Coming Out

Pairing: Young!Remus Lupin x Reader (It’s more fem, but I try not to use many pronouns)

Warnings: None, it’s fluffy (i hope) :)

Word Count: 1,184

Summary: You’re finally ready to come out as bi to your wonderful boyfriend Remus Lupin but you’re scared of what he and everyone else will think of you.

A/N: this is purely because im bi so I hope it brings someone somewhere comfort? It’s not too long, I’m not used to writing for the marauders yet but I hope you enjoy it!

The Black Lake on a summer’s evening was one of your favourite sites, it really never got old. The soft amber and red glows of sunset reflecting from the calm waters made you feel cosy and safe, hence why you were sat there now, your back against a tree and a book in your hand. Although, you couldn’t quite focus on the words - your mind was instead racing with the possible outcomes of the conversation you were about to have with your adorable boyfriend, Mr Remus Lupin.

Yourself and Remus had been together since fourth year and now, in sixth year, you still feeel all giddy while you talk to him. You had always been nervous around him, even when you started dating, but it was a good nervous - the type where your stomach feels like its doing somersaults and your heart just won’t slow down because you’re so in love. This time however, you felt nervous like you were about to sit an exam you hadn’t revised for, your tummy was sinking with your heart drumming too loudly and it was just all overwhelming. Despite your body trying to tell you otherwise though, you knew you were ready to tell someone and that someone had to be Remus.

“Hey, dove,” Remus’ voice caught you off guard as you spiralled, making you jump a little but still force an uneasy smile at him as he sat down next to you. You couldn’t help but admire how beautiful he looked, especially with the golden sun rays dancing across his scarred nose, with his tie loosened and his uniform slightly askew. Usually he was, of course, very smartly dressed as an example to the younger years (he was a prefect, after all) so you enjoyed this, looking at him with his sleeves rolled up and his hair ruffled. Remus was another one of your favourite sites.

“Hey.” you tried to say, but it came out as a soft whisper as you pressed your lips together, hard. 

“Are you going to tell me why you’ve asked me on a top secret trip to the black lake?” he nudged you, both teasingly and apprehensively, not knowing why you were suddenly all quiet and jumpy. You took a deep breath.

“I need to talk to you, Rem.” you looked back at the Black Lake, trying to anchor yourself to this moment and prepare for the worst, setting your book down next to you.

“Oh Merlin,” he mumbled, causing you to look back at him. His face was full of fear now. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“What!?” You cupped both of his cheeks in your hands, moving onto your knees next to him. “No, no of course not. I love you, I’m definitely not breaking up with you.” his hand came up to hold your wrist and draw soothing circles on it while you lent forwards to lightly kiss his nose (it always brought out a beautiful smile from the lycanthrope). “It’s something I-I need to tell you,” 

You settled back down with your back to the tree but now Remus placed his arm around your shoulders, pulling you towards his so you could rest your head on his shoulders. His other hand still held yours, drawing different shapes onto your palm. 

“You can tell me anything, sweetheart. Promise,” Remus gave a quick kiss to the top of your head.

“You won’t be mad? O-or break up with me, or tell everybody or call me some awful name?” you stammered, knowing full well that Remus would never do anything your head was telling you he might. This only concerned Remus more, pulling you closer and stroking your hair as some tears started to fall down your face.

“I love you more than anything. I promise you I won’t be mad or break up with you or any of that. I don’t want to pressure you into telling me, though. If You want we could just go on a walk while the suns still setting?” how Remus found the words to make you feel so safe and loved every time was a complete mystery to you. He was simply perfect.

“Thank you.” you whispered, building up your courage to just tell him already. “I’ve been confused and frustrated with myself for a long while now. I didn’t fully understand certain thoughts and feelings and it made me miserable but since I figured it out - figured myself out - it’s something that feels so right and I just know this is what I’ve been lacking for ages now. I-It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and I’ve finally found the last piece and I want to be proud of it and I want the people I love and care about to know.” you filled your lungs with another deep breath. Remus just silently listening to you so intently, still caressing your hair and giving the occasional kiss to your head was just so comforting. Now that you were doing it, you were so glad. It felt very right. You lifted off of his shoulder, facing him and taking both his hands in yours, very confident in what you were saying. “Remus, I love you so much and I want you to know that this doesn’t change the way I feel about you one bit. I’m bisexual and I think that you deserve to be the first person I tell.”

Remus’ brows pushed together a little, his lips parting then pressing together again while he gave your hands a squeeze. “Darling, please tell me if I say something wrong, okay? I really, really don’t mean to, I just don’t know a lot about all of this.” he brought one of your hands up to press a soft kiss to your knuckles. “Firstly, is bisexual where you like men and women? Sorry for not knowing properly, I just-”

“Don’t worry, Rem.” you cut him off with a smile. It was the 70s after all, there was a massive stigma around LGBTQ+ and it wasn’t exactly taught about in schools (although 50 years later you would’ve thought it might have at least it’s own official section in PSHE). “I didn’t expect you to be an expert in all things gay and yeah pretty much.”

“Right, good. I understand. So secondly, I’m so glad that this is something that makes you feel whole and I’m so proud of you for telling me. I know that must not have been easy for you and I’m honoured I’m the first person to know. I love you so much and I just want you to be happy, above all else.” at this point you were overcome by so much joy that this had turned out so perfectly and pulled him closer to you for a kiss. It was quite possibly the best kiss you had ever had and you both poured so much love into it. 

“Thanks, Rem,” you said softly, pulling away from him.

“You’ve got nothing to thank me for, darling. You’re happy and that’s what matters.”

Godric, he’s literally the sweetest, most perfect person on the planet.

It was already written, so I didn’t have to keep you in suspense for long. Here’s Part Two of Song and Dance Man. You can read the first part here, or go read the whole thing on AO3. Enjoy!

🎵

When Kagome had lifted her heavy head from her pillow the next morning and looked at her phone, there were ten messages. One from Shiori, one from Sango, and eight from Inuyasha.

She let her head flop back on the pillow, deciding not to open any of them yet. She wasn’t hiding, not exactly. This morning, she just wanted to pretend for a little while that everything was okay, have a quiet breakfast with her family, who she hadn’t seen for nearly a month, and then deal with the fall out.

The message from Shiori would no doubt be calm and caring. Sango’s message would also be caring, but she was pretty sure it would not be calm. And Inuyasha. She didn’t know. She didn’t know what to think. She’d put that in ‘after breakfast Kagome’s’ problem pile. Right now, she felt like crap, her period had finally arrived, and she needed to stand under a hot shower for at least, forever.

So she dragged herself to the bathroom and took some pain relief, had a shower, rummaged in her childhood bedroom for any clean clothes that still fit and found a pair of cut off jean shorts and a t-shirt from drama club that proclaimed Theatre is my Sport, then walked downstairs to the kitchen to sit listlessly at the table.

Grandpa read the paper, flicking the pages noisily every time he turned a page, making comments on various stories that no one replied to. Mama bustled around in the background, insisting on making her a cooked breakfast even though she’d said she wasn’t hungry. Souta clomped around noisily, calling out to Mama as he tried to find all the missing parts of his soccer uniform and put them in his bag for his game that morning.

Mama slid a plate in front of her and Kagome stared down at the single fried egg on toast as it glared at her accusingly. She deserved to be glared at. She had fought with Inuyasha. She had yelled at him, even after he’d been nothing but kind all morning at her bad mood, hurling her words at him like arrows, aiming to wound. Do you even care at all? Or are you just in it for the sex?! She felt the small amount of appetite she’d had leave her.

The back of Kagome’s eyes prickled with unshed tears, and she stabbed at the egg viciously with her fork, watching the yolk ooze out onto the toast. She should have known things were going too well.

Every few months, her period threw her a curve ball where her emotions got entirely out of whack and she became a paranoid anxious overthinking mess. If it happened when she was working at the theatre and they weren’t too busy, Jakotsu usually sent her home, recognising she wouldn’t be at her best. He jokingly called her mood swings her ‘little demon’ which made some of the youkai members of the crew roll their eyes, but it was true. She felt like an entirely different person when it happened, almost like she was watching someone else use her voice and say things she wouldn’t usually ever say out loud.

It had been so much worse this month, a slowly building feeling of anxiety and paranoia ever since she’d had the Depo Provera shot, wanting to try a birth control that was impossible to forget now she was in a relationship. Her doctor had been asking her to keep a diary of her symptoms, but she kept forgetting, and now look what had happened.

Sometimes Inuyasha said things without thinking. She knew that. He’d just been teasing her. And usually she’d just roll her eyes at him and tease him back, and they’d have a playful argument that led to a tickle fight or something a lot more hands on. But yesterday, she’d taken his words and twisted them. She could see that now. Yesterday, it had felt like her anxiety was looking for reasons to tear the world down around her. That look on his face – she’d hurt him. She had ruined everything.

She loved Inuyasha, even though sometimes he wasn’t the easiest man to love. He was a logical, practical person with a body to die for, who felt safest when he had order and control in his life. It was easy to see he was used to living alone, and sharing his personal space with her still threw him for a loop sometimes. He could be a little grumpy. A little obnoxious. A genuine diamond in the rough who carefully guarded his emotions. He was more a man of action than words, and she could appreciate that. But his sweet nature had been gradually revealed by the caring things he did for her, no matter how gruff his exterior could be sometimes.

She adored him. She’d never dated a hanyou before, and that came with a few extra complexities compared to being with a human, but she had grown to love his youkai traits. The way his ears told her how he was feeling. The way his pupils dilated when he was aroused. The way he took it upon himself to see to her physical needs, wanting to feed her, touch her, care for her. The way he relished how she smelled, how she tasted. He was a much more physical partner than she’d ever had before, and she loved it. How a simple touch from him, a spoken word in that low rumble could fill her with desire. In his hands, she felt cherished, desirable, wanted. She’d always thought she’d had a fairly average libido before, but with Inuyasha… she felt insatiable.

She’d had a couple of girl talks with Inuyasha’s friend Sango about him, and she'd hinted at a troubled childhood without giving any details. After that, Kagome had decided she wouldn’t push him out of his comfort zone before he was ready. He’d probably had to deal with so much growing up, and it was easy to deduce that he found talking about emotions difficult. That was okay, not everyone was good at that, he more than made up for his lack of words with his physical attentiveness and the way he looked at her. She could read the way he felt in those golden eyes.

To her delight, just recently he’d started to share things with her all on his own, just little details here and there, about his Mama or his Pop, family traditions they’d had when he was small, and she’d treated those tiny pieces of information like the gifts they were. And now look what she’d done. He’d probably never share his thoughts like that with her again.

It felt like there was a tight band around chest, making it hard to breathe properly. Her back was stiff from a night of tossing and turning, her lower belly twisted with cramps now that her period had finally arrived, along with a thumping headache that made her head heavy. She hoped the painkillers she’d taken in the bathroom would kick in soon.

The doorbell rang, adding to the family noise in the kitchen, and Souta ran to answer it, a piece of toast clutched in his hand. He was expecting a teammate who was getting a lift to the soccer game with him and Mama, and they heard him call out excitedly from the front room as he opened the door. Her mother sat down at the other end of the table.

“What are your plans for today, Kagome?” she asked absently, stirring her tea.

All Kagome wanted to do was go back to Inuyasha. Touch Inuyasha. Be with Inuyasha. But first they would have to have a Talk. Would he be like her previous boyfriends, and dump her for being ‘difficult’? Kagome sighed and slumped back in her chair. She shouldn’t have run yesterday, but she’d felt like a passenger in her own body, and had been frightened she would say something even more unforgivable than she already had.

Instead of going back to her apartment, she had caught a bus to the other side of the city to her childhood home, rushing in the door to fall into her mother's arms to sob hysterically, and had then taken some painkillers to dull what felt like an oncoming cluster headache and gone straight to bed before dinner.

“My plans? Oh nothing much. Mostly eating humble pie”, said Kagome dejectedly, pouring herself another cup of tea and pushing the impaled egg off to one side with a grimace.

Her mother lifted her head at that and inspected her daughter over the top of her teacup. “It’s going to be alright you know”, she said with a gentle smile, but before Kagome could ask her what she meant, Souta wandered back in, still eating his toast.

‘It wasn’t Kenji, it’s some guy for you, Kagome,’ he said vaguely.

‘Me? But nobody knows I’m here.” Puzzled, Kagome pushed back her chair and went to the door.

And there was Inuyasha. Her heart leapt with joy and the world, which had been dully monochrome and all askew, abruptly righted itself and sprang back into colour, just like the moment Dorothy had opened the door and found herself in Oz.

“Inuyasha?!”

She drank in the sight of him on the doorstep. He was looking more dressed up than she’d ever seen him, wearing an open-necked button shirt and jacket, his hair braided neatly. Even his jeans seemed to have no holes, and his black motorcycle boots looked polished. But otherwise he was indisputably, wonderfully Inuyasha. Her eyes roved over the austere angles of his face, his amber eyes and pointed silver ears, the stern mouth that made her knees go weak, the quiet solidity of him.

She wanted to throw herself into his arms and apologise profusely, but the strained look in his eyes, the tautness around his mouth, made her pause.

“Is everything okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“Fine.” Inuyasha cleared his throat. “Yeah it’s…uh, fine. I just came by because…um, I wondered if you had a balcony”, he finished in a rush.

Kagome’s jaw dropped. She didn’t know what she had been expecting, but it wasn’t that.

“A balcony?”

“Yeah. A balcony. Do you?”

Was this a peculiarly vivid dream? He seemed solid enough, standing there in a shirt and jacket she didn’t even know he possessed, his neatly braided hair revealing every nervous twitch of his ears.  

“There’s a back verandah”, she said cautiously, blinking up at him.

“That’ll do. Can we go there now?” he asked tensely. “If you’re not too busy that is?”

Kagome stared at him. “Inuyasha, are you sure you’re all right? You’re behaving very strangely.”

He huffed. “I know”, he said, his hands fidgeting with the edge of his jacket. “It’s just there’s somethin’ I need to do before I lose my nerve.”

“And this something needs to be done on our back verandah?” said Kagome slowly. He nodded.

She stood aside and Inuyasha stepped past her into the house. Maybe she was still asleep, and this was some sort of lucid dream brought on by those painkillers she’d taken last night. It definitely felt surreal. She blinked slowly and pinched herself, but he was definitely still there. Kagome led him down the hall and through the kitchen to the back door, ignoring Mama and Grandpa’s intense discussion about the need to clean out the storage shed, interspersed with polite requests to pass the tea.

“Well, here we are on the back verandah”, she said cautiously, wondering what might happen next. This day wasn’t turning out at all like she thought it would.

Inuyasha looked around anxiously and then gestured towards the old-fashioned swing seat that her father had made for her mother when she was a little girl. The paint was faded and peeling and it listed slightly to one side because the chains hanging from the beams were a little off centre.

“Sit down”, he said as he steered Kagome towards it.

“Inuyasha, what’s going on?” She watched as he walked down the two steps to the lawn and moved to stand in front of her, almost treading on her mother’s petunias, his hands clenching and unclenching.

“Just… don’t interrupt.” He took a deep breath, and opened his mouth. And then closed it again.

“What is it? Can I help?” she asked, twisting he fingers together. Kagome was getting really worried. Had he come all the way across town in his best clothes to dump her and now felt unable to go through with it?

Inuyasha cleared his throat savagely. “Sorry”, he said. “I’ll get it this time.” Another breath and then, to Kagome’s astonishment, he began to sing.

 You were meant for me I was meant for you!

Kagome’s eyes blurred with sudden tears. It was unmistakably You Were Meant for Me from Singing in the Rain. His voice was actually quite pleasant, a deep baritone that went off key a little here and there as he hit the higher notes, but mostly rang true. And then, when she thought she couldn’t be any happier, he began dancing! True, Inuyasha was no Gene Kelly, but he was definitely shuffling from side to side and every now and then he even tried a twirl.

 Nature patterned you, an' when she was done You were all the sweet things rolled into one!

His expression wasn’t really that of a lover delivering a heartfelt sentiment. It was intent, frowning as he tried to remember the words and coordinate his dance steps. Once he found himself facing the wrong way, and had to turn round hastily and pick up his routine again.

 You're like a plaintive melody That never lets me free

And then he was holding out his hand, inviting her to dance with him, drawing her up from the seat and leading her down the steps to the garden.

 I'm content, the angels must have sent you And they meant you just for me!

Smiling through her tears, she let him swing her round until he came to a halt with a flourish, looking into Kagome’s eyes at last with a mixture of relief, trepidation and excruciating embarrassment. Even the tips of his white pointed ears were red.

“Inuyasha,” she said, starry-eyed. “You were singing. And dancing.”

He coughed, then smiled at her hesitantly. “I’m not very good, I know. But I-“ She pushed her fingers over his lips to stop him talking.

“That was the best version of You Were Meant For Me I’ve ever heard.” Her voice cracked a little as she stood on tiptoe to put her arms around his neck. “The very best”, she whispered, “and I should know because I’ve heard it a lot.”

He gave her a relieved grin and pulled her close, leaning down for a kiss. But before their lips met, there was a burst of applause from the back door. Kagome’s family, evidently distracted from breakfast by Inuyasha’s singing, were beaming broadly and clapping. Souta whistled.

“Excellent! Very well done!” said Grandpa.

“Kagome’s always needed someone who will dance with her”, said her mother when Kagome introduced Inuyasha to them.

“I’m not really much of a dancer”, he confessed sheepishly, glancing down at Kagome with a blush.

“You looked like you were doing fine to me”, said Grandpa, which just went to show how much he knew about dancing.

Her mother, it appeared, knew more about what had happened yesterday than Kagome had thought.

“I have to admit young man, I had my doubts when you called me yesterday evening. When my daughter arrived here she was very unhappy”, she said, regarding Inuyasha with the severity she reserved for shoppers at the fruit market that squeezed the avocados hard and then put them back. And then she smiled. “But, you seem to have redeemed yourself. Welcome to the family.” Kagome giggled at Inuyasha’s wide eyed expression.

“We don’t like Kagome being unhappy”, her grandfather added. “She was born for laughter.” He broke off as the doorbell rang and her mother clicked her tongue as she checked the time on the kitchen clock.

“That’ll be your friend, Souta. You’d better let him in and then finish getting your soccer kit organised, we need to leave in fifteen minutes.” She turned back to Kagome and Inuyasha with a twinkle in her eye. “If there are to be any more song and dance routines, you’ll have to keep the noise down, I’m afraid, unless you want a larger audience.”

“I think once was enough”, said Inuyasha ruefully. He took Kagome’s hands as her family disappeared. “Was… once enough, Kagome?”

“Yes”, she said, her fingers tightening around his. She knew just how much that dance must have cost him. “Oh, Inuyasha, I can’t believe you did that for me! Especially after yesterday.”

“It was the only way I could think of to tell you how much I love you”, he said softly, stroking back her fringe. “I remembered what you said once about your job. That even though everyone in the company works hard to put a show together, being part of the backstage crew is always faceless because the audience is only there to see the actors shine. I wanted to show you that you’ll always shine like a star to me.”

Kagome’s throat was so tight, she could hardly talk. “Inuyasha…” was all she managed to choke out.

“I love you, Kagome”, he said, his eyes locked on hers. “If you want me to sing and dance for you every day, I will.” He grinned a little, one fang poking over his bottom lip. “You never know, I might even get better at it.”

“You don’t need to do that”, said Kagome, finding her voice at last. Drawing her hands free, she reached up and put them on his shoulders, feeling his strength and his solidity. “You don’t need to dance for me, or sing for me, Inuyasha. You just need to be you. You just need to be there. You just need to love me.”

“Now that, I can do”, said Inuyasha, so obviously relieved that a daily song and dance routine would not be required that she laughed, giddy with happiness. He laughed too and kissed her soundly, lifting her up and swinging her wildly around in a circle. Wild joy surged along her veins, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The kisses didn’t get too heated, both of them very conscious that they were standing in her mother’s garden and could have an audience at any moment. But the promise of heat was there, and Kagome shivered in anticipation.

“I missed you”, she mumbled at last between kisses.

“I missed you too. You were gone for less than a day and it felt like a year.” He held her tightly, and she leant against him with a great sigh of contentment. “My apartment sounded so empty without you singing in it. I had to leave that damn musical running to fill up the silence.”

“Really?” giggled Kagome, delighted. “So that’s where you learnt the words! And how did you work out the dance routine?”

“Ah.” Inuyasha breathed out a deep sigh. “That was Jakotsu. When you wouldn’t answer your phone, I kinda panicked. Shiori said you didn’t go home, and Sango didn’t know where you were either. I called the theatre to see if you were there, and Jakotsu answered. When he worked out who I was, he made me tell him everything. And when he asked what I was going to do to win you back and I said I was going to sing for you, he said I couldn’t do it without a dance routine too. Made me come to the theatre to learn one. Longest fucking night of my life.”

Kagome giggled even harder. “He probably enjoyed himself.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “He said that if you were prepared to talk to me after seeing the way I danced, you must really love me.”

“He’s right”, said Kagome, standing on tiptoe to kiss him again.

“Now you know why I was so nervous when I arrived. I was terrified I would lose my nerve.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. That’s a song and dance routine I’ll never forget.” Her smile faded. “Seriously, I know how hard that was for you, Inuyasha.”

“I felt pretty stupid. But sometimes, taking a risk and letting go means you can win everything you’ve ever wanted. And I want you Kagome. I want this relationship to work. If you feel I’m taking you for granted, please tell me. I’m sorry I didn’t notice before. I’ve just lived alone for so long, sometimes I forget. I'll make an effort to ask you more about your day, and the very next show at the theatre, I’ll buy a front row ticket. I know I’m not very romantic, but if you like, we could start going out for dinner. I could bring you flowers…”

Kagome shook her head, smiling. “It’s okay. I don’t need flowers. And I don’t need by the book romance. Your dance routine… now that was romantic. All I need someone who’s prepared to take a risk for me, someone who’ll grit his teeth and make a fool of himself to show me that he loves me.”

“And I need someone who’ll make me laugh and push me out of my comfort zone and make me feel”, said Inuyasha, gathering her into him for a long, sweet kiss, then sighing in contentment as he breathed in her scent, nuzzling his nose into her hair.

“So, about yesterday”, he asked carefully. “Are you feeling better today?” Kagome sighed.

“I am so, so sorry about yesterday”, she said. “I started on a new type of birth control, an injection instead of the pills I usually take, and I think it’s not a good fit for me. I’ve never felt that out of control before. I think I need to go back to my doctor and discuss it.”

“Would you mind if I came too when you have your appointment? So I know what’s going on? You really worried me yesterday Kagome", he said seriously, stroking her cheek. "I didn’t know what to do.”

“You would do that?”

Inuyasha scoffed. “Well, it’s not like you’re taking the birth control just for you”, he said, a light dusting of red on his cheeks. “And if it’s makin’ you feel bad, I want to know the right things to do.”

In the garden, a blackbird started to sing, a pure trill of joy. Kagome felt the sunshine on her shoulders and Inuyasha’s warm arm around her, and when she pressed her face into his throat and breathed in the scent of his skin, she thought she would shatter with happiness.

“I think I feel a song coming on”, she whispered, snuggling her head under his chin.

“Yeah?” he said. She could hear the smile in his voice, feel it as he kissed the top of her head. “I don't mind that. Just as long as it’s a duet.”

The week boasted no irregularities at Night Raven College, an unusual feat for an institution of its background. You however, having lived every week since your arrival shrouded with stress if not by the overblottings, then a troublesome class assignment, rather enjoyed the silence and appreciated it(while you still could).

It was Friday and the last bell of the day had rung, a cacophony of relieved sighs following the loud ringing alongside the rustling of materials being put away. You, as well as your irritating, arrogant cat roommate packed your bags as the teacher gave one last reminder of the homework. As it was the weekend, you would concern yourself with it until Sunday night.

You turned to Grimm as you both stood in the hallway, Ace and Deuce having just exited the classroom amongst a throng of final period students eager to return to their dorms. “I was about to tell Grimm, but since you’re both here, I’ll let everyone know,” you said as Deuce and Ace arrived to your standing point, “I’m not sure I’ll make it to movie night this evening so you guys can start without me.”

The four of you had planned a perfect and relaxing evening with enough food that would be enough to satisfy your craving for junk. Needless to say, you were annoyed to have missed such an opportunity. Especially as your guys’ schedules had uniformly lined up after a very long time of deliberation. Crowley sure had a knack for ruining your opportunities to relax.

Ace shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, let’s just reschedule for another day.”

“But we’ve been planning this for weeks! For once we all are not super tired after a single day. Besides, we already have all the snacks and finally convinced Headmaster to let us borrow his projection device-“

“Like Ace said,” began Deuce, interrupting Grim on his whining tirade, “it’s not like we can’t reschedule. Though I’m a little disappointed, I wouldn’t want you missing your errands.”

“By the way Prefect, since we’re on the subject, where are you going?” Ace still had that carefree smile, it eased your nerves for what was to come this afternoon.

You pulled out your student ID and pointed out what set it apart from regular students’. “This stamped crest at the bottom right corner recognizes me as an official Dorm leader, it will also let me into the room where Dorm leaders hold their meetings...”

The stamp in question was just like the official school crest, except the crow was positioned differently and instead of black print, it was red. You stared at it shortly before pocketing the laminated identification card.

“So, if I am understanding correctly,” Deuce muttered, “you’re attending a Dorm leader meeting?!” You winced at his booming words but nodded, a little confused with his outburst. He didn’t let you linger with confusion, “It’s just that, and these are just what the rumors say, but apparently Dorm leader meetings are incredibly violent. They begin arguing and escalate to a full blown magic battle.”

That didn’t sound too good.

“Then it makes sense that the door is sealed, Headmaster wouldn’t want students witnessing the Dorm leaders in disarray, huh?” Hummed Ace. You had a vague hunch the sealing was there for other reasons besides privacy but Ace suspected it too. It may be exactly as he said...

You could all but calm your jitters now, just what did you get yourself into? Or more like, what did Headmaster Crowley want from you this time? He was the one who asked you to attend mind you.

“Rest easy Prefect, you have your phone so if anything goes wrong, call or text us.” Deuce always knew what to say.

“Thank you Deuce, that’s very reassuring,” you smiled sincerely for you did feel much better. With a temporary silence, where all four of you stood awkwardly until you decided it was inevitable, you said your goodbyes, “Well, I’ll be off now. Wouldn’t want to be late on my first Dorm leader meeting.” You tried to put on a cheery smile but all that came out was one that looked eerily similar to how it would if someone had stitched the corners of your lips to lift them.

You exchanged “Goodbye’s,” some “good luck’s,” before ultimately starting down the hallway. The three magicians stood behind as you, their magicless friend, disappeared into a different corridor.

Ace then after said, “Well, can’t help it, we’ll just have to find a different day”

“You try to sound like you don’t care but you were actually very eager to show Prefect the movie you chose, huh” teased Deuce. And so, another round of bickering ensued as the desolate and ignored Grimm tried to regain their attention.

.

From the moment you stepped away from the comfort of your circle, the heaviness in the pit of your stomach increased tenfold. You could not imagine the refined and respectable Dorm leaders would really break the rules in front of the Headmaster, this logic gave you some semblance. Alas it could only last so long when you remembered how far Leona had gone just to remove from the Magift tournament your good friend Malleus.

Indeed a worrying amount of bad blood existed amongst the Dorm-heads but you hoped it would be subdued with the authoritative presence of Crowley. You’d hate to be caught up in any more magic spectacles. The sheer negativity from an overblot was enough to overwhelm a magician, so one could only fathom your exhaustion at such an exposure without an ounce of magical blood in your veins.

When you stopped in front of the designated door, your thoughts also stopped. Instead you realized how paranoid you’d become, so much so that you were thinking about a potential overblot during the meeting. It was silly to be this nervous, you had spoken with all of them and had befriended a few. How difficult would it be to sit through a likely mundane talk that would regard upcoming events?

Maybe there’d be bickering of course, but that was expected as not everyone would be in agreement at all times. They each were very unique individuals with equally unique thought processes. However knowing them, they would go onto personal territory and begin insulting one another. Which could lead to pent up frustrations being released and a whole blown out magic battle-

Slapping your checks gently, you deescalated the situation that had felt all too much like a premonition. From the pocket of your uniform, you pulled out your student ID.

Now, you’d dealt with magical tools before but that didn’t mean you were never at a complete loss when introduced to something new. You thought to bring it up like a scanner, but to no avail were you granted access. You fiddled with the door and the ID card for a couple of minutes, spying the time was five minutes before the meeting began.

At the moment your eyes landed on your wrist watch which was elevated to the level of the door’s knob, you noticed a small slit right above it. You slid the card in, first turned up, second time turned down.

Your third try you did face up again, with the end where your picture was located at tucked in first. An electronic beep followed, and as the door opened, you cheered at having bested the admittance tool that was much like a credit card machine.

The room seemed dark at first, or well that was more of your impression of it. Much of Night Raven College followed a dark, gothic type architecture as well as aesthetic. You weren’t surprised that everyone was already here, seated around a circular table with papers, pencils, and other materials laid askew.

You’d never been to one of these, so all you had on you was your backpack. That should work as it carried your writing utensils though. One more thing you noticed that set you apart, was that you were still in your school uniform. It seemed everyone else was wearing their dorm uniforms, even Malleus who never attended a meeting due to poor invitation etiquette(from other dorm leaders) stood out less than you, and he was well over six feet tall.

And it also seemed like Vil had made Captain Obvious his role, “Look at this potato, absolutely inconceivable that you would come to a meeting in those dirty rags.”

“You practically wear the same thing,” you pointed out, but the next attack swooped in so quickly and ridiculously you were left flabbergasted.

Riddle had been the orchestrator of the attack, having stated in his harsh tone, “You’re late.”

After twisting your eyebrows, you argued, “Even the clock says it’s 2 minutes before 4-“ You wanted to say that their little tea party didn’t seem too important but held your tongue. You had a feeling Riddle wouldn’t allow you access to the snacks if you spoke back anymore and frankly, you were starving.

“You should have a seat Prefect, Headmaster is very particular about everyone being in their place when the meeting begins.” Azul was kind enough to inform you.

You found it funny how Crowley demanded order in the meeting room but couldn’t do the same in dire ordeals involving a certain group of Dorm leaders. But enough about that, you needed a seat quickly.

However, there was no empty seats. You looked wayward into the room and found a sad little stool in the corner. It so happened to be made of the heaviest metal. The head splitting noise of the feet of the stool dragging on the floor filled the vicinity. You could feel a number of gazes on your back as you tried not to focus on the other occupants.

Whether it was by mercy or annoyance, definitely the latter, you were suddenly lifted and sat on the stool, you held on for dear life as it floated at a rapid pace to the table and then haphazardly twisted so you were facing everyone. You were squeezed between the floating tablet that had its own chair and Kalim.

Vil huffed as if exasperated and drolly commented as he leaned his chin on his palm, “If you are to continue to attend these meetings, you have to wear appropriate attire that represents your dorm.”

“But Ramshackle dorm doesn’t even have a crest(or clean water), there’s nothing to represent-“

“Up up, you will not argue with me. Make sure to have a uniform next time you come or I’ll personally make it so that you cannot enter this room.” Vil was always very harsh with you. Unlike everyone else who seemed to care less about the garbs you had on, he seemed especially offended. “You think you can look however as a Dorm leader? How can you call yourself an advocate for Ramshackle Dorm when you can’t even put the minimal effort into your appearance.”

You didn’t think you looked as awful as Vil criticized. Maybe your hair was a little frizzy and unkept at the hairline and your shirt wasn’t as tucked in as earlier but it wasn’t like you came in caked in mud either. Vil had impossibly high standards. However now that you noticed, you looked notably more unruly than the rest who had not a wrinkle in place and didn’t look like the standard tired student after a long day of classes. But then, suddenly some help-

“Ah, just knock it off. All your whining is getting on my nerves,” huffed Leona. He was leaned back with his eyelids closed and that angry look on his face. Whether his intention was to help you or not, you had to be thankful for his very honest character. Some disliked his bluntness and called him lazy, but questionable morals aside, you actually thought Leona was quite efficient. As they say, “lazy” people aren’t lazy, they are simply smart enough to come up with a more convenient and trouble free process. You were brought back from your thoughts by the lion himself, “Besides, he’s gonna arrive soon-“

“More like now-“ at Kalim’s excitable tone, the shrill of shattering glass engulfed your ears and you knew immediately, based on that very wasteful entrance, that Crowley had arrived.

As said, he stood before you as a flood of heaven’s light from the sizable hole in the window entered the murky, dank walls of hell. Crowley scanned the room and did a double take on you.

Your stool was much shorter than the high chairs everyone else had been graced with, you were also more or less slumping in an attempt to make yourself smaller. This was unconsciously done of course, try as you might you couldn’t stop acknowledging how little you fit in with the rest of the room’s inhabitants.

Crowley’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, as if he was at a loss for words. If you didn’t know any better, he was probably at a loss for words.

He said while his beady little eyes settled on your face, “Oh, well look who’s here early!”

“It’s ten minutes past the meeting time,” Riddle said rather snarkily.

“Ah yes...” the man in question mumbled, then after shouting, “BUT, we shall get started immediately!” Crowley had declared. “Come then Dorm leaders, let me listen to your complaints”

“I’d hardly call them complaints, they’re more like issues that need to be resolved for the sake of the student’s safety,” said Azul after a clean rearranging of his papers. “Octavinelle can deal with its own problems, however when those problems transcend outside of our plumbing abilities, we will request help from a third party source.” He pushed his glasses up his nose bridge and with finality said, “That third party source is you, Headmaster”

The pressure was on in a matter of seconds. You knew Crowley’s tune too well to understand that he had probably procrastinated on a lot of the topics that would be mentioned today. Half of you couldn’t wait to see his ear chewed off for once and the other half dreaded the length of this meeting for this was a meeting that involved Crowley and responsibility. Two elements like those simply did not mix.

And you were right... His first response?

Evasion.

“A-ah, I see. But Azul, was the flooding not fixable by magic?” The crow man said. You looked between the two, Azul’s eyebrows jutting down almost immediately after that statement.

“Headmaster Crowley, you should know that magic is not the solution to all of our problems. Besides, it’s only a temporary fix that is becoming more, and more frequent to see to. Please contact the plumbing company and have them fix our flooding problem-“

“Stupid.”

Oh dear. Dear, dear lord. You hoped he hadn’t any more insulting elaborating for your premonition would become very true if a certain octopus’s temper wasn’t moderated.

The single word had come from Leona. You had all paused to listen to the lion who chuckled mockingly much to your dismay. “You live underwater and you’re complaining about a flooding problem? To me it sounds like all you need is a custom pot and you’ll feel right at home”

Was Leona still annoyed that his deal had been for naught during the magift tournament? Definitely. Was Azul still brimming with irritation that his contracts had been reduced to dust? Without a doubt.

“Maybe you should concern yourself with that flea infestation from your own stye” Azul replied coolly. Your eyes widened as you looked down, feeling an awkward tension suddenly rise. You weren’t surprised an argument was being instigated between these two. Based on a couple of previous mentioned incidents that is.

You just wished nobody else would warrant any more input. Alas, it seemed these days all you did was hopeful and useless wishing.

“Cease your mindless bickering, you sound like fools. There are actual topics in need of discussion and exchanging insults won’t resolve them,” Riddle was the one who had mentioned.

But then he was in the line of fire, “If we’re bringing up issues that need discussion, then I’d like to put in a formal complaint against Riddle.” Riddle sputtered at Leona’s words. “He overworks his students and forces them into useless tasks like painting roses red. It makes it worse when you find out that he dictates the outfits they wear and makes them do it under the blistering heat.”

“I most certainly do not!” Riddle had shouted and appeared to be gaining a red hue to his face. “The weather in Heartslabyul is regulated”

“So you don’t deny that you exhaust your students regardless of the weather?” Leona added another quip, “ You wouldn’t be so defensive if you weren’t with any faults, your tomato face gives it all away.”

“Now now, do not insult Riddle for wanting to make his Dorm a beautiful place. We should praise him for putting in the effort of making it look so gorgeous unlike that barren wasteland of yours Leona. It’s an absolute eyesore,” drawled Vil.

“What’s an eyesore is that your face looks more like cake than cake itself Vil,” the lion fired back. Vil was readying his rebuttal. You clenched your teeth and looked helpless between both, looking to Crowley who had taken to sipping delicately out of a tea cup. Bastard.

It’s not that you were concerned for their strained relationships, it’s what their strained relationships entailed for you. Crowley wouldn’t herd his students into peaceful territory, instead he’d leave you to it. Once again the responsibility would be dumped onto you at the expense of having Crowley look for a way for you to return to your world. You sighed dejectedly as you watched the unfolding ordeal.

Before you knew it, Azul had jumped back into the mix and was berating Leona for always instigating fights with his “childish” comments.

“If I’m so childish for stating the obvious, what does that make you guys for stringing along?” His rhetorical question seemed only to further fan the flames of rage in the three Dorm leaders. You looked at Kalim besides you who was laughing loudly.

So carefree and free spirited...

He pointed excitedly and said to you, “It always seems to go South, just enjoy the show while it lasts!”

“I don’t remember it always being like this. But I suppose things changed in my absence.” Malleus chimed into yours and Kalim’s discussion.

“They did. A lot of us don’t have very good chemistry with one another. It always ends up in a big fight if Headmaster doesn’t intervene” said Idia on the other side of the floating tablet.

“But is it okay to simply sit back without doing anything to put a stop to them?” Malleus questioned, looking quite troubled. From what you were told(that he wasn’t ever invited to these meetings), you discerned Malleus had been quite looking forward to interacting with his peers.

Ah but there was no way to when more than half of the Dorm leaders were engaging in a verbal battle with one another.

Idia had said what you and Kalim had both been thinking, “If you try to stop them, you’ll just be dragged into their mindless argument like Riddle and Vil”

“It’s so easy to get lost in the rage. Idia and I have both fallen victims to the petty behavior,” Kalim said with a wicked wide grin. You don’t understand why he looks so proud of himself...

“Yes, it’s like this room is cursed or something,” Idia remarked.

You sighed wearily, “I don’t think the room is the problem...”

The lot of you watched on as the insults grew more and more personal. Unbelievable that they were so egotistical and prideful. Vil really felt like he was above all others(which you found ridiculous; beauty was subjective and as far as you knew, he only adhered to a selected society’s beauty standard). Riddle really believed he could exercise control over the rest(it would be better if he would try to coax the others into a compromise like an equal but instead he decided to shout commands like an arrogant, tyrannical brat). Leona was prideful and that bluntness you had praised not even ten minutes ago was becoming the bane of your existence. Speaking of banes, Azul couldn’t be more insufferable with his know it all attitude.

You had not realized that Crowley’s demeanor had shifted to something much darker and sinister as the arguing winded along. Finally he broke. Just like his tea cup.

“SILENCE,” the crow man shouted, effectively silencing the Dorm leaders, “YOU ALL HAVE ME SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR CONSTANT SHOUTING MATCHES!”

“Headmaster, you are shouting yourself,” Kalim said, matter of factory, scratching his temple with a single digit.

“Ah. Ahem, excuse me,” Crowley let the components of the tea cup he shattered crumble to the floor. They landed with a clink in the quiet room. “It’s been consistent arguments from you all and it’s very disappointing to witness this kind of behavior from you, who are considered elites at this already elite institution. I will not tolerate this blatant insubordination. You are Dorm heads and as such, are expected to conduct yourselves like so under all circumstances. You’ve disrespected and defiled your titles with your selfish and childish behavior and have left me no choice but to give a punishment of the worst severity.”

.

A heavy quietude hung in the air. The threat breathed down all your necks as you all waited with bated breaths. You hoped Crowley wouldn’t dish out the very formidable punishment to you. After all, you’d done nothing wrong. Crowley wouldn’t know what was coming his way if he even considered involving you in any more Dorm leader altercations.

Riddle braved up a few ass kissing words, “We understand Headmaster and will accept any punishment you give us”

“It was completely juvenile of us to act in such a way that defiles the good image of a Dorm leader,” Vil followed up.

“Yes, we profoundly apologize and will not do it again.” Azul bowed his head in shame.

Leona said nothing, for he had been truthful with his feelings and felt no remorse in expressing them. He thought the other three looked quite like boot-lickers offering suck up statements. Whatever Crowley had to offer, he could take it.

Bring it on he mentally challenged the bird man.

“Your punishment is,” Crowley sucked in a long breath, purposely leaving you all with the suspense. “So horrific you’ll spend every single day in complete and utter agony. Every moment will be a torturous reliving of your worst nightmare. You will come out changed men... traumatized changed men.” A few had nervous sweat drops rolling down their temples and others looked comically stone faced. “You all will be subjected to the cruelest, most severe repercussion.” Crowley said, “You will be subjected to...” and you all stood at the edge of your seats. The time came when he revealed the long awaited words, “A sleepover.”

.

.

.

“Huh?”

Leona was wrong...

HE COULD NOT TAKE THAT! Bring it back! Sweet sweet and noble ancestor, reverse this curse-

“WHAT!?” Vil’s shrill scream was enough to make you wince. Azul was stunned to silence much like the rest of you.

In all honesty you didn’t think it was that bad. Until-

“In Ramshackle dorm-“

“WHAT!?” It was your turn to scream as you stood up, knocking your stool over and causing a cry as it made harsh contact with the floor.

“For seven days-“

“WHAT!?” You all shouted in unison, baffled by the unexpected turn of events.

Crowley had nerve.

“To offer my dorm like that,” you sputtered in disbelief, “it’s unacceptable Headmaster!”

“Fufu, it’s the only place big enough to house you eight and isolated enough to keep you from interacting with anyone but each other.” Crowley explained as if you had all accepted it and come to terms yet. You would raise hell before you even considered allowing it. And you did.

“I refuse-“

“I override your refusal. This is for the benefit of the school and my decision is final.” That piece of no good dog shit. Bird brains were small with high capacities however this one seemed to only be small and know how to only be small. “I am very busy so I cannot police the Dorm leaders into acting civilized enough to not embarrass the school. However I will provide Ramshackle with all the necessities to host the additional seven temporary students for I am gracious.” He goaded.

“No Headmaster, you are not being gracious at all,” you fired back, “I don’t understand why you have to lump me in with all of them. Never mind that I am a Dorm leader, you never recognize me as an official one except when you need something from me. On top of that, why is Kalim, Idia, and Malleus being punished as well?”

“Kalim and Idia have previously participated in the discourse. As for Malleus...” Crowley rubbed his chin, “Well, I suppose it would be a learning experience for him. I’m sure Lilia will approve.”

“You still haven’t answered why you’re lumping me in as well- Hey!” You cried as you ran after the bird man who had hopped out of the window and was falling fifty feet. “Headmaster you can’t just leave without an explanation!”

“But I have explained already,” his voice echoed as you leaned out the cavity in the stained glass pane, “You are an impressive beast tamer! I trust all will go well in your hands! And be sure to have Ramshackle dorm ready to receive its new students by 7:00pm tomorrow!”

Ah... he was gone just like that. What do you know, he didn’t even let you chew him out...

The room that had been in chaos suddenly descended into a space void of any sound but breathing.

.

.

.

“Don’t say anything,” you weakly mumbled as you glared at the spires of NRC, the wind blowing through the flags and essentially masking Crowley’s location. You were sure that everyone had heard the crow man’s last few shouts of information, but had probably missed the one that pertained particularly to you. Defeated you turned to the rest and said in an eerily calm voice, “I need to make the preparations, please be on time tomorrow evening and make sure you have everything you will need for a week”

“But wait, aren’t you against this? Why are you suddenly giving in?” Kalim uttered, probably put off by your change in demeanor. In truth, you were still definitely against it but you took Crowley’s words like a threat.

Fingers tapped against your chin, “I think all of our hands are tied. You guys can’t disobey Crowley and I can’t afford to put him in bad graces with me.”

“Still, for him to just declare something like that and disappear without elaborating...” Vil seemed exasperated as the rest of you. You could hear Idia’s nervous breathing through the tablet as Riddle spoke up.

“With or without elaborating, it’s like you said,” he gestured to you, “we cannot disobey. Especially as he is correct in the fact that we have acted out of line.”

“Regardless of how quickly things have happened, I’ll have you guys know that I lock the doors at 10:00pm sharp. Be on time please.” You were already picking up your bag and heading out the door dejectedly. “Also, don’t forget anything!”

•———•••———•••———•••———•••———•

Ahaaa this chapter is super rushed and choppy but I’m looking most forward to writing interactions between the characters as they all settle into their new lifestyles for a whole week.

Top 5 favourite MSQ events.

@lightsmercy I sat on this one for a while, in part because I sort of had to mentally sift through them for the ones that I really liked/liked the way they surprised me, but mostly because I had to track down their quest names (and lemme tell you how hard it is to just look up “that one quest where that thing happened” and get what I need ;_; but thank you so much for your patience!!!) I’m going to stick to ARR quests for the sake of my own sanity (otherwise this list would be impossible to make. There’s too many, dammit) and I’ll be listing them from 5 to 1, with 1 being the one I liked the most (or in this case, “like” is more “it shocked me in a way I wasn’t prepared for but made sense in the narrative so I liked it, even if it destroyed me”) (also under the cut bc I got real rambly about it. I just like talking about literary themes/foreshadowing/symbolism in game stories, sorry ;_; HERE WE GO!!!)

5. “Escape from Castrum Centri” This one…hoo boy. The entire quest arc leading up to this is amazing, for the record (I’m also a sucker for rescue missions and the planning thereof, but I always have been,) so I was hyped as we were led up to this quest. The whole breakout of the scions was fun, but man the whole while the Scions and myself were just going around like, “but Thancred??? Where is Thancred???” and it solidified that though they give him endless amounts of shit, the second the chips are down they’re all there for each other- you know, like a family or something, and then when we saw he was possessed by Lahabrea, and that that was what had led to them being captured, even! MY HEART!!! (Also I would like to submit a formal complain to SE for making Minfilia sad enough to cry out to her possessed father figure. Why would you do that to her. How dare you, SE. She didn’t deserve that.) Thancred’s possession didn’t feel like it came out of left field, either, something that I loved: there was a lot of foreshadowing that he was going to burn himself out in a very dangerous way even as far back as our fight with Ifrit, and even his optional dialogue if you speak to him was just him not coping with anything. It still surprised me, but not in a way that made me feel like the rug was pulled out from under me in a bad way, and I love those kinds of surprises in stories. 

4. “Yugiri’s Game” This one caught me off guard (and solidified that these kids were unofficially adopted by the Scions, too and were adored and doted on at every turn,) because Yugiri had managed to teach these little kids, who had only just recently escaped their war-torn home, the basics of being a shinobi while masking it as just a game of hide-and-seek. She was teaching them how to keep silent and hidden in the event of the Garleans finding them. Having such an innocent children’s game turned into a method of teaching survival was as clever as it was heart breaking, knowing that it was a necessity, that the kids knew why they were taught this way, and that the kids were still optimistic and cheerful in spite of that knowledge. The Doman Adventurer’s Guild is run by some wonderful kiddos, and this was a wonderful way to show that.

3. “Blood for Blood” helped cement that though Haurchefant, while the staunchest ally for building relations between Ishgardians and the outside world, he was not the only one that was willing to accept the aid of an outsider when they know their own people are failing them. Really, much of the Ishgardian quests within ARR did a beautiful job of leading up to Heavensward in that it showed that thought the government was rigidly against working with the outside world, its citizens- especially the working ones who just wanted to get by and not get into the political bullshit- were more than eager to work with those outside of Ishgard, though it also did an equally amazing job of showing how scared the population was of the Holy See and its Inquisitors- with their unilateral (and as is exposed with this questline, frighteningly unchecked validity of its own) authority, they can accuse anyone who disagrees of heresy, and their trial is literally a fucking witch trial. There’s no winning in such a trial: either you die and you’re proven innocent, or you refuse, in which case they kill you. These quests really solidified for me that going into Heavensward, we were going to have to save the Ishgardian people from it’s own government just as much as we would have to save them from the dragons. 

2. “Recruiting the Realm” was…eye opening. It did a wonderful job of really cementing the world’s view of the Scions, the Leveilleur name, and what everyone really thought of Alphinaud’s altruistic but ultimately doomed endeavor. The moment it was revealed that not only did Alphinaud obtain funding from the Syndicate, but that he was utterly disinterested in neither disclosing that to us, nor entertaining our concerns about it, it confirmed two things for me: 1) that though he (and really, at that point everyone that was a major NPC in a political position) genuinely cared for us and considered us a friend, we were, before anything else, the Weapon of Light (yes, Weapon, but I’d be here all day dissecting my thoughts on that and why I come to that conclusion) and weapons aren’t exactly asked for their opinions on the wars in which they are used, and 2) that A Realm Reborn was only going to end in betrayal and tragedy because all of the players involved thought they knew better when they didn’t.

1. “All Good Things”

Look. I’ve rambled at this point for several paragraphs more than anyone likely ever wanted me to, but holy shit I can’t articulate how much this gutted me- and how I liked the way in which it gutted me without writing a thesis on it so I’m sorry again in advance but from a writing perspective I love this quest so goddamn much.

Because it could have been easier for them to just have us ring up Minfilia following our success and have the attack on the Waking Sands already happening. It would have been easier to instill a sense of urgency and “Holy fucking shit we need to go now” to get us to the Waking Sands quicker, only to find the scene that we did. That would have been the expected trope: I mean, really, how many times has that sort of thing happened in video game stories before?

But they completely subvert that by having you report in to Minfilia as usual, and she’s always so bright and cheery and relieved that you’re okay, and her dialogue was just…in hindsight, it was fucking artful.

“Pray return to the Waking Sands, where you shall receive a hero’s welcome!”

And you have a moment, where you first get to the Waking Sands, where you realize that Tataru isn’t in her usual spot on the stool at the table by the door. And you think, “oh, that’s to be expected, she’s probably with the others downstairs waiting for me!” So you go down the steps and through the door like every other time before. You expect it to be warmly lit and densely populated. You expect everyone there cheering and glad that you’re alright.

You load in, and then your stomach drops. 

The lights are off, the vases that were otherwise just background pieces to fill space are knocked over and askew, and there are dead bodies in front of you- one of which is in a Garlean uniform.

I can’t properly articulate the way I felt cold when my brain caught up with what I was looking at. And I saw that the quest marker was pointing to Minfilia’s chamber, but I didn’t go down that way. I turned left first.

More bodies. Bodies of many of the NPCs that had always been there. Characters that had dialogue that updated with your quests, characters that were working on their own accomplishments and goals alongside you, characters that cheered you on as you went about your duties. Dead.

I couldn’t remember any of their names. I couldn’t remember any of their dialogue that stood out to me at the time. I even cried over the lalafell mender that usually stood on top of the boxes in there, because I couldn’t find him, either. 

Then I went to the Antecedent’s chambers and…hoo boy that Echo. That Echo. There’s a whole new type of helplessness when you’re watching a recording of a tragedy, personal or not, where you just wish you could reach out and just make it stop, but you can’t. You just watch in horror as people are gunned down, or stabbed, or taken away. You watch as Minfilia, at the ripe old age of fucking nineteen, doesn’t flinch when Livia fires a shot near her face, tries to negotiate sparing the lives of those she’s responsible for. You watch as Livia shows the levels of cruelty to which she will sink in the way that she not only denies that negotiation, but just kills a few more people- one of her own included- just because they annoyed her.

And then you watch poor little Noraxia, who had only ever done their best, die because you couldn’t save them, either. 

The quests that follow are ones of grief, ones of mourning. Ones of a lost person meant to carry the weight of all the hopes and dreams of the dead with them as they tried to rescue those that were not yet lost, but this quest…this quest continues to hit in that specific wound for the Warrior of Light: the further into the game and expansions that you go, even and especially recent content, you’re reminded that though woe betide those who stand against the Warrior of Light, those who stand with them are no safer.

“What a waste,” Bunty muttered, shaking her head as she looked through her cards. “And after I went through all that trouble to get that chicken. And I plucked it myself, too!”

She gave a gusty, heartfelt sigh, and Erminhilt was very nearly tempted to let her win this round, just to make her feel better. Still, no doubt Bunty would take such pity as a personal insult against her card-playing abilities, so she didn’t. However, she did share a commiserating glance with her Italian colleague before they both turned their gazes to the stares, up which Erminhilt had sent the girls not an hour ago, Felisa still sobbing onto an exasperated Livinia’s shoulder.

“I mean, what did she think we had the chicken for?” Bunty went on, frowning at her cards. “A pet?”

“Knowing Feli, that’s exactly what she thought,” murmured Erminhilt. “Any fives?”

“Go fish,” replied Bunty moodily, “I mean, I was rather hoping that Livinia would set her straight, or at least that she wouldn’t go along with Feli’s nonsense.”

Erminhilt smiled slightly. “Well, Felisa was very upset. Much more upset than Livinia expected, I think. You can hardly blame her.”

“No,” said Bunty, “But it’s such a waste of perfectly good food. Aces?”

Erminhilt shook her head, and Bunty retrieved her card from the pile. Upstairs, all was silent and as it should be, despite the ruckus that had occurred over dinner earlier on. Granted, Erminhilt had expected some kind of upset from the moment Bunty had brought back a live chicken and let the girls – in particular Felisa – see it, but she hadn’t foreseen quite that level of meltdown. She could still hear Felisa’s wails of grief for ‘Luigi’ echoing around the dining room. Her proposal that they all convert to vegetarianism was perhaps understandable, if a touch melodramatic.

Livinia had tried to calm her sister, of course, in her usual gruff and heavy-handed manner, but once confronted with the full force of just how stricken Felisa was, she’d relented and agreed to join her in giving up meat. And of course, Amelia had been ready to agree (she was always up for joining all of the latest causes and societies), and Maud was dragged in as usual. Then Luitgard had agreed, if only to cheer up Felisa, and had strong-armed Gertraud into it also. The other girls had been less keen – Kuniko, Mathilde, Eha and Suyumbike had gone along with it, but Erminhilt had definitely seen all of them sneaking mouthfuls of chicken when Felisa wasn’t watching. Alice and Irina had both refused, Alice because she was contrary and Irina because she wanted to get on Amelia’s nerves.

“Tens,” she asked distractedly, when Bunty cleared her throat impatiently. Bunty huffed, and handed a pair over. With a hum of satisfaction, Erminhilt laid down her third set.

“Even when you aren’t paying attention you’re better than I am,” she grumbled, before glancing up at the ceiling. “All quiet. You know, I was sure the little blighters would be down here after five minutes after some more food. Threes.”

“Just the one,” yawned Erminhilt, handing it over, careful to keep the card up her sleeve well hidden. It was probably blasphemy or something, to hide a card up her nun’s uniform, but then again, Bunty’s expression of baffled confusion when she inevitably lost was worth it.

So focused was Erminhilt on the card game that she didn’t even spot several small figures darting past the open dining room doors.

 “I can’t believe we made it!” hissed Suyumbike gleefully, beckoning the other girls forward. “Thank goodness for Go Fish, eh?”

Felisa gave her a watery smile, still clutching Luitgard’s hand. Livinia cast her a bitter look, and stormed off ahead. Alice rolled her eyes. This was all ridiculous, but she didn’t bother saying so – she’d already said it, after all, several times, and it hadn’t done any good then and she didn’t think it would do any good now. Besides, she enjoyed a good caper every now and again.

As soon as they’d reached the relative safety of the kitchen, the girls split up. Alice, who hadn’t got to eat as much dinner as she’d have liked, even if she had refused to give up meat, headed straight for the biscuit cupboard, but alas, it was empty. Perhaps Bunty had needed the sugar ration for something else this week.

Still, there was always bread. Boring, perhaps, but Alice was hungry.

“Hey, guys!” Suyumbike called suddenly.

Alice turned, and was immediately struck with the urge to roll her eyes. Suyumbike had climbed onto the table, and was mucking about with a bra that Bunty had obviously hung up to dry. Naturally Gertraud, Mathilde and Amelia thought it was hilarious – because they were morons with the mental capacity of cabbages. Even Maud and Felisa giggled, and Eha grinned. Livinia and Luitgard, because Alice would grudgingly admit that they had some taste, just rolled their eyes.

“We could bake something!” piped up Irina from where she’d been peeking into some of the books on Bunty’s shelves, “I’ve found a recipe!”

There were gasps of delight – even Alice found herself smiling, and had to force herself to stop, in case Amelia saw and told everyone. Maud scurried over to the cupboard and after a fearful glance towards the door to check for Bunty and Frau Vogel, pulled out a box.

“Flour!” she called. Well, Maud’s version of a call, anyway. More like normal speech volume for any other person. Whispering volume for Amelia. Meanwhile, Eha had thrown open the doors to the larder, ignoring Luitgard’s frantic calls for order. Mathilde clumsily climbed onto the table with Suyumbike and – with a cry of delight – managed to find another bra. Alice watched them dancing about for a minute, unsure of whether this was funny or pathetic. She was leaning more towards the latter, to be honest, but that could just be her.

“Oh, hey, a box!” Eha stepped out of the cupboard with a box, before prising it open. Immediately, a horrendous smell began spreading into the room. Alice gagged, her hands shooting up to cover her nose in horror.

“Bunty-sensei’s cheese!” wheezed Kuniko, who didn’t like cheese at the best of times.

“Gorgonzola!” agreed Livinia, from where she and Felisa had been stood in the corner, apparently having another argument judging by the pout on Felisa’s face and the scowl on Livinia’s. “Close the box, Eha!”

Eha did so, looking moments from keeling over, and hurried back to the cupboard, past Gertraud who was making fake retching noises and Luitgard, who was rubbing her temples like Frau Vogel did when she was stressed.

BANG BANG BANG!

Alice jumped out of her skin – an air raid? She hadn’t heard a siren – and whirled around to look out of the window, just in time to hear the Vargas twins give piercing screams. In the window were two devils, fearsome and red-faced and wearing billowing black capes that faded into the darkness outside, banging and clawing at the glass. Gertraud bellowed something in German and leapt towards an alarmed Luitgard and dragged her backwards. An almighty crash sounded from the larder and Eha sprang backwards into Irina. Mathilde yelled and staggered backwards, grabbing at Suyumbike’s arm and dragging them both down off the table, still wearing bras, and right on top of Kuniko. Amelia screamed also, almost matching Livinia and Felisa for volume, and launched herself at Maud, who had jumped so badly she threw the box of flour. As Alice watched, frozen, the cloud of flour coated Maud and Amelia, whilst a finer dust settled slowly on everyone else in the room.

The devils continued to wail and bang on the window, and then – one of their cloaks slipped. It was just for a second, but it flapped open to reveal a rather pretty periwinkle dress. A periwinkle dress that Alice recognised.

With a snarl, she leapt forward, causing the devils to scarper. She scrabbled at the window, throwing it open, and yelled:

“I KNOW IT’S YOU, FROG! GO AWAY AND DON’T COME BACK!” she paused to sneeze, which probably didn’t do much for her threatening image, before continuing, “AND IF YOU DO COME BACK, I’LL-”

“You’ll what, Alice Kirkland?”

Alice cringed, closed the window, brushed off her dress, and finally turned around. Frau Vogel was stood over her, her habit somewhat askew and her hands on her hips, looking distinctly unimpressed. Alice swallowed. She was already in disgrace for yelling when Lord Cuckoo-Face had arrived earlier, and Frau Vogel was already irritated because of both that and the little display at dinner the night before.

“They scared the others,” Alice said weakly, “I was just making them go away.”

Frau Vogel turned to look at the others. Amelia was still clutching Maud, breathing hard, her glasses wonky on her face, and Gertraud was still stood in front of Luitgard, her arms slightly spread and her face even paler than usual. Livinia and Felisa, still sniffling slightly, were clinging to Abundantia as she checked over Kuniko, Mathilde, Suyumbike, Irina and Eha for any injuries.

“Anything serious?” asked Frau Vogel. Abundantia shook her head with a laugh.

“A few cuts and bruises, on trodden-on toe for Irina, a slightly squashed Kuniko, and Eha was hit on the head with a tin of spam,” she answered, “I think they’ll live.”

Frau Vogel nodded, and turned back to Alice, frowning severely. However, before she could so much as open her mouth, Amelia spoke up, her voice a little higher than usual.

“She’s telling the truth!” she said breathlessly, “Alice scared them off – we were all too scared.”

Warmth blossomed in Alice’s chest, and she looked past Frau Vogel to give Amelia a small smile. Frau Vogel began to speak, paused, tried again, and then gave a deep sigh and rubbed her face tiredly. When Alice dared to look up, however, she wasn’t angry anymore – she was smiling.

“Bunty,” she said, “I suppose we’d better get these young ladies something to eat, if that’s okay with you. I don’t think they’ll be sleeping anytime soon.”

“On it.”

Storybit - Stupid Vampires

I told ya’ll I was gunna write some self-indulgent shippy stuff.

Since had some free time this week, I did exactly that. This is where I would normally explain what it's about and what the plans are for it, but given it's self-introductory nature, it speaks for itself. I might touch it again to show how this world's version of Mickey and Minnie met, but for now, enjoy this nugget of silliness. I tried hard for laughs here, but really, this was just fun for me to write.

There once was a very large mansion that sat atop a very large hill in the middle of a very large forest. A modest village thrived nearby, only a short carriage ride away, but every person in the village was terrified of the mansion. Anyone who wasn't terrified simply wasn't old enough to be told to stay away from that place, for it was dangerous, the elders said. That was the home of a vicious, blood-sucking, wicked vampire, and the only reason the entire village didn't pack up their bags and flee was that they feared it would be a great insult to the vampire. After all, it was his domain, and surely if he was angered they would all suffer. So they kept their heads low, going about their business, muttering in low whispers about their awful tyranny, which, in all frank honesty, they had imagined. If they had actually used their wits instead of their fear, they would have understood that no one had ever actually been attacked by the vampire – much fewer had even seen him.

In fact, the people who lived in the mansion were some of the happiest folks in the entire land. Today was a particularly happy day, and there were excited footsteps making their way to one of the many guest bedrooms. These were three of the maids who lived in the mansion, triplets who were not terribly bright but lovely and kind all the same. Miss A, the blonde, was the oldest. Miss B, the brunette, was the middle child. Miss C, the red-head, was the youngest. They had the same exact hairstyle covering their eyes, and were so thoroughly alike that one couldn't be blamed for thinking they shared one brain.  They were extra cheerful today, and Miss A knocked on the door two times, called forth, “It's morning, Minnie!” before knocking again.

Inside this room was the fourth and final maid, who had only recently started working at the mansion one month ago. She was the smallest of them, her big black ears just barely reaching their hips, and even the bed she was sleeping in was gigantic compared to her. Though she was usually sweet and gentle, mornings brought out the grump in her. She didn't like the mornings – to be more accurate, she didn't like the sleep schedule she had forced on herself. But if she was to blend into society, she had to sleep during the night and work during the day, even if her body was used to years of doing it the other way around. As she heard the last knock, she sighed, and began to shove the heavy blankets off. “I'm up, I'm up.” She called back, rubbing the last bits of sleep out of her eyes.

Thankfully, Minnie's grumpiness never lasted long, once she remembered where she was and what she was there to do. She adored the mansion and all its big, colorful rooms and long history. It was an honor, she considered, to help clean the place up and keep it alive. She adored the cute uniform she got to wear with its frills and ribbons, having rarely worn such pretty things in all her years. She adored the other maids, who were always glad to help her reach the high spots and chat merrily about this and that during tea time. But the one thing she adored most of all was -

“It's breakfast time!” Miss A suddenly announced, throwing the door open. While all the doors in the mansion could lock, none who lived there actually locked them, as they all trusted each other openly.

“But we're much too busy this morning,” Miss B chimed at her sister's side, hiding something behind her back.

“So, we think, you should give the Master his breakfast!” Miss C finished, holding out a tray with silverware, a rose in a cup, and the meal itself hidden under a silver dome.

Minnie stopped typing the white ribbon around her left ear, surprised. Usually the Master ate with everyone at the breakfast table, as a way to make sure his servants were all right and to catch up with everything. Once in a while he did eat alone, when he was up to his own big black ears in paperwork, and he'd even apologize for it, the sweet dear. Minnie found the tray shoved into her tiny hands, and she made an “Oh!” sound before actual words. “I... are you sure? Just me?”

“Just you,” Miss A said with a mischievous grin.

“So don't be late now,” Miss B said, copying her sister's expression.

“Off you go,” Miss C said, stepping aside so Minnie could leave.

Minnie's cheeks pinked because she knew exactly what they were getting at. As much as she wanted to admonish them and tell them to mind their own business, the words died in her heart and she walked on. Silly little girls, as if it really made it a difference who served the Master his breakfast. He cared for them all the same, it's not like he had a preference. Of course, these were things Minnie believed but had no confirmation, and she also knew very well that it wasn't the Master's feelings they were considering.

The Master's bedroom was down at the end of the longest hallway, his room the largest and most impressive, which was a little funny because the Master himself was very short and small, only a head taller than Minnie herself, not counting the ears. She stood before the massive wooden doors, and glanced behind her – the triplets were giving her thumbs-up from around the corner. Minnie took a breath, and, her hands full and thus unable to knock, she announced herself. “Master Mickey, may I come in?”

There was a half-snort at first – if she had to guess, Minnie would say the Master almost fell asleep at his work desk, as he often did from time to time. Paperwork was not something he enjoyed doing, but it had to be done, and whenever he was caught snoozing instead of working, he'd quickly stutter and insist he was only closing his eyes for a moment and wasn't sleeping at all. Truly Master Mickey was adorable in every sense of the word. But for someone who was a “master”, Mickey often didn't speak like one. “Come on in!” His warm voice invited, a bit of country ease in his tone.

She nudged the door open with her foot, ignored the grand tapestries near the silk bedroom, ignored the closed curtains that only allowed hints of sunshine to peek inside, ignored the grand piano and the trunks of treasures and all the other signs of wealth and fanciness. Her eyes could only see marvelous Master Mickey at his work desk, a quill in his hand, and that smile of his that melted her heart each and every single time. There were bags under his brilliant blue eyes, a sign that he hadn't slept well, the poor man. Minnie was pleased to have something in common with him, even if it was mutual suffering of slumber.

He was already dressed to the nines, in a thick red and black suit, his top hat sitting atop one of the bed posts, his fluffy cravat askew. He was fiddling with the cravat now, disliking it immensely, and within minutes he'd chuck it away when he thought Minnie wasn't looking. “Good morning, Minnie.” He chirped, because despite the uncomfortable night he attempted to sleep through, it was always a good morning whenever he was greeted by, in his humble opinion, the most beautiful girl in the entire world.

“Good morning, Master Mickey.” She couldn't do a proper curtsy this way, but she did bow her head, lower her hips and cross one leg behind her as best she could. Doing this did not let her see Mickey biting down hard on his lower lip, as there were times she was so cute it was almost painful to see. When she lifted herself back, all was normal. “I've brought you your breakfast.” No need to mention how the triplets had forced herself into it.

Mickey only then realized what she was carrying, so fully absorbed in Minnie's presence that he cared for little else. “Huh? … Oh!” he fought off a flush of embarrassment. “Aw, gee, Minnie, you didn't have to do that.”

“It is the most important meal of the day,” She reminded him, coming over to his work desk. “And you do important work all day, and you're the most important person around.” It would have been easy to confuse this for flirting if Minnie had not meant it with sincerity. Minnie was always sincere, in everything she said and everything she did, and while Mickey loved this very deeply about her, it was also a point of frustration.

In case it has yet to have been made clear to the reader, allow it to be said now – Minnie was hopelessly in love with Mickey, and Mickey was hopelessly in love with Minnie. Now you, reader, may be thinking this was perhaps the most obvious fact ever written, and indeed, it was painfully clear to the triplet maids who were watching in from the doorway. But sometimes when one humble person loves another humble person, they are in fact so humble they cannot perceive themselves as anyone worth loving. You, reader, may reply with that this is the stupidest thing you have ever heard of, and you would be correct.

“Aw, I'm not that important,” said Mickey, who had never noticed that he was the focus of Minnie's attention whenever he walked into a room.

“Of course you are,” Minnie countered, who had never noticed Mickey ordered Minnie's favorite foods whenever they had to go to market. “Why, if it wasn't for you, the entire village would be in ruin! Who would be here to take care of your family's mansion? You work so hard to keep everyone safe and happy! If that's not important, I don't know what is.”

“Well,” Mickey pretended to shrug off the compliments, when deep inside he was celebrating every drop of Minnie's kindness. “Someone's got to do it, might as well be me. And it's not like I'm doing this all by myself. I need you around to get anything done.” A pause, and then he quickly added, “And the girls. You and the girls. Maids. Servants.” Wow, he almost let an actual feeling slip, and wouldn't that have been the worst thing in the world? He failed to hear the triplets slapping their hands to their faces.

Even so, Minnie smiled, still touched by Mickey's humility. “I haven't done so much... I've only been here a month.”

POP! POP! POP! Went three party poppers, startling the mice and making them look at the doorway. The maids stood there with matching smiles, as confetti fell to the floor.

“Yes, it's been exactly one month!” said Miss A.

“It's your one month anniversary!” said Miss B.

“Happy anniversary! Let's celebrate!” said Miss C.

Minnie was embarrassed, but not too much to be really offended. “One full month? I was just guessing! It still feels like I just started yesterday!” Time flies when one is having fun, and she had enjoyed every single day at the mansion.

Mickey, on the other hand, was deeply shocked. “It's only been one month? It feels like you've been here forever!” It wasn't as if he didn't remember life before Minnie, it was just an unfair comparison. “Why didn't anyone tell me this was coming up? I would've marked it on the calendar and everything... given you a day off, gotten you a present!”

Minnie's cheeks began to redden, and she had to wonder if all of this had been part of the triplets' plans. “Don't be silly! It's just one month!” Mickey was too kind for his own good, and she didn't want to wish that the kindness was enhanced when it came to her.

“But a month is a long time!” Mickey continued to insist, perhaps for the sheer chance that he now an excuse to buy her something. He would have been pleased to buy her anything in the world, handfuls of jewelry, closets of lovely dresses, gardens of enchanting flowers, but even he had enough sense one does not shower a girl with gifts for no reason if you didn't want them to think you were creepy. Or bananas. Or bananas-creepy. But Minnie deserved all the best things in life, and he wanted to be the one to give them to her, and one of his biggest dreams was that he would one day have her as a wife, and then he could give her gifts every single day, and dress her in this, and have her wear that, and oh boy he was daydreaming again. He cleared his throat. “I, uh... It's important to reward hard work! And you've worked very hard ever since you first started here!” Mickey then clasped her hands tightly with his own, eyes intense. “I'll get-cha anything you want, you name it!”

Minnie was quite sure she had never blushed so deeply in all her life, feeling that even the tips of her ears were getting red. Having her dearest, darling Master's touch was one thing, having him practically beg to give her a present was another, and combining them both like this was enough to make her swoon, had she not been in the presence of the triplets – the three who were watching with glittering eyes as if this was a show made just for them. How was she supposed to think like this, when his fingers were soft and gentle and warm, and yet so much bigger than her dainty little ones? She could barely look at him now, his ocean-blue eyes full of caring and desire. She could die right then and there and have very few regrets in life.

“I... don't...know...” Each word came out slowly, squeaky, as she was unsure how to properly answer him. She didn't want him to waste any of his precious fortune on her, but she couldn't tell him the truth either – that this is what she wanted, his hands and his eyes and to be the center of his heart and mind at all times. If only time could stop this moment and hold it like a painting.

“Well, you won't think of anything on an empty stomach.” Miss A said, always the leader, and she trotted over to the work desk, her fingers on the silver dome. “That's why I made a special celebration breakfast!” She lifted it up. “A huge, heaping batch of garlic toast!”

In seconds Minnie had suddenly broken from Mickey's hands and was out the door, yelling at the top of her lungs, “I SHOULD GET TO WORK HAVE A NICE DAAAAAAAAAAY!”, leaving behind a group of very confused people.

Minnie made it to the closest bathroom, slamming the door behind her, and locking it for one of the very few times of her stay. Garlic! Why did it have to be garlic?! Just one moment of its stench took over her nostrils, and she gagged, flopping to the floor. She doubted she would stay stick for too long, but until she rode the wave of nausea, there she would lay.

Because as it turned out, reader, Minnie the maid was, in fact... a vampire!

Please pretend to be surprised. Moving on.

Minnie had kept this secret from everyone in the mansion, taking great strides to avoid mirrors and direct sunlight. As for her necessary “needs”, she had packages delivered to her that she told the others was her special medicine, which was in fact vials of blood from farm animals. While vampires were still a rarity in this day and age, there was an underground system designed to help them live among mortals. Before coming to the mansion, while being “hidden” was important, it was not something that would devastate her if she was found out. She'd just move on to the next place. But here? What if her dearest, darling, wonderful Master Mickey found out she was a vampire? He'd think she was a monster, and they could never be together! She'd rather turn to ashes by the sunlight than have his hate and fear! And sheesh, this was a close one. But for the sake of her wonderful, handsome, perfect Master Mickey, she would endure! She would hide her secret forever!

It should be noted here that Minnie was not the brightest candle in the church, and for those of you thinking this is a cruel statement, please continue reading.

The day passed on, with Minnie refusing to speak about the garlic toast. The maids had their own breakfast, Minnie took her “special medicine”, and they got to cleaning. Dusting, washing, it was a large mansion so it was a thorough process. In the afternoon, Minnie was in the library, which was so vast and wide that it could have stored three stables. Minnie was up on a ladder, dusting off a bookshelf, not hearing the footsteps approaching.

After Mickey fought off an urge to glance up Minnie's dress, he lightly coughed to get her attention. He hadn't meant to spook her, but Minnie was so lost in thoughts about, of course, Master Mickey, that she was indeed spooked – she jerked, falling off the ladder, and right into Mickey's arms. They both blinked rapidly, trying to process what just happened, as if it was now gravity, nature, and maybe an annoyed narrator pushing them together.

It took every fiber of Mickey's being not to make a “falling for me” joke. “Are you all right?”

“Oh, yes!” Minnie replied enthusiastically, not in any hurry to leave his strong arms. “Thank you so much... I'm so sorry for being so clumsy.”

“What? No! It was my fault! I shouldn't have scared you.”

“I should have been paying more attention, instead of thinking about...” Nope, best not to be entirely truthful here. “...Things.” A nervous giggle.

“I'm just glad you're not hurt.” Mickey smoothly put her down on the floor, even though he was as reluctant to have her least his grasp as she was. He was tempted to ask about what had happened this morning, but thought better of it. He had scolded Miss A, though, as he had told her time and time again about his “garlic allergy”. He decided to focus on the here and now instead. “Listen... I know you  said you didn't want anything...” Actually he was assuming that was what she had said. Minnie's mumbling had been very quiet before. “But isn't there anything, anything at all, you really want with all your heart that I can give you?”

Aside from himself? Minnie ducked her head lower, back pressed against the books. “You're very kind, Master Mickey, and I wish I could give you a better answer, but... I have everything I want.” Aside from his hand in marriage, his delicious kiss on her lips, and a nibble on that yummy-looking neck of his. “A roof over my head, a job I can be proud of, the best friends I've ever had... who could ask for anything more?”

Mickey exhaled deeply through his nostrils, not terribly surprised by that answer but adorably embittered all the same. Minnie constantly thought of everyone before herself – he'd even seen her gently lifting a spider from a corner and carry it outside while the triplets were in a dead faint. It was part of why he cherished her and part of why he wanted to thud his against the wall. But deep down, he had to admit his own selfishness – he wanted to give her something nice so she'd think better of him. Maybe something she could wear so every time she twirled around in a frilly dress she'd think of him, and think something ridiculously sappy like “Oooh Mickey is so charming and wonderful and I love him sooo much and I-” DANG IT STOP DAYDREAMING WHEN YOU ARE TALKING TO THE PERSON YOU ARE DAYDREAMING ABOUT. “Okay, okay, buuut... what if I gave you a bonus, a little more coin?” Actually, now that he brought it up... “Say, what do you spend your salary on, anyway?”

“Oh, I use it to help restore whatever the mansion needs.” Minnie gestured around them. “Like getting new ladders for the library, or sewing kits for the maids, or soap to wash your bedsheets. That way, you don't have to buy them and can keep your family fortune longer!”

Mickey's left cheek was twitching, and he bit down on that cheek, to keep from screaming, OH COME ON, STOP MAKING ME FALL DEEPER IN LOVE WITH YOU, THIS IS INSANE. “You... you don't have to do that, you know.”

“I know, but I want to!” Minnie gave off one her classic, innocent, angelic smiles that had the power to stab through Mickey's heart like a hundred arrows from Cupid. “I love the mansion!” Stab. “I love everything about it!” Stab stab. “And if I can make your life even a little bit easier... then I couldn't be happier!” Stabbity stabbity stab stab.

At this point Mickey was wondering if she loved the mansion more than he did, and this was his ancestral home, dang it all. It was clear to him now that she wasn't going to take a single gift he offered, even if he went down on his hands and knees and begged. Maybe he could try again on her birthday, surely she would have to accept a gift on her birthday! Yes, that would be perfect – on her birthday he would drown her in fancy, expensive presents and than she'd be over the moon for him! Which was a fine plan except he had no idea when her birthday was, and asking her now would seem blatantly obvious. “All right,” he relented, waving a white flag in his head, “I won't bug you about it. But if you ever change your mind, you let me know. Money is meant to be spent! I'm not some nutjob who keeps all my coins around in a bin just to swim in them. What's the point of having so much money if it can't be used to help people?”

Minnie supposed he did have a fair argument. Was she being rude in denying him again and again? It wasn't as if he was going to become broke and poor after one tiny gift. Guilt gnawed at her, now feeling as if each option was a bad one. She began to fidget, toeing the carpet, trying to pinpoint one present that would work out for all parties involved. “Mmm... I guess... If I had to name something I wanted...”

Mickey's heart seized in his throat. She was going to ask for something after all? Hurray! “What? What? What is it?” He sounded like a yipping dog, giddy to go out for a walk. Rings for her tiny fingers? A necklace to rest perfectly atop her delicate collarbone? A pink and white flowing dress that would accentuate her figure? To heck with it, he'd give her the deed to the mansion if she asked for it! He'd cut off his left arm and gift-wrap it if she asked for it! Now his mind went into daydream mode again, imagining she was asking him to take care of her for the rest of her life, which obviously meant marriage and they'd have four children and -

“My goodness, it's so dark in here!” said Miss B, who had also been cleaning the library, unaware anything else was gong on. “How can anyone see what they're doing?” So she pulled open one of the curtains, where the bright sun could shine exactly upon Mickey's body.

“OKAY SO YOU'LL TELL ME LATER GOOD GREAT SEEYAAAAAAAA!” And there went Mickey, bolting out of the room so fast he didn't even leave a comical dust cloud of his figure behind. Minnie blinked, confused for a long time.

Mickey ran as fast as his little feet could take him until he was in his bedroom again, right into his own private bedroom, where he stuck his head under the faucet and let ice cold water splash on his head. In actuality, his reaction to the sun wasn't that bad, but it sure felt that bad. There were no hives or burn marks to show, but he felt as if he was standing on the very surface on the sun, and could only be grateful Minnie wouldn't know this.

Because as it turned out, reader, Mickey the Master was in fact... also a vampire!

Now wait a minute, you, the reader, might be saying. Are you being informed that there were two vampires in his house, and they had no idea the other person was also a vampire? This is, sadly, correct. Perhaps now the reader understands why Minnie was compared to a dim candle, and why the exact same thing could be said about Mickey.

Yes, Mickey was a vampire, and he was relieved that so far no one had known about this. The triplets had been with him for years, and never seemed to catch on. He didn't think he would've minded so much if they had, maids were a dime a dozen, but Minnie was not. And what if Minnie, sweet, angelic, divine maidenly Minnie found out he was a vampire? She'd think he was a monster, and they could never be together! He'd rather have a thousand stakes driven into his heart than have her hate and fear! And boy oh boy, this was a close one. But for the sake of his demure, beautiful, beloved Minnie, he would endure! He would hide his secret forever!

This was the real secret of the mansion that inspired fear in the hearts of the common villages. There were rumors that a second vampire had come to the mansion, which meant twice the fear and twice the tyranny. They also knew of the maids within the mansion, but surely they were allies to the vampires, since no one could possibly be so stupid as to not realize what kind of monster they were working for. (Let it be assured that they were just that stupid.)

So this is the story, reader, should you choose to test your patience. If you wish to hear more, your sanity will be questioned and perhaps your wish will be indulged. But for now, we close the chapter on this silly couple.

What's that?

What did Minnie ultimately end up wishing for?

If you must know, it was going to be for a new pair of shoes. It was probably for the best she ultimately did not speak of it, as there is little doubt the next morning her entire room would have been fit to burst with shoes.

Someone please help these two.

Super Sides Chapter 3

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Warnings:  more fires (will I ever use anything other than fire? The answer is probably no), burns (though no detailed descriptions of them), swords, kidnapping, self-doubt

Roman rushed out onto the stage, but it was too late. He had missed his cue, his costume was half on, and everyone was whispering, confused. He opened his mouth to say his lines, but they wouldn’t come. From the back of the theater, someone started booing. Soon, everyone else joined in. Roman fled the theater, holding back tears as he headed home. That night, there was a segment on the local news about how the best actor in the city, probably even in the state, had failed so horribly. Roman’s life was ruined. He never wanted to do anything else again. What was the point? He was a failure.

The alarm went off and Roman woke up.

He had to think for a few minutes before he remembered that his dream wasn’t real. The recurring nightmare that had plagued him every night for the past two weeks, the result of the hallucination shown to him by the yet to be identified villain, became harder and harder to distinguish from reality.

Roman sighed, forcing himself out of bed. He got dressed and had a quick breakfast of toast before grabbing his sword and preparing to leave. The routine he had fallen into since he had started the whole hero thing became boring quickly. Roman longed for a change. Sure, it was exciting when he stopped a major criminal and the whole city praised him, but normal day-to-day things like small robberies got old ages ago.

Still, this was his job now, and he was just as committed as the other two to keeping the citizens of the world (or maybe just the city they lived in) safe. It might get boring, but it was worth it. He just wished that there was a little more excitement.

Well, short story short, he got his wish.

---

Logan 4:36 pm- Are you planning on joining us today? Roman 4:36 pm- Rehearsal went longer than I thought it would today, okay?! Logan 4:37 pm- Calm down, there is no point to unnecessary panic. Roman 4:37 pm- I wasn’t panicking I’m just frustrated Roman 4:37 pm- On my way

Roman had just put his phone away when he heard an explosion. A building that was a few blocks away was suddenly lit up with bright flames. The people around him started screaming. Some pulled out their phones, probably to call 911. Many of them started running. While everyone was confused and panicked, Roman took the opportunity to change into his hero outfit. His sword reappeared by his side, his signature red cape flicking gently in the breeze. Finally, something interesting.

As he got closer to the burning building, he noticed that there was something wrong with the fire. Not only did it seem artificial, the flames moving in ways that no fire was supposed to, but it was red.

Fires weren’t an uncommon thing that Roman and the other two dealt with. It just became a fact of life that they would have to run into burning buildings or save the people who had escaped from further danger. However, Roman had seen enough fires to know that they were supposed to be orange, not red.

The building on fire was a small, local cafe. Roman had been there a few times. There wasn’t much he could do about the damage being done to the building. Everyone seemed to have evacuated, so he turned his attention to the people standing outside, staring in shock.

“Hello, wonderful citizens, I am here to save you! Please, back away from the fire! Help will be here soon!” Roman had done this enough times. The part that wasn’t quite right was the fact that the fire wasn’t normal. It shouldn’t have affected him as much as it did, but Roman found himself getting distracted.

The faint sound of approaching sirens made Roman relax slightly, but he still wasn’t done. He had to lead everyone away from the fire still. He looked back at the shop to be sure everyone was out, and...

There was a figure standing inside.

After a quick internal battle over what he should do, Roman left the people outside with quick instructions to back away further, then sprinted towards the fire, prepared to enter the building heroically, when the figure exited the building. She was wearing a long, black dress that shimmered and looked like it was made of sequins, or maybe scales. The tips were burning with the same unnatural red as the building. She seemed unbothered, but it was hard to tell, since her face was concealed behind a detailed dragon mask, the same color as her dress. In her arms, she carried an unconscious woman who was dressed in the standard employee uniform for the shop. Her long brown hair was dangerously close to the fire.

The masked woman saw Roman and tilted her head as if she was amused. “Why, hello there. Come to stop me and save the day?” Her tone said that she doubted that he could stop her.

“Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here. Now, villain, how about you place her down, and I won’t have to run this sword through you!”

“Alright, how about I place her down right back in there?” She tilted her head towards the fire.

“Because if you do that, I’ll be forced to attack you.”

The woman laughed, and then she did place the other woman down. Fortunately she was far enough away from the fire.

Her hands lit on fire, small spheres of unnatural glowing red in her hands. Roman wanted to jump back, but he stopped himself. He was a hero. Some gifted person in a dragon mask wasn’t going to defeat the mighty hero of Creativity!

“And what makes you think you can defeat me?”

Roman took out his sword but prepared to shape shift too if he needed. “Because I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I know how being a hero works! You aren’t even a good villain, you just show up, kidnap the girl with no motivations, and expect the protagonist to come rescue her! Come on, were you even trying?”

She grinned, or at least Roman thought she was grinning based on how she tilted her head. “I am trying. You think I’m taking Valerie for no reason?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know I’m going to stop it!” Roman rushed forward, prepared to attack.

It didn’t go so well.

Roman barely got within ten feet before he had to double back. The woman was summoning fireballs and throwing them at him. He dodged some, but when one grazed his right arm, he was forced to drop the sword. She was forcing him to retreat further from the other woman, Valerie?

He had to do something, so he took a deep breath, focusing all of his energy. He tried to think of a small, fast animal that would give him a chance to get past the... dragon... witch. Yeah. That’s what he’d call her. He felt himself changing, and suddenly he was a rabbit. He sprinted towards the Dragon Witch, dodging between her legs, and heading towards the unconscious girl. Unfortunately, a wall of flames erupted in front of him. He changed back into his normal form, and he was close enough to the Dragon Witch that he could punch her. She fell against the ground, but shot another flame that grazed Roman’s leg. While Roman tried not to swear because of the pain, the Dragon Witch regained her balance. Her mask was askew slightly, but it still concealed her identity.

“Are you sure you were stopping me, Creativity? Dumb name, by the way. Who came up with that whole thing?” Now she was just stalling. Or being annoying. Or both. Roman couldn’t tell.

“Leave now, Dragon Witch, or you will regret it!” Roman threatened.

She laughed. “Oh, that one’s not bad. I might use that. Guess we’ll have to see. Thank you very much, kind hero.” She definitely smiled there. Another wall of fire appeared in front of him, this time even bigger, and he had to shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the Dragon Witch and the other woman were gone. The fire trucks pulled into the parking lot and started working while Roman stood there, stunned.

The pain from the burns was finally starting to affect Roman. As he started to walk away and find a hidden location where he could change out of the burnt outfit, he felt a buzz in his pocket. He had forgotten about Logan and Patton. Oops.

Patton 4:51- hey kiddo! just wanted to make sure you were okay! you told logan that you would be here soon and you still haven’t shown up. Roman 4:52- I’m so sorry, I had something to take care of Patton 4:52- that’s okay, kiddo! did whatever you were doing go well? Roman 4:53- As much as I hate to admit it, I think I made a grave mistake Patton 4:53- is it something that we need to fix right now? Patton 4:53- if you need my help i’ll be over there as quickly as possible! Roman 4:54- No, you have your own things to deal with, we can fix this another time Patton 4:54- if you say so! Roman 4:54- I’m on my way now, if you guys still want me around. Patton 4:55- yeah, of course we do! see you soon! <3

The little heart made him smile. Patton always ended all of his conversations with a heart, no matter who he was talking to. That’s just who he was.

Roman assumed that when he met up with the other two, they would be able to go searching for the Dragon Witch together. What he didn’t expect was for his day to get even crazier.

In honor of the one year anniversary of the Valentine's Day video, which introduced us to the Dragon Witch, I thought that this chapter would be appropriate to post today! The Dragon Witch won't be the main focus of this AU until later, but I needed to establish that she existed now for my future plans to work out. Thank you so much for reading and Happy Valentine's Day!

Also on ao3!

Musings

The day’s festivities over with, Louie just wanted to settle down with a good thriller and relax, maybe fall asleep listening to his music on blast. Maybe, he thought as his fingers brushed over the spine of an old spiral notebook, he’d even draw a bit to wind down.

However, before he could turn to his sketchbook sitting askew on top of the bookshelf, his hand found something else.

It was a small notebook, he noticed, brow furrowing. The duck couldn’t remember exactly what it was, though, and gingerly he plucked it from its spot and looked at the front.

It was small enough to fit in his hand, and it was simple- purple cover with gold vertical stripes down the front. It seemed vaguely familiar, so Louie flipped it open to the first page.

Musings, the front page declared. Underneath it was listed the names, Huey Duck, Dewey Duck, Louie Duck and Webby Vanderquack.

Curious, he turned the page, and almost immediately he felt himself thrown back ten years, to the early days there at McDuck Manor. He sucked in a breath, eyes widening as he took in the childish writings of a twelve year old duckling.

You know, a sparkly pink pen read, rainy days aren’t so bad. They just make the sunshine even better!

Plus they water all the trees, a simple red ink replied, so logically, to the optimistic duck’s musing.

He remembered so vividly watching his oldest brother write it out, rolling his eyes at such a Huey response.

His chest tightened and his eyes suddenly started burning. He flipped the page.

Guys! blue seemed to scream out excitedly, its metallic gleam demanding of all attention. Have you ever wondered what would happen if Earth had moon gravity?

Louie let out an almost breathless laugh, remembering Huey’s quiet outrage at the simple question.

We’d all die! Huey’s pen had scribbled frantically for their brother to find later.

How? Louie had asked with a simple flourish of his smooth green ink. He said gravity, not atmosphere.

Oh the lecture that had earned him. He found himself laughing, once again at their twelve-year-old selves, leaning against his bookshelf to continue reading more musings.

There was Webby’s observation on Donald being like their father. There was Louie’s declaration that money didn’t, after all, make their lives better. Huey’s note on how it was their family, their friends and everything in between that made life as adventurous, wonderful and amazing as it was. Dewey calling them all saps even as he said he loved them. He read through an entire year’s worth of musings and observations, questions and answers, declarations and quotes, confessions and secrets...

But then, all too soon, Louie found himself flipping to an empty page.

Louie was twenty-two years old now, and the last time he’d written in that notebook he was thirteen. Almost ten years had passed.

He had forgotten it.

Wiping his eyes, not even realizing tears had started to fall, Louie set the notebook down on top of his sketchbook and began looking through the shelf again.

Soon he came across his very first sketchbook- fourteen years old, Louie had only just come to discover his love for art. He opened the sketchbook and immediately cringed as he saw the first page, but he smiled anyway. Laughing to himself, he flipped through every page, fondly remembering every drawing.

It looks like a tree, he remembered Dewey commenting about the first dog he ever tried to draw.

I think it’s cute, Webby had complimented, and though Louie was embarrassed he was still so grateful for her vote of confidence.

Here, Louie, since you’re drawing now, these might help, Huey had said, handing him over some reference and self-teaching books. They had helped a lot, Louie remembered, his eyes sliding over to the books still sitting on his shelf eight years later. They were well-worn, well-used and well taken care of, the first books Louie ever found value in.

They had supported him even before his skills improved. Before he was able to draw portraits or landscapes, back when he could only draw little cartoons and everyone just rolled their eyes when they saw him doodling. They showed interest before anyone cared. He swallowed and set the sketchbook back in place.

He picked up the yearbook right beside it.

Senior year. He, Huey, Louie and Webby had each gotten their own copies of this yearbook, so they could sign each others’. Louie couldn’t help but grin slightly, opening the cover to the inside page absolutely littered with notes and signatures.

Dewey’s excited words took up a large space on the inside cover, and Huey’s more subdued but still larger than life note was right there beside it. Webby’s was right underneath, all three of them talking about graduations and future adventures and how much fun awaited them- together.

But, Louie knew, everything wasn’t quite right with that. He flipped through the senior portraits, cringing only slightly when he passed his own (long hair, he realized, was never quite right for him...), and into the award pages. Valedictorian and Salutatorian- the former, of course, was Huey, and the latter was a girl Louie couldn’t quite remember. Most likely to succeed? Huey again, and a girl Webby briefly dated in junior year. Most quiet? Surprisingly, Louie got that one- he never really considered himself quiet, but his classmates seemed to think he was. Most sporting went hands down to both Dewey and Webby.

Thinking back on it, Louie was somewhat amazed at just how many spaces the four of them took up in this book.

He skipped over the center pages, going straight for the clubs and teams. There was Dewey in the drama club and soccer team, Huey in the math club and chess team, Webby in pretty much every sports team there was- Louie still didn’t know how she managed that- and Louie in the art club. He’d been president of the club that year, something he still took pride in. Not even Huey was a club president.

Then there was the Junior Woodchucks, and with it the realization that it was the only picture in the entire book that all four of them were part of.

Louie swallowed again, closing the yearbook and looking back at their musings notebook.

Everything was different, but it was only just hitting him, he realized. Everything had changed- had been changing for years.

Without really thinking, he grabbed a photo album and began flipping through.

Ducklings, all playing together. Growing up together. Going on adventures, having each others’ backs, helping each other.

Teenagers, some adventure experience under their belts. Uncle Donald and Uncle Scrooge were both looking a little older, and so proud of the ducks they were growing up to be.

There was highschool prom. A group picture of all four of them and their dates- Louie with a girl who was always “just a friend” but neither wanted to go alone, Dewey with his on-again-off-again at-the-time boyfriend, Webby with the girl she was now engaged to, and Huey with someone Louie couldn’t remember- a face in the crowd, someone whose name long escaped him.

Then there was Huey holding his acceptance letters to basically every college ever (though Huey and Uncle Donald both told him there would be many more letters if that were the case, Louie still maintained this belief), Dewey standing there in his new aviator uniform, Webby with her new gadgets as she was officially accepted to be a spy for her grandmother’s organization...

A picture of Webby being proposed to showed up- Louie remembered that well, he and his brother’s were involved in the planning and Webby was so suspicious of them.

There was Dewey, beaming beside his very own airplane- nothing fancy, Uncle Donald just asked Launchpad to fix up Della’s old plane as a gift from himself, Uncle Scrooge and, by extension, their mother.

There was Louie himself, in front of his very own section in the art gallery, standing so proudly as people complimented his work- three pieces were sold that day, the only three pieces of his that were for sale that time.

Huey showed up, back from university and sitting on the couch during the Christmas holidays, bright-eyed and excitedly introducing the family to the girl his arm was around, the girl that he eventually married.

Married.

His breath slowly left him, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He opened it up and stared at the background cycling through his pictures.

A beautiful duck in a beautiful gown, in a beautiful wedding paid for mostly by Uncle Scrooge and Uncle Donald. Louie’s oldest brother in a black tux and red tie. Dewey and Louie dressed similarly, with a blue and green tie respectively, right beside him, and Webby in a simple, but elegant, purple gown.

They, along with Launchpad, were his groomsmen and groomsmaid. No best man- Huey couldn’t bring himself to choose between his brothers. It was so stupid, but Louie had felt happy that he refused to pick.

There was Uncle Gladstone, who managed through sheer luck to get a honeymoon cruise for the happy couple. There was the cake Mrs. Beakley and Uncle Donald made with their bare hands, the banquet they had begrudgingly accepted outside help for. The limo that Uncle Scrooge had lent the newlyweds- shiny and clean and white and perfect, JUST MARRIED proudly displayed on the back.

There was Huey, having dragged Donald out for an Uncle-Nephew dance. Donald had cried, and Louie knew he had been thinking what everyone was- that their mother would have wanted this, would have wanted to be there, to have a mother-son dance at her son’s wedding. But Della wasn’t there and Donald was, and Donald had raised them with blood, sweat, tears and sheer determination. and Huey was not about to ignore that.

Louie swallowed past a painful lump, watching the pictures he had taken just earlier that day- and some that Uncle Donald and Uncle Gladstone and Uncle Fethry and Lena had taken for him- slide by. There were tears, smiles, laughter, it was such a perfect happy wedding and-

Why did it hurt so bad now?

Louie had been happy. He was so happy for his brother- Huey was happy, he was in love and she was in love and... Louie still was happy for him. So happy Huey had someone to spend the rest of his life with.

They had plans for children. Louie was going to be an uncle, too. They were gonna buy a house right there in Duckburg, raise their kids with the family, and everyone would be together and happy. Nothing was changing.

Except it had changed a long time ago.

They weren’t children anymore.

Taking a shuddering breath, Louie grabbed the Musings notebook and stepped back into his bedroom.

His bedroom- it had been his bedroom for a good six or so years now, when Huey and Dewey finally decided to move to other rooms in the manor. He’d been fine with that- a room to himself! But now it was just one more hit, one more realization that it wasn’t the same.

He dropped down at his desk and flipped to the first blank page, thinking on what he was doing, and grabbed one of his new, fancy ink pens.

It was green, of course- greener than the faded ink on the pages before, he noted as he put down that day’s date.

With no idea what he wanted to say, Louie began to write.

I don’t know if anyone else will look at this, he wrote, the pen seeming to have a mind of its own. It’s been long forgotten. I forgot it, too. And I’m sure when I put this notebook back on the shelf, I’ll forget it all over again.

Maybe I’ll find it again in another ten years. Maybe I never will. I think it’s fine, either way.

Louie paused, staring down at his words. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying- this was in his closet. The likelihood that anyone would even see it was... minuscule, at best.

Still, he continued writing.

So, today I finally realized something. I knew on some level, of course, but today it finally became reality.

We’re not kids anymore. We’ve grown up. Graduated. Married. And soon we’ll all be going our separate ways. Huey’s got a wife. Dewey’s a pilot now. Webby’s working for the government. And my art’s taking me all around the world. Everything’s changing. Everything’s already changed.

Yet still, nothing’s changed at all.

We’re still close. We still go on adventures. We still talk every day. We still support each other in everything- so why does it feel like I’m losing something?

I guess after all these years of being together, I forgot to start imagining my life without you all. For some reason, I never pictured myself without you right there by my side. Strange, isn’t it?

We’re not those kids who used to play pretend, or go on adventures behind Uncle Donald’s back. We’re not those kids who walked aimlessly around town, or spent hours playing videogames together. We’re not those kids anymore, but at the same time it feels like we always will be.

We’ve become seasoned explorers. We’ve followed Mom and Uncle Donald’s path- a path Uncle Donald didn’t want us to follow, but was hopeless to keep us from. It’s in our blood, and it always will be. It’s just time for us to start our own solo adventures.

After all these years, I don’t think I once said, “I love you.” I guess I always thought it was implied. That it didn’t need to be said- we’d always be together, right? At times, it felt like we were all we had. Of course you’d know I care- right?

Well, I’ve never said it before but I’ll say it now; I love you guys. Huey, Dewey, Webby... You guys mean more to me than I ever knew how to say. And even though we’re leaving our childhood behind, we’re gonna remember the good times and we’re gonna go proudly into that future the past has made for us.

Even if that means going our separate ways.

We’re not children anymore. We’re adults now. I guess that means it’s time to grow up.

Louie wasn’t sure about anything he just wrote, but he signed his name anyway- his handwriting wasn’t much, admittedly, but his signature was always flawless from years of practice, and he signed his newest musing, a letter that would never be read, with all the care he put into every painting, every sketch, every portrait.

Then he read over his note again and gently closed the book for the last time.

He said nothing, even to himself, as he returned the notebook to his shelf, sliding it back into place as though it had never left. Then he picked his sketchbook up, stepped out of his closet, closed the door and went to his bed.

There was nothing to say.

Shuake where they have an argument and Akechi goes full on asshole mode and instantly regrets it, thinks Akira will hate him forever and leave like everyone else so Akira gotta smooth those ruffled feathers lmao at the end he's just like "dude plz I've seen you throw your worst tantrum already & you're a jerk but I still love you

Okay anon sorry this one took too long, I got really into it hahaha! It got a little bleak and depressing at the beginning but it gets super sweet and stuff near the end! Hope you enjoy! 

And pssh you be quiet it doesn’t sound dumb at all. 

           Akechi couldn’t decide how long he had been living up in this solitary attic, staring out the window morosely and wishing it would all go away. Watching his past replay before his eyes, hearing the sound of the gunshots that had rung out and the many anguishing hours that had passed as he sat there across from his own dead body with a bullet lodged firmly in his side. Feeling as his life faded away, as his Personas clamored for a solution inside of him, as his visor faded away to thick and messy brown hair flecked with blood. As his body seemed to move on its own into a small cell with walls that held a faint glow that he couldn’t stand to look at. Feeling as he was uncomfortably lifted, taken away from that unknown dark blue prison, waking up in an attic with a group of people surrounding him.

           He closed his eyes and bit his lip. He hated all their eyes on him, each and every member of the group he had betrayed. The conflict was clear in their eyes and the betrayal was apparent in their tone. They spoke with a familiar cadence, comparing him to them, never forgetting what he had done but somehow acting like they understood him and how he was feeling. He had just zoned out mercilessly and stared with dead eyes at the wall, nodded every now and then to placate them.

           They had pulled him out of something called a ‘Velvet Room’, not that Akechi could figure what that was. He hadn’t much of any idea what had happened in the last few months and no one was keen to fully fill him in yet. He knew they didn’t trust him—he didn’t trust them either. He was just sitting here staring blanking out the window waiting for the day when one of them brought their gun in and took him out. Or went into his mind and did what he had done to them…

           …No, he admitted painfully, they wouldn’t do that. The Phantom Thieves were not the murderers that he had so precisely and painstakingly worked to profile them as. They made to change hearts, not destroy them. Not like he had. It made him wonder, had he known about the Treasures and their effect two years prior, if he would’ve followed the same path as them. Probably not. He hadn’t had a light to guide him like they did. They had Akira Kurusu to exert that comforting authority to assure them that their petty vengeance would give them nothing.

           And Akechi had nothing. Just an empty cup of coffee and a window to stare out of while they waited for him to recuperate. As if he would ever do that. He knew he was just waiting out the clock to see his own sins paid in kind.

           He jumped slightly when he felt a hand over his own; looking down, he saw the slate gray eyes of Kurusu. No, he remembered, the boy had demanded to be called Akira. Like they were friends or something. Like you could really be friends with someone who took a gun to your forehead without a second thought. But he could play Akira’s game, he could do it as long as the other boy wanted to, because he knew it was all going to backfire on him in the end—

           “Goro. The team got you something.”

           Akechi looked up slightly, uninterested, at the box that Akira held in his hands. He tried to squash the small feeling of hope in his stomach, the flare of warmth that spread through his chest when Akira referred to him by his first name. No one had ever done that since his mother had died. He had always been Akechi—there had been no Goro. That was a person who was hidden under shade after shade of Akechi’s immaculate grooming and lies, impossible to reach with even the most desperate of measures. Yet somehow here he was, being called Goro by another person, that person having finally reached Goro.

           He studied the other boy as his thin, practiced fingers unwrapped the small box. Akira had attracted his attention from the beginning. Akechi wasn’t sure why. It was not like he had walked up to the boy knowing that Akira was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. No, it was more like there was something in Akira’s eyes. There was a statement there, underneath the messy hair and slightly askew glasses. There was a person that he was refusing to let other people see and it reflected in those slate gray eyes. Perhaps, the detective mused, that was why he let himself become so fragile in front of Akira. Perhaps that was why he felt to pieces because of Akira. Perhaps that was why Akira, of all people, got to meet and be around ‘Goro’.

           He restrained a snort. As if it was some kind of prize to be around Goro.

           “You want me to cut you a slice?”

           “Huh?” Akechi looked up from his musings; the black haired boy had finished unwrapping the box. He let his eyes wander across the presentation—he supposed it was supposed to make him feel happy but it just brought bile to his throat. A cake. An immaculate, perfect little vanilla cake with a mocha frosting and the words ‘Get Well Soon’ scrawled across it in red frosting. It made him sick, made him disgusted, made him angry, made him…

           ….it made him feel bad.

           As if he couldn’t control his own body, Akechi’s arm swiftly sweeped out and smacked the cake to the ground. It smashed against the ground, the frosting splattering all over the ground. The red text and the brown icing seemed to smush together, mixing and becoming a vomit inducing mess. The vanilla cake itself crumbled across the floor. Akira stared at the gift on the ground with wide, almost shocked eyes, and for a moment a rush of fear and horror ran through Akechi.

           He didn’t know why he felt it. He had expressed exactly how he felt about the stupid cake and the stupid sentiments of those stupid people. And yet sitting here with Akira in front of him, looking almost crestfallen at the clearly homemade cake smashed against the floorboards, a rush of self-loathing and fear induced nausea rose in Akechi’s stomach. He suddenly felt almost as if he could vomit all over the other boy—as if Akira needed another reason to hate him.

           As if he ever liked you to begin with, you self indulgent waste.

           It wasn’t until Akira’s slate gray eyes locked onto the detective that Akechi realized he had said that out loud. Body trembling slightly, his mouth immediately curled into a defensive sneer. This self defeating habit he was frequently returning to thanks to these kids, the urge to drive them away by sneer and yelling and spitting and screaming and throwing a tantrum. To make them go AWAY, to make them hate him, to make them give up so he could die already.

           “Do you get it now?” He said, his own voice ringing in his ears. “Are you ready to give up already and accept that you hate me?”

           Akira was silent for a moment—because when wasn’t the boy silent, really—then his arm darted forward to hook around the back of Akechi’s neck and draw the brunette closer to him. Immediately Akechi felt his body freeze up, as if his blood as turned to pure ice and his skin to solid stone. He didn’t know what to DO. Akira had yet to pull a stunt like this. So he was just left with his nose buried awkwardly against the bespectacled teen’s broad shoulder, red eyes wide with confusion.

           “Do you really think….” Akira whispered into the brunette’s ear as one of his thumbs comfortingly massaged the detective’s chestnut brown hair. “…that you throwing a cake on the ground is going to make me hate you? I’ve seen you at your worst. I’ve seen you at the end of your gun and I’ve seen you at the end of your sanity. And I don’t care. There’s nothing you can do to make me stop caring about you whether you like it or not, Goro.”

           Shivers ran across Akechi’s entire body.

           Only, he realized, it wasn’t shivers.

           It was sobs.

           He stayed there for what felt like hours, clinging to the other boy in a way he had never clung to anyone else. His fingers dug into the fabric of the Shujin Academy uniform as he held himself closer to Akira, head burying against the black jacket as he emptied his sorrows onto the other boy. Throughout the entire tantrum, as long as it may have lasted, Akira sat with him with one hand petting comfortingly across the detective’s hair. He didn’t need to ask when had been the last time Goro Akechi had let himself feel his true emotions and release his true sorrows. It was clear in that moment that it hadn’t been in years.

           “I-I…I…you…” He managed through hiccups. He wasn’t even sure if it was his state that was ruining his speech right now and preventing him from saying it, or if it was his own nerves. But it didn’t matter.

           “I know. I do too.” Akira held Akechi tighter, almost possessively. “But next time, don’t mess up the cake. Ann and Morgana spent a long time working on it with me.”

           And to his surprise, Akechi found he could still let out a shaky laugh at the idea of the cat, the model, and Akira making a silly cake for him. Somehow, it made everything feel a little less bleak. His fingers had loosened their grip on Akira’s jacket as his eyes lidded, anger washed away with his tears and hatred purged with his sobs. Somehow, SOMEHOW, after such a long time…

           Goro Akechi felt like maybe everything wasn’t so bad after all.  

They’re Watching Us

Title: They're Watching Us Word Count: 2,733 Project/Pairing: Bellamarre RP, Mostly Raphael, some Sebastian, a little Elouise Genres: Horror subtext, mystery Warnings: A little creep factor, some cussing Notes: First time writing from Raphael’s perspective. This was after Luke added the character development that Raphael was in a tussle with a lovecraftian werewolf type and came out with the disease himself. He is capable of turning into small dogs at first and slowly learns to control this over time.

    The time between ticks on the clock seemed longer than usual. When I opened my eyes again my vision was filled with smooth bland sea foam green. Sebastian insisted that this color would encourage “creative thought” and “would make a better learning environment”. As time goes on he sounds more and more like a fancy scientist. Fucking nerd.      “I’m bored” I said flipping around to face the aforementioned nerd. His back was turned to me, hunched over his desk as usual.       “What a surprise” he drawled not even turning around. “Have you considered doing your theology homework to pass the time” I groaned and put my pillow over my face.       “I said I was bored not that I want to be killed from mental anguish” I heard his glasses hit the table followed by him moaning into his hands.       “Well that makes one of us then” he replied. If I wasn’t trying to get him to go on an adventure with me, I’d smack him.       “Can’t we go on a walk or something?” I willed myself to sit up and turn to face him.      “No, can’t you see that I’m busy here?” he snapped turning around in his swivel chair. His afro looked particularly frazzled and there were bags under his eyes.       “Whoa, damn. You look exhausted,” he gave me a look that practically shouted ‘No shit’ and put his glasses back on; “You know what’d make you feel better? An adventure” He swiveled away from me and turned his study light on.      I got up and grabbed my to-go backpack. “Fine, if you won’t have fun with me I’ll find someone who will” I declared heading for the door. He gave a sharp motion of a wave over his shoulder. “Elouise can back me up; she’s always in the mood for an adventure!”       “I’m not in the mood for an adventure” Elouise said, hanging up her jockey uniform on a hook.        “Aw what? Are you serious?” I leaned against a wall with all of my body weight.       “I’m sorry Raphael but I just finished riding. I don’t even think I have enough energy to walk down to the dining hall. I might have to call for food service” she said, sitting down on her bed and folding her hands in her lap.       “Wait you can call room service?” I asked raising an eyebrow. Man if I had known that earlier-       “It costs money, Raph. It’s not a free commodity provided by the school”      “Fucking rich people” I muttered under my breath. She didn’t seem to hear me. Either that or she was composed enough to look as though she didn’t hear me. Sebastian isn’t nearly as composed. If I said that in front of him, he’d start flinging around weird British curses until his energy ran out.       “Look,” she sighed, “If you want an adventure I hear there’s some paranormal activity going on at the Topiary Gardens at sundown”       “Really? That’s awesome” I turned and left, almost at a jog. “Thanks El, you’re the best” I said over my shoulder and I left her dorm.       “Be careful” I barely heard her shout as I barreled headlong into student traffic. The evening classes were just getting out so it’s hard to get anywhere for this half hour period.       “Pardon me, excuse me, coming through” I said shoving shorter people gracelessly out of my way. Most everyone is shorter than me so most people were cussing at me as I made my way through all these little people.       The Topiary gardens encircled the horse track and we’ve watched enough of Elouise’s events to know exactly where it was. I turned a corner once I got out of Elouise’s dorm building and knelt down behind a large shrub away from view. It’d be easier to get there as something more stealthy. I opened my bag and curled up into a ball.       I furrowed my brow, closed my eyes, and thought of bones, squirrels, and squeaky toys. The feeling of numbness spread from my brain all the way to my fingers and toes. It was replaced by pins and needles for a brief moment then it was gone.      I opened my eyes up again, the world looking particularly large. I shook my head and wind swooshed loudly in my ears. It definitely worked. I looked down. Perfect. I had four stubby little white paws sticking out of a white little coat.       This transformation is a teacup Pomeranian according to Sebastian’s research. I jumped out of a pile of my clothes and dragged them into my bag. It took some time but my clothes were neatly thrown into my bag with the thing zipped up. I grabbed the top with my teeth and took off at full speed for the Topiary gardens.       My grip tightened on the bag as I ran across the grassy areas between buildings. Dinner was currently being prepared in the dining hall. I gave another sniff test. Pot Roast and Pulled Pork sandwiches. The strap in my mouth began to get quite wet. From the grass dew, definitely not because I was drooling. Because I wasn’t.        I burst through a gap in a chain link fence and through the horse stables. They would fuss and complain if I was my normal self. Those damn animals are always begging for people to give them treats.      I was out the other side before they could even start nickering. A wall of hedge rose up in front of me and I didn’t even stop. I burst through onto the other side and found myself in the maze of Topiary outside of the track. A shiver of dread ran through me.       Probably should’ve asked her what kind of spooky shit was happening here.  I looked around and found myself in a narrow hallway of hedges. The groundskeeper did his damndest to keep this place looking nice. I turned around. He’s gonna be fucking furious. An unkempt looking dog sized hole marred the uniform neatness of the hedge.       I trotted off in one direction away from the hole. The further I am from it the less likely the groundskeeper will cave my face in.      I turned a corner and stopped in my tracks. Sebastian stood a few yards away, his bag slung over his shoulder. He changed clothes since studying. I flicked my ears back and looked at him sideways. Something’s off.       “Raph, I thought you’d be here” he said, stooping down to my level. He folded his sleeves to the elbows and gave my head a rub. His muscles bulged against the button up and his glasses were askew. “Sorry I didn’t come with you earlier. I needed to finish some things up” He looked around and stood up.       “Look I can’t stay long. I need to-“      “Um….Raph?” I heard from behind me. I turned around, shocked. Rumpled sweater and jeans. Sebastian. Sweater Sebastian looked at me and to the Dress Shirt Sebastian behind me. “What the fuck is going on?”       “This is rather unexpected” Dress shirt Sebastian said, removing his glasses. He cast his gaze to the disappearing sun. As soon as the last rays were engulfed by the trees it felt like the evening was electrified. The fur on my body stood up straight. “You two are lucky you ran into me. Anyone else and you’d have been ripped to shreds” he said. With a wave of his hand, the glasses disappeared.      Sweater Sebastian whipped something out of his pocket. A piece of chalk protruded from his clenched fist. Dress Shirt Sebastian sighed in an exasperated way.       “Really kid? You must be dumber than you look if you think that’d work on me”      “I don’t even know what you are” Sweater Sebastian snapped. Dress shirt Sebastian looked down at me, expecting me to answer.       I let the bag go and thought hard. Within a moment the cold seeped into my human skin.      “He’s a shape shifter, Bassie” I rushed to put clothes back on before the cold made it hurt to move. Sweater Sebastian clenched his teeth and didn’t move, keeping his eyes locked on the imposter.      “If I came to you with ill intent, you’d both be dead already” the imposter said. The chalk wielding hand came to Sebastian’s side and he folded his arms. I stood up next to him, brushing grass off my clothes.       “Then what are you doing here disguised as Sebastian” I asked.      The moon came out from behind the clouds and we heard rustling behind us. “You wouldn’t listen to me if I was anyone else” He had a point there. We don’t exactly stop to chat to the local monsters. “I’m here to tell you that you’re being watched. We’re all watching you”       “What do you mean, we” Sebastian asked, narrowing his eyes.       “What do you mean ‘Watched’” I added. His gaze felt invasive almost. He walked toward us, lacing his fingers together.      “I can’t tell you much. All I can tell you is that those monsters you’ve met already? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. You’re being watched by beings you can’t even imagine” he said, looking around. The rustling seemed to get louder.       “You’re being tracked as we speak” he sniffed the air, “Shadow wolves” He started down the way we had come from. “Be careful. This place has plans for you two” he said.       Before I could ask another question he disappeared in a wave of his hand.       “Did you understand what he meant?” Sebastian said, his voice was a little shaky.      “I’d rather not,” I put my bag on and started down a different direction, “Let’s get out of here” I started to jog. He practically had to sprint to keep up with my long gait. We kept to the right of the maze. Eventually we’d reach the stable entrance.       The moon rose higher overhead, casting an unearthly blue glow on everything.       “Why’d you come after me?” I asked, as we continued running.      “I thought you’d be back in less than an hour but you didn’t come back,” He stopped to take a breather, putting his hands on his knees, “So I went to Elouise and she told me where you were”      “Are you saying you were worrying about me?” I raised an eyebrow and tried hiding a smile.      “NO! I wasn’t worried about you, you absolute nit” he said, slipping into his classic frustrated tone. “I was just curious about where you were” he snapped.       “Suuuuure you were” I said, tousling his afro. He slipped out of my grasp and pointed a finger at me.      “Why do you always have to be a goddamn cunt” he shouted the last bit at me and we fell silent as it echoed over the maze. The rustling got louder and we could hear snarling now.       “Uh oh” I managed to utter. Two shadows jumped over a hedge near us and landed only a dozen meters away. They both looked at us and snarled. Their eyes were coal black against the rest of their shadowed bodies and they crept closer. “Through the hedge, dude” I said, trying not to move.       “E-E-E-excuse m-me?” Sebastian stuttered, shaking visibly.      “Through the hedge” With a quick motion I picked him up by his sweater and tossed him through the hedge to the race track on the other side. That’s when the dogs made their move. They leapt out at me and I shut my eyes.       The numbness and tingles flashed in front of my eyes and I had shrunk in size. Back to the Pomeranian. I could only catch a glance as they leapt through where I was moments ago, their shadowed bellies transparent. They spun around, clearly upset that they’d not caught anything.       I snarled and leapt through Sebastian’s hole. He was backing up on his hands and feet across the dirt. He kept his wide eyes locked on the wolves and looked down. He seemed to be working something through. I stood my ground in front of him and faced down the two dogs.       “Hunt them” one seemed to whisper.      “Eat them” the other seemed to respond. I didn’t move. Any sign of movement was a sign of weakness. They didn’t move as long as I didn’t. They must’ve never seen something like me before.       Sebastian’s arm moved in front of me slowly. He was tracing out a circle. They didn’t notice him. They kept their eyes on me. If I moved they’d rip us to shreds. A shiver threatened to go up my spine. Being eaten by dogs is not a fate I want to be a part of.       A sharp pain came from my hindquarters so I whirled around. He had taken one of my hairs. It had startled me. That was when I realized my mistake. Shit. I turned back around to see two dogs mid-leap at me. Just before they snapped down on me, a barrier flew up between us and them.      They didn’t seem fazed at all by this minor inconvenience. They circled around us trying to find a weak spot in his circle.      “Raph, we’ll be safe here but there’s no way we’re gonna be able to leave” Sebastian explained, keeping his hand on a symbol near the top of the circle. So we sat there for what felt like hours. I was hoping that the wolves would move on or get bored. They didn’t.       They were circling us as fervently an hour in as the first few seconds. An idea dawned on me. They’d leave us alone if we proved we were more of a threat than they were. I was much shorter than they so I had a good view of their vulnerable areas.       I waited and poised myself. They didn’t seem to mind my movement now. All I had to do was wait for an opening. They circled three, four more times. One finally sat in front of me and stared me down. Now!       I leapt out of the circle and clamped my tiny teeth on his throat. It didn’t feel like how I thought it would. It felt more like biting into the world’s softest pillow if it was also wet. I closed my eyes and held on. He thrashed and fell backwards, trying to toss me. I held fast.      A few more thrashes and he landed on top of me, knocking me free. He leapt back and ran as fast as he could. The other followed behind knowing he alone couldn’t take the two of us.        “Jesus fuckin Christ, you idiot” Sebastian said running out of the circle. “Why’d you do that” he shouted at me. The cold seeped into my human skin. Being tossed into the ground must’ve knocked me out of my dog form.        “A thank you would be nice” I groaned rolling onto my back. “Risked my ass to save us, you know” He sighed and sat me up.        “It was a stupid risk, Raph,” his features softened, “But...thank you” he said quietly. I smiled at him. A thank you was rare from his arrogant ass. Might as well enjoy it.       I sat up and punched his shoulder. He punched mine back. It hurt. “Raph, I have a request” he said turning his gaze away from me respectfully.       “Sure?” As long as it’s not for me to finish my homework, I’m down with anything right now.       “For the love of God put some clothes on” he said. Right. We didn’t speak until I had put my clothes back on and we were safely on our way to the dorm.       “What do you think that guy meant when he said we were being watched” I asked, scratching my head. “I’ve never noticed anyone watching us.” Sebastian took in my words carefully.        “I’ll put some alchemical protection spells on the dorm” he said, deep in thought.       “That’s not what I asked” He sighed and adjusted his glasses.      “I have no idea, Raph. We’ll just have to keep our eyes open from now on, ok?” I was hoping he’d put my worries at ease. He is usually in control in situations like this. Sebastian being uncertain about things makes me worry.       “We’ll be fine. It can’t possibly be anything we can’t handle, right?” he said, giving me a reassuring smile. He didn’t fool me. There was unease behind his eyes.       Yeah. Sure, Bassie” I lied. “We’ll be fine”