisdom of attempting to pursue a relationship with the girl. Even though Hunter had more-or-less given them his blessing, Capa’s warning, and his own inner doubts, continued to sit with him.

Don’t fall for her; she’ll just make you cry, in the end.

The emotional turmoil did not make it any easier as the group trudged through the abandoned town, making their way across an especially precarious tower that was filled with foes both human and inhuman. More Amygdalas seemed to have made their home here, as well, but unlike the one they faced earlier, these seemed content to just leave the group alone. Still, he kept a close eye on the girl, who hadn’t said much since they left the crypt; for some unknown reason, the Amygdalas were making her condition worse, even when they weren’t engaged in combat. Hunter had cast a dark glance back more than once, especially after Sio nearly stumbled for no apparent reason, most of the group just shrugging it off as fatigue but Adam didn’t miss the way Mirza’s eyes kept watching her. Gently he tried to reach out to her, to tell her that she didn’t have to push so hard and that...thing with Geronimo hadn’t meant anything at all, but she coldly shrugged it off, only saying that she had tripped and would be fine.

“Leave ‘er be, Muirhead. She’ll be fine.” Hunter said lowly, not wanting to attract attention. “This has something t’ do wit’ Geronimo, don’t it? The lassie wasnae too pleased ‘bout it...” The silver-haired hunter cast as irate a look as he had in a long time, leaving Hunter frantically trying to mollify the other man.

“Piss off,” Adam muttered, though his tone was more resigned than angry. “...Are you seriously accusing me of...underhanded actions, even after all...that?”

“Of course not,” the lanky surgeon hastily replied, “I meant it when I said I trust ye, Adam. I figured ye had yur reasons...but I’ll admit, I’m curious meself. I thought you detested the Crow Hunter?”

Adam snorted. “Beast huntin’ ain’t exactly a profession for the choosy. The woman’s a fair enough fighter...if she could just stop actin’ like this is all some kind of grand game. Of all the hunters in this group. she’s probably the one I’d want t’ avoid going toe-to-toe with the most...’

“That’s fair, but why her? You think none of the others can match you?”

“...That hostile hunter we faced. You saw his weapon—hell, even the squirt pointed it out herself. Beast claws,” he added, and Hunter’s face dawned in understanding. “I was afraid...if she got too close, and with her already like this...”

Neither man said anything more, Hunter now visibly broodier as they pushed their way through mobs of creatures, each spawned by a hidden chime maiden. Yahar’gul may have been abandoned, but it certainly wasn’t dead; it seemed like every corner was filled with some sort of hazard, even compared to memories of his previous hunts—and it was anyone’s guess as to what made the Amygdalas attack, if at all. It wasn’t until the road opened up to some sort of open street did they get a chance to breathe...somewhat. A hissing noise before a gush of vile liquid arched through the air, just missing the group as it landed on the stone walkway, where it proceeded to sizzle and smoke, seemingly burning through solid rock. Sio lept back in shock, before tracking the venom over the side of the wall to the streets below.

“What’s th...th, th-that?!” She didn’t even have any words for the horror that had spat the vile liquid: what appeared to be a tangled mass of half-rotten skeletons, somehow all fused together and shoved into a casket that was much too small to fit them all, forcing the hideous creature to spill out and writhe onto the cobblestones. The many arms and hands clawed and pulled every which way, and what remained of the bodies squirmed randomly as each individual seemed to have its own mind. The creature’s contorted movements and twisted designs left Sio feeling nauseated, and before the group had even decided on how to deal with these monsters she heaved, a puddle of vomit splashing right next to the poison itself.

“Easy there now, lass. Here, drink some water,” Hunter kindly patted her back as Sio emptied the last of what remained in her stomach, breathing hard. “Those cramped caskets probably rank as one of the ugliest sods out there...as dangerous as they are ugly, to boot.”

“H-How...wh, why...” Those large maroons open wide with fear and just plain confusion; she knew that Yharnam was home to nightmares that were indescribable, but this was just too much. “Why is it so...terrible?”

“...If we knew the answer t’ that, we wouldn’t be here.” Adam answered quietly for her. “Chin up, Ogura. We’ve ground to cover.”

She was a little surprised at how civil he was towards her, despite the cold shoulder she was giving him. Which, now that she thought about it, was probably just a bit too childish of her, especially at this point. ‘I guess I really am still a kid,’ she thought bitterly, though when her mind flashed back to that single moment when he and Geronimo were so close...a flash of heated anger flooded her senses, and she wiped her mouth and forced herself to stand up.

It was decided that they would move as two groups; the street was too dangerous to just go waltzing about in the open, and splitting up would allow them to deal with several threats at once. Morbid as the caskets were, Sio discovered they could be tricked into a lit fire, making it easy for her to get in several visceral attacks on the flaming mass of flesh. The streets were littered with what appeared to be stone statues...and yet, as she gazed upon their faces, frozen with fear and something else... No, they couldn’t be real humans. It just wasn’t possible... A sudden roar, before she was pushed roughly against these stone figures and narrowly missed getting sprayed by that poison. “Keep your guard up, Ogura.” By the time she managed to right herself, Tell had already sliced up the monstrosity using the blade form of his weapon.

“S, Sorry...” She shook her head to clear it. This wasn’t the time to be solving the mysteries of this world, though Sio knew that wasn’t the only thing that was distracting her. This tension between her and Adam...it was getting unbearable, even before Geronimo decided to pull that stupid prank. It wasn’t the same as when she was seeking his respect and getting irritated with his put-downs, no...this kind of feeling was closer to seeking a type of satisfaction, to quell this strange desire she was feeling...

Like when they almost kissed that time; her cheeks became hot and she forced herself to pay attention to the battle. ‘Now is not the time to be thinking this, Sio...’ If this was what it was like to fall in love and all that romantic, mushy crap she’d heard so many of the village girls gossip about, Sio wasn’t sure she wanted it. It was very distracting, for one, but it was also frustrating that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to detach herself from it.

“Lass, you alright?” That strongly-accented voice cheered her up slightly, especially now that the streets were slightly-less-deadly than they had been. “C’mon, let’s find the others.”

“Right...how’s everyone else?”

“Eh, nothin’ fatal. By the way, nice work figurin’ out how t’ lure ‘em into th’ fires.” Hunter nodded in appreciation. “Seriously, findin’ you was like a single blessing in this wretched place.” Sio blushed at his comments, and wondered why Adam couldn’t be polite and caring like the surgeon.

“Hunter. Ogura...” Speak of the devil. She gave him a single nod as he said her name, not sure yet how she wanted to act towards him. In any case, they were currently in the field of battle, so it would be understandable for her to be all business-like...right? “There’s a plaza of sorts coming up; I think we know what that means...”

“...There’s something there.” There was no proof yet, but after all these hunts, they knew from experience that coming across a seemingly-deserted area usually meant something dangerous lurked nearby.

“Here, there’s a shortcut. We just need to use this as a stepping—” Adam’s voice cut off mid-sentence as the rotting carriage gave a violent shake, muffled cries coming from inside. “...Or, not...”

“...Right then. I vote we look for an alternative.”

“But, we’d have to spend more time looking for one...and there’s no guarantee it’ll be any safer,” both men looked at the girl with a slight surprise. “If we’re fast enough...it should be fine...”

At least she hoped so; Sio didn’t want to admit it, but the rattling carriage was terrifying her to no end. Just knowing how things were, it was bound to burst open the second she stepped foot onto it...and yet, it was the quickest way down, perhaps even the only way. “...Worst case, there’s three of us...we should be able to handle anything...”

“Can’t say I’ve much faith in meself, but I’ll trust yer instincts lass,” Hunter shook his head gravely, but got up anyway, despite the fact that he was probably the least courageous out of the entire group. “Well, no use in puttin’ it off...”

“I’ll go first,” Sio volunteered the lead, after all it was her idea to go forward, despite the high risk. Steeling herself, she gingerly landed on the carriage, trying not to think about the vibrations underfoot and the awful moans as she cautiously made her way across, Hunter landing not too far behind.

‘Here it goes,’ she gulped and then leapt down, wincing a bit from the height but otherwise it seemed all right, nothing was broken and no monsters were in sight. “Hey, it’s all—”

The sentence wasn’t even out of her mouth before the carriage windows shattered violently, and the whole thing seemed to topple over as the what appeared to be an endless stream of mutilated corpses were disgorged. Sio briefly heard Hunter and Adam cursing as they fought for their footing, before the whole thing was drowned out by the cries of undead bodies as they seemed to cave in on her; she herself too shocked by the sight to do any but just watch through her fingers as she vainly tried to shield herself.

“Sio! Sio! Dammit, get off her you bastards!” Growling, Adam plunged his way through the seemingly endless number of flailing limbs and half-melted bodies, but he couldn’t risk just recklessly stabbing the pile, lest he accidentally hurt her. “Sio! Hang on!”

“Somehow I knew this was gonna happen,” Hunter bemoaned, but plunged straight in as well. The two men worked with a sort of possessed fervor, Hunter not even flinching as a wailing corpse tried to reach out and grab his neck.

“Sio! Can you hear me? Sio...!”

#documentation #hunt or be hunted #//updates the most recently last updated #//what #//i know i'm bad #//sorry #//AND IT'LL PROBABLY BE UPDATED AGAIN B/C I WRITE TO MUCH AAAHH

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mystic-headcanons-r-us · 7 years

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RFA: Walks In To Zen’s Shower

[Warning: May contain spoilers, read at own risk]

I elaborated all the point-form scribbles from random scribbles that I typed in my notepad awhile back. Here’s RFA members + V + Saeran’s reaction with MC as Zen’s S/O. It’s my first attempt, hope you guys like it! - Mod Yoo.

Scenario The RFA is having a post-celebration for yet another successful fundraiser party from the night before. This time it’s Jumin’s turn to be the host. As expected of the corporate heir, he had already hired some of the country’s top culinary professionals as the occasion’s personal chefs, to collaborate with his private chef to serve up a special luncheon. Halfway through the luncheon, Saeyoung “accidentally” spilled not 1 but 2 cans of Dr. Pepper (he brought a carton over, very surprising) that he furiously shook in an attempt to prank Yoosung, who somehow manage to pull off a quick dodge since boy plays sports, and the drinks unloads ALL onto Zen’s back, he didn’t anticipate it cos he’s busy feeding MC. Saeyoung let out a quick yelp and took off running after Yoosung while Saeran ponders about having such a dorky twin. Groaning with frustration, Zen is left with no choice but a bath to get rid of the sticky, sugary mess he’s in. “Feel free to utilize one of my guest bathroom, it’s all yours.” Jumin said sniggering but continued: “I’ll have Driver Kim get a new set of clothes, it shall be ready by the time you’re done cleaning up.” Barely able to keep himself from yelling at Saeyoung and Jumin, Zen mutters quiet thanks and excuses himself from MC to go in for a shower. *Personally, I feel like Zen would be the type of guy that takes long bath, to ensure every inch of his perfect skin is taken care of; plus, he’d totally make full use of those luxurious products simply laid out in Jumin’s guest bathroom.*

Yoosung

He was so determined to hide from Saeyoung.

Ends up going into the bathroom that Zen is in.

Doesn’t realize that someone is inside until he hears a soft humming.

Then he caught a glimpse of a male silhouette from the shower curtains.

His eyes widen, raised both his palms to cover his mouth in a frantic attempt to stop himself from screaming.

Luckily, Jumin’s guest bathroom is too huge for Zen to hear someone came in.

He runs back out to the luncheon still trying to deal with the fact that he just saw Zen’s fully naked silhouette.

Found a spot beside Saeran and pulled him into a tight hug just sat down staring into blank space.

Somebodyhelpthissmolbean.

Saeyoung

Oh dear. Here comes the devil himself.

He was nearby when Yoosung ran out of Zen’s bathroom, he picked up on smol bean’s footsteps.

He pinpoints the exact location cue secret agent 707 and wastes no time to check the guest bathroom.

Immediately recognized Zen from the humming, he dipped his hands into the depths of his jacket’s side pockets to pull out a spy cam with size of a lentil seed oh god no Saeyoung WRYD.

He’s trained to be nimble. Easily presses the camera onto the best spot.

Tiptoed out of the bathroom before Zen could realise.

Rejoins the group as if nothing happened.

Sends a cheeky wink to Yoosung once their eyes met.

This man boy. Really.

V/Jihyun

This kind soul probably just wanted to wash his hands after he’s done eating.

Slowly walks into the guest bathroom that Zen’s in.

Although partially blind but soon realises that he’s in Zen’s company when Zen starts humming in the shower.

He’d probably feel a little awkward but rationalises that he’s just here to use the tap for a bit and would be out in a jiffy.

Zen is aware of V walking into the bathroom from the sound of V’s cane tapping.

Considering V’s vision, both of them naturally let it slip.

Pleasejustgoandgetyoureyesfixedangelslikeyoushouldntbelikethis.

Jaehee

She enjoys wine but is such a lightweight drinker.

Jumin’s eager to have everyone try out the limited-edition bottles of wine sent as gifts to him by the personal chefs.

This woman never says no to her source of moolah.

She would’ve started rambling on by now. But damn, those wine tastes great heavenly.

Before she realises, she’s had more than enough.

Effect of those alcohol kicks in on her.

Politely excuses herself and leaves to the washroom. Staggers into the nearest bathroom “Lucky I don’t have to walk further.” Or so she thought.

Gets bewildered in a nanosecond when her ears pick up a super familiar tune *cough* Zen humming his own songs *cough*.

“ZEN?! O-oh my God!” Mentally scolds herself for being so careless. Probably also says a silent prayer to thank God

Fumbles in her weak drunken attempt to escape.

ThoughtsofImaginesZenbeingcompletelyundressedisTOOdistracting.

Slipped on her heels. Black belt judo martial artist managed to quietly catch her own fall.

Saeyoung, unbeknownst to her witnessed the entire process on his phone came up to help this poor soul.

She feels blood boil to the tip of her head when Saeran thesmexyhacker shows her the video clip that his twin had recorded.

Praysfor707.

Elizabeth the 3rd (Bonus <3)

Struts into Zen’s bathroom and sat on the marble tiles like a queen.

Humming Zen starts to sneeze uncontrollably. “That’s odd.” He thought.

Gazes towards Zen’s direction.

“Meowwws~”

Zen peeks out from behind the shower. “O-ooh c-crap-p! So this is why!” He hisses.

“HAN JUMIN!”

Slowly struts her way back out upon Zen’s screaming.

Queen pussycat does not want to get caught in no commotion.

Seeing her leave, Zen blows out a long sigh of relief.

Islegitsecretlyflatteredthatthefurballlikedhisvoice.

“I wish I could sing for Elizabeth.” He thought as he goes back washing.

Jumin

He’s already well on to the 3rd bottle of his elegant wine.

Faintly hears Elizabeth's meows echo from spacious bathroom. "Maybe she’s just bored.”

Hears Zen yelling his name immediately after. MC unaware as she is occupied caring for Jaehee.

Cat dad’s alcohol-flushed face instantly livid.

Shot up from his chair and strides toward his guest bathroom.

Flung the bathroom doors open with widened sharp eyes scanning for Elizabeth.

Charged towards a yelling Zen whosenakedshowerbodstillinitsfullglory and clutched on his bare shoulders without regard.

“WHERE’S ELIZABETH THE 3RD, ZEN?”

He totally catches Zen off-guard.

“H-how would I know! S-she just walked out. L-let go of me. NOW!” Zen croaked.

Turns and storms out of the space.

Zen thought, “W-what t-the heck just happened? H-how is he unfazed by my this beauty?! Trust fund jerk should just make that fur ball his wife.”

Checks her watch and realizes that Zen has been away for more than an hour. With all the distraction he got, it’s no wonder.

She knew that he enjoys lengthier baths, but has always taken about 1 hour.

Walks up to Jumin who is walking back from the bathroom with Elizabeth the 3rd in his arms.

Seeing how the corporate heir appears so relieved, “Jumin, is everything okay?”

“Yes, MC. Thank you. Go on ahead and pick up Zen’s new clothes at the door. Driver Kim has offered to bring them up for you.” Jumin spoke calmly.

nicemcisnice Expresses gratitude and apologizes for inconvenience caused to Jumin and Driver Kim, she heads to the guest bathroom to find her husband still washing up.

Quietly walks to the nearest counter and lays all the new attire on the countertop. She also grabs a fresh towel, folds it up nicely, places it on top of his new clothes.

Caught by surprise when a pair of wet strong arms wrap around her waist from behind.

“Care to join me, my little lady?”

MC is flustered but soon turns to face her husband.

“I’ll wash you real good when we’re home later, my beautiful beast. Now please finish up quickly, it’s not fun without you at the luncheon dear.”

Saeran

Quickly finds and enters the nearest bathroom.

Muttering Inaudible grumbles and curses.

Saeyoung had just managed to spill gravy onto Saeran’s hands and pants when he tried to mess with Yoosung’s food again.

He’d witnessed a lot in Mint Eye back then. (peoplegotstrippedtotheirbirthdaysuitswhiletheywererepeatedlytortured, anytimethe“Savior”orderedbrainwashing).

He couldn’t care less even after knowing Zen is in the same bathroom.

Zen becomes aware when he hears Saeran running the tap water.

Saeran spits out, “Just MYOB and we’re both good.” before Zen could start.

Guess some things are just difficult to change when you’re angry.

Scrubs the fabric with soap and warm water to lift the gravy stains from his candy peach thismanlovessweetswhat’dyouexpect colored chino pants.

Blows a soft sigh of satisfaction when he succeeds. It was actually the first of many birthday gifts from his twin brother

Coolly exits the bathroom.

Glares at Saeyoung who goes on, “I’d always buy you another gift *threw in a wink*!”

Punches Saeyoung in an attempt to hide his own embarrassment.

Rika (the -ending- bonus)

Assuming that she is mentally healthy and didn’t do all those bad things. weknowwhatshedidbutslet’sjustalltakeitasifeverythinghasbeennormal.

She’s also a fan of Zen’s talents just like Baehee.

But isn’t as strong-willed.

Faints the moment she realizes that the most beautiful idol shares the same bathroom .

Her handsome, teal haired fiancé nearly stumbles and falls on her when he walks into the bathroom wanting to check on his beloved fiancée.

He panics, but calms down after he determines from her pulse that his woman’s life is not in danger.

Stifling a chuckle, soastonotalertZen this angel probably got all the right guesses about the sequence of events that had taken place.

Her fiancé sweeps her up bridal style, walks to a couch in the living room and gently takes a seat with her still in his arms. Careful not to wake her up from her peaceful slumber.

When she woke up, she tells him the story of her dream where she saw Zen in his performance, spicy jalapeños maybe?.

“I’m glad you had a good dream, my stunning sun,” he said in a chuckle.

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger zen #zen #hyun ryu #v #jihyun kim #saeran choi #saeyoung choi #mystic messenger 707 #yoosung kim #jumin han #Jaehee Kang #headcanon

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