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#edited because it was revealed she has red eyes!
peachsayshi · 2 months
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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ minors / ageless / blank blogs (dni) - dad gojo x reader
papa's scary face is how your daughter describes it. the difference when her usually bubbly, bright father morphs into somebody else. the expression he makes when she accidentally walks in on you and satoru having a serious argument. when she catches him coming home from work with his shoulders taut and his brows furrowed.
satoru's daughter is the light of his life - his little peace of heaven on earth. that's why he is so terrible when it comes to discipline (a lecture you constantly have to give him). she has never been on the receiving end of your lover's scary face. isn't familiar with the hardened muscles he express when serious, or notices the angry twitch of his jaw when frustrated.
it's rare, but these moments happen. satoru may possess godlike powers, but he's still inherently human. his very essence the same that make up you and your daughter.
you're surprised when you see her quietly tiptoe her way towards the sofa, towards you and her father. her energetic aura dwindled by silence. her bottom lip is tucked tightly between her teeth, her beautiful round eyes varnished with tears ready to fall.
satoru's face instantly drops with concern. his body immediately growing protective with his arm lightly slipping away from around your waist.
"you okay, mochi?" he asks sweetly, his brow quirking at her arms tucked behind her back.
you both know that she's hiding something.
"I did something bad" she says quietly, her worried voice so small it makes satoru spring to his feet to meet her halfway.
he crouches on his knees, his height daunting compared to hers. he lightly tugs at her frosty pigtail, and she sniffles ever so slightly to keep her brave face in place.
always trying to hold a strong front, just like her father.
"what did you do?" he asks with a gentle smile, watching her shift from one foot to the next.
" I..uhm...I was playing with your toys," she mumbles, unable to meet his gaze as she keeps her own firmly on her pattering feet. "I know they're yours. I know I have’ta ask first. I was tryna to be...uhm..."
"careful?" satoru completes, tilting his head in an attempt to make contact with his hesitant daughter who still hasn't figured out all her words just yet.
"yeh that..." she grumbles to reveal what's behind her hands.
you press your fingers against your lips when you see it.
satoru's favorite pair of sunglasses.
a limited edition pair from one of his favorite high fashion brands. he splurged a stupid amount of money of it. even kept the packaging because he hyper fixated on the details. the frame was extremely delicate, which is why he rarely wore it. but he gushed over it for almost a year since it's pre-release was announced.
his daughter, however, has a habit of sneaking into her father's room to steal one of the many pairs of shades that your lover wore. she enjoyed "modeling" them, and would flash poses in front of your bedroom mirror while sifting through his collection like they were treasure.
you and satoru have caught her doing this many times before, and while the both of you found it adorable, you realized that your daughter wasn't very careful when handling things.
she scratched the lens of another pair that belonged to her father. bent the temple of a second, which he hasn't been able to fix.
so, when satoru received these specific shades, the two of you sat her down to try and explain that she couldn't freely just loot around his stuff without asking for permission.
right now, those very shades where split into two in his daughter's hands.
satoru's jaw goes slack when he picks them up from her tiny palms, his cheeks tinting a slight red from surprise.
"im sorry, papa," she timidly begs, bringing her now empty hands to cover her eyes. her body heaves, you can see that she is trying really hard not to cry.
satoru allows the shock to settle for only just a minute, before he places the broken sunglasses by his side. there's something else that washes over him - relief.
he circles his arms around her wrists, tugging them away from her face but she keeps them fiercely in place. he chuckles with ease, shaking his head in disbelief as he loosens his grip to grab her waist and pull her into his frame.
"silly girl," he teases. "it's okay, papa's not mad, I promise..."
"but I didn't listen to what you 'n mama said-"
"I know," he sighs calmly, "and you know that was wrong, right? not to listen?"
she nods her head yes, her hands still covering her face.
"Eyes on me, grabby hands..." satoru lectures but she shakes her head no.
"Don't wanna see your scary face," she awkwardly admits, and you can't help but bite back a smile.
she's far too innocent to understand what those expressions. to young to acknowledge that they weren't always bad. that they were, in fact, normal. and that one day she will bare the cross of these complex emotions herself.
"scary face?" satoru huffs, "you think daddy has a scary face?"
she drops her hands to her side swiftly, revealing her guilt and wet cheeks. she furiously shakes her head no, taking in a large inhale as she wipes her face with the back of her hands.
it makes your heart ache watching her try to comprehend the weight of her small feelings.
"nu-uh," she reassures, "but-but sometimes..."
satoru kisses her plush cheek three times over to interrupt her eyes, "I am not mad at you, mochi," he consoles, "just promise you won't do it again."
"pinky swear!" she yelps as she searches for his long, slender digits. the relief brings the color back into her face, the pale sheet of white bloomed with a tiny blush. she hooks her pinky around satoru's, the size different so prominent, before eagerly wrapping her arms around his neck. "m'sorry, papa"
"it's okay, baby," he coos as he kisses her forehead.
the scene is heartwarming, and while satoru maintained his cool, you can still read the disappointment on his face.
the pair slip away from each other's arms, your daughter picking up the broken shades as she patters her way back down the hallway to give you both some privacy.
satoru gets up, his hand clutching his chest as he turns to give you a pathetically sad expression.
"how much does it hurt?" you tease, watching him drag his feet back to you.
you grumble when he collapses into your chest, burying his nose into your neck as he wraps his strong arms around your waist.
"this is the worst heartbreak of my life," he groans obnoxiously, and you raise your own brows in surprise.
"I thought our break up was the worst heartbreak you’ve experienced," you chide, twirling the strands of his soft hair between your fingers.
"seriously? you want to bring that up now? while I'm in mourning?"
you giggle when he sinks his teeth into the delicate flesh of your neck, nipping at your skin tenderly before exhaling with sorrow.
"ugh, she's got me wrapped around her fingers like taffy," he moans like he can’t believe his own defeat, "did you see her face? how can I even get mad?"
"I know, my love," you coo, consoling your own crybaby.
Minutes pass in silence before satoru finally ponders that, "maybe, I can find another pair online or something-"
"papa!" your daughter chirps, interrupting the moment as quickly as she graced it.
satoru untangles himself from your embrace, sitting upright to see her pigtails bouncing as she scampers towards you both. her steps hit the ground fast. he doesn't even have a chance to answer before she climbs on his lap, her eyes still a little glossy from shedding her tears. she wipes away the rogue strands of feathery hairs that stuck to her temple, before showing off what's in her hand.
"I fixed it for you," she beams, her face hopeful and optimistic.
Satoru picks up the glasses from between her fingers, noticing that she had used one of her washy tapes to stick the bridge back together.
It was blue, and had little ducks on it.
You can feel an eruption of laughter bubbling in your chest, but pure love bleeds through Satoru's eyes, completely moved by her gesture.
"Aww, mochi," he gently replies, tracing his thumb over the tape.
He arches forward to kiss her nose, while she seeks another embrace between mumbling into his ear that she loves him.
You simply melt by their side.
Satoru doesn't wear the glasses anymore, but he still keeps them. Bringing them out every once in a while to show his daughter that he still loves them.
Even though they sit quite lopsided on his handsome face.
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So I've seen some people say we don't need a six of crows spinoff because shadow and bone season 2 basically covered all the book material like WHAT? No. We need a spinoff. We still haven't gotten:
- Matthias joining the crows and calling Kaz a demjin
- Mathias's ghost not associating with everyone else's ghost.
- Nina casually raising the dead.
- Nina calling Kaz an idiot for calling Inej an investment.
- "You're better than waffles, Matthias Helvar."
"Let's not say things we don't mean."
- Nina and Jesper flirting the entirety of Ketterdam into submission.
- That scene where Inej is sitting on Kaz's windowsill and he gets lost for words because of how beautiful she is.
- Jesper's apology to Inej
- Colm Fahey!
- Alys Van Eck annoying the heck out of everyone with her singing
- The reveal that Wylan is Jan Van Eck's son and the angst that will come with this new timeline of events on the show
- Both Kaz and Inej kind of adopting Wylan
- Jesper saying "I can read to him."
- "Wylan Van Sunshine."
- "What do you think my forgiveness looks like, Jordie?"
- THE BATHROOM SCENE. Chapter 26, Crooked Kingdom. The actual version this time. You know the one.
- Kaz meeting Inej's parents and "is my tie straight?"
- "I would come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were we'd fight our way out together- knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting."
- The entire Ice Court Heist
- That scene where Kaz faints and Inej helps him.
- Kaz and Inej holding hands.
- "She was Inej Ghafa, and her future was waiting above.
- Somehow, the line where Kaz calls Inej "lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved" has to be incorporated.
- When Inej and Kaz first met
I mean, I like these books a normal amount...
Sorry this turned into a lot of Kanej moments.
Anyway, there's probably a lot more, but I'm getting a little anxious about how long Netflix is choosing to make us wait... I just really hope they don't cancel it.
Edit: These were of the top of my head, I missed a lot. Here are some more because I can.
Cont...
- Nina and Inej singing together
- Kaz and Wylan falling through a roof together
- "How about I throw you in the canal, and we see if you know how to swim?" Wylan Van Eck
-I'm not big on killing unconscious men."
'We could wake them up."
- Jesper saying he believes in true love (obviously referencing Wylan akdjfjsk)
- That scene were Inej scares the living daylights out of Pekka.
- "Maybe I liked your stupid face."
- "I will take you home.
"Nina, I already am home."
- Wylan spitting in Van Eck's face.
-Someone in the tags mentioned Matthias calling Nina 'little red bird' like YES I need it.
- And imagine Kaz calling Inej "my girl" OUT LOUD I would die on the spot my heart couldn't take it.
- Matthias saying "You're all horrible," about the other crows but then eventually coming around with "They all seem like practical choices."
- Kaz ripping Oomen's eye out and throwing him over board after he injures Inej
- Jesper's "He deserves a better father than you."
-"I-Should-Let-You-Die,"Matthias grumbling as he is resuscitating Kaz
- "I can hear the change in Kaz's breathing when he looks at you. It catches every time, like he's never seen you before."
- When Inej tricks Kaz into coming up the stairs with her to scout the area, vanishes and leaves him up there to walk back down the stairs and he smiles instead of being angry
- Still kinda disappointed they didn't have the 'not just girls," line, I know wesper is different in the show, but I'd still love to have it. (At least we have it in the interview.)
- The same for when Jesper reaches out and starts adjusting Wylan's satchel with his 'But that's not all I want."
And I could go on. But I don't want to make this post ridiculously long.
In conclusion, there is PLENTY of book material still to cover.
GREENLIGHT THE SPINOFF NETFLIX!
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lilasturns · 3 months
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CORRUPTION.
chris sturniolo has made it his mission to corrupt you. (part 2 to GOOD GIRL.)
warnings: use of ma, fingering, cunnilingus, innocence kink (if u squint), that’s like it. merry christmas! (NOT EDITED.)
You haven't been able to stop thinking about Chris Sturniolo. You don't know who that girl in his car was. That was unlike you, and your behavior since then has been very unlike you.
You were slacking. You forgot about half of your homework in the past two weeks, and when it came to studying for your tests? No. You haven't. And truly, you didn't plan on it. Everytime you tried, you mind went straight to thinking about Chris, and the way his fingers moved inside you.
You were craving it. You were yearning for it. You'd do anything for more. Nothing was going to stop you from getting it.
Which is why you asked your friends to bring you to another party. And another, and another. If you talked to yourself from two weeks ago, she would've been shocked by the way your life changed in such a short amount of time.
The past few parties you've attended, Chris hasn't been there. And honestly, you're getting a little annoyed. I mean, you're going for him, and he isn't even there?
You've basically been sulking in this corner of a random person's house all night, waiting for him to walk by. It felt different, though. You knew he was going to be here. You just knew it.
You rummaged through the fridge, desperately trying to find a bottle of water. It was hot and sticky in there, and the flashing lights you've been seeing all weekend have been giving you a headache.
As you shuffled through the fridge, you felt a hand place itself lightly on your back. Your body tensed in response, your breath hitching. You head turned slightly to peek over your shoulder, revealing a very smug Chris Sturniolo.
"Thought parties weren't your thing," he said, "looking for me, huh?"
He stared into your eyes, waiting for a response. You slammed the fridge door shut, turning to him, as his hand still pressed against your back.
"Y-yeah." You answered. You waited for this moment for two weeks, why were you so shy now? Now face to face, it was like you couldn't form any words.
"Then let's get out of here? Yeah?" He whispered in your ear. "I know you've been waiting."
And here you are with Chris Sturniolo again, but, rather than his car, you're in his house. His house.
As you walked in through his front door, he turned to you, a finger pressed to his lips, silencing you. He walked up the dark hallway, taking your hand in his, guiding you up the stairs.
Once you reached his room, he flicked on the lights, causing your face to scrunch from the sudden brightness. You finally saw his face in the bright lights. His chiseled jaw, his pink, full lips, his eyes. He had smirk on his face, it was all overwhelming you.
“How’d you like it last time, huh?” He asked, taking slow steps closer and closer to you. He ran a hand down your face, lifting your chin up high to look him in the eyes.
Butterflies flew through your stomach and your knees practically buckled as you stared into his bright eyes.
“How much did you like it?” He repeated, licking his lips.
“A lot.” You whispered back, holding your breath in anticipation.
“You gonna let me do more this time, yeah?”
You anxiously nodded, swallowing hard, taking in a deep breath. To say you were nervous is an understatement, because you are fucking terrified.
“Words, baby,” he started, his hands traveling down to your waist, gripping your sides. “I need words.”
“Y-yes,” you agreed eagerly, “please.”
He lifted his one hand to your face, cupping your cheek, running his thumb up and down. He stared into your eyes, causing you to look away, a deep red color forming on your face.
He turned your head back to look at him, slowly letting his lips connect to yours. His soft, pink lips moved against yours lightly, and you sucked in a breath, holding it as his other hand ran down to your ass.
You let out a light gasp as his hand grabbed your ass, and he took it as an opportunity to let his tongue fall into your mouth.
He pulled your body closer into his, holding onto your back as you held onto his arm with your right hand. His lips pulled away from yours and placed light kisses from below your ear to the side of your neck.
You tilted your neck to the side, letting him kiss it lightly as you took in deep breaths. Your hand held the back of his head, playing with his brown, wavy locks.
He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling you down to sit on top of him. You straddled his legs, huddling over his lap.
“Come on, ma,” he pleaded, “I can’t help you if you don’t try.”
You slowly lowered yourself to sit down on his lap, sighing. Even though you were once on top of him before, you were still completely and utterly nervous to be sitting on him again. And this time, on his bed.
He went back to kissing down your neck and to your collarbones, playing with the hem of your shirt. You let your hips roll against his, causing him to let out a small groan from the friction you caused.
“Let me make you feel good.” He spoke, pulling away from your neck, tugging with the hem of your shirt. “Can I take this off?”
“Y-yeah.” You allowed, waiting for him to pull it off you. He smiled, using both his hands to remove your shirt off your body, leaving you in your black lace bra.
The necklace that hanging from your neck hung low, down to your cleavage jingled as he picked it up to play with it.
“I like these.” He complimented.
“Thanks.” You responded.
“Can I take your bra off?” He suddenly asked, causing your eyes to widen. He would be the first person to see them, and you could feel your heart beat slightly pick up.
You nodded, words unable to leave your mouth in fear you would sound silly. You reached behind your back to unclip your bra, letting your boobs fall from their grasp.
You threw your bra on the floor below you, your hans falling to the side as Chris stared down at your chest, his mouth gaped.
Your hands went to cover your chest as he stopped them, shaking his head. He held your hands out to the side, his mouth still completely wide open.
“You’re so fucking pretty, god.” He said quietly, mesmerized by the sight in front of him. Your face burned up as he complimented you once again.
His mouth dropped down your collarbones, once again leaving light kisses down to your top of your boobs. His brought his hands up to grasp them, massaging them in both his hands, before dropping them and letting his mouth come down on them instead.
Pleasure waved through your body as his mouth placed with your chest. You held his head in place, letting out a soft moan. You could feel the wetness start looking in your panties.
He played with your tits for a few more seconds before pulling away, a smirk on his face. His hair was starting to get a little messy, and his lips were plump. He looked amazing.
“Let me show you how good I can make you feel, okay?” He whispered, lifting you off his lap. “Lay back.”
You laid back against his head-frame, your legs bent up close to you. He crawled in between your legs, spreading them out.
He pulled down your leggings all the way down and off your ankles, throwing them to the floor beside his bed. His stared at the black panties you wore that matched your bra.
As he laid in between your legs, he ran a finger down and back up to your clit, rubbing a few light circle on it.
“Can I take them off?” He asked, his hands reaching up to the hand of your panties. You nodded eagerly, licking your lips. The pleasure you felt was becoming unbearable to deal with.
He smiled, pulling down your panties to your thighs. You pulled them down the rest of the way, tossing them to the floor along side your bra and leggings.
“God, your so pretty.” He mumbled, running his finger through your folds. You let out a soft and quiet moan, watching him.
“Did I tell you how much I missed you, ma?” He asked, staring into your eyes. You stared at him for a few moments before shaking your head no.
“Well, I did. A lot.” He added. “Missed how innocent you are. Was waiting to show you something new.”
“Something new?” You wondered.
“Just wait, you’ll see.” He replied, his finger running through your folds still, collecting the wetness that was still forming.
You sucked in a breath, your hands gripping his bed sheets beside you. He slowly dipped his middle finger inside you, your hips bucking up.
He slowly moved his one finger in and out of you before pausing, looking into your eyes. He pulled his finger out and you and you whined from the loss of contact.
He dipped his head down to stare at your pussy, before latching his mouth onto your clit. Your mouth dropped, not expecting him to latch his mouth onto you.
His tongue lightly licked around your clit, traveling up and down your folds. You held his head with your right hand, your left gripping the bed-sheets. Even the smallest amount of pleasure he gave you could make you come.
It all felt so surreal. You didn’t know it felt this way. Your friends told you it felt good, but you didn’t know it felt this good. His tongue continued to flick around you, occasionally nibbling down on your clit softly, making you moan out.
“Chris..” you moaned out, “feels really good.”
He groaned against your pussy, your eyes fluttering shut as you felt the vibrations rattling against you. Your mouth dropped as he started to move his mouth faster against you, his tongue dipping in and out of you.
As his tongue reached up to your clit, his hand went down to your folds, dipping in his middle finger again.
“Ngh..” You moaned, trying to keep quiet. “God.”
Him sucking on your clit and fingering you only got quicker and you pushed his head down onto you, causing him to add his ring finger inside of you, and causing him to move his mouth even faster.
You could feel the pit in your stomach start to form, your hips constantly bucking against his mouth. His other hand that wasn’t inside you placed a hand on your hip, pressing it down so you could sit still. You felt him smile against you, causing you to let out a moan as your face scrunched shut.
“Chris,” you started, “I think I’m gonna c-cum.”
“You got it ma, come all over my fingers, yeah?” He spoke out against your pussy, still fingering you. The pit in your stomach only grew more, your palms became sweaty, and you clenched around his fingers.
He groaned from you clenching around him, causing you to cum on his fingers. He slowly stopped his movements, letting you come down from your high.
He got up and you closed your legs as your thighs shook a bit. He stared down at you as he took his fingers into his mouth, licking your cum off them.
Your jaw dropped as you watched him lick his fingers. He smirked down at you before plopping down on his bed next to you. You watched him plop down next to you as he turned his head to face you.
“How was that?”
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bidisastersanji · 4 months
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"Zoro gets lost because he uses his red string of fate like a compass- and that's why Sanji always finds him" was one of the first things I posted and now it's real! I got three chapters and here's the first part below the cut. Click here to read it on AO3 if you prefer. each part is around 1.5k words. edit: part 2 here, part 3 here
Zoro has always been a simple man; one of actions over words and of tangible things over what he considers trivial. It’s therefore not surprising that, in a world where certain people are bound by fate, each in their own unique way- some rumoured to share markings on their skin, some with changing eye colours, or even some who feel phantom pains from across the sea- in such a spectacular world, Zoro doesn’t really linger on the red piece of thread tied to his pinky finger. 
The red thread hasn’t ever really been a question in his mind, it just was.  
As far back as he could remember, it’s just been there, infinitely stretching Northwards, unmoving and unseen by others. Subconsciously, he taught himself to use it as a compass to navigate his home island, Shimotsuki. He never had to remember to take it with him, and it reliably was always stretching in the same direction, which was perfectly convenient with the function he’d ascribed it. His odd way of getting around easily became second nature, a habit so deeply ingrained that he barely gave a second thought to the bright cord on his hand. 
--- 
He’s about eight years old when things change. 
The first day Zoro gets lost, he thinks he might’ve missed one of the steps he memorised, jaw tight with repressed irritation at being reprimanded for his lateness to practice. 
The second time he gets lost he’s in the forest, thick trees towering over him in all directions, and when the sun starts to lower in the sky, frustration bubbles up in his chest, tight and sour, stinging his eyes, threatening to spill out as he struggles to find his way back to the dojo. They must’ve cut down some trees or something, he scoffs to himself. 
The third time he gets lost, he’s pretty certain that someone must be playing a prank on him and moved the garden shed from its usual spot. There’s no other reasonable explanation -short of the shed growing legs- seeing as he’s such a natural at getting around. 
From then on, Zoro learns to accept that he lives in a world where people mysteriously move landmarks, buildings and roads around all the time. He tries not to take it too personally, being the target of all these pranks, but he does resent the time he wastes when getting around, as its precious time he could’ve been using to be training. Training to finally beat Kuina. 
It takes him weeks to realise that maybe the string on his hand isn’t pointing in the same direction anymore. 
Once he does notice, he notes that it periodically moves around- sometimes a bit, sometimes a lot, always right when he starts getting used to it damnit and no his sense of direction is just fine thank you. After the first couple of students at the dojo get their asses handed to them for teasing him about it, adults and children alike learn not to poke fun at the glaring, directionally challenged green-haired boy, no matter how often nor absurdly he gets turn around.  
The only person that Zoro reveals his little secret to is Kuina.  
He’s eleven, still a head or two shorter than her, and they’re taking a little break from sparring, sharing some homemade onigiri her mom made her. They’re sat in a tree’s shade, a pleasant breeze cooling their overheated skin, and she asks him about his infamously atrocious spatial navigation. He denies it at first, ears heating up in embarrassment, but after a couple more bites he decides if anyone were to know, it would have to be her. His friend. His only best friend. 
The young Zoro reveals that he’s not really sure why he gets lost in the first place- he's always relied on the thread- not landmarks or maps, as he’s now learned others do- to tell up from down, but one day it just moved. His north star moved, and has kept on moving these past three years, and he still doesn’t know why, just that it’s a real bother. 
“Your... thread?” 
“Yeah.” he eagerly stuffs his mouth with more onigiri. 
Her eyebrow raises quizzically. “I don’t know what you mean by that.” 
Zoro gestures to his pinky with a tilt of his chin and a wiggle of his finger. “You know. My red string. On my pinky.” 
“Zoro, I really don’t. I don’t see anything...” She furrows her brow, thoughtful. “But mom did give me ‘the talk’ last week- maybe this has to do with your soulmate!” Sensing a certain disinterest from her junior, she goes on. “Based on the examples I’ve heard about; I’d say it’s likely that the piece of string on your finger leads to your other half.” 
Zoro shrugs lazily. “Sounds like a drag, couldn’t this just be like, my inner compass or somethin’?” 
Her eyes crinkle at that, a grin splitting her face from ear-to-ear. “What inner compass, moron? You always get lost. And aren’t you the least bit interested in the person on the other end?” She pokes him in the chest. 
“Not really, no.” Zoro tries to brush off the taunt, lips pursed and palming his neck in a nervous tick. 
“Ok, think about it this way,” Kuina calls for his attention, “Somewhere out there, on this wide, wide sea- or a faraway island, I guess, there’s someone meant for you. Your person. Your equal. Isn’t that the least bit exciting?” 
The young boy’s scowl shifts into something softer, a pout. “I... guess?” He sighs. “I honestly don’t know- all I care about is becoming the best. Right now, Kuina, you’re my goal, you’re who I’m looking to. I don’t really care about this stranger, or fate, or anything like that. I’m gonna make my own destiny.” 
Her shoulders shake as she laughs. “Why am I not surprised- Zoro, all you think about are swords and fighting. You’re hopeless. I kind of worry for whoever’s stuck with you-” 
“Hey!” his nostrils flare with indignation. “They’re lucky to have me as a soulmate! I’m gonna be so strong- the strongest- and,” he slows down, realising she’d tricked him into caring, just a tiny bit, “a-and they’ll be the happiest soulmate ever ‘cause I’ll protect them.” 
She hums in agreement, amused. “And you’ll cherish them, right?” 
“Y-yeah...whatever.” he stands up abruptly, eager to change the topic and get back to training. “But my priority is to be the greatest swordsman- and don’t you forget it! I’ll beat you tomorrow for sure!” 
After Kuina’s death, thoughts of soulmates and red threads rarely ever cross his mind. 
At her funeral, he briefly wonders what’ll become of her soulmate, if she even had one, but it just brings bile to his throat. They’d never even met her- why did they even matter. They were the ones mourning her, the ones robbed of their beloved friend, daughter, rival- they were the ones left behind with a Kuina shaped hole in their chests. The bitter burn distracts from the heavy emptiness he can’t shake off, the cold wetness of grief seeping into his skin. He wholeheartedly leans into the fury, grateful for a target, a temporarily outlet for the howling tempest of emotions caused by the loss of his best friend. 
Zoro’s world zeroes in on becoming the best. Pushing himself to the limit. Sparring, training. Constant practice and meditation. After Kuina’s death, there’s no student at the dojo for him to look up to, no ever-progressing goalpost he can set as a target. If he stays, he’ll continue being a big fish in a little pond.  
Zoro leaves. 
He sails the East Blue, seeking stronger and stronger opponents, cashing in bounties to get by. The Demon of the East Blue, they start calling him. But he’s still the same boy who gets lost, the ghost of a red thread distracting his steps and getting him turned around as he travels from island to island. His odd navigating system is as familiar and mechanical as the way his muscles move when he uses his swords, so ingrained he rarely registers that he’s eyeing the thin, tightly corded rope in his peripheral vision. 
Arms tied back with a much thicker, tangible rope, body sore, throat parched and delirious from the burning sun, Zoro doesn’t have much to do in Shell Town’s military yard. For the first time in years, he lets himself contemplate the implications of what Kuina had explained to him- the implications of having a person out there meant for him. He wonders if they’ll ever meet- it seems unlikely if he died here. Which he won’t, of course. Because he’s going to be the world’s greatest swordsman, and not even death will keep him away from achieving his dream. Then- only then, will he maybe think of looking for whoever was stuck with him, he decides. It’ll be his decision. 
For now, he’ll just keep following whatever path he feels will lead him to greatness. 
And what an odd path he stumbles into. Zoro joins a pirate crew. He makes friends. They get into heaps of trouble, fighting the marines, a crazy clown, a creepy butler... Zoro is happy to test his mettle, to feel challenged once again, the rush of battle pulsing through his veins like the sweetest nectar, the comforting weight of his blades grasped in his hands and mouth. 
It’s been a couple of days since they left Syrup village now, and from her spot on Merry’s bridge, Nami has been giving him weird looks. 
“Did you hit your head?” 
He huffs, miffed at being bothered during his nap. “No. Why’re you asking?” 
“You haven’t been getting lost as much lately.” she smirks when she adds, “And I’ve seen you get lost on a smaller ship than this, once.” 
His eyes roll. Fucking witch. “Dunno what you mean, my sense of direction is great.” 
“And Luffy’s a great swimmer.” 
They glare at each other for a moment. Sensing she won’t get any more info from the swordsman, Nami turns away first and sighing, returns her full attention to manning the ship’s helm. 
Truth is, the thread had barely moved since they left Usopp’s home island, always pointing in the direction the Merry was sailing- not that Zoro had noticed. This rare situation enabled him to get the hang of the ship’s layout relatively well, and he’d been enjoying how easy it’d become to move around, even though he chalked it up to personal atunement to the Straw hats’ already beloved ship. 
A few hours before they get to the Baratie, he thinks it’s a funny coincidence that the thread is pointing in the direction the Merry is going. 
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...I'm baaaack.
I mean, I made one post about Swap!PV and then got distracted for months, so I wouldn't really call this a comeback. The moment I did come back though, apparently a bunch of lore just fell from the sky! Beast Yeast is upon us and all of a sudden I remember making an alt. version of this goober.
Turns out there were a few things I wasn't satisfied with in the first one, so here I am with my Swap!Vanilla 2.0 human edition! Even after all this time I still don't have a name for him. There's more white in his design, he has four horns instead of two and they form a crown on his head(that might be a bit hard to see), he also has a halo, his staff changed drastically, and he lost his soul gem. Instead he has two new smaller gems on his "ribcage".
This time around I tried to invoke more death themes, hence the ribcage, more wrappings, the halo, and the burn marks from, y'know, being re-baked and essentially reborn. The halo also makes for a nice double meaning, showing his somewhat good intentions behind the violence and spreading chaos gig.
Speaking of intentions, I maybe or maybe not have mentioned the only swaps happening in this proposed AU are between PV and WL and [possibly] Black Raisin and Red Velvet. I say maybe because if I checked, all the writing would disappear and I would have to start over again. However, I have wondered if those two swapped, how would PV handled the kingdoms? Would it be the same as DE or would the fates of each kingdom end up being swapped as well? It's something I definitely need to think on and develop.
Anyways, ramble break, here's a few doodles I did for Swap!PV!
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Yeah, I had a lot of fun doing this. SO! A few changes not mentioned prior. Eyes! There are more eyes, especially on his coat. I took a bit of inspiration from a certain blue jester and his realm of nightmares. It also plays nicely with the whole "truth revealed" theme. Why not give the holder of the light of truth a bunch of opened eyes to represent his awakening? Also they looked good and his cape-coat was too plain without it.
Fun Head Canons: He's always floating, even when he's relaxing his feet never touch the floor. This PV still has a lily garden, it's just hidden away because while he still misses WL despite everything, he refuses to show weakness in front of others. His coat can take the shape of angel wings when angry and multiple eyes can appear when furious or in distress. Speaking of eyes, the ones on his coat glow. Those gems on him are pieces of moonstone that got corrupted after saving him.
As for the story behind him, I had to make a few adjustments. For one, DE and WL are two halves of the same whole, and the only reason either of them exists is thanks to precautions taken by Elder Faerie. Which means Pure Vanilla somehow has to get the stuff from Lily, who came to Beast Yeast without saying much of anything to anyone beforehand. Secondly, it means the Pure Vanilla Kingdom can't be the last kingdom explored. Pre Beast Yeast, the order in which the kingdoms would be explored would change, where White Lily's area would be explored first instead and the Vanilla Kingdom would be last. I'll address the second issue on a different post related to White Lily, but first things first. Fair warning, I wrote quite a bit.
~~~
After forming the seal, White Lily falls ill due to the immense amount of power used. She's not used to using so much of her soul gem, much less creating a seal to lock away ancient evils. Seeing her faltering state, Elder Faerie takes her away to his palace to help her recover. During her time in the palace, White Lily becomes distressed because not only does she feel like she's being a burden, but she won't be able to continue her research on how cookies were made. That was the whole point of coming here, after all. She left her friends and home behind to find the truth and ended up sick and bed ridden instead. The least she could do to redeem herself was to find the truth.
Racked with guilt and regret, she asks Elder Faerie for two favors; she wishes to know the secret behind cookies' creation, and she requests a pen and paper to write with. Before long, White Lily gains a messenger(Silverbell) who gives her books from the library to read, and a way to reach the one other person she understands. Someone who should've known where she was most of all. Pure Vanilla Cookie.
From there the two keep exchanging letters as White Lily brushes up on fae and beast lore. But eventually White Lily would learn about the Night of the Witches in a similar enough way to canon, i.e. finding the book about it. While she's recovered enough, she's still not well enough to go, and Elder Faerie isn't risking her well being and safety for a banquet. She's devastated that her questions may never be answered. If only she could go, if only there was some way to witness it while being in the Fairy Kingdom. And then... she realizes something. Perhaps there is a way for her to know after all...
White Lily, in the discomfort of her hospital bed, writes a letter to Pure Vanilla and asks him to go to the Witch's Banquet in her place. She knows that this is a huge ask, and he has every reason to refuse the favor, but it would mean the world to her if he did. Elder Faerie hears about this and is rightfully worried, telling her about the dangers, and any cookie that goes doesn't come back the same, if at all. He sends his own letter to Pure Vanilla to warn him of the dangers that lie ahead. A few more letters come in from WL apologizing for her request, saying it was out of line and inappropriate. "What a selfish request," she thinks, "after leaving him in the dark for so long, I have the nerve to ask him for anything at all?"
However, despite everything, he eventually decides to go. He knows that this means everything to her, and a part of Pure Vanilla secretly wondered about it as well. White Lily searched heaven and earth to find the truth so she could help others. Why would he keep avoiding it for so long? If he knew the truth as well, perhaps he could use these secrets to help the people of Earthbread alongside her. Maybe now he would finally understand White Lily more.
He wrote a letter addressed to both WL and EF about his final decision. White Lily is surprised at his decision, and is eternally grateful, while Elder Faerie is more resigned and concerned, knowing that he won't be able to change his mind but still wanting to help. He asks her to help write her next letter, and the two send a package to Pure Vanilla. Inside was another letter with the faint smell of lilies, as well as a map to the location of the banquet and a moonstone from Elder Faerie as a show of goodwill and for protection. He in turn sends what would become his final letter to her, unbeknownst to the two reading. He expresses his gratefulness to both WL and EF and declares his determination to find answers both for her and for the sake of everyone, stating, "Let me be your hope when you have none, and you my guiding light in shadows..."
Pure Vanilla proceeds to head to the Witch's Banquet, discovers the bitter truth, and in his attempts to save the other cookies falls into the ultimate dough. The fleeting scent of lilies is the last thing he grasps in his final moments, and the faint glow of a moonstone ensures his survival. His soul gem shatters under the weight of the truth and is scattered across the world, longing to be made whole once again.
~~~
Well! I think I have said everything I can say about him for now. I'm sure I can come up with more things later, but if you read this far, thanks for reading! I did not know I was going to say this much, so yeah. Next post is for White Lily specifically, I hope. I'm also taking suggestions for ideas about the other kingdoms and ways this could go, so if you have anything to suggest, let me know. Y'all have a good evening!
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heartpulsered · 2 months
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Catch the heart... 💚
[This is a small extra "story" for the latest edit] It's not the world's best story, but i hope you like it 💘 After a hour long meetup with the Professor, you finally go on a new adventure, with your new and upgraded PokeDex, which was always your companion, wherever you went. The new upgrades mainly expanded the device's possibilities with a scanner and a vital sign checker. The Vitality Checker is automatically activated when the pokedex detects that a pokemon needs this type of checkup. Knowing this, you headed towards a forest where the wind made the trees dance. Halfway along your way, you notice a loud rustling of leaves from a bush not too far away. A female Gardevoir jumped out of the bush, looking directly at you with her red eyes. You were searching your bag for one of your strongest Pokemon when you hear a loud beep. Your Pokedex beeped because the Vitality Checker has been activated. The wild Pokemon didn't attack you, on the contrary She smiled and approached you gently, as if she wanted to ask you something. When there was barely half a meter between you and the Gardevoir, the PokeDex in your hand scanned the wild Pokemon, and instead of its icon, a beating heart icon appeared on the screen. After that, you will notice a strange sound coming from the pokedex's speaker. Although it is distorted and difficult to recognize, the rhythm of the sound and the inscription on the screen reveal that it is Gardevoir's heartbeat. You notice that the shard protruding from her chest is pulsing like her heartbeat. You stare at the pokedex, confused, and you don't understand what's going on. Because it doesn't look like the wild pokemon is sick or injured.
Out of curiosity, you plug your earphones into the pokedex. A loud, powerful heartbeat could be heard from the earphones. The wild Gardevoir just keeps smiling at you, seeing you enjoy her company. After a few minutes of shock and confusion, you sit on a nearby log, hearing the rhyming heartbeat in your ears. The Gardevoir sits down next to you, still smiling at you. You still haven't figured out what her goals are with you, because apparently she doesn't want to attack you, rather she wants to get closer to you. After a long thought, you come to a decision, you take the earphones out of your ears, causing the wild pokemon to look at you with interest. You take a deep breath, then bring your head closer to the Gardevoir's chest and place your ear gently near her left breast. The strong heartbeat slowly accelerates, symbolizing the excitement of the wild pokemon, who placed her hand on your head after your action. This is how you spent a night in the forest with your new favorite pokemon… This is my first attempt to include a "story" with my edits, as an extra. It might have gotten a bit messy, but I'll try to write a more comprehensive story in the future, for another edit. If you like this kind of solution, then I can do something similar in the future.
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paperbackribs · 7 months
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Witch Steve
(working title)
next: Chapter 2: The Aftermath
So 👉👈 You were all so encouraging that I was inspired to write 14 chapters of Witch Steve. This will eventually be going up on Ao3, but while I'm finishing it up and re-editing I'll post the start of it all on Tumblr. Chapter content: steddie to come, platonic stobin, ~2K words.
Edit/Update: This is a 15 chapter fic. Ao3 here.
Chapter 1 The Sacrifice
Robin fiddles with the vodka bottle full of gasoline in her hands, “…in the face of the world ending, the stakes of my love life feel spectacularly low.”
She sighs, stuffing one of their rags into the mouth of the clear glass and completing their next Molotov cocktail. Steve watches the resignation on her face and thinks that if anyone deserves to have a moment of love and joy in the face of the world ending, it’s Robin.
It’s all of them, he reflects, looking out onto the grassy clearing.
The forest of trees behind Lucas and Erica reminds him of where they will be taking their battle to shortly. Vecna waiting in the Upside Down like a venomous spider in his web. Manipulating the troubled emotions and frightening visions of his victims, ready to break them in more than one way for his selfish desires.
Exuberant laughter draws his eyes over Nancy tailoring her weapon to Dustin as he dodges Eddie’s outstretched hands. Fondness rises within Steve like the warmth of rising bread. The fading sun frames the two boys as Eddie speaks earnestly into Dustin’s grinning face, the bond between them obvious even from here.
“Maybe it’s not the time for romance,” he admits, pensive as he watches Eddie tackle Dustin to the ground with a cackle. “But isn't love the most important thing when it is the end of the world.”
Robin knocks her knees amicably against his and he knows that this is her way of saying she loves him. He smiles back at her; he loves her too. He says it silently because he does, more than he can say at this moment. The words heavy and stuck at the back of his throat.
He wishes she could have had her moment with Vickie before they face the coming danger. The fragility of their situation leaves him with a disturbing feeling of unease churning in his gut.
It’s the fear of losing Robin that further feeds into Steve’s increasing sense of foreboding, making his teeth clench and nails dig into his palms. He has to Know, Steve decides; he needs to make sure there is hope for a later where love and romance can be indulged.
In the heart of the quiet afternoon, Steve allows the sounds of the boys roughhousing and Erica’s sharp, but not unkind, words to become muffled. While he relaxes his fists and Robin fades from his sight, Steve unfurls his uncanny gift to see into the murky depths of their futures. He hears a soft, haunting melody reaching out to him through the ethereal and a glimmering sheen covers his vision.
Like a weaver of fate, he gently unravels the white threads of destiny that intertwine around the lives of those he cherishes. Even Eddie, new to the party but just as entrenched in their fight, running scared; yet Steve thinks, just as courageously meeting the more experienced members toe to toe.
And it is only Eddie’s fate that gleams a terrible ox-blood red, a twisted tapestry of the future revealing a grim reality. Steve’s unease deepens as he Sees two roads diverging before Eddie, each leading to vastly different destinies.
One road, he is unsurprised to find, is golden bright and brilliant, full of joy, love, and friendship. This Eddie would be the guiding light for those he loves and who will love him just as fiercely as he holds them to his heart.
Steve swallows over the hard knot in his throat at the thought of all the beauty that is stolen if Eddie loses that path: because the other is shrouded in a terrible darkness.
If Eddie chooses this road, a jagged tear will be torn through the tapestry of too many lives. An unravelling thread that leads to the frayed fabric of its survivors in a way that Steve thinks the self-deprecating Eddie would never suspect.
Aside from family, only one other person knows Steve’s truth. Keeps his secret close to her breast, alongside twin confessions on a bathroom floor. Robin haltingly refusing Steve’s advances to favour Tammy Thompson and Steve blurting out that he comes from a long line of Witches. Taught at his nana’s knee and made to understand that this is something just as private to him as Robin understands her sexuality to be to her.
He watches Dustin’s wide smile, still innocent amongst a grim collection of dark moments, and Knows that this will be a turning point for his young friend. One in which Dustin lives a life spirited and mirthful or another irrecoverable scarred and linked to a critical event of grief and regret. A shiver runs down Steve’s spine and he decides he can’t stand idly by, watching as Eddie teeters on the precipice of these two divergent paths.
Drawing from long lessons of heritage and the power he and his kind hold, Steve decides on a potent action that will allow him to weave a new pattern.
---
Scarlet lightning roars in the darkness behind Eddie and Dustin as the boys wait for Steve, Robin and Nancy to depart and attack Vecna. The trailer behind the boys is tightly wrapped in the sinister vines of the Upside Down and the smell of sulphur rains down with the grey ash that coats the world in a bitter blanket. Steve watches the ghostly flakes drift onto the cloud of Eddie’s bound-back hair, and he knows that this is the moment that he readied for.
Steve reaches out to Eddie with his uncanny gift — a glass sphere, like a marble, is cradled innocently at the centre of his hand. It is as big as an apricot pit and strangely swirls with warm browns and flecks of gold, like the gentle play of sunlight flickering through to a forest floor. Steve holds his open palm out to Eddie, his hazel eyes filled with a heartfelt entreaty.
"Eddie," he asks softly, "take the marble and swallow it. Please, trust me."
Even in the short time that Steve has known Eddie, he gets that the other guy isn’t known for his impulse control. Despite this, he’s still somewhat surprised when Eddie, with no hesitation, takes the marble and swallows it down. Doe-eyed pools of warm brown look up at him through dark bangs.
“I do,” Eddie shrugs with a mysterious smile.
“What was that” Dustin shrieks, the faux military tags he had insisted on wearing jingling in agitation.
Robin stays silent behind him; Steve knows she’s holding her questions for later, having cottoned onto that he was up to something mystical when he’d hidden in the RV for a while. Only clasping his arm briefly in support when he had walked past, sweating and still pale.
Nancy though is just as surprised as Dustin and looks on at them suspiciously.
Eddie knocks an arm lightly into Dustin’s side, “I don’t know, but it tastes like hot chocolate. Warm,” he chuckles softly, “even comforting.” He turns questioning eyes back to Steve, “but, yeah, what was that?”
Steve feels how tight his smile is. “A little insurance.”
He talks to both of them, trying to instil them to obey by the force of his words alone. Knows that Dustin can be a stubborn little shit. “Just… if this goes south, I mean, at all. You abort.” But his focus turns, inevitably, to Eddie. “Don’t be a hero, man. Okay?”
A flash of emotion crosses Eddie’s face too quickly for Steve to understand before he slings an arm around Dustin’s skinny shoulders. “Of course, look at us. We are not heroes.” Under his hoodie and headband, Dustin grimaces in agreement.
The deep feeling of foreboding in his gut is untouched by their reassurance, but Steve doesn’t bother to unravel his Sight again. He’s done what he can and now he follows the girls to battle Vecna and maybe free them all from this nightmare once and for damn good.
As they travel through the dark forest, neither girl notices the small glowing pulse that Steve presses to each of them. The marks fade softly before the other can notice it. Transported by a light brush over Nancy’s tight shoulders and a firm squeeze of Robin’s sweaty hand in his.
The attack against Vecna is fierce but the three of them have never struck more certain or true. Steve with his axe, Robin and her cocktails, and Nancy with the shorn-off shotgun. Their attacks land every time and between their physical assault and Max’s diversion, something must go right because the world shudders once, then twice, but stays steady before Vecna screams harshly and his pale, grotesque body falls broken to floor. His web of terror finally shattered.
The rest of the decrepit house, vines and all, quickly catch from the blazing gasoline and the three stumble after each other, racing to the still-rancid outdoor air. But it’s air free of Vecna and that makes it all the sweeter.
With a whoop, Robin jumps into Steve’s waiting arms and breathlessly he swings her in joy. Resting his forehead on hers, he knows she can see every nuance of his relief, sensing him finally releasing the suffocating fear of the Upside Down. “This is it, Robin. I can feel it.” Steve exclaims.
Robin’s blue eyes, which sometimes can be so cynical for a person this young, gleam in belief. Belief in Steve and that he can See the truth of it all. She wraps her hands around his shoulders and is shaking in a combination of comfort and ebbing adrenalin. “Thank god,” she breathes.
“Let’s hope so,” Nancy interrupts. But she’s looking on at them with a small smile.
Steve knows it will take a long time for her to believe that it is true. And she doesn’t have the benefit of Steve’s Knowing as they do. But she’ll get there, he thinks. Much like it will take them all time to heal, they will. And the kids will bounce back, he thinks with faith. They’ve been made to be too resilient for children their age but he’s grateful for it, nonetheless.
It’s at the thought of Dustin that Steve remembers Eddie and those two paths he had seen; he urges the girls on, back to the uncanny version of the trailer park. Impatience sparking through to his fingertips.
They’ve not quite reached it yet when Steve hears the haunting cries of anguish that echo through the empty forest and roads of the Upside Down.
Dustin is hunched over the still-warm but devastatingly motionless body of his beloved Dungeon Master and friend. Bright red blood spills everywhere, coating Dustin's hands and across his face where he has smeared a hand over his cheeks. Eyes filled with tears and pain, Dustin looks up at Steve and cries out that the older boy had tried to save him.
“He said he didn’t run, Steve. But he did. He did. He ran to the demo-bats and they— they—"
Dustin starts hiccupping between tears and short, frantic breaths. He grabs at Eddie’s camouflage jacket, shaking the body as if it will jolt the older boy awake.
“Eddie!” Dustin cries. His voice, often bigger and louder than his short body would seem, breaks through the empty quiet of the Upside Down. No more swarming bats or jagged bolts of red lightning to distract from the palpable sense of grief saturating into their tired bodies. The only cruel answer is the flakes of ash gathering over Eddie’s unresponsive body like this terrible world is already trying to bury him away.
Steve’s heart is breaking, he feels the crack of it cleanly through his chest and in the thickening at the back of his throat and burning behind his eyes. But he is not powerless; this is exactly what he prepared for.
With a firm, yet gentle hand, Steve unlocks Dustin’s stiff fingers and shifts him into Nancy’s waiting embrace. She tries to turn him in her arms, but Dustin refuses to look away.
Nancy must think that Steve is going to quietly close the lids over Eddie’s blank eyes, which should be bright and expressive; eyes that were full of mischief just hours ago. Or that Steve will try to pick up the body and take it back with them, impossible as it seems in the moment, to think of carrying a heavy and limp weight vertically and against gravity where climbing through the Upside Down gates, with only their own bodies to support them, had been hard enough.
He’s not going to do any of those things, Steve thinks fiercely. He won’t need to.
With an unwavering determination, Steve drops to his knees and pushes his left hand down, through and deep into the realm of the mystical, until he finds an answering beat, a corresponding warmth. He pulls, straining with every ounce of physical and spiritual strength he possesses. A pearlescent light suddenly pushes out from Steve's link to Eddie, it pours unendingly into the dark landscape before pulsing sharply. The ethereal cuts precisely through the unclean atmosphere before rapidly shrinking back into the connection between the two boys.
Steve's own spirit is being drained, a live wire shooting up his arm and threading through every vein of his body in a white, blinding heat. But Steve knows that it is in this critical moment where he could lose his own body and soul, where the world hangs in the balance between life and death, that something miraculous can happen.
And it does.
Eddie draws a shuddering breath and his eyelids flutter open. His chest starts to rise even as his gaze looks unsteadily out into the living world once more.
“Steve?” he whispers hoarsely.
“I’ve got you, Eddie,” Steve murmurs, checking that the wounds are healing under the slick blood. His left arm is numb, but he uses the shaking right to examine Eddie’s torso where jagged gashes are rapidly closing over.
“It’s all right, we’ll get you help, you’re gonna be okay."
“No, Steve, your eyes…” Eddie lifts a shaking finger to touch Steve’s face, leaving a red fingerprint behind to mark Steve with the very essence of his mortal life.
Steve knows what he must see since this has worked. Because reality is not the same as when Eddie had closed his eyes for seemingly the last time. As Eddie returned from the brink of death, Steve now sees the world through one rich hazel eye, while the other will remain forever white and sightless, an eerie testament to the price paid to mend the shattered threads of destiny.
If you liked anything, please consider leaving a comment over on Ao3 :-) It would make my day!
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maxmagic · 9 months
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LONG post featuring my opinions on this design and her concept and also Vivs character design decisions in general
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This design singlehandedly made my account rise from the fucking dead because of how much opinions I have on it
TO NOTE : I LIKE Helluva Boss as a show. Is it perfect? No. Do I think it has issues from both writing and design aspects? Yes. Do I like it regardless? Also yes. You can like a show and still have criticisms of it. Also Viv has answered some criticisms about Beelzebubs design and I will talk about them too
Final warning cuz this is LONG and rambled at points
By this point we are all aware that once a new character gets revealed in Helluva or Hazbin , there's always opinions on it.
But Beelzebub truly takes the cake on how divided people are on her design. People either adore it or hate it with a blinding passion (and some just don't like it cuz they have a Viv hate boner).
I have to say I actually really like it as a stand alone design. Remove her from the story and context it's genuinely an appealing design with fun and bright colors. I personally don't mind the early 2010's sparkle dog look. It has a nostalgic charm to it and if you followed Viv for long enough you know she really likes that aesthetic. She has good colors and color placement and my main real dislike is the weird hair.
And she's animated BEAUTIFULLY !!! Real props to the animators for being able to make this design look nice in motion because god lord is it complicated. This will be a criticism later, but again, its really amazing on how they made this design look good even though we all know this must have been a real bitch to animate.
The real issue that come to me with her design is when you put her in the show and have to think about who she is, what she is, what her lore is ect.
Firstly: Her not being 'lore accurate' kinda falls flat given that none of the designs thus far have been accurate to what they're based on. Like Asmodeus has elements that tie him to his demon name counterpart (with the rooster tail and 3 faces) but they're more allusions then design inspirations. Lucifer is literally just a top hat twink and Mammon (even tho we haven't seen his full design yet) is clown/jester themed. Viv has made it clear that this version of hell isn't supported to be an accurate depiction of biblical hell. So she can really do whatever she wants with her interpretation. Her not being an insect, although disappointing since we don't really have that in the show, is only just a matter of personal taste.
HOWEVER there's still a lot of discrepancies with her design.
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So she's supposed to be a Bee-Fox hybrid... Where's the bee??? Like take away the hexagon background, where is the bee part of her design? She has antenna and wings but... They don't really do much. The antenna are fine and its smart they placed at the tip of her ears, but the wings are straight up not bee wings!!! They look more like pixie wings and they're so small half the time I forgot they were there. Couldn't you have added.. idk some stripes?? she has stripes on her ears but they don't look like bee stripers more so general Viv design details. It's weird given she uses stripes so heavily in other designs yet the BEE character doesnt. Maybe add some fuzz like how bumblebees have?? Maybe trade that stupid lava lamp tail/hair if its too complex. I really don't like how she has normal hair and also a weird liquid part and liquid tail. It adds too much visual noise and just doesn't gel well wit the rest of her design. Her lava lamp stomach too just feels like needless addition of animation work for something that just doesn't add anything. Her colors ( despite being nice) kinda clash against all the other hellhounds who have a muted black/grey/red color pallate. It makes her look like an 13 year olds OC thats been edited in
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Literally the only things that changed are her colors, size and eyes. In my opinion this should have been her base design because the colors and bug eyes lean into more of the bee aspect. Plus with these colors she fits more with other hellhounds.
Like right now the normal design feels 97% fox with just the most subtle bee elements slapped on. If it wasn't for the background, look me in the eye and tell me this design is a fox bee hybrid.
She also doesn't feel like a prince? She's dressed very casually and doesn't have nearly have enough of an imposing vibe. I didn't know she was a prince until it was said in show. I thought she was just some high rank demon performer. Its kinda disappointing given how grand, larger then life look and energy Asmodeus had. They were introduced in the same way via big song number, but Asmodeus felt like a Prince of Lust, Beelzebub felt more like a performer of Gluttony rather then a ruler.
Also why if she a hellhound in the first place? i saw somewhere on twitter that its cuz her people are hellhounds but that doesnt make sense. Lucifer isn't a human and Asmodeus isn't a succubus, so why does Bee have to be a hellhound? We know that hellhounds are the lowest ranked amongst hell natives, so how do people outside of gluttony feel about her? She is treated like royalty but is also a hellhound, the lowest demon. It causes a needless paradox that makes you question the worldbuilding of the show.
Also why are hellhounds the lowest rank in hell ? and why are they associated with gluttony of all things? I am going to be honest when I say I completely forgot they were native to gluttony because gluttony has a beehive aesthetic and like wtf do dogs have anything to do with it . Like other demons shown have themes that tie them into their respective prince or sin, but we aren't shown why hellhounds in particular are gluttony. Like it feels like a minor thing but when you present information about worldbuilding and show stuff that contradicts it, people will question it.
And why is she dating a hellhound? Or more so why is she so open about it. Like its been shown in the show that Stolas and Admodeus dating imps is a taboo thing so her being so open about her relationship with someone whose even lower then an imp. Again its going back on lore and worldbuilding being contradicted. If you're going to make rules for a show, stick to them.
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I'm putting these two side by side cuz I have the same complaint about them.
How are we suppose to know this?? First the gluttony ring severally lacks any circus motifs (it has more of a bee theme then a circus one), but Bee ESPECIALLY doesn't have ANY hints at being circus themed, let alone animal trainer.
I knew that all the princes had a circus theme but from I (and from what ive seen in other comments) though she was an acrobat or like dancer of the sort. Literary nothing in her design says she is an animal trainer. And also the hippie 60s spirit is also not anywhere in the design. Just because a design choice is clear to you doesn't mean its clear to everyone else. A good design makes its points across loud and clear so everyone can understand it. This really feels like she's making it all up as people ask. She probably isn't but it really comes across that way. You cant just say something about a design that just isn't in the design or its not shown properly. This is an issue a lot of Helluva and Hazbin Hotels characters have (look up any of their trivia and you'll see how bad some designs are communicated), but with Bee its emphasized tenfold because she's suppose to represent all these different things (fox, bee, prince, party girl, animal trainer, DA sparkle dog, 60s hippie free spirit) at it just isn't conveyed or is put in such a way where you cant clearly tell what it is. It honestly feels like Viv had in mind to have a Kesha pop party girl character and just made her a prince. Shes trying to justify all these things and saying them like they're obvious when they're clearly not!
This design suffers from having too many ideas slapped on it that just don't work and actively work against each other.It makes me less excited for the future prince designs
If youve come this far good for you for sticking around to this way too long of a ramble about a probably one off character in a popular indie cartoon :D
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tillthelandslide · 5 months
Text
Same For You (12): June
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Series Masterlist
(11) Ego
A/n: a huge huge huge thank you to @procrastinatinglikeapro for reading this chapter for me and editing it. You're amazing and I'm so thankful for you. I'm back because of you and I'm so happy about that ❤️ you're the best. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter - Lou
The walk back to her flat is surprisingly nice, neither Ross or Matty seem to be competing for her, they speak about things that interest all of them, never leaving the other out. Her hands are tucked into the pockets of her coat and both Ross and Matty walk a fair distance apart from her, but occasionally the path would narrow and their shoulders would graze hers, those were her favourite moments. She didn’t like it when an incoming person would force one of them away from her, they'd politely move out of the person's way but she'd wish they stayed with her. Even in those brief moments she missed the feeling of them near her, she swears she feels colder without them near.
When they reach her steps, steps that each of them know well now (Ross slightly more than Matty) the men share a quick look, not knowing what to do before she offers a solution. Neither want to leave her, but both wonder what it would be like if they both stayed. Surely they wouldn’t get the Y/n that each of them knew, very similar in ways but different in others. She didn’t change herself with each of them, she just presented different parts of her. It's a quick flick of her eyes to her watch before she's looking back at them.
"Want to come in? I've got a fresh bottle of red" she offers and both men smile widely, nodding at her with wide smiles. Both exhale a breath they didn't know they were holding, glad they didn't have to leave her just yet. She fishes out her keys before opening the door. They follow her in, walking through the corridor before reaching her kitchen backing out in the garden. 
Matty sees the familiar studio out back and smiles. It hadn't been long at all since he was in there, with her wrapped in his arms. They had argued and seemingly gotten over it now, and he swears he'd do his hardest to prevent it from happening again. Seeing her glassy eyes once was enough heartache to last a lifetime but he doubts it will be the last time he sees her cry. He silently begs some inner part of himself to never do that again but another part of him knows better.
"The guys are still at work..." She informs them, seeing the way their shoulders are squared, evidently on edge. They immediately slump and she chuckles, shaking her head. Ross stands by her fridge as she fumbles about the room, trying to find the aforementioned bottle of wine. His fingers graze the pictures covering the surface of it, smiling to himself as he takes them in.
Both men listen to her tell a story of how Charli had insisted she tried this wine she had tried and proceeded to buy her a bottle, all whilst still looking for said bottle. 
Ross' eyes find several pictures of her when she was younger, still wide eyed and smiley, dimples showing clear as day. He sees pictures of her and her friends, a few with Charli and her messing about. He knew they weren’t always close but the fact they’ve grown closer recently made him happy. 
Matty looks around her kitchen, noting various things about it, zoning out momentarily and simply taking it all in, until her voice rings around the room again, claiming to have found the bottle of wine and three glasses.
"Wanna go out back?" She asks and they both nod, following the woman out to her garden. It's the first time Ross has seen it, having only ventured into her room. Meanwhile Matty knows it well. It's edged with fairy lights which glisten in the dark, lighting up the garden.
Her hand finds the door to the studio and she opens it, flicking the light on, revealing the room. Ross takes in how professional it looks, like a proper studio and for a moment he doesn't know why he was expecting otherwise. He spots her light blue guitar wondering why it was in this room instead of hers. He walks over to it, his palm finding the neck of it and her eyes find his.
"I've been recording with it recently" she confirms and Ross nods, Matty doesn't know what the exchange is about, but for once, he doesn't really mind.
"Make yourselves at home" she says, opening the bottle of wine and pouring three glasses. Ross and Matty sit next to each other, leaving no space for her, but she didn't mind, it made the whole ordeal easier. She sits opposite them, thinking about what to talk about for a minute. That usually didn't happen, the conversation with each of them usually came easily, this felt slightly awkward, slightly forced. Should she have let them leave? Should she have not invited them in? She didn't know.
An idea suddenly springs to mind "Hey... I found something the other day when I was looking for a vinyl to play" she says, standing up, walking to the corner of the room, retrieving something from her vinyl box. She sees her pick up their record, "The 1975", self titled, the one Ross knew was signed. They both knew she was fan of their band, but the fact that she chose to listen to this album in her spare time still made them smile widely. 
She slides it across the table from them, but she holds onto something, eyes finding theirs before she begins talking.
"My brother got this signed for me in Australia one year" she explains, although Ross already knew "I was listening to it the other day and this slipped out" she says, sliding what she was holding across the table. Both men then stare at the picture, a picture of them with a tall guy, his hair curly like Matty but dirty blonde instead of his dark brown, and his eyes are a piercing green, just like hers.
"That's Dyl..." She says smiling widely, eyes flicking from the picture to both men looking down at it, both of whom are smiling.
"and us..." Matty confirms, smiling widely across at her, his eyes then find Ross' and he smiles at the man too before smiling at her.
"He looks like you" Ross smiles and she nods. Her hair was loosely wavy whereas her brother's was unruly curly, hers was slightly darker on top but the same dirty blonde at the ends, natural highlights ran throughout, their eyes were the same, they both had dimples on their cheeks and their smiles were identical.
"People used to think we were twins... Don't know what that says about me because he was 6 years older than me" she laughs and they smile at the noise.
"The day he got back from Australia he gave me this record and I almost hit him... He didn't call me and tell me he met you guys. I remember being so annoyed... And then he gave me that guitar" she says, pointing over her shoulder to the light blue guitar sitting in the corner.
"I forgave him after that..." They all chuckle. It was nice, hearing her talk about him, both men hearing the same things, at the same time, sharing the information together.
"He brought me the green one I use now too... just before he passed away" she explains and both men nod. It explains why she tends to use the green one more.
"Did he mention you when he met us?" Matty asks and she nods.
"Apparently he said how obsessed I was with you guys and how I'd kill him if he knew he was there" she says, and as crazy as it seems, Matty swears he remembers, he doesn't say anything though.
"And then he spoke to you about playing the bass apparently" she says, her eyes directed at Ross. They met tons of people at those kinds of events, it was hard to remember faces, but Ross swears he remembers too. He remembers having a particularly nice conversation with a guy about different bass guitars, he remembers him telling him the model he learnt on and the one he has now. He doesn't mention it either. She wouldn't believe them if they did. Or would she?
Both of their eyes fall on the man's face, it seems all too familiar now. They fall silent again.
"There's something I didn't tell you guys..." she says but she's smiling, the men share a look before they both give her their undivided attention. She stands again, walking to her computer, opening a drawer and pulling another photo from it.
She sits across from them again, the photo facing her and she smiles down at it. She looks back at them, seeing the way they smiled at her. She likes that her own visual happiness makes them happy.
"Dylan lived in Australia with his girlfriend at the time, her name is Olivia... we lost contact when Dylan died" she explains and both men listen tentatively.
"She contacted me about 2 years after he died... she had moved back here and wanted to see me, said she had something to tell me" she slides the photo over to the boys, Matty allows Ross to hold it. Both sets of eyes fall on a picture of Y/n, a little boy sitting on her lap, no older than 6, with a mop of dirty blonde unruly hair sitting on top of his head, piercing green and a huge smile, just like hers.
"Olivia was pregnant when Dyl died... she named their son Dylan junior... we call him June, he's not a fan of the name Dylan" she laughs at the thought. She remembers how sad it used to make Olivia, not wanting to be called by his dad's name, but now it makes them laugh, for it was so like his Dad.
"Dylan used to get weirdly frustrated that people had the same name as him… like it was something that should just belong to him… June's the same that way, didn't want us to call him Dylan because it belonged to his dad" she explains, shaking her head and the bizarreness of the idea.
They both smile at the photo, noting how happy she looked, the child clung to her and it was obvious they were close.
"When did she know she was pregnant?" Matty asks and y/n smiles as they slide the photo back to her.
"She found out two weeks after Dyl passed away... she hadn't been with anyone else so she knew the child was his... he would've loved to be a dad. But she's a great mum" both men nod at her words.
"He's a little rockstar too" she says, she smiles when both of their eyes light up.
"Just started learning bass" her eyes flick to Ross' who smiles widely.
"Just like his dad" Ross says and it makes her smile proudly, tears beginning to well in her eyes. Ross notices and leans forward in his chair, reaching out his hand. She takes his, smiling when his thumb runs along the skin. Matty watches the exchange and to his surprise he doesn't feel as jealous as before. Maybe it's because he knew she needed the comfort, maybe something has shifted in his brain, he was unsure.
"Sorry love... didn't mean to make you upset" Ross says, withdrawing his hand from hers despite not wanting to.
"You didn't... happy tears I promise" she says, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“He’s only just started learning how to play but he’s already so good… it's funny because he’s so small and the bass is massive for him but he’s so determined y'know?” she asks, laughing at the visuals that flick through her mind. Both men nod. They knew what it was like to be determined when it came to music, for they all were. 
"It's hard to explain... but June is so much like Dylan... he's a stubborn little thing, and so passionate about music, he loves fiercely and... it's like I've got my brother back… in some way" Ross and Matty smile at that.
"They're coming to the next show" her eyes flick down to her hands and her next words come out hesitantly "I don't know if either of you are busy... but I'd love for you to meet him" she says, eyes snapping up to them.
"Of course love" Matty says, leaning forward slightly in his seat.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Ross says with a wide smile, she smiles back.
"Thank you... both, you've both become very important to me... and June is probably the most important person in my life" she confesses. The smile never leaving her face now she was talking about her nephew. 
Both men look at her lovingly. Knowing that she wanted them to meet someone so important to her, was indescribable. They were important to her. They liked that.
She showed the both of them some stuff she had been working on. Matty had left Ross' side, editing some of the tracks she showed them, inspiration striking. She trusted him and allowed him to do so.
Ross patted the space Matty left and she moved to sit there, allowing him to tuck her into his side, one arm draped casually over her shoulders, not so intimate that Matty felt jealous. He didn't know whether it was just tonight, or whether something had shifted, but he didn't mind too much. Looking at the pair made him smile, not jealous. It was a welcomed change, if not only for tonight.
Her own song played across the room, a gentle arrangement of soft instruments and no vocals, an ambient track that was peaceful. She found herself drifting off to it as Matty played it for the 6th time.
Had she stayed awake, maybe they wouldn't have had the conversation but maybe they would have, maybe she would've been involved. Instead, her head was slipping onto Ross' lap, legs tucked up behind her. She slept peacefully as his hand gently raked through her hair.
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Matty pauses the track when he hears a soft chuckle from behind him, he turns his chair and sees Ross smiling at Y/n. His eyes never leave her and Matty sees something in the bearded man’s eyes he'd only ever seen a handful of times before and never quite that intense. Those looks belonged to his family, his married friends, to the couples he met that had fallen in love at their shows. Ross’ eyes are warm. He looks at her like she is the entire world. Matty hadn't seen Ross look that fondly at anyone before.
Matty then looks at the girl resting in his friend's lap. Looking at the way masculine hands drift through her hair, the most gentle he'd ever seen Ross be. His heart pangs in his chest, but he feels something else too, something new.
Looking at his best friend, clearly infatuated with the girl sleeping in his lap, he felt… warm and proud, and perhaps, most importantly: happy for him.
"You really like her" he says, his voice drawing Ross' attention towards him and his smile slowly drops. He's not any less happy, Matty can see that, but he's unsure what to do with the words. He looks over Matty for a few moments. Matty doesn't know what he's going to say. Will he admit his feelings out loud finally? Will he deny it once more?
"So do you…" despite his words, Ross doesn't sound annoyed, in fact he smiles, looking down at the girl again.
"it's okay Matty, you don't have to lie… it's pretty obvious, I mean… I've known you since we were kids mate… it's clear when you fancy someone" Ross says, eyes flicking up towards the man again.
"You're not annoyed?" Matty asks, completely thrown off by the entire conversation. He'd half expected Ross to try to fight him if he found out.
"You can't help your feelings mate… and I get it" his eyes fall back on her and he smiles again. "Trust me I get it". Ross had never felt this way for someone before, it was something nearly indescribable, it just was. He knew he couldn’t question it and he didn’t want to. Feeling this way for her made as much sense as breathing did, as playing bass. It was natural. 
"I do like her mate.. quite a lot" he's honest now, the first time he's been honest out loud to anyone else but himself "but nothing's happened… she won't allow it" Matty admits. Ross looks up at him again. Matty didn’t say he hasn’t tried or that he didn’t want to, but Ross doesn’t mind. 
"I know… she told me you tried to kiss her though" Ross says. Again, there isn't a single hint of anger or jealousy in his voice and Matty doesn't know how to act. He thinks it would be easier if Ross was an arsehole about it, accusing him of overstepping or something of the sort.
"She did?" Matty raises his eyebrows, eyes flicking to the girl again. He then realises that whatever was happening between her and the bassist was established, they told each other things that no one else knew. He didn’t realise it was that serious and immediately feels guilt for even feeling this way towards her. 
"She did…" Matty waits for some kind of response from Ross, for him to tell him his opinion but when it doesn't come he raises a question of his own.
"Has something happened between you two?" Matty asks, Ross nods. He wanted Y/n to be the one to tell Matty, in her own time, when she was ready. But he couldn't lie to his best friend.
"I kissed her… knew I shouldn't have to be honest… had a hunch that you liked her… so I'm sorry about that mate" Ross says and Matty shrugs. He's hurt, Ross can tell that, but he's also putting his guard up. He doesn't like that. Doesn't like that he caused it.
"Couldn't help myself to be honest" Ross says with a smile and a gentle caress of her cheek. Matty smiles too, happy for his friend. But he also knows the feeling all too well and he was fully aware that if she had allowed it, Matty would be in the same place as his friend, although things would've been much, much more complicated.
"Is that it?" Matty asks. Ross shakes his head. Although Matty already knew that, deep down.
"Nothing too extreme don't worry" Ross says, smirking at his friend. It doesn’t matter though, not really. It didn’t make a difference, Matty knew now, that Ross was hooked and so was she. He felt like he was just a problem, one in which she was trying to sort out. 
"Are you happy?" Matty asks, although he already knows.
"Very" Matty smiles at that, mumbling a "happy for you mate"
They fall silent for a few moments, Ross wants to tell him that she thinks she likes him too, but he also doesn't want to overstep like that. That was her business and whether she told Matty or not, was completely up to her.
"You know… I'm going to do anything I can to make her happy… I can't explain it mate but… I've never felt like this before" Ross says, eyes finding Matty's. He understands the bassist's words but he also senses that there's more to them.
"What do you mean?" Matty runs a hair through his curls.
"You… you get her. She gets you. I know that… think you understand her in a way that maybe I don't… in a way that I might not ever be able to… she needs you Matty… I'm not going to be the guy who denies that alright?" Ross says and Matty nods, although he still doesn't know what the man means.
"So you're saying what exactly?" Matty asks.
"Y/n and I… were not together, but I want us to be… eventually. But I guess what I'm saying is… don't- don't stop what you're doing now. Because I think she needs it" Matty is still as confused. Ross sighs.
"Don't get me wrong… if you kiss her without her wanting it, I'll be pissed off… and if she does want you too… I'll be jealous. You make her happy Matty… in a way that's different to how I make her feel. So don't" he sighs deeply "Don't just stop okay? Because I think we'd both lose her if you disappear or ignore her" Ross says. Matty nods slowly. 
"Are you telling me… that you like her so much, that if she was to want to kiss me… you'd allow that?' Matty says, completely perplexed by the whole confession.
"It would hurt like a bitch… but yes. I suppose so" Ross says.
"Jesus Christ" Matty says, running a hand through his hair again. He thinks over his friends' words trying to make sense of them. He knows if the tables were reversed he wouldn't allow that, he knows he'd be possessive, only wanting her to have him and him only, maybe it was a downfall, maybe that's just how he thought relationships worked.
But they weren't in a relationship were they? But Ross wanted them to be, he knew that.
He shakes his head, sighing deeply "na mate I can't do that… I can't kiss your girl, even if she asked me to" he admits.
"She's not my girl Matty"
"But you want her to be Ross!" There’s silence before Matty mutters, "this is crazy…"
"Matty, you like her… I don't know how she feels" he lies "but if she were to reciprocate those feelings… I would rather something happen between you two then lose her completely"
"That's wild" Matty says, shaking his head again.
"You're telling me you could bare losing her?" Matty shakes his head in answer. "Exactly"
"It doesn't make sense to me that you'd like someone so much you'd be willing to... to do this" Matty says, not quite knowing what he was actually referring to. "It doesn't make sense... None of it makes sense. It doesn't make sense that I met a girl 10 years younger than me that just gets me... it doesn't make sense that I've known her just over a month but I feel closer to her than I have to anyone else in my entire life... it doesn't make sense that I feel..." he pauses, looking down at her again, fingertips grazing her cheekbone. "I feel like this... so quickly.." his eyes then find Mattys.
"It doesn't make sense that I'd be willing to do anything to keep her... even if that means allowing my best mate to have her... in some sort of way... in whatever way she wants" his eyes fall on her face again and he smiles to himself.
"Love doesn't make sense... it makes you do wild shit Matty" Matty knows that's true. But he shakes his head again at his friend, still not fathoming his words.
Love doesn't make sense...
Boy did he know that was true.
Matty eventually leaves and Ross carries her to her bed, leaving a note by her bedside table before booking an Uber home. Neither men discuss the conversation again, it's as if it never happened. Y/n continues to be none the wiser, sneaking around in (not-so) secret with Ross and continues to deny her feelings for Matty.
But what would happen if something was to shift? What if Matty couldn't deny his desires any longer? What would happen if she finally, finally allowed herself to give in to the desires Ross had awoken in her, the way she so desperately wanted? What would happen if she allowed herself to be loved? By both of them?
(13) Take Me Higher
Taglist: @scooby-doodoo @thereisaplaceintheheart @promocodesorry75 @eaglestar31 @thefrontofmymind @fallingforel @partoftheairforce @procrastinatinglikeapro @poisonmedaddy13 @xthe1975 @all-things-fic @jstbeeingme @rossgirly @juliardk @you-muppet @moodyyyychickx @k4tie75 @insidemymind19 @zzzhealy @maybeiwouldlikeyou @at-her-very-foreign @not-alien-girl-v (add yourself using the link in my bio 😊)
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jaeneohee · 5 months
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the sleepover (maknae line)
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maknae line x mainly Sunoo’s pov
genre: horror/thriller
plot: in which Sunoo has been looking forward to having a sleepover with his friends but what he nor did his friends expect, was to end it in the night of terror.
warning: mentions of death, gore, violence, killing,mentions of toxic relationship. (If I miss any let me know).
note: this is inspired by the horror story I read online called ‘the message’. So I’ve put a bit of a mini twist on this. Hope you enjoy it. Also hasn't been proofread or edited. This was rushed.
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
Sunoo's excitement reached its peak as the door swung open, revealing the familiar warmth of his friends' company. Jungwon, the first to greet him, ushered him inside.
"Hyung, what took you so long?" Jungwon inquired.
"Sorry, just had to stop at the supermarket for snacks since Ni-ki texted me to grab his favorites." Sunoo retrieved two bags from the supermarket, placing them beside his substantial duffel bag on one of the couches.
"Ni-ki, why didn't you tell me? I could've gone to get them," you asked, taking the bags from Sunoo and arranging the snacks on the coffee table.
"It's more convenient for Sunoo since he was on his way," the youngest explained, nonchalantly snagging a snack from the table.
Jungwon seized the remote and began searching for a movie. Sunoo, pulling you down beside him, initiated a conversation.
"Anyways," Sunoo began, "how are you holding up with that breakup?"
"I'm happy. I'm so glad I got out of that toxic relationship; I can finally be myself again." You smiled genuinely, expressing your relief after six months of being controlled, unable to connect with your best friends who were now by your side. The pain wasn't just yours; it resonated with Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki.
"But I'm still taking counseling lessons with Miss Wright. I'm just working on self-confidence at the moment. I was supposed to meet with her this morning, but she called in sick, so I'll be seeing her tomorrow."
"I'm so glad you're doing well and getting back to the bright girl you were before that jerk crushed you." Sunoo gave you a quick side hug.
"Wait..." Ni-Ki interjected, capturing everyone's attention. "Is Miss Wright the brunette lady with the long flower skirts and red headbands?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Did you guys not hear? She got admitted to the hospital today."
"What? Why?"
"Some people are saying that some wacko from the streets robbed her and knocked her out, but a few of the locals walking by saw this and called the ambulance," Ni-Ki informed.
"What? You guys didn't say anything until now?!" You looked at them in shock.
"I thought you knew because it was all over social media," Jungwon defended.
Sunoo interrupted "Wait-No, we didn't come here to worry about another problem... no offense, y/n. But we came here to have fun and bond. Tomorrow we can go and check on her together, yeah?"
You paused for a moment, the worries in your eyes softening as you agreed, "Alright, let's just watch a movie."
"Hyung, have you found a movie yet?"
"Mhmm." Jungwon put on a movie from Netflix and settled in on the other side of you with excitement. "We're watching 'Don't Breathe 2.'"
"I thought we were watching a comedy," Sunoo pouted. Despite your shared love for horror and thriller movies, this time both you and Sunoo wanted something funny and lighthearted.
"Oh, come on, just one more thriller, and we can watch Barbie," Jungwon teased.
"Barbie movies actually hit," Ni-Ki chimed in, earning an eye roll from Jungwon. For the majority of the night, you all watched the movie, with Ni-Ki playfully spoiling some parts, leading Jungwon to retaliate by throwing cushions at him.
--hours later---
Sunoo awoke abruptly in the middle of the night, seized by an urgent need to use the bathroom. Mindful not to disturb Jungwon, who slumbered on the opposite side of the room, Sunoo navigated through the dimness with his disheveled hair, half-closed eyes mirroring his still-foggy mind.
After attending to his needs in the restroom, he approached the guest room where Jungwon peacefully dozed.
As Sunoo neared, an unexpected muffled scream echoed from another part of the house. He paused just outside the room, turning his gaze toward the corridor leading to the stairs that descended to the living room. Anticipating the return of the noise, Sunoo waited in tense silence, but it failed to resurface. He dismissed it, attributing the sound to a figment of his imagination.
Retreating to the bed, he slipped under the covers, poised to re-enter the realm of dreams. However, Sunoo bolted upright at the sound of more screams, realizing that the bed next to his was now vacant.
Jungwon wasn't there.
Stealthily, Sunoo tiptoed to the door, gently opening it, only to be met with a chilling sight—a trail of blood stained the carpet, and the ominous silhouette of a large, eerie stranger ascended the stairs.
Overwhelmed by fear, the only instinct that seized him was to hastily retreat to his bed, cowering under the safety of the blankets, too terrified to confront the unknown presence.
In a desperate hope, he wished it was just Ni-Ki or Jungwon playing a prank, imagining them bursting in with an exclamation of "AHA, I got you good!" Yet, reality offered no such relief. Attempting to convince himself it was a mere illusion, Sunoo tried to settle into sleep, but the unsettling creak of the bedroom door shattered his fragile peace.
Sunoo nervously peeked from under the security of his blanket, anxious to discern the unfolding events.
In the dimness, Sunoo's horrified gaze fell upon a sinister figure dragging the lifeless forms of his friends. Clad entirely in black, the ominous presence bore an uncanny familiarity, sending shivers down Sunoo's spine.
The enigmatic assailant arranged Sunoo's youngest friend, Ni-Ki, propped against the bed's edge, facing the trembling boy who wept in silence. Placing your lifeless form in a chair, it directed your vacant eyes toward Sunoo, all while dragging Jungwon's bloodied body to the window, securing his hands on either side using curtains as makeshift restraints. Jungwon's gaze met Sunoo's from above, a haunting tableau.
The mysterious figure then trailed its hands along the wall, staining it with blood, etching a scrambled message that left Sunoo bewildered. Taking its place beneath the bed, the malevolent presence awaited, poised for one final strike.
For three agonizing hours, Sunoo remained frozen, tears streaming down his face, avoiding the gaze of his now-deceased friends whose lifeless stares seemed to pierce through him with their mouths agape.
The most terrifying realization for Sunoo was that his eyes had adapted to the darkness, enabling him to decipher the cryptic message scrawled on the wall. Though terrified to confront it, an irresistible urge pushed him to take a peek.
Cautiously, he glanced at the blood-stained wall, revealing a bone-chilling message: 'I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE. p.j.'
Suddenly, his bed shifted, and a haunting voice echoed, "Sunooooooooo, wakey wakey..."
In sheer panic, the terrified boy let out a piercing scream, leaping out of bed in a desperate attempt to escape. However, a formidable force restrained him, compelling him to thrash and kick in all directions.
"Yo dude!"
"Ow! My chin!"
"Hey Sunoo,Sunooo! Wake up, You're having a nightmare!"
Sunoo's eyes snapped open at the reassuring sounds of his friends' voices. They were alive! His gaze locked with your and Jungwon's concerned expressions, while Ni-Ki, a bit farther away, winced in pain.
"what happened?"he asked in confusion and shock,
"You fell asleep in the middle of the movie then started crying. Niki tried to wake you up that's when you screamed and punched him in the chin" Jungwon answered him.
"You okay?" You followed as you caressed his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm relieved that it was just a dream" Sunoo shook his head shaking off the scary jitz on his skin "You all got murdered in the middle of the night and I was next. Almost felt real"
"See we should've watched Barbie" Ni-ki complained to Jungwon "hey i didn't know hyung was going to have a nightmare"
"it's okay Sunoo, it was only a nightmare. No ones going to murder us" You console him in hopes that he would forget about the terror in his mind.
"Can I suggest that we all stay in the same room?"
"Of course, I didn't invite you guys to sleep in different rooms" you chuckled.
As you inspected the locks on all the doors and windows, the boys efficiently arranged blankets and pillows in the living room.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain man loitered a few houses away, biding his time for the perfect moment to unleash his revenge.
"I will kill you y/n...all of you"
Uma.------------------------------------------------------------------------
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sweeteaas · 3 months
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SORCERERS IN LOVE. . . PT. 2
part. 2 to this fic!
warning(s): use of [y/n], mention of family trauma
— *not explicitly described but hinted at in maki’s*
synopsis : short headcanons of the love languages and gestures from your sweet sorcerer girlfriend! (nobara kugisaki and maki zen’in)
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☆ nobara kugisaki . . . is physical touch. you would think the girl who is obsessed with cute fashion and weekend shopping sprees would lean more towards the gift giving side. while she does love giving you gifts whenever possible, you quickly realized your strong-willed girlfriend has another, stronger trait. she can’t help herself from always holding onto you — both in conscious and unconscious ways.
wherever you walk she has to hold your hand, whether it be locking fingers or simply holding onto your pinky. it helps ground her and confirm you are safety by her side, even if she’s distracted and arguing with yuuji and megumi. she hangs off your arm when you two walk in the dark and lets out jokingly cute, but flustering, and loud, proclamations when megumi starts to get a little too irritated. “kyaaaa! save me my strong and feared y/n!” to which you look shoot her a look after the third time, exasperated as the people around glance over at you two. she grins cheekily in response.
if in a room together she fully slumps her body weight onto your back and makes you carry her around. not that you mind! you are fully aware that she’s a strong, independent, and fiercely protective person — knowing that she can be so comfortable and relaxed with you like this, no matter the location, is a testament to her security in both you and the relationship. her arms are looped securely around your neck as she jokes with you, a content smile playing on her face. you enjoy her nice floral scent from the perfume she swears by and her beating chest … until she shouts at yuuji to not try and do a backflip across the classroom table per todo’s request, making you jump.
☆ maki zen’in . . . is words of affirmation. it’s no secret that the zenin clan is known for their strict values of ability and performance when it comes to cursed energy — leaving an offset of harsh training, and even harsher punishments in a sorcerers youth. maki knows the power of words, and because of her upbringing, she makes sure to always praise you and vocalize how she is feeling. she’s the master of good communication and her soft, gentle way of talking to you never fails to make you preen.
after training she drops playful cloud on the ground to help you up from the freshly cut grass, all while giving detailed explanations on what you did well and tips to improve your attacks. “you did really good today, almost caught me off guard.” “I loved the way you immediately switched into defense after your offense attack.” “next time try and shift your body weight here. . .” her words are paired with a warm smile, that little grin which brightens up her whole face. around you, her cool upperclassmen persona is stripped back to reveal the compassion and love she keeps close to her heart.
her eyes always seek you out in a room and her reactions mirror yours subconsciously. her eyes are always trained on your movements, even in a large crowd. if you smile at something, she can’t help her lips from turning up too, silently enamored by the way your eyes scrunch up a little bit and how your shoulders shake. she doesn’t know what made you smile, or if it was even funny, but she doesn’t have to. her body just has a way of mimicking yours. yuta innocently calls her out on it one day, after seeing maki yet again chuckle as you laugh about something with panda from across the room. she immediately flushes a bright red and mumbles at him to be quiet, embarrassed at being caught and turning away from your confused face. “maki-san are you feeling okay?” “uhh- yeah!”
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© SWEETEAAS 2023 do not repost/edit/copy my works. જ⁀➴ reblogs are appreciated!
(a.n.) — my first time writing for the girls ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶
— taglist : @lookinreality @afatalheat @ilovemen696969
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queers-gambit · 1 year
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I can for some reason imagine that in the WPMP verse, Alicent being so paranoid about the reader’s loyalties, etc, would make the reader walk after giving birth in order to check the legitimacy of the child, just as she did to Rhaenyra and that would PUSH Aemond over the edge.
And Criston would be like: I have no eyes or ears 🫣, just pretend I don’t see this happening.
[ When Pride Married Prejudice // part two - for those interested ]
okay, so, i'm all for the drama so i'll take two stances on this 'cause i can see two different things:
one: it wouldn't happen simply because it's obvious (for years) that sweet girl and Aemond are absolutely obsessed with each other. so, i kinda tried to make the point that Alicent actually *likes* her daughter-by-law, so, i would imagine that the idea of checking the babes would make Alicent feel guilty enough she wouldn't do it. like, she's seen firsthand how in-love her son and his wife are (mutually) and the idea of thinking sweet girl was unfaithful is just unfathomable to Alicent. so, she'll stuff her nerves down and just wait - because let's be honest, Aemond is a Mama's Boy, and he'd go to get her first to meet his kid. so, she knows she'll see the babe (or babes) soon enough and wouldn't want to risk her son's rage. he's got a reputation and Alicent's seen how Aemond snaps when Aegon makes back-handed comments that lack cleverness. she's cautious and lets him come to get her - and feels silly when she sees the trademark white tuffs of hair.
two: let's say that Alicent does act on her suspicions and sends for sweet girl the moment she's given birth because she wants to see the babe. sweet girl is old enough to remember Alicent doing it to her mother, so, she's not truly shocked, but the midwives won't let Aemond in the room until the afterbirth is delivered. then, he's coming in, and very similarly, watching in confusion as she dresses and wonders where she's going. sweet girl is very casual about it, telling Aemond that his mother has sent for her and the babe, and oh, holy shit, he's enraged. maybe that's why she's so calm about it - she's anticipating this reaction. he demands she stay put but sweet girl lives for drama, so, she convinces him to help her and they go see Alicent with the baby. she's absolutely shocked to see Aemond, but he's surging up to her and getting right in her face, sneering that if she can't be decent and trust his wife, then there's no reason to remain in the Red Keep. Alicent is confused by this, asking what he means, and Aemond's assuring that if she doesn't get her shit together, he'd take his wife and baby and go across the Narrow Sea. somewhere she can't find them, where she'll never know what becomes of them all, and then, he turns and ushers you from the room. but he pauses sarcastically, turns you back, and only reveals the baby's head - that shows tuffs of pure white hair. Cole's def standing at the door, trying not to watch, but it's hard. the Prince is pissed off and it's hard not to pay attention to the commotion, especially when he's charged with the Queen's safety but even he wouldn't dare step between an angry Aemond and his target. he'll understand what happened between Alicent and Rhaenyra and why Aliecent chose to send for you - but the Prince's reaction makes him advert his attention to the floor and just wait. he doesn't think Aemond will actually attack and feels intrusive on a family moment, so, he'll just stare at the floor. in fact, he'll actually hold his breath at the end when Aemond shows his mother the babes' head; desperate not to laugh as your husband takes you away.
edit: i’m so fucking rude and forgot to thank you for sending this. I love reading your guys’ thoughts and ideas about this story 😭 all my love 🖤
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yunarim · 6 months
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ಇ. broken melodies | chapter 3
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⇢ ⁺ GENEALOGY OF RED, WHITE AND BLACK ˖ Neige reveals his true self.
— PREVIEW (read for tags and synopsis) — MASTERLIST (open to read previous chapters) — AO3
⁺ w.c : 19.5k+ this chapter contains major usage of obscene language ! also not proofread and might be edited later with an addition of some major details !
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A light reflecting through the windows slid across Yuu’s converging features and prevented her from falling asleep, even taking into account the fact she wasn’t sleepy in the first place, but in all honesty, the slight blue glow was helpful and served as a desk lamp. 
She let out a small sigh followed by an almost transparent cloud of steam. Hm, is it getting colder these nights? She shrugged the feeling off, massaging her shoulders, and continued writing, a tight grip on the fountain pen. Yuu wasn’t sure what time it was, but judging by the way the air felt and how the temperature dropped, it might be right in the middle of the night. 
Neat notes done in a cursive small handwriting were flowing before her sight, indicating nothing by now, and Yuu sighed again, closing her eyes. 
“Why,” she whispered to herself. “Did I last meet Snow White so unacceptably long ago?..” 
A pink butterfly appeared without Yuu asking it to do that, but she didn’t seem to mind, waving her hand so the butterfly landed on her little finger. 
“Little one…” Yuu opened her leaded eyelids and lowered her gaze to the notes. “I can’t remember anything but the bright red apple filled with poison.”
Yuu thought of herself as an imprudent, unheeding person when a scene of Neige making a parallel between red apple and the color of her eyes replayed in her mind. She should have at least made an assumption back then, it was some sort of a loophole, and yet…She was so dumbfounded by the sudden correlation that there was no way of thinking about anything else but his creative mind.
“Snow White lived with seven dwarfs, like Neige does,” Yuu frowned. “And also… She was also poisoned… And that happened because she took a bite of a red apple. But what else? I’m missing something.”
The butterfly flew slowly, demonstrating its confused emotions, to which Yuu nodded. The only one who could remember something else was none other than she herself. And she already spent half of a night trying to fish out at least one more detail.
Yuu, of course, remembered her visits to Snow White’s realm, but her dimension was the very first one she ever entered after being officially appointed as Fairy Godmother’s apprentice. She couldn’t be trusted with major tasks, given she hadn’t even reached fae average children's age—was she 17 or 18 then?—so there was no way she would play a huge role in rescuing Snow White. The only things she did were to help with cleaning or cooking, sometimes Fairy Godmother could give her permission to protect dwarfs, but other than that… 
Was she really helpful? Snow White told her countless times she considered Yuu her dearest friend and put her on one line with the dwarfs, but was she ever genuine in that intention, or was she demonstrating deliberate politeness? 
Yuu shook her head. She has no right to doubt princesses’ decisions and judgements. And if she really was Snow White’s friend, then she also must help Neige and figure out how exactly he is connected with the princess. 
Yuu and Neige weren’t classmates, making it difficult for her to attend lessons diligently and look after Neige at the same time, preventing all potential threats. It was also unknown if she could ask for help from one of his classmates. Asking dwarfs could be useful, but Yuu wasn’t completely sure, maybe they already were playing the roles with which they’re conjoined. Was this all happening according to the original story she once encountered? It couldn’t be trusted, considering Neige isn’t Snow White herself.
The only option remaining was to try accompanying him everywhere. She, indeed, can’t enter his lessons, but there must be teachers, right? If they’re not the ones plotting something, then it should be the safest path to take. 
“Alright…” She exhaled. “Let’s try it this way then.”
She scribbled something on the paper and the pink butterfly followed her way of thinking, flying around gracefully, to which Yuu smiled, feeling slightly better that her idea was supported soundlessly.
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“You most probably expected you’ll be introduced to magic studies only during your second year, right?” Emery glanced to the seat where Yuu was, noticing how her movements slowed down and how her eyes looked more glassy and empty than before, and then shifted his gaze to Luan, holding something in his hand under the desk and cheerfully grinning. “Let me assure you, no magic can be performed without thinking beforehand. Even if you first encountered spell casting ability in your childhood, you might have not realized your brain made some extraordinary calculations.”
Luan yawned, his eyes automatically glueling to Yuu’s downcast appearance. 
“Oi,” he whispered, poking her arm and managing to attract her attention. “Take this.”
Yuu tilted her head rather slowly, when Luan took her hand and made it rest laid open the inside of palm up, and put something resembling small jelly candy in her hand.
“Hm?..” She wondered what he gave to her, examining the jelly with lidded eyes.
“It’s a gummy bear, you dummy,” he smiled. “You look so down, cheer up or somethin’!”
“Oh,” Yuu realized his intentions and reciprocated the smile, putting the jelly in her mouth and meeting teacher Emery’s condemning eyes, immediately perceiving that she stopped listening to him. 
“... In any case,” Emery continued after a short pause. “Magic spells require incantations in cases they’re complicated, but if we’re speaking about elemental types, good old physics will help.”
“...Thank you,” Yuu whispered to Luan and earned a soft giggle in return. 
“Combining two or more elemental types together does wonders. We’re not going to discuss the specifics of every combination during your first year, but will dwell on more on the basics. Well then…”
Yuu frowned, thinking how far she could go. Truthfully speaking, she did enjoy the happiness of being able to study magic so freely, sometimes her curiosity overlapping Fairy Godmother’s reprimands for even trying to learn something that could have been considered harmful and ‘useless to such a young fae as her’, but still—was there the end, a not so imaginary edge of all those magic aspects she could internalize? In fact, it was, and the answer to the question was time. 
She still doubted if it was alright for her to devour new information with such eagerness. Yuu couldn’t lie, but she had one defense point in case Fairy Godmother asked her why Yuu crossed the boundary she drew, and that was to help Neige and to fulfill her duty. 
Yuu sighed. She needed to figure out how to cover her butterflies with the way everyone performed magic here. Would her desire to learn eagerly and quickly things that are taught during second and third years be encouraged or raise suspicions instead? Yuu didn’t know, letting another soft sigh escape her throat and causing Luan to tilt his head, questioning her sudden disarray. 
“Right,” Emery said, turning to the class and stopping writing as the bell rang, notifying students of the end of the lesson. “Don’t forget that for the next lesson you need to go to the classroom next to the one we’re currently in! You’ll meet another teacher, who is far stricter than me.”
Yuu gulped, while Luan casually giggled, meeting Emery’s scolding expression. She suddenly startled, realizing she has no time to sit here doing nothing, and after Emery gave hometasks to do, Yuu rushed to the cafeteria to try finding Neige. 
According to her plan, she would follow him everywhere she could during the day and activities happening on campus territory, except for the lessons. Thus, she hurried over, carrying a hope of meeting Neige.
The way her heels cluttered was heard in the whole hall, causing other students to stop and observe Yuu’s small figure almost levitating, due to how fast she ran, and look at her in confusion. Her usual firm and calm composure fell miserably, creating a peculiar sight to witness.
Yuu also mentally apologized to Luan for breaking the promise of eating together during the lunch and quickly opened cafeteria doors, nearly smashing down Lavont, who was about to serve the tea.
“I am extremely sorry!!” Yuu said, performing a 90 degree bow. 
“Be careful next time,” Lavont replied, wondering what was with a sudden change of acting Yuu usually demonstrated with her exceeding politeness. 
She scanned the place for Neige, concentrating her vision as much as possible, but failed to find him on the first floor. 
“Ugh, well then…”
She enhanced her hearing while making her way to the second floor and—finally!!—hearing a soft yet constrained giggle, resembling a nightingale’s song, and recognized its owner instantly. 
This time making her way rather carefully and not touching other students even the slightest, she stood up on toes, trying to peek out of the crowd of tall students and fish out Neige from them. And indeed, she succeeded in the way she didn’t want to.
The bright scarlet blaze in the light of the lamps grabbed all of her attention, as if depriving her of the ground under her feet, and knocked out her sense of control over the situation, forcing Yuu to scream in fear and start acting impulsively. 
An apple. A blindingly dazzling red color shone in Neige’s delicate fingers.
The blood pounded in her ears with booming beats, and she, now ignoring all the boundaries of decency, briskly slipped through the crowd, approaching Neige’s table.
He noticed her hurried coming, smiling to her out of the habit, almost robotically well-trained, and caught the glimpses of genuine worry on her face only the second after, but decided to not follow, continuing smiling, and nodded to her.
“Good morning, Yuu. Is something the matter— Huh?”
“DON’T!!”
She shouted, grabbing the apple he was holding, and almost crumpled it down, losing control of the perfectly balanced way of maintaining the power she possessed, and caused Neige and his, apparently, classmates to stare at her in shock.
“Y-yes?..”
She ignored them, observing an apple she was holding, and before she could scan it for the poison traces, someone randomly grabbed it, and Yuu turned in horror, recognizing Luan cheerfully grinning next to her.
“Woah, is this for me?!” He laughed, sneakily jumping and taking a seat next to Neige, raising his hand in a greeting gesture, and took a bite.
Yuu looked like the end of the world just upfolded before her very eyes, her knees going weak and eyelids leaded. Her fingers twitched, as she was ready to summon the magic wand and cast a spell—she didn’t even know which one exactly, just something that would help to save a dying person from poisoning—but Luan, on the other hand, didn’t look even slightly weakened and, well, dying.
He was quite the opposite of the person who would be suffering and dying, enjoying the freshness of the fruit and chewing it with the brightest expression Yuu ever saw humans demonstrating, Luan’s tail wagging joyfully. 
“I thought there was something strange!” He suddenly said, pointing at her with his tale, causing Yuu to question his action, staring at him blankly. “You hurried to the cafeteria so fast, even tho you said we promised to eat together from now on! I thought like damn, you’re so unfair.”
She continued staring at him with an absolutely blank, absent expression, mind full of void and emptiness, at the same time blinking and slowly parting her lips.
“But look at you, saving such a fresh apple for me! Thanks, Yuu!~”
“B-but…”
Neige was smiling graciously at them, instantly forgetting what was the deal in the first place, and was enjoying the scene looming before him. 
“Oi wait,” Luan said, licking the tips of his fingers as he finished eating, and looked at Neige. “Was it yours?..”
Neige closed his eyes for a mere second before raising his gaze and returning it to Yuu, then smiled at her conspiratorially, tilting his head and blinking away all the confusion from before, radiating glimmering shine instead.
“No, please don’t worry.”
Yuu wondered what he could have meant by his reaction but decided not to question, periodically glancing at Luan and subconsciously checking if he was okay, and, to her surprise, he couldn’t have been any better—his health was in the state it always was, perfectly normal and okay. 
Was she… exaggerating? Or did she hurry for nothing, and he wasn’t connected with Snow White at any rate possible? Yuu felt her muscles going tense, and at the moment all the sounds in the cafeteria—people talking and discussing her oddness, Neige having a light ordinary conversation with typically sunny and bright Luan, trays cluttering, humans consuming food—turned to an irritating tinkling sputter. 
Think, Yuu demanded to herself voicelessly, and frowned. Was there a breach in her way of thinking and analysis? But it couldn’t be, even considering all the loopholes and things she couldn’t register yet, Neige still resembled Snow White so much it was absurd to brush aside all the similarities and call it a day. His appearance and the way animals acted almost enchanted around him, and, most importantly, dwarfs — Yuu was sure enough to make assumptions she came up with.
“Oi,” Luan suddenly dragged her out of the marsh of her thoughts and hypotheses. “You ok?”
“Ah,” she shrugged. “I’m sorry. Yes, I am.”
“Alright,” Luan smiled at her, a scent of apple freshness lingered around him. “Relax, Yuu. You looked so tense a second ago. You worry about the teacher Emery mentioned?”
“Oh, right, the teacher…” 
The urge to say it wasn’t what kept her so alarmed arose within, but she barely managed to remain silent. She, indeed, couldn’t lie, and she was miserably bad in deceiving in other ways, like other faes could, according to Fairy Godmother’s words. 
Yuu returned a smile to Luan, knowing that even though she couldn’t lie, she knew the best when it was the time to keep her mouth shut. 
After having a lunch with Luan and Neige, Yuu bowed to the last one, promising to see him soon, to which Neige curved his lips in a soft reassuring smile, impressing Yuu with how easily he could put under a shell what was hidden underneath his own heart, creating a persona of absolutely unbothered individual. 
She then made her way back to the classroom with Luan, chuckling softly at him for almost forgetting that he went the wrong way and caught teacher Emery’s sigh.
“Geez, I forgot the classroom’s changed,” Luan yawned, following Yuu and entering another one auditorium, which looked pretty similar to the previous. “I forgot what we’re going to study rn.”
Yuu blinked at his wording—what does ‘rn’ mean in the first place?—and made her way to the seat.
“An introduction to the cultural foundations of Twisted Wonderland,” she answered, causing Luan to stare at her with a look she couldn’t yet decipher.
“I wonder what’s that even about,” he sighed in return. “Sounds so boring.”
Yuu, on the other hand, would love to dwell further, but with her mind being preoccupied with Neige and his rescue she couldn’t concentrate to the max. Something crawled under her skin, an unpleasant feeling of shame and blame conjoining altogether, caused her to bite her lip. 
Fairy Godmother would be so disappointed in her actions. Yuu could easily imagine the scoldings she would receive, head lowering more and more under the pressure of being reprimanded for such an ungraceful way of following her responsibilities. Fairy Godmother’s work was flawless to the bone—her way of speaking and an excellent, essential and indispensable ability to put one’s mind at ease, not mentioning her vast knowledge and ingenuity, impeccable mindset. 
Moreover, she never was harsh and rude. Her indignation was absolutely justified, and Yuu understood that she was not scolded — she was given instructions clearly and straight to the point, not hiding any empty flattery behind. Still, Yuu was ashamed and embarrassed due to her firstly being not so helpful in Snow White’s realm, then letting Sprites turn into Imps and cause an unimaginable damage to princesses. Even rescuing them after that and returning everything to how it was, she punished herself by taking extra work, by renovating the whole garden and studying (only materials she was allowed to use, naturally).  
And now, after so many years passing, has she changed after all? She was panicking for nothing, making misjudgments here and there, and not even making any progress in magic. She was different here, a foreign, alien variable and—
“Yuu,” Luan whispered, noticing how far her thoughts traveled, making Yuu fall silent to the point it was concerning. “The teacher’s came.”
“O-oh.”
She blinked away her thoughts, standing up with everyone, and finally taking a look at the teacher who just came, carrying a strong, luxurious, though not overly concentrated aroma of an expensive perfume around him. 
Yuu instantly pointed out his graceful stance and even posture. He seemed to have descended from the pages of a romantic saga of royal intrigues and grandiose balls. His hair fell in elegant waves over his right shoulder in a loose ponytail tied with a purple satin bow. A dark purple cardigan with fur inserts was thrown over a luxuriously expensive-looking blouse tucked into high dark trousers, and despite the obvious expensiveness of the image, it did not exude an aura of pomposity and eccentricity.
His chiseled, sharp-featured face wore a thin, unobtrusive layer of make-up, and if it weren't for Yuu's sensitive vision, she wouldn't have noticed the faint lines of wrinkles at the corners of his lips, which betrayed him as a man of advanced age or approaching it. A pair of obsidian eyes peered out from under long lush lashes. Wavy strands of hair, close to gray but still retaining the old wheaten hue of his youth, neatly framed his cheeks. A tired sigh escaped his cherry-colored lips, and he turned to the blackboard on his heels, picking up the chalk with a slight movement and writing his name on the blackboard, then turned back to the class. 
“Good afternoon, dear students,” he bowed slightly. “My name is Amédée Bonsagacité. I will be your teacher of art and ancient history. Very pleased to meet you.”
Yuu found herself spellbound with the purity and depth of his soft voice, flowing with a graceful stream of soulfulness, and suddenly caught someone's light line thrown from the back rows.
“It’s that Amédée?? My grandmother’s his absolute fan!!”
“Yeah same, my grandfather treasures his autograph till today.”
Luan turned to them, completely ignoring Amédée’s lingering stare. 
“What’s that about him?” He asked sneakily.
“He was a famous opera singer.”
Yuu nodded to herself, realizing his voice sounded well-trained and naturally pleasant to hear. 
“Dear students, we haven’t got all day,” he snapped his fingers, taking a pointer, and tapped on the blackboard, where Yuu noticed that the topic of today’s lesson appeared, written in chalk. “Since it’s our very first meeting, and the lesson itself is carrying more introductory purposes, you may think it’s easy to skip. But it doesn’t mean I allowed that in the first place. Now, let me get straight to the point.”
Despite how soft and weightless his voice was, teacher Amédée was indeed strict and quite outrite. In any case, Yuu followed his words, making notes and nodding eagerly, much to Luan’s bright giggles.
“You’re surely familiar with admirable figures in our history, am I being correct? The Venerable Seven, whose principles and personality traits are of great importance here in the RSA, as well as the Great Seven, whose life path is considered highly respected in the NRC.”
Yuu knitted her brows together, making sure she wrote it right. How very interesting, why Seven figures? Moreover, what was NRC? Apparently, another school, if teacher Amédée has compared RSA to another unknown to Yuu facility. 
“We must dwell on the respectable figures our academy follows,” he said, drawing with chalk a table of seven columns on the blackboard. “As for the Great Seven, we’ll start studying their traits after taking a test regarding the Venerable Seven.”
A few annoyed ‘tsk’ were heard among the class after one word ‘test’ escaped the teacher’s lips. 
“First, I believe the dorm leaders of each dorm based on a particular figure already introduced you to the basics. But knowing only one representative is not enough. Not to mention… You, miss.”
Yuu, who was writing after him, raised her gaze and met his, unreadable and showing an emotion Yuu couldn’t understand, but no hate was shown. 
“How very peculiar you have been sorted to Sidhery,” he chuckled. “Due to lack of any information regarding your dormitory, it will be fairly hard to explain, but I’ll try my best. We usually just don’t mention Sidhery when teaching this course.”
“Thank you and I’m sorry for causing trouble,” Yuu stood up and bowed, making Amédée widen his eyes in surprise and wave his hand, suggesting Yuu take her seat. 
“No need. Now, let’s continue. First, Pandora Charm dormitory, how many of you do we have here in the class?” Amédée glanced over the auditorium, nodding to a bunch of students raising their hands. “Quite a lot, I see. Well then, as many of you know, Pandora Charm is founded on Inquisitive Daydreamer’s curiosity.”
Yuu took a note of it, humming to herself with a slight nod. If students were sorted to the dorms, was it done according to the personality traits of the Venerable Seven, and did it mean Pandora Charm’s students possessed extra curiosity? Yuu was eager to know.
“We’ll dwell on the Venerable Seven’s figures further as we briefly discuss the basics. Now, to the Kifurijua dormitory. I see many of you are beastmen, correct?” Luan cheerfully waved his tail, making Yuu smile softly at his playfulness. “I see. Your dormitory’s founded on King of the Pride Lands’ Fearlessness.”
“Yep, I’ve been told that a lot before enrolling,” Luan nodded to himself, grinning proudly. 
“Are you happy being in this dorm?” Yuu whispered to him. 
“Very much! Would be fun if you were here,” his ears twitched. “Not sure tho if you’d be sorted here, it kinda doesn’t fit your vibe.”
“I see… I think,” Yuu tried to comprehend with his peculiar wordings and decided to politely agree.
“Speaking about non-human races,” Amédée took a look over the class. “Merheronelle dormitory’s student contingent mainly consists of merfolk. I see the tendency is as firm as ever.”
Some of the students nodded cheerfully, and Yuu silently gasped. So the boy she saw during the PE class belonged to merfolk as she thought, but the fact they were quite common here in this world was new to her. 
“Great then, your dormitory’s founded on Princess of the Atlantica Kingdom’s Vivacity.”
Yuu took a note, feeling a sudden urge to draw seashells and little sea waves doodles on the margins in her notebook.
“Not much to my surprise, the number of Huriirada dormitory’s students is quite low. Though as long as I remember, it was always like that.”
Before Yuu could wonder about his age and how long does he teach here in RSA, some students already whispered the same question she beared in her mind, gossiping and making assumptions, some of them Yuu found extremely ridiculous—how could such a beautiful young-looking individual work here for 50 years, after all? 
“Anyhow, Huriirada dormitory is based on The Rebellious Princess’ Strong Will.”
What a memorable title, Yuu thought. Previous dorms’ respectable figures created an impression of kind, gentle people—creatures?—while Huriirada’s one possessed such an unexpected name, carrying an image of someone seditious. 
“The next one dorm is quite popular, I presume, contradictory to Huriirada,” Amédée concluded. “Edelwiese dormitory is founded on The Fairest Princess’ Gentleness.”
The pen Yuu held in her fingers suddenly dropped with a slight thud on the desk before almost falling on the floor, which Luan prevented with his tail, grabbing it midair and passing to her. She thanked him absolutely absentmindedly, drowning in her thoughts.
The Fairest Princess. Was it a coincidence? No, it was absurd to deny it by now. She glanced at the color of the chalk the teacher used to depict dormitories’ colors, and the bright red was erasing any doubts and hesitance. Yuu added ‘Dorm leader — Neige’ to the dorm’s name written in pencil, and sighed, knitting her brows together. 
So Neige was connected to Snow White, after all. But still she couldn’t be any sure, considering no names were pronounced. Yuu knew her title, but as far as she remembered, people were referring to the princesses by their names preferably. However, could it be that those figures on which dorms are based weren’t the princesses and princes she knew? Yet still—
“Miss Yuu,” Amédée looked at her with a strict gaze, piercing through her and bringing Yuu’s mind back. “Is something the matter?”
“No, I am really sorry for the disturbance…”
“Hm,” the teacher said, relaxing just a little at her polite apology. “Alright, let’s continue. As for Dýnamieisos dormitory’s students, your dorm’s founded on the Prince of the Gods’ Valor.”
Yuu’s mind was still too preoccupied with the potential connection between Snow White, Neige and his dormitory to the point she was writing down the notes without giving any thought. 
“And last, but not least… Florevel dormitory is founded on Briar Rose’s Gracefulness.”
Yuu took a deep breath before trying to combine all the gathered information together and put it on the right shelves of her mind. Neige, Snow White, other dormitory figures… Oh, and the other school—was it NRC?—have got their own representatives, Yuu should have included them in her research and brainstorming, too. But how could she—
“And, as I’ve promised,” Amédée said, breaking a little silence lingered for a moment. “About Sidhery…”
Yuu raised her head, looking straight into his eyes.
“I believe the headmaster already explained to you that there’s no information regarding this dormitory. Moreover, the building itself isn’t being used for dormitory purposes, with a clock tower operating an only option remaining,” Yuu nodded to his words, confirming it. “Not to mention Sidhery building belongs to the type of non-pocket dimension one.”
Yuu wondered what ‘pocket dimension’ did mean and glanced at Luan, who only parted his lips slightly in surprise, then quickly erased the emotion and changed it into his signature cheeky grin, and wagged his tail.
“Although… During my academic years, when I was a student here myself, there were tittle-tattles emanating around saying that Sidhery was the very reason why RSA became so popular and earned its status as one of the best schools for young magicians,” Amédée said, going deeper into his thoughts. “Ah, I must also say that there were no dorms at first. Moreover, RSA was a co-ed school average to its max when it was established.”
“Co-ed?!” Someone gasped from the class. 
“Maybe that’s why Yuu-chan managed to enroll?” 
Yuu-chan?.. 
Yuu felt her cheeks growing redder, despite an obvious teasing way of saying, and lowered her gaze, feeling strange. Was it so simple for humans to call someone in an endearing manner? 
“But I’m afraid that is all I have to say,” Amédée turned to Yuu. “There might be some additional information in the library, though I am not sure if it’ll be much. Sidhery dormitory is a mystery shrouded in darkness, you may say.” 
“Thank you so much, professor,” Yuu stood up and bowed to Amédée, causing him to curve his lips in a weightless smile and nod to her. 
“Don’t mention it. Now, let us continue…”
Despite carrying a huge interest towards the dorm she was appointed to, Yuu’s very first task was to help Neige. Writing the notes down rather absentmindedly, she was focusing on her further plan regarding Neige, and decided to check him after the lessons.
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Apparently, after school ends, Neige is no longer to be seen. 
Yuu made sure of that when she came to his class as fast as she could and stumbled upon his classmates who witnessed the embarrassing scene in the cafeteria earlier in the morning, and told her that he already left. They also mentioned he always leaves early, sometimes even when everyone in their classes, studying, but he’s got permission from the headmaster.
Having no idea where he went, Yuu felt uneasy, worrying probably for too much. Neige was a public figure, very much engaged with the media sphere. In spite of having no idea how it felt to be popular, Yuu still could understand that he was fairly used to all of the attention aimed at him, so she decided to do her own research. Remembering how Fairy Godmother told her to always remain calm and collected, Yuu took a deep breath and opened the doors to the library.
She was rather strong and composed when it came to battles or sudden situations, but as a substitute she turned into a ball of worries when the intuition was telling her that something would happen soon.
“Good evening, sir Aell… Huh?”
Yuu went to the counter where Aell could be found, but she witnessed only an empty place and dust particles flowing around the turned on lamp.
“Miss Yuu?”
She heard a voice coming from above, and raised her head, noticing Aell, standing on a stepladder and holding several books. 
“You’re quick to spot me,” he noticed. “Wait a moment, I shall come down.”
Yuu waited for him to get off the stepladder, and took some of the books he was carrying without asking.
“You don’t have to, miss Yuu,” he said as Yuu noticed a sweat drop rolling down his sharp cheekbone. 
“It is alright,” she declined. “Where should I put it?”
“Row seven, you’ll see empty shelves there.”
Yuu nodded and followed the direction he mentioned, then returned to the counter when she finished. 
“I presume you go here quite often, given how fast you orient yourself in here,” Aell said, snapping his fingers and magically cleaning off the dust on the counter. 
“You can say so,” she nodded. “I enjoy reading.”
“That’s nice to hear,” he replied. “So, how can I help you today?” 
“Professor Amédée mentioned I can find books about RSA dormitories here…”
“Oh, it’s rare for someone to dwell on it,” Aell noticed, nodding to himself. “Very well, you can find some in rows 19 and 20 on the second floor to your left.”
“Thank you so much!”
“Don’t mention it. Enjoy your time.”
Yuu went straight to the spot she grew familiar with, noticing she started occupying it quite often, to which she chuckled, placing books she took. 
Pretty colors of an upfolding evening radiated through the window near her, and after some time of reading and making notes she realized that it always was either Neige or that copper-haired boy, or even Che’nya wandering around here or studying. Or sleeping, in the case of Neige and another boy Yuu saw only once.
Even if Aell and Amédée both confirmed she can find some additional information in the library, nothing out of sorts was found. Amédée was fairly consistent in the way he explained things, hence Yuu could not really grasp something new from books. Although, symbolic features emphasizing Snow White’s aesthetics helped Yuu to make sure she was right in her judgment. Apparently, Edelwiese dormitory used a bright red apple as an unofficial yet incredibly recognizable symbol among students of RSA, distinguishing their dorm among others not only by its color choice. 
Then there were researches made for fun only, but appeared to be great material for Yuu. According to the school survey held several years ago, Edelwiese students attracted animals, were very kind to others, and were always compared to the students of NRC’s Pomefiore… 
“Pomefiore, huh?..” Yuu tilted her head, writing the name down in her notebook, and decided to put it aside for some time. 
After analyzing all the information she gathered before Aell went upstairs to tell her that the library was closing, she gasped, noticing how warm colors turned into dark cold ones, indicating that the night was close. 
She bid goodbye to Aell and summoned a butterfly on her way back to the dormitory.
“Good evening, little one,” she smiled, letting the butterfly land on her nose to tickle it with its wings. “Ha-ha, feeling playful today?”
Something tangled in her stomach at the very thought of falling asleep tonight. A malicious, viscous feeling covered her in its dark shades, but she shook her head when the butterfly danced around, as if asking what happened.
“Sorry for worrying you,” Yuu sighed. “I just… Do you think Fairy Godmother would be satisfied with my way of thinking if she was here? I think… I’m missing something.”
An image of the red apple Neige was holding suddenly appeared before her, making Yuu drown deep in worry.
“Though now I am certain I must help. I must finish my job and finally come back home, right?”
The butterfly made a graceful pirouette, approving Yuu’s words, and she smiled once again, though not very determined and sure if she really wanted to come back.
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One day when the queen asked her mirror:
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?
It answered:
You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow-White is a thousand times fairer than you.
Yuu shivered. It was excruciatingly cold, her bare legs were turning violet out of the blizzard she felt with her very skin. Fair, dispassionate woman’s gaze was piercing and sharp, to which Yuu jolted, not seeing her own reflection in the mirror. 
The queen took fright and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour on whenever she looked at Snow-White her heart turned over inside her body, so great was her hatred for the girl. The envy and pride grew ever greater, like a weed in her heart, until she had no peace day and night.
Then she summoned a huntsman and said to him, "Take Snow-White out into the woods. I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as proof that she is dead bring her lungs and her liver back to me."
Yuu felt her heart clenching in her chest, a heartrending feeling gripped her heart, entwining it with tenacious thorny vines, and Yuu collapsed to her knees. Pierced by memories, she felt the events of past years rush through her vessels, causing her blood to freeze in her veins.
The huntsman obeyed and took Snow-White into the woods. He took out his hunting knife and was about to stab it into her innocent heart when she began to cry, saying, "Oh, dear huntsman, let me live. I will run into the wild woods and never come back."
Because she was so beautiful the huntsman took pity on her, and he said, "Run away, you poor child."
Yuu remembered that scene. She was helping dwarfs at the moment, when Fairy Godmother told her to not go anywhere without her asking, and the woeful look on her face indicated nothing good. 
She stared at the young beautiful girl who called Yuu her dearest friend, and wanted to help her get up, to envelop her in a warm comforting embrace, to tell her that everything will be alright, and even knowing it’ll really become fine — Yuu wasn’t fine at all.
"Child," said the old woman, "how you look! Come, let me lace you up properly."
The unsuspecting Snow-White stood before her and let her do up the new lace, but the old woman pulled so quickly and so hard that Snow-White could not breathe.
"You used to be the most beautiful one," said the old woman, and hurried away.
Yuu opened her eyes at once, desperately eagering for air to breathe in. She touched her neck, then embraced her own shoulders and stared at one spot before her, trembling miserably, and swallowed nervously.
“The red apple was just an omen,” Yuu said to herself, feeling how blood pounded in her head. “I must… I must protect Neige no matter what.”
The rest of the night went without any glimpse of sleep. Yuu put the memories she saw in her notebook, trying to make a timeline of events, presuming two more impingements will take place soon. 
In the morning she hurried straight to Neige’s classroom, not carrying any memory of how she changed the clothes. Nor did she possess any idea about how disheveled her hair looked, and how her face was swollen.
“Hm… Oi, Yuu!!”
She caught the voice owner rather quickly, turning around and seeing Luan waving at her. She stopped reluctantly, knowing that everything was probably fine, but she was too deep in her worries and concerns to let go of them so easily.
“G-good morning, Luan.”
“Huh?” He approached her, noticing how out of character she seemed. “You ok?”
A fae can’t lie, and Yuu really couldn’t. She gave him a small soft smile to lessen suspicions arising around her, and waited for Luan to speak.
“I guess it’s a yes?” He looked at her, approaching a little more and looking straight into her eyes. “Damn, never noticed they were so huge before.”
“Yes?..” She asked him in confusion.
“Yours eyes,” he explained. “They’re huge. I think they were brighter tho.”
“You’re very attentive to details, Luan,” she complimented him, seeing his tail wagging slightly. “Didn’t think I could see you so early in the morning, though.”
“Ugh,” he grimaced. “I just had to get up early today… Nevermind. Well, there's not much time left before the classes start. C’mon, don’t wanna hear you nagging at me for being late.”
He grabbed her hand, leading her to the classroom, much to Yuu’s concern. He was right, and it really was the only logical and rational thing to do, but the anxiety enveloping her made her heart twitch in worry.
Yuu tried to regain her composure. Luan’s presence caused a rather calming effect on her, making heart settle and mind put at peace at least slightly. During the lesson she diligently tried focusing on Emery’s words, even if still flowing somewhere in her thoughts about Neige. 
She nervously grabbed a strand of her hair, twisting it around her finger, and decided to braid her hair, realizing how disheveled and uncombed it was. 
I’m such a failure, Yuu thought silently, being exceedingly ashamed of her unkempt appearance, knowing exactly well that Fairy Godmother would be unsatisfied with her approach to herself. 
After the class ended, Yuu stood up at once, attracting Luan’s attention to her, and turned to him, meeting with his concerned gaze.
“You ok buddy?” He asked, confusing her again with that ‘buddy’ nickname, to which Yuu smiled gently.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking. I just… need to be somewhere right at the moment, please excuse me. I’ll join you for lunch.”
“No probs,” Luan’s bright smile managed to reassure Yuu that he was fine with her strange behavior. 
Despite him possessing a youthful, almost reckless appearance, he was no fool, giving her the space and time she needed, to which she was really grateful and hoped for the day she could repay him for his kindness.
Yuu rushed to Neige’s classroom, nimbly passing through students due to her tiny figure, and enhanced her hearing ability, concentrating on flowing around sounds and current of different voices combining all together. For a second stopping before the bulletin board, to which the curriculum was attached with a magical sticker, Yuu found the auditorium where Neige should be now, and hurried away in that direction.
Despite Neige’s voice being distinguishably sweet from others, she couldn’t grasp at least a glimpse of it, indicating he was silent right at the moment. When Yuu found his class, she jumped on the spot, fishing out Neige’s beret in the crowd of tall students, smiling to herself and rushing to him.
He was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the class, not noticing Yuu at all at first. Corners of his soft, bright red lips were curved upward, yet didn’t radiate a feeling of comfort and genuine warmth he usually seemed to possess, reminding Yuu more of a feigned consolation.
She approached him slowly, glimpses of voices reaching her ears, to which she turned her head to the classroom, where the origin of strange statements was found.
“He’s pissing me off.”
“Such a brat.”
“Have you heard rumors?”
“Which exactly? There's a lot floating around him.”
“That he’s probably sells his bod—”
“Good morning, Yuu.”
She turned, recognizing familiar sweetness, and noticed Neige waving at her. 
“It is quite unusual seeing you here. I thought first years don’t have practical magic lessons to be near these auditoriums…” He gave her a smile and then gasped suddenly. “Ah, forgive me if I sound as if I don’t want to see you! It is quite the opposite, I’m very happy I was able to see you early in the morning.”
“You are?..” Yuu asked in bewilderment. Why would he though?
“Of course,” his answer seemed lifeless, yet still genuine enough to believe he was saying the truth. 
“Thank you. I’m glad to see you too…”
“I’m flattered, but… Is everything alright, Yuu? You look a bit confused, if I dare to say. Can I help you?”
How funny is that I am the one who should be helping you, Yuu thought and realized she couldn’t really express why she rushed here. It was unwise to tell Neige about her dreams, her relation to princesses and such — she simply was no one to him. 
“I am fine, please don’t worry. I am just… observing the school.”
Which actually was a truth of sorts, and even if it may appear suspicious, she couldn’t come up with something more witty at the moment. And Neige, being either considerate of her or having no eagerness to interrogate her regarding this matter, only smiled, staring at her.
She looked at him with an uncovered concern splashing in her eyes, and felt something strange growing in her body.
Neige’s eyes were aimed right at her own, huge and filled with confusion. A weightless feeling blossomed in every cell of her body, filling it with unprecedented lightness. Warmth surrounded her heart, exuding gentle thrill, yet calmness prevailed. A mixture of different, but surely positive emotions combined into a holistic picture of serenity.
“H-huh?..”
“Yuu?”
She looked at Neige with more clearance in her gaze, blinking away all the confusion, and subconsciously drew a hand to where her heart was, not realizing what happened. 
“Ah,” she gasped when Neige approached her just ever so slightly, gazing straight at her, and noticed a shadow of something heavy and mournful in his eyes. “Neige?”
“Yes?”
He quickly regained composure, smiling at her in the way he always did, much to Yuu’s concern. Just what in the world happened?
“Are you perhaps feeling unwell?” She asked him, noticing how his delicate thin fingers trembled when he raised his hand to fix a strand of her hair. 
“Hm…” His eyes averted, and he blinked, spotting out the dwarfs, who came closer to him. “Probably. I’ll go visit a nurse. Thank you for expressing your genuine concern, yet also I’m deeply sorry for making you worry. See you later, Yuu.”
Absentmindedly greeting the dwarfs and bidding goodbye to the company, she watched Neige’s figure distancing from where she was, still not quite thinking straight, but a sudden malicious laugh reached her ears.
“HAHAH, it was SOOO pathetic. He really has no idea how to woo a girl.”
Yuu turned to Neige’s classmate, a peaceful and delightful feeling in her chest slowly disappearing, leaving a place for annoyance. 
“They say they’ll include more romance scenes in the movie,” someone said. “It’ll be so painful to watch.”
“For real, he’s so lame. Smiling here ‘n there won’t help. Can’t believe he’s starring in an R-rated movie.”
“Now now, don’t be so harsh,” someone added. “He’s just a child. He plays just fine in stuff for kids commercials!”
“Yeah, pathetic shit.”
“And you are?”
No one noticed when Yuu entered an unfamiliar auditorium, materializing before other students’ very eyes, making them stare at her in confusion. 
“Oho, isn’t it a lovely Yuu-chan?”
“Lovely?” She asked, a vague smile blossoming on her face, making it completely unreadable. 
“You must be dead tired after seeing that pathetic piece of shit.”
Yuu knew she had no authority in this school, being a small girl surrounded by tall and lean men wasn’t helpful at all, too, but she was pissed off enough to act harshly.
“Yuu-chan, if you’re hanging out with him because of his fame, forget it. With your looks you might as well seduce that Schoenheit guy. By the way, I know the guy who knows the guy who…”
“Ha…” She sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead and closing her eyes. 
“Come on, you’re scaring her,” another student said, standing up and getting closer to Yuu, placing his hand on her shoulder. “He’s right tho. Unless you prefer young innocent-looking boys over someone more manly?”
“You.”
She looked at the hand resting on top of her shoulder, and then shifted her gaze straight into the guy’s eyes, her heart possessing no warmth anymore. 
“I’m rather tired. Tired of hearing you spreading all this nonsense.”
“Huh?”
“Hanging out because of Neige’s fame?” She smiled slightly. “Seducing someone I don’t even know? You’re making me laugh! All of you… I despise people like you.”
“What did you just say?”
“Oh please, cute little girl playing protective? What are you, Neige’s mommy?”
The air turned cold and difficult to breathe when Yuu’s smile widened. 
“Dude,” someone whispered to the student who was arrogantly smiling at Yuu. “Don’t jinx it, she’s a fuckin’ fae!..”
But neither Yuu nor the student really cared.
“What can you possibly do?” The student came closer to her. “Tell the headmaster about us? Go on, it’s you, not us being in a predicament.”
“That is the only cover you could come up with? The headmaster? Dear little child,” she remained even, her back straight and the gaze certain and strict. “Next time you see Neige, thank him for not telling the headmaster about your behavior. Thanks to him, your dirty souls are being safe and not expelled. Have you ever thought about it?”
“Sweetie, we just genuinely don’t care whether he tells the headmaster about us or not.”
“Great then,” Yuu clapped her hands, and a little electricity spark flashed in front of everyone, making them flinch slightly. “Then if you don’t mind Neige, you won’t mind me as well, am I being correct? Wait a moment, I’ll go inform the headmaster about this issue real quick.”
“You little shit,” the student grabbed her hand, but Yuu glanced at him with malice spreading in her eyes. “Drop your act. Yeah, you’re a greater actor than him, we got it. Now stop pissing us off ‘till we get serious.”
“So you’re not being serious right now? How disappointing. I thought your act could serve as a comedy for me to keep myself entertained for some time, but now knowing that such people like you even dared to say something about Neige… A~ah, truly unfortunate.”
“Neige’s sure got some crazy bitches among his fans.”
Yuu was feeling strange. Unknown rage was filling her to the bone, making it difficult to remain calm and collected. It never happened before, not even once, she was strictly prohibited from performing acts like that. Fairy Godmother taught her that all the problems could be resolved with little verbal tricks and light magic if needed. 
But what was that malicious, dark and dirty sensation vibrating in her vessels?
She once more felt how her body trembled for a moment, and with a gentle feeling all the emotions disappeared, being replaced with happiness and joy that was quite out of blue.
“Ah, dear little children,” she murmured. “It seems the lesson starts soon. I have no time to continue playing kindergarten here.”
“Kinder— YOU!!—”
“Shh,” Yuu smiled, pressing her finger to the guy's cheek, feeling absolutely disgusted. “I’m genuinely warning you that you’re getting expelled if you don’t apologize to Neige. Well then, farewell. Hope we’ll never meet again.”
She went out of the auditorium, turning around at the exit for a moment, and casually dropped another smile.
“Ah, one more thing. Neige is the most kind, hard-working and genuine person that I’ve ever known in my whole life. It is quite disappointing to see that you’re not following none of your Venerable Seven’s behest.”
After that she ran away, clenching the shirt in her hand, breathing heavily and trying to realize what came into her, causing to say such cruel, unpleasant and absolutely not graceful things. 
It was as if another person shifted into her, changing her personality at once.
And what was that sudden feeling of happiness and joy filling her already twice this morning?
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The classes ended, and Yuu realized it would be unwise to try finding Neige in the classroom, given how unpleasant the meeting with his classmates went. 
The day was bright and flourishing in all its glory, bestowing a gentle serenity with hot yet soft sun rays. Yuu closed her eyes for a mere moment, letting herself stop to appreciate the cordial tender feeling spreading in her chest. 
“Haah…”
With a snap of fingers she summoned a pink butterfly that greeted her in a playful dance around her head.
“I’m so immature,” Yuu mumbled to herself. “Mother… will be disappointed.”
The butterfly landed on her closed eyelid, fluttering its wing, to which Yuu chuckled.
“Thank you for your reassurance, little one. I—”
“Whatchnya doin’?”
“Ah!”
Yuu gasped, opening her eyes abruptly, and saw Che’nya’s face levitating in the air.
“Che’nya-san!”
“That’s mya,” The boy materialized with all his body, casually crossing his legs midair, and landed successfully, jumping on his foot and looking like he weighed nothing at all, demonstrating his graceful and flexible moves. “How’s your day?”
“Uhm, I am… a bit confused, so to say,” Yuu forced a smile, watching the butterfly fly around Che’nya, who seemed to be enjoying the moment and chuckling softly. 
“Little confusion won’t hurt one,” Che’nya replied vaguely. “On the contrary, wouldn’t our lives be fairly borin’ without any confusion put in them?”
“Yes?.. I believe you’re right…” Yuu tilted her head, questioning what exactly was that he meant by that, but shrugged it off, clapping her hands. “Ah, right! Have you seen Neige?”
“I may have,” Che’nya jumped on the spot, his body disappearing in the air, and only his upside-down head turned to Yuu, much to her growing bewilderment. “Or I may have not.”
“It seems I’m free to allegorize your words as I please?”
“Nya-uh,” he smiled at her, his face looking silly yet cute being turned upside-down. “I know a road which can take you to someone who definitely knows where Neige is~”
“You do?!” Yuu’s face glowed in joy. 
“Nyap,” Che’nya nodded… Or so it seemed? “The one who also helps Neige. You might find him somewhere or nowhere in that direction~”
“Somewhere or… I’m afraid I don’t follow?”
“You do~ Follow my directions. I’m the best at giving them.”
Che’nya’s arm appeared in the air, his index finger pointing on the road which led to the clocktower, and glanced back at the cat-looking boy, but he’s probably long gone by now.
“And remember,” his voice was heard. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road can take you there.”
And with that Che’nya’s voice died out, leaving Yuu all alone with her grown confusion.
“Well…” She sighed, letting the butterfly, that also seemed flummoxed at Che’nya’s behavior, rest on her shoulder. “Let’s try following the direction he pointed.”
The one who also helps Neige, huh. 
Yuu swam deeper in her thoughts, trying to recollect the memories and rearrange the succession of events. Today’s not so pleasant meeting with Neige’s classmates almost overshadowed previous encounters of other people Yuu thought were at least neutral.
By the way, why would the road correlate with the clocktower? Was someone who could help her find Neige in the building right at the moment? Other than her, she could meet Prospero there. 
Ah, wait! Did Che’nya mean Emery who was following— Wait.
Yuu felt another presence nearby. Hiding behind the tree, she listened closely, hearing two people talking.
“Another shenanigans of yours…”
The peaceful, melodious voice bewitched Yuu. The words formed rather not into speech, but into a series of musical notes, charming with their tenderness.
“C’mon, no one will know!”
Another voice, the one that Yuu was able to recognize almost instantly due to the youthful, joyful sound vibrating in the air. 
That was him. The copper-haired boy she met on her first day here, and also the one who seemed to be genuinely worried about Neige.
Yuu peeked out from behind the tree, spotting two students standing with their backs to her, so she wasn’t able to see their faces. The boy she saw appeared to be smaller in height than his friend. Come to think of it, his blonde-haired friend was so tall and magnificent that Yuu gasped, parting her lips, realizing she has never seen people of such height. An extraterrestrial aura flew around him, radiating light and calming feeling.
He was the one sleeping in the library!
“Emery knows though, doesn’t he?” Taller boy replied, to which his friend jolted on the spot. 
“N-nah, what are you saying!~”
“You said that he followed you when you tried to flee miserably.”
“Ugh.”
“And that he lectured you for three hours straight.”
“Ouch.”
“And that you are also prohibited from entering the clocktower for a time being.”
“Argh, enough!! Besides, we’re not entering the building itself, okay?! Let’s hurry up! It’s not like you’re not going anyway, right?”
“Right,” the blond-haired boy answered. “It’s always you who gets scolded anyway.”
“That’s what friends are for. To always remind you that you’re saving their asses and they’re watching you getting scolded for lulz.”
“It’s me saving your restless ass though.”
“Ah shut up~”
“Cast your magic already.”
“Alright, two premium tickets coming right up!”
Yuu came out from behind the tree before the boy started whispering, and listened closely, focusing on the words he was pronouncing in an enchanting way.
“No matter which way I’m going, it gets curiouser and curiouser. Down the Rabbit Hole!”
The familiar hole appeared before two boys, and they, exchanging another joke or two, both jumped down there. 
Yuu, immediately running towards the hole, watched it closing with a rapid speed, and realized that it was now or never — there was no time to try guessing what could happen down there, she’ll definitely figure it out once she jumps. So she did, stepping into an unknown space, and letting the wind current take her somewhere.
She opened her eyes, which had been closed before the jump, and a blindingly bright light shone in front of her. A space that looked more like the Milky Way with glittering stars of cold colors unfolded in front of her. A scattering of sparkling stars decorated the walls of this “hole,” but Yuu’s gaze was riveted by something else.
Objects of various purposes danced freely in the air, as if they lived their own lives. A chair with gold-plated armrests flew past Yuu and moved behind her, forcing her to take a seat. She levitated in the air, sitting on a luxurious velvet chair!!
“W-what is happening?!”
Ignoring her question, the table with a patterned tablecloth joined the company, appearing in front of Yuu. The treats did not take long to arrive — a plate with buoyantly dancing cookies was jumping over the table. A teapot rushed past, drawing strange patterns with flowing tea in the air, and as soon as a cup with a fancy handle joined the feast, the teapot splashed hot tea into the cup.
“T-thank you?..” Yuu mumbled, when the cup drew closer to her, suggesting to grab it.
The aroma of melted chocolate and tea with bergamot filled the space. The tartness of the drink seemed quite interesting to Yuu, but the next sweets that arrived at the table overwhelmed the persistent smell of infused tea leaves, giving way to the aroma of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
“Thank you for the cordial welcome… whoever you are?”
The kitchen utensils danced approvingly around her, and only Yuu had time to finish her tea, when space turned everything upside down (if what was happening could even be interpreted in this way, given all its absurdity). Yuu screamed in surprise, mentally thanking herself for braiding her hair earlier in the morning, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to see anything.
She spotted a bright light at the end of the hole, and turned around to witness no utensils dancing here and there. She was left all alone, heading towards the light and worrying about the closing exit. 
“No no no, wait for me!!” She cried, trying to make a move similar to one when people swim in the water, but to no avail.
She managed to get closer to the exit in the last second, before the space basically spat her out of itself.
She landed successfully, rising from her knees, and turned around to take a look. 
And realized she had no idea where she was.
An unfamiliar infrastructure appeared before Yuu. The coldness of the stone walls around her made her feel slightly uncomfortable, and she hurried to get out of her current situation. Proceeding to the side where the passage stood out, she found herself in the middle of a narrow street where people were scurrying about.
She looked around in fascination, marveling at the local infrastructure and how different it was from RSA. Small houses with small courtyards, the stonework of this alley, fancy street lamps…
She was brought out of her thoughts by familiar voices heard somewhere very far away, and Yuu turned to the source of the sound. She found those same two students at the end of the alley, hurried after them, but at the turn she discovered that there was already no trace of them.
Meanwhile, she herself found herself on a wider and busier street, which completely confused her.
“W-woah…”
The number of people walking here and there scared her out. She never considered herself a person who could easily interact with people, and now, being left completely all alone in the—apparently—town of unfamiliar faces has helped her worries to grow.
“Uhm…”
She decided to start walking where there weren’t so many people, glancing at the store windows, at people taking a stroll, at a stray cat jumping on the rooftop, at the way gilded foliage indicated summer lost its rights, giving way to autumn, and the leaves slowly falling down. 
Get yourself together, Yuu commanded herself. 
First, the copper-haired boy probably took her here (even if he didn’t know it himself), hence Neige could be possibly found somewhere near this place. Second, was this ‘hole’ he created something that Emery explained as a unique magic? And was it not the hole, but the portal? Alright, then if anything, Yuu could possibly find a spot where no one would see her, and just fly into the sky to see where RSA is located.
And now, how could she possibly fish out Neige out of ALL those people?
Yuu possessed greater abilities than humans did. Enhanced hearing, vision, smelling and other perception options, she could have tried remembering Neige’s voice, or smell, or his appearance to detect his location. However, Fairy Godmother never told her how far she could go with her abilities, explaining only the simplest ways of their work. Due to that reason, Yuu is most likely to fail. 
She decided to give it a go even still, leaning on the tree in the park she went to look less suspicious, and looked around, concentrating her vision on certain spots, but all in vain. Trying to hear Neige’s voice also didn’t work, giving her a slight migraine instead.
“Should I just observe as far as I can now…”
With the confusion on her heart, Yuu slowly started walking around, deciding to at least observe the place she arrived at, so she wouldn’t get lost in the town in case there will be another chance to visit it. 
She was walking around the city in a casual manner, fascinated by absolutely everything around her. The flow of people amazed her with how harmoniously it moved, as if it were one integral organism. People were going in all directions: some were in a hurry somewhere, quickly avoiding obstacles, pressing a box to their ear, which Yuu could now identify as a mobile phone; someone, on the contrary, was walking very leisurely, just like her, enjoying the moment.
Small buildings were replaced by some much larger in height. Such buildings reflected light with their glass walls, forcing Yuu to stop in front of them, looking at her reflection in bewilderment.
The variety on the store windows was amazing in its assortment, and Yuu smiled sadly, examining a winter scarf with the predominant red yarn in it and running her fingers over the embroidered birds. For the second time during her stay here in this world made her heart sink with regret for not earning money or at least trying to find a job. First of all, she wanted to repay Ambrose for being so kind to her and providing accommodation. And the second time was right now.
“It would look so nice on him…”
“What a thoughtful girlfriend you are!”
Yuu raised her head, looking at the shopkeeper with incomprehension in her eyes.
“Girlfriend?”
“You’re choosing a gift for your boyfriend, no?”
“Oh, no, nothing of sorts! I just thought this would look good on someone I know.”
“Your friend then?”
“My friend…”
Was Neige really her friend?
None of their encounters resembled something that friends would do or discuss, and every meeting ended with Yuu blaming herself for being not so helpful, while Neige only tried to distance her off himself with a reassuring smile.
They weren’t friends, she was sure of it, and they most probably would not be ones ever. After she finds a way to finally release him from his worries, she’ll get back home, with all the students forgetting her very existence in a short period of time.
Yet, something tangled in her stomach at this thought, and she decided to shrug it off before she got too emotional and unstable of thinking straight.
“Oh, maybe I’m overstepping, but did you sew these clothes yourself?”
“My clothes?” Yuu echoed and gasped right when she realized.
She was still wearing her RSA uniform, while not even trying to cover the fact that she was a female.
Yuu laughed rather awkwardly, realizing she needs to rush over somewhere to cast a set of casual clothes to walk here without any worries, and waited for the shopkeeper to start making assumptions so to Yuu could confirm any guess and not to lie.
“No, it wasn’t me…”
“Aah, then have you perhaps taken it from your brother? My daughter likes to wear an RSA uniform, too. What’s so pretty about it, though? NRC’s dark colors are more stylish to me. Ah, forgive my nagging.”
“This is alright!” Yuu smiled. “I like light colors more… Come to think of it, you’re right. It’s about time I return them to their owner, ha-ha…”
“Okay, see you then!”
“Have a nice day!”
Yuu casually walked out of the shop and, before rushing to the corner where no one was found, took a look at girls outfits, choosing a combination of elements of the garments they were wearing, so as to be not so different from other people. Summoning her magic wand, she decided to go with a simple choice due to the lack of time.
“I hope this will do…”
A wave of sparkles surrounded her, and with a little flash her clothes changed into a black long straight dress and a gray top, the boots with satin ribbons she used to wear as a part of her RSA uniform being replaced with patent leather lace-up boots. 
She went out to the streets, noticing that the day was cooling from the midday heat, and grew colder, giving way to pinkish evening colors.
Yuu reached a large building right in the centre of the city, raising her head up and regretting she couldn’t fly over the top right at the moment to see the name of the, apparently, company that was located here. 
She wasn’t really familiar with modern concepts and settings, transmigrating to the worlds of medieval times. Being completely oblivious to the way strange-looking carriages were rushing on the streets, Yuu felt her head turning dizzy, and decided to take a moment to rest in the park and continue her observation.
Right when she sat, a sweet scent lingered in the air, making her shudder and focus on its origin. 
“Neige!” She exclaimed to herself, concentrating her ears and feeling them twitch slightly. 
She heard his voice somewhere far away, and not wasting any more time, rushed over there. Almost reaching his location, the sweet and gentle fragrance growing easier to feel, Yuu suddenly stopped, her heart piercing with a strange uncomfortable sensation.
A malicious aura was spreading nearby, and right when she noticed Neige in the distance with a dark hat and a mask on him, she was hit by someone. Yuu turned and saw a little figure of a girl watching Neige. 
“Excuse me!..” Yuu exclaimed, but the girl couldn’t care less, her eyes strongly fixated on Neige’s silhouette. 
That was her. The girl radiated that spiteful, ill-disposed manner around her, and Yuu decided to follow. The girl was basically running towards Neige, her eyes glowing with an obsessive, possessive light in them, scaring Yuu and making her realize that she needed to act fast.
A sudden appearance of a modern-looking carriage right before Yuu’s very eyes was an unplanned and rather disappointing event, the girl being long gone by now. 
“Little one,” Yuu said, standing near the road where a column of many carriages was, and summoned a pink butterfly. “Go after Neige.”
Right now she needed to act as a young normal woman possessing no magic powers. There was no way she could do something reckless such as to fly towards Neige or the girl. People were crowding around a pillar with three windows, one of them glowing with red light. They weren’t surprised at how the carriages were moving, and decided to join them. Right when she got closer, the light changed from red to yellow, then green, and people started crossing the road with Yuu following their example.
Fantastic system, she thought to herself, deciding to investigate it more when—or rather if—she’ll have the time to do so. 
Finally escaping the obstacle, she followed the butterfly’s direction, and almost stumbled upon Neige talking to the girl.
The last one being fairly noisy and annoying, so to say. Neige, who looked even more tired and exhausted than he did in the morning, much to Yuu’s concern, lowered the mask, so his lips could be seen, and forced an apologetic smile to the girl.
Yuu was approaching them with a rapid speed, trying to control her moves, so she won’t come off as an extraordinary creature with inhuman powers, and concentrated on their conversation, catching more and more glimpses of it.
“I’m sorry I’m not—”
“But I love you!!”
“As I’ve mentioned, I—”
“I’ll kill myself if you!—”
“Please calm down—”
Kill herself?! Yuu’s blood froze in her vessels, as she rushed without any thinking, but then a bright flash of something metallic cold flew before Neige. 
Yuu accumulated magic in her legs, ready to just jump into them, but then another flash of light sparkled before Neige, covering the space with fire spurts of flame. 
What just happened?..
“And what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Yuu recognized the voice, despite it losing its cheerful notes. The copper-haired boy’s eyes glew with an intense, almost malevolent blue fire of rage. 
Stationery knife the girl was about to use fell on the ground, ashes melting in the air. 
“You okay?” The boy asked Neige, who appeared to be in oppressive stupor. 
“Ah, yes, thank you…” Neige finally replied, clenching the shirt in his hand, and swallowed.
The girl fell on her knees, and Neige, enveloped in pure guilt, outstretched his hand to the girl, so she could stand up, but the boy quickly brushed it off.
“Dude, I understand, Edelwiese is founded on kindness and things, but you could have been, like… Killed. Or… I don’t know!!”
“He’s right,” a now familiar Yuu blonde boy also appeared, still standing with his back turned to Yuu. “We should report to the police.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Neige smiled at the boys. “But everything is okay.”
“Okay?! OKAY?!” The blue-eyed boy cried, grabbing Neige’s hands and looking at him with a genuine worry in his eyes, while the blonde one monitored the girl who was still sitting on the ground. 
“Yes,” Neige nodded, distancing himself from the boy and loosening the grip on his hands. “Everything’s alright, there’s nothing to worry about…”
He then whispered something with his lips only, and the boy who appeared to be extremely tense now became absolutely relaxed and slightly perplexed with his own feelings. 
“I…” Yuu whispered to the butterfly that returned to her. “Sense magic.”
“Alright…” The boy replied. “I believe you if you say so. But we should still report to the police!”
“We will,” Neige reassured, taking out a phone out of his pocket. “I’ll let my manager know about it. I also won’t tell anyone that you used magic in the town.”
“But—”
“Young lady,” Neige turned to the girl who was still looking at him adoringly, joyful due to him paying her attention she wanted. “Please promise me you… won’t ever… do something like that. Ever. This is my last warning.”
“If you desire so!!”
Neige blinked, forcing a smile so artificial it hurt. The police finally arrived, taking the girl with them and, after asking Neige some questions, let him be with the two students.
Yuu decided to follow them and make sure they’ll get home safe and sound.
“Dude, it’s not even funny. How are you so nice to her after THAT happened?!”
“I agree,” the blonde one said, shaking his head. “This is absolutely abnormal.”
“She was trying to KILL you, hello?!”
“Or herself,” the blonde added. “Both possibilities are NOT okay.”
“What he said,” the copper-haired boy sighed. “Neige, really, you need a guard or somethin’..”
“It’s not like I can afford—” Neige’s voice suddenly rose up, but then he cleared his throat and shook his head. “There’s no need. I can handle it.”
After twenty minutes of small arguing about Neige’s safety, the conversation changed into a more casual flow.
“By the way, what were you doing here in the first place? I always thought you’re getting a ride to the company.”
“It’s just… It was an unplanned meeting, so I was basically dragged out of the lesson today. We were discussing an upcoming project. Apparently… Now I have much more lines to play than expected.”
“Even more?! Hello, your eyebags will soon reach the point of that energy drink addict.”
“Oi,” the blonde answered with a clear annoyance in his voice. 
“Ha-ha,” Neige laughed gently. “I’m already considered a coffee addict though.”
“You two are complete fools… I can’t believe it.”
“I’m very sorry to disappoint you…” Neige mumbled.
“Oh please,” the blue-eyed boy sighed. “Don’t apologize. And disappoint? What again? Why would you disappoint me out of all people?”
“You’re right…” Neige nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Dude…”
Yuu followed them, noticing that the rest of the conversation was held by the two students, while Neige remained silent until they made it to the RSA entrance, much to Yuu’s surprise. 
After they bid goodbye to each other, Neige went to the main building, while the two boys followed an opposite direction, heading to somewhere unbeknown to Yuu. She waited for a moment until their silhouettes were gone, and headed to the clocktower. 
The pink butterfly that followed her till the end started flying in a strange way, its activity raising to the max, with the butterfly's wings fluttering very fast. 
“Is something the matter, little one?”
In spite of asking, she already knew that something was exceedingly wrong. The butterfly landed on her head, as if trying to grab her hair, then went to her clavicles, arching her waist, then flying off to the clocktower’s highest spot, finally making a comeback to Yuu after that.
“Little one, I’m afraid I don’t understand…”
The butterfly went to her ear, its wings tickling Yuu’s skin. She nodded to its movements, furrowing her brows and sighing heavily.
“I know he’s in danger!” Yuu cried, feeling totally exhausted and drenched out. “I know I must help!”
This is my duty, after all, she thought, falling on her knees before the entrance to the clocktower, expressing no desire to enter. 
“Fine,” she said, when the butterfly started acting slightly annoyingly, but Yuu didn’t want to blame it for the worries it possessed. Her own mental state reminded of a vase, starting to crumble with little cracks. 
“Give me some time. I’ll gather the information I have and try to arrange everything. We will rescue him.”
The butterfly seemed to calm down a little, and Yuu, still sitting on the grass, summoned her magic wand and changed the clothes back to the school uniform. 
“Á lelya,” the dilapidated notebook appeared in a wave of sparkles, landing right in her hands. 
Her fingers flipped the pages at a fast speed, and when Yuu found what she needed the most right now, she nodded to herself, opening a new page and writing down her thoughts.
Her thoughts and magic combinations, which she hoped she wouldn’t have an opportunity to use. She never tried those incantations she came up with just now, and was very afraid of it going the wrong way to the point of no return. 
An hour has passed since Yuu started practicing magic spells on her own. The deep evening had fallen on the streets, warm pinkish and orange colors changing into cold dark ones, and Yuu was ready to head back to the building, feeling absolutely exhausted.
“Let’s go, little one,” Yuu said, making the notebook disappear in the air, and grabbed her magic wand. “I hope I’ll settle everything tomorrow and—”
“Yuu.”
Yuu recognized Che’nya’s voice, but couldn’t really manage to find his mischievous figure. Looking around, she noticed him slowly appearing in the woods, and came closer to him, at the same time realizing she was still holding her magic wand. 
Withdrawing it now would only raise Che’nya’s suspicions, so she carefully tucked it in her sleeve and greeted him.
“Good evening, Che’nya-san.”
“Good evenyan~” How strange. Yuu thought he sounded quite concerned a little ago. 
“May I help you?”
“Not me,” Che’nya smiled at her, but something mysterious and unreadable slid down his iris. 
“Ah!” Yuu gasped. “Did perhaps something happen to Neige?!”
“Hmm,” Che’nya’s brows slightly twitched, an unfamiliar look appeared on his face. “Not at the moment.”
“I, uhm,” Yuu hesitated. She was fairly obvious with all those questions about Neige’s location and the cafeteria event. But if something could happen, she would like to prevent it as fast as possible. “I actually followed your advice and went after that boy you’ve mentioned. Even if I couldn’t help Neige in the town, he looked very… How should I put it…”
“Like the world is about to end, nya?”
“Oh,” Yuu cleared her throat. “In a way, yes…”
“Right, right, he’s a very hard-working boy, nya. Maybe too much…”
“Che’nya-san,” Yuu’s voice sounded strict and concerned. “I know it might be too much to ask, but you also came not just for a small talk like that, am I being correct?”
“Uh-nya,” he nodded.
“Do you by any chance know where Neige is right now?”
“Drama club building,” Che’nya answered immediately, showing a slight glimpse of relief that Yuu caught his way of thinking. 
“Show me the way.”
Che’nya, without further ado, went straight into the woods, and Yuu had nothing to do but follow him. 
Their path passed in absolute oppressive silence, due to the fact that everyone understood that something wrong could happen in the coming minutes. The butterfly next to Yuu was spinning in a frantic dance, as if reflecting a gloomy omen.
A small dome-shaped building appeared in front of them, resembling an indoor amphitheater.
“Normally the building is open at this hour for Neige only,” Che’nya commented. 
“What are we going to do then?..”
Neige smirked, making his body disappear, and reappeared on the opposite side of the wall, right in the building.
“Che’nya-san, is it okay for us to—”
“Don’t worry, nya. We’ve got other things to do.”
He was right. Yuu should have prioritize Neige’s safety first, so she nodded to Che’nya when he opened the window and gave his hand to Yuu to help her get inside.
The building seemed smaller inside than outside. Several rooms along the long corridor served as utility rooms and small auditoriums with technical equipment, the purpose of which Yuu could not determine at the moment.
When they reached the last door, Che’nya pressed a finger to his lips, followed by Yuu’s nod and confirmation to remain silent. Neige’s voice was heard ever so slightly.
He opened the door, and Yuu immediately bent down, glancing at Che’nya who followed her example and nodded to the side, silently whispering ‘this way’ with his lips only.
Indeed, the building turned out to be an amphitheater. An unsettling moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, illuminating the main stage at the very bottom. Yuu and Che’nya found themselves in the upper rows, hiding behind the raised seats, and walked closer to the middle.
Yuu's heart was pounding wildly in his chest. Everything that was happening seemed like some kind of feverish dream, a fictional delirium, moreover, absolutely unsightly and wrong. But all her regrets and fears disappeared once she heard Neige’s loud voice.
“Me? Oh I’m… Not scared of death.”
Neige was probably following the script, and Yuu peeped out to make sure she understood it right. 
He held a paper sheet with a text on it, a strong trembling ran through his tender, weakened hands. Yuu knitted her brows together, when Che’nya tagged her on the sleeve, reminding that they still needed some time to observe. 
“Argh!” Neige groaned. “That’s not it. Ahem… Me?! Oh I am!.. No, should I put more pressure? More sneer?”
He was pacing back and forth on the stage, loud thuds of his heels echoing in the building. 
“Me… Hahaha! I’m not scared of death,” Neige exclaimed after a long pause. “Urgh, no… This is all wrong.”
Yuu wasn’t sure how much more they should wait, and was about to peep out once more, but a sudden vibrating in the air caused her muscles to tense. Che’nya couldn’t resist his interest any longer, too, and looked where Yuu was staring at, noticing a giant hole opening in the floor.
“That is!..” Yuu whispered, feeling Che’nya nodding beside her.
“But why?..”
A familiar figure of the copper-haired boy appeared in the auditorium, and right when he was about to open his mouth to say something, he noticed Neige on the stage, looking mournful and gloomy.
“I am… I am not… scared of death.”
The blue-eyed boy gasped, drawing his hand to his mouth to cover it. 
“How exactly must I say that, given the character IS scared of death!?”
Neige tore the paper in his hands, collapsing on the stage, and right when Yuu and others were ready to act on their instincts, Neige laughed hysterically, standing up, tears running down his sunken cheeks.
“Haaa… I should have given this role to Vi-kun instead.”
Yuu felt a cold wave run through her body. Her heart felt like it was encased in icy, rusty chains, and she hugged herself tightly, trying to prevent herself from trembling. Che’nya turned to look at her, but Yuu only stared in fear in response. Neige went backstage. 
“Yuu?! Calm down, hey, look, Neige’s back—”
Yuu shook her head, afraid of looking at the stage. 
“It would be highly unwise of you.”
The voice, usually gentle and smooth, giving peace and tranquility, sounded sharp and blatantly insolent. Yuu sharply raised her head and felt something inside her break with a crash.
Neige stood on the stage, dressed in luxurious robes. A satin white blouse with wide sleeves and a wavy collar was neatly tucked into black leather trousers that hugged his thin legs. The knee-high boots were entwined with apple flowers. Behind him flowed a long cloak with gilded patterns, attached to the blouse with aiguillettes with bright scarlet stones, reflecting the moonlight so brightly that the blood-red hue hurt the eyes, light radiating through a porcelain mask on his face. On his slender, gloved fingers, were many massive rings.
However, the strangest detail was his hair. Half was the usual jet black, and the other was painted lifeless white.
“Neige?..” The copper-haired boy whispered.
“No…” Yuu mumbled, biting her lip. “It’s not him…”
“What do you mean?” Che’nya asked concerningly. 
“Look at his eyes.”
Che’nya did as she told, and gasped when he saw strange swirls in his eyes glowing bright crimson, pupils dissolving in the depth of its scarlet hue.
Time seemed to slow down, allowing everyone to clearly hear the creaking of floorboards and nervous chuckles.
“Huh?”
Neige’s voice was heard, and he turned around to witness someone looking exactly like him, but also different. Intimidating… creature stood in front of real Neige, smiling with his lips, but his eyes carried a horrendous consternation in them.
“Who are you?!” Neige screamed, summoning his magic pen immediately. 
“Now now,” the other Neige laughed, taking a step closer. “Do you really want to fight with me? With yourself?”
“... The fuck is happening,” the blue-eyed boy said, raising up. 
“With myself?.. What do you…”
The scarlet-Neige burst into laughter, grabbing a piece of the paper the original Neige tore, and snapped his fingers. Ashes accumulated in the air, making it hard to breathe, and the paper was restored.
“My script…” Neige mumbled, furrowing his brows. “What are you going to—”
“ME?...”
Yuu bit her lip to the point a few drops of blood were shed.
“Hahaha… I… To think that you would assume!! That I…” The counterpart bent down to Neige, grabbing his chin and staring at his eyes, smiling.
Until his body suddenly shuddered, and a loud cry was heard.
“Would be scared of death?!”
Neige gulped, falling down on his knees.
“... or this is how you should act.”
Everyone went silent when the scarlet-Neige took a chair and sat down gracefully, his whole figure radiating royal, expensive and elegant attitude. 
Unlike Neige, who was trembling, his huge eyes with dark eyebags staring in disbelief. 
“I can help you,” the counterpart whispered enchantingly. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“W-what do you mean?..”
“You got used to the main roles,” the counterpart cupped Neige’s face, his thin fingers with protruding sharp nails slid down Neige’s cheeks, wiping away his tears. “Playing sweet, naive heroes. Always gifting everyone with those smiles of yours. I know you’re deadly tired of wearing them.”
“But I!”
“You thought you could reach Vil Schoenheit’s level,” the other Neige said, as if sentencing his origin to death. “You know yourself you’re not capable of playing villains.”
“I… that is…”
“Admit it yourself.”
“I… agree…”
Yuu stood up at once, releasing her magic wand and wanting to cast a spell, but she was abruptly interrupted.
“Great then!” The counterpart laughed hysterically, grabbing Neige’s hand and leading him into a waltz. “Let the rehearsal continue!”
“As if I’m allowing it!!”
Yuu ran through the rows, startling Neige and his replica on stage, the blue-eyed boy turning his head to the sound of Yuu’s heels echoing in the amphitheater, and Che’nya quickly reappearing near the stage to prevent Yuu from performing something reckless.
“Yuu?” Neige’s eyes followed her precipitous moves. “And everyone… Were you watching me all this time?”
Admitting such a nefarious act was fairly painful to Yuu, and she lowered her gaze, ashamed of her actions. Least she wanted him to feel as if he’s being offered unwanted help by someone he barely knew. 
She averted her eyes, glancing at Neige’s replica, studying his nature. Blood was running down in his vessels, indicating he was a living being—she wasn’t sure of his humanic entity though—which meant that he needed to be observed more for further actions.
“I presume some audience won’t hurt,” the counterpart concluded, performing hover corte while waltzing, and let Neige turn to the ‘public’. 
“What are they doing…” The copper-haired boy mumbled, trying to analyze their actions.
“I don’t knyaw as for Neige, but that one is preparing for somethin’.” Che’nya said, the usual mischievous sparkles in his eyes disappearing as he went to Yuu, covering her with his body. “This is dangerous.”
“With all my respect to you, Che’nya-san,” Yuu tapped on his shoulder, making him turn to her and look at the vermilion of her eyes with pupils trembling in a rising anxiety underneath. “I know! This is precisely why I’m going to fix this unfortunate state.”
“Girlie, I don’t believe this is the right time for your sophisticated speech patterns!” The blue-eyed boy blurted out, withdrawing his magic pen and fixing a stance, ready to fight.
“Wait!! Don’t fight him yet!”
“Huh?”
“This is the happiness you dream of?”
The replica made Neige enterwine in outside swivel, exposing him to everyone. 
Yuu didn’t know what to do. Blood was boiling in her vessels, fright accumulating within her heart. 
The counterpart wasn’t attacking them, much to Yuu’s surprise, but she was feeling with her whole body how a cold wind of worry chained Neige up, making him lose his calm. The replica was basically draining him out, hurting not physically, but verbally.
“What are you in the first place?” Che’nya asked, his magic pen appearing in the air. 
“I am Neige,” he answered with a grin on his face. “And Neige is me.”
“I’m tired of this shit,” the blue-eyed boy spitted. 
“As I’ve mentioned, don’t fight him yet—”
“And what? Are we going to simply watch Neige getting hurt mentally? He’s my friend, I can’t just let it be like that!”
“Friend?..” Neige’s eyes glowed in a soft light hue. 
“That’s right, you dummy, and I’m rescuing your ass right now, please bear with it!” He pointed the tip of his magic pen at the replica, ignoring his suspicious grin and Yuu’s scream.
The boy accumulated burning flames, and Yuu started panicking rather obviously.
Fairy Godmother, what do I do?! She questioned herself, knowing she was lacking the knowledge of performing battles. She didn’t need it in the first place, her main occupation was intelligence work of mind and brains, not attacking spells or whatsoever!!
Che’nya jumped in front of her, his moves resembling those of a cat, and grabbed the boy’s hand, but it was too late—a fire spell flew out of the tip of his magic pen, heading straight to the counterpart.
“STOP!!”
Yuu was ready to throw herself at the spell to prevent the scarlet-Neige from burning to ashes, but Neige himself interfered, casting a water shot, which led to flames die out and burst in a steam cloud.
“Don’t fight,” Neige said, realizing how weak his body turned, hands shuddering and head spinning. “Ugh… I hate to see people being so unhappy…”
“Dude, are you out of your mind?!” The boy threw out his pen, getting closer to Neige and grabbing his shoulders. “I could have burnt you!.. I!..”
“This is why,” Neige forced a smile. “I told you to not fight.”
“But that thing…”
“He’s not causing any harm, is he?”
Everyone remained silent, when Neige felt the boy’s grip on his shoulder loose, and raised up, turning to his replica.
“You too… Please calm down. I don’t want my friends to get hurt.”
“Friends?” The replica chuckled. “You know yourself you have no friends at all.”
Neige hissed at a pain blossoming in his chest due to the words he said so easily.
The words which appeared to be the bitter truth.
“You bastard! Neige is our friend!” The boy threw himself straight to the counterpart, grabbing his collar.
“Do you know his pain?” 
“Huh?” 
“Do you know his struggles? What he truly feels? What lies on the depths of his heart when he—”
“Enough!”
Neige gathered his last powers, drawing his magic pen right to where his heart was, and lowered his gaze. 
“I hate seeing you all screaming, shouting, assuming things about me!!” He blurted out, shutting his eyes closed. “Why would all of you know when I’m the one who doesn’t know a thing about myself!!”
“NEIGE!”
Yuu has had enough. The blood in her head was pounding with a force she wished to begone. Neige’s tears dropping on the wooden floor of the stage were startling, she couldn’t think straight, not knowing what to do.
The counterpart wasn’t fighting at all, watching all this exciting drama unfolding before him, yet something concerning flashed in his eyes whenever Neige was talking on the wedge of bursting into cries and screams. 
So he did care about his… origin vessel? 
But why would he tantalize him verbally, throwing right at the edge of his mental stability, and then drag him out of it just ever so slightly? 
“A-ah…” Neige looked up at everyone, staring at the pure fear and confusion on their faces, and a shadow of insanity covered his eyes. “I-I’m scaring you out… No… Please don’t be upset with me.”
“We won’t!!” The boy screamed. “Why would you even think like that?!”
“STOP SCREAMING!!” 
Everything turned into a mess. 
“Right…” Neige smiled. “If you’re unhappy, then I shall just bestow happiness for you.”
“You— What?”
“Don’t you dare!”
Neige laughed and parted his lips.
“Your sorrow is a crime, pay for it in the form I call salvation. With a smile and a song.”
The world has gone blank white. Yuu’s heart was bursting with strange sensations she had never experienced before, and when she finally dared to open her eyes, an indescribable picture upfolded before her.
The blue-eyed boy was giggling and crying out of joy, or so it seemed, and Che’nya was grinning cheerfully, while Neige’s counterpart stood with his mouth shut, but the mask on his face crumbled, revealing a soft gaze of his still swirled and pupils depraved eyes.
“W-what is that feeling?!”
“Neige, you…” Che’nya mumbled. 
“What happened?!”
“Ah,” Neige sighed. “Now you are all happy. I’m so glad no one is suffering… No one is upset…”
“Che’nya-san…” Yuu whispered, touching her chest and feeling unwell. “What is that?”
“His unique magic,” Che’nya explained. “Though I’m not entirely sure of how exactly it works.”
“What have you done? What for? Did you want to exhaust yourself to death? Do you want to die out of fear and misery they all have been carrying?!”
They all have been carrying?..
Yuu stood up, closing her eyes for a moment. Wait.
“Neige…” Yuu mumbled, getting slightly closer to Neige and his counterpart. “Don’t tell me you deprived us of our negative emotions and took them to yourself.”
A forced artificial smile served as his answer before he collapsed on the floor.
“You…”
“Are you disappointed too, Yuu?” He asked her, chuckling. “I knew it. It’s not enough to make you happy, I don’t know you enough… But my acting was flawless, yet you always looked at me with such a strong remorse in your eyes. I’m not good enough, I—”
“Ah really, in the name of Snow White, shut up!”
Yuu felt her emotions mixing altogether, happiness and woe submerging into one holistic entity, and couldn’t stand this drama any longer.
The slap that landed on Neige’s cheek rang like a tinkling whip throughout the entire amphitheater, forcing everyone into a frantic silence.
“Did you just…”
“Happy this, happy that!” Yuu exclaimed, rage burning in her eyes. “Can you please be a little more honest with yourself?!”
“You little…” His counterpart rose up, clapping his hands, and threads of fishing lines appeared behind Yuu's back.
“Yuu!!”
“Want me to be happy?” Yuu chuckled. “Great, then become happy yourself first! I don’t need your feigned trickery!”
The threads twitched behind her back, stretching and becoming noticeably sharper, glinting with a metallic sheen in the moonlight, and rushed straight to Yuu’s back.
“Yuu!” Che’nya shouted, throwing himself straight to her, but she outstretched her hand, signaling him to stop that instant. “You idiot, if you think first years magic is strong enough to stop him, then you’re—”
“I don’t know a thing about your magic. Á ettula, wilwarin.”
It was as if a storm had reigned in the amphitheater. A golden whirlwind swallowed Yuu, emitting a dazzlingly bright, somewhat painful light for the eyes. The voices were drowned in the flutter of the wings, and a moment later the whirlwind dissipated, revealing an unharmed Yuu.
“What the hell…” The blue-eyed boy muttered. 
“I don’t know either,” Che’nya added. “But it’s indeed not our magic at all.”
“What did you…”
“How peculiar,” Yuu said, the tip of her magic wand glowing in gold, butterflies glueling to her body. “Why all this one-man theatre when you had no intention of harming me in the first place?”
“What do you mean?!” Che’nya ran toward her, but she looked at him strictly, condescending with her look. 
“That.”
Yuu pointed to the stage decorations being cut in half, floating around with the butterflies’ help, preventing the stage from destroying completely.
“I wasn’t his target,” she concluded. “Neither of us were. He did it to scare us.”
“... Hahaha,” the counterpart laughed. “You little woman. How very interesting.”
“I don’t care if you won’t hurt us anymore. Doesn’t matter if you care about Neige or not, when you’re clearly not letting him go for some reason. And for that you’ll perish.”
“Perish?! Yuu, are you out of your mind?!”
“I might be with all that mess I’ve had enough witnessing for quite a time by now.”
“... She’s right,” the blue-eyed boy agreed, standing up and getting closer to her. “Let’s beat the shit out of this bastard!”
“You guys…” Che’nya sighed. “Alright, but I’m not covering your asses in case we’re doomed when the headmaster knows about this~”
“We’ll discuss it later,” Yuu said. “Please be careful. I don’t your spells, and you don’t mine. I’ll cover you in case you can’t dodge the attack.”
“Hmmm, is that so? Great then, amuse me.”
“Forest strike!” Che’nya shouted, a tangle of thorny vines formed at the tip of his magic pen, and he then shot it at the replica. 
The copper-haired boy nodded, accumulating flames and sending it straight to the tangle.
“Flame blast!” He exclaimed, and after the flames were released, he added a wind to accelerate the spell. “Wind shot!”
Yuu watched their work, and threw a quick glance at the scarlet-Neige, gasping at once. He was dragging Neige out of the spell range, and spread out his arms towards the spell, smiling maliciously. 
“WAIT, CANCEL IT!!”
“WE CAN’T?!”
Yuu shuddered, using her inhuman speed, and materialized before the spell, golden butterflies breaking in bright sparkling fragments.
“YUU?!”
“HAHAHA!”
She fell straight on the counterpart, jumping on her foot and witnessing blood on his chest and her shoulders. 
“Yuu?!” Che’nya shouted. “Why did you?!..”
“Are you freaking nuts?!” The boy blurted. “And what’s with those butterflies anyway?!”
“He wasn’t even protecting himself!!” Yuu screamed, twirling the magic wand between her fingers. “He’s only protecting Neige!”
“I don’t care about you all, pathetic humans,” he laughed. “You, on the other hand, are not even slightly concerned about your so-called friend.”
“What do you mean by that?!”
“S-stop… fighting…” Neige, who regained consciousness, coughed into his fist. 
“Neige!” Yuu exclaimed, raising her wand, but the counterpart casted a spell she never knew about before.
Myriads of puppets materialized in the air, and Neige, gasping, outstretched his hand to protect everyone, but the counterpart enveloped him in a tight embrace.
“I am thou,” he whispered, but Yuu managed to hear him. “Thou art I. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”
“By hurting us you’re hurting Neige himself!” 
After saying that, Yuu dodged some of the puppets' attacks and waved her magic wand, summoning swarms of ice blue butterflies surrounding her, and four walls of ice appeared, countering the attack and making puppets break.
“Ugh!..”
“Don’t. You even dare.” Yuu reappeared right before Neige and his counterpart, grabbing the last one’s collar and gazing straight in his eyes. “To ruin my rescue of Neige.”
“Rescuing?..”
“You said you’re Neige, and Neige is you.” Ice blue butterflies disappeared, leaving a blizzard after them. “Then how in the world didn’t you manage to reach consensus?” 
“She’s right, you little shit,” The blue-eyed boy went to them, welcoming Neige in his comforting embrace, to which the exhausted boy only released a sigh. “We don’t want to harm Neige, you don’t want to harm Neige. We consider us his friends, you consider yourself his friend. Now what the hell is happening now?”
“Do we really need to fight in the first place?” Che’nya added. “From what I see, emotions are what actually messed all this up.”
“I am…” The replica took a deep breath before speaking. “His other side. The side he desired the most, but what was actually sleeping underneath.”
“What…” Neige furrowed his brows. “But it can’t be… I’m Edelwiese’s dorm leader, following  The Fairest Princess’ Gentleness. No way you are being a part of me.”
“Think about the times where you were pissed off to the point you wouldn’t even remember the gentleness you’re so fond of. That crazy girl was following you for what, a year or two by now? You really think I wouldn’t form from those wicked feelings in your heart?”
“I…”
“Oh, and the times people always compare you to Vil Schoenheit.”
“But Vi-kun—”
“He’s amazing, cool, dignified, and blah-blah-blah, do you really think you can conceal all those from me?”
“Neige,” Yuu interfered. “You… should accept that all of those things he’s saying are a part of you. All of those—this replica, your feelings, your hidden thoughts and sorrows—are all you.”
“She’s right,” the counterpart nodded. “I took a physical form only because you went to the very edge.”
Yuu felt how her magic flow tingled, but decided to remain silent at the moment. 
“So you are really him,” the blue-eyed boy smiled.
“No,” Neige giggled softly. “He is really me.”
“Indeed,” the scarlet-Neige nodded. “Don’t forget about it ever again.”
A cluster of bright stars began to surround his silhouette, emitting a gentle, calm light. And right before Neige outstretched his hand to bid a farewell, Yuu’s scream cut through the idyll.
A whirlwind of pink butterflies glued to the replica’s body, consuming it, as if devouring a supper, and the next second Yuu widened her eyes, all trembling in Che’nya’s embrace.
“M-my butterflies,” she shuddered. “T-they are… T-they are scarlet!!”
The counterpart smiled at Neige, finally finding peace, and both Neige and Yuu fell unconscious, the screams of the boy and Che’nya distancing further and further with every second.
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“I expect nothing else than perfect the next time. You have disappointed me.”
Yuu opened her eyes slowly, witnessing a boy with golden eyes sitting under a tree in the woods and crying.
“I’m scared.”
Yuu approached the boy, recognizing young Neige in him, and tried touching his shoulder, but her hand went through him.
“I don’t want to do anything.”
“I don’t want to act anymore.”
“Will people acknowledge me if I smile?”
“Or should I win an award?”
“But there are so many…”
“I don’t want to—...”
“I’m scared of death.”
“Why is there an aching hole in my chest? Why do I feel so lonely? I wanted nothing but everyone's happiness… Now why… Why do all the people demand impossible things from me?”
“And with everyone neglecting me… Did I not make them happy enough?”
“Tell me, please.”
“At least someone.”
“Is there a way to make
Everyone
Happy?”
Yuu closed her eyes, feeling how the brightness hurt, and slowly opened them to see Neige standing near the entrance to an auditorium, and almost rushed over to him, but then his classmates' words were heard.
“He’s pathetic.”
“Yeah, good for nothing.”
“Honestly, how are there so many girls stanning him?”
“For real, Vil’s more sexy and mature, he knows how fuckable he is.”
“Can’t believe there are people who like innocent naive guys lmao.”
“Right, did you hear that he got the exam answer sheets because he paid for them?!”
“NO WAY…”
“Actually I thought about it long ago, I know the guy who saw him bribing Aell.”
“THAT’S CRAZY”
“I know right??”
“He’s a total shit.”
Yuu approached Neige who apparently couldn’t see her, and a tear ran down his cheek.
“They’re unhappy,” he whispered to himself before pronouncing an incantation.
“Wait, I suddenly feel so light…”
“Me too… Damn I feel like I can do anything right now!!”
“Good morning, everyone.”
Neige entered the classroom, people quick to pull on smiles on their faces and greet him cheerfully.
“Good morning, buddy! How’s the movie? I heard you won another award!”
“Ha-ha, yes, but…”
“Dude you’re AMAZING!! Be proud of yourself!”
“T-thank you…”
His reply was a bitter smile.
…But I never wanted to win it in the first place.
I want to cry.
I want to run away.
I don’t want anything.
The world’s crumbling.
Then why am I… Myself not being happy at all?
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“Ah, my little Sprites!!”
Neige slowly opened his eyes, finding himself on a… flower bed?
Many beautiful flowers he has never seen surrounded him, a bright and melodic voice was heard nearby.
He stood up, noticing a lady in a beautiful dress and a dark cape.
Anthracite dark starry sky upfolded above his head, and Neige gasped at the extraterrestrial beauty of the place.
“Yuu?!” 
He shouted her name, and the girl turned to where he was, but appeared to be completely confused.
“I think I heard someone,” she said, funny creatures following her. “Mother is back?! Mother!..”
Mother?..
Neige wondered what Yuu’s mother would look like, but the girl frowned.
“Fairy Godmother?..”
Fairy… Godmother? 
Neige noticed Yuu wasn’t a human in the first place, but he surely knew nothing about her in general, other than the fact that her eyes were insanely enchanting, and the shade of red glowed beautifully. 
“Well… It appears it’s not the right time!” She smiled to herself, grabbing her magic wand and casting a whirl of sapphire butterflies.
“Now, little ones, please help me water the flowers. Hm-hm-hmmm~ What a nice evening it is! Or is it morning? I do wonder…”
Nothing was happening after that. 
Yuu was watering the flowers, then gracefully dancing around, singing a little in her tender voice, or just staring at the night sky, which never really changed, even the way stars were glowing remained absolutely static.
“I wonder… I really do wonder when you will come back, Mother.”
Neige parted his lips to pronounce an incantation and let her be free out of her worries at least for a moment, but she suddenly outstretched her hand, a pink butterfly landing on it, and Yuu smiled so bright that Neige went aghast.
“And until then I promise to become a better version of myself. No… I’ll become perfect, Fairy Godmother.
I’ll be waiting for you.”
And then the world went dark.
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The distant sound of familiar voices, the hasty clicking of heels and the blatant smell of alcohol forced Yuu to wince and slowly close her eyes.
“Ugh…”
“YOU’RE AWAKE!!”
Yuu blinked a few times before she saw Che’nya’s face bending over her, a familiar playful grin blossoming on it. 
“Huh?..”
“You idiot,” the copper-haired boy’s voice was heard on her left. “No, you’re insane. Absolutely crazy.” 
“Excuse me?..”
“Now now, don’t push it,” Che’nya giggled softly. 
“What happened? Where’s Neige?”
“In my arms.”
“Uh?”
Yuu turned her head, finding Neige cradled in the boy’s arms, though seeing something dark on his chest, while being held by Che’nya herself.
“U-uhm!!” She exclaimed. “I can walk!—”
“Hmm… Nyah,” he smiled. “Enjoy the moment. By the way, we’ve arrived.”
The boy knocked thrice before hearing an almost weightless ‘Come in’, and opened the door, letting Che’nya with Yuu in his hands enter first.
“Who even thought it would be a good idea to injure themselves at this hour— Oh.”
Yuu stood up slightly and gasped when she saw a man who appeared to be a nurse.
His frosty white hair was neatly tied up, and despite the short length, Yuu noticed how several strands of blue were woven into a braid that went behind his ear.
He calmly observed the company with his deep blue eyes, reminiscent of two ice floes, and the gaze from under his snow-white long eyelashes turned into a frosty, piercing, condemning and dissatisfied one.
“What happened? Those are not common injuries.” He put on a medical gown over his turquoise shirt and stood up from his chair.
“You are…” The nurse looked at Yuu, nodding to himself. “Yuu-san, right?”
“Y-yes,” she answered awkwardly, her throat aching as if after crying for some time. Why would it though? 
“Put her down here,” he commanded to Che’nya. “Oh, and you. Be extra careful with LeBlanche, his injuries look much worse.”
Yuu’s mind was covered with haze and incomprehension, so his words reached her ears with a slight delay.
“Injuries?!” She rose up on her elbows after Che’nya gently put her down. “But I made sure he—”
“Silence in the infirmary.”
“Yes sir.”
“Name’s Wyn,” the nurse replied before turning to Neige first. “Tell me what happened.”
Wyn started examining Neige’s body with torn pieces of his school jacket on it, putting it off and making Yuu turn away from the sight, even if the boy still was clothed enough to not reveal anything. 
The boys hesitated, making a summary of the events rather reluctantly, anticipating Wyn to scold them or even punish them for their reckless behavior—no one suggested calling for a teacher, after all. But to their surprise he was just nodding to all the things they said, and after completing the examination, he pulled the chair he was sitting on to Yuu’s side.
“Turn away, you two,” he demanded of Che’nya and the other boy. “Pull your shirt up to chest level.”
Yuu bit her lip in embarrassment, but followed his instructions. Wyn’s touches wasn’t uncomfortable, if Yuu could trust her own body, given she hadn’t an experience like this before.
“How are you feeling?” Wyn asked Yuu, starting to palpate her stomach after she lowered her shirt. The cold of his fingers sent shivers down her spine. “They say you’ve fainted.”
“I am alright,” Yuu said. “How’s Neige?”
“How should I put it…” He lowered his voice. “I haven’t seen it happening since…”
“Huh?”
“Nevermind, we’ll have a talk about this tomorrow,” he shook his head. “You said he was never injured in the first place, but…You see, his chest is burnt slightly. Could have been worse if Yuu-san didn’t throw herself under the attack.”
“Does it mean,” Che’nya assumed. “That he was connected with his counterpart in a physical way, too?”
“Correct,” Wyn nodded. “Any harm caused to the replica is transferred to LeBlanche himself, though only after the counterpart is gone.”
“S-so,” Yuu exhaled sharply. “When we threw a fire spell right into the replica…”
“Yes, Neige fainted because of the pain being delivered abruptly and at once. I’m not sure about mental damage, given he was mentally unstable before,” Wyn sighed. “I wonder if he visited Prospero at least once…”
“Will he be okay?” Yuu asked.
“Physically, yes, he’s under my watch now, after all. As for his mental state, it will be a long long process of making him at least more stable. But he will get better.”
“I’m so glad…”
“Listen, Yuu-san,” Wyn turned to her, placing pills in her hands and providing her with a cup of warm water. “Drink it. You will recover in no time, but as for Neige, I need to take some ingredients from storage in the alchemy room. I’ll go get the pills I need and come back shortly, understood?”
“Yes sir,” she nodded.
“You two,” he said to the copper-haired boy and Che’nya. “Stay here until I come back.”
“Okay, nya.”
Wyn went out of the infirmary, leaving the company. 
Yuu looked down, not knowing what to say. Her job was done, Neige was saved, and despite a ton of unresolved issues, she did feel some relief, and yet something pricked her heart.
“Uhm, so…” The blue-eyed boy cleared his throat and looked straight at Yuu.
She was finally able to get a closer look at him after only seeing him in the distance. A scattering of cinnamon freckles adorned his cheeks and his smooth, straight nose. Plump lips were bitten from worry and covered with cracks. His huge blue eyes looked into hers without any embarrassment, as if trying to absorb every detail of her face, and burned with undisguised interest.
“R-right!” She encouraged him to continue. “I’m really sorry I don’t know your name…”
“It’s Elias!” He announced cheerfully. “Second year student.”
“I’m Yuu,” she smiled at him. “Very pleased to meet you.”
“What a rhyme,” he giggled. “Thank you for rescuing Neige, Yuu!”
“You helped me a lot… Che’nya-san, too!”
“You’re my dear underclassmen, nya~ I did only what I should have.”
“Right,” Yuu said. “Che’nya-san showed me the way, but Elias, what were you doing there?”
“Ah, ahaha, well…” He smiled sheepishly. “I was busy rescuing myself from Emery~”
“H-how come?..”
“Y’know, I don’t like sitting around doing nothing,” he chirped. “I’m pretty restless, hence constant exploring. I thought that I’ve never really transported to the amphitheater before, so the thought randomly popped up in my mind, and I decided to give it a go. And you know what happened after.”
Yuu and the guys talked for a total of half an hour until Vin arrived and began preparing medicine for Neige. After all the treatment procedures were completed, he sent Che’nya and Elias to their dormitories, giving them official leave for the next day.
Yuu was asked to stay at the first aid station until the morning.
For a couple of hours she stared at the ceiling, listening to Neige’s steady breathing on the next bed, and tried to reconstruct the chain of events.
She was almost tuned in to the higher train of thought, but sudden rustles forced her to turn her head to the left, noticing how Neige sleepily rubbed his eyes.
“Good morning,” she greeted him.
“Uh?.. Uhm… Yuu?”
“Yes, this is me. Hello, Neige.”
“Yes, hello… Where are we?”
“In the infirmary,” Yuu tucked the blanket closer to her face. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” He concluded, chuckling. “Deadly tired. But also better than before.”
“Neige, I… I am very sorry I haven’t noticed anything before. I could have prevented all this…”
“Ha-ha,” he laughed and coughed out ashes, much to his surprise, but shrugged it off, despite Yuu’s concerned noise. “We’re quite alike.”
“Yes?..”
“Just as I’ve mentioned it before… You’re very kind, Yuu.”
“No, I was just doing my—”
“Yuu… thank you.”
Yuu went silent, waiting for Neige to continue.
“I don’t really like to talk about myself, but…”
“You don’t have to. It is okay.”
“No,I really want to do it now,” he smiled. “I should let people know how I feel at least once. I want to be egoistic at least for one minute.”
“Alright then,” Yuu turned to him slowly, feeling her damaged shoulder aching, which she ignored. “I’ll gladly listen.”
“I’m very grateful… Well… I’m not really fond of expressing my emotions in real life due to acting. I must maintain the theatrical character, the role of someone who’s never bothered, never angry. I must be perfect.”
Perfect.
Yuu was familiar with his words, knowing exactly how it felt when you wanted to be perfect, but was experiencing reversed emotions in your heart.
“But it all started way before I became an actor. In my childhood, people always craved for more. I was quite… convenient as a child.” 
“You’re saying that as if you weren’t a human being…”
He only smiled coldly at her statement.
“First it all started with little tasks in the village I grew up in. I was quite handy, always helping here and there. But then small tasks slowly grew into bigger ones, and in the end I was afraid of disappointing people with my immaturity. I thought, what if I don’t accomplish the task right in time? But I had ten other tasks like that. It was accumulating somewhere in my heart, but I still thought that maybe… It was my destiny — to make people happy with my achievements.”
“But Neige,” Yuu interrupted. “Why did you decide that they were happy with your deeds?”
“You know how my unique magic works by now, right? I can transfer joyful feelings in return for their sorrows. It awakened back then, when I realized that when people smile at me, they’re happy with me. And if they’re happy with me, then I’m valid. If they don’t smile, then I’m disappointing them.”
“I understand your point, but… How is that your fault? Moreover, you do realize people can’t always smile and be happy every second of their lives, right?”
Yuu found herself at awe about her own words. How funny it must be—for her to say that.
She never knew the feeling of realizing the purpose of her own life. Other than saving princesses—and now Neige, too—she had no other aim.
“Yuu…” Neige whispered after a short pause. “Do you think I can be a little more egoistic from now on?”
She looked at him straight into his eyes, a gentle smile forming on her face.
“Ah, what am I saying!!” He gasped suddenly. “I must follow The Fairest Princess’ Gentleness and—”
“Of course you can,” she interrupted. “You’re a human. And well, I’m not the one who can decide that anyway, right?”
“Ha-ha, I guess that is true… Thank you.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Mhm… Also, your magic is so cool!!” He tried leaning on his elbows and rising up a little, but the pain pierced him through, making him fall on the bed and Yuu gasp in fear. “I’m ok! But really, how did you do that?”
“That?..”
“Those butterflies were amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it! I mean, magic is all about visualization, but this is the first time I’m seeing someone operating their thoughts in such a creative way.”
“I think…” Yuu exhaled. “Since you’ve been honest to me, I must reciprocate. It’s because my magic isn’t like yours. In fact, I don’t know a thing about it.”
Neige remained silent for a moment before chuckling softly.
“Could you please summon a butterfly for me?”
“Oh, sure. Á ettula, wilwarin.”
A pink butterfly formed from sparkling light, and flew straight to Neige, fluttering its wings on his nose.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “Does it have a name?”
“Name?.. Not really…” Yuu replied, staring at the butterfly dancing around. “There are many of them. It was hundreds last time I checked, maybe there are thousands or so. To be honest… I don’t even know why I am summoning butterflies.”
“Summoning,” he echoed. “Not creating.”
“They are living beings. They’re my friends.”
“Friends…” Neige repeated with a slight sadness in his voice before gazing at Yuu. “Yuu. Please answer me.”
“Hm?”
“Are we… friends?”
Friends was a strange concept to Yuu, who heard this word not once, yet it felt so incredibly far away from where her mind could reach. 
Snow White also called Yuu her friend, but there was something natural, genuine and warm in the way that Neige asked.
“Yes, we’re friends.”
“Then I’m glad.”
His eyes gradually closed, and soon a soft sniffling sound was heard, signaling that he had fallen back into a restful sleep.
Friends…
Yuu watched the dawn penetrate through the windows with its caring, enveloping rays, healing wounds both physical and mental.
She rescued the ‘Princess’, made a friend…
And now it was time for her to turn back home.
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★﹒﹒NOTES
✧˖ The Venerable Seven — an allusion to the Great Seven.
✧˖ Á ettula, wilwarin — 'Come forth, butterfly' in quenya language.
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© yunarim 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.
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prince-kallisto · 7 months
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Lost in the Book with Stitch Ending (& the Blue Fairy??)
The ending of the Stitch event through me for a loop. Although I think it may be a tie in to the Book 7 dream themes, it was such an odd ending with very little explanation. Perhaps the book will be involved for future events, but no one remembers anything, nor did we see the book again once it closed.
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I thought my theory that the book belonged to Ambrose (and was snuck into the NRC library by Chenya) was possible, but the ending didn’t answer a single question about the book. (Credit to Ekala on YouTube for these screenshots and translations!!)
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However, the last shots we got of the book gives me some material to work with 🤔 The entire event seems to be captured in this book, with a mixture of writing and photos. There’s even an explicit “the end.” This is very sus to me lmao, especially knowing that the book can take you to another world. Why would the book record all these events?
Edit: A lot of the classic Disney movies start the story by opening a book with the title of the movie on it. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio etc. Even more suspicious 🤨
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However, I don’t think this specific story can be seen again. The book cover changes with the location, see? So I’m assuming that once the book goes back to a plain cover, the Stitch story and the photos will disappear. It’s still in the book, but it just won’t be visible anymore. I’m also assuming that when there’s no image on the book cover, the pages are blank. (This book feels very Ever After High lmaoo)
But what interests me is how aged the book is. A lot of modern book pages are made to be more protected against the elements, but older books tends look browned or yellowed because of their long time exposure to light, oxygen, and or humidity. The reddish edges of the book also appear to be a sign of this. The cover is pristine looking, likely due to its magic, but the inside reveals its age. Hm. I still feel confident about the book belonging to Ambrose due to this factor. Since Ambrose is the 63rd, the book may have been passed down his family.
But what REALLY caught my eye was the sparks of BLUE magic when the book closed. Blue??
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I’m not an expert of Disney media lmao, but I can’t immediately think of a character who’s magic was blue. Merryweather, one of the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty, comes to mind, but it doesn’t make sense that green and red magic from Flora and Fauna wouldn’t show up either.
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Next what comes to mind is Merlin, who Ambrose is based off of. He seems a lot more likely, one because of Ambrose, and two because of Merlin’s signature blue color. Ever when he transformed into various animals in Sword of the Stone, he would still be blue. What troubles me though is the color of his magic. It consists of various colors in the shapes of stars, but not blue. Red and green are most commonly seen in his magic aura.
Maybe I’m overthinking this haha, but TWST is fairly consistent with the colors of magic. The Light Trio (Silver, Kalim, and Rook) has light magic, so no matter their spell element, it appears as light. Regular magic seems to show up as white sparkles, with the exception of Malleus and his green fireflies. So blue magic seems significant.
But then I remembered about the newest event announced with two next characters that are likely based off Honest John and Gideon- who are from Pinocchio.
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Pinocchio has the Blue Fairy, and the confirmation of Honest John and Gideon brings the possibility of the Blue Fairy as a character.
In the song, When You Wish Upon A Star, the Blue Fairy is referred to as “Fate.” She can take on different forms, including a wishing star and a dove. She can even give a wooden puppet life. She also has BLUE magic.
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All the characters were essentially “wishing” for a beach event, weren’t they? And the book granted their wish, even if they lost their memories in the end. And despite the memory loss, they all made to agreement to visit the beach together during summer vacation. So not only did they experience their wish, they likely made it come true in the real world as well. This feels very familiar to the Blue Fairy’s actions, who guides Pinocchio but is also hands-free in his fate. She gave him not only an opportunity, but a choice, which is powerful on its own.
Perhaps this book is a creation of the Blue Fairy herself? (Or maybe she’s inside the mirror on the book cover LMAO this is a common crack theory of mine)
The mystery remains, so feel free to help me out here !! (゚´ω`゚)゚。 The last shots of the book definitely helped, but I’m still a little disappointed that there was never a clear ending and answer
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scarisd3ad · 7 months
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Doctor duties
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part of the 'to the end and back' series (Daryl Dixon x reader)
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Summary - reader doing her doctor duties while at the quarry
Warnings - none
era - quarry (season one)
edited
All my medical equipment is set up on a table near Dale's parked RV. I've got a little fold-up table and two chairs set up. Glenn had brought the folding chairs and table on a run a while back because 'the doctor shouldn't have to do her duties on the ground.' no matter how often I tell Glenn that I'm not a doctor, he still calls me 'doc.'
I don't get many illnesses in the group, but there are a lot of cuts, bruises, and injuries. "Hey, doc, can you check this out for me?" Shane asks as he walks over and sits in the chair across from me. "sure," I say as he puts his arm up onto the table, revealing a nasty cut. It's deep, and he'll probably need stitches.
 "how'd this happen?" I ask as I take some alcohol on a cotton pad and dab it across the cut. "Out on a run for water, cut myself up on a fence post," he says with a hiss as the alcohol hits his wound. "Sorry, sorry," I mutter as I grab some gauze, a needle, and some thread. "you're probably gonna need stitches, though." I clean the needle with some alcohol before threading the needle. "Alright, this is probably gonna hurt. I'm sorry," I say before stabbing the needle through his skin.
Shane hisses as he grips the plastic table. "Ke-keep going," he mutters. I finish his stitches before wrapping it up with gauze and sending him on his way. "y/n! y/n! y/n!" Sophia runs up to my table with Carl trailing behind her. "What is it, soph?" she points to a band-aid barely sticking to her leg. "Can I have another?" she asks. I don't understand why kids are so obsessed with band-aids; the scratch on her shin is long gone and has been for a week. "sure," I say before reaching into the band-aid box and handing her one.
 Sophia and Carl run off again, leaving me to clean up the mess of blood left on the table after Shane's stitches. "Hey..." I look up to see Glenn standing there with a smile. I raise my eyebrow skeptically. "What do you want, dumbass?" I mutter as he sits in the chair across from me. "nothin' just wanted to say hi," I roll my eyes. "don't touch anything." Glenn raises his hands before laughing, "I won't, alright?" we sit there chit-chatting until we notice Daryl Dixon walking towards us.
Oh god, my heart speeds up. I'm scared of him and his brother everyone is. No one understands why either of them are staying with us; they are rarely at camp anyway. Merle is always out, raising havoc. Half the time, we don't know where the fuck he is. And Daryl is always out hunting; if he's not, he's telling nonsense stories about a chupacabra.
"Hey doc, need yer help." Daryl only asks for help if he really needs it. I gesture for Glenn to move while staring at him with pleading eyes, begging him not to leave me alone with him. "what's wrong?" I ask as Daryl takes a seat. "Just want ya to look at this scratch," he says, tapping a small, almost healed cut on his cheek. I nod and walk over to him, kneeling to look at it. It's small and still red, not any green color, so I quickly grab a cotton pad and some Neosporin. I squeeze some onto his cheek before dabbing it with the cotton pad. I sit there for a second with his chin in my hand. I can feel his breath against my face. He makes me so nervous, and I don't know why.
"We-well, it's not infected, so you're good," I whisper before pulling away from him. "Alright, that's good. I'll see ya later, I guess," he mutters before getting up and walking away. I look over to see Glenn sitting in my chair with his brows raised. "Move," I mutter as I swat at his shoulder. he laughs before getting up and taking his seat across from me. "What was that with Daryl?" he asks, my brows furrow. "I was doing my job," I whisper as I throw away the cotton pad and put the Neosporin back into my bag. "No, it looked like you were going to kiss him." my face scrunches up in disgust. "Gross why would I want to kiss Daryl Dixon?"
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lau219 · 3 months
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Red Carpet
Part 7
(formerly Part 4. Heavily edited. Please re-read if you read it when originally posted.)
Previous part here
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After what happened between them at the hotel, Lauren had completely avoided looking at or talking to Cillian while they rode with Maeve back to the agency. Cillian had felt an unfamiliar mix of regret, jealousy, and confusion, and he said nothing to Lauren as they parted ways outside of the building.
He knew he had hurt her, but he was still too on edge from the entire situation to say something. After giving Maeve her email address and a friendly hug, Lauren had met his eyes briefly before saying a final goodbye to Maeve and walking to her car.
Since then, Lauren had made herself scarce, and they’d only communicated via text. She simply had told Cillian the dates and times of his next few commitments, and when he’d replied to confirm and then ask her if they could meet up at her office to go over some things, she’d said no.
She’d told him that she wouldn’t be there, due to Sharon wanting her to handle some events for another client. Guessing that she was avoiding him, Cillian had stopped by the agency anyway, but she hadn’t been there. However, unaware of the situation, Sharon had revealed that Lauren had asked for a couple of days off, and then had volunteered to attend a few promotional events for another client for the remainder of the week.
When Lauren had texted him again with another update to his schedule, she’d confirmed that she’d be at a meeting with him the following week. But based on how distant and to-the-point she’d sounded in her messages, Cillian had decided that he’d wait until then to try and speak to her.
It was Friday when Cillian agreed to meet up with a friend for lunch at a restaurant near the agency. After sitting down, their attention was drawn to the entrance as a small group of people came in, chatting loudly.
As they spread out at the bar to order drinks, Cillian was surprised to see Lauren among them. She was laughing, her smile infectious as she reached out and hugged several of the others in her group. They talked animatedly, and Cillian watched as she showed affection and warmth towards her friends.
While he and Lauren were always engaged in a sarcastic back and forth, he knew from the countless times he’d observed her that she was like this the other 95% of the time. It was only around him that she became the fiery, mouthy little thing that she was. Now, suddenly, that fact bothered him, because while he was always very much amused with the version of her that he got, he found himself wanting to experience this version of her, too.
He could just imagine what it’d be like to get her that way – warmed up, sweet, and submissive. He could do a lot with that. The thought that she’d never offered that side of herself to him suddenly bothered him, never mind the fact that it was his own fault.
“Which one?” Eric spoke up, breaking through Cillian’s thoughts as he followed his gaze towards the bar. Quickly, he realized who he was looking at.
“Lauren?” he said, surprised. “I thought you two hated each other? Alex has told me some pretty crazy shit about you two.”
Cillian always forgot that Eric’s sister worked with Lauren at Sharon’s office. He had no idea what she did there, but he’d seen her around. Apparently, she liked to talk, and Cillian didn’t have the energy or desire to explain or correct anything she’d told Eric. It was no one’s business but his and Lauren’s.
“Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the view,” Cillian replied to him, faking nonchalance, before turning back to the table. He wanted to talk to her, but he wasn’t going to do it here.
“I don’t blame you,” Eric agreed, looking down at his menu, “she’s something else. And those tits of hers are brilliant.”
Cillian suddenly had the urge to jam his steak knife into Eric’s hand.
After a few moments, a bunch of noise came from the bar as the bartender lined up shot glasses and began filling each one. After everyone in the group had taken their shot, several of the women released ear piercing squeals.
“Jesus,” Cillian muttered.
“It’s her birthday,” Eric said by way of explanation.
Cillian looked up.
“Whose?” he replied.
“Lauren’s. Alex mentioned they were taking her out today. Tonight, too. I guess Sharon is funding some big thing at the bar on Kearney Street. Giving her a birthday slash promotion party.”
Cillian didn’t reply, staying silent. It was her birthday? She’d been promoted? How did he not know any of this?
“Apparently, a bunch of people from the agency are going. Half of them probably don’t even know who Lauren is, but word got around about the party, and no one’s gonna pass up the chance at free booze,” Eric continued. He then looked at Cillian. “You wanna go? I’ve got nothing better to do tonight.”
Ordinarily, Cillian would have given a quick and hard pass. Just the thought of being around all those ditzy, shrieking women in some overcrowded bar made him wince. But before he knew it, he found himself agreeing. He looked at Lauren again.
She happened to look over at the same time, and they briefly made eye contact. She raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised to see him, before turning back to the bar.
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After leaving the restaurant, Cillian was unlocking his car when he got a text message. Looking at his phone, he saw it was from Eric.
“Check your email.”
Cillian leaned against the car as he opened his inbox. At the top of the folder, he saw that Eric had forwarded him a thread of messages. As he scanned the screen for the original sender and recipient, he saw that it was an exchange between Alex and Lauren. He wondered how Eric had gotten it.
Alex: Hey, that photographer from the shoot the other day came by looking for you. He mentioned that he thought you and Murphy got in some sort of argument while you were there. What happened?
Lauren: Jesus, Alex, can you ever have a conversation with someone without immediately gossiping?
Alex: He’s the one who brought it up! So what happened? Was he giving you a hard time again?
Lauren: No, it was nothing.
Alex: Yeah, right. I’ve seen how he’s acted toward you in the past. I still can’t believe Sharon is making you work with him. How can you stand it?
Lauren: He’s not so bad.
Alex: Look, he may be my brother’s friend, but I’ve got no attachment to the guy. What do you say we start a little bad publicity?
Lauren: You realize Sharon is his publicist, right?
Alex: So? I have a media post ready to go; just say the word.
Lauren: Absolutely not. Alex, you better not do anything stupid.
Alex: Oh come on! They’ll never know it was us.
Lauren: NO.
Alex: Why are you not on board with this?!
Lauren: Because it’s juvenile and unprofessional. Besides, he and I may not always see eye to eye, but he’s not a bad person. He doesn’t deserve it; you’re being cruel.
Alex: 🙄
Lauren: I mean it, Alex, don’t do it.
Alex: Ok, ok.
After noticing the date on Lauren and Alex’s emails, Cillian looked up from his phone, shocked. Their conversation had taken place several days after his recent interviews. Clearly, Lauren had convinced Alex to pull the plug on her idea, as nothing bad had come out about him. Not that he even cared; that kind of fake bullshit came with the territory. But Lauren had defended him in a way he never would have expected after what had happened at the hotel. Why?
He was going to find out.
Tonight.
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