#is there still interest out there for ghost scar? i kinda wanna try continuing it.. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

teamsarawatshusband · 3 years

Text

Word Of Honor - 1st watch insta thoughts - Episode 7

Here's my name overview, in case you're new to this: Zhou Zi Shu = Baby Zi Shu/ Zhou Xu lord guy/alcoholic tanned tragic hero lord guy; Wen Ke Xing = Smirky Xing/Smirky fan guy/Kissy Xing Gu Xiang = Purple Girl/my Purple Love/my Purple Queen Smirklord is my personal ship name for Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing.

Also, here are the previous episodes.

Before we get started, just FYI, I went back to have a look at the red masked ghost guys gang scene with nuts guy in episode 1, and it’s finally confirmed that it's 100% Kissy Xing, because, now that i've been hearing his laughter for some eps, I can't not recognize it. Actually, he’s not just part of the ghost gang, he’s their boss. :O

Okay, so that is settled.

Let’s move on to episode 7:

Luo Mansion. What is that? Where is that? Who are these people? There's one with a joker grin, and several with weirdly upturned eyebrows and darkened lips. Are they from the ghost gang?

And why is everything red, is this a wedding?

There's a white haired woman with long golden fingernails and she's referred to as tragicomic ghost.

Oh it IS a wedding. Something tells me this might not be a voluntary one... Maybe it's the amount of gagged people in cages who don't look joyful.

Is the gagged guy who's gonna get married unconscious magenta leader guy from when that other ghost lady dropped her face?

He's getting married to a memorial tablet? What?

Ah, back to more familiar people in familiar circumstances. Baby Zi Shu is drinking alcohol. Now this I recognize.

But he can't get more because somebody bought all the remaining bottles. Should I say that this has Kissy Xing written all over it?

Ooooh, the kid is there!!! With a-hole-uncle Shen and uncle Zhao. And the kid notices Baby Zi Shu right away, and thinks it's his master. He's better at recognizing people than I am, but he's mislead by Baby Zi Shu's lack of tan and scar. That's a shame. But he clearly misses his daaaaads! Awwwww.

Side note: I cannot stress enough how much I need to focus on not misspelling Baby Zi Shu’s name. I’ve typed Zi Shi, Zu Shi, Zu Shu, Zhu Si, Zhi Shu already... and now I almost typed “Baby Sushi”, because my brain is WEIRD. In case it happens in the future and I miss it, you have been warned. Maybe I should just go with Baby Sushi, because that one would be easiest to remember. I should also change my tumblr handle to “face-blind-and-name-stupid”.

Meh, back to the ghost gang wedding ceremony.

Whoever speaks dies. That would have been a good rule to know in advance, I guess.

So what's this list of the unfaithful? Is it like Santa's naughty and nice list?

Everybody who is unfaithful gets killed by white haired gold finger girl. Got it. Everybody who speaks gets killed too. This seems like such a shady set of rules, I bet more people get killed just for fun.

Ooooh, it's celebrity death match. But with friends of the groom.

I feel like this guy who says that the ghost folks never break a promise, while being a jerk, might be telling the truth.

:O WTH? Did a-hole-uncle Shen just seriously call our kid useless??? He just assumes that our kid is a liar??? The audacity!!! I feel so outraged on the entire fandom’s behalf.

Huh, the kid is eavesdropping on all of it. I feel so bad for him to having to hear this, but at the same time, I feel so proud of his spying nature. He's already picked up some of his adopted dads' talents.

Back to the wedding deathmatch. A red wedding indeed. Everybody's dead.

Two guys talking at Youyang sect, alright, whoever that is, I forgot. But, they have nice dragon decor. Ah the younger guy is the leader of Window of Heaven while the older guy with the mustache is the 5 lakes final boss. Top boss, I mean. I might be playing too many computer games, sorry. Anyway, so Youyang is 5 lakes, also confirmed by the pleated skirt soldiers around. K, k.

So, pretty heaven's window leader guy wants to get the scoop on the glazed armor situation.

Whoa, did mustache final boss guy just really say glazed armor is just a rumor? Does he think people are stupid? Even I know that it's not. Tsk. He makes Window of Heaven sound like a super power spy agency.

Everybody is after our poor kid. Ooooooooh, Baby Sushi is following the uncles plus kid through the bamboo woods. Nice. He won't let the kid get harmed, I'm sure.

There's a girl kid who looks kind of like TopTap (if you're familiar with Thai TV shows).

She seems nice, but... looks like they're just trying to get our kid out of the way to discuss stuff. Pfff, they always complain about him not knowing stuff, but how is he supposed to when he's constantly left out?

"The martial arts world won't be peaceful anymore" LOL, whut? It hasn't been peaceful from the start of the series. What is 5 lakes final boss guy even trying to say?

:O what? Baby Sushi wants to genuinely leave the kid there and thinks he's safe there?

Oh, he's onto the spy situation and Window of Heaven being involved. Cool, cool.

Aaaaand spontaneously kills a spy guy, k.

Wheeeeeeee Kissy Xing is back. Has also been following around. Nice nice.

Ah, the dead guy was from the scorpion gang. And both Baby Sushi and Kissy Xing know. Oh, so Window of Heaven is an assassin organization. Alright, the more you know. Okay!

He's so daring, talking about how everybody is after the glazed armor while wearing a piece of it openly over his clothes. And he keeps hinting at how much he knows about Baby Sushi but never outright says it.

It's always the same with those two. Kissy Xing points out how good a person he is and then flirts with Baby Sushi who then gives him the cold shoulder.

LOL, I love how the subtitles really translate EVERYTHING. A random note of Tofu Pudding, not plot relevant at all, but BAM in your FACE!

(joking aside: I am so grateful for all the subs and translations. Whoever is doing this stuff, you guys will always be my heroes. <3 )

Oh, somebody looked at them, and Baby Sushi recognized him? And Kissy Xing is like a marching band, stomping onto the scene, parading around with banners that say "Look at this glazed armor!" lol.

Ooooooh, Kissy Xing is in cahoots with the merchant lady. He's planned something. This is exciting. Seems like he's trying to set all parties up against each other: 5 lakes, scorpions, window of heaven and whoever else wants to participate.

Okay, so he let that spy guy steal his piece of glass on purpose, right? And it must be one of the fakes, I assume.

Oh, the heroes conference... I remember the name, but what was that again? Was it a 5 lakes thing? Anyway, Baby Sushi and Kissy Xing are gonna be there on uncle Zhao's invitation, alright.

See, when Kissy Xing calls the kid dumb, it kinda doesn't feel offensive to me. I don't know. It just doesn't. It's like somebody affectionately calling their pet dumb or something.

Waaah, there's another beautiful tree. Please don't burn it down this time.

There's some morse code thing going on with lots of people that I don't know. Everybody's drumming on stuff and passing along messages.

:O my Purple Queen. The love of my life. There she is. ahhhhhhhh. <3

She's also drumming on stuff, but I'm not sure it's code with her, might also just be frustration, lol.

There's a bunch of drunk guys and they're requesting the traditional DJ guy to put on some song that probably has explicit content or something, because he doesn't wanna play it.

:O they snatched his daughter from DJ guy! Right under the eyes of my Purple Queen. Ooooh, she's gonna clean up that place, lol.

Yup.

Yeah you show them! Heh.

Oh, she's got herself a fanboy. Who is he?

She still keeps drumming away on the dishes with her chopsticks. Hmm, maybe it is a code after all.

LOL, they're having this awkward conversation about double standards for guys and girls, and my Purple Queen is not having it. She is the best.

Not gonna lie, every time the series cuts back to smirklord, I get all excited.

Ok, Baby Sushi places some... nut or whatever on his chopsticks obviously some code, Kissy Xing watches and looks confused. Oh, and he almost gave away that he doesn't understand the code.

LOL, what is happening? Kissy Xing looks so pissed at my Purple Queen making friends with her fanboy.

Seriously, does he have some sort of beef with fanboy guy? LOL, won't even let the poor guy finish his meal. A+ in cockblocking.

Awwwww, and my Queen still gets it. Pinpointing smirklord in one sentence. Baby Sushi brings out Kissy Xing's humanity. And now he looks sad. It must be true.

Ahaha, "I will pay. A Xu, where is your wallet?" Comedic genius.

Oh, what a clever way to bring the subject to the "thief" guy. Man, Kissy Xing is GOOOOOOD at this. And Baby Sushi is so amused that he admits to knowing thief guy too.

My queen doesn't recognize Baby Sushi. Whaaaaat? I would have expected her to feel the sparks. Oh, wait, no, she does get it. Hehe. And Kissy Xing instantly has to praise his crush's appearance and beauty. Everything's alright again in the world.

LOL, the way she goes right in to touch him. No inhibition. No etiquette. And Baby Sushi is so surprised that he lets her, lol.

Ahaha, Kissy Xing has to stop her from touching his baby. Awww

XD, I can't deal with this. He even flat out asks why he's not allowed to touch.

And Baby Sushi replies with a compliment to my Queen and a rebuff for Kissy Xing. It's funny, but I do feel a little bad for Kissy Xing. He did not deserve that.

LOL, waiter guy wins quote of the day, "Can you all pay first? Then you can touch whomever you want, however you want." This episode is gold, man. Also, I'm all for the touching. Yes, touch each other. Go go.

Heh, nice. Baby Sushi threatens that the money is a loan and he'll expect interest. And Kissy Xing does not seem sad about owing him at all but goes and buys even more food. After all, owing Baby Sushi gives him reason to stay in touch, doesn't it?

Aww, why do they always end on smirklord scenes? I want more. :(

Okay, this was a really nice episode. I can't wait to continue.

What I learned: The ghost gang enjoys torturing people. Kissy Xing is definitely nuts guy (well not learned from this episode, but I still learned it). I need the kid to return to his dads because I miss their interaction, as does he. There's a famous thief wandering around and he stole Kissy Xing's fake Glazed Armor. The Heroes Conference is coming up.

Goals for future epsidoes: still to figure out how Kissy Xing and Baby Sushi know each other, understand the purpose and connections of the ghost gang and why Kissy Xing is part of them. Also, just generally, get to watch more smirklord interactions. ;)

#word of honor #1st watch insta thoughts #word of honor ep 07 #smirklord

12 notes · View notes

nelvana · 4 years

Text

In which they arrive at the guild

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which they travel to another continent Previous: In which the lake guardians arrive at the town

Damien was not pleased to be woken so early in the morning. He turned over and tried to just go back to sleep, but the rays of dawn seemed to just perfectly slice through his eyelids, forcing him to eventually give up and just get up.

Not too far away, he could see Tsuki rationing out breakfast for that morning. Alex, the ever earl riser, was nearby her, watching over her shoulder, but seemed to be letting her work on her own for the most part. Nelvana was with them as well, though she leaned tiredly against Alex’s shoulder, watching with lidded eyes. Damien felt a pang of pity; from what he gathered, Nelvana’s sleep was never the best to begin with, and Dusknoir joining the group had definitely halted any progress of a good night’s rest, considering he was what antagonized her in her nightmares.

Speaking of Dusknoir, Damien scanned over the group to find him next, and spotted him a bit off from the rest of the group, with Edgar talking to him again. Everyone else was still asleep, and seeing as the other three were occupied, evidently one of the two ghost-types in that conversation must have split off on purpose for some privacy. Despite that, Damien could see from where he was that Edgar was beginning to get restless again. He sighed. Edgar was trying so terribly hard to get Dusknoir to improve, but from what Damien could gather, it was like talking to a wall. Usually Edgar would rejoin everyone else, tenser than before he left, and without much progress made from what Damien could tell from Dusknoir’s attitude.

Sighing again, Damien got up and wandered over to the other two ghost-type pokemon. Already his ears rang with the conversation he had attempted to have with Dusknoir the day before, but he pushed that aside when he noted that there was again no glow from Edgar’s eye sockets.

“Alright, time out,” Damien spoke up, placing his hands together to make the shape of a “T” as he approached. “Edgar, how about you help the others with breakfast or somethin’? I can take things from here.”

Edgar jolted and spun back around to face the gengar at the sound of his voice, his red eye returning to his face at the sight of his friend, “oh, Damien! Good morning!” he greeted, though there was something hollow to his voice that wrenched at Damien’s heart. “Er, what do you mean? Dusknoir and I were just chatting…”

“Yeah, and it’s stressing you out. Whatever you were talking to him about, I’m sure I can help with it for a bit,” Damien replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “You’re usually talking to him about being a better person, right? I have a bit of experience with that. Just… Just go say hi to Nel or somethin’, I’m sure she could use a nice morning conversation.”

“I…” Edgar paused, hesitating. “You sure?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.”

“…okay, talk to you later Dusknoir!”

Despite his hesitance to leave, Edgar seemed quite hasty to go once given the excuse. He floated over to the other three that were awake and immediately seemed to spark a much more cheerful and comfortable conversation with them. Damien watched his friend go, allowing himself to smile a bit…

Dusknoir scoffed, “I’m just someone you can swap out people to have a conversation with?”

“In your case, kinda, yeah,” Damien responded, finding his smile leaving just as soon as it arrived. “So, what was it exactly that you two were talking about?”

Dusknoir straightened up at this question, though it took him a moment to properly form an answer.

“I am interested in… being included more,” he told him.

“Included more?” Damien repeated, “like what? You wanna talk more in conversations? We tried that and you would shut everyone down. What changed?”

“I have begun to see the beauties of this timeline,” Dusknoir admitted, “and… I believe that I have begun to feel lonely. Your group is close in a way I have never quite seen before.”

“You’re lonely?” Damien questioned, stopping himself from allowing anger to rise in his voice. “Okay, so… you’ve never had any friends then?”

“I have had alliances, though I suppose those would not be the same as friends,” Dusknoir answered.

“Do you care about us then?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you care about us?”

Dusknoir hesitated. It wasn’t for long, but long enough for Damien to clue in that this may have been the point in the conversation where Edgar had grown irritated. He decided not to wait for Dusknoir’s answer.

“Look, being lonely is… understandable. But you’re not going to suddenly get to be buddy-buddy with everyone if you don’t even care,” Damien snapped, “do you even regret anything you did before to hurt us, our friends? Or are you just looking to benefit from being with our group without being in it?”

“I did my job, I did what was right,” Dusknoir rumbled, narrowing his eye.

“First part right, second part wrong,” Damien growled back, “I’m not going to waste my time with you if you aren’t actually looking to do the right thing. You’re a murderer, and you regret nothing. You don’t care who’s lives you’ve affected, you just want to make yourself feel better,” he said, “Let me tell you something, you are never going to get any of us to actually like you if you don’t make an effort to mend the past. You’ve scarred our friends and we will stand by them. If you want to make friends, you need to improve yourself. And the first step to that is admitting you made a mistake and working to make things right.”

He pointed a finger at Dusknoir as he finished, pointing a finger at him accusatorily. To his surprise, Dusknoir leaned away from him, his glare faded into a much more wide-eyed expression. Clearly, Dusknoir hadn’t expected that. Good, Damien thought, he needed someone to call him out properly. Edgar has been being too soft about this.

“I’m going to eat. Don’t come back to me unless you’re actually trying to improve and are looking for advice,” Damien grumbled, turning and leaving Dusknoir behind as he went to rejoin the others.

Damien felt like throwing up.

He arrived with the others chatting pleasantly, giving those who were still sleeping a few extra minutes to sleep in because of the day before. They couldn’t wait too long though, the guild couldn’t be too far away by now, and everyone was anticipating arriving there today.

Drapion’s Guild was located in Northshine City, as Keahi reminded everyone once zie had woken up. Judging by zir estimation, they would be within the day’s travel to get there. The hope at this point was to finish up business at the guild before the end of the day, and teleport back to the base to begin making their way to Gull Village the next day.

Fortunately, there were no longer any dungeons in the way, which allowed for smooth travels through the mountains to get the Northshine City. Keahi eagerly chattered the entire way, excitement at finally seeing the guild bubbling up after all this time until zie was talking non-stop, only pausing every so often for someone to comment or ask a question before zie would get rambling again.

“It was my dream for so long to make a team, but I had expected it would be a long time before I would ever get to travel up to see the guild! This is going to be amazing!” Keahi exclaimed.

“City implies a larger populous, yes?” Tsuki asked, dipping her head over to the conversation.

“Oh yeah, right. Yeah, there will be a whole lot more ‘mons out here,” Keahi responded, “we’ll try to go straight for the guild here right now though, exploring the city can wait for another time, once we’re more ready for that.”

“Giratina ‘ll probably have to stay quiet while we’re out there,” Alex commented, brushing a hand over his bag.

“Ah, that’s a good point. We could run into a psychic-type that can sense them, and that might cause some troubles,” Ceebee agreed, “sorry about that, Giratina. I’ll block you off until we’re in the clear.”

“That’s completely understandable, thank you for explaining first,” Giratina replied, voice muffled slightly from the rock still being inside Alex’s bag.

“See you later, Giratina!” Edgar chirped.

Moments later, those who could sense him noted his presence leave. Ceebee furrowed her brows slightly, but soon relaxed again slightly. It was getting challenging to maintain all these psychic shields and now a bridge; she hoped to get some more rest soon, elsewise she’d have to prioritize where her powers were going differently.

As the sun slowly made its crawl across the sky, the group continued on their journey. Eventually Keahi ran out of steam to endlessly ramble, and some other conversations peppered in throughout Team Galaxy, and Damien. Dusknoir remained silent, as usual, though his gaze wasn’t as strong on everyone’s backs as usual, as if he was too distracted in his own thoughts to just watch and study them.

It well into the afternoon when they spotted buildings dotted out in the distance; the first sign of civilization the majority of them had seen in nearly a week. Not that that alone was enough to terribly excite everyone, but knowing that this was their destination and that it was in sight, was enough. This encouraged a few in the group to sprint ahead for awhile, but the town was still far out of sprinting distance, and the others caught up once those who had run ahead paused for a break after wearing themselves out.

After a bit over another half hour, Northshine City was finally within their reach. Even still at a distance they could view the populous, which was at least three times the size of Pokemon Square at just a glance. Various pokemon were scattered between houses, walking together or chatting amongst each other out of the way of where other were trying to get to. Numerous large buildings were scattered about, streets and alleyways around and in between them. Instead of having just stands for shops almost like a marketplace like there was back at Pokemon Square, there were many buildings for establishments, more like the café that Spinda and Gulpin ran, though still bigger.

“Arceus, I didn’t think I’d see a city like this here…” Damien gasped, eyes wide as he scanned the area. “Didn’t realize pokemon would be building places like this. Er, no offense.”

Keahi laughed, “none taken! I guess humans are a bit bigger than us, from what I’ve heard, so that would make sense to have bigger cities,” zie told him, “this is definitely the biggest on this continent though. Most other towns are more like Pokemon Square.”

“What about other continents?” Ceebee asked, flying lower towards the ground to stay closer to her friends.

“Mm… I heard there’s some consideration for a new town being built out on the Grass Continent, and those plans are to make that pretty big. They actually already have the biggest city in the world, Jubilee City. That’s why they’re thinking of making a new town, I think, to space out the population more,” Keahi explained.

“That would make sense. Do you think those in a position to do so around this continent would consider the same?” Tsuki replied, fur bristling slightly as they continued weaving their way through the crowds in the streets.

“I think they have, but we don’t have enough money to get the resources for it.” Keahi frowned.

“Maybe we should make a donation,” Alex murmured, only partially listening to the conversation, judging by how his own gaze darted here and there. “It would be hard for those not in teams to make it from here to Pokemon Square like we’ve done.”

“Hey, who do you think lives out there?” Edgar asked, gesturing out to a large building in the distance, outside of the city.

Keahi bounced up to try getting a better look, finally earning zim a lift from Edgar so zie could properly see what Edgar was referring to. After a moment’s thought, zir face lit up with recognition.

“Oh! That’s Team A.C.T.’s base! Wow, it’s really neat to actually see, I had only heard descriptions and… and images…” zie trailed off, excitement dying back as zir mind caught up to zim. “Yeah,” zie mumbled.

“Wonder if they’re there now?” Ceebee mused, lifting a hand to block the sun out of her eyes as she looked out to the base as well. “We haven’t seen them since the meteor.”

“Probably,” Tsuki replied, “they had only been out here to help with the meteor. If not here, they are working elsewhere.”

“Don’t care either way,” Alex huffed, hunching his shoulders. “Screw ‘em.”

Damien blinked, “what? I thought you guys liked Team A.C.T.? Alakazam made the teleport gem ‘n everything for you all…”

“They tried hunting us down when we got to Ninetales,” Nelvana told him quietly, “Alakazam knew you were lying about all that though.”

“Oh.” Damien’s face paled with realization.

Keahi only let out a small hum, frowning to zirself as zie stared out over the stones that made up the streets, until finally zie spotted another large building, not quite as far away as Team A.C.T.’s base was from them. Zir eyes sparkled all over again, smile returning.

“There! That’s the guild!” zie exclaimed, “c’mon!”

Eager to leave where the previous conversation was going and the bustling streets of the city behind, the others hurried along with Keahi as they went over to the guild. It was spaced away slightly from the main part of the city, but was still an easy walk to get to.

The guild itself was a large, dome-shaped building with a couple smaller sections connected to its sides and a spiralling tower climbing out from the back. Tall flags flew beside the front gate, and several plants and other smaller structures like fences stood around the outside of the building. The walls around the outside were a sun faded purple, other cool colors drawn in to give what once must have been a spectacular gradient. If one squinted, one could make the connection between the design and the species of drapion, but it was not done in such a way to be obvious or distracting, like some other buildings built in the image of a single pokemon could be.

As they made their final steps up towards the front doors to the guild, Nelvana felt a chill go down her spine and the familiar feeling of someone staring at her. Anxiety prickled up as she felt this wasn’t a friendly stare, and she began to quickly search the area around them for someone who would be watching. Finally, she spotted a mandibuzz towards her right, perched on a post and staring down at them all. A team badge was attached to a sash wrapped around their neck, similarly to how Keahi wore zir own, but that didn’t calm Nelvana at all.

She nudged Alex to get his attention, trying to discreetly gesture over to the mandibuzz despite having stared back at them for a few moments prior. He glanced over, appearing much less unnerved by the situation.

“Hm? Oh, looks like some sort of guard,” he commented quietly, “makes sense, a place like this would need one.”

Not long after Alex finished speaking, the mandibuzz spread open their wings and swooped down in front of the group. Those who hadn’t noticed this pokemon before jolted slightly from being startled, though Nelvana, despite knowing that the mandibuzz had been there and might come down, jumped as well and more than anyone else.

“Greetings Team Galaxy,” Mandibuzz greeted warmly, a smile stretching across her beak.

Keahi blinked, “you know who we are?”

Mandibuzz chuckled, “I’d be terrible at my job if I couldn’t identify visitors!” she responded, “and, your team name has certainly made the rounds around here. So, what brings you out here then? And… with your guests,” she continued, glancing over at Damien and Dusknoir as she finished speaking.

“We’re here to speak to the Guildmaster,” Keahi told Mandibuzz, zir voice growing more somber. “It’s really important, we think there’s still something going on with the world’s balance,” zie explained, “and… Damien and Dusknoir are with us to help too.”

“I see.” Mandibuzz’s own more jovial nature quieted down at this as well. “Very well, I believe Guildmaster Drapion is not terribly busy right now, he should be in his office. You’re welcome to go inside, I must stay in here, but someone in there should be able to help show you the way there.”

Keahi nodded, “thank you!”

Nelvana swallowed her breath, thankful for what appeared to be the end of the conversation so that they could just go inside. Before Mandibuzz flew back to her perch, however, her gaze landed on the cubone again, who flinched back again. Mandibuzz blinked in confusion, before something seemed to click in her eyes.

“Oh, my apologies if I startled you there!” she told Nelvana, “I guess old instincts die hard sometimes, I forget about that.”

“I-Instincts?” Nelvana stammered out, “what do you mean?”

“Oh, Nel, are you nervous?” Keahi asked, glancing back at zir partner. “it’s alright! But yeah, Mandibuzz is probably right there, her species used to hunt cubones. It’s all good now, but I guess there are still some instincts about it.”

Mandibuzz nodded, “I prolly stared at you in particular for too long too. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“But… I’m not…” Nelvana trailed off; though many at this point knew about her being human, it still felt strange to openly admit, especially now.

Damien opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped himself before any noise came out and remained silent.

“Well, either way, sorry if I spooked you there a bit. I can assure you I wouldn’t hurt you,” Mandibuzz assured Nelvana, “and considering some of your team’s feats, you could probably beat me!” she added with a laugh.

Nelvana nodded, and despite her earlier anxiety, seemed to find herself more easily relaxing again, though that was replaced slightly with embarrassment. Did she really have enough cubone instincts to get that worked up over a mandibuzz?

“Thanks,” she replied, deciding it would be best to say something properly in this interaction. “And sorry for, uh, being scared of you…? That wasn’t really fair of me, you’re just here keeping an eye on things.”

“No worries! I’ve been told I’m a bit intimidatin’ anyway, you aren’t the first to get a bit scared, cubone or otherwise,” Mandibuzz replied, “now then, you all should get to the Guildmaster before he gets too busy, and I should get back to my post. It was nice to meet you!”

“Thanks again!” Keahi chirped, leading the way for the group to enter the guild.

The first room they entered was an expansive space with a large desk across from them with a gumshoos busy with their head in some paperwork. There were a few chairs and benches against the walls, empty save for a few pokemon reading or talking to one another as they waited. On the walls were some posters, and a long list of teams listed by rank. A cofagrigus was leaning against the wall that would be closest to Mandibuzz outside, and they seemed to be fiddling with something on the wall itself. Before Team Galaxy could get too far into the guild, Cofagrigus stopped them, approaching with a curious gaze.

“Excuse me, but you are Team Galaxy, yes?” Cofagrigus asked, looking over the group. “Oh, and Gengar,” they added in a much less enthusiastic voice, and Damien shrank a bit under their gaze. “’Buzz let you in, so I suppose she trusts you enough with the team, so I will as well. Now then, a team all the way from Pokemon Square is… unexpected, to say the least. What brings you all out here?”

“We want to talk to Guildmaster Drapion,” Keahi told him, repeating what zie had told Mandibuzz, or just ‘Buzz, from outside.

Cofagrigus paused for a few seconds to reflect this over, and then nodded.

“Very well, I see that this is important. I will show you to the Guildmaster,” he responded.

“Thank you!” Keahi replied, beaming back at Cofagrigus.

Looking the group over one last time, Cofagrigus turned towards the wall he had been facing before. He stuck one of his ghostly hands through it, there was a faint knock from the other side, as well as what sounded to be Mandibuzz’s voice, and then he pulled his arm back through. Without a word towards this, he began heading down one of the hallways. Gumshoos lifted their head momentarily to nod at the group as they passed by, though Cofagrigus didn’t notice in time to nod or wave back to his coworker.

Trying to take in their surroundings as much as possible as they were swiftly led through the hallways of the guild, the group filed two by two to fit through the corridors and turned their heads to take a look at the various windows, closed doors, pictures that would show up. Some were labelled, but only the shorter ones could be read with the pace they had to keep to follow Cofagrigus properly. He wasn’t particularly fast, his species wasn’t built for that, but he glided right over the floor at what was most likely sped up compared to how he would usually walk.

Eventually though, he stopped in front of a door with more intricate carvings in the doorway, as well as a sign labelling the room ahead as the Guildmaster’s chambers. Politely, Cofagrigus knocked on the door first.

“It’s me, Guildmaster,” Cofagrigus announced through the door. “Team Galaxy has come here wishing to speak with you.”

Some shuffling around was heard from beyond the wood that stood between them and the room ahead, but it was only a few seconds after Cofagrigus had spoken that the door was opened by Drapion himself. He smiled pleasantly, and blinked over at the large group that was behind the coffin pokemon.

“And guests,” Cofagrigus added, easily judging Drapion’s mildly surprised expression.

“Oh, now isn’t this a pleasant surprise!” Drapion hummed, “greetings, Team Galaxy and others. As you already know, I am Guildmaster Drapion. It is great to finally get to see you, come in, come in!”

Stepping aside, Drapion gestured for the group to enter his room. A large, dark oak desk stood towards the back of the room, but still relatively close to the center. Even from the view that they were at just as they entered, they could see the detailed map installed inside the top of the desk, protected by a layer of glass. Carvings of various gods decorated the front of this piece of furniture, and the feet of it were clawed over crystal orbs. Despite its elegant appearance based off its build, the top of the desk was littered with small items, papers scattered across the surface. Aside from the desk, this room carried another list of the teams, two windows by the side walls, a couple tapestries, and a masterpiece of a painting by the back. A tall filing cabinet stood off to the side, and the rug covering the floor could be seen to be beginning to unravel from use.

Keahi beamed as they entered around, giddy with energy as zie hurried into the room first. Wanting to leave a good impression on the Guildmaster, however, zie buried most of this for the moment, opting to silently bounce in place instead. The rest of the group followed in with awe, excitement, and mild anxiety to be in such an important place for the team, but even with just a glance it was evident that Keahi carried the strongest of any of these feelings.

Drapion smiled warmly as the group entered, and stepped back over to his desk once they had entered. He moved in front of the desk, rather than going to stand behind it again. Cofagrigus entered the room as well, but he turned his attention away from the rest of the group to rummage through the filing cabinet at some documents.

“Cofagrigus is a good worker here,” Drapion hummed, glancing over to the mentioned ghost-type momentarily as he spoke. “Him and his partner, Mandibuzz, make good work at keeping track of any outlaws, as well as helping me look through potential recruits. They’re a good team, glad to have them.”

Cofagrigus let out a grunt of acknowledgement, though Ceebee managed to glimpse a more flustered expression from the pokemon at these compliments from the corner of her eye. She chuckled to herself, but opted not to bring it up.

“He looks through all of the application forms?” Damien asked hesitantly.

“Mhmm. Makes sure that no one suspicious is trying to make a team.” Drapion winked. “And he helps with disbanding teams as well. Has a memory like an arena trap; much better than my own.”

Damien gulped, “oh.”

“If your old team, Team Meanies is what you’re getting to, yes, he did go through that, as did I. Your team caused quite the ruckus out in Pokemon Square,” Drapion told him, “you made the right choice breaking it off. I assume that the fact that you’re here with the very ones you attempted to condemn means that you learned your lesson, good. And in that case, I don’t feel like hammering down that lesson for you again. You’re fine.”

“What are the rules about disbanding a team?” Edgar asked, “could he ever make another one if he wanted to?”

Cofagrigus scoffed, “he could try. He’d have to go through the application process again though, and make a pretty good case for me to let him after what he pulled before. Same goes for your old teammates.”

“Don’t worry too much about that though. You’re young, and as long as you learn and improve, you’ll be alright. You may have a bit of trouble leading a team again, but you can always join another if that’s what you want,” Drapion assured Damien, bringing back a softer smile. “Fortunately, your damage was small enough and seems to have been repaired; we aren’t looking to arrest you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Damien let out a breath he didn’t know that he was holding, and Edgar, who was positioned closest to him, gave him a gentle pat on the back.

“If any of you cause any other problems though…” Cofagrigus muttered under his breath, going unheard by most.

Drapion sighed, “Anyway, I don’t suppose you’re here just to visit then, or to confirm if Gengar is in the clear from his past. It isn’t that unusual for a team stationed that far out to eventually want to come out here, but when they come directly for me, it’s usually important. So, what is it?”

“Er, well, you see… We believe that the world’s balance is in danger again. That it didn’t get fully fixed with just breaking the meteor,” Keahi told him, “and we were hoping to… to see if you all at the guild knew anything more about what’s going on.”

Blinking, Drapion leaned back against his desk, rubbing his forehead with one of his clawed hands. He glanced back at Cofagrigus, who had actually looked away from his own work and back at the others at this statement, red eyes wide.

“I must admit… we had been coming to the same conclusion,” Drapion replied, wearily. “We, unfortunately, do not know much on the situation. However, we have begun getting reports of more powerful dungeons, pokemon being randomly teleported dozens of feet from where they were before, leaves hanging suspended in the air after falling from trees… Other guilds have reported similar incidents, though they have all been small so far with nothing to link them together. Psychic-types and similar pokemon have begun sensing something dangerous; something I’m sure Absol from your group picked up by now,” he explained, “I’m afraid that if you were hoping to get a lead, we don’t have that much right now.”

“We do have a lead though; we were just looking for more information!” Edgar blurted out, earning a glance from Alex, who sighed afterwards.

“It is to our knowledge that this is being caused by Palkia beginning to go primal. After this stop, we plan on going out to the Grass Continent to make our way to Dialga and hopefully get more help from them,” Alex explained, “as Edgar said, we were hoping to see if perhaps you knew anything more; maybe a better way to get out to Palkia?”

“Palkia…” Drapion repeated, leaning back on the desk again. “Where did you get that from?”

Glancing back at Ceebee, who nodded, Alex brought out the stone that could house Giratina’s spirit. Ceebee’s antennae twitched slightly, and then the legendary’s presence returned, prompting Cofagrigus to approach more and eye the rock slightly.

“…We are at the guild,” Giratina observed quietly.

“Yes, we are, sorry. I know we told you we would wait until after… but we need you to explain to the Guildmaster here about the situation with Palkia more; you can handle it better than us,” Ceebee told them.

“Who is this?” Cofagrigus questioned, his gaze shifting up to look at the celebi.

“Promise not to freak out,” Alex insisted first, “Ceebee can sense that they’re a trustworthy source.”

Cofagrigus blinked slowly, “I promise then.”

“Needing us to promise that doesn’t spring forth confidence, but I shall promise as well,” Drapion said.

“I am Giratina,” Giratina told them, “I do apologize if that unnerves you here, but I assure you both that I am only here to provide as much assistance as I can… from here.”

“That is a secure spot your spirit is in, hm?” Cofagrigus commented, “I will trust that a mythical such as yourself would know how to handle this, though I question the idea of bringing this exact god as an ally.”

“Better than an enemy!” Ceebee pointed out, “Their more direct connection to Palkia is what brought us to this lead, and they’ve promised several times to be willing to help, and none of us, especially myself and Tsuki, have sensed anything yet.”

Drapion chuckled to himself, “you certainly are an interesting team… Very well then, Giratina, would you please tell us what you know about the situation?”

Giratina obliged, repeating a more condensed version of the information they had previously relayed to Team Galaxy, Damien, and Dusknoir. Being more of a summary than anything else, plus that they didn’t have to relay their own past as well to gain trust, it only took a few minutes to explain what they knew to Drapion and Cofagrigus. Feeling awkward about the current situation and not wishing to be sensed by any psychic-types around the guild, Giratina departed from the stone soon after finishing their explanation.

“…I see,” Drapion finally responded, “that does certainly add up with what little we already knew. There are other documented cases of legendaries causing problems similar to this in such a way, but never to this scale. Your plan is to beat Palkia to wear the excess energy from being primal out of them then?”

Keahi nodded, “yeah. We’re going to try and get Dialga’s help though.”

Drapion let out another sigh, this one more drawn out, “Cofagrigus, none of our platinum teams are around for this, right?”

“None of them that serve a better chance here. Team Galaxy seems to have the best connection to what is going on,” Cofagrigus answered, and though his statement was firm and to the point, there was almost a reluctance to admit such a fact behind his voice.

“We can handle this! We just need a little help, is all,” Keahi insisted.

“That’s why we came here,” Alex added.

“Alright. I understand then. You have proven yourselves to be an incredibly capable team before, so I will trust your judgement,” Drapion said, “we will take up your request for help though. Currently, we’ve already sent most of our other higher ranked teams for investigation or rescue work for the problems I mentioned before, but there are certainly plenty of useful supplies we can send you all with. I’m sure that after the journey here, you will need to restock on some items, correct?”

Damien nodded, “yeah, we packed a lot, but…”

“Any extra help is welcome, I understand.” Drapion nodded. “Cofagrigus, the closest harbor south on the map is by Gull Village, correct?”

“That would be correct,” Cofagrigus answered.

“Perfect. Now, would you mind bringing Sableye here to help our group here down to the item bank? Quickly relay to em the situation, ey should know what items would be best,” Drapion instructed.

“Anything after that, or may I return back to my work?” Cofagrigus responded, opening the coffin that made up his body slightly to stuff some of the papers he had gathered into it.

“That will be all, unless you know where Togekiss went to. I’ll want to speak to her too about this, and see about getting some teleport gems for our friends’ trip out to Gull Village,” Drapion told him.

“Those actually got moved down to the lower sections of the item bank, I believe. I’ll tell Sableye to check for those too,” Cofagrigus added.

“Perfect! Thank you! Now, there is no time to waste! I’ll be seeing you all later, but for now, follow Cofagrigus out to wherever Sableye is at now!” Drapion said, returned to smiling again. “It was great to meet you all, I hope there will be a better chance to give you a tour of the guild someday soon.”

“Thank you too!” Keahi replied, bouncing on zir talons in place. “We’ll definitely be back here sometime once all this is over, for a proper visit!”

Drapion chuckled warmly, “I look forward to it. Good luck then with the item bank!”

Waving for everyone to follow him again, Cofagrigus directed everyone back out into the hallways. He began getting them to retrace their steps, though as he spotted a heliolisk nearby, he directed them to find Sableye instead. Heliolisk skittered off, while everyone waited back in the entry room once more.

The feeling from naming this particular sableye did not remind Nelvana of anything bad, which she was thankful for considering her knowledge of how any other encounter went with that species had gone, though in a way that familiarity with the species made it strange to hear Sableye, disconnected from it all. She could tell and Alex and Ceebee were thinking similarly by their own expressions, and though she didn’t look back at Dusknoir, she wondered if he felt the same way; he would have been more familiar with each of his army by name, most likely.

After what felt like far too long, Heliolisk returned with the aforementioned Sableye. Ey sported a dark vest and bowtie, and eir jewels glittered in the sunlight as ey walked over. Cofagrigus quietly explained to em what was going on, and then moved over to continue his own work, leaving Sableye in charge of the group. Ey looked them over, and unlike most of the staff, did not react much to Damien, and more so to Dusknoir, scowling towards the larger ghost-type.

“You shall all refer to me as simply Sableye, my pronouns are ey, em, eir,” ey told them, arms crossed behind eir back with a straight and tall posture. “Follow me and I shall take you down to my domain; the banks.”

“Oh hey! You have neopronouns too!” Keahi exclaimed, “I go by zie, zim, zir!” zie told em.

Sableye nodded, smiling for a brief moment before turning to lead them down the halls again without another word. Ey led them over to a different hallway, and quickly to large metal doors in the wall. Pressing a single button on the wall opened these doors, revealing a metal box. Ey gestured for everyone to enter.

“Wow, is this an elevator?” Damien, the only one who recognized the contraption, spoke up. “I didn’t think these were still made.”

“Yes, it is an elevator. Incredibly useful in getting down to lower floors without walking up and down stairs,” Sableye replied, “I’m surprised you knew what it was. You are right in that they are rare. I believe we may be the only location on this continent to use it. Much research has gone into history, you would be surprised what useful inventions have been lost to time,” ey continued, “now then, the doors won’t stay open forever, come on in.”

Obediently, the group crammed their way into the smaller space. It was larger than it had appeared at first, but it was evident that it would have been hard to fit in any more pokemon if they have had to. Pressing another button inside, the elevator began its descent.

“So, I must ask, you are that very ‘Master Dusknoir’ are you not?” Sableye began once the elevator had started moving, not turning eir head to look back at the pokemon ey spoke to, continuing to face the wall ahead.

Dusknoir blinked, “you have heard of me?”

Sableye scoffed, “most others here won’t put two and two together about who you are, but I certainly did. Hard to forget that other sableye that was brought here to the prison, shrieking about you over and over.”

“Other sableye?” Dusknoir repeated, his eye narrowing.

“Oh right, you didn’t even know about this,” Alex chimed in, rolling his eyes. “One of your minions snuck in the time portal to try to kill us. We arrested them, and sent them to prison here.”

“Very good that you did,” Sableye continued, “he’s a disgrace to our kind, and it unnerves me that you had more of them where you’re from. If it were my choice, I would arrest you right here for bringing them up that way. Ghost-types and dark-types get enough flack as it is, we don’t need more bad examples setting any sense of professionalism back.”

“I… I had not been aware that one of them had gotten back here,” Dusknoir said.

“That just makes you even worse at your terrible job,” Sableye sneered, “to give you some credit though, that was a slippery little fiend. I don’t usually work around the prison, hate it out there, but I was the only one that was able to calm them down and get them in the cage,” ey added, “I have no clue why you’re here, Dusknoir, and so long as you don’t cause any trouble, I don’t care. But I assure you that if you start any trouble like I know you did in that forsaken timeline, I will be back on prison duty to make sure you get the perfect cell,” ey growled, “pokemon like you disgust me.”

The rest of the elevator ride passed in relative silence. Not that there was much of it left, as soon after Sableye finished their rant, the doors slid open again to a new section of the guild. A few Kangaskhan Statues stood within eyesight from exiting the elevator, but that was pretty much the only familiar thing about such a location. Other storage compartments were built in the walls, extending out as far as the eye could see. Above were tracks carrying carts down the corridors above anyone walking by.

“You are looking for more dungeoneering supplies, yes?” Sableye asked, “what sort of team are you? Do you like using orbs or seeds, or should we save space in your bags with other items?” ey continued without much of a pause to even answer the first question.

“We don’t really use orbs, sometimes seeds but not that often,” Nelvana told em.

Sableye nodded, “that makes my job easier. You’ll be looking for food and other basic travel supplies, and I’ll give you some time if there are any TMs you’ve been looking to use. Cofagrigus said you plan on fighting Palkia, I’ve been working here long enough to know which seeds will be useful, and some other items you’ll need,” ey said, “you have two bags I see, that should be enough for what I have in mind. Come with me.”

Quickly and efficiently, Sableye took the group around the item bank. Ey located items with ease, despite the numerous storage places. Some, but not all, the compartments were labelled, but Sableye rarely needed to look them over to find what ey needed. Despite that, everything was evidently incredibly well organized, and it was probably only because of how much there was that not everything was labelled.

Eventually, the group was restocked and ready to keep going again, both bags now fuller than ever for the remaining journey ahead. After double checking with Sableye, ey brought them all back to the elevator and up to the top floor again. Ey brought them back to Cofagrigus before leaving emself, who referred them to the Guildmaster again, who was apparently outside now. He did not follow them back out, leaving the group temporarily to their own devices again.

Returning back outside to what was by now the early evening, the group quickly spotted Drapion not far from the guild, chatting with a togekiss beside him. As they approached, they could pick up parts of the conversation.

“What about Team Endeavor?” Togekiss asked Drapion quietly.

Drapion sighed, “no one has heard from them in years.”

“And yet you keep them as the diamond rank team,” Togekiss pointed out.

“They’re just hard to get in contact with,” Drapion insisted, “we would know if something happened to them.”

“I know you won’t like this… but Team A.C.T.?” Togekiss suggested.

Drapion shook his head, “you know why that’s a bad idea.”

“These are kids though!” Togekiss hissed, “are we really going to send them out to fight gods alone?”

“Guildmaster Drapion?” Keahi greeted hesitantly, “are we interrupting something?”

“What?” Drapion hastily turned to look at the group. “Oh, no, you aren’t interrupting anything, don’t worry! So, did you get everything you needed from Sableye?”

“We should, yes. Ey was very thorough in eir work,” Tsuki answered, her gaze shifting over to the two full bags.

Drapion smiled, “yes, we do try to hire the best of the best! Sableye and eir partner, Purugly, are our two main bank workers. I swear most would get lost where they work, but they’re perfected it to an art!” he told them proudly, “now then, this is my partner, and assistant guildmaster, Togekiss!”

Togekiss smiled at the group as well, nodding over to them in greeting, “hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you all!” she hummed.

“Yeah! I’ve heard of you!” Keahi chirped, eyes lighting up again.

“I’d sure hope so!” Drapion chuckled, “despite her dislike of publicity, she truly keeps this guild together, and it would be a shame if she never got any credit for her work.”

“Oh please, you do more of the work than I do, I’m just your assistant now,” Togekiss snorted a laugh.

“’Just my assistant’, please, don’t be so modest,” Drapion teased, “anyway, anyway! That’s besides the point. Right here I have some teleport gems we keep on hand for this sort of fast travel, works for three pokemon at a time to any location, on this continent only, I’m afraid, so long as the holder knows its location. If you’d like, though, we could set you up with a room here for the night. You could rest up here, see the guild a bit more, and then head back to work,” he offered.

“That sounds like a great offer, but we should probably head to Gull Village tonight,” Alex replied, “wouldn’t want to get delayed, right?” he added, glancing over at his teammates.

Keahi let out a defeated sigh, “no yeah, you’re right. We’d probably get caught up in meeting new pokemon and seeing all the sights if we stayed here for too much longer,” zie admitted.

“But hey, we can always come back here later. It would feel a lot better when we aren’t feeling so rushed,” Nelvana chimed in, placing a hand on her partner’s back to reassure zim.

“I understand,” Drapion sighed, “very well then, you should all get into groups of three, and one group of two, and then I’ll give you the gems to use.”

“We should have Nel, Ceebee, and Damien in separate groups,” Tsuki instructed, “they’re the ones that have been to Gull Village before, and would be best suited to use the gems.”

“Great point there, Tsuki! Alright, who wants to be in my group?” Ceebee cheered.

Keahi and Alex, already standing close to Nelvana, glued themselves to their partner’s side. Tsuki stepped over to stand by Ceebee, and Edgar hovered between Ceebee and Damien for a bit before piecing together that Dusknoir would have to be in Damien’s group, and going over to support his fellow ghost-type pokemon there.

Nodding at the groups, Drapion brought out the first of the teleport games that he had. Like the one that Xatu presented them with what felt like ages ago, it was green in color, though much smaller than the previous one they had used. Drapion handed the first one to Nelvana.

“You should use them one at a time, to ensure that the energy goes off right,” Drapion said.

Nelvana nodded back, and focused on the item like she had once before for Sky Tower. It wasn’t long before the three of them vanished from sight. Drapion handed out the next gem, repeating the process with Ceebee and then with Damien as well.

He watched them all disappear silently, feeling a tightness in his throat and nerves in his belly. Distantly, he was aware of Togekiss stepping up beside him and placing a gentle wing on his shoulders.

“Good luck. Please.”

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which they travel to another continent Previous: In which the lake guardians arrive at the town

10 notes · View notes

squiddybeifong · 6 years

Note

Omigosh the tattooed first words soulmate au would be rlly interesting for CassRae 🖤💙🖤💙 work ur magic squiddy love ya 💕💕💕

8.i: The first words your true love(s) will say to you are tattooed on you and why the fuck are their first words something really ridiculous

From this list of AU ideas:

–

Raven wasn’t all to sure about her supposed ‘soulmate.’ For as long as she was alive, a phrase had forever been inked on her wrist, proclaiming that “Homemade waffles kinda suck.”

It wasn’t until she left Azarath that she even knew what a ‘waffle’ was. And once she did? She had been aghast. In what conceivable world, universe or multiverse could her one true love not like waffles?

It was quite a conundrum. One that didn’t plague her for long. So what if she had a supposed ‘soulmate,’ that didn’t mean she couldn’t fall in love with other people.

And so she had opened herself up to the possibility of never loving her soulmate and their horrific taste in breakfast foods. She lived her life with no concern in looking for romance. Sure she had had crushes; her time on the Titans ensured that. But none ever came to fruition until her twenty-first winter, when Dick invited her to keep him sane at the Manor’s ‘Winter Wonderland’ gala.

She had taken his arm as they exited the car, her pupils wide and her cringe barely off her face as paparazzi crowded the two, their blinding lights going off over and over and over again. Used to such annoyances, Dick easily guided her through the throng of anticipation and aggressiveness (because dear Azar some paparazzi were like blood-thirsty sharks), keeping himself calm as she latched onto his emotions through their bond.

But an emotional bond was a two-way street. So, when Dick felt a burst of attraction (not lust, but attraction) not half an hour into the party he glanced down at his long time friend, quickly catching sight of a woman dressed in black. His grin widened and his eyes lit up; not just any woman, but Cass.

Raven let out a little gasp when he pulled her to his side, leading them both towards his sister. Through their bond, he asked, Do you know ASL?

Still flustered as she was lead through the crowd, Raven bit back a groan at how suspiciously excited Dick was. You’re meddling again, she chided. He shrugged his shoulders, beaming at her and after a second she added, I know sign language well enough.

The mage bit her lip, looking down at her own dress, the blue velvet conservative enough for the cold weather and (hopefully) enough to catch this short mystery woman’s attention. Accepting that she wasn’t getting out of this, amethyst eyes glanced up at her friend, Who is she, exactly?

Dick didn’t answer, instead sliding up to Cass and wrapping an arm around her bare shoulders. “Heya, Cass.” He was reaching cartoon levels of giddiness. Raven was half expecting him to jump and click his heels midair, “I’d like to introduce you to one of the many bicons I surround myself with.”

The demoness pinched his side and put on a cool front as warm mahogany eyes settled on her. Brushing her braid back over her shoulder, Raven held out a hand, “Ignore the idiot, please.” Cass tilted her head to the side in surprise, her brows jumping in recognition. She looked the mage over and smirked, leaning forward to grab her pale hand. A little shock went through both of them as their skin touched and their eyes met.

Trying to keep the blush from dusting her cheeks, the mage said, “I’m Raven.”

Letting go of her hand, the shorter woman signed out, I’m Cass.

From his spot next to them, Dick was practically vibrating as he watched them, his hands pressed to his cheeks. Remembering to act casual, he spotted and called a waiter over, “How about some drinks?” Without waiting for their answer, he plucked the two glasses off the tray.

A fake sigh escaped him in a huff, “Oh, shoot. All out, looks like I’ll have to go find some more.” Both women rolled their eyes at his horrid attempt at being subtle, a blush settling on their cheeks as he added, “Juuuuust so you know, she’s my sister and both of you are single. So have fun you two!” Snickering at how they quickly glanced at each other and then the floor, Dick snapped his fingers, gave them the finger-guns and a wink, and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Cass and Raven both knew that he went to the hors d'oeuvre table to spy on their conversation, of course. But they didn’t let that stop them.

You know sign language?, Cass asked, a lazy smile on her face. She took in Raven’s stance, trying not to dwell in how mind numbingly gorgeous she was and instead focusing on the cute way she fiddled with her rings and shifted her weight from foot to foot. Nodding eagerly, the mage’s fingers fluttered over her glass’ stem, her other hand awkwardly answering a beat slower than her words, “I’m not fluent, as you can probably guess. But I know enough to hold a conversation.”

Cass watched as she shifted again, her feet rising nearly imperceptibly in her heels. You can fly; I’m guessing you must be a Titan, she noted. While she didn’t show it, the Bat was impressed when Raven immediately countered, “And you’re one of Bruce Wayne’s children. I assume you dress up like a bat to fight crime as well?”

Chuckling, Cass tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, Do you mind if we leave and continue this somewhere else? I hate these parties.

Raven smirked at her, tilting her chin towards one of the hallways, “The balcony might get crowded. Library or kitchen?”

–

Not even four nights later, Raven jumped up and out of her bed, nearly tripping as her blankets tangled around her feet. Eyes glowing, she slunk into the shadows and bolted into her kitchen, surprised at the sight of the Black Bat hunched over her counter.

Wordlessly, she decided not to question how the Bat knew where she lived and instead teleported to the bathroom, pulling out one of the first aid kits. She returned to Cass’ side, eyes widening at the numerous cuts and slashes that adorned her body.

Together, they peeled the neoprene suit off her, violet eyes taking note of which injuries would require stitches and which could wait. Despite the pain of her injuries Cass blushed when Raven’s fingertips ghosted over her collar and above the top of her sports bra. She forcibly kept her gaze on her lap as Raven peeled off her mask, unable to stop the blush from erupting on her face when the demoness looked into her eyes.

Cass knew that she was only checking for a concussion, but that didn’t do anything to lessen how intimate the move was. Raven cupped her chin, her fingers healing a nasty scrape right under her lower lip, and moved behind her. Lazily, pale fingers started to heal the already scarred expanse of back. The Bat heard as the healer inhaled, the sound sharper than usual, as her pasty fingertips slid over the tattoo on her back.

Most of it was concealed under the fighter’s bra, but the letters “iot, please” were clear as day.

A disk of black magic manifested under Cass and softly deposited her on the hardwood floor. Pale hands began to glow cerulean and set about healing the rest of her injuries. The two were quiet, save for Cass’ near silent hiss whenever Raven began to heal a particularly deep wound.

As the mage prepared a sling, Cass watched her guiltily, noticing the tired bags under her eyes. I’m sorry for waking you this late, she signed, the movement awkward and only partially understandable with one hand. Spelling out her words, the Bat added, Thank you.

Snorting as if she’d heard a joke, Raven glanced up from Cass’ wrist, “No need to apologize. Healing doesn’t take too much out of me.” Humming as she secured the Bat’s arm, mindful of her broken wrist, the mage murmured, “Especially when I have such great company.” A quick surge of surprise and happiness hit her emphatic shield and she grinned up at Cass.

Clearing her throat, Raven pointed a thumb over her shoulder, “Vic bought me a waffle maker and taught me how to make the batter. Wanna try it out?”

Teasingly, Cass smirked at her, Promise you won’t poison me?

The demoness stuck out her tongue as she read her words, chuckling as she made an ‘X’ over her heart, “I’ll try not to.” She helped Cass to her feet and floated into the kitchen, her brows furrowing as she re-enacted Victor’s instructions.

Although it was hard to remember everything when Cass was sitting there. The Bat wasn’t even trying to be distracting, but the way she rested her chin in her palm and the dimple that showed when she bit the inside of her cheek was entirely too cute to be ignored.

Victor would be proud, though; only the first waffle burned while the rest were edible.

Raven slid into the seat next to Cass, resting their shoulders together as she placed the plates of waffles in front of them. Taking a sip of water, she waited for Cass’ response. In the short time they’d know each other, they subsisted on frozen foods and Alfred’s leftovers, so she was anxious to see if the Bat actually liked her cooking.

Cass nudged her hip before taking a bite; she chewed slowly, a bit confused at the overly airy texture. She poked at her waffle, prodding around with her fork. She looked up, as if to sign, but then realized that she couldn’t, not with a fork in one hand and the other in a sling. So, lazily, she deadpanned, “Homemade waffles kinda suck.”

Raven paused in her eating, her breath catching in her throat. Cass glanced at her and she tried to brush her surprise off her pale face, but the astonishment was running under her voice, “Yeah?”

Humming, Cass smiled a bit how how the cute the mage’s voice was when she was nervous, putting her attention on lazily fiddling with her fork again, “Frozen is better.”

A breathless chuckle escaped Raven and her shoulders rose an inch, her mind obviously racing a mile a minute behind her forced calm demeanor, “Um, yeah… yeah! Do you want me to put some in the toaster?”

Nodding, Cass stood, grabbing their plates. She tried to peek over the taller woman’s shoulder as she opened the freezer door, “We have blueberry?”

Raven hummed out a “Yes,” and Cass started for the sink. Feeling bold, Raven turned her head and pecked the Bat’s cheek, a lazy smile curling her lips.. Cass nearly stumbled, her years of training keeping her standing. Mahogany eyes snapped to the mage, her eyes wide as a blush started to dust her cheeks.

Raven bit her lip, “Two okay?”

Still in a bit of shock at the mage’s move, Cass blinked up at her, her eyes flicking from violet eyes to pale pink lips and back again. Raven gave her a coy smile, trying to keep her face from getting too hot and the Bat nodded eagerly, “Yeah, yeah! Two is good.” She put the plates down and scratched behind her ear, looking up expectantly.

Raven raised a brow and Cass turned up her cheek. After a second, she cleared her throat, “You said two.”

“Oh?” Biting her lip, Raven cupped her chin and kissed Cass’ cheek again, unable to stop a short peal of laughter from escaping when the shorter woman timidly wrapped her up in a hug. The empath rested their foreheads together, vigilant for any sign of uncertainty, “Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Staring into Raven’s eyes, Cass went up on the tips of her toes and let their noses touch, “This is okay.”

#cassrae #cassandra cain #raven #my writing #asked and answered #dick grayson #tattoed soulmates au #impulse-goblin #bc yknow... signing doesn't *technically* count as actually saying the words #how awesome would that be tho? oh im crushing on this girl and hOLY SHIT she's actually my soulmate!!#gods they're hopeless i love them #why yes dick's meddling was absolutely self indulgent. he knows they're perfect for each other

9 notes · View notes

noodleswithsoba-blog · 3 years

Text

In the Shadow Chapter Two. I Am the Modren Man.

I sighed and pulled out the White Cards. Cards Mom made for me when I was little, big declarations, rants, emotional things. The red ones went in the box and the standards came with me. I walked as if death was ahead of me. Marching towards the outside world again. Marching back out with Him getting in the car. I got into the car and it wasn't fancy at all, a lower-class car just to not flex our status. He drove thickly, hands bunched, gigantic frame hunkered down like a gargoyle.

Silence, intense silence. Streetlights guiding the way and the car putting along, He tapped the wheel calmly. I zipped my jacket all the way up over my mouth, not talking. The car slowed before a fancy restaurant.

"Son, what you do here determines your future, be a gentleman and try not to crack under the pressure. It'll be okay," he tried to assure me. The restaurant was one of those with a three-month long waitlist, but I guess being the number two has its perks… I drifted in and flicked up my introduction card, I waited for my fiance. Standing at her chair.

"Oh goodness! Sorry I'm late!" a voice exclaimed, making me turn in the fancy restaurant to see a girl in a nice white dress, flared out like a skirt and… and… oh god, am… am I blushing?! I started forward, pulling her chair out for her. Is this her? Her dark hair looked so soft, and… and her eyes seemed to- just- wow~ I hurriedly sat down, blushing and unzipping my coat, taking it off and shivering as the air hit my skin. This wasn't normal. Normally I'd NEVER take my coats off or sweaters or anything.

"You… you look…" I started, flipping through my white cards, Mom HAD to have put one to describe how KNOCKOUT GORGEOUS this girl was. Flicking and yanking one out like a tooth, red-faced and scarred with chalky burns.

She looked, "Oh! That's a relief… honestly I thought this was a little much…" she admitted, her cheeks pinking and handing the card back. Watching her being nervous made me feel a little better.

"It's… It's not…" I muttered. I looked at the card.

"You look beautiful."

'Thank god for my mom… I owe her SO many hugs!' The girl, presumably Yaoyorozu, blinked and smiled.

"I'm glad you like it, honestly when the number two hero reached out to my parents about this they practically pounced, you're my… second date. My first one was with this boy that yelled a lot and… punched himself in the face…" she giggled a little.

I flicked another card her way.

"Sounds festive…"

She laughed. Mom was a little snarky in the writing's tone in a lot of her stuff, mostly when I'd visit we'd just laugh at her increasingly snarky cards. I mostly pointed at what I wanted, It was mostly meat and stuff like that.

"So… if you can talk, why do you need cards? It's just us, so don't be so shy…" she sighed, "Oh wait, I'm so sorry for not introducing myself, I'm Momo Yaoyorozu,"

"Koyurei… that's my designation…" I stated quietly, almost as if I had to measure my words. Momo tilted her head to the side.

"Designation?" she asked.

"Indeed… It is my name, my assignment. It contains kanji for ghosts and ice… Fitting considering my background and power…" I sighed, "But… if you require me to converse with you, I can bear that burden,"

Momo looked a little shocked, and I looked away, "I don't want it to be a burden to you, so… if you need me to be silent, that's fine… I'm used to it," I looked away and took a sip of my drink, the coolness making me colder.

"Are you alright, Koyurei?" she asked.

"In terms of mentally? I'm shot. In terms of physicality, I'm fine…" I felt a weight on my hand and a soft pressure there. My heart beat faster, the soft weight tracing the ice burn scars there. 'I just met her! And He's expecting me to… to marry her? To consummate the union and produce an heir when I can barely string together a sentence without crying?' I thought.

The food came and I flicked a card up, Momo looked at the smooth robotic motion oddly. All of my movements were delicate. We ate and I couldn't help but see Momo savor it, her eyes shining, a cute smile on her face, her hair swishing slightly and her silver eyes locked with my own. She giggled, and I didn't break eye contact. My heart was beating so fast, my IBM brain was going ninety-nine miles from a parsec just trying to equate the response. She was so pretty… was she wearing makeup? No, she wasn't. Surely not.

"You're staring." she said.

"A-am I? F-forgive me." I mumbled, "I- tend to because- I have little to look at that's… that's like… you," I was blushing, 'Dammit! Now she thinks I'm weird! Goodbye, Future! Oh goodbye, Sweet Future! How I will miss thee!'

"What do you mean?" she asked. Her lips down turned into a slight frown. Worry creased her perfect face, and I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, "I… I think you're… beautiful! G-gorgeous even!" I blurted.

"I… I know I'm far from a perfect man… I know I'm nowhere near capable enough… but…" it cut me off by the check. I put the money down, "I insist on paying. I saved up enough from dodging the Balrog during training…" I mumbled, shutting down and flicking to a white card.

She put her hand on mine, "No. I'll pay. Don't worry, that should be used towards what makes you happy, right?" Momo was such a saint.

I didn't want her to go. I didn't want to go. As silent as I was. I wanted to stay. Did I have a card for that?! Did I… I exposed my arm. Her gentle, firm hands held my arm up, studying it closer. I yanked it out of her grip and put on my coat.

"These don't look like Dry Ice burns…" she said.

*Fwip.*

"Don't speak of them."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Not good, not good at all."

Momo sighed, "Listen, whatever you have to tell me, you can tell me, I won't tell another soul, I promise,"

"Prove it."

Momo pouted and looked kinda cute, "Listen, if I tell you something about me, you tell me something about you," she stated, "That way we have nothing to hide, let's go out and just walk around and talk, okay?"

I nodded and heeled her. It was a beautiful summer's night, and Momo stuck close to my side, my cold keeping the mugginess at bay. The way she looked at me was so new. A girl never looked at me like she did. Or like Mina did. It felt nice. She smiled and looped her arm through one of mine, "My parents threw me at every boy, like… 'Take her! Take her! We don't want her!' It was dumb. It was asinine and cruel… what about yours?" she asked.

"My father burned me, told me I was worthless over and over, and how I'd die alone. I found that my ice grows stronger with the bitter pills he made me swallow. I became a ghost. Finding solace alone rather than with others," I described, smiling calmly.

"Your mother?" she wondered, "If you don't want to speak about her that's okay," she said. I smiled and sat down, bringing her down with me. She sat next to me and I smiled.

"My mother, as flawed as she is, showed me love. My mother showed me what it means to truly sacrifice everything. She harmed my brother, and harmed me by extension, but I don't blame her. I just, just want to be happy," I found ice crystals running down my face from my eyes.

They sparkled down into my lap, "I want my family back, the way it was before all hell broke loose! I just… just wanna be happy!" I exclaimed. I saw an azure and purple light shine from her hand as she wiped my tears with a small handkerchief.

"Are you happy right now?" she asked, "Don't cry," she muttered, her tone lowering to a sympathetic murmur. I grinned a little.

"Thank you for your handkerchief, and for not overstepping, I am grateful," I stated. Momo grinned and pressed a small sheet of paper into my hand. I looked down at it and she grinned. Then, I felt a slight weight on my cheek. A soft something touched it and she pulled back.

"You're welcome, Koyurei," she said. I saw His dowdy car and the slick limousine, I opened the door for her and she got in, He honked at me to hurry it up, but when I got in the car, he looked happy. It was odd.

"I knew you two were compatible. Now, to find your brother a suitable mate, what do you think?" He glanced at me as I touched the cheek Momo kissed, "Already smitten I see, well then that's good!" He was… smiling? What went wrong? Was he sick? Did I do something wrong by letting Momo in? Was I doing something he liked? He saw the handkerchief.

"And a gift! She's reciprocating, that's even better!" he exclaimed, "You're a loyal son of mine! Taking what you want and giving little!" I felt my heart drop to my stomach, no. I wasn't like him. I wasn't like him at all. It made me think. What if I turn out like him? What if I turn out to be a shameless monster? What if I hurt her? What if I hurt our children? Frost formed on my window, my panic making my quirk go into a defensive mode.

I froze things when I was scared, multiple times I tried that on Him. I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop anything. He continued to drive, even looking a lot less threatening. What was he going to do? What was his game?

"Even if you don't have fire, I still believe you can surpass All Might. Your ice is stronger than your other siblings, and even your mother. I've named it something more appropriate to your interest in Norse Mythology," He announced, his eyes looking softer.

"It was your sister that introduced you, and I asked her what Rune I could name your quirk after," he continued, sliding a piece of paper my way across the dash. I picked it up and saw the rune Isa, or Ice.

"See? Nice, right?" He asked, "Don't worry, I know a lot more than you think,"

'That only makes me worry more, you Balrog.' I thought. I felt the car slow down, and He got out first, I followed soon after, making my steps slow and deliberately that way so I would have time to consider that maybe I should deny my happiness once more.

I could never see Mom, or even send a letter, I couldn't play my games or watch a movie, my life was strictly vicariously lived through my father. He lived through me. I was just an extension. Half of him writhed in me like Fenrir, begging and baying to be let loose at Ragnarok, and I feared it. My mother probably misses me. Fuyumi always ends up crying after a visit, hugging me and telling me over and over that she wished that she could take me to see her. To see our mother and let her questions be answered.

She always asked if I was happy. She always asked if I was doing well. I took off my coat, letting my scars breathe, taking off my shirt and picking up the only photo I had of her, I smiled and clenched it, like I was hugging her.

"I am happy." I confirmed, "I'm happy, Mom,"

It all started with an arranged date, I could only hope she felt the same about me. I could only hope that my one allowed happiness stayed with me. I got under the covers and laid my head down on my pillow.

I felt a smile stretch on my face.

#seeing this makes me feel weird.#Writing Endeavor like this is strange too.

0 notes

teddyvelvetz · 7 years

Text

A fic for @chemosynthelich. Hope you feel better.

I have no clue what I was going for with this? Funny yet kinda sad/sweet? I dunno. I like Rose interacting with Felix.

Ps. Wrote this in an hour so probably littered with mistakes. Hope you enjoy it anyways.

Rex did not want to be here. He wanted to leave and was angry at his mother for dragging him along. Even at only age five, Rex knew true fear every time he saw his mother’s mentor. Waiting in the elevator to reach his room was torture.

“Rex, sweetheart, if your face gets any longer, it’ll touch your knees,” Rose giggled.

Rex felt his face subconsciously in reply to his mother’s words. It didn’t feel any longer. Rose gave her son a weak smile.

“It’s a saying, Rexy, I promise,” Rose assured her son with a tussle to his dark brown dreads. Rex looked like a mirror image of his father with his dark skin and hair. It seemed like the only things he inherited from Rose were large blue eyes and a timid personality.

“oh. Alright,” Rex grumbled, fiddling with the blue jay feathers laced in his dreads. The charm had been made by Beyal. It was supposed to be good luck, but he couldn’t see any luck in being stuck with visiting the coldest human being he ever knew every Wednesday.

“Looks like we’re here!” Rose cheered. The medic pulled out a key card and slid it into the lock of Felix’s door.

With a click, the room opened up. Not a beat later an empty box of cigarettes hit the wall next to Rose’s head. Rex squeaked in fear and hid behind his mother, grabbing onto her flower print dress tightly. His living nightmare hobbled lazily from the kitchenette wearing a black turtleneck and black sweatpants.

“Dumb bitch,” Felix growled “, you don’t even knock anymore.”

“Good to see you too, Felix,” was Rose’s only reply.

Rex thought Felix was either a ghost or on the verge of death every time they visited. Felix’s skin was the shade of paper, but lately it’d gained an eerie, green undertone. His silver eyes were lined with wrinkles from stress and irritation. Similar wrinkles lined the old medic’s mouth. Felix’s thin, tall form loomed over him and Rose ominously. Rex felt like he was in a trance until his mother hugged the old man. Felix rolled his eyes, but hugged back.

Rose turned to her son. “You wanna hug grandpa, Rex?”

Rex only whimpered and clung to Rose’s dress tighter. Felix raised a white eyebrow out of curiosity. After an awkward minute, the old medic let out a tired sigh.

“Nothing like his father,” Felix grumbled “, at that age Dax at least had the balls to kick me in the shins and scream obscenities.”

Rose nervously laughed. “Sorry Felix, it’s just that Rex can be a little nervous.”

“He’s been nervous for five years,” Felix said with a hollow chuckle. The old man’s eyes narrowed. “And didn’t I tell you to stop with the “grandpa” thing. I was a stepdad to your husband. Nothing more.”

Rose could feel Rex shivering next to her. Today was going to be just as hard as usual. Hold patience, dear Rose. She managed to untangle Rex from her skirt and over to a couch to color. Then she went to work on Felix. His health had begun to decline slightly over the past few years. The radiation and Monsuno essence was beginning to effect his immune system so Rose made it her mission to come every Wednesday to check up on the man she admired.

“Alright, old man,” Rose teased “, let’s get your vitals.”

Rex watched with interest as Rose worked on Felix. He’d been interested in his mother’s job since he could conceive his own thoughts. Rose checked Felix’s blood pressure, eyes, throat, and reflexes with ease. The older adult kept rolling his eyes and complaining that he was being treated like a child. Rose recorded her data in a notebook and relaxed on the couch next to Felix, catching up on the S.T.O.R.M base’s gossip. Rex grew quickly bored and silently slipped off the couch.

Felix’s apartment was boring, but Rex believed the old man must have something interesting to look at. Felix’s house had a bird theme going on. Paintings ranging from dainty small birds to large raptors hung on the walls. A dozen glass birds lined a shelf. His plates even had roosters on them! What was with the old man and birds?

Rex wandered into Felix’s room. It immediately radiated the feeling of “Stay the Hell out”, but the five year old couldn’t hold back his curiosity. The room smelled at like old person and baby powder. Rex quickly found out the baby powder smell was coming from Felix’s vanity. The vanity was pink and worn down. The mirror was cracked in one bottom corner. Makeup covered the vanity’s surface. Rex couldn’t tell what color the top of the vanity was, but he assumed pink. The makeup was odd, but Rex didn’t think it was any of his business to question his so-called grandfather’s hobbies.

The five year old flopped onto Felix’s king sized bed. He felt exhausted. The drive from Rose’s base to the S.T.O.R.M base was so long and tiring. He remembered Felix living with them for a time along with Uncle Ross and Uncle Systemmac, but dad convinced his mom that Felix was too sick and needed to return to S.T.O.R.M to be monitored. Rex had a blurry memory of his mother clinging to Felix and sobbing.

Rex shook off the memory and began to notice the pictures on Felix’s bedside table. He didn’t know the cranky medic owned non-bird pictures. Rex gently lifted each picture to examine them. One was of what he could assume an infinitely younger Felix with a younger Ms. Delilah, another person his mother admired way too much for his taste. It looked like the two friends had just gone fishing, each kid holding a line with trout dangling from it. Another was of Felix embracing a woman that looked like Rex’s father. It must be the grandma he never got to meet. Next to that was a picture of Felix, the woman, Uncle Systemmac, Dax, and Uncle Daedalus, another relative that died before Rex was even conceived. Felix looked like he had so much more color and he was a blonde at one point. What the heck happened?

Then, Rex got to the pictures of Felix and his mother. It startled him to see a younger version of his mom sometimes. Her scars looked so fresh that it looked like the muscle in her face was fully exposed. Not to mention she used to have long hair without the white streak in her bangs. One photo was of Rose and Felix shaking hands. Felix’s eyes were even colder looking than they were now. ‘Working with the new kid’ was scribbled on the corner. Another was of Rose and Felix holding a chicken. Felix’s expression was still a frown, but he looked softer and had a warm glow in his eyes. Rex remembered his mom talking about the chicken. Its name was ‘Sunny’. A third picture showed Felix and Rose with the full Rabbit Bones faction. His mother looked to be the cold one this time, Felix standing dutifully to one side and Six on the other. Rose didn’t like telling the story about her faction, but she promised to tell him when he was older. Rex smiled brightly at the next photo he picked up. It was from his parents’ wedding. Poppop (Jon Ace) and Felix were embracing Rose while Dax stood to the side laughing. Felix had a smile on his face. Rex didn’t think Felix was even capable of that emotion. Rex almost dropped the last photo after glancing at it. It was of Felix sitting in a hospital bed next to Rose. The pale man was smiling down at a newly born Rex. One of Rex’s tiny hands wrapped around a long finger. Felix’s face was filled with pure love and caring, with a slightly nervous undertone.

Rex was beginning to feel like he understood his mother’s friendship with this man a little better now. A gruff voice snapped the five year old out of his thoughts.

“Having fun,” Felix stood in the doorway, arms crossed and looking down at Rex with an expectant look.

Rex’s eyes widened in fear as Felix approached the bed. The medic crouched to be at eye level with Rex, joints crackling with strain. “It seems you found my old photos,” Felix mumbled. “Good times I say. Hope I can make a few more.”

Felix held out his hand. Rex looked up at him in confusion. “Let’s go back to the living room. Your mom is wondering where you ran off to.”

Rex nodded his head, dazed. His small hand was engulfed by the medic’s much larger one. Rex braced himself for a rough grasp, but was surprised to find Felix’s grasp was gentle and caring. The boy quietly followed Felix back to the living room.

“There you are,” Rose cooed, pulling Rex into her lap. Rex instinctively clung to his mom and buried his head into her shoulder. “Thank you, Felix.”

Felix shrugged. “No problem. He was in my room not minding his own damn business.” The usual coldness crept back into Felix’s voice.

Rose nervously laughed. “He must have gotten bored and wandered off. Rex is usually well behaved.”

She was met with another half-hearted shrug. Felix thankfully did not appear mad to Rose. An awkward silence passed between them. The older medic looked up at the sound of Rose clearing her throat.

“What?” he smirked “, I haven’t seen you this nervous around me since we first met. Spit it out already.”

“I was just thinking…,” Rose began.

“Never a good thing,” scoffed the old man.

Rose stuck her tongue out at Felix earning a chuckle from the pale male before continuing. “I was thinking, since Rex is interested in being a medic, that when he’s ten you could start training him?”

Felix and Rex’s jaws dropped. Was Rose really trying to put them together like this?

“Why can’t you teach him?” challenged Felix. “Like mother, like son, and I am damn sure not the mother.”

“Well, Ryu began teaching me at fifteen. He was older and had a lot more experience. He was a good teacher.” Rose gave Felix that familiar annoying look of admiration at him. “I really think you two could learn from one another.”

“Didn’t Ryu force you to kill a deer and find a use for all its body parts?” Felix countered.

Rose shrugged. “I dunno. Besides that traumatic experience, Ryu was pretty cool.”

“But I-,” Felix began.

“No buts Felix. I’m not going to let you sit in your apartment and waste away. You’re going to do something with what time you have left. You can start right now by preparing. You have five years, Felix. Tick Tock.”

Rex’s eyes met Felix’s. For the first time ever the young boy could see they felt the same: a wish to be struck dead at this very moment.

#monsuno #writing #geek writes #ocs #fanfic

5 notes · View notes

stardust-squish-blog · 7 years

Text

the beginning ♡

member: vernon / hansol

genre: fluff

this wasn’t originally planned for vernon’s birthday it was just sitting around in my drafts but since it was feb 18 yesterday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

her tolerance was really low.

a few drinks, whatever it was that her friend gave her, and that was all it took.

vernon rested his chin in his palm. it was so different, so so different of her. a small smile ghosted his lips as he remembered his first drink.

ah, it was good.

he played with his sweater paws and looked to his right. seungkwan’s breath tickled his cheek, head resting on his shoulder as he lay peacefully. vernon smiled, almost fondly. the blonde boy had had one too many to drink.

truthfully speaking, all vernon had come to do tonight was drink water, play games on his phone and convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. oh, and to supervise seungkwan, who was known for his rather, well, wild antics when drunk.

today, it seemed calm.

so, he turned back to her.

her being here tonight was a stroke of luck. he’d heard through the grapevine that she hadn’t intended to come. he was thankful she had come, though—she was way more interesting than crossy road or scrolling through twitter.

she turned to her friend. i’m going outside, he read. pushing herself up, she staggered to the door and carelessly slipped her feet into her shoes.

wait.

was she going to the backyard?

wasn’t there a pool in the backyard?

his eyes widened with alarm as the memory came flooding back. abruptly, he stood up, oblivious to the way seungkwan’s head dropped and flopped onto the sofa seat.

a puff of air escaped his lips. “i should follow her,” he mumbled, and then cringed. “ew no, not in a stalker kind of way, i just—oh man, i just really hope what happened last year doesn’t happen again.”

”vernon.”

nothing.

”vernonnn.”

still nothing.

“vernon!”

silence. absolutely no response whatsoever.

“vernonieeeeeeeee!”

the boy in question groaned and smushed his head into a pillow. he really did not feel like doing anything right now. why had he agree to come? he was an under-aged child; he could’ve stayed with chan, and they could’ve been at the arcade and he could’ve been having fun. now he was just sleepy and itching to go back home.

to his dismay, the high-pitched shrill continued, followed by a weak slap on his head.

“let’s go outsideeeeee,” seungkwan trilled as he continued his relentless assault.

vernon sometimes wondered: why didn’t the words ‘stop’ and ‘shut up’ exist in seungkwan’s vocabulary?

in the end, he begrudgingly assented. the jeju boy shot up from his seat, his earlier lethargy gone. eyes as bright as stars, he (surprisingly) pulled the grumpy 18-year-old off the couch and dragged him to the door.

outside, the hyungs were gathered around a table. amused, they watched as a hyper seungkwan skipped out the back door towards the pool with a grumpy vernon in tow.

“well, someone’s enjoying their first drink,” jeonghan remarked.

soonyoung laughed in agreement. “seungkwan suits this kind of stuff.”

the only one who didn’t share the joy was joshua. “guys? don’t you think we should watch out for them? they are young and something might go wrong.”

however, his soft voice was drowned out by boisterous chatter and laughter of the other boys. joshua sighed as he wrung his hands together. “i have a really bad feeling about this…”

needless to say, joshua was right.

seungkwan had been running laps around the perimeter of the backyard when he suddenly decided that vernon, who hadn’t moved from his original position beside the pool, was an object of interest, and that the best way to get to him was to run across the pool.

he didn’t get very far.

long story short, the hyungs had to fish him out of the pool and give him mouth-to-mouth. that responsibility fell on seungcheol as the oldest hyung, who did not exactly enjoy the experience.

“i wanted my first kiss to be romantic! with the person i love! not like this!” seungcheol cried in anguish.

“hyung, don’t you love me?”

it was safe to say that vernon was scarred, traumatised even, by the incident. for the following 7 months or so, he couldn’t see seungcheol in the same light as he did before.

i’ll just go and make sure nothing happens, he told himself. i’m doing a good deed. yeah. i’m doing the right thing.

but if something were to happen, then she would be his first kiss, wouldn’t she? and vernon knew he wouldn’t mind that.

the angel on his shoulder disagreed. how can you leave seungkwan here? alone? you’re supposed to make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy!

his lip got caught between his teeth as he realised his dilemma. that’s true as well…

after giving it a bit of thought and giving the sleeping boy a few slaps, vernon decided that it would be alright.

he found her sitting on the steps, arms propped onto her knees and chin resting in her palm. exhaling breathily, he uncrossed his fingers as a wave of relief washed over him. at least she wasn’t running around squawking like a headless chicken.

she looks so nice, he smiled to himself. so ethereal, like a mermaid. or an angel. yeah, an angel. she looks different from jeonghan-hyung though…

“hey, vernon right?”

“hmm?” she’s looking at me! and talking to me! omg omg stay cool vernon stay cool!

“yeah, that’s me. how’d you know?”

a smile graced her features, and oh how vernon wished that he could be the reason why the corners of her pretty lips turned up.

“chan talks about you sometimes.”

“oh, uh, same.”

she looked up at him, confused. “come again?”

profanities swam through his head as he realised how badly he screwed up. “same”? that was the dumbest thing he could’ve ever said! sucking in a breath, vernon hurriedly made the attempt to salvage his image.

“i-i mean, chan talks about you too, so like ‘same’. and so i kinda know you. like, chan’s a mutual friend.” laughing nervously, he carded a hand through his hair. did his brain have to shut down every time he conversed with someone attractive?

humming in agreement, she patted the spot next to her. bravely, he took the two steps down and settled beside her.

boy, she was so much prettier up close.

millions of thoughts raced through his mind as he tried (really hard) not to stare. should he start a conversation? would that seem too forward? what if she thought he did that to every girl he met? or should he just keep quiet?

but the atmosphere was so awkward with neither of knowing what to say or do. maybe he should just say something…

then he had an epiphany.

wasn’t she drunk?

huh. she’s surprisingly calm.

“what do you mean?”

shit. shitshitshitshitshit. did i just say that out loud?

“umm, i mean, aren’t you, y'know, drunk? i saw you inside and you looked pretty… drunk. but uh, now you seem quite sober?”

in response she laughed, an absolutely adorable laugh that reminded him of fairies from childhood tales sprinkling fairy dust on flowers. and right there and then, vernon decided that hotling bling wasn’t his favourite song anymore.

i could listen to her laugh forever.

“yeah, about that.” her words brought him back to reality from his lovesick trance. with a nonchalant shrug, she continued, “i was just, uh, faking. my friends were trying to get me to drink more but alcohol really isn’t my thing.”

vernon felt his heart jump. he didn’t particularly enjoy alcohol either. and it meant something considering how nearly everyone around him loved to drink.

maybe this is fate. i gotta find some more things i have in common with her!

“sa–i mean, me too. i don’t drink a lot. not that i hate drinking, i actually don’t mind it! just once in a while, y'know, to de-stress and stuff. not every friday at a social gathering. it’s a bit too much for me. most of the time i end up vomiting all over the bathroom—”

oh no. i’m rambling again.

vernon stopped abruptly and resisted the urge to slap himself. curse that wretched rambling habit of his! did he bore her? had he said too much? she wouldn’t think he was weird right?

ohmygosh you can’t just stop in the middle of a sentence! say something you nuthead!

awkwardly, he cleared his throat and sputtered out an apology. “sorry, i was rambling.”

to his relief, she smiled. a real, sincere, genuine smile. the thought that she smiled because of what he said made his heart blossom and his cheeks pink.

“no, it’s alright. i ramble sometimes too. i suppose it’s the excitement of finding someone who understands.” toying with the ends of her hair, she stared wistfully into the sky. “nowadays everyone just thinks i’m weird or weak or whatever. it gets annoying sometimes.”

“yeah. i know how that feels.”

they sat in comfortable silence, looking out to the stars. the minute hand on his watch ticked closer to 12. it was supposed to be a pleasant night, but with the loud party music booming in the background, it wasn’t exactly all peace and quiet.

both of them could feel it, too. tonight was the kind of night where you could stay up with your best friend and talk about anyone and anything. the kind of night where couples would go on late night drives to the beach to stargaze. the kind of night where the bed was extra fluffy, the soft toys on your bed were extra cuddly, the temperature was just right and perfect to dream in.

it was the kind of night where people could fall in love.

and so vernon summed up his courage for the second time that night.

“hey, wanna go for fro-yo?”

a/n: hoho i might have a second part for this :>

#seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen fluff #vernon #hansol #vernon chwe #hansol chwe #hansol vernon chwe #seventeen vernon #seventeen hansol #vernon scenarios #vernon imagines #vernon fluff #hansol scenarios #hansol imagines #hansol fluff #squish-writes

76 notes · View notes