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aubyrei · 1 year

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OMAKE MODE SIDE STORY 2 - (MACHINE) TRANSLATION

found out this got released. freaked out. hopped on my computer and started running papago and google translate at full speed. note: as mentioned before, this is machine translated + tweaks here and there to make it more readable and comprehensive. i don't speak korean so im very very sorry for any inaccuracies (please feel free to correct me). i cross-referenced multiple machine translations and made sure to stay as close to the original as possible, but again, no guarantee it's entirely accurate. this will (obviously) contain spoilers for both DRA and SDRA2. proceed with caution. with that, let's begin!

"Ootori Teruya."

He is the financial officer of the Kisaragi Corporation and a member of the 79th class of the Hopes Peak Academy. Although he didn't think highly of his own intellect, he rose to the position of 'Super High School-Level Merchant' with his innate understanding of commerce and mathematical talent. He thought that entering Hopes Peak Academy would be the start of his success, but he unexpectedly finds himself caught in trouble and experiencing a hell where life and death are at stake.

Now, it is widely known as the 'most despair-inducing event in human history.'

The 'Killing School Life' inflicted upon the 79th class as a preliminary experiment for that catastrophic event. Ootori survived that hell.

... No, he had survived.

"Ootori, you're quite pitiable..."

"Yeah, you're right. Sacrificing so much for the organization, only to end up like this."

"I actually liked Ootori..."

The time is right after the conclusion of the 'Utsuroshima Incident.' Barely managing to capture the masterminds, the Kisaragi Corporation is preparing to return to their normal routine.

As part of that, they have to bid farewell to Ootori, the high-ranking officer who sacrificed his life in this incident. It is Ootori Teruya's funeral, attended by most of the members and affiliates of the Kisaragi Corporation. However, there are voices that cannot simply accept his death.

"That rumor... Is it true after all?"

"What? That the director abandoned Ootori?"

"Hey, watch your words. Could the director really have abandoned a colleague?"

"There must have been a reason. I trust the director."

"But there are quite a few unsettling things."

"The current state of the organization is definitely strange..."

Cracks gradually appear. Detailed information about the Utsuroshima Incident has not been publicly disclosed except for high-ranking officials, but rumors spread quickly. There had been an implicit 'factionalism' within the organization even before the incident. This event only served to widen the pre-existing cracks.

The Kisaragi Corporation made tremendous efforts and sacrifices to eliminate the worst criminals and preserve peace in the world. However... the price paid was too high. They lost many significant things that cannot be replaced.

In this situation, it was not unreasonable for members of the organization to feel confused.

... It was not an exaggeration.” 2

Knock. Knock.

The sound of knocking echoed through the top-floor corridor of the Kisaragi Institution. The door had the words "Director's Office" written on it in large letters.

"...Come in."

"Mekaru, what's the matter? Why have you come at this hour?"

"...Is it something urgent right after the funeral?"

"You know how it is. There's no time to rest."

The man processing the towering pile of documents on the unremarkable chair and desk in the Director's Office was Kisaragi Institution's director, Kinjo Tsurugi, a member of the 79th class of the Hope's Peak Academy and a former high school police officer.

Just a few days ago, he had risked his life to cut off the source of evil in Utsuroshima, but he was still working on paperwork late into the night, without taking a break.

A woman walked up to Kinjo without hesitation. She was the head of the Kisaragi Institution's information team and a former high school teacher, Mekaru Rei. She was also a former classmate of Kinjo's in the 79th class and had crossed the Sura Bridge (No idea what this means) with him.

"Although Sannoji Mikado was undoubtedly a great evil, the world is still filled with small and large evils."

Kinjo continued to work on the documents, ignoring Mekaru's presence in the office.

"We can't stop, even for the sake of the deceased, like Ootori Teruya."

"Wow, you even mentioned Otori's name. I don't think I could’ve even shown my face in public if I were you."

"..."

Kinjo's pen paused for a moment as he was signing documents.

"I know that Sannoji Mikado was an opponent we couldn't have caught without going that far."

Mekaru continued, looking straight at Kinjo's face.

"As the head of the Kisaragi Institution's information department, Mekaru Rei understands that better than anyone else."

"But...as a member of the Hope's Peak Academy's 79th class, I can't accept that."

"As a member of the Hope's Peak Academy's 79th class, Kinjo Tsurugi shouldn't have done that."

"Mekaru, have you been drinking?"

"..."

It was only then that Kinjo looked up from the documents and gazed at Mekaru's face. She looked somewhat unorganized, dressed in a less neat and tidy manner than usual. Her face was a little flushed.

"That's just for today."

Leaning against the wall of the director's office, Mekaru stared blankly at the dull white ceiling light.

"If I didn’t do this today, I might’ve actually killed you."

".............."

"What really angers me is..."

"That traitor Ootori guy who abandoned us..."

"Even in the afterlife, he won't hold any resentment towards us."

Kinjo noticed that Mekaru's voice was gradually getting louder.

"...Mekaru, you're in bad shape. Let's stop for today."

"That guy, even though we tried to protect him, he was willing to sacrifice himself."

"He wanted to make sure we wouldn't feel guilty, even if he used himself as a disposable pawn..."

"I said stop!!"

Kinjo couldn't help but shout. Immediately, he regretted it. He should have remained calm.

Having observed Kinjo closely for a long time, Mekaru had no qualms about digging into Kinjo’s weak spots.

"Fine... Kinjo Tsurugi."

"I came here today to tell you this."

"Mekaru Rei, the member of the 79th class at Hope’s Peak academy, is no more.”

"................"

Mekaru, who was stumbling around under the influence a moment ago, suddenly adopted a serious tone.

"You're the same, aren't you?"

"Kinjo Tsurugi, the member of the 79th class, disappeared a long time ago, right?"

"Yes, there are no more 79th class members."

"Mekaru Rei also died along with Teruya Otori."

"That's what I know."

"Mekaru...!"

Kinjo rose from his desk, but Mekaru didn't bat an eye.

"Well... yeah."

"Listen carefully. This is the will of Mekaru Rei, a member of the 79th class."

"'It wasn't enjoyable being together, and let's never see each other again.'"

"'Kinjo Tsurugi, you bastard.'"

Kinjo didn't mind being cursed at. He understood why Mekaru was treating him this way.

They had both prepared themselves for everything.

Mekaru knew that which is why he came before the funeral day of Ootori passed.

But...

".............."

"Go away." (i assume, this might be inaccurate - the original text said “Go in”)

"Starting from tomorrow... Please take good care of Mekaru Rei, information officer of the Kisaragi Agency."

"...Director."

Mekaru purposely made a loud noise as she closed the door to the director's office and left. Left alone, Kinjo clutched his trembling legs and struggled to sit back in his wheelchair.

"..................."

Silently, Kinjo resumed his paperwork. At a glance, he seemed extremely calm as if there had been no conversation with Mekaru.

"..........Haaa."

The solitary overtime work continued, and finally, the end of the accumulated documents began to come into sight.

Glancing at the clock, Kinjo realized that it had already passed midnight and the date had changed.

Yes, the funeral day of Ootori had come to an end.

"...................Haha."

"Hahaha."

Setting down the fountain pen on the desk, Kinzou lifted his head and looked at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he burst into a devastated laugh.

"───────!! ───!"

...He buried his head on the spot and let out a silent scream.

A side that he only shows when he's alone, a side that no one knows.

It is the appearance of Kinjo Tsurugi as a member of the 79th class at Kiboukan Academy.

"!! ─────! ────────!!"

With a loud thud, Kinjo collapsed to the floor.

While screaming with his whole body, he couldn't overcome his emotions and fell from the wheelchair.

The wheels of the wheelchair spun meaninglessly, and the neatly arranged documents danced in the air.

...Yet, this scream of silence doesn't stop.

What was the right answer?

Did he do the right thing?

Was there really no better way?

Kinjo Tsurugi cannot escape from these endless questions for the rest of his life.

No matter how much he struggles to improve, the doubts only deepen.

It's already too late to turn back, and he can only bear the painful emotions.

That's why he can't confide in anyone, and silently screaming without making even a slight sound becomes his only resistance.

And the next day, the director disappeared without anyone knowing.

Officially, he was put on temporary leave, but no one knew why or where he had gone.

Mekaru Rei took on the temporary role of acting director, but she didn't appear the same as before.

From this point on, the Kisaragi Institute was clearly tilting.

And in the near future, the Kisaragi Institute would reach a significant turning point due to an event.

It was a future that had not yet arrived, unknown to anyone.

But when that time comes, it is certain that someone will step forward and leave a record...

...It was such a grand future.

#sdra2 #fanganronpa #danganronpa another #tsurugi kinjo #rei mekaru #danganronpa another despair academy #teruya otori #i had to hop on this as soon as i saw it #actually insane over this #rei has been my fave 4 ever....#maybe ill write some analysis on this later but there is so much to work with aahh

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stormblessed95 · 3 years

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You don't post the anons that say the truth about jk. He doesn't like jm at all. It's not a competition but everyone with eyes can see the difference between taekook and jikook, jk that loves and respect tae, and jk that never praised jm or respected him, he only makes fun of him even if jm is older. If there is no respect, how a relationship can exist?

I don't post them because you sound really dumb. JK DOES love and respect Tae. Who says he doesn't? He also loves and respects Jimin. Saying he doesn't makes you look like an idiot who hasn't actually seen the content they put out but instead only watches Taekook compilations or heavily edited videos that brainwashes people into thinking Jimin and Jungkook aren't close or hate each other. If every taekooker stalking my blog currently wants me to post their asks, you first need to do 2 things. Come off anon, be brave. Say what you want to say with your whole chest. Let us all know. And second, send me whatever it is you are using as proof, so that I can respond at the very least with the either correct video with correct translations, OR the full video that isn't cut up so you can see the full moment and all the context and everything else that happened.

And just to get you started, Jungkook himself saying yes he likes Jimin:

Jungkook himself saying the reason he teases Jimin is because he likes him too much:

Literally all the different kinds of compliments Jungkook gives on Jimin's visuals:

Jungkook saying that every part of Jimin is his favorite:

Jungkook saying that no matter what, Jimin is always number 1 to him:

When he says they are destiny and you are me, I am you. Why would Jungkook say they are the same if he doesn't like who Jimin is?

When he says that he is always watching Jimin and looks up to him alot:

More compliments, but this time from both of them about each other:

And just because I know you are a taekooker, Jimin is Tae's favorite too:

I don't post these asks, anon, not because you scare me, but because it's not worth the time, effort or energy. Because everyone here who follows me? They KNOW all this already. And you? Do you actually care? Please surprise me, please. I promise I AM a nice person and if you want help finding clips or original content, ships aside, I can help. But please, watch full length clips, watch actual content, because as soon as you watch content in full, it's so easy to tell that NONE of these 7 guys hate each other and they all love each other a lot.

If you don't think Jimin and Jungkook are romantically involved, that's fine. If you are firm in your belief that Jungkook and Taehyung ARE Romantically involved, that is ALSO fine. What isn't okay is saying any of them hate each other. Maknae line especially are all very close. They is a lot of love, respect and care between them, no matter type of relationship they may have. If you legitimately want to talk, feel free to hop into my DMs and if you can be respectful, I would be happy to help you find more content to explore all of BTSs relationships with each other more. I am doubtful you or any other tkkrs reading this will take me up on that, but if not, then why are you here? Is this REALLY how you want to be spending your time? Insisting that one of the most loving groups in the world actually have members who hate each other?

Please, please go watch original content. I won't post any more asks like this, and now you specifically should know why I won't.

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interstellarre · 3 years

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Delve In The Depths. Chapter II.

Word Count. 1.5k

a/n. Just a quick btw, Meno gave Xiao the nickname "Emerald duck" because emerald ducks have greenish teal stripes on their heads and Xiao has teal undertones in his hair.

Trigger Warnings. Mentions of death and violence

Series Masterlist

Chapter II.

Again and again these waves crash over Xiao's subconscious. Riptides of lost human dreams, the tsunamis of guilt, and the eons of pain build each other up, growing larger as they drown him in endless suffering. Waves of black vapor cloud his person. He clutches his mask

He can hear their screams now as he writhes on the top floor of Wangshu Inn in agony, barely supporting the weight of his body with his arms leaning on the balcony rails.

"Xiao, Xiao!" he turns his head to see Verr Goldet franticly searching for him.

"There's someone downstairs, the-they, Verr Goldet stutters on her words, waving her arms around unlike her usual composed self.

Xiao doesn't wait for to finish, he grabs his pole arm by reflex prepared to strike the threat down.

Instead he's met with a person grappling with pain on the floor.

"Why slime condensate exactly?"

"Hm?" Xiangling gives you a genuinely confused look despite it not exactly being the social norm to add slime liquids to a meal. She was climbing up a sandbearer tree. The striped squirrels on the ground scatter upon her arrival.

"What gave you the idea to add slime into your dishes?" you clarify, trying not to come off as rude. Tossing the wicker basket between your hands as a form of entertainment while your culinary friend ducked her head underneath a branch.

The trees ruffle and flocks of crimson flinches and golden flinches fly off to the sky as Xiangling forages around in the tree branches for bird eggs.

"What gave you the idea that not everything is edible?" she playfully teases, now placing bird eggs by sets of two in the basket she previously gave you in Wanmin Restaurant.

You giggle, covering your hands with your mouth. She motions for you to put the basket down and come over while she grabs you by the shoulders ("Don't you dare-") and hops down. Unfortunately, you aren't heavy enough to support her body weight when she jumps down with her full force.

"Ugh!" you groan as you both tumble down to the floor. You raise a hand to your head and cover your forehead. "Was that really necessary?" you sigh, already far too used to her antics. She snickers.

As you regain your footing, you ask, "How far along are we exactly? My mother will have an aneurysm if we step foot in Moon City.*" Xiangling had already run off, and with the basket no doubt.

You look to your right and find her by the lake counting hydro slimes behind a crack between a few slabs of stone. You crouch down besides her. Her charcoal hair brushes against your mulberry silk skirt.

"1,2,3,4." Yes! this is definitely enough for my new dish!" she pumps her fist in the air.

You don't remember there being a lake to the far right in the places your mother told you to stick to.

"Let me guess," you strike a thinking pose, you want me to set up a new shop here for your new culinary competition?" you sarcastically muse.

She rolls her eyes. "No, silly I-," she stops at your amused expression. "Ah- well go on than."

You reach your arm to summon your now unsheathed dagger attached to the leather belt on your waist, ignoring the long bow and arrows attached on your back and rather choosing a melee weapon,

Standing up from your hiding spot, the group hydro slime flock, well bounce towards you.

The air turns frosty and Xiangling's teeth chatter while she rubs her arms in hopes of warming up. "Don't turn me into a chef popsicle before I get the slime condensate [Name]!"

As you kneel down to slam the stiletto dagger into sand, sharp edged flower patterns appear on the ground. The slimes teeter back at the sound chill between their mass before large icicles spring up, piercing their bodies and turning them into goo.

"Woo!" Xiangling jumps above the rock pile and excitedly cheers. Pumping her arms up. "That's my girl!"

"It was nothing really. What was it you needed next again? Of course after you've collected the slime condensate of course." you stop talking as Xiangling sweeps the slightly frozen slime fluids off the crystals you've created into a glass bottle.

"Well talking about other ingredients, I actually wanted to try something." she mentions with a certain twinkle in her eyes.

"You have my attention." You wave your hand at her to go on.

"You know that cooking competition? The one I had in the Mondstadt with the chef named Brooke?"

"I don't recall you telling me that, can you specify?" racking your brain for memories of Xiangling's rantings about food. You suddenly feel drops of sweat on your back despite not being lukewarm at the very best. It must just be from the excitement from fighting the slimes, you think pushing away your other thoughts on the matter.

"Well anyways, we found this extinct species of boar with the help of the traveler, I believe they're called the honorary knight now?" she taps her chin. "That's besides the point but, anyways, it made me think of the different varieties of possible meat options I could use with different monsters. Can you go with me north of Jueyun Karst with me to find a Stonehide Lawachurl?" She claps her hands together into a begging motion. "Please, Please?"

"Mhm, I'm not sure how fast we can make it there? You didn't hear my question before when I was asking where we were before. I'm planning on packing my bags early when I go home overmorrow." you say counting the possible time it would take you to pack all your belongings. Black spots appear in your vision. You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

"Hmm, I'd say if we're lucky, a few hours? It's lucky that it's still the early morning huh?" Xiangling turned her attention to you from the mushrooms she was picking underneath the trees.

"[Name]?"

She looks over to see you on your knees, black substance withering out of your body. Sweat drips down your forehead.

She frantically shakes you, but your vision has gone black.

"[Name]!"

The blood on Bosacius' arm dripped to the ground creating a thin string trailing only to be diluted by the pouring rain water behind Bosacius and a certain teal haired adeptus. Bosacius gripped his injured arm with his other.

"You need to treat that wound," Xiao said, glaring at his fellow adeptus' wound. He could see the majority of Bosacius bone creeping out of his flesh. A familiar sight.

"Rest assured, I've been in worse state. I just never expect it to hurt as much as it always does," grimaced Bosacius through his smiling expression. The water soaked through his garments and drenched his hair.

"You sound like one of those mortals, trying to fight through their deathly injuries only not to see the next day," replied Xiao looking forward to their destination of Jueyun Karst. He could see the towering peaks getting larger and larger as they move on despite the misty atmosphere.

"We're all too mortal for our liking these days." said Bosacius, his expression unreadable.

The sound of steps softly crushing the blades of grass underneath them and thunder rumbling filled the air while their owners remained silent.

"Have you told Rex Lapis about the constant pain you've been experiencing?" said Xiao, breaking the silence.

Bosacius bit his bottom lip while his working hands, well, what was left of them tensed up. "No, I didn't see the need to bother him. I'm sure he has other pressing matters to attend to now, especially with the incline in aggression from monsters around Liyue Harbor recently. It's strange," The older man looked up to the sky, while Xiao had a distracted look on his face from thinking about the increased monster attacks. "I have yet to figure out the cause behind it."

"I believe Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper are free this evening, I'll ask them for their input on the situation later."

They had arrived at Jueyun Karst, the floating island in the middle of the adepti abode was lit up, symbolizing the availability of Cloud Retainer.

"I'd imagine we don't have the need to place an offering in the middle of the lake huh?" Bosacius winks at Xiao. Xiao looks down at the lake, full of ripple currently from the cloudburst. The empty bowl in the middle overflowed with liquid.

Bosacius gave a forced smile at his correct prediction of their fellow adepti's availability. "Well, I suppose it's best for me to head off and find Indarias to heal my wounds."

"That would be for the best." confirmed Xiao

"Thank you for accompanying me for this trip."

Xiao turned his back and Bosacius was gone

"Hey! Emerald duck!"

Xiao swore he heard the inter layers of hell again as he pinched the bridge of his nose

"Oh archons," he cursed under his breath. Menogias tumbled towards him, no grace or posture in her current childlike state.

*Moon City refers to Mondstadt as Mondstadt translates to Moon City in German.

a/n. Incase anyone was wondering the reader's constellation is "The Maiden" or "Virgo". I'm planning on making a character sheet for the reader soon, so watch out for that!

#genshin impact #genshin imagines #genshin xiao #genshin Zhongli #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #childe x reader #la signora #delve into the depths

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descendantofthesparrow · 3 years

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Shuffle playlist - Rewrite - Part of Your World - Harry Hook x Reader - part 5 - the isle.

warning: talk of non-con selling of sex in last bit of chapter

(note: (n/n) means = Nick name)

Mal took a heaving breath as she led her scooter towards the edge of the cliff, facing towards the isle of the lost. Harry repositioned behind her, tightening his grip on the cushion below him.

Mal let out a few sputtering sobs and lifted her goggles off the bridge of her nose and placed them on top of her helmet. she swung her backpack off her shoulders and grabbed her spellbook from her bag, hurriedly shifting through the pages to find the correct spell. There it was. “Noble steed/proud and fair/you will take us/anywhere”

The scooter glowed purple for a moment before it went back to normal, and Harry could swear the barrier had shimmered purple as well.

Mal stuffed her book back in her bag and shrugged it back on, turning to Harry while reshifting her goggles back onto her nose “hang tight, and onto me, I know it'll be uncomfortable but I don’t know if this will work, and I still can't swim” Harry sighed and released the cushions, wrapping is arms around Mal's torso and leaning against her.

“okay, hoo” she took a deep breath again, revving the engine of her scooter “please work”

“Mal if this doesn’t work and we die I am going ta kill yeh!” Harry yelped as Mal suddenly swerved to the right towards the steep slope down towards the beach and lead the bike onto the ocean.

The bike hopped on the surface a couple of times before smoothing out, Mal looked over her and Harry's shoulders back to Auradon and let out a breathy laugh, she was free!!!! Free from the pastel dresses, the invading press, the bobby pins, the painful too small at her toe heels, the rules, everything!

She could finally be herself again.

She and Harry let out a gasp as the barrier shimmered over them, the feeling of her magic draining from her was probably the worst feeling she had ever experienced, yet the scooter was still running atop the water. “odd” she muttered to herself, slapping the handle of her scooter as she remembered FGs explanation of good-intentioned magic being allowed to exist behind the border.

And she was doing everybody a favor by going back to the isle, so it had to be good-intentioned…right?

She took a hard right, making Harry yelp, and rolled into the wharf market that was near the Core fours hideout. Harry finally looked around, fixing the black motor helmet over his head as he passed his fellow isle pirates.

Mal suddenly stopped, looking to her left and taking off her goggles, Harry looked away from the market and towards her, raising his brow as she tore down the defiled poster with her and Ben on it and bunched it up, she threw it over her shoulder and replaced her goggles. She drove the scooter down to the next block and parked it in the slot next to the ascending stairs up to the core fours apartment. Harry quickly slid off the back and ripped the helmet from his head, shaking around to get rid of the squished feeling on his ears.

“I’m never doing tha’ again” Harry growled, his icy blue eyes locking with Mals now dull green ones as she passed by him and walked over to the entrance of her apartment. She picked up a rock and chucked it at the yellow sign with the words ‘danger flying rocks’. the sign swung back and the metal fence door lifted up.

Mal glanced back at Harry and gestured to the hideout, inviting him into the safe space. He shook his head and held his hands up, the weight of the helmet in his left hand shifting a bit “nah, I swore never ta step foot in tha’ place, I’ll be at meh apartment for a bit till I go talk ta Uma” Mal tilted her head at him.

“why do you want to talk to Uma?” she asked, leaning over the railing of the steps. Harry gave her a look.

“I need her ta know I haven’t abandoned her” Mal's mouth made an ‘o’ shape as she nodded, realizing what Harry was talking about.

“I get it….sorry, I know I was part of the distraction that prevented Ben from getting more kids off” she sighed, scratching the back of her head. “I've- I wish I could’ve done something more- I-I just” Harry held his hand up again, shaking his head.

“I know, lemme say this from (y/n)s perspective because from mine I would just blame yeh fully” Mal let out a little snort, if anything her and Harry's distaste of each other hadn’t changed in the last 6 months, which was nice. “yeh were under a lot of stress, and it’s not yer job ta make sure Ben follows through on his promise to bring more vks over” Mal shook her head, pushing up on her toes and pouting at Harry.

“but I could have helped with moving it further along, it was my fault that he kept blowing you and (y/n) off on those meetings for the vks, I could have…I don’t know made him think we were having a date in his office and then you two just make him sit through the meeting or something” Mal sighed, leaning her cheek on her hand.

Harry shrugged again, looking down the alley “aye possibly, I’ll be back at meh apartment if yeh need meh, Jay will know where it is” Mal quirked her brow again.

“huh?” Harry smirked up at Mal, rolling his eyes.

“did yeh really think those three would jus’ leave ye ‘ere? and yeh know once (y/n) finds out I’m ‘ere too she’ll drag me off by meh ear” Mal rolled her eyes.

“I guess….though I was kinda betting on someone coming over and taking me back, I’m really just here to get away from it all” Harry nodded at that.

“aye, once we crossed the barrier yeh regretted this a bit didn’t yeh?” Mal nodded a bit.

“…yeah, that feeling of magic being drained from me it was just….made everything come back, now I remember why we all wanted to leave so bad….I guess the stress from Auradon made this place seem a lot better than it was” Mal sighed, looking up to the dark grey sky.

Harry nodded again and started to back away “aye, when the rest of em get here, just tell (y/n) I’m at meh apartment and Jay can lead ‘er there” Mal waved him off and watched him disappear into the dark alleys towards the wharf. She tapped her heel against the steel stairs nervously as he left her sight.

God, she hoped Hook wouldn’t find out about Harry’s presence on the isle.

She couldn’t bear to hear those sounds again.

You sighed as you leaned back in the cushioned chair in Ben's office, watching him quickly write down on the papers for cotillion. You had bust into his office about an hour ago, waiting until he finally talked about his fight with Mal. He stopped, looking up at you through his lashes before sighing and leaning back against his chair. “I really screwed up didn’t I” he finally muttered, crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling.

“yep” you popped your lips, smirking as he groaned and rubbed his face in stress.

“but she lied to me! She lied about everything and thought she could get away with it! And-and” you rose your brow as he looked back to you. “-god I was just so angry at her for doing that but then….god I fucking compared her to Audrey” you blinked at that.

“you-I-wow Ben, that’s….alright then” you chuckled, pinching your nose and standing from your chair, walking over to bens desk and leaning on it “alright imma say it straight, and before you ask, I’m from a world where yall are a movie remember?” Ben nodded, slightly confused at the last part, leaning back slightly as (y/n)s disappointed look turned to a glare. “you are valid to be mad at Mal for lying to you about using her magic, you are valid to be mad at her for doing that. But you have to understand, she.is.not.you. she is not Evie, she is not Audrey, and she is not from here.

She is from the isle, where EVERYTHING was different for her, there were no rules, there was no press, there was no dress code, there was no nothing, she could just do whatever she wanted. Going from that, to having a billion rules and demands from everyone, is extremely stressful”

Ben tried to speak up but you silenced him with a glare “you may say ‘but I never asked her to be anything other than herself’ you never told her that, when she started to try being the perfect Auradon girl, you never told her that you liked it, you never told her you didn’t like it, you just let her keep going, which in her head translated it as ‘oh he likes me better this way, I’ll keep going’ I know you have that stained glass window with her in her full isle style self, but that window would have been helpful two months ago when all this shit started. She's having an identity crisis Ben, she needs support and guidance, now I don’t mean she needs her hand held, she needs someone to say that she's doing the right thing, that she's not screwing anything up.

she needed someone to say that she didn’t have to change because she was already perfect, yes, her attitude and shit needed work but as a whole? She was fine, she didn’t need to change the way she spoke, or walked, or dressed, or smiled. She just needs to learn that it's okay not to be okay, and to ask for help. She JUST learned that she wasn’t the only person in the world 6 months ago, and now she needs to learn that it's okay that she's not doing okay.

And you haven’t helped her with that, you have just stood by and acted like nothing was wrong, and that’s what is wrong Ben, you live in this world of lollipops and sunshine, that you don’t see what’s two inches in front of you! And that’s not a bad thing, I love that you’re an optimist, but when It comes to not seeing that something is wrong with your friends, that’s when it becomes a problem.” You sighed, leaning back and cracking your neck.

“again, I will say you being mad at Mal for lying to you about using her magic and…lying to you about how she was doing is completely valid. but you again have to understand, her entire existence, up until 6 months ago, was pleasing her mother.

and when her mother was turned into a mini dragon, her people-pleasing tendencies turned to you, and what she thought would please you most. And that would be a perfect Auradon girl. That’s why she did all that, because she thought you would prefer her that way instead of her actual self. On both sides of your argument, you both are in the wrong, and you both are in the right, but because you both lack communication between the two of you”

you held up your hand again as Ben tried to speak “neither of you truly talk to each other, yes you talk, but not really, you never asked about her boundaries, she never asked you about what you wanted, both of you suffered because you just won't talk to each other like that, you need to talk to each other and find out what is going on with the other to find balance in your relationship. Ben, you can't just rely on the other to come forward, you both have to if you see a problem in the relationship.

And the problem with yours is that you don’t know how to look past the surface and see beneath anything, and Mal doesn’t know how to ask for help. I’m not saying your shallow, I’m saying you’ve lived in a world of everything is perfect and nothing is ever wrong; so it's hard for you to realize that someone is having a hard time, and Mal has lived in a world where asking for help meant weakness or even worse death.” Ben paled at that

“so both of you have to teach the other about yourselves, Mal can teach you how to look beneath the front mask of people and see their true selves and intentions, and you can teach mal to soften up and learn that asking for help is not a bad thing anymore”

You sat back down in your chair and crossed your arms, waiting for Ben’s response as he just stared at you “I know, that was one big ol’ rant but it needed to be said” you laughed, cracking your neck and sighing “I haven’t talked that much in….never” Ben rolled his eyes and leaned forward on his hands.

“I need to talk to her” you nodded, shifting in your chair.

“what you need is to take your relationship slower Ben, it's only been six months, don’t you think that’s a little fast? especially for Mal who’s never done anything like this before? Something like cotillion and her being introduced as Lady of the court would be something that happened in a year, not six months. I think it would be better to celebrate the half-year of the vks being here than all that.” Ben paused for a moment, then groaned, flopping back in his chair.

“I’m an idiot” He muttered, you snorted and rolled your eyes “of course she's not ready for all this….I really should have paid attention to her more instead of just assuming that she was okay with everything changing so fast” he sighed, glancing back at you. You nodded to him, letting him know he was on the right track.

The two of you sat up as the door to Ben’s office opened suddenly and Evie stepped in, knocking rapidly on Ben’s door. “Evie!” Ben sighed, letting a smile bloom on his face. “come in” she quickly stepped into the room and closed the door. She let out a shuddering sigh and looked from you to Ben. You sighed, closing your eyes, right you had forgotten about Mal going back.

“Mal’s gone back to the isle” Evie's voice wavered, looking down at the floor as she quickly walked over to Ben and handed him a note. Before he could read it she said his name, and handed him the golden class ring Ben had given Mal during the coronation.

He stared at it for a few moments before hurriedly unfolding the note and reading it, his eyes shining as his shoulders dropped as he read the note. “this-this is my fault! She had been under so much pressure lately and I-I was the last straw….I shouldn’t have yelled at her like that” he bit his lip, a few tears trailing down his cheeks and hitting the top of his desk “she wasn’t even doing anything bad with her magic she was just taking a few shortcuts….I have to go to the isle and get her back myself! It's dangerous over there and she could get hurt…I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her” he turned to the window, peering out the side where he could see the edge of the ocean.

“Ben you’ll never find her! The isle is huge and she has a million hiding places!” Evie sighed, rubbing her arms as she thought about what she was about to do “you have to take me with you” Ben turned around, looking at Evie with wide eyes.

“I can't let you do that” he muttered, his shoulders dropping “I don’t want anything happening to you” Evie shook her head defiantly.

“I’m going, you don’t even know how to get from the entrance to the market, you need someone who knows the isle sand from stone…and I can't leave her there either, there's no doubt she’s made some enemies over there that are just waiting for a moment to strike, and without her mother's protection…even if it was lousy protection, she could get seriously hurt, or even worse killed…” Ben turned pale again, he didn’t want to think about that. “and she's my best friend Ben, I won't just leave her….and we’ll bring the boys too, because there's safety in numbers and I’m betting none of us are popular over there right now” Evie sighed, rubbing the back of her neck, she stopped, watching as Gil entered the room quickly and slammed the door behind him “Gil?” he looked to you, his face place and his body shaking.

“Gil what's wrong?” you asked, standing up quickly and walking over to him “you look like you’ve seen a ghost” he let out a small whimper and handed you a piece of paper from Harry's journal. “what-“ you felt your world stop.

-Gil, I’m sorry, but I’m going back to the isle with Mal, I’m not planning on staying but I need to make a point to beasty boy. I'll stay out of sight I promise.

-Harry

Harry had gone back to the isle with Mal “he what?!” you half screeched, almost stumbling back into the seats in front of Bens desk if it wasn’t for Gils hands on your shoulders

“(y/n)” Evie gasped, rushing over to you and wrapping her arm around your torso “what’s-oh no” she read the note, her face forming into a look of horror “Harry’s gone back to the isle too” she muttered, covering her mouth with a gasp. Ben furrowed his brows in confusion.

“why-you sound like it's even worse that he went back?” he asked, walking over to the three of you and glancing at the paper.

“because it is” Evie looked up at Ben “Harrys had it a lot worse than Mal, his- his father” you felt a cold chill rush over your skin and you broke from Gil and Evie's grip.

“his father what?” you snapped, the vks flinching from your dark tone. “tell me.”

“his-his dad um…he sold him when he didn’t have money” Gil muttered, his face turning green from the memories.

“or just didn’t feel like spending money” Evie snapped, hand clenching so hard you would hear her knuckles crack.

“…sold him?” Ben asked naively, Evie and Gil looked at him with sad eyes.

“he sold him to others to have….sex with” Gil paused between his words, they were almost too hard to get out “when he bought his rum or whatever he felt like drinking, I don’t remember how long it was happening but if Hook finds out Harry is on the isle….we might not ever see Harry again” you and Ben looked at each other and nodded.

“then it's settled” Ben clenched his fist around Mal's note and his ring, watching you as you grit your teeth and your eyes turn dark “we head to the isle as soon as possible, we can't risk anything happening to Harry or Mal” the three of you nodded and rushed out of Bens office to collect Carlos and Jay.

‘oh Harry’ you felt tears burn in your eyes as you burst into your dorm room and grabbed a change of clothes that suit the isle ‘why didn’t you tell me’ you stopped, seeing a large piece of paper from Harry's journal sitting on your desk. You quickly walked over and grabbed it, unfold it, and start to read.

-to my dear (n/n)

I’m sorry, but I’m going back to the isle. No, we aren’t breaking up, this has nothing to do with you, I’m making a point to Ben.

I know he and the others will stop at nothing to get Mal back from the isle and I needed to make sure Ben would see the isle for what it really is. A place where no child should be and hopefully, he will get a move on for the vk transfer thing.

I also needed to see Uma and my sisters; they need to know I haven’t abandoned them. I know you’ll be coming with Ben and the others to get me, I do not doubt that, so I’ll see you soon.

I know the dangers of me being here, and I’m sorry I never told you about my history with my dad, but I’m sure Evie and Gil filled you in on it. I’m planning to stay out of sight and away from him and anyone who might tell him about me being here.

I promise when we are back in Auradon I’ll tell you everything about my life on the isle, you deserve to know.

I love you; I know I have never said that, but I’m sure of it now, and I wanted to say it just in case.

-Harry

You let out a low sob and collapsed against your desk, holding the now crumpled note against your chest “Harry�� you chocked out, feeling droplets of tears hit your hand. “you stupid fucking idiot”

“I love you too”

-end of part 5-

Here it is! Part 5! I hope I made bens side of the argument…better while also still being like “yeah both are wrong both are right in it, but Mal was really having a hard time and ben needs to slow the fuck down” because MAL IS NOT READY FOR ANY OF THE DATING SHIT SHE IS DOING IN D2, COTILLION SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR INTO THEIR RELATIONSHIP NOT 6 MONTHS! Anyway, I also hope Mal and Harry's talk at the beginning was also…nice? That’s the best word I can think of right now but I hope im making Mal an actual likable character instead of….ya know *gestures to d2/3* that. Im trying to actually develop her d1 character into something more instead of just making a whole new one each “movie”

And yes, James is just as Bad in this as he was in the OG part of your world, and don’t worry, he does get his ass kicked by reader.

Thank you for reading!

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange

@lunanight2012 @daughter-of-the-stars11

@musicarose @remembered-license

@random-thoughts-003 @verboetoperee

@imtryingthisout @rintheemolion @thecaptainsgingersnap

and now the rewrite taglist because im sorry i forgot about yall lol

@thesailbells @beccad10x

#Descendents #descendants #disney descendants #harry hook #harry hook descendants #harry hook x reader #harry hook imagine #rewrite #part of your world #shuffle playlist #reprise #encore #an entire two pages went into the rant reader gave ben #in this both mal and ben are at fault in the aurgument #but both are also in the right #ben being mad at mal for lying to him about basically everything is valid #mal getting upset at him yelling at her coping mechanism is valid

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izumi-fanclub · 3 years

Text

A3! Translation: Chikage SR Card “Promise of Blooming” [Let’s Play! Real Life Gacha: Chikage’s Turn]

In which Chikage goes on a journey with Juza and Director to find a lost cat’s way back home

Chikage

“......”

Juza

“......”

Cat

“Nya~ Nya~”

Chikage & Juza

“............”

Chikage

“Haa.... what kind of situation did I get myself into?”

--- Flashback ---

Chikage

(... So, these are our 3 candidates. This one’s for convenience, these two for design.)

Co-worker

“Utsuki-san, that’s a miscellaneous goods catalog from that one company.... Were you in charge of that project?”

Chikage

“No, that’s not the case.”

Co-worker

“Perhaps~ Is it a gift for her?”*

Chikage

(Gift, of course... how could I forget that it’s almost that time of year again.)

(Director, I’m sorry to get you involved like this again.)

“... Her? I already know her taste well, so it’s easy to pick.”

“By the way, did you need me for something?”

Co-worker

“I was thinking of passing this document to you.”

Chikage

“Oh, thank you. Then I’ll finish up soon. Thank you for your hard work.”

Co-worker

“Thank you for your hard work as well.”

Izumi

“Chikage-san,

Good work today!”

“Tonight, I made Dhal Curry with garam masala spices for dinner.”

“It’s my new masterpiece, so please let me know what you think when you eat it!”

Chikage

“Fuu... If it’s really a gift for the director, I don’t need to worry about that.”

“-- Hm?”

“........”

Juza

“Ah, Chikage-san.”

Chikage

“Hey, Juza. Just returned from your workshop?”

Juza

“Nah... There was a store in the next town over that sold cat cookies, I wanted to eat a box of them, so I went there...”

“There was a lot of girls and the cat cookies in the shop looked great... When I was struggling to get in, they were already sold out.”

Chikage

“I see.”

“Cat cookies, huh? Cats are pretty popular after all, I’m not good at that type of stuff.”

Juza

“Do you not like animals?”

Chikage

“Ah... I’m not really fluent in animal language to communicate with them, especially small animals like cats, I don’t know how to handle them.”

Juza

“That’s rough, buddy.”*

Chikage

“Speaking of, I was thinking of gifting a keychain with a cat motif as a safe bet.”

Juza

“Ah... Is it for the keychain exchange thing?”

Chikage

“Most people end up dropping their keys, so everyone’s using capsules to exchange keychains... even then, it’s already obvious who bought it.”

Juza

“Chikage-san, you never seem to lose your keys though.”

Chikage

“Well, I’ve never lost a key before.”

“..........”

Juza

“What is it?”

Chikage

“......... I had a hunch, but I feel like something is following me.”

Juza

“........ Is it someone suspicious?”

Chikage

“No-- might just be a misunderstanding, it was just a feeling.”

Cat

“Nya~”

Chikage

“...........”

Juza

“S’just a cat.”

Chikage

“Yep. Just a cat.”

“Is it a stray? There’s no collar.”

Cat

“Nya~, Nyanya~.”

Chikage

(It kinda sounds like it’s trying to tell me something...)

--- End of flashback ---

Chikage

“...... sigh.”

Juza

“Sorry. I don’t understand cat tongue.”

Chikage

“Let’s go home and talk to Misumi for the time being.”

Juza

“Aight.”

Cat

“Nya~”

Chikage

“...........”

Juza

“....... Hey cat, you’re always on Chikage-san's tail.”

Chikage

“.... Well, it looks harmless enough. Can’t be helped, let’s just take it with us.”

Cat

“Nyan, nya~”

Misumi

“Hmmm, I see~”

“Cat-san accidentally hopped onto the back of a truck, it’s a long way from home and it got lost.”

Juza

“S’that so.”

Misumi

“It came across you guys and wanted to let you guys know, so it followed you~”

Cat

“Nyaaaan.”

Chikage

“Haa... why did it have to be me....”

Misumi

“Chikage’s loved by animals~”

Yuki

“He’s not even good with them.”

Izumi

“If it got lost, we should take it to the owner as soon as possible.”

Chikage

“By the way, how would we even know who this owner is.”

Izumi

“That’s where you come in, Chikage-san.”

Chikage

“.......... Of course.

However, I’ve never searched for a lost cat’s home before.”

Cat

“Nyaa, nya nyaa~”

Misumi

“Cat-san’s home is full of girls and the place smells sweet!”

Juza

“Girls and a sweet smell...”

Yuki

“Vague hints as expected.”

Izumi

“Hmmm....”

Juza

“No... it’s a hit or miss but, I have an idea...”

Juza

“Almost there.”

Cat

“! ”

Izumi

“Oh, cat-chan went straight to that storefront....”

Chikage

“Is that the cat cookie shop that you went to, Juza?”

Juza

“Yeah.”

Cat

“Nya~!”

Man

“ ! Marron!!”*

“You’re alright...! I've been looking everywhere for you.”

Chikage

“Juza’s guess was correct.”

Juza

“I just came here today after all, I’m glad I got it right.”

Man

“You guys brought me back my Marron. Thank you so much!”

“I was planning to go to the vet to put a microchip in Marron just in case my cat here got lost.”

“Marron ran away recklessly because of that...”

Chikage

“.........”

Izumi

“Is that so? I’m glad we brought your cat back to you safely.”

Man

“I’m very thankful to you guys!”

Cat

“Nya~n.”

Izumi

“The owner looked really happy, he kept thanking us the entire time.”

Chikage

“We even got some cookies.

Director, Juza, take mine away please.”

Izumi

“All the credit goes to Juza-kun, so I’ll give it all to him. You and Muku-kun can eat it together.”

Juza

“If that’s alright with you. Thanks.”

“....... Anyway, that owner also wore glasses.”

Chikage

“Ah. So that’s why it followed me.”

“I’m sure there were plenty of guys with glasses.

Really, why me of all people.”

Juza

“But thanks to that, the cat returned safely,

That's some intuition, following Chikage-san was the right answer.”

Izumi

“Fufu, sure is.”

Chikage

“Well, I guess so.

Thanks to that, I also got to decide which keychain I’ll put in the capsule.”

Izumi

“Really now?”

Chikage

“....... This.”

Juza

“It sure is stylish. Feels like I’ve seen this somewhere online.

…..... Is this a keychain?”

Chikage

“It’s a key finder. If you attach it to a key, even if you don’t have the finder, you can detect it with your smartphone.”

“Actually, it’s better not to lose it in the first place,

If you lose it, it might as well stay lost.”

“A key doesn’t come back to you like a dog or cat would.

However, it’s also extremely careless to write your address on a key.”

“So, when you do end up dropping it. You can just focus on getting it back.”

“Although the design is far from how cute the world thinks cats are, it’s at least convenient.”

Izumi

“It’s definitely practical!’

Juza

“S’a lot like Chikage-san.”

Chikage

“Looks like it’s my turn.”

Citron

“Oh~! It is a cute cat keychain dayo!”

Chikage

“........ and I thought I was finally free.”

Tsuzuru

“There’s a relatively large amount of cat lovers in the company and the only person who got the keychain doesn’t even like them...”

Itaru

“Deserved.”

Citron

“Dessert!”*

Itaru

“You’ve got a plethora of rabbit fanmerch in the room, would’ve matched if you got a rabbit instead of a cat.”

Chikage

“What’s with all this sass. I don’t even like rabbits either.”

Sakuya

“Hmmm....”

Citron

“Sakuya, what’s wrong?”

Sakuya

“I feel like I’ve seen this cat keychain before somewhere....”

“Oh, that’s right. There was a kid from my part-time job! I think we were talking about the Sayaneko series.”

Masumi

“...... Just searched it up. Found it.”

Tsuzuru

“This cat seems to be a character who’s strong, worrisome, and loves their home...”

Chikage

“Loves home, huh....

I see, I guess it’s kind of like me.”

Masumi

“Not what I’d exactly call birds of a feather.”

Chikage

“Well, I already have it, might as well keep it.”

Citron

“Then, I’ll put the cat keychain on Chikage’s key right away~!”

Itaru

“Striking while the iron’s hot.”

Chikage

“Yeah sorry. No can do.”

Story Clear!

-------------------------------

Callback to Chikage’s “Bitter Addiction” Valentine’s Day SSR card bss where Izumi and Chikage acted as an engaged couple after running into one of Chikage’s co-workers in a sweets cafe

I just took some liberties with Juza and put a Zuko reference :)

It also stands for “Chestnut” but it was written in Katakana and I wanted to uphold the owner’s honor in naming the cat

Citron being Citron, just put in what would work :)

#a3!#a3! translation #a3! card translation #chikage utsuki #utsuki chikage #juza hyodo #hyodo juza #izumi tachibana #tachibana izumi #yuki rurikawa #misumi ikaruga #citron #tsuzuru minagi #itaru chigasaki #masumi usui #sakuya sakuma #spring troupe #summer troupe

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mylittlerambledmusings · 3 years

Text

The Road-Trip Part Four

Part Three | Masterlist | Part Five

Rating: T+

Pairing: Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales x Reader

Words: 2878 Notes: Thank you all for the love and reblogs. It took a few days but I finally got this done. I won’t lie when I saw the people who’d started following me, I may have fan-girled a bit. Just know I appreciate all the love, it truly couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m not going to say this is the end, but I also don’t want to make any promises.

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of violence, blood, and there’s still fluff in there, I promise!

Translations (if any of these are wrong, please feel free to correct me!) : You're still too beautiful to be with him Back off, asshole, she's taken I’ll call you tomorrow, asshole Hermosa-Beautiful Mi Sol- My sun Mi alma- My soul

Summary: Day One- The Visit.

The morning passed without any more incidents, thank goodness, and Frankie was able to take a shower, get the rest of your stuff out of the SUV, and let the dogs out again before the guys got there. You were also able to make them some sandwiches and pack a cooler with beer, soda, and water for them to take down to the lake to fish. Once they’d shown up, Frankie formally introduced you and the dogs to Will and Benny because you all had yet to meet the brothers. You were just shaking Benny’s hand when Pope pushed past them and scooped you up into a hug, which you returned, wrapping your arms around his neck. He stage-whispered in your ear “Sigues siendo demasiado hermosa para estar con él,” causing you to laugh and you pulled back, patting his stubbled cheek.

“And you’re still as handsome as ever,” you responded with a wink, just as Frankie grumbled back at Pope “Retrocede, pendejo, ella está tomada,” and pulled you out of Pope’s arms back against his chest.

The men had joked and caught up a little, effortlessly bringing you into the conversation, and telling you some pretty embarrassing stories about your boyfriend before they decided to head out. Hell, they’d even asked you to come along. Pope had started back up with his picking on Frankie saying he was sure you’d catch more fish than Frankie, which had started up another round of insults. You turned them down though, telling them you’d much rather be lounging on the porch with the new book you’d gotten before you’d left home. You knew it would have been fun, even if it was just to watch them argue, but you’d already made up your mind.

Frankie lingered, cupping the back of your head as he stepped towards you, then pressed a kiss to your forehead. “You’re sure you don’t want to come?” he asked, pulling back to meet your eyes.

You reached out, slipping your fingers through his belt loops, and pulled him back to you, biting your lip as you watched him smirk. “I may have said the porch,” you started and then lowered your voice. “But what I really meant was that clawfoot bathtub.”

Frankie groaned and grabbed your face in his hands then pressed his lips to yours. Just as quickly as it started he pulled away and stepped back. “Fuck, Hermosa, you can’t just say shit like that.” He gave you an exasperated look all while shaking his head. Dropping his hands he turned, making it to the door before he looked over his shoulder at you and shook his head again when he saw your smile.

“I love you, baby,” you said sweetly, which turned into a laugh when he scoffed and walked out the door. But before it shut, he poked his head back inside, a brilliant smile on his face, dimples on full display. “And I love you too, mi sol,” he said with a wink, then shut the door behind him.

~*~

You didn’t lie to Frankie when you said you were going to lounge in the huge clawfoot tub and you did, for about an hour and half. You’d had to get the water hot again a few times but it was the most relaxed you’d been in weeks. Once you finally got out of the tub, you’d gotten dressed in the comfiest pajamas you’d brought with you and then moved out to the porch to lay on the huge lounge chair. You, Flex, and Marvin all cuddled together while you read. It was so peaceful that at some point you’d actually fallen asleep.

You must have been more tired than you’d thought because when you woke up it was dark outside. You checked your phone and saw it was only eight o’three at night and you’d gotten a few texts from Frankie. He’d let you know that the fishing had gone spectacularly horrible and none of them had caught a thing after two hours. He also let you know they’d gone on a hike and now they were going out to dinner before possibly going to a bar after that. The third text was a video of him and Pope saying they hoped that you were sleeping finally, and then Frankie said that he loved you, and that he’d see you later tonight. You sent off a few texts back to let him know he was right, that you hoped he was having fun, and that you loved him too.

You two texted back and forth a few times before you told him to put his phone away and enjoy his friends. After his playful response you waited a few minutes to make sure he wasn’t going to keep texting and then put your phone into your pocket.

Marvin was the first to notice you were awake and after a quick lick to the face he hopped down off the chair. Flex was a little slower but perked up when you asked if they wanted to go outside. A short walk later that Flex had thankfully been good for, the three of you headed back inside for dinner. You fed the boys and then made yourself a sandwich, then headed into the living room to curl up on the couch to watch tv. You were so happy that the host of the Airbnb you were in had stocked the fridge before you got there, it made your planned day of laziness possible.

Once you got your belly full, you must have drifted off again because the next thing you knew there was a knock at the door. Both dogs started barking, waking you up completely. After shushing them, you padded across the room to look out the peephole. You flipped on the outside light and opened the door with a frown. “What the hell?” you asked, the words tumbling out of your mouth before you could truly comprehend what was in front of you. You had to grab the dogs by their collars to pull them back inside as you took in the men in front of you.

Standing there pinching his nose with a few napkins with his head tilted back was a guilty looking Frankie, who had blood down the front of his shirt and one of his cheeks coming from a cut, and Pope who had a split lip and a cut in his eyebrow. They both looked rough and a little worse for wear.

“It looks a lot worse than it is, Hermosa,” Pope started before you could even get them inside. He reached back and gripped Frankie’s arm, leading him in and stopped so he could shut the door behind them.

“It looks like you both got punched in the face,” you retorted, sending Pope a look as you reached up to cup Frankie’s face. “Jesus, baby…” you breathed, your hand hovering over his cheek, your brow pinched in concern. “You hit harder,” Frankie said, dropping his eyes to yours to give you a wink, his voice was a little nasally due to him keeping pressure on his nose but you could hear the smile in it. He could be such a shit sometimes. You huffed and rolled your eyes at him but couldn’t help but smile. “I’m never going to live that down, am I? Let me see.”

Frankie shook his head a little before letting go slowly with a wince and you watched as he slowly lowered his head. There was a damn good chance he’d have two black eyes because of the hit if the slight bruising was any indication, but at least it looked like his nose had stopped bleeding. “What the hell happened to you two?” You asked again, finally unable to hold back any longer, eyes bouncing between your boyfriend and his best friend.

“There were these guys,” Pope started, eyeing Frankie like it was the first time he’d seen him in the light. “And they were being really handsy with the waitress at the bar…” “And Benny politely asked them to stop, because all of us could tell she didn’t like the attention and they didn’t take kindly to being told no,” Frankie finished.

“When two of them went after Benny after he’d had enough, Will jumped in, and Frankie and I tried to break it up but then more jumped in and the next thing we knew it was an all out brawl and then we were being pulled apart by the bouncers. We hadn’t even gotten our beers, before they kicked us out.”

“The bouncers made sure nothing happened outside and that we all went our separate ways,” Frankie assured you, going to pull you in before he remembered just how bloody he still was and stopped. Instead, he tucked you into his side. “I dropped Benny and Will off at the hotel to cool down and then brought this asshole home,” Pope said, tilting his head towards Frankie, who reached out to backhand his shoulder, causing Pope to grunt.

You shook your head at their antics and looked to Pope, taking stock in his injuries. “Did you need any first aid stuff?”

“Nah, hermosa, I’m good.” He reached out and pulled you out of Frankie's arms and into a quick hug before he pulled away and headed towards the door. “Just take care of him.” He smiled at you over his shoulder and then met Frankie’s eyes. “Te llamo maana, gilipollas.”

Frankie grumbled giving Pope the finger before the door shut behind the other man. Once you two were alone he met your eyes and his softened at the worry in yours. “I’m alright, mi sol,” he whispered, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

You leaned into the contact and lifted a hand to grip his wrist to keep his rough hand on your cheek. “You don’t look alright, Frankie,” you argued, but there was no heat in your voice. He didn’t have an answer to that so you just shook your head. “Here, let's get this off and then we’ll get you cleaned up.”

You helped him out of his shirt and then the two of you went into the bathroom after your detour to the kitchen for paper towels. The last thing you needed was to get blood all over the towels here. That would just set off a whole round of questions you didn’t want to have to answer and you definitely wanted to avoid that all together.

Frankie closed the lid on the toilet and sat, just watching while you got everything you needed in order on the sink. He smirked as he watched the dogs realize just how cramped it was with all four of you there before leaving to go lay on the bed to watch.

“You’re staring,” you chided, looking at him out of the corner of your eye.

“I can’t help it…” He reached out, gripping your arm and pulled you to stand between his legs. “It’s not my fault you’re still as beautiful as the day I met you.”

“And you’re still quite the charmer,” you responded looking down at him while he curled his hands around your thighs.

The day you’d met Frankie had been a weird one. You had just broken up with your current boyfriend and had decided to go out with one of your single friends. You hadn’t exactly been upset about it because the guy had been a real asshole once you’d really gotten to know him, but still. Break ups sucked. And honestly, you had gotten tired of wallowing at home as you debated on eating ice cream and watching sappy movies. So, instead you’d gone out to a local bar around the corner from your place with Jen and gotten more than just a little tipsy. You had been right in the middle of a story when you threw your arm out at the same time as Frankie was walking by… And you hit him square in the nose with the hand holding your glass of beer.

You had apologized profusely, especially when it took forever to get his nose to stop bleeding. He’d laughed it off, saying it was no big deal but in your tipsy state you invited him over so you could get the blood out of his shirt and he could clean up in a bathroom that was a hell of a lot cleaner than the one here.

When he actually took you up on it, you said goodnight to Jen who just waggled her eyebrows at you and walked with Frankie less than a block to your house. You hadn’t been able to get all the blood out of his shirt, but you had been able to clean him up, getting to know each other as you did. He’d stayed for hours after that, hanging out on your couch with Flex’s head in his lap as he rubbed the big guys head absently while you talked.

He’d been honest with you about his drug use and how he’d been clean for the last two months. And who were you to judge? You’d done your own stupid shit in the past and at least he was being open and honest with you from the start. (Even better, you’d known he’d been clean since you’d been together because he was having random drug tests at work and every one had come back clean so far.)

When the sun came up he’d said he had to leave because Marvin was probably freaking out, but you two had exchanged numbers with the promise you’d do this -hopefully without the violence- again soon. He left with only a hug and even after the great time you’d had, you didn’t want to get your hopes up that you’d ever hear from him again. It had to be too good to be true, right?

Only you did, five minutes later, when he called you and asked you out to dinner that night. He’d said, “I want to do this right, Hermosa, go out with me tonight?”

You’d said yes, of course, and truly the rest was history. You’d spent almost all of your time together and life with Frankie was never boring. Between the random trips, surprised outings, and then just the nights in making out on your couch or his while you both ignored the movie you’d put on, you’d fallen more and more in love with him.

Frankie brought you back to the present by rubbing his hands up and down the backs of your thighs. “You know I’m really okay, right, mi sol?” he asked softly.

You smiled down at him, and nodded as you gently wiped away the blood. “I know,” you responded, lifting your eyes to his dark ones and shrugged one shoulder. “I still don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“I know, mi alma,” he said sincerely, pulling you in closer and resting his forehead on your belly.

You dropped the paper towels on the counter and slid your fingers into his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. You weren’t really sure what to say to that, especially when he’d pulled out that pet name for you. He didn’t say it often but when he did, you melted like butter. “Let’s get you some ice for your face,” you suggested. He groaned against your belly but nodded.

When he straightened and stood you had to take a step back, but his arms around you didn’t let you get too far away from him. He leaned down, pressing his lips to yours twice before he pulled back. “Thank you,” he whispered and kissed you again gently.

Your arms slid up his bare chest to cup the back of his neck. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this, baby.” You chuckled when he pinched your side.

“I’ll have you know, both times it was not my fault.”

You pulled back so he could see you roll your eyes and then stepped out of his arms. “Come on, Morales.”

~*~

Frankie had kissed you and pulled you down on the couch with him to stop you from starting to fuss over him. He’d sat at one end and had you lay down, putting your head on a pillow he’d put on his lap, with one of his arms draped over you. His other hand carefully pushed the hair out of your face before he’d started to run his fingers through it, thoroughly relaxing you.

With a hum you opened your eyes to see him smiling down at you. You returned his smile and then turned your head towards his belly as you snuggled into him. Moments like these with Frankie were your favorite, it didn’t matter whether you were on the couch, in the bed of his truck, or even on a blanket in the middle of a field somewhere. It didn’t matter where it was, as long as you were together.

You still felt him staring at you so you pulled away to meet his eyes. He was still smiling so you knew it wasn’t something bad. “What?” you asked, drawing out the word, when he didn’t say anything.

“Move in with me, mi sol.”

Tag List: @cxnnxrmar

#Triple Frontier #triple frontier fanfiction #frankie catfish morales #frankie catfish morales x reader #frankie catfish morales x you #the road-trip

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sincerelyasomebody · 4 years

Text

Bound To Happen || Jose "Sad Eyes" Guzman

(GIF Credit: @merakiaes)

A/N: A requested piece! My first requested piece, which I hope lives up to your expectations. Mrs Turner's name will be Lynn. Unsure if it's been mentioned in the show. Also the text exchange has been included in the word count - the lesser amount is if it were not included. Hopefully, that makes sense. Apologises for grammatical errors. Feel free to let me know about any corrections I need to make with the Spanish translations, thanks!.

Pairing(s): Sad Eyes x Turner!Reader ▪︎ Jamal Turner x Sister!Reader ▪︎ Turner!Family x Turner!Reader

Requested: By @briannab1234

Summary: Relaxation comes in different forms.

Warnings: fluff, language, mentions of 19th Street incident with DJ's, playlist of songs, slightly smutty?, steamy make out, talks of murder,

Word Count: 1423 ¤ 1409

- ♤ -♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

(Y/N) bopped her head along to 3LW's Playas Gon' Play echoing through her portable speaker as she carried it and her phone into the kitchen. Carefully placing the two on the counter she searched through the fridge, trying to find the food she had hidden in a container at the back. As soon as (Y/N) heard the theme song for The Goonies cut through the second verse, she didn't need to see the name on the screen to know who was calling.

She disconnected her bluetooth, pressed the green button and put it on loud speaker, and answered, "hey."

"A sum of thirty five dollars is owing on your account, please transfer funds effective immediately. Thank you."

At the sound of a beep, (Y/N) stared at her phone for a few seconds before laughing. Her brother was something else. She logged into her (bank) app and made the transfer. Thankfully they were with the same bank. Once it was finalised, she sent a confirmation message.

(Y/N)

Owing balance has been cleared.

She then proceeded to reconnect her phone to the speaker and clicked shuffle on her most recent playlist. She grinned upon hearing Love Like This by Faith Evans playing. Swaying her hips, she grabbed the container and popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Feeling a familiar pair of arms wrap across her body, she laughed, "was I away too long?"

Jose kissed the top of her head, "yes."

"So needy," she giggled and turned to face him, reaching out and pinching his cheeks, "such a needy baby," she puckered her lips, "beso."

He snickered, but gave into her demand. His hands wandered down her back, deepening the simple kiss. They eventually found their way to her ass, giving it a squeeze. (Y/N) allowed him to take control as her own hands wandered up and down his solid body. The kiss lasted a lot shorter than she anticipated, causing a whine to fall from her lips.

"What's the matter, mi amor?"

She pouted, "nothing."

Laughing, he squeezed her hips, "aw, looks like somebody's a needy baby," he moved his hand to tilt her chin up, "who's a needy baby?"

She huffed, "I'm the needy baby," she was given a peck to the forehead, "but you love me."

"Always, baby."

They held each other close, enjoying the calm atmosphere surrounding them. They had the house to themselves and were going to take full advantage of it. (Y/N) only removed herself from the embrace when the microwave beeped and TLC's No Scrubs hit a blimp.

She glanced over at her phone and pressed her messages.

Jamal

Enjoy the rest of your day.

"Who's on watch?" She asked, popping open the microwave.

Since the 19th Street attack on her dad and his business, Spooky had Santos members watching the house. The image of her father on that night is something (Y/N) would never forget. She was relieved to know that he, as well as the business, would recover but she was upset at the way 19th Street tried to assert their dominance, now that the Prophet$ were out of the picture.

The only thing stopping her from beating up a couple of punk ass bitches, was her conscious reminding her that igniting a gang war wouldn't be the answer. The upside to the incident was getting time off from the hospital to take care of her father (she temporarily moved back in) as well as spend time with Jose. When she came clean to her family about him being her boyfriend, Jamal had leapt off the couch in the living room; did his victory dance and practically shoved his hand into their parents faces.

(Y/N) couldn't believe that they had a betting pool about her and Jose, but they simply shrugged her off and claimed it was bound to happen - she had fallen into the 'best friends who become more' category. But, it was a place she was more than happy to be.

"Joker," he said, bumping his hip with hers, grabbing a tea towel and placing it on her hands, "quit doin' that shit."

She had a habit of grabbing things out of the oven or microwave without anything protecting her hands. With an eye roll, she accepted the tea towel, "okay, okay." he watched as she covered her hands and pulled out the container. Before he could grab some plates, she put a fork in his hand.

"Maldito perezoso."

"Shut up," she replied and shoved a forkful of the stir fry into her mouth, "if you wanna wash more dishes, go ahead."

He gently tapped her cheek, "don't talk with your mouth full," he clicked his tongue, when she opened her mouth wider to show off the chewed up pieces of food, "(Y/N)!" She laughed, but her laughter turned into a coughing fit. Luckily, Jose knew that was bound to happen and held out a glass of water for her. (Y/N) gulped it down, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned happily, "you're the best."

Shaking his head, he helped himself to some of the stir fry, "and you're something else."

They continued to eat and chat about different topics; their families, Santos business (they had a non-disclosure agreement), and a few of (Y/N)'s gossiping coworkers. When they were done, they quickly rinsed their hands off in the sink and wiped them on the tea towel. (Y/N) then dumped the empty container and their forks into the sink. Dip It Low by Christina Milian started to play, which gave her an idea. Her hands trailed up and down his chest, Jose groaned as they wandered lower. She giggled at his reaction and turned around, moving to grind on him. Feeling him getting hard, she continued.

"Si sigues con esto, ya sabes qué pasará," he groaned, gripping her hips.

(Y/N) turned back around and stared up at him, her eyes innocently peering into his, "is it too soon for round three?"

Without a second thought, he lifted her onto the counter. (Y/N) caressed his head with one hand, while the other switched off the music. He moved to suck on her collarbone, earning a moan of approval. She tugged on his shirt and admired his toned body when the shirt was thrown off. Jose smirked, as he connected his lips with hers, helping her to get rid of the tank top she was wearing.

He watched as her boobs bounced, before cupping them both. Taking a nipple in his mouth and fondling with the other, sent (Y/N) into a state of bliss. When Jose turned his attention to the other nipple, she clutched the back of his head.

"Baby," she moaned.

The sound of something dropping followed by a shout of, "OH HELL NO!" is what alerted the couple that they weren't alone anymore. (Y/N) pushed Jose off her, throwing on her tank top and hopped off the counter. She hid herself behind him, peering around his arm to see the bewildered expressions on both her parents faces. Although, her dad looked like he wanted to murder Jose.

Like the smartass she was, she blurted, "mum said no cussing in the house." As soon as she said that, she hid herself fully behind Jose.

"(Y/N) (M/N) Turner, front and centre." Dwayne called out to his daughter, when she followed through he continued, "you're sanitising everything in this kitchen," his eyes trailed over to Jose, "you're helping her, and the next time you're both feeling… frisky - just… you're gonna, you know… you understand me?"

Lynn stepped in, "we understand the sexual desires -"

"No, mum, please, don't."

"I know it's an awkward subject to discuss -"

(Y/N) cut her off, "especially in front of my boyfriend."

"And father," Dwayne chimed in.

"- but, it's completely natural." She continued.

"Okay, mum thanks for that," (Y/N) wanted to crawl underneath a rock, "anyway, we've got some stuff to do," noticing her father's watchful eye, she laughed, "non-sexual stuff, dad."

Dwayne wasn't convinced.

Lynn pulled her husband towards the hallway, "come on, let's leave them to it." As they walked off, they could hear Dwayne telling his wife that he was right to be suspicious of the skinny kid who offered his daughter a toy car to play with back in the first grade. Once they were out of view, (Y/N) wrapped her arms around Jose's waist.

"Round three in the shower?"

- ♤ - ♡ - ◇ - ♧ -

Spanish Translation(s):

Beso - kiss

Maldito perezoso - lazy ass

Si sigues con esto, ya sabes qué pasará - if you keep this up, you know what's gonna happen.

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blackcloverdatabase · 4 years

Photo

English Translation of Novel 3: Chapter 4 – The Hero Who Disappeared (Part 2 of 2)

Here’s the second half of the final chapter of the Book of Yuno. In short, this chapter features Yuno and Asta being awesome. There’s also a scene showing William and Patry, more Mereoleona, and, finally, Yuno finds an answer to William’s question.

As a brief recap of part 1 (which you can read here if you missed it), this part picks up after Yuno drops the drawing given to him by a young girl named Silka. After examining the drawing more closely, he makes a realization and asks William to show him what’s in his book pouch.

--- The Hero Who Disappeared: Part 2 ---

A few minutes later, at the reception hall,

“Please help me! I’m being chased by evil mages!”

Another play had just begun on stage. Though the number of children gathered around the stage was overwhelmingly smaller than before, the guest seating was completely filled. The cast was drastically changed so that a major accident due to that last play’s fatal casting error would never occur again. The theater staff advertised that there would be a lot of famous people on stage, and it looked like their strategy worked.

While he was thinking, he walked toward the front row of the audience. He tried going around the venue and touching other Magic Knights, but Yuno would be the best new “host” for him after all. Earlier, everything was so sudden that he took on an appearance that would make it easier to escape from Yuno and the others, but now he’s ready. By simply exposing other people to the Original Sin, he can completely takeover their consciousness.

“……Kishi~ There he is.”

He sneered as he spotted Yuno and Bell. As he thought, Yuno was standing guard right below the stage as he did before. He crept up behind Yuno, carefully closing the distance between them as he concealed his presence. Like the other spectators, Yuno was looking up at the stage, so he was able to shorten the distance between them in no time. Once he was close enough to touch him, he reached for his Original Sin Grimoire, but…

“!!”

Yuno nimbly turned around and grabbed his arm, then yelled,

“I’ve caught the host of the Original Sin Grimoire! Surround him!”

Suddenly, the audience and performers moved at once, surrounding Yuno and himself in the blink-of-an-eye.

“Wha-!?”

He involuntarily cried out. To think that a few Magic Knights were hidden within the audience…… No, the entire audience was comprised of Magic Knights. Moreover, they were all people he hasn’t seen before. Either he called over new Magic knights or they’ve changed their faces with magic. All the children that were in the audience have disappeared, so they must be using magic. The one who caused all this must be……

Quickly but meticulously assessing the situation, he clicked his tongue. Yuno looked straight at him and said,

“No need for you to pretend to be a kid anymore, Al…… no, avatar of the Original Sin.”

“……You’ve got me. You’re good at sensing magic, so I tried to stay away from you.”

The avatar, Al, looked bored as he responded, seemingly unworried about his current predicament.

“So, how did you figure me out…… Yuno-niichan?”

He innocently giggled as he asked, continuing to maintain his guise as a child. Yuno hid his irritation, daring to glare at him with cold eyes as he answered,

“……It was Silka’s drawing. You had a book pouch in her drawing, but you don’t receive a grimoire until you’re fifteen. A child like you shouldn’t need a book pouch, right?”

All this from a drawing that made him a bit uneasy.

Of course, Al doesn’t have a book pouch right now. That’s why, at first, Yuno thought it was just a mistake Silka made while she was drawing. Still, it worried Yuno because in the drawing Al gave to Vangeance…… he did not draw a book pouch. He thought that maybe Al forgot to draw it, but if he purposefully didn’t draw it, then that would imply something else entirely.

- Al usually wears a book pouch, but he’s hiding it. –

In other words, Silka included something in her drawing that he didn’t want Yuno to see. He felt as if he got a glimpse of Al’s true intentions. Moreover, the reason Yami felt the Ki of the Original Sin from Vangeance is that he had Al’s drawing with him.

“……Hm~ Good for you. To think you’d get this far just from some small……. stupidly trivial detail. It practically a coincidence. Aah~, this sucks.”

Just as the avatar said, his hypothesis was based on something truly, stupidly trivial. Even so, an ordinary organization wouldn’t mobilize over something like that. Right, a normal organization wouldn’t.

“……Yeah, you’re right. Everyone who excels in magic detection was willing to take my absurd hypothesis seriously, and when they gathered together, they were able to sense your mana.”

As a result of that, they were able to sense the Original Sin’s mana from him.

“In order to trap you, so many people gathered here in such a short period of time. Even if you didn’t come here on your own, we prepared a way lure you out.”

Even knights who had just finished their shifts and knights who were off duty that day came to help. They were all more than happy to cooperate with Yuno, rushing to his aid.

“Everyone was willing to mobilize all for the sake of a single Magic Knight. To resolve a single incident, we are all able to act as one…… This is the organization you made an enemy out of.”

Yuno said this as he looked at each of the Magic Knights who had gathered.

“And, the place where you decided to do your evil deeds is the country where this organization’s members risk their lives to protect…… did you really think we’d let you get away with that?”

‘I love the Magic Knights and this country.’

Those words Yuno uttered earlier that day came flooding back into his brain. While amplifying such feelings inside him, that was the forceful declaration he made to Al.

“………Hmph.”

In the face of Yuno’s overwhelming spirit, the avatar turned his gaze away, feeling ever so slightly overwhelmed. However, as if to hide that fact, he said,

“Ah, I see…… Well, it doesn’t matter to me~ I admit that I was careless. I thought I could wear my book pouch in front of Silka because she’s a kid, but look what happened~ Wow, I really goofed up.”

He joked frivolously before the look in his eyes sharpened.

“If I had known this was going to happen, I would’ve killed her…… I really goofed up.”

Hearing him utter such disturbing words strained the nerves of the Magic Knights who surrounded them. Among them, Yuno responded with eyes just as icy as before.

“By the way, the moment you came here, we created a barrier around the reception hall. Nobody can leave, and nobody outside can see what’s going on in here. Even if other people infected by the Original Sin are here, they won’t even notice what’s going on.”

Right. It was possible that there were other people infected with the Original Sin lurking at this event, so they prepared extra safety measures. Moreover, even if they were protected by the barrier, if a battle suddenly let loose in the reception hall, the citizens would panic. To avoid that, they completely isolated the avatar within a physical and visual barrier.

“Even without that barrier, you’re still surrounded. Give up quietly.”

But, in response to Yuno’s words, the avatar simply put his index finger on his mouth and said,

“Hm~ then, conversely, I don’t have to surrender as long as I break through you people and the barrier, right?

“Huuh!? Are you stupid!? There’s no way you could do that!”

Unperturbed by Bell’s jeers, the avatar lightly surveyed his surroundings.

“I wonder about that? I think I can do it if I try…… after all,”

A wicked glint shone in his eyes.

“I’m the “first” Original Sin, so I can do a lot~”

“Huh……?”

An instant after Yuno stammered,

“Guaaaaaaaaaah……Ah, GAAAAAAAAH!”

All at once, dozens…no, tens of dozens of knights gripped their heads as if they were in pain.

“H-hey! What’s wrong with you! Why’re you suddenly using your magi-ACK!”

“Idiot! Don’t use such large-scale magic in a small place like this!”

Those tens of dozens of knights began attacking their colleagues, as if they lost all sense of self.

“……What!?”

The avatar used Yuno’s agitation as a chance to escape his grasp and lightly hopped onto the stage.

“Ki-shi-shi~ I’ve already broken through the first barrier you set! Your encirclement was too easy to escape~”

“You bastard…… what did you do!?”

“It’s just as you see. I’m just remotely letting their personalities and mana run wild. Well, this is magic that only I, the original, can use. It only affects people with the correct wavelength, but there’s even more of them affected by it than I thought there would be.”

Just as the avatar said, about one-third of the knights who were gathered seemed to be affected by his magic, attacking their surroundings indiscriminately. With the remaining knights working to stop them, it looked just like a free-for-all battle.

“Ki-shi~ Thank you for creating an environment where I can best demonstrate my powers.”

As the avatar said this, Yuno could sense invisible tentacles beginning to sprout from his back. They wriggled and writhed like snakes as they grew, swaying eerily as they pointed their heads toward Yuno.

“……Now, become my new host, Yuno-niichan.”

The last battle with the Original Sin had begun.

“Wind Magic: Towering Tornado”

With the activation of Yuno’s magic, he generated a forcefield of wind around the feet of the avatar. From there, a tornado sprung forth into the sky. The avatar leaped to the side to avoid it and sent forth his tentacles from various angles to attack Yuno, but,

“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooh!”

At that moment, Asta leaped out from behind Yuno, slashing each of the tentacles that made their way to Yuno. Yuno unleashed a slew of different wind-based spells as Asta used his ability to read Ki to detect and strike the avatar’s invisible tentacles. In the few minutes since the battle had begun, the two were able to hold their ground, but the battle was at a standstill. The other knights were focused on stopping the knights who were rampaging, so Asta and Yuno were the only two who could focus on fighting the avatar…… Moreover, it was impossible to know how long it would take for the others to stop the rampaging knights.

“……What the heck, Asta? Didn’t you transform into an old man?”

To distract himself from such negative thoughts, Yuno joked with Asta as he stood beside him. In response, Asta pointed his sword at the avatar and laughed ferociously.

“I can’t just stay spaced-out in a situation like this! ……. Well, this opponent is gonna be pretty hard to fight.”

As he spoke, sweat dripped from his forehead, as if he were feeling under pressure.

“When I think about how our opponent’s a kid, I feel like I can’t fight at full strength……!”

“……Don’t worry about it. He may look like a kid, but on the inside, he nuts. In that sense, he’s just like you.”

“Are you saying I look like a kid!?”

“So, you’re not going to deny that you’re nuts?”

Their fierce battle with the avatar continued as they bantered. However, as Asta said, he couldn’t help but hold back with each attack, making him unable to land a decisive hit. Yuno, too, only used his weaker spells. Unable to land a decisive blow, they fell into a stalemate. He knew they couldn’t keep on like this. The longer the fight is prolonged, the more casualties will be produced at the hands of the rampaging knights. He understood that, but he couldn’t help but hold back, frustrating Yuno even further.

“Ki-shi-shi~ It looks like you’re getting frustrated there~ ……. Why don’t you take a little break and make a deal with me?”

He said when Yuno and Asta attacked the Original Sin together, stopping their attack dead in its tracks with a single hand. Of course, he was still on high alert, not erasing his tentacles. Yuno also maintained his guard, narrowing his eyes as he asked in turn,

“A deal?”

“Yup. I’ll free all the knights rampaging under my spell right away, and in return…”

As he spoke, he pointed to Yuno and Asta like a kid pointing to the toy they want.

“Give me either your body, Yuno-niichan, or your body, Asta-niichan. In return, I’ll free everyone else here.”

“Are you kidding!? What kind of deal is that!? Those terms are too unfair!”

Asta shouted in response. However, as he viewed the state of the battle being waged between the audience seats, he replied,

“Really~? If the battle continues to drag on, at this rate, those knights will die, and one of them might use magic powerful enough to break the barrier. If that happens, a lot of the townspeople will die!”

Noting Asta’s silence, the Original Sin giggled cheerfully as he continued,

“But, if either of you hands over your body to me, I’ll let them all go free. Isn’t that great!? And then, all you would need to do is find me again. If things go well for you, you’ll even be able to get your body back! Isn’t this an amazing deal!?”

“………”

‘There will surely come a time where you’ll have to make a choice when there is no right answer.’

Yuno could feel Vangeance’s words from earlier reach out from his chest and into his mind. As a Magic Knight, he shouldn’t be making any deals with unfamiliar, dangerous magic tools. He should resume the battle immediately and gallantly stand against him. However, the avatar spoke the truth. If this situation continues, the townspeople are going to get drawn into the battle. Shouldn’t a Magic Knight offer his body to protect the people? He wasn’t sure what the right answer was. Perhaps there would be a clear answer in hindsight, but it’s difficult for anyone to judge what is right when faced with the present. However……

‘Make a decision you can be satisfied with……’

Those words seemed obvious to Yuno. Vangeance, the hero of the Clover Kingdom, imparted such an “obvious” thing onto Yuno as if they were his parting words, as if that was the conclusion he had reached after a long struggle with choices and decisions. In this situation, the choice that would be most satisfying to Yuno would be……

“……I understand. I’ll become your host.”

“Wait! Yuno!? What are you saying!?”

Ignoring Bell’s attempts to restrain him, Yuno stepped forward. The avatar narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Hm~, you really plan on giving yourself to me? You didn’t seem all that interested in my deal earlier, though?”

In response, Yuno silently raised his right hand and launch a full-powered “Towering Tornado” toward the sky. This broke through part of the barrier in the sky, forming a hole just large enough for one person to pass through.

“Once you’ve made me your host, escape through there. There are captains outside, but you should be fine if you take a hostage. However, promise me that you will return the hostage unharmed later.”

Bell’s face turned pale as she listened.

‘Is he seriously making a deal with the Original Sin…..?’

“……Hey, Yuno.”

While Bell was frozen in confusion, Asta stared at Yuno’s retreating figure as he spoke.

“Did you come up with an idea?”

Yuno turned his head over his shoulder, pausing briefly before responding.

“I leave the rest to you…… Asta.”

Leaving only those words behind, he slowly walked toward the Original Sin.

“Ki-shi-shi, I don’t really get what happened, but it looks like you’re serious! I’ll be pouring a huge amount of mana into you, so do your best to endure it, ‘kay? It’s going to be so painful, you’ll want to die!”

The tentacles wrapped around Yuno’s defenseless body, and the avatar made a dash toward him. From his chest, he pulled out his white grimoire, the Original Sin, but…

“Just kidding~”

He passed by Yuno, pressing his grimoire onto Asta’s body.

“I decided I don’t want you after all, Yuno-niichan. I’ll use Asta-niichan as my new host instead!”

“Gua…….. Ah, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Having the Original Sin Grimoire pushed into him, Asta screamed as his body convulsed.

“……Hey, this isn’t what we agreed to!”

Yuno desperately shouted while restrained by the tentacles. The Original Sin lightly tilted his head toward Yuno and smiled.

“Don’t give me that. After all, Yuno-niichan was planning to screw me over, right? You were glaring at me the whole time. Plus, I’m the Original Sin. There’s no way I’d believe the words of someone who set such a massive trap for me.”

He snapped back with disdain. Then, he looked at Asta’s two swords, causing him to say with irritation,

“Plus, those swords…… are not something humans such as yourselves should possess. I’ll take them back.”

Then, he turned back toward Yuno with a smirk.

“I was lying when I said I’d let those knights go. You really shouldn’t make important deals with kids, you know?”

“………!”

With those words, Yuno hung his head down. He made a decision he could be satisfied with. To think that this would be the result of that.

“……This is following my predictions so closely that I’m honestly shocked. Is my plan seriously going that well?”

“……Huh?”

The avatar stammered at the words Yuno said to himself. At that moment,

“That hurt you bastard! What the hell did you do!?”

After getting through the pain, Asta regained consciousness and yelled.

“……Huh? Wait? .....W-why haven’t you been taken over……GAH!”

The avatar lightly tapped his temple in thought as Asta forcibly pulled the Original Sin grimoire out of his chest,

“Oraah!!”

And used all his might to pierce through the grimoire with his large sword. In that instant, the tentacles which were spread throughout the stage vanished, and the knights who were being controlled lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

“……What? Wait? …... But…… why?”

The avatar, too, fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock, unable to believe what was unfolding around him.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?”

Yuno approached his miserable figure, informing him as he ruffled Asta’s hair,

“This guy hasn’t had a single drop of mana in him since he was born, so if you try to take over his body using his mana as an intermediary, then you probably won’t succeed. That said, you’re welcome to keep trying…… Well, I guess I didn’t bother explaining that to you earlier since you’re just a kid.”

“D-don’t screw with…… guh.”

The avatar lost consciousness while he was speaking. Seeing that, Yuno sighed deeply in relief before calling out,

“Mimosa, please heal the avatar…… no, Al. Everyone else should help treat the injured…... we’ve won.”

With those words, everyone cheered in victory. Standing upon the stage, Yuno looked just like a hero who led his troops to victory. He didn’t really want all that attention…… but he was happy that there were no casualties.

“Hey, you handsome bastard!”

“……Oof.”

Just as Yuno dropped his guard, Asta punched him in the stomach, making Yuno let out a strange noise. Ignoring the noise Yuno let out, Asta energetically drew even closer to Yuno.

“You offered your body to the Original Sin because you knew that was gonna happen, didn’t you!?”

Yuno answered as he gently rubbed his stomach, wondering if Asta meant for his punch to hurt that much.

“Well, I knew that he was a rather contrary person, so if I made him think that I was up to something, I had a hunch that he would go after you rather than me.”

He thought there was a possibility that he would try to take over Asta, who has no magic, and he believed that, if he created a gap that Asta could exploit, he would destroy the Original Sin. He felt bad for inflicting so much pain on Asta, but Asta is used to that kind of thing, so he was able to make such a decision. As a result, they were able to achieve victory, but Asta seemed dissatisfied.

“That’s fine, but what were you planning to do if that guy actually took your body over!?”

“……Well, if he did that, all you would have needed to do is beat him, right?”

With a slight smile on his face, Yuno put his hand on Asta’s head once more.

“Even if he did take over my body, I have no doubt you would have found a way to beat him…… that’s why I said I would leave the rest to you.”

Yuno’s words left Asta in a daze for a moment, but, before long, he had his usual grin on his face before punching Yuno’s stomach one more time.

“Shut up, you handsome bastard! Don’t think you can persuade me with that!”

“I wasn’t trying to. I was just saying. Stop being so violent.”

They started fooling around as they usually do, but then……

“I’m…… not…… done!”

A voice emanated from the Original Sin grimoire that Asta had stabbed,

“I’M NOT DONE YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!”

Suddenly, a golden eye appeared at the center of the grimoire, and it started moving on its own, tearing its own body to escape from Asta’s sword. It flew up into the sky, followed by a trail of golden light as it headed toward the hole Yuno had opened earlier.

“……Are you kidding me!? I didn’t know it could do that!!”

“Apparently, it can…... but, if it were that easy, it would have done this from the beginning. Most likely, it’s using up the last of its strength, so one more push should defeat it.”

While Yuno and Asta spoke with each other, they followed after the Original Sin using Yuno’s wind magic. As they followed in pursuit, Asta readied his sword, closing his eyes in concentration as he held his sword to his side.

“……UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”

Pitch-dark magic rose from one half of his body until he was clad in black anti-magic. Then, he launched himself toward the Original Sin.

“Hey, bastard!! You probably don’t want to hear this from me, but you really don’t know when to quit, do you!? Just give up! You probably don’t want to hear that from me, though!!”

“Ki shi~…… I’m not trying to…… survive.”

The Original Sin retorted bitterly as it passed through the hole in the barrier. The eye on the grimoire moved about as it looked down on the capital. Then, suddenly, its magical power began to rise.

“But, I refuse to die alone……. I’ll self-destruct and take the entire city with me……!”

“……Don’t screw with me!! What could you possibly gain by doing that!?”

“Don’t bother, Asta…… it’s not a matter of what he will gain or lose. I’m sure he must have his own reasons for making the decision he has made.”

Yuno called out, having followed behind Asta and the Original Sin. The Original Sin opened its eye and bellowed with deep held resentment.

“Shut up….. Shut up shut up shut up! What could you possibly know about me!? You don’t know what I’ve been through, so don’t talk like you understand me!”

“I don’t…… I really don’t, but you’re the same. You don’t know our circumstances, either…… You don’t know what we can never forgive, nor what we must protect.”

As Yuno spoke, he exchanged looks with Bell, and his body began to draw the mana from his surroundings into him. At the same time, his body became wrapped in pale green light. Before long, a wing of ghostly light sprouted from his left side, and the green light wrapped around his left hand into a crown-like ring.

“Spirit Assimilation: Spirit Dive”

Witnessing such tremendous magical power before his eyes, the Original Sin froze in terror. Even the citizens below looked up at the sky, their mouths agape in blank amazement.

‘This is the culmination of Spirit Magic, reached after an unfathomable amount of effort…!’

The magical power which Yuno was clad in was so overwhelming that it forced such thoughts into the minds of all who saw him, but, even so, Yuno’s expression looked a little sorrowful.

“That’s why, this is what I’ve decided to do…... I’m sorry.”

With those words, he pointed his left hand toward the Original Sin.

“Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Storm”

“GUUAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

A vortex of light exploded forth with a roar, overwhelming both the Original Sin’s mana and its screams as it dispersed into the sky of the royal capital.

‘……It looks like they were able to resolve everything safely.’

Vangeance walked through the plaza, which had regained its peacefulness and liveliness. He wasn’t patrolling. He was simply taking a stroll, wanting to watch the faces of the townspeople and Magic Knights as they enjoyed themselves. He thought that clearing up the turmoil left behind by the attack and explaining things to the townspeople would be an arduous task, but…… things went a lot more smoothly than he was expecting. When he explained that the Original Sin had slipped into the venue, there was a considerable amount of panic, but when he explained that it had been defeated, he raised Yuno and Asta up as heroes, telling the townspeople about the “heroes who fought against the dangerous magic weapon”. With that, the townspeople’s anxieties were completely wiped out and replaced with celebration.

Such propaganda… well, it certainly sounds bad when framed like that, was necessary to reduce the public’s unease. As a result, the trust the Magic Knights lost today was completely restored, and, after repairing the reception hall, he continued the event. He thought about discontinuing the festival, but with the public’s support, he decided to continue as planned. Since it was such a special event, Vangeance decided that he wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of the festival a little, too. And so, he began walking around on his own.

……Well, technically speaking, he wasn’t alone. More precisely, ever since the day he was born, Vangeance has never been alone.

‘So? What are your thoughts after having seen the first Original Sin?’

This question was directed inward toward his other self, Patry, who shared his body.

‘……Hm, it was exactly what I thought it was.’

After a short pause, Patry responded from within Vangeance’s heart. It has been a long time since they became able to communicate through their souls, but it was rare for them to exchange words in public as they were doing now. However, Vangeance wanted to ask Patry as soon as possible.

‘……You mean that it was one of the prototypes of a magic tool you elves made with the humans several hundred years ago?’

Within his heart, he could feel Patry nod his head in silence.

‘……Although, I really couldn’t believe it until I saw it. To think that one of the magic tools we made remained here, completely unbroken. On top of that, it was even revived in modern times…...’

At first, he thought that someone simply made something similar to it and released it into the public. However, as the investigation continued, he noticed more and more similarities between the ancient magic tool they had built and the Original Sin. Moreover, a few days ago, when Charlotte spoke with one of its avatars, that suspicion turned into conviction.

The person who manifested as the avatar of the Original Sin highly resembled Dordt, a younger elf who was involved in the creation of the magic tool. However, Dordt’s soul did not enter the Original Sin. Rather, it seems that his residual thoughts were dwelling within it. At any rate, there was definitively a connection between the two.

Vangeance asked Patry,

‘I just want to verify what I heard before, but, originally, the Original Sin was developed for peaceful purposes, made to increase its owner’s magical power by a small amount, right? I’m sure its original name was also different.’

‘Yeah. Although….’

Vangeance could feel a deep loathing and desire to kill within Patry’s words.

‘Five hundred years ago……we elves were trapped, toyed with, and killed by the humans. Those feelings of rage and anguish from that day must have mixed in with Dordt-san’s other residual thoughts, replacing the intentions that machine was originally built with into something far more vicious. It seems that it took quite a long time.’

He flared with rage before taking a brief moment to think.

‘However…... I don’t know how or why it had revived. It probably reacted to the mana emitted by the reincarnation of myself and the other elves…… At any rate, it certainly wasn’t my intent to revive it.’

‘I understand. That’s why you cooperated with me, right?’

Vangeance understood that the Original Sin was something created by the elves. Recognizing how dangerous it was, he decided to take immediate action, even receiving information about it from Patry. One of the measures he took against it was the creation of this festival. The Original Sin was constantly seeking the strong to use as a host. He judged that, if he created a chance for the Original Sin to come in contact with the Magic Knights, the strongest people in the country, then it would surely make a move. Though, if all he wanted to do was capture it, then it wouldn’t have been necessary to do things in such a roundabout way……

In any case, Vangeance sent words of gratitude into his heart.

‘Thank you for all your help, Patry. You also told me that if the first Original Sin is destroyed, then all its copies, the manuscripts, should disappear… I think we’ll continue the investigation to confirm that, though.’

‘Yeah. Well, that’s also just speculation on my part. I think everything should be fine now, but…...’

Pitch-black emotions began to flow into Patry’s words again.

‘The day when our longstanding desire is fulfilled draws near. Before that day comes, I want any irregularities to be eliminated…… I’m counting on you.’

‘……Yeah, I know.’

With his brief reply, Vangeance felt Patry’s consciousness melt into his heart. He touched his hand to his chest, gently curling his fingers into a fist.

‘The day when our longstanding desire is fulfilled draws near.’

Which means……

“Ah, Captain Vangeance. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Just as dark thoughts threatened to absorb him, he heard someone call out to him from the side. When he turned around, he saw Yuno, Asta, and Bell coming closer to him. He noticed that they were carrying paint brushes. It seemed that Yami’s drawing class was reopened, and they were helping out there. Before he could reply, Yuno began to speak.

“You may have already heard, but Silka was walking through the venue on her own. She is being safeguarded now. Al has also regained consciousness. Apparently, the last thing he remembers is picking up the Original Sin Grimoire in the woods a few weeks ago. Since that moment, his consciousness has been hijacked this entire time.”

“Yes, I’ve heard. They may need psychological care after all that has happened, so I’ve left detailed instructions so that they can be fully supported.”

Hearing this, Bell shouted in admiration.

“As one would expect from Vangeance! You sure work quickly~! By the way, Yuno and I want to go on a date after this, so exempt us from writing this incident’s report! Asta said he’ll write it for us!”

“I never said that! I definitely wouldn’t for a reason like that! And anyway, what the heck is a date!? Would somebody tell me already!?”

Asta hurled back at Bell without a moment’s delay. And so, the four continued their lively exchange for some time. Vangeance watched the other three with a smile as his thoughts from earlier resumed. The reason he lured in the Original Sin the way he did was to stimulate their growth…… especially Yuno’s. He knew the Original Sin was using Al as a host, but he let him go free so that Yuno could catch him. Even he thinks what he did was dangerous. Of course, he kept an eye on things to ensure that no harm would come to the townspeople, but he couldn’t guarantee that no injuries would occur.

However, Vangeance did not have a lot of time left. With the limited amount of time remaining for him, with all the things he still needed to teach Yuno, he had no choice but to make use of this chance. What could be gained by taking this risk was just too great. By resolving this incident, Yuno has become even stronger, and he has garnered even more support from the people.

And, Vangeance was able to entrust to Yuno the thing he couldn’t do. From time to time, a person will need to make a decision they can be satisfied with. It’s truly an obvious thing. It’s not something one usually needs to persuade someone else to do, but……

Even until the very end, Vangeance couldn’t do it.

Patry, the one who has lived together with him since birth, or Julius, the man who showed him how to live his life. He couldn’t decide which one he should choose. Even worse, he’s going to leave the answer to the two of them. He considered himself the worst kind of man there is. That was why he didn’t want Yuno, the squad member who held his highest of hopes, to ever go through this. He wanted Yuno to live his life in a future of his choice, without regret.

That was why, to convey the importance of those words, he told Yuno such an obvious thing. He was a little worried about whether he was able to transmit his feelings to Yuno properly, but……

“……Yuno, now that I think about it, I haven’t told you yet. You did a great job today. I saw how the battle went using Marx’s communication magic. You did a truly magnificent job.”

These words came from the bottom of his heart. He could tell when he watched Yuno battle today. Yuno understood what he wanted to say, and he put it into practice. He was able to make choice after choice without regret and led the way to victory in such a desperate battle.

“I look forward to your future successes…… yes, truly.”

Witnessing Yuno as he was today filled Vangenace with relief, while, at the same time, it made him have selfish expectations for him. Perhaps, no matter how hard things might be in the future, he will lead the world in a positive direction. Perhaps he will be able to bring about the future Vangeance wanted to make, but couldn’t. He wanted to entrust Yuno with such selfish wishes.

“Thank you very much. It’s all thanks to what you told me, Captain.”

Yuno said with a small smile on his face. He was about to elaborate further, but,

“Oh, Asta. Isn’t it almost time for the rehearsal?”

Noelle called out to Asta, interrupting their conversation.

‘Wait, they still plan to continue that play……?’ Yuno thought, with all kinds of implications left unexpressed. Beside him, Asta screamed,

“It’s already time!?”

And hurriedly put the parchment and brush he was holding back on the desk.

“That’s right! Yuno! You’re coming, too! You might be able to land some kind of role if you come right now!”

“No way. I’m heading back to headquarters. I have to write my report and prepare for the next mission.”

“……Oh, really?”

Asta replied with a bit of disappointment in his voice. Yuno wanted to hang around a little longer, too, but there was a mountain of things he had to do. He won’t procrastinate on his duties for personal reasons.

……Also,

“What, Asta? Are you disappointed?”

“H-huh!? Why would I be…… oh?”

With a provoking smile, Yuno continued,

“Don’t look so down…… we’re both running down the same road, so we’ll see each other soon.”

Both were competing to see who would become the Wizard King. As long as they stay true to their promise, Asta and Yuno will meet again and again. And, each time, they’ll be able to feel each other’s growth, which will inspire them to grow even stronger. Yuno and Asta have come this far by continuously repeating this process. From now on, as well, they will continue to lift each other up in this way.

“……Well, I’ve run way ahead of you, though.”

‘And, someday……’

With such powerful feelings, Yuno said forcefully,

“The one who becomes the Wizard King will be me!”

“………”

Provoked by Yuno’s words, Asta cracked a brave smile and bumped fists with him.

“Huh!? Like I said, I wasn’t all that disappointed, and it’s obvious that I’m the one who will become the Wizard King! No matter how far ahead of me you are, I’ll be going beyond my limits and follow behind you, so you better be prepared!

“If all you do is follow behind me, how are you supposed to get ahead of me? As I thought, you’re hopeless. Just aim to be the King of Disappointment instead.”

“The King of Disappointment!?”

When the two started their usual nonsensical banter, Noelle looked a little annoyed, but that was soon followed by a relieved smile as she poked Asta.

“……Hey, let’s go. We’re going to get scolded by Captain Mereoleona if you keep this up.”

“Right! See ya, Yuno!”

With cheerful words and a full smile, Asta ran ahead of Yuno. Yuno smiled a little, too, as he lowered his chin. He thought about saying goodbye to Asta, but……

“ASTAAAAAAA! You were loafing about in a place like this, huh!?”

A lioness stomped forward with each step leaving destruction in its wake. Imitating a lion’s paw, her flame magic took hold of Asta’s head.

“O-ouch! Wait, Ca-captain Mereleona! I think you’re using too much strength! This is the amount of strength you would use if you wanted to crush someone’s head!”

“I’m using just as much strength as I want! For people who don’t show up on time, this amount of strength is just right!”

Mereoleona yelled before gritting her teeth.

“Moreover, what was with that battle earlier!? It’s true that the Original Sin had taken the form of a young child…… but everyone, including you, was far too cowardly! We’re about to launch a surprise attack on the Eye of the Midnight Sun’s hideout, but I can already see it’s going to be rough with you lot!”

“That’s not true, Captain Mereoleona! Asta, well…… he-he did his best!”

Noelle sputtered, practically in a whisper. In response, Mereoleona glared at her and shouted,

“How so!? Especially in the final stages, when he pointlessly activated his anti-magic state, he was totally useless! I bet this is why he lost during the Selection Exam, am I wrong!?”

CRACK!

Something snapped inside of Asta. Most likely, Mereoleona’s words broke Asta’s heart once more. Before long, he was back to acting like a senile old man again, a look of blankness returning to his face.

“……Ah, that’s right…… I…… didn’t get to fight Yuno during the Selection Exam……”

Seeing him like this once again, Noelle began to protest at Mereoleona with tears in her eyes.

“Look! You broke his heart again! What do you plan to do with that!?”

“Wa ha ha! Perfect! After this event is over, I planned on temporarily reopening my hot spring camp, so I’ll take him along, too! Let’s re-forge the spirit of this pathetic greenhorn!”

With the end of that far from quiet conversation, the three of them walked off into the distance. His smile stiff from watching them, Vangeance cracked his mouth open and said with a heavy voice,

“……Is he going to be okay? It looks like he’s about to suffer quite a bit, so is it really alright if we don’t help him?”

“He’ll be okay. Even though he’s like that, he’s still my rival. He’ll be able to overcome any difficulties that stand in his way. “

Yuno spoke without a moment’s hesitation. He would never use the word “rival” unless he meant it, so there was no need to get involved in Asta’s messes.

“……I see, then I guess it’s fine.”

Seeing how Yuno felt, Vangeance had only that to say, though he could sympathize with the conflicting emotions Yuno must be experiencing. Then, he remembered to ask Yuno.

“Come to think of it, they interrupted our conversation earlier, didn’t they? Earlier…... before that young girl from the Black Bulls began speaking to your childhood friend, wasn’t there something you wanted to tell me?"

“Ah, that’s true….”

Yuno’s expression suddenly became serious as he looked Vangeance in the eye.

“I have an answer to your question from earlier…… when you asked whether I would sacrifice my life or the life of another to become the Wizard King.”

“Ah, that was just a hypothetical question, so you don’t really have to-

“I thought about it a lot, and, in the end, I’ve decided that I would sacrifice neither of them.”

Yuno answered, interrupting Vangeance’s words.

‘Come to think of it, he really hates losing,’ Vangeance thought as he questioned Yuno further.

“Okay. Then, what happens next? Would you give up on becoming the Wizard King?”

“No.”

Yuno’s reply was immediate, speaking clearly as he continued to look into Vangeance’s eyes.

“I would find a way to become Wizard King without sacrificing anyone.”

“……..”

The fact that Yuno’s answer completely ignores the point of the question left Vangeance speechless. He wasn’t surprised, per se. Rather, he simply wasn’t expecting to hear such an answer from someone so levelheaded. However……

“……I see. That’s your ‘decision that you can be satisfied with’, right?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. If that’s your answer, then I hope you’ll stand by it…… I’ll be rooting for you.”

As Vangeance responded, he quietly thought to himself,

‘For the sake of his dream, he’s prepared to conjure up a new choice if doesn’t like any of his options, and he has a reliable strength to make that possible. He has shown this time and time again with both his words and his actions. Maybe he truly will be able to build a world…… where everyone can live with a smile on their face.’

However, he knew that entrusting his wishes to Yuno would be too selfish of him. Vangeance was a man who couldn’t make a decision. Without making his choice, he’s going to leave countless debts unpaid and disappear from the world. That’s why he was not in a position to entrust anything to him.

However…… no, that’s precisely why,

‘Am I permitted to pray, at least?’

As he dreamed that the future Yuno would forge would overlap with his own ideal world, the disappearing hero raised a question with no answer.

--- The Hero Who Disappeared: The End ---

I’m happy to get a little more information on the whole ‘two souls in one body’ thing. I thought it was especially interesting when the novel described how William could “feel” Patry’s emotions as they fluctuated. Between the dreams of Patry’s memories he would experience as a child and being able to feel Patry’s undoubtedly heavy emotions, it’s amazing he could maintain his own sense of identity. It sounds like the sort of thing that could drive a person insane.

I didn’t realize it when I watched the anime, but it seems he was certain he was going to die. I guess that makes sense. Patry’s victory was supposed to guarantee his death, and unless Julius could find a way to capture Patry safely, he probably thought he would die with Patry if Julius won.

There Yuno goes again, waxing poetic about Asta for a full paragraph. And come back Mereoleona! I’m glad she finally appears in novel 3, but she’s only in this chapter and one other ;A; Hopefully, there’s more of her in novel 4 (whenever that gets announced). Then, Fuegoleon will actually be awake, too. I think we’re due for a chapter, or perhaps even a full novel, featuring the Vermillions!

#Black Clover #Yuno #Asta #william vangeance #mereoleona vermillion #patry #noelle silva #Book of Yuno #my translations

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luving-hanni · 4 years

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Seventeen Reaction: best friend speaking their native language confidently

Hip Hop Unit | Performance Unit | Vocal Unit

Comments: Hi! I hope everyone is staying healthy, safe, and optimistic during this challenging time. I have decided to try to come back to tumblr a little bit. Please feel free to suggest nything :) Admin LanLan

Seungcheol: You’ve been in Korea for nearly three months and quickly became friends with cheol. The two of you mostly communicated in English. It was hard for him, but he felt as leader he should improve his verbal English skills. Little did he know that you’ve been intensely studying Korean.

“Wow ___! You speak korean?!” He would exclaim after you confidently ordered a meal. Usually you would point to things and he would order for you. “I’ve been studying really hard.” Cheol’s eye light up and he was so excited to help you learn more Korean!

Wonwoo: The two of you usually texted because you were able to translate into Korean and he was able to translate into Korean. After earning a 96 on your first Korean speaking test, you decided to video call wonwoo. He quickly picked up.

“시험 통과했어요” I passed my exam!] You excited said. Wonwoo was shocked! He had no idea how confident you were in Korean. He quickly replied in korean. You texted him right back and explained you didn’t catch anything he said.

(I looked this up. I am not sure if this is correct. Please kindly dm if this is incorrect with the correct korean)

Mingyu: This English king was so excited to have a native speaker best friend. He worked so so hard to be understood. He never got frustrated with you, only with himself. One day, you were at a cafe with him. He was practicing his English and you said to him in Korean “Will you help me with my korean?” in a super confident voice. You had to think about that phase for about 15 minutes before saying it. A smile broke his face and he said something like “yes of course.... talent....??”

Vernon: After studying English, you were super nervous to flaunt your English speaking skills. His mom was visiting him and he wanted you to meet her. You were super nervous because you English was not perfect. She was really sweet looking so you took a deep breath and said “Hi. I am... Vernon friend. Nice to meet you.” Vernon’s jaw dropped and he said “You can speak English?” You could feel yourself blushing “I learning now. I want speak your language.” Vernon was so excited to help you improve your conversational English.

#seventeen reaction #seventeen reactions #seventeen fanfic #seventeen hhu #seungcheol fanfic #wonwoo fanfic #mingyu fanfic #vernon fanfic #Admin LanLan #hip hop unit #hip hop team #seventeen #seventeen fluff

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thebiasrekkers · 4 years

Text

Fragmentation 0.2 - PJM

Plot: How does one measure freedom? Are our choices truly our own, or are they part of a preset design outside of our control? We all have a question burning inside of us, though few speak it out. It is the question that drives us forward, seeking purpose in our lives. What is The Matrix?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Pairing: N/A

Warnings: Strong language, allusions to suicide, extreme angst, graphic violence

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 3,068

AN: Alright guys, get ready for these to hit the timeline back to back! I hope you’re ready! I thoroughly enjoyed writing these and yes, because it’s The Matrix, we are going to get dark in this piece. As I stated before, all information in the universe can be found on the official Matrix Wiki so please use that as a reference guide if you ever get confused!

Tag List: @aroseforyoongi, @prisczero, @pinkpjmin, @btsaudge, @flowerwrites06, @unoriginal-username15432

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

“Jimin! Aren’t you coming?”

Jimin casually glanced over his shoulder, readjusting the strap to his backpack in a more comfortable position. A few of his classmates waved to him, urging him to come along. They were finished with their studies for the day and didn’t have any after school activities that required their attention. Normally, they would head to the arcade to mindlessly spend the quarters weighing their pockets down.

He smiled, shaking his head and waving back at them. “No, you guys go on ahead. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

His friends pouted, canting their heads slightly before shrugging. They laughed as they turned to head down the street, all of them declaring loudly how they were going to beat the other into submission in a round of Street Fighter.

Sighing, Jimin pushed his way through the crowd to head to the local library. The internet was faster there and he could focus on what he wanted to work on in peace and quiet. Stopping at a vending machine on the way, he bought a few drinks and some snacks to tide him over until he was forced to stop working due to needing sleep.

It wasn’t like there was anyone waiting for him at home anyway.

Hopping up the stone steps, he entered through the front door and smiled at the library clerk. She was a pretty woman - at least pretty in terms of being an old lady. Late fifties to early sixties at best, he could guess. Jimin never told her his name, however, but she didn’t mind. She always referred to him as “Young Man” and he answered readily with a smile.

“Research again, Young Man?” she asked, holding out a book for him.

Jimin took the item from her, already knowing that she wanted him to put it back where it was supposed to go. He smiled. “Yes ma’am.” He eyed the cover. “Ching Dynasty in the History section, right?”

The old lady beamed at him. “Correct. You’re such a good lad.”

“I try,” he said with a laugh.

“Well, don’t work too hard. I know you’ve been focusing very hard on your project these last few weeks, but you’re young and shouldn’t strain your eyes so much.”

Jimin bowed his head slightly. “I won’t. Thank you.”

He quickly maneuvered around the library, locating the history section and replaced the book. He always had a knack of finding things and Jimin just knew when things were out of place. His teachers called it a “gift” but he had a feeling that it was something else entirely. He just couldn’t place it. Not yet, at least.

Making his way toward the back of the library, he reached a few taupe colored desks nestled in a small nook in the corner. He threw his backpack on top of the shelf portion, unzipping the top and rifling around inside. He pulled out two mini discs and one floppy disc. Reaching further into the pack, his fingers wrapped around the mini computer and the wires needed to make the device work. He wasted no time booting up the computer, setting up the small computer beside the motherboard and plugging things in.

It only took him a few minutes to go through various checks to make sure that his connection was secure. Then he pulled up a few console windows, his fingers typing swiftly over the keys.

???:

He couldn’t describe the wave of relief that hit him when he saw his chat partner beginning the conversation. Lately Jimin had to be the one to initiate the chat, hoping that he reached them.

Cobra:

Jimin felt a bead of sweat forming on the bridge of his nose. He knew that this could possibly chase them away. But there was a chance that it wouldn’t. And the information his friend gave him was too profound to ignore.

???:

Cobra:

???:

Cobra:

???:

It was now or never. Jimin felt like if he didn’t take advantage of this opportunity now, he would never get another one. His chance to obtain the answers to his questions would slip through his fingers like sand. He wouldn’t be able to recover it fast enough.

Cobra:

???:

Cobra:

???:

Blinking at the screen, Jimin reached under the desk and began patting around the surface beneath. His thumb brushed up against something. Curling his fingers around it, he pulled it free - the distinct sound of velcro separating shockingly loud in the quiet confines of his corner. Jimin inspected it, not sure what to make of the item his friend left for him. It was no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, but the container was made of metal.

When did they prepare this?

Though the more pressing question was how did they know he would be sitting at that particular desk on that particular day?

Just how close was his friend?

Jimin couldn’t stop the cold shiver from snaking up his back. He was nervous, but excited. Something was wrong with him.

Cobra:

???:

He watched his friend go offline, leaving him alone. He could sense that there wasn’t much time. Jimin quickly logged off, turned off the computer and haphazardly threw all of his things into his bag. Stuffing the small metal container into his inner jacket pocket, he slung the backpack over his shoulder and made his way to the entrance of the stairs.

The library building was tall - at least thirty stories. Jimin climbed them all. He wasn’t sure if it was nerves hammering around inside of his chest or the adrenaline of excitement rushing his footsteps, but he didn’t care. After months of secret conversations, he was finally going to learn something. He would release the pressure at the back of his brain, telling him that something was wrong with the world that he lived in.

Bursting through the rooftop access door, Jimin was greeted with a swift burst of cold air. The sun had long since set. He didn’t remember being in the library for very long. Was it already that late?

Jimin sensed a flash of movement from his right, his body reacting faster than his mind could process. Leaning back, he dodged a fist that was aimed for the side of his head. Pivoting on his heels, he spun out of reach just as another fist shot out - hoping to strike true.

“Hey!” he yelled, stumbling back a few paces. “What’s the big idea?!”

Standing in front of him was a man no taller than him - Asian in origin, though he could only guess that he was of Chinese descent based on his clothing choice. He wore an off white changsan, a black fitted shirt underneath, and long wide leg pants. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses - the lenses small and round. His hair was cut short - military-style buzz cut. The man was clearly skilled in martial arts.

Jimin watched him smile and this only caused his irritation to mount further. Hadn’t his friend told him that he could trust the person he was meeting on the roof? Was this all a setup?

The man lowered his stance, placing a palm over one fist and bowing his head. After a few seconds, Jimin bowed his head also, but maintained eye contact with him. The man continued to smile at him.

“You have very good reflexes for one so young,” he complimented.

Jimin shrugged. “I guess so.”

“You move like a cobra.” He lowered his arms down to his sides. “I am Seraph. I will guide you to The Oracle.”

“The Oracle?” Jimin couldn’t hide the confused expression on his face. He’d heard rumors online about someone with that moniker, but he figured it was just some myth circulating through the dark net. “I’m...meeting The Oracle.”

Seraph nodded, fishing into his pocket as he approached the roof access door. “Yes. She has much to discuss with you. But we must hurry.” He pulled out a small ring of keys, sliding one of them into the lock. “We don’t have much time.”

Before Jimin could question Seraph’s sanity, he watched the man open the door. But instead of a set of stairs, he could see a back alley in its place. His lips parted, unable to properly fathom what he’d just seen. The moisture left his mouth and a throbbing pain began drilling into the back of his head. Seraph was instantly at his side, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You have to remain calm. Take a few deep breaths.”

He felt like he was choking. “W-What is going on?”

“Breathe, Cobra. If your mental acuity spikes too much, they will be able to locate us.”

“T-They?”

“We need to go. Now.”

It was painful for him to nod, but Seraph helped him toward the door. Once inside the alley, he watched Seraph closing the door and locking it behind them. The street lights flickered sporadically, serving as a guide through the darkness. If Seraph was speaking to him, which he doubted, he didn’t think he would be able to hear him over the thunder of his own heartbeat.

Jimin didn’t remember seeing Seraph unlocking another door, or the two more after that, but he was jolted to a sudden halt when they stood in front of a bright red door. It looked like the kind of door that belonged to a quaint house in the suburbs. The kind of house a normal, loving family would have attached to their single family home.

Seraph motioned for Jimin to open it, as this door was not locked. Or, at least, he could only assume that it wasn’t since he hadn’t seen Seraph pulling out a key from his key ring. He grabbed for the brass handle and turned the knob, pushing the door open and stepping over the threshold.

There was a sweet aroma hovering in the air, making Jimin’s mouth water instantly. In all of the controlled chaos, he’d forgotten to eat. The soft tones of jazz came from a radio in the kitchen. He followed the sounds and stopped at the entrance.

Standing by the stove was a woman who looked to be in her mid to late fifties. She was a little heavier built, but her curves were defined and lovely in a sweet sort of way. Her back was to him, but through her dark curls he saw strands of gray peppered throughout. Smoke billowed from an ashtray nearby where an abandoned cigarette rested against one of the center notches.

“Um,” he finally managed, taking a step forward, “excuse me?”

“Just a minute,” said the woman, her voice hauntingly familiar, “they’re almost finished. You might want to have a seat.”

Jimin reigned his curiosity back as he watched the woman lean over to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven. Heat rushed through the kitchen from the stove, warming him from the inside out. She set the tray down on the counter, giving the pastries a chance to cool. As she wiped her hands on her apron, she turned to look at Jimin and he immediately lost his balance. He blindly reached for the nearest chair, collapsing into it.

“It...It’s you,” he stammered, looking at the woman he’d come to know as the kind library clerk, “but how?”

The woman smiled, reaching for her cigarette. She took a drag, exhaling smoke from her nostrils. “I told you to have a seat.”

His eyes shook, darting in every direction before landing back on her. None of this made any sense. Jimin’s gaze moved to the floor as he tried to calm his breathing, placing a hand on his chest in an almost vain attempt to settle his rattled nerves. He watched the woman’s shadow move closer to him until she, too, was sitting across from him. When he looked up, the older woman was holding out a plate to him - a single cookie placed in the center.

“Here. I know you’re probably hungry. This will tide you over until dinner is finished.”

He unconsciously took the cookie off the plate, but he was unsure of whether to eat it or not. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust it was safe to eat. He wasn’t sure he would be able to keep it down.

She set a glass of water in front of him. “Now listen to me, Cobra. We don’t have a whole lot of time. I’m sure you’re just as aware of that fact as I am.”

Jimin reached a trembling hand toward the glass. “Are you really The Oracle?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The Oracle chuckled as she tapped a bit of ash off into the tray. “So many questions and yet I knew that would be the first one you’d ask.”

He drained half the glass in a single gulp. “Something is happening to me.”

“Yes, it is.” She pressed the cigarette to her lips. “It’s been happening for a while now.”

“Are you responsible for it?”

“No, Cobra.” The Oracle blew smoke out of her mouth. “You are.”

“What?”

“Did you bring the package with you?”

Jimin frowned. “If you’re The Oracle, shouldn’t you know that answer already?”

Again, she chuckled. “I do. I’m asking more for your sake than my own. You look ready to pop.”

His fingers moved from the glass and toward his pocket. He pulled out the small metal case and placed it on the table between them. Instead of reaching for it, however, The Oracle gestured toward him.

“Go on. Open it.”

Jimin opened the box, unsure of what he was actually looking at. Inside were what appeared to be two gel caplets. One red, the other blue. A bead of sweat slid down from his temple to his chin, dripping onto the top of his shoe. He slowly lifted his face to look at The Oracle who still had a calm expression painted over her features.

“Like I said earlier, Cobra, we don’t have a lot of time. I can only apologize for taking so long to close the distance between us. If I’d been faster, then we wouldn’t be rushing now.”

“Rushing for what?”

“To give you the answers you so desperately seek.” She crushed the ember of her cigarette out into the tray. “You have a choice to make. Right now. If you still want to know the truth about everything, about why you feel like the world around you doesn’t make sense, or why you feel so isolated in it, then take the red pill and seek the answers out for yourself.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. “How am I supposed to do that alone?”

The Oracle reached out a hand to cup his cheek. Her touch was warm; comforting. It helped relax his already fraying nerves. Her thumb stroked over the corner of his eye, wiping the tear away. “Oh, honey, you won’t be alone.” She looked every bit like a mother comforting a scared child in that instant. “But I won’t lie to you, the truth is going to be hard to swallow. Harder than that pill. You’ll probably hate me after you find out the truth. If you feel you won’t be able to handle any of that, then take the blue pill. You’ll forget all about me and what you’ve seen the very minute you step out that door.”

She removed her hand from his cheek, making him very aware of how cold the world seemed at the absence of her touch. Jimin eyed the pills in the box. What did he have to lose by taking the red pill and finding out the truth? His life here was meaningless - just an endless sequence of purposeless days bleeding into purposeless weeks, meshing into equally purposeless months until years with no purpose marched on.

Plucking the red pill from the foam cushion in the box, he popped it into his mouth without hesitation. He grabbed the glass of water and gulped down what remained, swallowing it.

The Oracle suddenly grabbed Jimin’s hand just as he set the glass back down on the table. “Listen to me very carefully, Cobra. I need you to remember what I tell you when you wake up.”

“W-What do you mean?” Jimin’s vision began to swim momentarily. His auditory senses almost seemed heightened at that moment and he heard several heavy footsteps approaching from the living room.

“You are going to find The One. That is the path that you have chosen for yourself.” The Oracle pressed both of her hands on either side of his face. “Believe in that path. When you discover the truth, you will come to understand the meaning behind my words.”

“Oracle, please,” Jimin managed to choke out, “I don’t understand…”

He saw several shadows circling him and different voices began talking all at once.

“We’ve almost narrowed down his location,” said a man to his right, “we need just a few more seconds.”

Jimin gripped onto the woman’s arms in desperation. “I’m scared!”

“It’s okay to be scared. That’s normal, I promise.” The Oracle pressed a kiss to his forehead and he the distinct smell of cookies and cigarettes filled his nose. “Remember my words, Cobra. Know the path and walk the path you forge for yourself.”

“Got him!”

The world seemed to tunnel vision around him, causing his vision to grow darker by the second.

“Will I see you again?” he said through his tears.

“Yes, Young Man,” she replied with a smile he could barely see, “you will.”

And then everything flickered to black and green, the entire room transforming into strings of code. Jimin let out a scream before darkness completely overtook his sight.

“Welcome to the Real World.”

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kclenhartnovels · 4 years

Text

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, Larocque’s Introduction

As I’m finally getting some actual words done on the project, here’s a fun sneak peak into the early chapter, and Harding’s first interaction with Larocque. I feel like I’m finally finding the narrative voice, and I may be having too much fun with descriptions.

===========================

"Agent John Harding, Sr.?"

The use of his full name startled Harding out of his focus, and he jerked up so suddenly he sent half a dozen papers fluttering to the ground. They hadn't been in much order to begin with, emptied from the file box and strewn across his desk and the floor with a few of his own notes scribbled on post-its on top of them, still trying to make sense of the flood of information. He had expected some other lackey suit to be standing in the door to his office, perhaps holding another full box or checking in on his progress as they had been doing for the past couple days, but instead was someone he had never seen before. And he didn't look like a paper pusher, or a field agent. Instead of a suit, he wore a long white lab coat, immaculately pressed and clean. He had the long, narrow look of someone who had at one point been a normal proportion, but then had been squeezed and pulled too tightly through some sort of unforgiving machine. His high cheekbones angled too sharply against the line of his jaw, leaving hollows that might have been called dimples if they didn't look so severely cut. Dark blond hair curled loosely across his temples, and seemed the only thing about him not pressed and stretched into a cultivated, regimented perfection. Harding got the distinct impression that he was some sort of lizard that had decided to wear a human-suit, but had no idea how to make it properly fitted. If he saw a forked tongue, Harding was going to carve a window into the wall behind him and jump through it.

"Yes, sir," he answered instead. "That's me. Can I help you?"

The reptile in the doorway smiled, at least much in the same way a snake smiled while sizing up a cornered mouse. It was less of a gesture of goodwill, and more a yawn of fangs in preparation to swallow someone whole. "My name is Dr. Henri Larocque. I have the results of your bloodwork."

"Ah." When Larocque didn't continue right away, Harding felt compelled to speak. "Is this like looking up symptoms on the Internet? Do I have brain cancer?"

The doctor's smile widened marginally, enough to finally wrinkle the hollows of his pitted cheeks. "Quite the contrary. Won't you follow me?"

"Why do I feel like I don't have a choice in the matter?" Harding picked up a few of the papers that had fallen, returned them to the piles where (he thought) they came from, and gingerly stepped around the rest. Standing beside Larocque, he was even more acutely aware that his own suit was rumpled, his tie was loosely done, and he hadn't really slept in a day or so. He felt rather like a stray dog beside a freshly-groomed Westminster poodle.

"You always have a choice, John."

Harding flinched. No one called each other by first names here, and he wasn't sure if it felt too familial, or too mocking when the doctor said it. It was just weird. Everything about the doctor spoke something of the other, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of Lovecraftian beast lurking under the skin, rather than a simple razor-toothed lizard. "Yeah, it sounds like it. You sure I don't have brain cancer?"

Larocque led him down the hallway, past the series of windowless offices where other paper-pushers like him worked, past the open cubicles of other agents. RJ saw them pass by, and she stood to exchange a glance with him. He offered her a shrug, and gestured vaguely towards the white coat in front of him, before spinning one finger beside his temple in a gesture of insanity. When she looked genuinely alarmed, a tightness formed in his stomach. Did she know something he didn't?

The doctor pushed open a door at the end of the hall, and gestured Harding into the same small clinic room where the nurse had drawn his blood almost two weeks ago. "Please, have a seat."

The only place to sit was on the hard metal table, covered with a sheet of sterile paper, and Harding felt like a child waiting for a round of vaccinations when he hopped up onto it. The paper crinkled under his hands. The sound settled around the knot in his stomach, adding an acidity that made his teeth ache, as if he had just heard nails scraping against chalkboard for the past two hours. "So," he began lamely, "what's this about? They never said what the blood draw was for."

Larocque drew the shades on the door's window, giving them as much privacy as could be expected. Harding half waited for him to pull out a butcher's knife and begin painting the white walls with chunks of his flesh. But instead, the doctor moved in front of him, and tapped his tapered fingers against a clipboard. "How much do you know about the human genome, John?"

His teeth ached, and he realized he had been gritting them. "It's Agent Harding."

The doctor smiled thinly. "Answer the question, please."

What the fuck was he supposed to say? "I'm not a biologist. I studied French and political science. I know they finished the human genome project recently. It was all over the news." Larocque nodded, and seemed to be waiting for him to go on. He felt a frustrated sigh hiss past his clenched teeth. A headache began to throb in his temple. He hadn't slept, hadn't eaten anything that morning aside from three cups of coffee and half a bagel that he had mostly neglected after he found mold in the cream cheese. "I don't know. DNA makes us who we are?"

"That is correct." He sounded like a teacher, praising an especially thick student for finally answering a simple question, while the rest of the class snickered and flicked spitballs at them. "And we have mapped your genetic code. This is a brave new world we are entering, and you and I are to be on the forefront of this new science. You see, your DNA is holding something extraordinary."

"Not brain cancer, then?"

Larocque's impeccable human suit flickered with irritation. His nostrils flared, and a hint of color finally touched the hollows of his face. "I am certain that you are aware of the rumors of humans with powers beyond the norm? Those that can produce elements with the powers of their mind, or move at speeds and strengths thought impossible?"

"I read comic books," Harding agreed.

"This is not colorful fiction any longer, John. We may have the power to unlock and strengthen these abilities, now that we know the genetic markers that indicate a predilection towards them." He tapped the clipboard again, and his taunt body leaned forward some. "And the markers on yours are incredibly rare. Tell me, how often do you get sick?"

"Get sick?" he repeated, feeling a fresh pulse in his headache when Larocque called him by his first name again.

"Yes, how often do you contract an illness?"

The question gave him pause. "I don't know. I guess--as often as anyone."

"Specifically, when was the last time you were ill?"

"I don't know." He had to bite his tongue to keep from cursing. Professionalism had been his feedback when he was accepted into the program. He had really wanted to tell them then that they could go fuck themselves. Translators weren't in the public eye anyway. But he needed this job. He just didn't need this reptile probing him with weird questions. Fuck, when was the last time he had been sick? He could remember looking after Karen when she got colds, when she got the flu last year, and she had scolded him for kissing her, because what if he got sick next? The only thing he could remember-- "Food poisoning," he said at last. "Uh, senior year of college. Four buddies and me went to a bad choice of restaurant. They all ended up in the hospital."

"And you?" Larocque pressed.

He shrugged. "I was cradling the toilet for eight hours or so. It was miserable."

"Only eight hours for food poisoning, when all your friends were in the hospital for--how long?"

His shrug came stiffer. It hurt his shoulders to make the gesture. His stomach tightened again, knotting in on itself like a low throb of warning. "I don't really remember. They got their stomachs pumped and they were dehydrated so--a day? Two?" He could taste the lie. One of his friends had nearly died, and was there for a week. The other two spent four days wretched and pale. They had sued the restaurant and won enough money that the one who had treaded the veil decided he didn't need to find a job, and bought a house instead. Harding hadn't been a part of all that. He had never even told a doctor that he had been ill. It hadn't seemed to do any harm.

Larocque made a note on his clipboard. "And that was how long ago now? Four, five years?" he guessed.

Harding felt his shoulders jerk in another harsh shrug. It felt as if his muscles were trying to tear themselves free of the bone.

"And before that? Or since then? Any allergies?"

"Nope. Not that I've found yet. Why? Do you think I'm some sort of superhuman cockroach or something?"

"Precisely that."

Harding opened his mouth to speak, but his tongue was dry, and he snapped his teeth shut again. What the fuck was he supposed to say to that?

"What about injuries?" the doctor went on. "Any broken bones?"

"I broke my arm when I was a kid. I got a papercut this morning." He held up his hand to show the mark on his finger, but the line was so thin it was nearly invisible, and the skin was barely torn. He had a hard time finding where it had happened to begin with. "Fuck, I was in a car accident two years ago and had a concussion. Ripped my head open on the steering wheel." He tilted his head slightly, running his fingers along a scar just at his hairline, faded and smooth. "I'm not a man of steel or anyth--can you back up?"

But Larocque had closed the distance between them, and took Harding's head between his thin hands. His fingers were cold. Harding tried to pull back, but he was held like a vice, and the doctor inspected the scar with such intensity that he had to wonder if the reptile also possessed laser vision or something.

"Fascinating," the doctor breathed at last. "A scar this healed would take decades for a normal individual. You had stitches on this wound, yes?"

"Twelve staples."

"Incredible. The marks have completely vanished. If your body already possesses this sort of accelerated healing, then it should only grow stronger once we begin the treatment."

Harding finally jerked himself free of Larocque's probing hands, and all-but fell off the metal table to get away from him. "The fuck do you mean, treatment?"

"I have your paperwork to sign first, of course. We will need your informed consent to begin." Larocque's dark eyes were glittering, and he had the giddy appearance of a schoolboy that had found a particularly large worm on the playground, and couldn't wait to pull it apart to watch both ends wiggle bloody death throes. "I'll have it all sent to your desk. I suggest you finish your current project quickly. We start treatments on Monday."

Tag list:

@fatal-blow @gingerly-writing @rrrawrf-writes @pied-piper-of-hamlet @inkstarlight

As always, let me know if you want to be added or removed!

#excerpt #writeblr #horseshoes and hand grenades #harding #larocque #hippocrates #honestly this book is going to be so much fun just because it's very much harding's voice #and he's so snarky #and so weird #i love him #he's so YOUNG here

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dreamaze · 4 years

Text

Tagged by the lovely @wabisaba, thanks for thinking of me! ♡

Tagging: @yoong02, @today-we-will-survive (sorry I already tagged you both in something this evening, please feel free to ignore~) and anyone else who would like to share!

When did you first get into BTS?: I had to dig up the tweet from my personal twitter, but circa early August 2019.

Why or/and how did you get into BTS?: Soo I don’t really listen to pop (or hip hop) music, or I didn’t at the time when I discovered BTS. I suppose the closest thing I had in my music library was a PSY album, which was a bit of an anomaly. I was streaming probably weird music at work and a particular short YouTube ad caught my ear a few times. The beat was catchy and the synth sounded cool so I finally tabbed over to see what the ad was. Surprise, it was BTS! (It may have been an ad for Bring the Soul? Honestly idk anymore.) But I didn’t know which song the clip was from, so then I fell down a rabbit hole trying to find it. I found a handful of songs I enjoyed along the way before identifying DNA... and I just kept listening. I really feel that I found them when I needed them most: something new, revitalizing, comforting, and inspiring to remind me why I love music and music-making.

First BTS song: I don’t know if I can count DNA since it took me awhile to identify the full song. But the Steve Aoki remix of MIC Drop is probably the most responsible for keeping me listening in the beginning. As soon as I saw the music video, I was hooked (and weirdly, extremely obsessed with the hard panning at a couple moments in the song--still am) and wanted to learn more about the members.

Favorite BTS song: According to this recent tag game, Spring Day... and as much as I have a hard time picking favorites (see also: bias list), my instinct agrees.

First official comeback: Map of the Soul: 7!

Favorite era: Wings. Wings. Wings. (Or You Never Walk Alone, I guess, if that would be the correct way to also include Spring Day. Honestly this whole era thing is a little murky to me pfff. Did I mention that I don’t listen to much pop music??)

Bias: Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung, Yoongi

Bias wrecker(s): I don’t really do this wreck it ralph thing, I love them all equally so they’re all my bias! But I listed them above in the order that they became my bias. ♡ Jungkook was first thanks to one very specific expression he makes in the MIC Drop MV, Jimin joined immediately after I figured out who was who in the vocal parts, Taehyung tagged in eventually once I discovered more of his absolutely stunning bari lines, and Yoongi shouldered in a few months later when he aggressively convinced me that I can, in fact, enjoy rapping.

First BTS concert: It was supposed to be this year. :(

Do you own any merch?: Some! By far the most meaningful purchase ended up being my first order for both the Love Yourself New York show and Notes 1. I threw in the Notes a bit on a whim because they had a promotional sale if I got both... and you could say that has had a lasting effect on me. I was also SUPER EXCITED when I got my hands on an unopened Wings Tour in Seoul. I have a handful of newer albums and video sets. Long term, I am interested in trying to collect all of the albums with accompanying Notes, even if I don’t know Korean. May have purchased all 4 MOTS:7 versions because I am an idiot and thought they would come with English translations womp. And I have one unofficial Love Yourself sweatshirt that I am very fond of.

What member would you say you are most like?: According to this very official bingo game, a tie between Yoongi and Namjoon.

Favorite BTS lyrics: Black Swan hits a little too close to home. I love Mikrokosmos for its comfort, and the poetry in songs like The Truth Untold and Sea or lines like “I grew a flower that can’t be bloomed in a dream that can’t come true.”

Favorite music video: Eep probably Blood Sweat & Tears (Korean) with Fake Love Extended Ver. as a close second? Wait, I love Spring Day too. Help.

1 thing you love about BTS: Their openness about their creative & personal struggles as artists... among many, many, many other things.

And to finish off wholesomely, do you have a favorite BTS group photo? If so, share it here (if not, what is your fave concept photoshoot and share picture): ohhh wow why am I completely failing at this. I... don’t have... a particular favorite??? Not very wholesome of me to be so stumped, but I guess I don’t really keep track of their group photos! I did find this series from their MotS:7 teaser to be pretty though.

#tagged #for fun #bts #q&a

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somepinkthing · 4 years

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WANGXIAN! POKEMON AU! WANGXIAN! POKEMON AU!

Summary: Wei Wuxian is pretty sure he’s been labelled the most annoying Pokemon trainer on the face of the Earth at this point, and he intends to defend his title. He’ll start with this stuck up kid who just caught him mud-wrestling a Yungoos.

Eevee and Gengar held him back by his jacket, the little traitors. He hand raises them and this is the thanks he gets? They would allow him to be disrespected by this Yungoos without a fight? Clearly, they've been spending too much time with Jiang Cheng and his incessant nagging. Wei Ying loved his brother, but he lived his life on the straight and narrow too much--what's life without a bit of trouble?!

Trouble, this time, took the form of a thieving Yungoos taking his sandwich.

Did he have others? Yes. Did he need that back? No. The sandwich was filthy now, he couldn't even eat it. But no little rodent was gonna steal from Wei-gege and get away with it that easily… unless his Pokemon have something to say about it.

Wei Wuxian tugged at his jacket. "Hey, come on! Heel! Sit! Lemme at him!"

Eevee shot him a truly unimpressed look and didn't loosen her jaw in the slightest. Ok, fair. Wei Wuxian has never once taught his Pokemon any commands to follow so he probably sounded like a madman screaming orders at them. But still! She understood him! He knows she did! Show some filial piety here, girl!

"Fine!" Wei Wuxian groaned, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Fine. Let me go and I won't do anything. On my honor."

This time, his whole team shot him judgemental looks. Mimikkyu even stuck his fake head out from inside the bag to judge him with beady little fake eyes. They weren't even his real eyes and Wei Ying could still feel the judgement rolling off of them!

What is up with that?! Zero respect, he gets zero respect!

"I won't!" he insisted. "Besides, what are you gonna do? Hang onto me forever?"

Eevee looked like she was considering it, but she followed suit when Gengar reluctantly loosened her grip.

"Thank you," Wei Ying said calmly, being the bigger person. "See? I won't do anything. On my honor, I won't."

And he really wasn't going to. He reached into his pack to grab another sandwich, to prove to this Yungoos that he wasn't any broke bitch and could afford his own food without having to steal it from unsuspecting travellers.

...But then he heard a derisive sniff come from the Yungoos. The little creature actually scoffed at him!

"Got something to say?!"

Yungoos only sniffed again and… turned his tail at him?! Showed Wei Ying his ass-end?! Disrespected him in front of his own children!

Oh. It was ON.

He thrust his bag at Gengar and jumped into the fray before any of his team could react.

Sorry guys, he never had much honor anyways.

---

“What are you doing?”

Wei Wuxian freed himself just enough to look up towards the source of the question. He found a boy dressed in pure white staring down at him with a pinched expression.

“Nothing much?” Wei Ying replied, managing to free his shoulder from the sharp jaws digging into his flesh and face slam the screeching Yungoos into the dirt. “Why do you ask?”

The boy’s expression only became more pinched. “Let the Pokemon up, please.”

Wei Ying suddenly realized how this must look from an outsider’s perspective.

“Hey, hey! Listen! He started it!” But he let the Yungoos go anyways. The little demon hissed and ran towards the boy in white who easily plucked the little creature up and checked him over. Oh sure, now it was docile. Determining that it wasn’t truly injured, the boy set the Pokemon down.

Watching Yungoos race off, Wei Ying asked, “Hey… he wasn’t, like, yours, was he?”

The boy shook his head and Wei Ying sighed in relief. At least he could avoid that earful. Though, the boy was still looking at him like he was dirt beneath his pristine boots--which, considering the state of him right now, was kind of fair...

Well! No time like now to make a new friend, then! As soon as this boy spent some time with him, Wei Ying was sure he would be able to wipe this horrid first impression clean from his mind!

...Which could be hard to do if the boy left.

Wei Ying hopped to his feet and gave chase. He couldn’t let this boy leave until he’d at least gotten the chance to explain! He couldn’t lose out on a potentially interesting friend because of a stinking Yungoos. He heard the pitter-pattering of little feet following after him, letting him know that his team was right behind him.

“Hey, wait up!” Wei Ying called out. When the boy didn’t stop, he tried again. “Either you stop or I’m grabbing your perfect white jacket with my muddy, muddy hands!”

The boy halted and turned to grimace at Wei Ying. “What is it?”

Wei Ying wasted no time. “I’m Wei Ying, courtesy name is Wuxian. And you are?”

The grimace got deeper, but apparently the boy was too polite to not answer him.

“Lan Zhan. Courtesy name is Wangji.”

“Cool name!” Wei Ying admired. “You can call me Wei Ying. Or XianXian. Or even A-Xian, if you’d like.”

The boy nodded. “And you may call me Wangji.”

Ouch.

“Lan Zhan rolls off the tongue much better!” Wei Ying pressed on, undeterred.

“Wangji is just as easy to say,” his new pal insisted.

Stingy! Wei Wuxian was sure that even Jiang Cheng wasn’t this prickly! At least his brother would try to get along with anyone who wanted to befriend him. This guy was obviously giving off some very strong “Do Not Breathe Near Me, Filthy Mortal” vibes.

Well! Unfortunately for him, that only made Wei Wuxian more likely to suck in all the oxygen around him! Back home, they called him the world’s most loveable menace (or at least his sister had)! He wouldn’t be giving that title up easily! This boy could obviously use a friend and some lessons in chilling out and Wei Ying would happily provide them for him.

Plus, it didn’t hurt that, objectively, this was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen in his entire life. Wei Ying would like to think he was good looking for a kid and no one in his family was ugly by any means, but this guy blew them all out of the water! Skin as white as alabaster and as smooth-looking as jade! Features that looked as if they were carved by a master sculptor working on his magnum opus! Long, inky hair flowed with every step he took! Thin, pale lips with no sign of dryness or imperfection! Groomed, broad shoulders, narrow hips, long legs, tall, well-dressed! He was like a prince out of a fairytale!

And Wei Ying bet that he’d be even prettier with a genuine smile on his face! Though, that wasn’t to say that the look of mild-disdain he was giving Wei Ying now took away from his attractiveness in the least.

He was entirely fascinating! And Wei Ying was definitely staring!

“Well,” Lan Wangji sniffed, turning to leave yet again, “If that’s all then…”

Shit. Wait. He hadn’t at all managed to redeem himself! All he had done was give his name, annoyed the kid more, and stared at him like a creep. Wei Ying hurriedly wracked his brains for something to keep the boy around. Somehow, that translated into him frantically looking around the area looking for something more to talk about. It was then that he noticed….

“OH MY GOD! You have a Glaceon?! Did you evolve her yourself? Oh, look at her!”

Wei Ying didn’t even give Lan Zhan a chance to respond, lunging forward and scooping up Glaceon and swinging her around, making sure to get a good look at her from all angles..

“How did you already get her evolved, you can’t be too much older than me! Eevee, are you seeing this? Evolve into this, she’s so pretty! Woah! Her fur sparkles! What?!”

Lan Wangji cleared his voice sharply, grabbing Wei Ying’s attention.

“He doesn’t like to be touched by strangers.”

Wei Ying felt his fingers go icy-cold. He looked down at his hostage and only caught a glimpse of Glaceon’s glare before yelping at the feeling of sharp claws raking across his cheek.

---

“It’s very minor frostbite,” Lan Zhan told him, “You should recover fully within a day. The scratches should also heal without scarring, they were very superficial.”

He was gentle as he finished applying some antibiotic to Wei Wuxian’s cheek.

"Thanks. For bringing me to your medical bay and for the help. And sorry for scaring your Glaceon."

Lan Zhan nodded his acceptance of the apology and started to pack up the supplies. Wei Ying laughed awkwardly, never any good with silence.

"So your brother's the gym leader, huh?" Wei Ying had gotten to meet Gym Leader Lan Xichen and was embarrassed that he hadn't made the connection until he saw the resemblance between the two brothers. He had helped both boys to the medical wing when Lan Wangji had dragged a bleeding Wei Wuxian onto his doorstep. He was as kind and serene as people said he was, even if he had looked close to cracking once he'd heard the full story.

"Yes. You are here to challenge him, correct?"

And, technically, he was right. Wei Ying and his brother had both set out to challenge trials and gyms, trying to get as many as they could. It was a trial a lot of young trainers underwent and there was no way Madam Yu would ever allow her children to skip it. If they were going to do this, they would do it right! Or so help her, lord….

But now that Wei Ying had seen Lan Xichen's lineup, he was starting to wonder whether or not he should wait. He didn't even know where he'd even begin with a Wailord, how does one take down something the size of two whole houses? That thing could fit a city on his back! The only thing he could imagine might work would be to have Pachirisu zap the water and that was dangerous on so many levels! Even Wei Ying wasn't that reckless, no matter what his reputation was! He wasn't looking to die die. And, well, not to mention that it may not even work--Pachirisu could hardly produce a bolt that strong yet.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the longer he waited, the more time he'd have to get to know Lan Zhan, who only got more and more fascinating the less he talked to Wei Ying. And he really did not want to talk to Wei Ying. At this point, the ever-silent Lan Wangji was practically the most curious thing on the planet!

"I don't know," Wei Ying said with a shrug. "Hey, maybe I'll stick around, see the area. It's beautiful landscape and I'm something of an artist! Maybe… you could show me around?"

Lan Wangji looked like he enjoyed that idea as little as Wei Ying had expected him to. It took everything in his power to not laugh at the sour face the boy was pulling. His face could really get stuck that way at this rate!

Lan Wangji opened his mouth to--presumably to tell Wei Wuxian to get lost and die (probably in much more polite terms but with the same meaning)--when a melodious voice interrupted their conversation.

"If Mr. Wei truly is so taken by our humble little corner, you are naturally welcome to stay as long as you like. We have more than enough empty rooms in this compound," Lan Xichen offered generously as he entered the room with quiet, graceful steps.

"R-Really?!" Wei Ying cannot say he was expecting this outcome. He knew that Gym Leader had probably found him cute enough for a kid, but not enough that he’d want to invite him willingly into his home! Expecially with how much his brother obviously hated him.

Lan Xichen nodded though. "Of course! Presuming you show me the art you produce. I consider myself something of an artist too, you see."

"Brother…" Lan Zhan protested, his voice flat and filled with disapproval, but he was silenced by a single smile.

"Wangji, show Mr. Wei around, will you? Maybe he can even help you on your task.”

"That is not necessary," Lan Zhan cut his brother off as quickly as possible, clearly trying to nip that idea off at the bud.

Too late, Wei Ying heard that.

"Gym Leader Lan, you're as good as they say! I'll be happy to share any of my sketches!" Wei Ying thanked the big brother before turning to hound his new friend (and they would be friends. Wei Ying would get to know this kid if it killed them both).

Lan Wangji’s expression couldn’t be called a sneer, per se. But Wei Ying had a feeling that it was as close as the other boy had ever gotten to sneering in his life.

Excellent.

"Hey, I can help with your task! I'm actually pretty strong, you know. And, more importantly, I'll literally do anything! Nothing is too lowly for me, I have zero use for pride! No need to be embarrassed, just ask away! What do you need? Hey, don't ignore me! I'm saying I can help! Hey! HEY! Lan Zhan, wait for me! I'm coming too!"

Glaceon hissed at him as he made to follow Lan Zhan out the door. Wei Ying happily ignored him.

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pkmnsdarkqueen · 4 years

Text

So calls my heart to bad decisions (Kalos)

Based on this , cause I can’t get it out of my head and I think it’d be funny to give mini versions of the crack ideas I said.

*TRIGGER WARNING HEAVY! Please check tags, thank you.*

Out of all the places they visited so far this was turning out to be their favorite. It was a broken mess of parts, twisted melted metal, and full of dangerous groans from creaking parts. In other words, completely free for them to run a-mock in.

“You know they never did find the body of that guy. What if he’s haunting the place?”

Will pipped using his powers to shake a platform to test it’s stability. Once he was assured it was secure he leapt off the door he was currently standing on to land on the sheet of metal. It wobbled under him but he stayed standing with Karen taking his spot on the door.

“A little early in the year for ghost stories.”

“It is never too early, and I say we find a place to camp to see if my theory is correct.”

He retorted moving aside so she could join him on the platform. Easily she hopped on letting him catch her just to be safe. The two were making there way down the large chasm created by the blast from the weapon that once stood in it’s place. They had hoped to be able to reach the bottom, but due to the size they were starting to have doubts. I mean it was mid day already, and they had arrived in the morning. Not to mention the sun beating down on all of the metal was making it incredibly hot. Sure they dressed for it generally, shorts, a tanks with some sneakers. Karen instead of wearing a tank just had the cropped Magma hoodie they stole from their first excursion having realized it was actually made for hot environments. That was a lesson she’d learned the hard way after trying to take it to Mt. Cornet, and almost freezing in it.

“Camp? Here? Will we’re not that stupid, and I don’t have a death wish.”

She countered taking out her belt for the next stretch. The next stretch wasn’t necessarily far but the path they had to walk was terribly narrow. Wrapping he gold chain around her hand Karen looped it to what was previously a rail of some kind, and unclipped a gold coin from her belt loops to connect the belt into a circle. Then casually began to walk the narrow edge of what was possibly a part of the machine? It was hard to tell with the charring, but with this she was able to use the belt as a safety line if she slipped, and could hold onto it for balance.

“I guess. I still find it funny one of the legendary pokmemon here is a dark type bird. Here you are having partnered with Ho-oh, and Yveltal was an option. Maybe you two ended up in the wrong region.”

Karen rolled her eyes at that comment. Ok, sure Yveltal would of been more thematic for her, but she couldn’t see herself working with any other legendary. Though it felt like such a brief point in time she had genuinely felt such a kinship with the bird.

Once on the other slide she gave the looped belt a hard snap to send back to him. Adding to the groans of heaving metal came the echoing scrape of metal on metal as it zipped along the rail. Will catching it easily on the other side, and starting to follow in suit.

“In the wrong region, huh? You’d have a different partner though, and I highly doubt they’d be as patient with your antics as I am. Then again, I could probably run an evil team. No help needed either.”

She teased before feeling a tug at her shoe. Looking down she was able to see her shoe laces tighten into a dainty perfect bow. Will’s grinning face there to greet her when her glare lifted to meet him. Without a word she shuffled over to start unclipping her belt from the rail.

“This only proves my point about people putting up with your antics.”

“And while you fume over tied shoes Miss I-could-fight-the-world-if-I wanted-to I’m going to go on ahead.”

Will remarked again testing the next platform which he could only see the edge of by giving it a few tugs with his powers. A large piece of metal seemed to be blocking most of their path from here. They could still get by if they slipped through, but he was double checking the surrounding area a few times to be sure since their vision of what was coming next was obscured.

After discarding a loose pipe to let it fall aimlessly into the pit below he grabbed onto a sturdy chunk above and dropped onto the piece below. There was a solid thunk as his feet hit the ground as he began to wish they’d used the belt again. Oh well, Karen would of likely messed with it after his last little gag on her, so maybe it was for the best.

As he dusted himself off his eyes were on the ground catching a small red object in the corner of his vision. He quickly recognized the logo, and what it was. Ha, Karen was about to be jealous!

“Hey guess what I just found a ba-aaaauhhhhhh.....Karen.”

As his hand had reached for the small metallic badge he realized there was something else on the platform with him. Better yet, someone, because he also now saw a hand nearby. When he followed it sure enough a body was attached.

“I’m retying my shoes give me a second.”

“Ok after you finish that you might want to come here as soon as possible because I found the ghost, or wait-”

“I’m sorry what?”

“I was wrong he’s breathing. Not a ghost, likely will be soon.”

Now he had said that, and he honestly meant it the more he took in the situation. First they were unconscious which was never a good sign. The amount of blood that had drained onto the metal was certainly sizable, and the rank from heat and blood was out right offensive. He was tucked under almost a cave of metal. Then there was the most glaring problem, a pole about half an inch thick had pierced the metal above him, and sunk into the lower abdomen. He inched his way closer trying to get a good look of the situation seeing the other’s chest shakily fall and rise. Gently setting his hand in the other’s he wanted to double check on the unconsciousness.

“Si tu es réveillé, peux-tu me serrer la main?” (translation: If you’re awake at all can you squeeze my hand?)

As he asked this he felt the metal shift a bit under him, and looked back to see Karen had lowered herself down onto the platform using her belt for a gentle landing. Like him her face was quickly filled with concern. They had seen enough that while this was graphic it was not as horrific as other sights. Though unable to understand Kalosian she knew exactly what he was doing, and her face grew more worried when he went from holding the other’s hand to putting two fingers on their wrist. No response then.

“I don’t smell infection. I mean it smells bad, and it normally takes a day for it to set, but with how hot it is I would of assumed the worst.”

“He’s far from out of the woods. His heart beat is pretty weak, and speaking of the heat I don’t need to do any checks for body temperature to know he’s over heating.”

Will muttered a second later hearing the clank of metal at his side. One of Karen’s coins sat next to his foot now. He picked it up flicking open a back stop for a blade to pop out.

“That heavy jacket is probably one of the causes if you want to start cutting that off I’m going to try to think of how we’re getting him out of here.”

“Get him out? Karen he’s practically already dead.”

“You say that like I care, Will can you honestly tell me right now that you’d leave him?”

“Well...no, I couldn’t-”

“Then we’re not leaving him.”

She replied matter of factly watching his reaction. Instead of saying anything though he looked at the metal they were standing on expecting her eyes to follow his. Karen hadn’t noticed before, and Will hadn’t until he crouched down to get the other’s pulse but this platform wasn’t fully clean. Where it jutted from the earth there was some flattened out area of dirt that leaked onto the metal. In it was distinct shoe prints. These prints that didn’t match either of theirs. They both went very quiet having the same thoughts, if someone was already here why didn’t they help him?

“...Karen maybe it was impossible to get him safely.”

“Or it wasn’t and they left him intentionally. He did try to end the world and if there is one thing humans are good at it’s hurting each other with malicious intent.”

Again they went quiet mutually horrified by a thought like that. No matter the situation when they were in the business of crime they could always count on the fact that the other wouldn't let them be left behind. To be left alone to die in such a slow and painful way felt inhuman, and yet they knew all too well it was something a human was capable of doing.

“We get him out, but my priority is keeping us safe.”

He answered going to start cutting at the coat. Karen silently agreed to this turning away to start forming a plan. There wasn’t much room for her to pace so she got out another coin to start fiddling it as she talked her thoughts out aloud.

“Getting out of here is going to be do-able but we’ll have to be as careful as can be. The only flying pokemon we have that could carry a person is Clem, but we have a few problems there. He’s old limiting his strength, we’re currently in a narrow section for a good while here, and I worry about moving him too much. I mean if he’s still breathing after a day of lying here that pole must of missed any major organs, or worse it’s hit something and the only thing keeping him from dying is that pole holding things in place. That means if we move him it could rupture, and he’ll become septic-”

“Getting out of the hole Karen go there first.”

Will interrupted wanting her to stay on the first issue she brought up.

“Right, ok sorry. You have your full team of psychic pokemon, and yourself which can all levitate a person. You’ll likely have to take turns to not wear yourselves out. If you guys can manage to get him the entire way out perfect, if not we’ll use Clem. Although let’s save your bronzong till we’re fully out so that he can carry him to where we need to go.”

“Ok so getting out is solved. Where are we taking him once he’s out? Call the ambulance?”

He asked peeling the rest of the coat off to see the fresh wound blocked only by.a dress shirt. Despite the red color it did not hide the stain that had soaked through. The one upside to the coat is that it had helped shield his wound from debris keeping it cleaner.

“No if we do that they’ll call the cops, and he’ll just get carted to jail.”

“Uh, yes, and why is that bad?”

Will asked turning to her in confusion. Without any words he knew what she was trying to tell him by the flat stare. They never went to jail, it was a very good thing they hadn’t, and she wanted to do the same here. The only thing was that the situations were a bit different considering what he attempted to do that wasn’t even addressing the fact that there was no way they could patch this wound up, or the fact they had jobs in Johto.

“...Ok confession. I opened a secret bar about a year after we joined the league where I have been running most of my security of Johto operations from by keeping in contact with criminals from our crime days, and I also made it into a refuge place because I really hate the prison system finding my method more helpful. You remember Yuki right? The guy who’s garage he kept paying us to set on fire so he could commit insurance fraud?”

She spat out knowing full well that blank reaction she was getting was hiding the flurry of emotions racing through his head. Even with a mask covering his upper face she could feel the anger radiating from his eyes at hearing this secret. If it weren’t for the emergency currently in front of them he would be exploding.

“Yes. I do.”

“Well helped him get straightened out, payed for some medical school, and he is a top notch doctor now. He did move to Kalos recently to escape uh....someone recognizing him, but what’s important is that I have someone who owes me favors.”

There was a heavy sigh as Will attempted to exhale his emotions. This was the second time now he was finding out a secret on one of there trips that she kept hidden from him. Sure this one was far more severe compared to her last one, but still! This was the SECOND time, since when did they EVER keep secrets from each other?!

“We are talking about this later, but fine. Two of the three problems are worked out, third problem is this pole, and the fact we do not have nearly enough bandages in the med kit to perform a surgery.”

Finally stepping closer Karen took in every detail she could of the wound. It was so much worse up close and seeing where it was along with his physique she was even more scared that if they removed it they’d be basically be dooming him then and there. She followed the pole up as well wondering if it was supporting anything. While he was under a great deal of things the only thing tethering him to this place was that pole. If they could just remove him, leave the pole, or-wait what if they took both things?

“You and I can stand on this platform fine without problems. Garnet and Tilla could likely do the same we would just have to be else where to not put too much weight on here. You could be on that platform on the other side of that hole we came through, that door on the other side of the chasm can fit two people. It’ll be a squeeze but manageable.”

“Ok so what are your drapion and houdoom doing here then?”

“Taking the pole with him. If your xatu flies and lifts him just high enough for Tilla to get her claw under him she can snip it out from the bottom, another claw snip the top, and her third on her tail can help hold the pole in place. From your platform you can make sure the overall structure is sound so Garnet can grab all the scrap metal she can to push against the pole and use her fire to meld it together. All the while your xatu can lead him up through the opening. Then you can take over from there, and bring him up to me leaving him levitated so I can bandage him up. Then when I’m done you can return the pokemon to their pokeballs. Can you think of any holes in the plan?”

She asked after rattling everything off. Will was nodding along the whole time envisioning what she had in mind. It left a bad taste in his mouth to have to leave a part of the pole in, but it sounded mostly solid.

“We have a bottle of alcohol for cleaning wounds, let’s use it on the pole to sterilize it. That’s about it, and no puns. Hole? When a man has one through his body?”

“Oh hush I’m stressed! Now come on we don’t have anymore time to waste.”

The woman huffed back honestly not even aware she had made a pun that time around. Reaching in her pockets she took out the two pokeballs he would need as he got to work on cleaning the bit of the pole they’d be using. This was going to work, she told her self mentally trying to keep her spirits up.

#(oof one of the longer ones)#Tw: death mention #Tw: severe injury #Tw: blood #drabble #so calls my heart to bad decisions

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butcanijustnot · 5 years

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I’ll Dance and I’ll Dream (Okoye X Fem!Reader)

Author: Crystalline / @butcanijustnot

Fandom: Marvel x reader, Black Panther x reader.

Tagging: @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 Have some garbage I briefly showed you on Snapchat.

Summary: Okoye needs to learn how to dance, and trust someone again. You’re willing to teach both.

Word Count: 1660, roughly.

Warnings: Gay AF.

Also again I don’t speak Xhosa so I used a translator for the Xhosa parts. If you read it and it’s wrong, please let me know so I can change it.

“Y/N!” Okoye yelled, storming into the training area. “Where are you?” She sounded slightly agitated, a far cry from her usually collected dementor. Instantly, you stopped your training and racked your brain to think of what you could have done to upset her. Nothing came to mind. You were innocent until she proved you guilty.

“Over here.” You yelled, emerging from behind a punching bag as you spun the wraps off of your hands and threw them in the vague direction of your bag. You noticed her expression wasn’t angry, but instead registering an emotion you’d never seen her wear before. Part of you felt reassured, but the rest of you was concerned. “Are you alright?” You asked, moving towards her.

Okoye was good at putting up walls and guarding her thoughts and emotions. She had to be in her line of work, and it only got harder after her marriage to W’Kabi met an unfortunate end. She was left feeling like her entire life was made up of walls too high for anyone to see over, much less scale. Eventually she stopped trying to connect with anyone at all.

Then you came along, with your sweet smile and nimble feet. You took her walls, tall and fearsome as mountains and hopped them like they were nothing, and emerged on the other side unscathed. Every tactic Okoye had to scare people off rolled right past you, and almost against her will, Okoye began to feel for you.

You were by every count Okoye’s opposite, not at all the woman she would usually fall for. You could be reckless and brash. Your self-preservation skills rivalled Shuri herself, which is to say, severely lacking. Your fighting style was crazy and over the top compared to her refined techniques, compensating for your height by seemingly confusing your enemies and then beating them into the dirt. Okoye found it strange but couldn’t deny its effectiveness. You were kind but crazy, interesting to talk to but tended to be off in your own world most of the time. You were a ball of crazy contradictory material.

So why couldn’t Okoye get you out of her head?

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…” Her eyes flickered away from you as you got closer, before resettling. “I’m heading out on a mission tomorrow and I need to ask you a favour.” She explained, and you realised that this emotion was indignity. She needed your help. You placed your hand on her arm to reassure her, and Okoye almost felt herself lean into the touch.

You nodded. “Of course, Okoye, anything you need.”

Okoye was quiet for a minute. “I need to learn how to dance.” She finally spat out.

Your brain took a second to process the request, and then you were certain you had misheard her. “Dance?” You repeated. Okoye was so beautiful and gloriously refined that you just assumed she would know how to do all that fancy stuff. Was that why she was so worried about asking?

“Specifically Waltzing, I never learned. I know they teach War-dogs those sorts of things, so I thought perhaps you could show me how.” She explained.

“I mean of course I can, but why are you asking me? That sounds like the kind of thing Nakia would be really good at.” You asked her, thinking back to your time at the War Dog training program. Nakia had topped every single class and somehow made it look effortless, something you definitely weren’t still bitter about years later.

“I asked, but she’s busy with royal duties.” Okoye lied. She didn’t even think about asking Nakia. She wanted to learn from you.

“What about Princess Shuri?” You prompted further.

“She tried to teach me how to breakdance. Not what I am looking for.”

You snorted, the mental image of Okoye breakdancing forever imprinted in your brain now. No doubt she’d be fantastic at it. “Well in that case, I’d be honoured to dance with you. We can do it over here on the mats.” You said with a smile, gesturing to the wrestling area as you walked.

“Thank you.” She whispered, following you over onto the padded floors.

You were quiet for a second as you thought of the best was to show Okoye. You’d never taught anyone to dance before, but the most effective way to teach someone in a night would be a dance with them, a thought that wasn’t unwelcome to you. You’d take any chance to be close with the general.

“Okay, the first step is put down the spear.” You said, giggling to yourself as Okoye looked at it in her hand apprehensively. “You can put it over there with my things, so it’s still close enough for comfort.” You paused, walking to the centre of the mats. “Why do you need to learn to dance? I know it’s for a mission, but what sort of mission would require that?”

“You are the Wardog in the room. Surely you’ve had missions of your own that required you to dance.” Okoye said, subtly avoiding the question as she laid her weapon down and made her way back towards you.

“Pole dancing, yes. Waltzing, not so much.” You lamented, missing the slight blush that crept up onto Okoye’s cheeks and the way she swallowed awkwardly when you said that. “It’s a ye olde skill and not many people use it, which brings me back to my original question.”

Okoye sighed as you took her hands and moved her so that you two were parallel, facing towards each other. “T’Challa and I have to go to a fancy gala run by a vibranium dealer. I need to snare a dance with him so that I can attach a tracking device to the back of his collar, but if I can’t dance a full song with him, it’ll tip him off that I don’t belong there, so best that I learn how.”

“I see.” You hummed, thinking. “So, I should lead, then.” She nodded, and you continued. “Take your right hand in my left, and put your left arm around my shoulders. The leader, that’s me, puts their arm around your back, on your lower waist. It’s a very close dance.” In position, your bodies were pressed together and you could practically feel her pulse, much faster than you would have expected it to be. “Are you alright with this?” You asked.

“Yes, this is fine.”

“Good. Let me know if that changes, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. Now, you put your feet here and here.” You explained, showing her with your own feet.

She narrowed her eyes at the ground as she got into the correct position. “What if I stand on your foot?” She whispered softly.

“Oh, I’ll have a personal vendetta against you for the rest of our lives.” You said, your voice thick with sarcasm as you rolled your eyes. “You wouldn’t be the first, Okoye, or the last. It’s okay.”

“I’m an awful dancer.” She admitted, grimacing at her own legs.

“Maybe you’ve just never had the right partner.” You rationalised, hating the way that she was putting herself down. You couldn’t help but think of her as perfect, and you were disappointed she didn’t see things the same way.

Her eyes glassed over, and she stared blankly into the distance over your shoulder. “I thought that I had,” She hummed, thinking back to her old relationship. “but I was wrong.”

You almost broke the position to envelope her in a hug, but you settled for rubbed her back with you free hand. “I’m sorry, Okoye. None of that was your fault. He’s an idiot for leaving you.”

“Technically, I left him.” She corrected with a sad smile.

You nodded. “I would have done the same. He didn’t deserve you.”

“Thank you. You’re very kind.”

The look the two of you shared was just a second too long to be platonic, before you shook your head and cleared your throat.

“Anyway, I’ve got to teach you. Okay you take a step diagonally right, as I take a step back.” You explained, helping her as she attempted the movement. “That’s it, beautiful. Now, I’m going to move forward and turn, and you move to the left and turn too.” You continued to run through the steps, again and again and again, until the steps were flowing naturally. You were counting out the time under your breath as the two of you moved in sync. Okoye did well, moving fluidly with the expected grace of a fighter.

“There we go. Look at you. What are you talking about? You’re a natural.”

“Well maybe I finally found the right partner.” She said with a smirk.

You opened your mouth to respond but no sound came out. She noticed this and she paused for a minutes. You worried perhaps you had insulted her by not saying anything back. Meanwhile, Okoye was trying to sike herself.

Take the leap, Okoye. For Basts sake, just go for it!

“Would you go out with me?”

Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open. You swallowed, trying to convinced yourself that this was real life and one of the most beautiful women on earth was asking you out. “Go out with you? Like, on a date?” You asked, your voice quivering.

She nodded, looking refined and confident and so freaking beautiful. “Yes. I’ll take you dancing. Proper Wakandan dancing.”

“I’d love too.” You said quickly, the biggest smile breaking out on you face. “That sounds wonderful.”

She smiled, and your heart nearly melted in your chest. Slowly and tentatively, you leant forward and brushed your lips together in a simple soft kiss. You sigh happily and rest your forehead against hers, shutting your eyes and enjoying the feeling of her being close. Its all you’ve wanted since you met her.

“General Okoye?” Someone behind you called out. You turned and saw a Dora standing behind to the side of the mats, eyes set on the two of you and the slight hint of a smirk ghosting her lips. You realised how compromising your position was, pressed close to her leader, and you tried to pull away, but Okoye’s grip on your hand and shoulder turned to iron, keeping you close. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the offending Dora but forced a smile.

“Yes, Ayo, what is it?” Okoye asked.

“T’Challa wants to meet with you to go over the mission plans. He requests your presence in the throne room at your earliest convenience.”

Okoye sighed. “Alright. Let him know I’ll be there in a minute. Dismissed.” She said authoritatively. Ayo saluted Okoye before turning and marching from the room. She turned her attention back to you, closing her eyes, taking a deep sigh and resting her head on your shoulder. She just wanted to stay in this moment a minute, even a second longer, but alas, duty calls.

“But I suppose we’ll have to postpone that date until you come back.” You lightly chuckled. She murmured in agreement and finally, slowly, pulled away from you, grabbing her spear from the pile of your things. “Be safe, entle.” You bid her as she reached the doorway.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” She promised.

“And I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

#writing #black panther #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel x you #marvel x y/n #black panther x reader #okoye #okoye x reader #mine #fanfiction #pride month #gay

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