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graciellasamma · 11 months

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RvB x KR Kiva: Frøy Kurenai

(All of this pics don’t belong to me)

Status:

Name: Frøy Kurenai

Nickname: Rouge, Cross, Kid, Brat

Name Meaning:

- Frøy: Freyja, the goddess of love and fertility in Norse mythology

- Kurenai: Crimson

Codename: Agent Rhode Island, CrossFire, Kiva

Alias: Kamen Rider Kiva, The Youngest Soldier, Hawkeye, Speedster

Age: 22

Birthdate: 25th December 2536

Pronouns: He, him, his

Sexuality: Male

Appearance:

Species: Fandiri (Half Human/Half Fangire)

Skin Tone: Fair Skin

Weight: 177 cm

Height: 67.7 kg

Scars: Burn mark from his left side of his body from his waist all the way up to his neck and to his left hand

Hair Color: Black

Hair Style: Short neck-length spiky and choppy with his bangs to the left side

Eye Color: Crimson Red

Capabilities: Magic trick, Trick shot, Pranks

Apparel: Long-sleeve black shirt, Long sleeveless red tail jacket, Long skinny jeans, High neck shoes, Black scaly scarf

Voice: Ohmori Motoki (JPN) / Sam Luff (ENG)

Stats:

Stealth: 8/10

Perception: 10/10

Agility: 8.5/10

Stamina: 8/10

Endurance: 7.5/10

Hand-to-hand combat: 8/10

Intelligence: 7.5/10

Recovery: 7/10

Luck: 7/10

Vision: 9.5/10

Hearing: 7.5/10

Social Skills:

Charisma: 7.5/10

Social Skills: 8/10

Confidence: 8.5/10

Style: 7.5/10

Humor: 8.5/10

Passion: 7.5/10

Empathy: 8/10

Kindness: 8.5/10

Honesty: 6.5/10

Loyalty: 9/10

Patience: 7/10

Flirtness: 0/10 (he doesn’t do flirt)

Equipment:

Weapon(s) of Choice: Bow and Arrow, Magnum, MA40 Assault Rifle

Secondary: BR55HB Battle Rifle, M7S SMG

Melee weapon of choice: Duel Sword, Dagger, and Combat Knife

Extra: Colored smoke bombs (for camouflage)

Armor:

Armor style: Just look at the picture (That picture is not mine)

Primary Color: Medium Sky Blue #88dae5

Secondary Color: Light Crimson #fa7393

Visor Color: Gold (Just pretend any of this color are)

AI Unit: Chruch (Alpha) & Issac (Felix): Analyzing, BioScan, Healing, Thermal X-ray, Hacking, Strength Boost

Armor Enchantments: Armor Lock, Grav Boots, Speed Boost, Holographic Projection, Stealth, Overdrive

General Information:

Weakness: Despite that Frøy known as the Ultimate Soldier for joining the military at a young age, he is still a child, not wanting his friends and family to die or fight each other.

Occupation: Freelancer (Formerly), Blue Team, Engineer, Weapons expert, Actor

Strong Suit: Weapons expert, Weapon, armor, and vehicle maintenance engineer, Freelancer training, Strategist, Archery, Sword fighting, Acting

Sexual Preference: Bisexual

Marital Status: Single

Talents: Escape Artist, Magician, Kenjustu, Kendo, Fencing, Parkour, Archery, Athletic, Acting, Musician (Violin/Guitar)

Semblance: Phantom Arms: An ability that can store items in a pocket dimension so he can summon it at any time, even during battle, which gives him a high level of flexibility in combat. He can also use it to change his clothing. He can also warp by throwing his weapon to move quickly around the field and damage his enemies.

Theme Song: Capabilities Unseen (ft. L), Supernova

Quote(s): - “Know your place!” - “The counterattack starts now!” - “Lying is the best way to protect yourself.” - “You’re right they are idiots, and I don’t mind it.” - “Have you ever tried asking if your leader needed help?” - “I only fight and take lives when I have to. And I don’t have to this time.” - “If there are feelings that are too hard to put into words, then put them into action!” - “What you truly want, will only be found at the end of a road you can stride down with pride.” - “The Kamen Riders that I know... Never compromise their values. They never lose heart. And they would never... Let anyone harm their beloved home, their people... And get away with it!”

Personality:

Likes: His friends, His family, Anime, Movies, Video Games, Weapons, Playing his violin, Hearing music, Pranks, Joking around, Trick shot, Snacks, Being a thrill seeker, Building weapon, Chicken, BBQ.

Dislikes: Pervert, Bullies, Director, Charon Hargrove, Aiden Price, Sigma, Hargrove, Wyoming and Gamma knock knock jokes, Seeing his friends and his family die or fighting each other, Jinxing, Don’t like people calling him a kid, People using his unfinished weapons.

Good Traits: Personality-wise, Frøy is a calm yet cheerful, and somewhat laid-back young man, especially around his friends, the Reds and Blues. He was considered relatively normal other than his unparalleled prodigious talent in acting even as a child and his quick wit and intelligence like reading complex books. Performing acting jobs was something he was open to and excelled at. He has a sharp mind and is perceptive, quickly adapting to any situation, and very good at studying, He makes sure he gets the job done by making sure that his friends focus on the battle, but still unsure about his future. Frøy frequently sacrifices himself for others, showing that underneath that arrogant exterior, there's a heroic and selfless man. He's also quick to point out the problems in a situation. As an actor, he is very diligent and is capable of studying and replicating any person or the character's demeanor fastidiously (from their mannerisms, speech patterns, and even thought processes), so much he was capable of triggering thoughts of the person or characters and others immediately after looking at him. Despite his childish act, Frøy's personality changes 180-degree making him calmer, calculated, and discreet whenever something is important or serious, if someone is in trouble, even a stranger, he talks to them and gives empathy and kindness, and gives them advice help them, this is to said to have a personality that draws people to him, inspiring friendship and loyalty through acts of kindness that could change a person’s world view and thus built meaningful relationships.

Bad Traits: Cocky, quick-witted, arrogant, impulsive, brashness, smart mouth, liar, childishness, and frequent attempts to pull pranks on his teammates. Frøy has a strong tendency for emotional outbursts in sour situations. When his emotions got the better of him, he became rather impulsive and reckless in his actions to the point of nearly being suicidal. This flaw negatively affects those around him, even as far as indirectly causing a few deaths. He is mostly quick to regain his composure and shows little to no fear in order to protect his friends and fight with his life on the line. Frøy is also known for being a liar, thanks to him being an actor and Wyoming teaching how to lie better for infiltrate and info-gather missions as well for his part-time job as an actor, it was thanks to his skills he was able to manipulate people for his and his friend's advantage.

Fears: Losing his friends and family

Relationships:

Parents: Otoya Kurenai (Father/Deceased), Maya Kurenai (Mother), Jiro/Garulu (Father-figure), Butch Flowers (Father-Figure), Allison Church/Beta (Mother-figure), Leonard Church/Alpha (Father-figure), Riki/Dogga (Uncle-figure)

Sibling(s): Taiga Nobori (Older Brother), Ramon/Basshaa (Little Brother-figure)

Children: None

Significant other: None

Friends: Washington, Tucker, Caboose, Sister, Doc, Carolina, Epsilon (Deceased), York, Delta, Omega/O’Mally, Niner, Sarge, Simmons, Grif, Donut, Lopez, South, Eta, North, Theta, Maine (Deceased), CT, Iota, Wyoming, Gamma, Felix, Palomo, Jensen, Bitter, Smith, Kimball, Doyle (Deceased), Megumi, Nago, Leo Vermillion, Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Aruto Hiden, Fuwa, Yua, MBJR family, Izuku Midoriya, Vice, Daiji Midoriya, Sakura Midoriya, George, Hiromi

Enemies: Director (Deceased), Counselor (Deceased), Hargrove, Meta (Deceased), Sigma (Deceased), Locus (Formerly), Felix (Formerly), Blue and Red, Chrovos, Zero, Taiga (Formerly), Bishop, Rook, Salem, Cinder, Giff, Deadmans, Imagin, MBJR.net

Allegiance(ally): Chorus

Backstory:

Frøy Kurenai is a Fandiri, a half-breed Fangire, thanks to his late-father Otoya Kurenai, who is a human, and Maya Kurenai, also known as the Queen of Fangire. He is known as the youngest soldier to joined Project Freelancer, and station to the Blue Base. When he was young his mother left him with little explanation and left him with his guardians, Jiro, Riki, and Ramon, who are actually the last survivor of Wolfen, Franken, and Merman because of Fangire King ordered his elites to kill them for some reason.

When he was at the age 7, he saw a photo of his mother and remember that his mother left him, wanting to know the reason why, he decide to leave his home and go on a search for his mother with his best friend and partner Kivat the 3rd, but without a bit falling out with his father-figure, Jiro.

During his search he was caught in a crossfire during the war, trying to help the people that also caught in the crossfire, Frøy decide to protect the people by grabbing any weapons he could find and used himself as a distraction to lead the aliens away from the people and kill them, he would have used Kivat in order to transform into Kiva but he can’t used it ‘cause the aliens can not know about the existence of the 13 Mazoku Clan as they need to be a secret.

Frøy continue to fight and kill aliens to the point of exhaustion, until he was saved by a squad of soldier from the UNSC and decide to joined the military so he could get stronger in hopes to help and protect himself and the people and maybe able to find his mom, plus, he doubt he could go back to having a normal life consider that he kill all this aliens, especially after what happen with his family after their fight and argument. After Frøy join the UNSC, he was given the codename “CrossFire” for able to fight in that incident, and he became a quick learner with weapons, combat, and engineering.

At the age of 10 he was recommended by the Director and the Counselor of Project Freelancer, thinking that he would be a huge asset for the project because of his skills and able to survive in any event as if he is an adult. Of course, there is a lot of people protest against this but Frøy decided to join the project hoping it would help him able to help people better, so he agreed and join the project as Agent Rhode Island, and was able to clime his ranks, and was able to join the Alpha Squad of the Project.

Not a lot of the Alpha Squad or any of the Agents liking that a 10 year old kid was able to show off, but as time went on, they started to warm up to the kid, even Wyoming and South started to like him, heck, Frøy started to have father and son relationship with Florida just like with Jiro, in the end, the Alpha Squad became his family. But that ended, when he was about to be 12 years old, when one of the mission that involves The Insurrection that caused him to have his burned scar and got half of his body crushed by the remaining building that collapsed during their escaped, making him suppose to be dead. (Think like Obito when first died in Naruto Shippuden)

After the mission, apparently Frøy is still alive inside of the rubble thanks to his Fangire genetic having more durable and their healing factor, so Kivat inform Jiro, Riki, and Ramon about what happen and decide to rescue Frøy consider he still alive under it. When Frøy woke up, he found himself in his room on his bed, and when he looks around he saw Jiro sitting beside his bed on a chair sleeping, he must have waiting for him to woke up. On the next day, Frøy have a meeting with his guardians to have a talk about why did they save him despite told them to leave him? Apparently despite the hurtful words, they still care for him and love him no matter how much he hates them, after all they are family, and since then, the Kiva family has been reunited at last, and Frøy decide to try going to school, to try to have a normal life and become a musician and actor just like The A-Squad wants for him, especially Florida.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles:

It has been 4 years, Frøy is 15 about to be 16 and was able to graduate middle school a year ago though he decide to do home-school instead, it has been peaceful with Frøy experience a normal life like any other teenagers do. That is until a message from his helmet from the project, that one of his friends Tex in need of help with something. Knowing someone in need of help he decide to pack some stuff and suit up his armor and go to help her, his guardians, of course, doesn’t like any of this one bit, but they respect his decision on wanting to help his friends.

When he was tracing the message, it lead him to place called Blood Gulch. That’s when he meet Tex and Church, which the both of them knows each other and Frøy. Apparently Frøy knows Tex because not only he knows her from the Project but also she is one of the soldiers from the squad who saved him from the Crossfire and he knows Church because he met him during his time in the Project when he knows him as an A.I. named “Alpha” when he’s bored or has free times to spare, he tends to spend it by hanging around with Frøy.

After that it went the same like in the canon, except when Church time travelling using the time distortion with Gamma, Church then check on Frøy and found out about him being an A.I. known as Alpha when he saw a file of evidence from the Project and his memories came back to him, and Tex met up with York and North when the Blues returned to Blood Gulch so they can help her protecting Church, Florida and Wyoming are still alive thanks to Frøy and his father-son relationship with Florida and was able make a deal with Wyoming that if he helps them making sure that Tex doesn’t have Omega then he gets to live on their surveillance, which they succeed on having Omega but Tex still explode with the ship.

After Tex gone with Gamma, Tucker son and the alien, things went peaceful for the Reds and Blues, Florida rejoins the Blue Team, York and Frøy decide to join the Blue Team while North and Wyoming decide to join the Red Team, it took time for the Reds and Blues trust on Wyoming, and him trusting on the Red and Blue, but after having a heart-to-heart with York, Delta, North, Frøy, and Church about losing Gamma, the only friend and partner he could trust, and told him about the truth of the Project, he decide to have trust on them and in exchange they trust him back.

When the relocating has started the Freelancer decide to split up to make sure that everyone is okay, York decide to join Church, North join Tucker, Wyoming join with Simmons and Grif, Florida join with Caboose, and Frøy decided to stay to keep an eye out with Lopez, Sarge, and Sister in Blood Gulch, he had a feeling that something about to get interesting here.

The Recollectioin:

It has been almost been a year since the Omega fiasco, and everything seems to be normal until Recovery One also known as Agent Washington came by in order to hunt down the Meta so he go to Blood Gulch consider there has been an A.I. sighting over there. That’s when he not only met Sarge, Lopez, and Sister but also Agent Rhode Island also known as Rouge or Frøy, they catch up until Wash explain to him his going to hunt down the Meta, and Frøy decide to help him on this mission with Sister.

Things still the same like in the canon only that Wash didn’t kill South thanks to Frøy and York stopped him when he was about to, and Church the Alpha and the rest of the A.I. fragments are alive thanks to Frøy able to convince with Wash not to use the EMP and let him handle on, and let him fight against the Meta with Church and Omega by using his enhancement unit that he made called “Overdrive.”

Overdrive, pretty much a state of hyper-focused attention and energy that enhances one’s performance and where the full extent of their talent can be expressed, when activated the users usual experiences drastic increases in sensory perceptions, coordination and reflexes, to the extent that the observable environment appears to progress in slow motion, and not only that even with single A.I. fragment, not only the users able to use multi enhancement unit but also the A.I. won’t be able to destroy themself, the down-side is that they have time limit and it only takes hour for the recharge to complete even with A.I. help, so it was a last resort sort of thing. But they were able to beat the Meta and Church was able to reset all the A.I.

After the battle Frøy and Church decide to take the fragments and return them to their respectful partner. Wash, who decide to stay making sure that they are okay and help them in anyway, came by and told him that he should go before the UNSC soldier came, consider that he is trespassing and destroy a lot of military property while Wash stay and report what happen here and if things went according to plan then Caboose should give Epsilon to the UNSC as evidence.

A year went by, and Frøy and Church reunited with the Blues, then the Reds and Blues are sent to Vahalla, South decide to join the Red Team, and everything are still the same in the canon but in this case CT or Connie is still alive thanks to a alien pod that allows her to heal any injury, and since the A.I. fragment are alive Frøy decide to have them partnered up with the rest of the Freelancer, Delta still partnered with York, Theta with North, Gamma still with Wyoming, Eta with South, Iota with Connie, Omega with Florida, and Church/Alpha and Tex/Beta with Frøy, while Sigma well let’s just Frøy and Church deleted him.

Project Freelancer:

Honestly there’s nothing change from here consider this arc mostly about Epsilon in the memory unit and a lot flashback of the Project. So yeah, everything still the same like in the canon with add my oc and all the A-Squad, minus Maine, are alive.

The Chorus Trilogy:

Nothing has changed in Season 11, other than that Frøy knew who’s Felix and Locus consider that those two were in the same squad who saved him during the Crossfire Incident, and during their separation the one with Wash group are: North, Florida, and CT while with Tucker group are: Frøy, Wyoming, South, and York.

In season 12, nothing has changed except that in my AU, Felix here is a bit difference not only he is a big Star Wars nerd and actually care for the Republic and the Reds and Blues, but also he is also the good guy in this AU because when the Reds and Blues reunited Felix accuse Tex of killing Siris who is good friend of him and Locus, their voice of reason and the glue to each other, thanks to the evidence that one of Hargrove mercenaries, Jackson (he’s pretty much like the Felix in the canon) gave him. But the truth is, Tex didn’t really kill Siris but Jackson killed him when Siris learns the truth of what Hargrove did to Felix by killing him and turn him into an A.I. and brainwash him, thinking he still a human and used him as nothing as tool later for experiment. Thanks with Frøy, Tucker, and the two Church of Alpha and Epsilon, they were able to expose the truth to Felix, the Feds, and the Republic, making Felix turn his back on Locus and Jackson, and stop the war between the Feds and the Republic.

In season 13 is quite the same nothing has changed, Epsilon still died to protect his friends and his brothers, Locus kill Jackson for turning him into a monster and letting his friends died, Frøy decide to give Tex to Carolina, Felix decide to joins the Reds and Blues and became Frøy second A.I. partner, and thanks to Felix, Frøy was able to upgrade the A.I’s making them able to run a multi-enhancement without destroying themselves and removes any limit.

Notes:

This was Inspired by this fanfiction: Friendship is Timeless by Seanzilla1988, Rosario to Kiva by Dr. Exposition, MBJR Heroes AU by Usagi_chan8, RvBvRWBY series by DocTokuMA and Ac3 Productionis, Going Native by thewhitepatch, You’re Alpha; You’re Church. by Athena_Yule, Unit Cohesion by Sroloc_Elbisivni, Finiding Washington by HBossWrites, Everyone Lives by urbaninja, and A Schrodinger State by notmadderred.

I’ll be honest guys, the moment I watch Red vs Blue, I love them and when I read the stories that inspired to make this I fell in love with them and can’t help of having a crossover of RWBY and the Kamen Rider series and their crossover fanfiction. And as you can see in the background there is no “The Shisno Paradox” arc, why? Well that’s because in this AU they don’t exist and has been replaced by an arc that I called the “RvBvRWBY Riders Horizon”.

This Arc is something like Seanzilla and his co-worker made in their Kamen Rider Crossover stories, but different? Basically, in the RvB world the Tokusatsu of Kamen Riders, Super Sentai, and Ultraman exist and there almost common knowledge, and one of the reason why the “Shisno Paradox” arc don’t exist because of who Kamen Riders I’m adding to this AU and yes, “Riders” with plural which mean I’m adding more than one Kamen Riders in this story because I couldn’t choose one of them because I love them so much, and they are: Kiva, Den-O, Revice, and Zero-One. So yeah, since the time travel with Den-O and the Shisno Paradox are a bit different, I decide to remove that arc in order to make sense.

In the RWBY world, Team RWBY and JNPR, and their newest friend Leo Vermillion, who is a Singularity Point, has been attacked by a Imagin and somehow the DenLiner appear out of nowhere and kidnap them, and before they knew, they somehow in the world of RvB and that’s when Leo and his friends meet with the owner of DenLiner and explain to them about Imagin, Den-O, and Leo being a Singularity Point, and that he has allies consider his not only one who is a Singularity Point only just they have a different power than Den-O.

When he become Den-O, that’s when they meet Frøy Kurenai as Kamen Rider Kiva and the Reds and Blues, Aruto Hiden as Kamen Rider Zero-One with the Fuwa, Yaiba, and the MBJR family, and Izuku Midoriya and Vice as Kamen Rider Revice with his adopted family, (and yes this is the Izuku Midoriya from BNHA, I really like that anime, so sue me for wanting this kind crossover) and together they became Team FLAM (Flame), and together they go on adventure where they help each defeating their enemies: Fangires, Imagin, MBJR.net, Deadmans, and Salem.

I also going to make their PKMN Team but that depends on my motivations, and have the time to make it.

I also made some short story of a scene from a couple of episode, I maybe going to make more of this but from a scene in a few of episode include the PSA episodes, so here are the list for the story if you like to read it. I hope you all like the story I made.

Previously On

Donut the Musical

#red vs blue #rvb #CrossOver #kamen rider kiva #kamen rider revice #kamen rider zero one #kamen rider den o #kamen rider #rwby #OC #Male oc #oc male #male original character #male reader #au #everyone lives au #everyone lives/nobody dies

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malhclmes · 1 year

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𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒔 ———

basic stats.

full name: malachi santos holmes nickname(s): mal gender: cis man pronouns: he/him age: 28 birthday: 3 august 1994 zodiac: leo sun, aries moon, sagittarius rising ethnicity: 1/2 black (afro-american), 1/2 asian (filipino) nationality: canadian sexual orientation: heterosexual religion: atheist hometown: vancouver, bc current residence: marpole, vancouver, bc occupation: employee at a local family-owned pizza place/soundcloud musician time in vancouver: whole life education: high school languages: english

physical.

hair color: dark brown, often dyed other colors eye color: dark brown height: 6′0 tattoos: half-sleeve on right forearm, bicep/shoulder piece on left arm, lots of little finger and hand tats, a tiny apple right below left eye, one really detailed colorful piece on left shin, black and white chest piece piercings: both lobes, usually not wearing anything in them scars: tba fashion: plain t-shirts, flannels, ripped jeans, converse, boots, etc

family.

birth mother: serena santos (deceased) birth father: unknown to him adoptive mother: linda holmes adoptive father: frank holmes birth siblings: none adoptive siblings: dec holmes pet(s): none

personality.

outlook: pessimistic pos. traits: savvy, loyal, courageous, altruistic, humble, witty, independent neg. traits: stubborn, bullheaded, reckless, morally arrogant, emotionally unavailable likes: diners at 2am, getting stoned and listening to music, feeling independent, black coffee, red wine, feeling really close with people, when the days are shorter in winter, science podcasts, doing drugs, cold weather, video games, anything artificial cherry flavored, giving gifts, live music dislikes: being sober, hot people being fake humble, reading, his adoptive parents, influencer culture, asking for help, holidays, his birthday, public speaking, law enforcement, having big responsibilities, planning for the future fears: getting old, losing people

headcanons.

only likes attention for things he’s good at and enjoys like playing his music or rolling a perfect joint but otherwise haaaates it literally hates his bday and that kind of stuff, and even if it was good attention for something like music it would still be too much eventually

plays guitar really well and has a great ear for music. he loves making beats and mixing stuff and puts a lot of instrumentals up on soundcloud. sometimes he’ll record lyrics but it’s always really synthetic and autotuned sounding (this kind of stuff)

does a lot of drugs, mostly coke and hallucinogens, def has a coke problem

loves loves feeling like he’s important to people he cares about

very like altruistic but simultaneously arrogant? like his instinct would be to risk his own life to save someone but he’s not gna be friends with u necessarily FTYGUKHLJK

doesn’t rly expect things to work out for him. kind of just assumes shit doesn’t go well and lets that keep him from trying to do more with his life

has extremely complicated feelings abt his brother and will absolutely talk shit abt how he’s a magician but is of the mindset where he’s allowed to make fun of him but no one else is TYJFUGHILJOK

more tba

full biography.

**trigger warnings for death, birth complications, fostering and adoption trauma, drug abuse, addiction

In late July of 1994, Malachi Santos took his first breath in the back of a truck in downtown Vancouver. His mother, a seventeen-year-old runaway addicted to cocaine, had gotten a ride just the day before with a man in a Ford F-150 while hitchhiking west from Edmonton. They had just crossed within the city’s limits when Serena went into precipitous labor and managed to terrify the man driving the truck into agreeing when she shouted at him not to take her to the hospital, where they would be legally obligated to contact the foster parents she’d just escaped from — instead, he found a Walmart parking lot and folded down his back seats. An hour and a half in, however, he got spooked as Serena became less and less responsive in between contractions; Malachi was born five minutes before they reached the hospital, and Serena died from blood loss ten minutes after that as they were rushing her into the emergency room. Because of the drugs in her system and the premature birth, Mal had to be kept at the hospital for a couple weeks, and after being determined unfit to continue fostering, he wasn’t returned to the couple his mom had run away from.

Mal spent the next tumultuous half a decade in Vancouver’s foster system until finally getting adopted by Frank and Linda Holmes — two vibrant actors with a love for giving back to the community and another adopted son they’d already had for five years. They had gone into the adoption process for the second time with the idea of making the next one a girl, but neither could resist the challenge Mal presented when they met him and were given warnings by the adoption agency that he was a difficult child. So Malachi Santos became Malachi Holmes, and for many children, it would have been the proverbial jackpot: the Holmes family was warm and welcoming and decently wealthy to boot, but even at five years old Mal didn’t feel like he fit into it. One of the most difficult parts for him — though he never really understood why, especially when he was younger — was that this wasn’t a foster home this time but an adoptive family, and one that seemed determined to make him feel like he’d been cast in a weird sitcom every time they dressed up for Renaissance faires or as Mr. and Mrs. Clause for Christmas.

On paper they were good parents was the thing, and Dec was a good brother, it was just that by the time he hit eleven or twelve, the imposter syndrome coloring his entire home life solidified into its own identity; he felt like the black sheep not only in his home dynamic but in a much grander, cosmic sense that, in his mind, put him on one side of the proverbial fence and everybody else on the other. He was not unfriendly in school so much as deeply introverted and on some level uninterested in other people, except for two friends he made in sixth grade and stayed friends with through high school.

He’s the kind of person who has plenty of friends he chills with but those two are his homies and he’s crazy hard to get close to because he’s not interested in expanding that circle. He really doesn’t have a lot of ambition and has no grand plans with his music, in spite of knowing somewhere deep down he might actually like to. He started playing around with mixing in high school and still does that and uploads his stuff to SoundCloud and everything, he’s got a great ear for music and really enjoys doing it, but the idea of making a career out of it freaks him out pretty badly. Besides that, he works at a local pizza joint where he’s close with the family who owns it, and he’s happy (or, at least, satisfied) doing that as long as it makes ends meet.

#vcintro #mind ze trigger warnings 😔

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daisys-gard3n · 3 years

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ROCKSTAR AU AVDOL ROCKSTAR AU AVDOL ROCKSTAR AU AVDOL-

#muhammad avdol #AND HE HAS EGYPTIAN THEMED TATTOOS #UGH #PLAYS HIS GUITAR NAMED MAGICIAN'S RED #HIS HAIR IS TIED UP AS HE PLAYS #GOLD LIP RINGSSSS

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sp00kworm · 2 years

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Blackened Call (Part One)

Pairing: Sulphur (Male Demon) x Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: Mildly suggestive content, Heavy/Black Metal Gig.

Word Count: 5900 words

---

The thunder of music always rang out from the doors of the Black Dahlia, and usually it meant there was a good show on. You grinned as the centaur let you inside the doors, grabbing hold of your ticket so you could have a hand stamp and be let inside. The insectoid woman at the desk inside of the doors took the small stub off the end and stamped your hand before waving you towards the floor with one of her other six arms, where a small crowd had already started to gather by the barriers. Rushing on, you plunged into the crowd of people and smiled as you wove your way to the front and looked at your phone. A quick text to your buddy told her you had managed to get a spot up front and she promised you a drink in return for the place. She owed you that much for saving her a spot at her own girlfriend’s gig. Hannah’s girlfriend was the keyboardist in a new band you had recently become obsessed with. They tended to swap female vocalists and this time it just so happened to be someone you knew.

Aeonic Slumber.

It was a name you had waited to see on the billboards and now they were finally touring, albeit in the small bars and clubs around the country. It was an elusive name still, the band only being a couple of years old, and having cycled through three female vocalists already, it had been tough going to start with. You were just excited to finally see them, live, and in the flesh. Music videos had only held you on so long and now it was finally happening. You were finally going to see the whole band in person. It consisted of a female vocalist, Hannah’s girlfriend, Lily, who was a Nymph, blue skinned and lithe like an ethereal gymnast. The drummer known as Glutton was a larger Orc from the northern regions, grey skinned and made for the cold with thick skin and more hair than you could ever hope to have. The bassist was a giant insectoid pray mantis, named as Hex, her eyes the scariest thing you had ever seen, bright red and piercing as her arms flexed and worked like a magician. The lead guitarist was an Oni, and was named as such, red skinned and often glowing with furious flames. He was known for playing bare foot as he slammed furious riffs. And finally, the vocalist, Sulphur, played rhythm guitar. He was a demon of unknown origins, found in the northern ice fields, his perfect black hide marred with tears of white, his face painted with a great white cross and his eyes bleeding white tears down his cheeks and a head of black hair that was looped in pinned strands around the tough, black horns on either side of his head. He played guitar with two of his four arms and sang with the microphone in the other. The strangest part of the whole ensemble was the demon’s inability to speak. He had no mouth until it was time to sing, when a great monstrous maw opened to speak unholy words.

The melanistic demon was nowhere to be seen currently, as the rest of the band rushed around in the pitch black of the stage preparing things for the start of the show. They had the guitar racks just off to the left where you could see the supporting acts chatting with Hex, her arms flexing and the sharp dagger like arms under her chest itching to snap forwards as one of the other male guitarists came close. You only snickered and turned around to look for your friend again in the crowd. Hannah was running late from her shift, but she was on her way, hopefully in time for the gig to actually start. You rested your head in your palm and set yourself up for waiting a little while.

Not long later, Hannah appeared besides you with a drink, grinning like a fool as she waved to Lily, who was peaking at you from behind the curtain. The Nymph blew her a kiss and giggled as Hannah’s kissing face before she disappeared again. You rolled your eyes and took the drink from her with a squint.

“I expect a double for standing here and keeping your space.” You told her as you looked back at the stage. You smelt the jasmine scent of Flix all over her already, “And stop flirting with Flix! He’s a nasty little creature and Lily’s cousin!”

“I hardly flirted with him, come on!” She mimed a duck at you, “He’s the one all over me because he knows it annoys Lily so much! It’s not me trying, it’s him just giving me the doubles.” She pouted and played with her hair innocently.

“Sure.” You droned as you took a long drink and coughed, “Make that a triple””

Hannah laughed at your face before she leaned over the barrier and peered at the stage squinting at the guitars on the stands.

“What are you looking for?” You asked after another sip of your drink which was far too strong.

Hannah grumbled, “I thought Sulphur might have the flying V guitar, but I can’t see it anywhere. All I can see is that ugly purple warlock.”

“What’s wrong with the warlock?” You asked, “I think it’s a cool shape!”

“It just looks silly when he puts it up on his leg!” She complained grumpily, ever the guitar nerd as she leaned over the barrier in a slump, “The flying V looks so much better for the Aeons Call solo!”

“Only you could be upset about that of all things. You’re here to see your girlfriend kick ass and you’re whining about Sulphur’s guitar!” You teased with a laugh before she pouted and stuck her tongue out.

Hannah pointed at the second guitar rack, “At least Oni brought his flaming V!”

You only laughed at her but quietened as the lights dimmed and the stage flood lights flashed on and off, signalling the real start of the show.

The supporting acts were good, and you enjoyed the second one, which was a three-person trio performing a lot of classical pieces of music in their songs. But at last, it was finally time for you to see Aeonic Slumber. It was a moment you’d waited for since you’d first found them on a strange little underground website, back when Sulphur was the only real member with Oni. You held your breath as the beginning acoustic to Cathedral Spire hummed through the speakers, and you gasped softly as Oni was revealed on stage, red fingers plucking away before the rest of the band appeared with flashes of deep purple and blue into a lightning flash of white. They were revealed, instruments in hand and Sulphur took over the acoustic melody with his electric guitar strumming in time to let Oni swap before the real start of the song. You watched the demons second pair of hands work the guitar before he reached for the microphone. You could feel your heart in your throat as you watched and the bass and drums started lowly in the background, thrumming in time with your own beat. The staccato rose before you watched as Sulphur’s face morphed, his whole black eyes opening a little wider as his cheeks split and unsealed, revealing a ragged maw that split his lower face in two, full of jagged, horrible looking teeth. The cheeks unfolded to give him lips and a great long tongue unfurled, hanging from his black lips before he took in a great breath from the slits in his face and howled into the microphone. Your heart thumped stuttered and jumped as you watched the act, the demon leaning back as his hand continued to play and he howled again down the microphone.

“Holy ghost!” The crowd roared with him, but you forgot to shout the words as you watched the demon with his purple warlock stomp, once, twice and leaned over the microphone stand, “I drown the demons, in my heart, and reveal to you the burned flesh.” It was like a spell, and you couldn’t look away as Oni span into your vision, fingers already itching for the solo part. The acoustics forgotten the guitars chugged away with riffs that woke even the tired lighting man up at the back of the crowd. You watched in wonder as Oni hopped onto a box in front of the stage, his legs crouched low and his mouth open, his tongue wagging between his upper and lower sets of tusks as he flew into a vicious solo, tearing down the neck of the guitar before he span to play with Sulphur, the two of them matching the melody perfect before the demon returned to the general chords and turned back to the microphone.

The mouth that opened again was monstrous. All teeth and spit. A maw of a beast, but you couldn’t look away as his tongue dipped between the split and wagged, curling in on itself as he howled and pointed upwards to the sky. It was unearthly. The noise shook your rib cage and you clutched at the barrier tighter as the music swelled into something unholy and unsettling. The miasma of song curled around your heart and tightened, and you couldn’t look away from Sulphur as he continued the song. The lyrics fell on your deaf ears as you purely watched him move and his eyes wander over the room.

“RECITE. LEARN. BIND.” He sang as his eyes landed on you in the crowd, his blackened hand stretching out to point at you, “She, the unholy apostle, the Queen of demons and bearer of antichristian nature.” Sulphur purred as his second set of hands took the microphone and held it to his mouth. He sauntered over and peered down into the crowd, at you, singing at you as he begged for the birth of the end and stroked his claws over his guitar and thighs.

“Succulent splendour, ghost, her petals fruiting the fire of the pits.”

Your face burned with embarrassment, but you could not look away as Sulphur begged for your attention, curling his fingers, and strumming before Oni demanded his own solo. Sulphur purred a growl and stood to the side, watching you as the other demon chugged into a set of heavy chords, punctuated by tinkering keyboard and the occasional grumble from himself.

As the solo finished the stage went quiet except for a soft strumming of chords and a melodic humming from Lily on the keyboard. Her fingers gracefully danced over the keys in a synthetic organ noise before it all grew quiet, and the song faded to pure silence. The stage lights dimmed, and Sulphur disappeared in the pitch black, his inky skin melting with the shadows. A single light opened by the microphone stand and you watched his hand curl in the light before his face appeared and he grinned, opening his mouth wide as he screamed the final words like the ending to an unholy prayer. His claws opened as he bent backwards on himself, howling like a true creature from hell before the guitars kicked back in and the drums slammed to signal the end of the first song. You stood, breathless, as the lights went black and the audience behind you screamed. The barrier against your skin and your white-knuckle grasp didn’t ground you at all. The rush hit your head and then you joined in with the cheering, bouncing as they appeared on stage again, draped in black netting which bellowed in the smoke. Sulphur’s claws dipped from under the silken material to stroke the microphone before he sang the gentle beginning to Omen, with Lily’s hauntingly beautiful voice behind him.

The silks billowed over the stage as the band members remained still, playing like statues through the song, their hands grazing against items on stage, stroking them like lovers as the Omen was sung in the background. You peered up at Oni, standing like a netted Adonis as he shook his head and slammed his foot, itching for the movement he usually had on stage. There was something utterly enthralling about the band, and you all stood, bursting to move but too respectful to break the spell of utter infatuation Sulphur and Lily had woven over the club. You looked back to see even Flix peering at the stage. A dark-haired man clicked in front of him and snarled back at the stage. It was hypnotic technique you realised as the guitars droned into nothing, and the crash of thunder played over the sound system.

The rest of the gig passed with intense energy, and you found yourself exhausted and panting by the end, desperate for a drink of water. Hannah followed you with an equally as dazed look, her mouth open, panting much the same as you as you were handed two bottles of water and smiled at by one of the security guards. You both collapsed against a wall near the side of the stage and drank before laughing, clutching at your stomachs as you held one another up. Neither of you had experienced a performance quite like it. You held the cold bottle to your head as Hannah peered around for Lily, chewing her lip to try as she tried to find her girlfriend in the crowd of people. A lot of the concert goers had filtered out after the gig but quite a few remained, drinking, laughing, and buying merchandise. You sat, exhausted, against the wall, sipping water like a dying man as dehydration thumped behind your eyes. There were a few minutes of quiet before the band appeared from backstage, cleaned up and freshened from sweating on stage under the burning lights. Your mouth opened as you watched them filter into the fans and start being spoken to.

Sulphur was last out from behind the curtains of backstage, pulling them back with one set of hands as the others stretched above his head, working out the knots and soreness from his muscles. He was dressed lightly in a very loose tank top which exposed the sides of his chest where the muscles contorted under his black skin. He still had the tight leathers bottoms on from the show and you dared to sneak a peak at his backside as he strode past. The demon paused a few steps away from you both before he sniffed, the slits that were his nose, opening and closing. His eyes shifted before they landed on the two of you sat against the wall and he raised a hand to wave gently before he pointed at you and curled a finger, beckoning you up off the floor and towards him.

The spit in your mouth dried instantly at the summons. Hannah was no help as she leaned back against the wall and waved you upwards with a gesture of her water bottle. The demon didn’t move towards you, but instead he leaned back against the railing, a pair of arms snaking around the back to hold him upright. Sulphur watched the crowd for a minute before he looked back at you expectantly, waiting for you to get the gall to move from the floor. You took a deep breath, cursed, and then got to your feet, wobbling slightly from being stood up for so long at the gig, pressed against the barrier with the commotion of the mosh pit in the back. You hobbled for a minute before your legs straightened out and you managed to walk towards the demon perched at the side of the venue. Your legs protested, with nerves and the pain in your muscles, but you managed to make it over to Sulphur without completely collapsing onto him like a fool.

You peered up at the imposing male with fascination in your eyes and his eyes squinted before he nodded his head in greeting. It was then you realised his mouth was gone and his face was once again a flat aspect of jaw and cheek muscle. The maw full of haunting teeth was gone.

“Hi...” You said lamely before you panicked and smiled, “That was an awesome show! I’ve been a fan for a long time and finally getting to see you guys live was like a dream...”

Sulphur nodded his head again, his long , pointed horns swaying as he tried to pull his hands up quick enough to tell you to slow down. He raised his hands and held them out quietly, the black palms face up. You stopped your tirade and looked at his hands with a flushed face.

“You want me to hold your hands?” You asked, confused by the action.

Sulphur nodded brightly but slowly, his black eyes creased at the edges with amusement. You trusted him, and placed your hands in his own, surprised by the warmth that bled into your palms as the demon closed him fingers around yours and held tight. There was something like a wave that washed over your head and you jolted before a little whine sounded and there was sudden clarity and a voice speaking.

“Can you hear me?” A gentle voice, like honeysuckle dripping with morning dew, graced your ears, or so you thought. Sulphur’s eyes crinkled again at the edges with amusement as you jumped and looked around before looking at him intently.

“I can hear you.” You told him quietly, out loud.

The demon nodded his head and tapped the slits of his nose, “This is our little secret, okay?”

You nodded in response and he let out a small rumble from his chest, squeezing your hands soothingly as he tilted his head forwards, the horns on his head dipping low.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the show.” Sulphur murmured quietly inside your head as he linked his fingers carefully with your own, “I know you’re a big fan, I remember your comments on the page after we released a small EP, just me and Kag- Oni.” he corrected himself.

“You remember my comments?!” You squeaked before looking around. Thankfully no one had overhead you.

Sulphur laughed in your head, his laugh a soft, otherworldly noise, like a deep church bell in the depths of a fog which had closed around your mind.

“I remember a lot of things.” He told your, “Like even the fall of Rome. The burning mess of Pompeii and wars I’ve since lost track of.”

You squinted at him, “You’re fucking with me.”

The demon laughed again and shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe. But you have to admit, you believed it just for a moment.” He squeezed his finger and thumb together.

“I never thought a demon who sings in a black metal band would have a sense of humour.” You joked as you let the male hold your hands a little tighter.

Sulphur’s grip tightened cheekily around your fingers, pinching the ends with his claws before he squinted in amusement again, “I play guitar as well. I’m not just a one trick pony.” he said before he leaned down and looked you in the eyes, the white tear markings down his eyes appearing very bold when they were close to you. One even had a small dot of black in the bottom of the little droplet shape. He caught you staring, but didn’t comment as Hex leaned over the railing, spying you both with her glittering red eyes.

She cocked her hips as her mandibles moved to reveal sharp teeth, “Wooing your little groupies again, are you?” She slurred with a hissing laugh, “They never learn they’re going to get their hearts broken.” The mantis fluttered her eye lashes at you, “I can show you a better time, darling. I can eat you out, if you catch my drift.”

Sulphur frowned and pushed her head with one clawed hand, breaking the connection between the both of you, enjoying the hiss he got in return. You jolted back a little with the sudden snap of silence in your own head and you swayed a little back on your heels as the fog over your eyes cleared and you watched the scene unfold.

With a glance behind you, you saw Hannah and Lily and knew that going back to her was not really an option, not as her girlfriend hiked her leg up and closed the distance between their lips. Suddenly, you felt a little out of your depth, and Sulphur seemed to notice, as he took your hand again and pointed his thumb back towards the bar.

“We’re gonna grab drinks, do you want one?” He asked quietly.

You nodded, “Please, that would be great.”

It was easy to follow him up the stairs as the gentle fog settled over your mind again and drowned out your thoughts, dulling the general hum of the bar to near silence. It was completely tranquil, for some reason, and you enjoyed the feeling of his hand in your own and the heat that radiated from his palm.

Sulphur walked you up the stairs and plonked you in a chair next to Glutton, not too far from the bar. The large orc peered down at you with his pierced eyebrows, snorting once before he took his second drink and plonked it in front of you.

“You’ll need it, trust me.” His thick Russian accent lacing every word, “Sulphur’s little ability, it fucks with your head.”

You sniffed the drink and almost coughed before you caught yourself and necked it.

Glutton chuckled at your effort, “You will feel better!” and smacked you over the back with one large hand, his icy blue eyes crinkled at the edges with amusement. You admired the thick, dark brown hair he had woven down his back before giving him the thumbs up.

Sulphur returned a few moments later with a drink for you both.

Hex had her own drink in hand, and she hissed as Oni walked over and pinched at her backside, “Kageyama, I will eat your face in your sleep.”

“You know I’d love it.” Oni purred as he kissed her cheek and spun around the back of her, placing his own drink on the table. Sulphur shook his head at the two of them as he placed your drink down and offered you the straw.

It was just a mixer and spirit, but you were thankful for the normal strength of liquor as you took a sip. Sulphur cracked his neck before he chugged a tankard with Glutton and then pulled a second out from his right. Glutton laughed as the two clicked their mugs together and you smiled at the rag tag group before you sipped your own drink.

“Who is this then, Sulphur?” Oni asked from where he was resting on Hex’s shoulder. Her second, snapping arms whipped around his back to hold him there, the spines dragging at his clothes.

Sulphur held up his hands as he shrugged before he snatched your hand again, making you suck in a deep breath.

His voice trilled in the back of your mind, “Tell them that you’re a fan.”

“Really? The mortal plays translator?” Oni scoffed, “You’re boring as sin, Sulphur.” Hex made sure to dig the spines of her body deeper, making the other demon groan. If it was pain or arousal, you couldn’t tell.

“I’m just a fan. I caught Sulphur after the show, and we were talking.” You played with the straw in your drink, “I’ve been a fan since you released the first EP so…I guess I just got carried away talking is all. This is honestly a little…”

Hex took that moment to laugh at you, “Sulphur doesn’t let just anyone link with him like that, human. It’s a connection both ways, even if he hasn’t told you that. He knew what drink you wanted because he’s already been poking around your brain, don’t let him fool you.” She grinned wickedly, “He’s still an old demon, all he wants is to feed of emotions and energy.”

“What…”

“Come on.” Oni groaned as he dragged her away from the table, his back curling with flames as he took away Hex.

Glutton pinched the bridge of his nose, “I am truly sorry about them, they are…disgusting sometimes.” He told you as he took another long drink and shrugged off his vest, revealing the giant swirling tattoos covering his chest, back and arms. He was built to intimidate, unlike his demon counterpart. Sulphur was angular, lithe muscle in a giant frame. He was tall but he didn’t appear too threatening with his pointed horns sticking out the sides of his head and his tear smeared, black skin.

“Its okay.” You told the orc before you took a long drink and smiled.

Sulphur pressed his hand to the back of yours, “They’re just horny after shows. Ignore them.” He chuckled in your mind before Glutton flicked at his fingers from where they clutched your own.

Glutton scoffed at the two of you, “If you would like to get a room, that would be appreciated.” He joked, “Stop touching like an old married couple.”

Sulphur wagged his finger in front of the orc, swaying it sassily before Glutton snatched at it and threatened to eat it. He let go of the demon after a snap of his blunt teeth and tusks before he took hold of is drink and slipped off the bar stool.

“Try not to eat ‘em alive.” Glutton droned as he left to find someone more entertaining for the night, or what was left of it. You suddenly felt out of place, perched next to Sulphur on top of the bar stools. His feet touched the floor, even on top of the giant stools and you became aware of his hand holding your own after a few moments. His clawed fingers stroked the back of your hand, heating the area with trails of liquid lava before he nodded down at you and raised your clasped hands.

“You don’t need to panic.” Sulphur soothed, “You’re not being weird… and I hope you don’t find this weird either?” he gestured to your hands.

“You’re fine!” You told him in a rush, “I just feel a bit out of place and then…Well Hex didn’t exactly have good things to say about you.”

Sulphur scoffed, “She never has anything nice to say about me. That’s just how she is.”

“But is she right? I mean, about you just…” You posed the question awkwardly.

Sulphur’s black eyes crinkled at the edges before he sniffed, the small slits of his nose opening and closing. The muscles in his cheeks tugged, as though he would have been smiling if his mouth was present.

“It’s a curse.” He told you, “Not a pleasant one, but it was a bargain I made a long time ago, and now, well I don’t have a mouth so trying to get enough energy to stay, well, sentient, its hard work. I took up singing a long time ago and this pact means that’s the only way I can have a mouth to make a noise. So here I am, singing and swinging my little hips on stage to try and get a meal. That’s something that pisses Hex off, but I can’t survive on my own resources. It’s a sad back story to our music, I suppose.” He confessed quietly in your head as his fingers stroked the back of your hand.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” You replied as you drank a few more sips of your beverage.

Sulphur flapped his hand, “Its not for you to apologise for. But truly, I am glad you see the music for what it is. It may be how I eat, but I still pour all of my…well, my soul into the music.”

“You were going to say heart, weren’t you?” You joked as you pressed your other hand to his chest where his heart should have sat, “Too bad demons only have soul flames there. But it does make you nice and warm.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Sulphur teased back as he chugged his own drink.

You sat still for a moment enjoying the peace over your head before you felt the alcohol blur your thoughts. You looked at your own drink then frowned. You hadn’t drunk enough to be even tipsy. You worked it out as you watched Sulphur crack open another bottle with his teeth and chug another drink.

“Hey…Hey, Sulphur. I think that’s making me…” You swayed lightly before the demon caught you, his pointed ears flicking curiously as his black claws pinched your cheeks to get a better look at you.

“I…” He rushed to carefully ease you back upright before linking your hands again, “I never thought the connection would run that deep…”

“Why am I feeling like this?” You asked as your brain burned and rolled inside your skull.

Sulphur’s warm fingers stroked over your forehead, “I think the connection runs deeper than I thought. Things that I do and feel, you might be able to also feel, on a base level. I just drank barely enough to make me tipsy but for you, a human, that’s more than enough to inebriate you.” he tutted as he reached for the bottle and hissed at the percentage of alcohol, “Fuck. They’re gonna kill me.”

“How do we… fix this?” You asked before you were scooped off your feet by the demon who ducked his head low and scarpered towards the door. Flix, the bartender, whistled at the two of you before you could make it to the door, and you watched in horror as he flicked his fingers and the door snapped shut.

“You know the rules, Sulphur.” He droned with a flutter of his gossamer wings, “You don’t take any humans home, especially looking like that.” The fae’s pretty, purple fingernails flicked at your prone form in his arms.

Sulphur’s ears perked as the Fae clicked his fingers, and you floated out of his arms.

“This is not helping the… Oh god.” You cursed as you covered your mouth, floating high in the air over the demon. Sulphur’s eyes widened helplessly as he floundered with his hands, trying to latch on to someone. He dashed for Flix and grazed his fingers along the fae’s cheek before he could move. Flix cried out, flinching with the blast of a voice in his head, his eyes fluttering closed as he clutched at his head in pain. Sulphur panicked again, but recoiled as Weldrick stormed through the back door, his nose flaring and his eyes wild with anger.

“What the fuck is going on here!” He yelled as he grabbed Flix under his arm and snatched you from the air, placing the two of you over his giant shoulders as he loomed over Sulphur.

Sulphur took hold of the minotaur’s hand with a rumble, and you felt the snap and crackle of a connection between the two of them. It burned in the back of your eyes like a migraine as Sulphur shouted down through the connection. You covered your ears, snatching your hands away from Weldrick’s back as the minotaur jolted back but caught himself. His horns swayed as the voice rung in his ears.

“There’s a reason, I promise!” Sulphur screeched.

“He’s right.” You groaned from the minotaur’s shoulder, “We, we were just talking through this connection, and now I think there’s some back lash…and… Oh god please just let me down!” You begged as your stomach heaved.

Weldrick snorted as he placed both you and Flix on the floor, “A connection? What sort of stupid shit is that?”

A deep, unearthly voice rang out from across the bar. A vampire sat at the far end, leaned on the shined wood as he waited for a blood pint to heat in the microwave. His nails tapped along the bar, but his eyes were hidden by small black sunglasses. His hair cascaded in a wave down his back, but it was painfully obvious he was ancient, despite the lack of wrinkles on his face.

“It’s a curse.” He droned as the microwave beeped and a human bartender handed him his drink. He smiled at them before chugging the meal.

“Cal, don’t start this.” Weldrick grumbled as he squeezed at his furry ears and massaged his head from the sudden screeching.

Cal, the vampire, and who you knew to be the owner, hissed lightly after his meal before he stood up, looming and dark, brooding as he took three large strides as stood, nose to nose, with Sulphur.

“It’s a curse. He can’t speak unless he’s singing, but the connection.” Cal stroked the ridge of his eyebrows, “The connection is like a bond that links him and others for an extended period of time, but usually only those who are…” He reached up and pinched Sulphur’s cheeks with two fingers, holding him tight, “But to make one of this level so carelessly.” The vampire tutted.

Sulphur scowled at the vampire and tugged his head backwards, jerking it out of Cal’s grasp before he took hold of your hand.

Your stomach rolled again as Sulphur’s hand met your own, but you listened to his thoughts, bewildered by the panic in his head as you used his arm to keep yourself upright.

“You’ve forced a literal psychic bond on a human you barely know.” Cal sneered as he walked back to the bar, “And you’ll not be able to be away from them. The feelings will tear you apart and before you know it, you’ll be in love, like a little dog with a leash on. Poetic, isn’t it? For a demon to be bound by a contract.”

Sulphur’s pointed, heart shaped tail whipped before he took a step towards the vampire. Cal was undeterred as he walked away, slouched, and nonchalant.

“Growl all you want, demon, but you got yourself into this mess, so I suggest you undo it.” He droned before he slunk up the stairs to the balcony and into the door marked as private.

Sulphur searched for your hand after the commotion, and you let him hold your fingers tight. He knelt a little to look you in the eyes, his fingers tracing your cheeks before he whispered in your head.

“Fuck, me…”

“Fuck me?” You questioned with a laugh before you wheezed and groaned with another wave of nausea.

“Not…Come on. You need to get home.” He told you as he eased you up and held you by his side, supporting you enough to let you walk.

“I live…” You started but the demon only pushed his hot finger to your lips.

“I know. The bond…” He told you as he helped you into the cool night air, not without some looks from the other patrons.

“Oh, I forgot…” You said as he helped you down the street. You sighed and leaned into the heat of the demon. Sulphur perked at your weight against his side before he dared to wrap his hand around your back, soothingly rubbing circles against the base of your spine.

“Let’s get you back, okay…” Sulphur whispered, “I’m sorry this happened…”

You took a deep breath, “We’ll figure this out, promise.”

The demon nodded his head and continued to lead you home.

#demon x reader #male demon x reader #demon x gender neutral reader #gender neutral reader #demon #demon bf #demon boyfriend #monster boyfriend #monster reader insert #monster x reader #monster bf #monster romance #reader insert #original works #writing #monster boy #monster love

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sheraphic · 3 years

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Hey! I loved the insta prompt can u make another one but where the reader is a famous singer? ❤️xx

𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

(𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

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author's note; hi there anon, sorry for the waiting but here it is your request, hope you like it. Feel free to tell me who you want next, just leave the name or the context you want it to have.

warnings; there can be a few mistakes with the grammar.

◤ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ◥

It would be wonderful If you reblog it, that help me a lot, it inspire me for write more.

// masterlist //

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Liked by arianagrande, harris_reed, colesprouse and 8,190,644 others

harrystyles Podcast. Nothing else.

View all 60,633 comments

harryfan002 WAIT A DAMN MINUTE

harryfan883 hate when he play the mysterious card

harry_lambert ...

courtneycox Where I can find it?

harryfan340 Don't play with me, Styles. If HS3 is coming i must be prepared

gemmastyles Welcome to this world, are you interested on a collaboration?

harryfan123 can someone call 911? I think I'm having a heart attack

jefeazoff Can I be the next guest?

harryfan081 okay, when harry says is nothing then is everything

madisoncunningham waiting for listen to it

helenepambrun oh boy

harryfan739 and the magician did it again

harryfan661 just recovering from Fine Line and you're telling me that it will be more new music? Are you trying to kill me?

Liked by mileycyrus, shawnmendes, ddlovato and 7,533,982 others

yourinstagram Maths say 1,440 hours of writing are enough

View all 42,621 comments

yourfan931 this mean new music? Please tell me

davendrabenhart maths don't lie

auroramusic i never have enough of your voice

tomholland don't do this to me, hate maths

yourfan832 you just didn't

harrystyles The only science that is exact

⤅harryfan820 yoooo what are you doing here sweetie?

harryfan799 man just give me a minute yo process this information

harryfan682 we learned that everything Harry does is not in vain

phoebebridgers i would stole that book just for be blessed one day

yourfan702 omg you just made my day with your post, i really missed you

yourfan822 get ready, my girlfriend is back

clairo i want that sweater

harryfan892 who else is here bc harry commented?

Liked by yourinstagram, mitchrowland, aliciakeys and 9,632,611 others

harrystyles The trees could hear it too.

View all 63,124 comments

harryfan382 Dear god why am i a human and not that guitar?

annetwist nature always do

harryfan552 the hair, the rings, the fucking legend he is

alexachung The neighborhood is getting a free concert

mitchrowland You need help?

yourinstagram They also whisper if you pay attention

⤅harryfan732 no no no i need help this is not a coincidence

lizzobeeating Lucky trees, wishing to be one and to be planted right next to you

yourfan440 y/n brought me here and i just love this place

yourfan231 now, who is here because of y/n?

stevienicks I can hear it too

harryfan632 these two have the same energy

⤅ yourfan906 ikr I'm loving their interaction

Liked by harrystyles, billieeilish, ladygaga and 8,567,902 others

yourinstagram I did press more than one for special research

View all 39,603 comments

arianagrande want to run my fingers in your hair

⤅yourinstagram dreaming with that

rogerknight I was the research, and i must say that patience is a virttude

⤅kidharpoon my mantra

⤅harryfan800 @kidharpoon omg i can imagine harry being just a pest in the studio

⤅tylersamj not just in the studio

⤅yourfan723 okay but i love y/n and roger's friendship

beaccchhoussse press five at the same time and you will become noise

firstaidkitband this just mean one thing and we are dying for excitement

yourfan339 for sure she have to be a gemini

⤅harryfan720 that explains a lot of things

dollyparton beautiful voice of yours

⤅yourinstagram Miss Parton, will you excuse me for a second? I need to frame this

harryfan223 Harry liking and commenting on her posts, Harry started following her, Harry hanging out with her... People, something big is coming. Save my prediction

hamiltonleithauser for any instance, don't press any of the red ones

selenagomez can't wait!

harryfan802 Is it normal that you start loving her when a couple of days ago you didn't even know who she was?

⤅yourfan672 yes, that's the y/n's effect on people

Liked by yourinstagram, spaceykacey, sza and 12,081,172

harrystyles VHS. OUT NOW. @yourinstagram thank you so much for be part of this.

View all 50,589 comments

yourinstagram thank you for this amazing time, i just learned how to tie my shoelaces in different ways

⤅yourfan781 my little weirdo just living her best life

⤅yourfan903 why do i feel like she and harry became bffs?

⤅yourfan110 put two shy and beautiful creatures together and you will get magic

⤅harryfan672 @yourfan903 bc it's just right

harryfan773 I KNEW IT

sammywitte This is so fucking amazing

harryfan834 HIS HAND HER HAND THEIR HANDS

mollyjane_x Love it, absolutely pure love in this one

⤅harryfan733 wait what does that mean?

harryfan992 Haven't listen it yet and i'd totally fell in love

alessandro_michele ♡♡

harryfan982 first, thank you for this single; second thank you @yourinstagram bc i just find out another incredible singer for my life

harryfan734 I can't believe this man did a whole mv without any of us suspecting

pillowpersonpp Very Harry Styles

⤅harryfan017 NO WAY

⤅harryfan883 Alright but that it's really genious

finneas Amazing song guys!

harryfan783 Neither of us expected collaboration, but we definitely needed it

harryfan723 Can someone tell me how not to ship them? I'm having a hard time here

zachbraff Now is a good year

harryfan339 I've watched this more times that i can count

yourfan170 THIS IS ART

#harry styles blurb #harry styles fake ig #harry styles fake instagram #harry styles fake social media #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #sheraphic writing

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missmitchieg · 3 years

Text

Julie And The Phantoms: A (Unhelpful) Guide For The Newbies - Part 2

Nick Danforth-Evans:

- Played by: Sacha Carlson

- Julie's friend

- Guitar Boy #2

- Bisexual

- Adopted child of Chad and Ryan Danforth-Evans

- Can. Not. Dance. but it's fine

- Stans Julie And The Phantoms

- Julie used to have a crush on him

- Now he has a crush on her

- Also has a crush on that curly blond boy on the lacrosse team

- Dated a lesbian once, oops

- ✨ Vibes ✨ with her music, though

- Literally everyone likes him

- A respectful King

- Some shit goes down with him in the finale, it wild

Carrie Wilson:

- Played by: Savannah Lee May

- Nicknames: Pink, Demon

- Julie and Flynn's ex friend/'bully'

- Still refers to Julie as 'one of her oldest friends', though

- Her mom is seemingly not around, unclear if divorced or dead

- Lead singer of her group, Dirty Candy

- Is the lesbian Nick dated

- Barbie Girl in a Barbie World

- Could use a hug

- Is in love with Flynn and kinda mad about it

- It's mutual, but neither of them know

- They haven't discussed it

- Stans Julie And The Phantoms

- Compliments Julie

- Is just there at every Julie And The Phantoms performance

- Fashion icon

- HER SOUL IS MADE OF PINK GLITTER

- Her vocals slay tbh

- Baby girl can dance

- Makes everyone say wow

- Saturn necklace

- Always looks good

Bobby Shaw/Trevor Wilson:

- Played by: Taylor Kare (Teen) & Steve Bacic (Adult)

- Former Rhythm guitarist of Sunset Curve

- Current solo artist

- Carrie's dad

- Pretty cool fashion sense

- Lion Necklace

- Is in therapy and meditates

- Needs a nap tbh

- Has a giant thing with his face on it on the wall

- Helicopter with his face on it

- SOMEONE GIVE HIM A HUG

- Red, black and white like Reggie

- Liked to jam with Reggie

- Also flirted with Rose

- However was lowkey jealous of Rose when Reggie was flirting with her

- They never discussed it

- Stole Sunset Curve's music to kickstart his career

- Not on Luke's song writing level, but it's fine

Mitch Patterson:

- Played by: Michael Ryan

- Luke's dad

- Seems like a Christian

- Unclear if unsupportive or indifferent to Luke being in a band

- Reads

- Plaid

- I feel like he watches old black and white shows

Emily Patterson:

- Played by: Jennifer-Juniper Angeli

- Luke's mom

- Sweet lady

- Watches I Love Lucy re-runs

- Bakes cake for Luke's birthday

- Knits

- Definitely Christian

- Loudly unsupportive of Luke being in a band

Mrs. Harrison:

- Played by: Marci T. House

- Julie's music teacher

- Prays for Julie

- Stans Aretha Franklin and Etta James

- Fashion icon

- Nice lady

- Deserves a cookie for being cool

- Has a corgi named Stuart

- Probably wlw

Willie:

- Played by: Booboo Stewart

- Handsome Ghost Boy #4

- Alex's boyfriend/Soulmate

- Gay Sk8er Boi

- *Seductive hair flip*

- Touch starved

- Would stab in retaliation

- Was that kid that takes in strays and nurses them back to health

- An Angel

- Crop tops & cute socks

- Had a shark phase

- Good vibes all around

- Has done nothing wrong ever in his life or afterlife

- Be Gay Do Crimes*

- ACAB

- Used to have an orange lava lamp

- *Confessed to breaking and entering, grand theft auto, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice

- Screams in museums

- Literally crashes into Alex and proceeds to flirt with him

- Falls in love immediately

- Not subtle about that love at all

- Would do anything for Alex

- Good Boy

Caleb Covington:

- Played by: Cheyenne Jackson

- Gay AF

- Evil ghost magician

- Fabulous

- Literal Actual Demon

- Puts on a good show

- Lowkey a cult leader ngl

- Sparkly

- Dramatic AF

- Would stab as a warning

- Terrifying

- Conscience? Is That a spice?

- W O R L D D O M I N A T I O N

- Master manipulator

- Pipes McGee

- Creepy AF

- Would enslave teenage boys for his own benefit

- Would also kill teenage boys for not joining his cult

- Is a little bitch

- Deserves to be sucker punched

#julie and the phantoms #nick danforth evans #carrie wilson #bobby trevor wilson #mitch patterson #emily patterson #mrs. harrison #willie #caleb covington #Unhelpful Guide To JATP

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transgenderknothead · 3 years

Text

I know I've been gone for like ever, but I was working on something super cool, so without further adieu... I Want the Truth a creepy pasta fanfiction just under 2k words!

Truth is undefinable, yes it has a definition, not lying, but how do you determine what’s a lie and what isn’t? It’s difficult, especially when you get different answers from the same person. My mother always tells me I have no memory due to various different accidents. First she said car crash, then she said nearly drowned, then it was kidnapped, her current story is that I had been in a coma for most of my life due to a birth defect. When I ask why her story keeps changing she says she isn’t quite sure what is causing my memory loss, as all of those things happened. My friends and I were hanging out at the old children’s mental hospital, it had burned down about four years ago and ever since my friends and I would go and try to figure out why and how it had burned. So far we had found nothing, nothing that was in one piece anyway, we had found three shattered skull fragments and a lot of broken wood. We’d searched all over the building, except for one room, which we could never open. It was a metal door, that when we tried using axes, hatchets, and even random pieces of wood nearby, they fell apart before even reaching it. We have no idea what’s on the other side, but it feels important, and because my friends are stubborn, we will never stop trying to open it or get inside. “Again!” Toby, my boyfriend, yelled when the head of his metal axe fell off when it made contact with the door. “At least this time we hit it,” I rubbed his shoulder as he slumped, “and it looks like you even dented it.” “If his noodle arms dented it, imagine what I could’ve done,” his athletic twin brother, Evan, flexed. “I don’t know, why don’t ya punch it, see what happens,” Toby argued. “Would you two knock it off,” their 14 year old little sister Jessy rolled her eyes, “what did Mom and Dad say about you arguing all the time?” Toby rolled his eyes, a tiny smile appearing when we made eye contact. “We should head back,” I piped up a little. Back at the house Toby and I went into his room, separated from his twin by a curtain, the tall boy flopping onto his bed. “Are you okay?” I rubbed his back. “Something about that room just,” he rolled over, pulling me with him, “I don’t know, it makes no sense.” “What is it?” “It gives me a weird gut feeling,” he scratched my back lightly, “like something bad is behind it.” I had woken up in the middle of the night, bolting up in bed next to Toby. It was always the same nightmare. I’m sitting in a pitch black room, a fuzzy figure of a purple, pink, blue, and yellow jester with a hammer sitting in front of me. It seemed like it was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn’t hear, or even see, much of it. The next morning we all headed over to the mental hospital again. Toby, having hurt his hand playing guitar last night, was going to let me try opening the door with his brand new axe. So here we stood, axe held over my head, everyone else standing back. When I swung the door flew open and the axe hit the floor instead. “Um, to whichever deity is out there, please help,” Jessy whimpered. I walked in, it looked as though this room had the worst of it. An entire wall caved in, shattered glass everywhere, all of the furniture destroyed. The walls that were left standing had what was very obviously scratch marks from whatever child was in here. “Holy,” I whispered, spinning around to look at the room. I kept looking around until I saw the bed in the corner, it was rusted and broken to no end, but that isn’t what caught my attention. It was the seemingly untouched blue bunny stuffed animal holding a very broken, but unburned, Jack-in-the-Box. I reached for it instinctively, but Toby grabbed my wrist. “Don’t,” he whispered. “I just want to know,” I grabbed the toys, inspecting them, before dropping them and gasping. I slowly picked them back up, and cradled the bunny, who was now missing an eye. “What is it?” Evan stood in the doorway, very obviously too scared to enter the room fully. “My name,” I whispered, just loud enough

to hear, “it’s on both of these.” I twisted the toys to show the red stitched name on the bunny and the carved name on the box. “Oh god,” Jessy whispered. I clutched the toys to my chest and started running back. “WAIT!” Toby called. “I have to know, I need to know the truth about my memory, and the truth about these!” I yelled when he caught up to me, he let go and let me run. “Whoa, slow down kid, where’s the fire,” my mom jokes. “What’s this,” I held up the toys and her face went pale, “don’t even think about lying, I want the truth this time.” “They were a couple of toys your childhood friend’s gave you before they left,” she replied. “Okay, new question,” I stood up straighter, “why were they in the mental hospital?” She gasped and dropped her tea cup. She smiled, looking at me, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Mom, why can’t I remember anything? Don’t give me a story like you do every time.” “You still believed in imaginary friends,” she cried, “you were twelve, that’s not normal for a 12 year old kid! I had to do something to make you realize they were fake!” “So putting me in a hospital and drugging me into forgetting was your grand solution?” I yelled. “You don’t understand,” she started. “You’re right, I don’t understand, but what I do understand is that I’m not the type of person to believe something I haven’t seen, or hasn’t been proved to me,” I crossed my arms, knowing what I had to do. “Don’t do anything stupid,” my boyfriend spoke when they finally caught up. “I have to know,” I spoke before turning around, taking the toys with me, and running into the woods. I ran for a long time, a couple of memories coming back to me. Playing with a tall stuffed clown, a tall red headed man with long hair and wearing a feathery jacket handing me the blue bunny, setting the fire in the hospital. Eventually, I ran up to a familiar metal gate that led to a run down carnival. I opened the gate and it creaked. My heart was pounding in my chest as I clutched the bunny tighter to my chest, the Jack-in-the-Box in my hoodie pocket. I heard a twig snap by the merry go round, causing me to run into the hall of mirrors. I fell against a wall trying to stop myself from crying. “Oh Gumdrop,” a singsong voice came from the entrance. I hid farther into the dark corner, “you don’t need to hide, we’re friends!” I watched the black and white clown look around the room, his hands on his hips. His eyes meet mine, he smiles wider and gets closer. “Jack!” A voice laughed from behind him, the jester from my dreams stepped forward. “It’s her!” Jack pointed, and the jester looked my way. “I’ve been tryna reach ya,” he pulled me out of the dark, “but ya never heard me!” “I’m sorry,” I whimpered, his grip wasn’t tight, but I could tell neither of them were human. “Don’t be sorry! It aint your fault!” The jester giggled, pulling me out of the hall of mirrors and into the big tent, where three more inhuman entities were talking and working. One was a shorter man with black hair, a sketch pad, blue jacket, and a white mask with a red smile sitting next to him. Next to him was a more average height man with dark grey skiing, all black clothes, golden eyes, and what looked like a puppet hanging from golden strands of light coming from his fingers. Across from him was a very tall white haired man dressed like a magician and holding a wand. “There you are,” the man with the sketch book said. “We’ve been waiting for you to come back,” the grey man next to him continued. “She doesn’t remember us,” the magician looked at me. “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “Don’t apologize!” The jester rolled his eyes, “we’ll just reintroduce you!” “I’m Laughing Jack!” Jack spoke, “you used to call me L.J. for short!” “This is Puppeteer, who you called Pup,” the man with the sketchbook pointed at the man with the puppet. “This is Helen,” Puppeteer smiled, pointing at the one with the sketchbook. “I’m Papa El De Grande,”

the magician spoke, “you always called me Mr. Magic.” “I’m Candy Pop!” the jester tickled my sides, “you called me Pop.” “Where’s Jason?” L.J. looked around. “His workshop, fixing Mr. Bun Bun,” Puppeteer said, “it’d be best if she went alone.” Puppeteer took me over to a red and white tent near the big one. He told me to just go in, and that he’s never been mad when I was around because he never wanted to scare me away. “Jason?” I poked my head in, and was greeted by a big stuffed purple worm covered in patches. “Glutton!” A voice yelled from farther into the tent, “get over here!” I followed as the worm snaked towards a redhead man with golden eyes, putting an eye on the rabbit that I had come here with. “Jason?” He looked up at the calling of his name, smiling gently when he saw it was me. “It’s been a long time, Dolly,” he handed me the bunny, standing up he towered over me, “come on, let’s go for a walk.” During the walk he answered all of my questions that my mother refused to answer. He caught me up on all of the missing details of the past. And eventually led me back to the front gate. “It’s nearly time for you to get home,” pat my head. “Remember to just wind up the jack in the box when you want to see me!” Jack waved. “I’ll visit ya in your dreams again tonight, maybe now you’ll be able to hear me!” Candy Pop laughed. “Come back tomorrow,” Helen waved from his seat on the stairs of the merry-go-round. “Oh my god,” a voice came from behind me, my mother had her hand over her mouth as she glanced over the people I had spent my childhood with. “I was right, Mom,” I whispered. “Jason?” She whispered the name of the man who was trying to get away. “Yes?” He turned around slowly to look at my mother. “Oh my god,” she whispered, “Jason Meyers.” I looked at my mother at the use of our last name. Jason lowered his head. “Mom?” “You have been spending time with the spirit of your father, and I took that away,” her hand went over her heart, “oh, I am so sorry dear.” “Wait, Mom I didn’t even know,” I stuttered. “I needed to protect you from the things you weren’t ready to know,” he ushered us out, “now come back tomorrow, it’s getting late.” “We have to take your boyfriend to meet them tomorrow,” my mother spoke, causing Jason to look up, his eyes suddenly glowing green and his hair slowly turning white. “Okay,” Jack clapped his hands, his smile gone, “I think it’s time for bed.”

#creepypasta x reader #creepypasta #jason the toymaker #Jason the toymaker x reader #jason the toymaker x reader #candy pop #laughing jack #puppeteer #Helen Otis #Bloody painter

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whataboutmyfries · 3 years

Text

Russian roulette

Hello Hello! As promised, the new chapter of Russian roulette! Thank you so very much to @ttylfedora and @asunshinepuff for being my wonderful Betas and giving this chapter some semblance of punctuation.

As always, credits for the cubs goes to @lumosinlove!

Chapter 4

Finn sighed, propping his head on a hand as he drove, the street lights flashing over the car in the dark. Finn looked over at Logan, his small form spread over the passenger seat, his head resting against the cold window while he slept.

Finn’s heart clenched painfully at the sight. The flashing lights made Logan look like an angel fallen from grace; incandescent, gorgeous and utterly unattainable. His breath hitched ever so slightly, gone in an instant as he turned back to the road.

He’d dealt with this for eight years. What’s a few more?

“Tremz, Tremz, we’re here.”

Logan woke to Finn gently shaking his shoulder, quietly calling his name. He slowly blinked his eyes open, “‘M awake, ‘m awake.” he shook his head blearily, trying to shake off some of the sleep.

“C’mon, up you get,” Finn grunted, tugging him out of the car, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Let’s get you in bed.” Logan groaned, leaning heavily on Finn as he muttered something about fishes and bedrooms.

By the time they got to the door, Logan was properly awake; though his arm stayed wrapped around Finn’s shoulder, the heavy warmth sending a shiver of delight down the redhead’s spine.

“Fish, I can walk back to my room myself, y’know.” Logan teased. He turned to look at his friend, his hand slipping off Finn’s body. Finn huffed a laugh, though he felt a strange sense of disappointment at the loss of contact.

“Go home, get some sleep, meet me back here tomorrow. We have to see what we’re going to do about Lizard and Leo .” it’s a little repetitive so i think one tomorrow works

Finn just looked at Logan, melancholy and regret swimming in the hazel irises.

“Go home, Logan. Get back to your own bed, it might help.”

“This is my home.”

“I know.” Finn sighed. “I know it is, but it shouldn’t be. Home should be somewhere you can be safe, somewhere you can call completely your own.”

“Is this not a place I can be safe? A place I can call completely mine?”

“Fuck, Tremz,” Finn shoved a hand through his hair in frustration. “Stop being so difficult, you know what I — you know what? Nevermind. Goodnight.”

Logan’s heart ached to say something, anything, to get that look off of Finn’s face, but he came up empty. He could do little but watch as Finn walked away, his lithe figure disappearing into the night.

Logan hated his flat, the empty space altogether too full of absent reminders of the person he had been, the person who’d let things go so horribly wrong. It had driven him mad; those one cosy, warm rooms once filled with laughter and merriment reduced to bleak snapshots of memories lost to time, black and white mementoes of love and companionship. The keepsakes on his mantle no longer bringing him laughter and happiness but left to rot like relics of a person who had once been.

His lungs grated against his ribcage as he let out a sigh, the breath making his shoulders slump lower, his head dipping as his feet dragged sluggishly on the polished marble floor. One foot after another, he reminded himself; one foot after another.

Finn parked his Maserati in the garage, letting out a deep, slow sigh as he let his head thump back against the headrest. He was so goddamn tired as of late. What with the recent loss of a high-profile asset — and friend— and the stranger-who-wasnt-really-a-stranger dropping by with seemingly perfect timing, it had all been a little much lately.

He ran his hands through his hair, relaxing a little in the star-flecked comfort of the night. His breath shook a little. He leaned forward, resting his head against the cool steering wheel, the light of his phone illuminating his face from his lap.

‘I’m sorry about today, but you know I can’t go back there’ No prizes for guessing who that was from.

Finn closed his eyes, thumping his head against the wheel gently. Ignoring the notification in favour of unlocking his phone, he connected it to the car’s music system, the soft, slow strumming of the guitar soothing his nerves, the heavy weight of being him falling away for a few blessed minutes.

With that, Finn pulled right back out of his garage and drove into the blissful peace of the night.

The tension leached out of Finn under the steady thrum of the engine. The smooth, cold texture of the steering wheel under his hands a comforting presence, the soft movements of the car a balm to his emotions.

Finn barely even noticed when the mechanical edges of buildings and skyscrapers faded to the soft, flat land of the country.

And then he was flying.

His beloved car pushing her limits underneath him, faster, faster, faster, until the world around him was a blur, until the steady thump of his heart, tangled with the rhythm of the soft bass coming from the speakers was the only thing keeping him anchored to his reality. He was soaring, higher, stronger, faster; battling the winds themselves to touch the stars, dancing with the soft moonlight, playing amongst the clouds.

And for a few blissful moments; Finn was nothing and everything all at once; a gust of wind trapped in a cage, a shard of starlight caught in a jar, a famed mob boss looking for freedom.

Finn walked into their shared office feeling infinitely lighter, the rumble of his vehicle a song in his blood and the flash of starlight dancing behind his eyes.

Logan looked up from his laptop, shoving his pencil behind his ear while he leaned back in his chair

“Well, you look like shit,” he grinned, nudging forward the cup of steaming coffee that Finn had just now noticed was sitting on his desk. “Did you get any sleep at all last night?

Finn’s mind flashed with the image of the sunrise on the horizon while he had driven straight to Headquarters and he flashed Logan a winning grin “Like a log, you?” he lied easily, sliding over the desk to sit on his chair.

“Lo, I have something important to ask you.”

The man in question turned around in his chair, tipping his head to the side as he looked at his friend. “Sure, what’s up?”

It took an unjust amount of willpower for Finn to ignore the way the light twined through Logan's hair, weaving through the chocolatey curls. He cleared his throat roughly, forcing himself to look anywhere but at him.

“Are we going to help our friendly neighbourhood Houdini?”

Logan scrunched up his nose in confusion, laughing when he finally realised who Finn was talking about.

“Houdini?!?! Of all the brilliant magicians, you went with Houdini?”

Finn crossed his arms, pouting. “Well, who else was I supposed to think of?”

“Literally anybody else, Dynamo, David Blaine, The Horsemen, Robert Angier? I don’t know, maybe his own father? Have you even seen the prestige?”

Finn’s sigh of exasperation was only betrayed by the way his lips twitched up at the ends. “Oh shut up, you know who I’m talking about. Anyway, what do we do?”

Logan’s smile faded into a frown as he chewed his lip thoughtfully.

“I don’t know. He did know Lizard’s name, besides, his father was an asset too. Liz knew him well.”

Finn hummed, a small knife already spinning around his fingers. “You’re not wrong, but how do we know we can trust him?”

Logan shrugged, “I can ask around if you’d like that better, but I think we’re alright. Bliz knows him too. Says he’s a good kid.”

Finn hummed, already lost in thought.

Logan sucked in a deep breath, “I think we should do it.”

Finn’s amber eyes snapped to Logan, and he nodded, a wayward red curl falling into his eyes.

“Yeah….I think so too.”

“Hey! Portami il vecchio mazzo di carte per favore? voglio provare qualcosa.” Leo called, shuffling his deck of cards in increasingly complex ways.

He missed a particularly risky shuffle, and the cards flew out of his fingers, falling to the green grass of Natalie’s backyard.

“Porca puttana” Leo muttered, stooping to pick up the cards for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

“Language!” Natalie called from the kitchen, stirring a pot of something that smelled absolutely divine. “And it’s about time you stopped anyway, dinner’s almost ready.”

Leo sighed, picking up his deck and tapping it on the side of his shoe as he walked into the house. He paused to kiss Natalie on the cheek before dropping his things on the couch to help her in the kitchen.

“Nat, you are a goddess, this smells incredible.” Leo sighed, stirring the pot Nat had put him in charge of. “Dio santo, Nat, could you take over for a sec? I left my phone in the yard. I’ll get Bliz on the way back?”

Natalie rolled her eyes at him fondly, shoving his shoulder as she took the spoon from his hands. “Of course you did. Go get it. And bring Kase too.”

Leo nodded, slipping his shoes on to walk to the yard, whistling as he went.

He was so preoccupied with looking for his phone; he didn’t notice the tall man striding towards him, his gait soft and even.

“Leo Knut?”

Leo could’ve sworn he’d had half a heart attack in the split second it took him to turn around to face the stranger, his heart beating double time as he looked around for something— anything— he could use as a weapon.

But the man just raised his hands, taking a step back.

“O'Hara and Tremblay want to see you.”

Leo’s leg bounced under the table, his eyes glazed over with the look of someone who wasn’t quite present.

“Knut, are you listening? We need the plans.”

“Huh? Oh, um, it’s actually pronounced ‘newt’ not ‘nut’. And how do I know you’re not going to take the plans and sell me out the second I walk out of here?”

Finn and Logan exchanged a look, a silent conversation clearly taking place as they met each other’s eyes.

“Because you’re planning the damn heist right here with us.”

Leo wished he could say he handled the situation like a normal person, casually accepting the information and moving on, but that would be a lie. Instead, it took him a solid 20 seconds to even begin to process the fact that they had said yes.

But in true magician fashion, Leo had his bearings back before anyone could notice.

“Pleasure doing business with you gentlemen,” He said, shaking their hands over the table. “But I hope you know that I have an insurance policy against you should you choose to fuck me over.”

Both Logan and Finn startled, Logan’s hand immediately going to his gun. “What the fuck did you do.”

“Don’t cross me and you won’t have to find out, Mio Signore,”

Leo could feel Finn’s searing stare on the back of his neck as he walked away. “I’ll stop by tomorrow evening with the drive and the laptop.”

Leo’s mind kicked into overdrive the second he entered his apartment. Drive, map, encrypted journal. He wasn’t quite sure what had possessed the two of them to help him with one of the riskiest plans he’d ever heard in his life, but damn him if he wasn’t going to milk it to his advantage.

It always gave Leo an electric sort of thrill to start a new project; dark rooms, hushed arguments, pages and pages of data and plans the heady adrenalin rush of it all. And so Leo flicked the lights off, settled in with a mug of coffee and cracked his knuckles. It was going to be a long night.

Logan stared at Finn as he paced the office, watching as his friend ran his hand through his dishevelled hair.

“Lo, this is going to be the single most dangerous mission we have ever agreed to.”

Logan swiped a bit of sweat off his cheek, going back to cleaning his gun as he replied.

“I know. I know it is Harzy. But we’ll be going in hot, we’ll plot out every possible outcome. You know we will.”

Finn turned to look at him, the corners of his mouth twitching at something he saw.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing you just…” Finn walked over to Logan’s desk leaning over the table to run his thumb across his friend’s cheek wiping a stripe of black grease off his face.

Logan went so uncomfortably still he wasn’t sure he’d ever move again.

Finn, meanwhile, went right back to his pacing, rambling about men and ammo and whatnot. This mission was going to be a hell of a ride if they kept going on like this.

Logan wasn’t sure he’d survive it.

But damn if it wasn’t a heavenly way to die.

“Lo, you’ll train with me, won't you? I might be a little rusty at hand to hand.” Finn said sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Logan winked. “Always, it’s been a while since I kicked your sorry ass.”

Finn’s expression morphed into one of mock hurt. “Next time at target practice, I’m pinning your face to the board”

#russian roulette #oknutzy #lumosinlove #lumosinlove ocs #my writing

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arcana-asshole · 3 years

Note

Hello! I have a request if you like to do it, can you do the main 6 reacting to MC being obsessed with the band guns n roses and liking all their songs and having a small crush on all of band members?

HELLO!!!!! congratulations luv you were my first request EVER!!! as a big guns and roses fan myself, i would be absolutely DELIGHTED to write about this!!

Nadia

to be honest, it’s not really her style...YET

after a few days of hearing November Rain about 27,000 times, it starts to grow on her a lot.

this isn’t the kind of music she would typically find herself dancing to, but her foot will tap and she’ll bop her head side to side during Sweet Child O’ Mine.

“MC love, you must tell me, who sings these songs?”

When MC tells her she just..👁👁

“Guns and Roses?? Why would anyone want to shoot flowers?..Sounds like something my ex-husband would indulge himself in.”

After explaining to her that it’s just a name and no one is going to shoot the roses in the gardens, she allows herself to enjoy it a little more

She thinks MC’s passion is utterly adorable and every time their face lights up when they hear one of their songs come on, she can’t help but smile.

Nadia is lowkey kind of old. I love her to death, but she is old.

She doesn’t really understand how you have a crush on the members.

“You’ve never met these people. Why are you interested them? Forgive my tone, I’m just confused.”

You genuinely don’t even know how to begin explaining this to her.

“...So you don’t have genuine feelings for these people, you just think they’re attractive and are a fan of them. Oh goodness, that makes so much more sense!

Julian

He will sing to you constantly.

He can’t sing at all

Utterly tone deaf

Please stop him before this gets out of hand

He likes the more upbeat songs like Welcome to the Jungle.

He once started a bar fight while that song was playing

He broke his nose

Julian Devorak: Human Disaster

Will spin you around the floors and take you dancing in the street all the while listening to the music

If the moment is right, he just might give you a little kiss 💋

He’s a big brother. He knows a thing or two about teasing people for having crushes that seem silly

Just ask Portia! She almost beat him to death for mocking a crush she had when she was 6!

He will make mock kissy faces and try to impersonate your voice.

“Oh mwah mwah mwah! Axl Rose I love you so much! Kissy kissy~ Mwah mwah mwah!”

To be fair, as brutal as he can be with his mockery, he loves your music taste and he thinks your little crushes are just another admirable quality you have.

Asra

He gets it right off the bat.

Not his favorite, but he’s groovy yknow?

He likes their slower and sweeter songs

Will rock you gently and show dance with you beside a rainy windowsill

He can turn any song into a romantic memory without even trying that hard

What can I say, he’s a charmer!

He’s not an incredible singer, but at least he’s better than Julian. If you ask him to serenade you, he will.

“What’s the lyric, my love?”

He’s so happy that you’re happy

Passion is the quality that he has always found most admirable about you.

Whether it be about magic or music, if you care about it, he’s just going to fall in love with you a little bit more

He handles the crush thing better than everyone else

“Yeah he’s hot. I can see you two together.”

Portia

Oh my god. She is the best

She’ll scream along with you.

Literally scream.

Then she’d blow out her throat and not be able to speak without sounding horse for like six days.

“TAKE ME DOWN TO THE PARADISE CITY WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN AND THE MAGICIANS ARE PRETTY!!”

See what she did there?

Paradise City is her favorite song

Like Julian, she’s a big fan of the more Rock n Roll kinda songs

Honestly, she might love them as much as you do.

She’ll sing along while she cooks and cleans around her house and while she’s working.

It confuses the shit out of Nadia.

She loves to dance. She’ll pick you up and spin you in circles

She may be small, but she packs a lot of might

She’s a little bit of a fangirl when it comes to the members of the band, just like you!

You two geek out over how cute and talented they all are

“MC, babe. Honey. Love muffin. Cutie patootie with a red hot booty. I adore you so so so much. But if Slash ever came up to me, I would leave you in a heartbeat.”

She’s only kidding

...Right?

Muriel

Not his style, but a song will get caught in his head every once in a while.

If you catch him humming while feeding the chickens, call him out. He’ll get all flustered it’s so adorable.

“...It’s catchy leave me alone”

He’s not a big rock n roll guy. I feel like he’d like Willie Nelson yknow?

But the softer songs that they have??

He’s in love

A guitar riff will get stuck in his head and when he’s all alone he’ll sing it on “nee new”

Does anyone else do that? When you want to sing a guitar part, you just go nee now?

Muriel Does

He’s a Nee-Nower

To be honest, he’s completely indifferent to you having a crush on all the members.

Doesnt affect him

If anything he thinks it’s kind of weird

But it’s still endearing

Lucio

“These guys suck. I could sing better than that!”

No Lucio. No you can not.

He’s canonically a warbling mess when he sings. He’s worse than Julian. He’s so bad. Dont let him sing to you.

Truthfully, he doesn’t like them that much

He wants to be your #1. Not some silly band!

He’s a pain in the ass

Think of him like— an old grandma

“TURN THAT RACKET DOWN, MC!!”

“WE ARE NOT IN THE JUNGLE!!”

He pouts a lot whenever you mention having a crush on one of the members

“What does Axl Rose have that I don’t?????”

In order to make you happy, he’ll disregard his own dislike for them, and try to organize a choir of servants to sing some songs for you.

No one agrees

He’s angry

He says “Fuck That” and puts on the whole mini concert by himself

It’s a nightmare

At the end of the day, he’s happy you found something you really like, even if it’s not his favorite. (and even if it makes him just a little bit jealous)

BONUS

https://youtu.be/Cy8khyMj8JE

NOT MY ART!!! It’s just a funny video!!

youtube

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thefandomthings · 3 years

Text

His name is Casey, his 15 years old boy from Slovakia 🇸🇰, Cancer ♋, his birthday are on November 4 and I'm his older sis!

He have blonde hair, freckles and he have brown eyes.

He's real sweetheart. His kind and nice, his total wild card. He enjoys playing videogames and eating pizza but he's slim cause we are work out buddies.

He sharing a bedroom with me. He have bed next to window and mine is next to wall.

His hobbies : pranking and annoying me, drawing, listening to music and he adores DANCING. We always dance together, his favorite food is pizza and Paella ( Spain).

His parents died when he was 5 years old so my family took him and he went with us to Spain when we were in Slovakia. He's SPAIN GUY 100% cause he were there his whole childhood so he understands perfectly Spanish and we always speak in Spanish. As you know, we have Russian members too so he know of course Russian too but he don't have Russian accent like me

He have this habit to give me kisses on my cheek 24/7. He adores when I do some magic tricks. I'm a magician.

He loves to play drums and he's the guy who play drums in our band R.O.C.K. and he's in acapella group called Nightsoul too

He likes to read comics and storyboards ( mostly about DC and TMNT ) and he wants to be Chef one day. On September 1, he's going on High school Hotel Academy with me.

He always rely on me and he's there for others. Sometimes he don't understands what's going on, but his heart is on the right place.

I like to call him Mikey and Mickey Mouse. Idk, but he reminds me of BayMikey. He's just like his twin. Even his clothes style is similar to BayMikey.

Anyway, my bro's favorite color is Orange, red and black and he always flirts with every girl he meets but he don't have a girlfriend.

His protective of me and even if I defend myself with knife, his in front of me and he tries to be scary like BayRaph and like me, but his plan didn't work out. HIS JUST SO ADORABLE.

His favorite music genre is Pop and Rock, he likes DNCE, Maroon 5, AC/DC- his fav songs is Back in Black, he likes Black Eyes Peas, Bishop Briggs- his fav is River and he likes Ariana Grande too because of her highnotes and he absolutely adores when I sing 'em..

He is not vampire like me but he's into werewolves and he likes to think that he's one Idk why but I don't say anything to him.

He's very sensitive and when he heards how others are calling me, he cry for hours and he promise me revenge on them.

He likes horrors and Action movies. Sometimes we have arguments about things like what we will gonna watch or why I'm in the lead and why Im not listening to him but he's so sorry about the bad things that he told me and he always cheer me up.

Others thinks that we are couple instead of siblings cause we kinda act like one. But he's okay with it, he loves me from the bottom of his heart

His favorite food is pizza, Paella, Miguelitos, Flan and he loves sweets and Honey Cake. From drinks he loves Coke, Citrus- peach Cooler and he loves Protein shakes.

He adores my playing on electric guitar and his biggest passion is Art. His favorite artists are eonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

He loves when I call him Angelo and he's huge cat lover

That's everything. Thanks for doing this, darling 💖💖💖

I Think i will pair you with...

Leonardo

Lets get this straight, it was love at first sight!

Now, you and him are total opposites! But thats what makes you two perfect!

Sometimes Leo needs a little spice in his life, and your are his spice!

He gets jealous when you hang out with Mikey, but you and Mikey are each others twins!

So you always has to reassure him that you love him and not Mikey, well you love Mikey in a brotherly way

Leo LOVES to test your cooking! He just loves the way you put everything together, its a masterpiece!

Now when April came over, you being you, flirted with her just to make Leo ticked!

Lets just say It worked to well....

His most favorite thing to do with you is...DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

TRAIN

Yep you, Leo always train together, and sometimes you invite your sister, but mostly just you and leo!

Leo finds it hilarious that your favorite artist, since art is your second strong suit, is Leonardo Da Vinci

The guy he is literally named after!

You two both secretly love listening to Ariana Grande, and maybe sometimes try and hit the high notes

It doesn't sound to good, but at least you tried right?

He also loves the little dances you do when a really god song come on.

Most the time you make him dance with you, even if he doesn't like it

Over all, Leo finds you protectiveness, and craziness adorable and couldn't imagine his life without you!

#tmnt matchup #tmnt #thefandomthings #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt bayverse #tmnt x reader #tmnt 2014 fluff #tmnt 2016

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mermaidchan05 · 3 years

Text

Echoes of the Past: Friends

For @arcana-echoes Day 7 prompt!

Meleia’s only true friend on her island home was the fairy Sapphira, who I will talk about more in the Familiars prompt. For now, let’s introduce Damian!

About Damian!

Damian Espinoza

He/him

Favorite food:

Favorite drink:

Favorite flower:

Star sign: Taurus

Seems quiet and serious at first, but is really just an awkward bean

Brave and endlessly determined

Very smart and studious

Surprisingly good at working with others despite being the aforementioned awkward bean.

When you get to know him, you find he’s witty and has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

Helps his Tia Rosa and his younger sister Silvia run a stall in the market, but would rather be traveling and studying alchemy.

His familiar is a little fruit bat named Oswald.

Loves music, and is a talented guitarist.

How they met!

When Meleia first started working at her Aunt Korina’s shop (more on Aunt Korina later), things didn’t exactly go smoothly.

Korina’s magic was very similar to that of Meleia’s mother... scrolls, amulets, and potions that required following strict instructions.

Meleia was very bad at following strict instructions. Especially if the instructions weren’t in front of her.

Most of the time, attemting these spells ended badly. Things-exploding-level badly.

And she was even worse at making potions. She could do a few simple ones, but that was it.

So Korina often sent her off to gather ingredients and go buy some of the trinkets they needed to restock the shop... which was decidedly the safest job for her at first, until she “learned to control her magic.”

(The fact that Meleia hated crowds didn’t seem to make much difference to Korina)

She ended up at Damian’s stall, which carried potions and medicines.

Meleia was super nervous at first, but since she loves animals, Oswald ended up being a great ice breaker.

She and Damian started chatting while he got the potions she needed.

He even helped her with a magic-induced burn on her hand, free of charge.

She went to Damian’s potion stall almost every time she could get away after that.

The two bonded very quickly, since they had a lot in common. They both loved reading, they both felt a little stifled in their current situation, and they both adored music.

They worked out a system very quickly: Meleia would get raw ingredients for Damian, and occasionally rare magical components, and Damian would help her with her potion-making.

Sometimes Damian would even offer to help Meleia wrap her head around the shop funds. He started visiting whenever Aunt Korina was away... which got more and more frequent.

Other Friendship Fun Facts

Whenever they both had time, Damian and Meleia would head to the town square to perform for passersby. Her singing and his guitar made a beautiful combination.

After Meleia met Asra, it took Damian approximately two seconds to figure out that she had a huge crush on the mysterious white-haired magician.

He took every opportunity he could to play wingman... much to Meleia’s eternal embarrassment.

It’s okay, though... Meleia found out that Damian was rather interested in a certain red-haired doctor that ran a local clinic. So she pushed him towards that happily-ever-after as well.

Damian is the only person who can ever get Meleia to go to the less-scrupulous parts of town.

Which is great, because they both ended up finding out how much they loved the community theater. Even if Meleia didn’t get half the jokes.

(And it gave another opportunity for Damian to run into that cute doctor of his...)

Damian told Meleia all about his hometown of Nopal. While Meleia couldn’t exactly return the favor, because of the whole secret-island thing, she was able to teach him more about crystals and gemstones, which the budding alchemist greatly appreciated.

#fan apprentice #apprentice meleia #apprentice damian #(yes he's the apprentice in an alternate universe)#(three guesses who his LI is)#arcana eotp #arcana echoes #lore #backstory time!

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 4 years

Text

Float Like A Butterfly Ch.3 Unwanted Burdens

Summary:

Marinette and Adrien are trapped in cages of duty and resentment.

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

"Don't you think Adrien's been acting weird?" Marinette asked.

Alya glanced from Kitty Section readying their instruments to her best friend. She wanted to reassure Marinette that her concerns were just her imagination running away with her again. But Alya noticed it too.

"You mean with Chloe?"

Marinette's nose wrinkled at the mention of Adrien's first friend. But her worry quickly came back. She never realized how little time they spent together until they started spending more. It wasn't what she would call a positive development. They seemed to argue a lot more now.

Alya looked at Marinette and knew they were thinking the same thing. Going over what she overheard in her head.

"I'm no good at being nice, Adrien."

"You don't have to be nice. You just have to not be cruel."

That was after Chloe had acted like her usual self with Sabrina. Alya didn't know if she agreed with Adrien or not but she never told anyone. It was a private conversation. And Chloe sounded oddly... vulnerable.

"They've been acting weird," Marinette conceded. "But there's something else that's... off about him." Her eyes widened. "What if it's something I did? Or something his fans said online? Or something worse!?"

Marinette blinked as she realized she was leaning into Alya's space. Stepping back Marinette slowed her words down to a less panicky level. "Could you check with Nino, please. Just, of course, you know, casually."

As if she summoned him with talk of his best friend Nino showed up. Frowning at his phone.

Giving Marinette a worried look Alya complied. "Nino, any word from Adrien?"

Nino bit his lip. "He can't make it."

"What!?" Marinette winced as her yelp attracted unwanted attention from the rest of the ship. "Did he say why?"

"Something about messing up on the piano?" Nino glanced back at his phone, expression shifting into a glare. "It's just like Adrien's old man to be a killjoy the five seconds he spends with my bro!"

"Hey," Forcing some optimism into her voice Alya placed a reassuring hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm sure Adrien will sort it out. It's not the first time his dad has kept him from hanging out with us.

Nino wasn't convinced but he nodded anyway and let Alya kiss his cheek. He also noticed that Adrien was acting weird. But no matter how Nino asked, Adrien always evaded the question. It was wearing on his patience.

"Captain Anarka speakin' to ya! So, how's it comin' along me young pirates!"

Marinette started as Juleka's maman appeared out of nowhere. She was loud and jovial and apparently didn't like cleaning? Maybe it worked for the Couffaines but Marinette's mind needed a bit more order to function properly.

Still, it was her home, er, ship so Marinette could appreciate Anarka's unconventional hospitality. A smile formed slowly as Captain Couffaine's exuberance pulled her and her friends out of less pleasant thoughts.

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

Adrien played the piano mechanically. Feeling his skin burn under his Father's stern gaze. When he wished for more time together Adrien didn't mean being judged in person.

Despite the focus Gabriel's mere presence demanded, Adrien's mind wandered. Juleka had extended an open invitation to the entire class for the music festival. That was the first time one of his... not-exactly-close friends had actually invited him over.

And he was stuck here.

Adrien winced as a discordant note echoed from where his finger slipped on the wrong key. Eyes glancing fearfully at his father.

"I've heard enough." Gabriel raised his hand to forestall any more noise from Adrien. "Are you sure you're practicing, Adrien?"

Standing, Gabriel showed his back to his son. Not looking at Adrien when speaking to him. Voice full of accusation and annoyance.

In other words, Gabriel acted the same as always.

"... I'm just doing the same exercises over and over again..." An idea came to him. "I think I could make better progress if I could just play with other musicians." Adrien forced his tone to be hopeful, trying to reason with his father. "After all, music is meant to be shared with other people don't you think?"

"We Agrestes are soloists." Gabriel crushed Adrien's argument dismissively, deigning a glance at his son. "Not mere group members. I suggest you rehearse your piece some more. You'll play it for me again later today."

His heartbeat spiked. "But- Father! You promised that I could attend my friends' concert!"

"Not after that performance you've just given."

But you promised! Adrien's jaw clenched to keep the words down. There was no point in arguing with someone who didn't listen.

"Which is probably due to their influence.

His hands trembled. You don't know them! You don't know anything!

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

With that Gabriel and Nathalie, who Adrien had forgotten was even there, left without a backward glance.

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

Adrien sat their as a growing pressure built in his chest. Clawing, demanding, yelling. Jerking to his feet Adrien paced, trying to get his body and mind to quiet down.

"You need to refocus, Adrien."

Rubbing at his eyes Adrien sent a brief text to Nino. Forcing his breath to even out. He didn't feel like talking at the moment.

"You need to refocus, Adrien!"

That done Adrien snatched up his basketball and threw it at the net. His piano disappearing into the floor. Grabbing the ball as it bounced he threw it into the net again. His piano rising from its hiding place.

"YOU NEED TO REFOCUS, ADRIEN!"

Again he threw the ball.

Down it went.

Again into the net.

Up it came.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up.

Again.

Down.

Again.

Up-

"YOU NEED TO REFOCUS, ADRIEN!"

Adrien shoved the ball forcefully away from him. Not caring what it hit. Grabbing the remote he turned on his TV and raised the volume as high as it would go.

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

Marinette stared openmouthed at the massive shockwave that came from Luka's electric guitar. By comparison she was only mildly surprised when police helicopters appeared overhead.

Sabrina's dad pulled up with a megaphone. "Mme. Anarka, are you completely out of your mind!?"

M. Raincomprix was on a first name basis with Juleka's maman? That probably wasn't good.

"It's the National Music Festival today, Officer Roger! My crew's allowed to play whatever they want!" Anarka projected over the speakers.

Definitely not good. Marinette tried to de-escalate the situation. "Uh, maybe we could turn the volume down a bit, Captain? Then there'd be no more problem, right?"

"No! Out of the question!" Anarka dismissed immediately. "I didn't name my galleon Liberty for nuthin' y'know! It's a matter of principle!"

From there things quickly spiraled. Anarka's stubborn refusal to listen to anything Roger had to say prompting him to pettily give more and more tickets. Each addition enraging her so much her voice stuck in her throat.

Anarka stalked away from the others on deck once Officer Roger and the other police left. Face red and fists clenched.

Marinette looked at her friends, all of them worried. Especially Juleka and Luka.

Luka. "Are you okay?" Marinette asked.

"Um, yeah." Luka gave a wan smile. "It isn't the first time ma's gotten mad at the cops."

That didn't reassure Marinette the way he probably meant it to. "So, this, happens often?"

"I wouldn't say often." Luka's gaze landed on Juleka, currently being comforted by Rose. Appreciation lit up his eyes. "It's harder on Juleka. I help where I can but I can't stay with her all the time. Rose has been amazing the past year. She stays with Juleka if me and ma are working."

"You have a job?" Marinette blinked in surprise.

"I have to. Maman can't pay for-" Luka stopped. Apparently realizing that he might've said too much. "Anyway I help her out... Doesn't leave much room for hanging out, though."

His gaze travelled across the deck. Taking in all of Marinette's friends. For the first time she realized no one from Luka's school was there.

"That's... You're a good brother, Luka." Marinette felt she understood the older boy a bit better. Even if the Couffaine's as a whole were even more unclear.

He shrugged in a 'anyone would do it for family' kinda way. "I-"

Dark, purple-ish fluid flowed from the helm, covering the entire Liberty.

Marinette went cold. "Oh, no!"

Sure enough, Anarka was akumatized.

Captain Hardrock wanted to destroy the music festival until only their song remained. Amid the fear and uncertainty of being in the power of an akuma without her transformation, Marinette felt pride that her friends rejected Captain Hardrock without hesitation.

Marinette's mind raced as she struggled to find a way out of the chains that bound her with Luka. No one else was coming. She was the only hero Paris had to protect it! She had to find a way out! She had to-

Tikki peered at Marinette from her purse. Smiling in relief, Marinette gave her a subtle nod. Stealthily, Tikki phased through the lock, chains falling with a clatter.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" Luka gave her a wondering look.

"Uh, I, uh- With this!" She held up the guitar pick he'd given her.

"Your amazing," he praised, helping her up. "A real magician, Marinette."

"Uh, you think so? Oh, it was nothing. Uh, amazing? Really?"

" 'Scuse me but some of us are still chained up here, y'know," Alya interrupted.

"Right!" Marinette placed herself between her friends line of sight and the locks. Obscuring Tikki from view. Soon everyone was freed.

"How're we getting off this crazy ride, dudes?" Nino asked.

Luka looked around the inside of the Liberty, which wasn't as transformed as the outside. "I have an idea."

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

"Few! That was close!" Tikki looked out from Marinette's purse at the others who made it off the Liberty in makeshift rafts.

They were on the opposite side of the Seine. Luka, Juleka, Rose and Ivan. Marinette gazed after the Liberty. Alya, Nino and Mylene still onboard. Liberty's chains catching them before they could take off.

Anxious, persistent defeat loomed in the back of Marinette's mind. Threatening to drown her. She pushed it back with difficulty. "Tikki, I have to save my friends!"

"But last time you struggled without someone to help you," Tikki pointed out. Concern for Marinette's wellbeing overriding any other considerations. "You should go to Master Fu for help."

Conflicting emotions flickered across Marinette's face. "... You're right," she agreed, resigned.

Quickly, Marinette found a hiding spot and transformed. With a backward glance at the destruction wrought by Captain Hardrock, Ladybug reluctantly swung towards the Guardian.

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

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good. Once the mission is over you will retrieve the Miraculous and return it to me."

Ladybug was only half listening. Engrossed by the only Miraculous that lit up in her mind.

No. Please not his. Please.

But no matter which Miraculous she looked at her gaze was drawn back to his ring. Hand trembling, stomach turning itself inside out, (Ladybug didn't want anyone else) her fingers closed around Chat Noir's ring. Once it was in her hand she pressed it to her chest. It was the only thing she had of him.

Master Fu's eyes widened at her choice. "Are you sure, Marinette?"

Ladybug just nodded.

Staring at her for a moment, he finally spoke. "The Miraculous of the Black Cat is the most dangerous out of all in existence. Whoever you choose must put others above himself."

The words entered but did not impact her. Like a stone being thrown into waters too turbulent to make ripples. "Of course... Master Fu."

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

"Luka Couffaine, this is the Miraculous of the Black Cat. Which grants the power of Destruction. Once our mission is complete you will return it to me."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Luka carefully took the offered Miraculous. Wonder quickly morphed into confusion, however. "Wait. Black Cat? But what about-"

A ball of green energy shooting out of the ring interrupted him. When he lowered his hand at the fading light a small, cat-like being floated in front of him. Its ears drooping and eyes sad.

Luka took an involuntary step back as a requiem filled his head at the sight of it. Fingers twitching for his guitar.

"You're not-" Green bubbles erupted from its- his mouth, gaze turning toward Ladybug. "Why isn't it-" Again green bubbles came out before he could finish.

Ladybug gave the small, sad, cat-like being a pained look. "We need your help, Plagg. Paris needs your help... Please."

An unspoken understanding passed between Ladybug and Plagg. A conversation Luka was not privy to.

With a nod Plagg sized Luka up. "Well," he said with a mocking grin. "You're not much to look at. Name's Plagg."

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

With every misstep Ladybug reminded herself that Panthera was not Chat Noir.

That she couldn't expect him to function on the same level as someone who had his Miraculous for over a year. Couldn't expect someone she only just met to know her movements as well as someone who'd fought by her side since the very first akuma. Someone who'd never held a staff to wield it as expertly as someone who'd spent hours trying to figure out every possible use.

Ladybug reminded herself of this every time Panthera was caught in Liberty's chains or lost his staff to Captain Hardrock's swordplay or held back when he should push forward.

Her earrings beeped insistently, reminding her that time was almost up. Finally, Ladybug managed to trap Captain Hardrock to the helm with her Lucky Charm. Cataclysm destroying only the compass instead of the entire ship like she planned. Luckily, it turned out that's all they needed and she purified the akuma.

As the Miraculous Cure set everything right Ladybug turned to Panthera and- Luka was grinning at her. Relief adding to his joy. He held up a fist. Hesitantly, Ladybug raised her own, rewarding him with a smile.

"Bien joue."

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

I hate you!

Adrien glared at the screen, having turned down the volume once the news reported something of actual interest: the akuma attack... And Ladybug's new partner.

I hate you!

Panthera, as he called himself, had a rather uninspired suit design. The only significant difference from Chat Noir's look was his green hair.

I hate you!

Heartbeat pounding in his ears, Adrien dissected everything about this 'Panthera' as he could from the shaky broadcast. The newbie held his staff like a club, having trouble with the extending functions.

I hate you!

Captain Hardrock thrust with her sword. Pushing Panthera back. Splitting his staff in two he held them in an X, blocking an overhead blow. But immediately Captain Hardrock switched to an underhand strike, separating the two halves of the staff and sending one flying into the Seine.

I hate you!

Ladybug's yo-yo pulled Panthera out of the supervillain's sword range. But not before losing his remaining staff.

Captain Hardrock charged. Ladybug dodging both her and the flying chains. Panthera jumped away from her sword... and right into the boat's chains.

The remote creaked in Adrien's tightening grip; teeth clenched.

I hate you!

Quickly breaking Panthera's restraints, Ladybug helped him to his feet. Together they charged. Or rather, it should have been together. Panthera had to retrieve his staff which threw off their timing.

Ladybug leapt from chain to chain in midair, as graceful as a gymnast. Panthera a fraction behind her. Captain Hardrock took advantage of the minut delay by breaking past Ladybug's assault, jumping onto the mast net.

I hate you!

Sweat beaded on Adrien's forehead despite the coolness of his room.

Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm -her own chain- and searched for how to use it while Panthera protected her from the Liberty's attacks. Finally getting into his role.

They conferred for a moment before the chains forced them to split up. Ladybug disappearing below deck while Panthera took on Captain Hardrock. He was marginally better than before, returning her strikes blow for blow. But Captain Hardrock still managed to pin him to the mast with her chains.

I hate you!

Panthera was saying something to the supervillain... Attempting to reason with her. It didn't work, of course, but it gave Ladybug the distraction she needed to rescue him. As they fought Ladybug maneuvered the supervillain towards the helm. In one swift movement she tied Captain Hardrock to her own wheel.

I hate-

Adrien jumped to his feet, eyes wide as the first vestiges of fear mixed with his already pounding heart; the ship sailed through the air for one moment before crashing to the ground. Sagging back down he saw Panthera call on Cataclysm. And Ladybug's cure put everything back to normal.

Nadja went on to heap praise on this 'new Chat Noir' and ask questions Adrien hoped no one ever found out. I hate you! Scowling he turned it off.

I hate you! Adrien's frown deepened. Ladybug... was usually better at communicating her plans. I hate you! It was a confusing thought. I hate you! As it meant Panthera wasn't the only one to blame for such abysmal teamwork. I hate you!

A sharp crack brought Adrien's attention to the remote still in his clenched fist. Uncurling his fingers Adrien stared at the break running along the bottom. I hate you! If you weren't looking for it you wouldn't even notice. I hate you!

The sound of Adrien's door opening was the only warning he got of Nathalie's entrance. (Why didn't he have a lock? Every other room in the manor had a lock, even the kitchen had a lock! So, why didn't he?) Not for the first time Adrien noted how she didn't knock before entering.

His father's assistant glanced between him and the piano but said nothing about it to Adrien. That didn't mean she'd say nothing about it to Gabriel.

"Adrien. Your father had something come up at work and won't be able to hear your recital today." Nathalie's impassive expression never changed. "...He still expects you to practice. I'll try to fit you in tomorrow."

"..."

"Adrien-"

"I get it." Adrien snapped, unclenching his jaw. "Father has more important things to deal with."

Nodding once, Nathalie left as quickly as she arrived.

Adrien's chest rose and fell as his breath came rapidly. I hate you! Mind snapping back to the akuma fight -fingernails digging into his palms- or more specifically, Ladybug's new partner.

Panthera wasn't any better than Chat Noir. I hate you! Adrien's hands were shaking. I hate you! He wasn't a better fighter. I hate you! The remote slipped from his grip as he clenched and unclenched his fingers like claws. I hate you! He couldn't follow Ladybug's signals like Chat Noir could. I hate you! Adrien's vision blurred, eyes burning. I hate you! It was hard to tell across a screen. I hate you! His throat was too tight. I hate you! But the only significant difference was how silent Panthera was compared to-

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate-

Was that the only reason?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I-

Wildfire raged in Adrien's chest. Burning his throat, his stomach, his head.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Did they really choose this wannabe Chat Noir because he WOULDN'T ASK QUESTIONS!?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Building pressure pushed at Adrien's chest and jaw and throat and eyes and fists.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Choose him because he would be quiet and obedient and SYCOPHANTIC!?

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Bile rose into his mouth and stung his throat.

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Adrien's whole body shook. Everything blurred, nothing was clear. Except the great, persistent, growing pain that threatened to shake him apart. He could feel himself cracking, breaking, shattering-

His phone rang.

Adrien scrambled for it. Like it was a rope tossed into the deep, dark well he found himself drowning in.

I hate you!

Without bothering to glance at the caller Adrien answered.

"Sup, bro!"

Blinking rapidly, Adrien saw Nino, Alya and Marinette crowding into the screen. Behind them were their other friends making some last minute preparations for the music festival. Suddenly his raging storm was much more endurable.

Nino leaned into the camera. "Dude, is your camera off? It's all dark."

"Uh, yeah, just a sec." Realizing that he must look like a mess Adrien hit mute and hurried into his bathroom. The red eyed, tear stained face that he washed away made him grateful his friends hadn't seen him.

I hate you!

With a deep breath Adrien turned the mic and camera back on, forcing a smile. "Hey."

"There he is!" Nino grinned.

Alya turned the phone to focus on her. "So, we know you were looking forward to being here. Which is why this girl," Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette and hugged her close. "Had the brilliant idea to do this video chat!"

Smile softening into something more genuine Adrien gazed at Marinette's pink face. "You were thinking of me?"

"W-well, I just thought that it was a shame you couldn't tea- be here! So, I just, yeah..." Marinette trailed off, eyes everywhere but the screen.

His heart slowed from breakneck speed to merely sprinting. "Thank you."

Marinette squeaked and muttered what could have been a 'you're welcome' before pushing the phone back to Nino. Wiggling out of Alya's grasp as she dashed off.

His best friend grinned at them as Alya chased after Marinette offscreen. But once his eyes came back to Adrien, Nino's brow furrowed slightly. "Seriously, bro, how you holding up?"

I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!

Something must've shown on Adrien's face as Nino asked: "That bad?"

Trying to downplay it Adrien shrugged. "It's not like it's the first time he's changed his mind."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Nino scowled at the specter of Gabriel Agreste. "Dude. No offence, but I wanna sock your old man."

Laughter bubbled up and spilled out of Adrien. Blocking his breath and forming a stitch in his side. Vision blurring. Hand covering his mouth as he tried to control himself. Tried to stop it from devolving into hysterical sobbing.

"Adrien!?" Nino's eyes were wide with alarm.

Biting the inside of his cheek Adrien gasped for breath. "S-sorry." He fought of the giggles that threatened to choke him. "It's just... he's a head taller than you."

Nino drew himself up indignantly and Adrien was relieved to see his misdirection work.

"That bony hermit never gets off his rear-end! My little brother could kick him into next week, dude!"

A bark of laughter escaped Adrien's control. Thankfully not igniting the false manic glee. "Thanks for that."

Despite his confusion Nino still smiled at Adrien. "What are bros for?"

Gazing gratefully at Nino, Adrien felt himself balance on a melancholy plateau. "I really will be okay. This," by which he meant their call, "helps."

Nino fidgeted, adjusting his cap. "I just... wish I could do more, y'know?" The unspoken for you was clear as day.

A pleasant warmth bloomed in Adrien's chest, softening further the ache that remained. "I know, bro. That's why I love you."

"I love you, too." Nino searched for something more to say as he searched Adrien's face for what remained unsaid, but nothing came to him. "Well... Kitty Section is starting soon. Might as well greet the band before they become famous and forget they know us."

"No, we wouldn't want that would we..." Adrien could almost ignore the pressure in his chest.

After a round of waving and sympathizing with him for not being able to make it, they began. Kitty Section was amazing. Rose's voice was never like that! Juleka smiled widely, carefree. Ivan was the most intense Adrien had ever seen. They looked... alive.

Gabriel would certainly classify it as 'classless noise' but to Adrien? Kitty Section had something that he couldn't replicate inside the four walls of his cage.

I hate you.

At least, not without Plagg.

While he stayed in frame Luka never took his eyes off Marinette. A hopeful smile evident even across the screen. As night came on and the band went from rehearsing to performing, Luka seemed to play for one person only.

Adrien had never met Luka, despite hearing about him from the bandmembers in his class. And he didn't really count saying hello over video chat like his father. The older boy was nice, polite and good at guitar. Besides dyeing their hair Adrien couldn't honestly say Luka bore any resemblance to his sister.

"-out of chaos comes creation!" He heard Anarka spout in the background, talking to someone he couldn't see. Adrien didn't know why but the phrase stuck in his head. It was like a promise.

Out of Chaos comes Creation.

Wrapping it tightly about himself, Adrien brandished it like an amulet against the voice that wouldn't stop whispering at the edges of his thoughts.

I hate you.

Apparently, that wasn't why Adrien's mind had latched onto the phrase.

Trying to drown it out with Kitty Section's illegally loud music didn't work. It was always the same volume.

I hate you.

Distracting Adrien from enjoying his friends' concert. Like a thorn in his side.

He knew what it was. It was everything he was trying to ignore. Everything he felt at seeing himself replaced so easily. At the excitement in Alya's voice when she shot out theories about Panthera. At the Guardian, at Ladybug, at himself. All summed up into three little words Adrien had never said to anyone.

I hate you.

Despite Adrien's attempts to even his breathing and calm his heartbeat, the voice continued to plague his thoughts for the rest of the night.

I hate you.

A reminder that, even in his own mind, Adrien could never be free.

#ml angst #ml au #adrien angst #adrien agreste #captain hardrock #marinette dupain cheng #float like a butterfly #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction

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wthelvetica21 · 4 years

Text

🔗💀Linked Souls

in the Digital Cabaret’s lobby

All four of the Mystery Skulls investigators found themselves in a calmly lit room with skull decor. It was quaint to say the least. There were also musical instruments like guitars and old fashion keyboards on the walls as well like it was a recording studio. All of them were laying on the same large circular sofa with two tables.

Lewis: What… The hell… just happened…? Guys?

Vivi: Just a few more minutes okay Lew. I swear… mar

Vivi rolled back sleeping with her plush turtle that she kept in her backpack before they headed out.

Arthur: (yawn) Can you keep it down… Whoa OH HOLY SHIT! Where are we guys? This can’t get any weirder man.

Mystery: *soft barking* (I must keep a low profile for now. I have a feeling that we’re not… in our world anymore. I sense four none hostile souls and least one that’s harbors some justifiable apprehension towards us.)

Lewis is the only one who could hear Mystery via supernatural telepathy.

Lewis: Huh? I hear voices from outside…

Lewis along with Mystery and Arthur put their heads on the double doors to listen in.

Teenage Male Voice: I don’t know if this is a good Idea Doc. They seem sketchy as hell if you ask me. Especially the ghost rider reject in particular.

Calm Female Voice: I’m sure hun, my tombsona can since people’s intentions right away. They seem to be looking for someone or something whom was involved with the murder of the young man in the suit who has become a ghost. It’s all I could glean however. But the dog though.. is odd… He’s not a threat to us but that might not be his true form.

Suave German Voice: He could be a lycan… What? It’s possible since that ghost is particularly one that still has his body.

Mystery: *tilts his head* (A lycan? As in a werewolf? He also knows that Lewis is a special case as well.)

Softer Male Voice: …

Strangely Familiar Voice: What’s that Armstrong? You think that we should meet them one by one? Maybe 2 by 2 would work better. I would rather meet them later… I’m still having a hard time processing this whole situation. I just woke up after all.

Lewis: Wait?… Is that the? (Is that the guy singing in that weird dream from earlier? Could it be that comatose guy who was begging for help? It’s modulated a bit but it’s that voice I heard. I just know it.)

Mystery: whimper (Lewis? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You know that voice?)

Lewis: Uhh… I could’ve sworn I heard his voice before. (he said softly)

Calm Female Voice: Don’t worry cher. We’ll go first. Come on Rust since you’ve been itching to meet them.

All three backed up from the door so they wouldn’t get hit.

Teenage Male Voice: WHAT!? Why the hell me? Why not Tesla, Armstrong, or even your… Hey don’t give me that look. Dammit okay fine… let’s meet them already. (mumbles in Spanish)

Lewis: Tch… (Yeah you’re already gonna be a pain in the ass from the get go. Must be a high schooler or somethin’.)

Strangely Familiar Voice: Wait! I changed my mind. I’m very curious about these people from another universe.

The double doors open and two individuals come out. One was a woman who had discolored blue skin with glowing neon blue paint. And she had flowing hair that acted like willow wisps. She also had the attire of a stage magician with some witch doctor elements. The most noteworthy thing about her was the navy blue mask with glowing cyan eyes and outlines that took up most of the top portion of her face. She could even be mistaken for a ghost like Lewis.

Vivi: OMG, she’s… so… cool! Oh man I wish I had that classy outfit she’s wearing. I could match with Lewis for once.

Mystery: *tilting his head groaning* (She’s certainly someone Vivi and Lewis could get along with very well. Maybe she patched us up from that elevator.)

Doc: My name is Doc or you could call me Ms. Doc for convenience. I’m the drummer for The Living Tombstone. Next to me is zero_one. He’s our keyboardist and composer. He also does the vocals as well.

The other individual was a tall svelte man who was shorter than Lewis but slightly taller than Arthur. He looked like he was wearing a skin tight jump suit with yellow circuit lines with an orange fade to them. In the center of his torso is a rectangle that looks like a microchip with a heart beat indicator. He also was wearing a helmet that had a plume of golden orange hair made out of plasma and a pair of headphones. But what really caught Lewis’s attention was the LED skull with a bolt shaped crack on the right. He recognizes him as that guy from that dream he while he was passed out on that mining elevator. Almost immediately both of them blurted out…

Lewis & zero_one in unison : Do I know you from somewhere? But how?

Lewis : Hold up… Um Hey… (Aw man this shit just got weird already.)

zero_one : Uh… Hi there… (Oh… awkward.)

Arthur: Welp… This just got awkward and weird fast. What is going on here man? You recognize the dude with the mohawk?

Lewis : It’s a…

Rust: Oh that does it… I’m going in. What flying fu…. oh… This is already got a weird vibe. Who the hell are you people anyway? AND You… yes you the ghost rider reject how do you recognize our front man hah?

Lewis : growls (Great another asshole with a green motif. But he’s some kind of punk who’s just got outta high school).

sigh (trying to contain his anger) I’m not sure, I just seen someone like him that’s all…

Stoping the young man in biker attire with the green skull mask from lunging at Lewis was a slightly older gentleman who’s color scheme was similar to Lewis’s. He had the attire of a mad scientist with a winter hat.

Tesla: Can you not be hasty Rust for just a moment. They are not a threat to us remember. Herr Geist (german : Mr. Ghost) I still have so many questions. How did you find the elevator to this universe?

Lewis : Umm… (Who the hell is this guy? He looks like he just stepped out of an anime or a game or something.)

Long story short but it may sound batshit crazy ; we were chasin’ a dismembered gang green arm with a single black eye. Did ya’ll see him.

Rust: uhh… what? What kinda story is that? You must be tripping on something really strong to come up with that.

Behind the slightly befuddled young man in the green was a larger skull faced man with a burnt space suit who’s glowing red. He looks like he’s trying to calm things down before a fight breaks out between Lewis and Rust.

Armstrong : … signing (I believe we all need to calm down first before we get our stories out there. I’m Armstrong gentlemen, lady, and… dog. You hail from another universe?)

Lewis : Huh… good point sir. (Why do I know what he’s saying even though I don’t know sign language. This shit really couldn’t get any weirder.)

Lewis then gives a paraphrased version of what Armstrong was saying to rest of the Mystery Skulls gang. Doc explained that Armstrong has tinnitus but can still play the guitar very well despite that. His tomesona can also give some form of synesthesia to compensate for his hearing loss.

Rust: (shakes his head in disbelief) Fine whatever. Names Rust, don’t ya’ll forget it. I do the vocals and rap.

Tesla: Guten Tag, my name is Tesla Herr Geist, Chicken with Mechanical Arm, Mysterious Dog, and Liebshen.

Lewis : *groan of frustration* (Oh that’s effing lovely. He better be usin’ that word as a term of endearment and not trying to flirt with her. But at least he isn’t an annoying little punk like the green one.)

Vivi: Oh how rude of us not to introduce ourselves. We are the Mystery Skulls ; we’re paranormal investigators. I’m Vivi Yukino, I’m the researcher of the group. But my day job is at a used comic book shop called TomeTomb. Oh I also know how to play electric guitar.

Tesla: Oh is that right Liebshen? Very nice indeed.

Armstrong : … (puts both of his thumbs up for approval and nodding)

Doc: Huh, TomeTomb(soft chuckle) what an interesting name. And you are young man?

Arthur: I’m Arthur Kingsmen, I’m just the mechanic of the group and I’m not as interested with this paranormal crap as much as Lewis and Vivi. And I work with my uncle Lance at his auto repair shop called Kingsmen repair. Also I play keyboard and actually own three keytars as well (he said proudly). Ha they almost costed me an arm… and a… (nervous chuckle). Yeah, the arm is a different story though. (he said sheepishly scratching his head.)

Rust: Well it must have… literately. Holy shit man, three of them? Talk about overkill.

Lewis could see zero_one light up like a kid in a candy store as soon as Arthur mentioned his keytars. He could feel this feeling radiating in the core of his locket ; its joy. He then sees zero_one approach Arthur like someone who was reunited with a long lost sibling.

zero_one : Three keytars? (in rapid secession) What brand are they? How did you get them? What year were they made? Do you have any pictures of them?

Arthur: (he had a smile that the rest of the Mystery Skulls gang haven’t seen in months) Really? I have a 1980s Casio, a late 90s Korg, and an early 2000s Yamaha. I had some connections back then and I usually find them used online even though they were still…kinda expensive. And yeah I have pictures of them on my phone, you can come and look if you want.

The Orange-Yellow color coded duo sat next to each other like they just got a new hand held game and rambled on and on about mods and midi plug ins for keytars for a good 20 minutes. Lewis wished that he didn’t go into that cave in the first place. The relationship between Arthur and zero_one was not just like two long lost brothers but it was like his friendship with Arthur before this whole third wheel and ghost thing ever came about. Lewis felt a small pang of guilt before getting interrupted with a question.

Lewis : sigh… (At least Arthur is feelin’ better already after all the shit I put him through. Maybe comin’ here isn’t going to be that bad after all. Just Maybe…)

Rust: Who’s the dog though? Gotta say though he kinda looks badass with the red and black.

Mystery: *shrugs in embarrassment* (Yabai. (Japanese: Oh Crap.) Maybe I shouldn’t show my true form now, maybe wait til they are ready or Vivi or Lewis mention it.)

Vivi: Oh his name is Mystery. He’s our mascot, sorta. I know he isn’t a ghost like my boyfriend over here.

Tesla: Boyfriend ha… Oh well, but you could do so much better then…

Doc: Tesla stop. Lewis is Vivi’s beau, just leave it be. There are other women you know…

Tesla: Uhh. Gut, I’m a man of honor.

Lewis : (Oh sure you are hat guy.)

Okay then, I’m Lewis Pepper and I’m more the guy who handles the heavy equipment in our paranormal investigations. My day job is waiter and chef at my adopted family’s restaurant “Pepper Paradiso”. I also play violin and I am a train vocalist.

Rust: Oh… really? Come on zero_one, me and you, let’s nock this amateur down a peg or two.

zero_one : You’re kind of putting me on the spot here Rust. Lewis did say he was trained, maybe you should’ve not called him that.

Lewis : (narrows his eyes) (Oh, I’ll knock this Rust punk down a peg or two.)

Oh really Rust. Alright I’m game but just you and me. Mono a mono. Let the best vocalist wi…. huh?

Then a feeling comes over both Lewis and zero_one that made both of them and harmonize a beautiful arpeggio that brings all the room in awe. Rust was drowned out by both of them because he was just as shocked as everyone else in the lobby.

Doc: Oh honey, both of ya’ll voices are like two angels. And you thought he was an amateur Rust?

Rust: Well, damn I’ll admit it, you and zero_one won on this one. For now.

Armstrong : … signing

zero_one : interpreting for Armstrong : Well since the introductions are out of the way, I believe you said something about a dismembered arm earlier. Is that the reason why you stumbled into our universe?

Lewis : Well yeah, it said it lead us into a trap or some shit like that. It was also working with someone or something else that wanted to do all of us in.

* Loud Alarm *

A I Voice: Warning security breach detected. / Subject identified as a green dismembered arm that has already made entry into timeline v. / prerecorded transmission from the multi-universal edge by Helvetica.

Helvetica: Something has just breached the reality layline. Sending distress signal to prime universe about Null’s escape. Butterfly effect radiating towards other divergent TLT timelines. Three inter-universal ones from the prime timeline. At least three no… it’s five from the universe MSA (Mystery Skulls universe). I’m making my way to timeline v as soon as possible. End of Transmission.

Lewis : Welp… I can see things have gone to shit already. At least we know where it is now. Might as well go looking for it but we’re do we even freakin’ start huh?

Tesla: I’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise you. My prime self told me about this Null character but… what is it doing at this time period I wonder? Poor fraulein Helvetica sounds like she can’t handle this on her own. She might be proto_type’s student but even a student needs some extra help. We should worry about the four ones from our universe first before the one’s from our visitor’s universe.

zero_one : Wait? There are people from Lewis’s universe that crossed over to this universe too? What’s going on here?

Tesla: It’s most likely a butterfly effect like the distress called mentioned. Oh I believe we already have a lead or two, that’s gut. Really gut.

A I Voice: First sightings found downtown at High May’s Junior, Le Macabre Dance club, and Toriyama’s School for the Arts.

They decide to split up into teams to not only look for the possessed arm but for at least three people from the prime timeline in TLT’s universe.

Mystery, Tesla, and Vivi are going to that Toriyama Art school in Japan since Vivi is fluent in Japanese. Lewis is thankful that Mystery is with her if Tesla tries anything.

Arthur, Rust, and Doc decide head to that Le Macabre Dance club which is in Puerto Rico. Rust apparently knows his way around there.

While Armstrong, Lewis and zero_one head towards a popular hot spot on San Francisco’s Yvette district; more specifically a hole in the wall bar known as High May’s Jr. Lewis decides to go there alone since he can change his form at will unlike Armstrong or zero_one but has agreed to meet up with them later once they found whom ever they are looking for. Armstrong thinks he’s way too conspicuous to be seen in public and decides to rendezvous with this Helvetica woman who made that distress call earlier along with zero_one.

End of Transmission

Lewis : Well. I still have my ID and all. But I don’t think it’ll matter all that much. I swear this whole thing with timelines , butterfly effect and shit makes me feel like I’m in a very anime video game. Was something like Blaze blue or whatever? Or someone’s fanfic… Umm… Nah, that’s fu_king bonkers.

#mystery skulls animated #the living tombstone #au crossover #fanfic #linkedsoulsau

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

Text

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092943/chapters/60809314

SoKai Week Day 2. Prompt: First Meeting.

Author’s Note: My take on how Sora and Kairi met… but I didn’t use the manga version—or Sora finding Kairi at all—as I figured everyone would do that. And something like this might actually be canon, because in the game Sora and Riku are basically like, “You know the girl at the mayor’s house? She got here during the meteor shower.” So, it sort of seemed like they didn’t know Kairi before that moment, but perhaps went to go meet her then?

Also… While I usually write a third person that’s from a character’s PoV, this is moreso the omniscient/omnipresent PoV—like, a god or gods are narrating about Sora here and not Sora himself—and that’s why it has adult lingo instead of childish lingo in this little boy’s memory.

And (1) and (2) here are just instances where Sora and Kairi used the wrong words, because they’re babies. Sora meant to say “glaring” instead of “grinning”, and Kairi meant to say “world” instead of “whirl”… I thought about having Riku mess up with that once, too… but even as a toddler, I think he’s too smart for that. XD

Oh, and eventually the parents do catch up with Sora and Kairi… but since they’re just having a nice moment—where Kairi’s making yet another friend—they leave them be for a moment, while they secretly watch them from afar.

It also used to be an old fanon theory, that Kairi’s name is actually “Hikari” and not “Kairi”. And that she tried to say her name was Hikari when she was first found… but was having difficulty speaking from having just space traveled, and it came out sounding more like “Kairi”. So the adults started calling her Kairi, and later she had amnesia and couldn’t even correct them that that was wrong and thought it was right herself. So I went with that here, just because.

Enjoy!

How Can I Love, When I’m Afraid to Fall?

How had Sora and Kairi met? That was an easy one… Sora had gone over to her house with his dad—after having heard about the new girl at the mayor’s house—soon after he’d helped that person who had been squeezing his heart, as he felt that she somehow needed his help, too.

And it was, strangely, when the small Kairi opened the door to let him in… that would partly make a later Sora realize he loved her. Since he would often see Donald do such things… and so it was clear that she could fit in with both the old and new segments of his life.

“Kairi!” chastised the man, who Sora could only assume was Kairi’s adopted father—the mayor—as she tried to usher them in. "You can't just open the door by yourself like that, sweetie." And with that “sweetie” added in for the child he had only just met, it had seemed to Sora that the elected official had already come to adore her heart and spirit.

But even though the man had just told Kairi “no”, about letting Sora and his dad in… he motioned that they should come in now, anyway, in probably thinking it would be rude otherwise.

"Hi!" the cute girl had said with such energy, that she'd inspired Sora to try and be just as extroverted as she was from now on, since it did no good to be shy in Kindergarten. "Have you come to see me? I'm Hika- Kairi."

"Yeah! We hear you came from another world!" Sora exclaimed excitedly, as he’d beamed at Kairi and resisted the urge to pinky promise with her that he’d help her fine her home planet.

…But even though Sora had been young at the time, he'd been able to tell by the look on the mayor's face that he was uncomfortable with what he had just said. His face had looked both pinched and purple as, he'd stepped closer to Sora's old man and whispered, "Even if she is, this is not the time nor the place to-"

And Sora had immediately understood then, that the mayor was unintentionally confirming that Kairi did come from another world. Parents were always this grave, when they wanted you to believe something. It was like how Sora had recently come to accept that Santa wasn't real… somewhat because of Riku. And when he’d told his parents that, they'd used big words to try and say that Santa did exist.

"Surely the world is good enough, that a man would secretly give everyone presents one night a year," Sora’s mom had argued. But Sora had deduced later—when he saw a play guitar his parents gotten him for Christmas when they’d all been out shopping together (that they’d clearly forgotten about) labeled as "From Santa"—that that wasn't true.

And one time, when Sora had suspected his dad had eaten his cookie, the man usually of few words had asked, "Would an honest and good man do that to you, when he also just bought you a slip-and-slide to show you how good he is?" And Sora had heard that his dad's voice was higher, too.

It was the same thing here. And knowing that, Sora interrupted the grownups before they could get angry, as only adults did, and said, "I'm going to take Kairi to the Play Island. She needs to meet Riku, if she's going to play here!"

And Sora was running off with Kairi's hand in his own, before either man could catch them. They were toddlers, after all, and much faster because of it.

Just a few days ago, a massive makeshift bridge had been erected, to get people from the Main Island to the Play Island faster. And while it would sink before Sora and Kairi turned six, it served to get them to what they'd eventually see as their home right now, so Kairi could meet her other future best friend this night.

But as they ran... Sora couldn't help being struck by how Kairi’s red hair matched that of the setting sun. He'd never been out this late before, and so this memory would later stick with him for two reasons.

Once they reached the paopu tree where Riku was at, Sora felt proud that he'd won this "race" with Kairi, but also bad that she was now wheezing with her hands on her knees. He put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her once, before walking towards Riku.

"Hey, Sora," Riku smiled, as he seemed to sense his bestie's attention on him even without turning around. "What are you doing out so late?"

An older Sora would have easily turned that around on Riku—in wondering why he was out this late—but baby Sora had had no idea what attitude or turning the tables was, so he instead proudly showed off Kairi, by putting a hand in front of her face before pulling it away, like a magician revealing what was behind curtain number one. "Riku, this here is Kairi. She's from another world! But the grownups don't want us to know and were grinning at each other." (1)

And Riku was instantly sympathetic here, while Kairi winced. And at the time, Sora had thought it was secondhand embarrassment she felt for her new father's sake... but years later, he would come to understand why Kairi might fear adults being angry at her—because of the experiments Xehanort did on her; and perhaps he treated her worse during them, if the results displeased him some way—and it made his blood boil.

"The... other world thing is cool," Riku had chirped, as he’d indicated Kairi should relax and take a seat on the paopu tree trunk he himself had just vacated. "But the adult stuff is rough... eat a paopu here, and take a load off. …They say, if two people share one, they'll kiss forever or something. But who cares about the icky thing? Just eat it like I do, and pray that other part will never get to you."

Kairi did seem somewhat hungry to Sora, so maybe that was why she took Riku up on his offer. But only somewhat. For in maybe not wanting to mess up the paopu fruit legend like he was okay to, she smashed the fruit in her hand some and then just only drank the juice from it. And Sora watched on, somewhat transfixed, as he thought he was the only one to do that…

It was after a seagull accidentally dropped a coconut by the new trio's feet—and they all began eating it, after they’d worked together to get it open—that Kairi finally spoke up about something that seemed to be on her mind, "...Don't get your hopes up, you two. I might not be from another whirl. I don't remember." (2)

And Riku opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but Sora cut him off by extending a hand towards Kairi for her to take and smiling at her. "Even if not... you may be from another island. And so, you can show us another world that way. And maybe we'll be your friend for that... or everything else!"

And Kairi's face lit up like the Christmas tree that Sora loved even now, as she threw her arms around Sora and eventually brought Riku into the hug, too. "Thank you both... so much."

And years later, Sora would come to understand that maybe Kairi had come to love him, because he'd been the first to bring her something good after her recent world of horrors.

Author’s Note: I also hope I didn’t make Kairi’s adopted dad seem abusive. Because he’s not. At all. That one part was just to say that Xehanort gave Kairi trauma about any adult for a while:(

#sokai week #sokai #prompt 2 #day 2 #first meeting #canon #canon compliant #oneshot #out from under #mine #my work #Shanna writes #my writing #long post #this is an hour early where I am. but oh well. better try to get ahead before work tries to get me behind with these

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breakingsomething · 4 years

Text

october tenth - part three

ok so this one is 8.7k words so be warned. tagging @beebmo for inspiring this idea!

basic summary: aiden takes guitar lessons. jack meets a man in a store. both of them keep secrets and don't communicate, as per usual.

trigger warnings: blood, alcohol, mentions of murder, self harm

aiden hadn't realized just how lacking in social skills he was until he was attempting to make contact with someone other than jack for the first time.

the door of the music store was red, with a small window on the front. it was covered in colourful flyers and newsletters, advertising various events and things aiden knew nothing about. there was a small sign that said "push" in bold black letters. aiden had been staring at it too long to feel comfortable. shaking slightly in his long black coat and beanie. too afraid to step inside.

"excuse me, are you going in or not?"

aiden jumped, not turning to look and see who had spoken but instead quickly pushing open the door open and stepping inside. the store was much warmer than the biting air outside, the lights so bright it made aiden wince. there were stacks of records and cds and vinyls, so many vivid colours and patterns and fonts. a loud song aiden didn't recognize blasted over speakers above. aiden felt his lips twitch at the corners. oh, he thought he already loved this place. was it just because it was somewhere other than jack's place? he didn't know. didn't care enough to think about it.

he glanced around for the employee he was supposed to talk to, anxiety bubbling in his chest again. it wasn't just that he was an introvert or antisocial, though he supposed those were supporting factors - but he had literally never held a conversation with anyone other than jack in his life. on a couple occasions he'd spoken a few words to others, but now… now, he was not only going to have to talk, but pretend to be jack at the same time. which he could do. maybe. in front of a camera was one thing, but…

"can i help you, sir?" said a man dressed in all black, with a nametag on his shirt. rhudy, it said his name was. "are you jack? just wondering, you look rather lost."

aiden just nodded, for all his usual cockiness suddenly rendered unable to speak. rhudy smiles, dimples appearing in his pale cheeks. "alright!" he stretched out a hand for aiden to shake. he didn't take it, swallowing hard, and rhudy retracted his arm without changing expression. "come round the back, i'll show you around. we only have a small space for lessons, hope you're not claustrophobic, ha!" he beamed, and turned to walk in the other direction, quickly weaving through the shelves.

no, he wasn't claustrophobic. he was, however, breathing very heavily and feeling rather like he needed to sit down. he wanted jack. gods, he wanted jack. with a shuddering breath - this was pathetic, he needed to calm the fuck down - he followed the other man to the back.

it was small. red walls covered in shelves, stacks of different instruments in one corner next to a large window covered with white curtains. there were five chairs in a circle in the centre of the room on top of an oval crimson rug. rhudy pulled a chair and sat, aiden very slowly following but staying as far away from him as he could. every nerve in his body was screaming at him to run.

"now, jack," the man said, running his fingers though wavy black hair, dyed blue at the ends. "my name's rhudy, pronounced roo-dee, it's great to meet you. you told me you know a bit of guitar already?"

jack had told him that. aiden nodded again, biting his tongue so hard blood welled up in his mouth.

rhudy gave a small laugh, reaching behind him and grabbing a red acoustic guitar, much like aiden's own but definitely in better condition. "do you talk, then? nothing wrong if you don't want to, just wanting to know."

aiden flushed, forcing himself to open his mouth. "yeah, yeah, course," he said, far too quickly. his fingers gripped the underside of his seat far too tightly.

rhudy blinked, then tilted his head slightly. there was a moment of silence before he spoke, his words sending spikes through aiden's heart. "your name isn't jack, is it?"

aiden was going to throw up. "course it is," he laughed nervously, voice far too high pitched. fuck, but he hated this man for making him feel this way. how did he know, how did he -

"no," rhudy said firmly, leaning forward in his seat, guitar on his lap forgotten. "it's not. and you're…" he lowered his voice. "you're definitely magic or something, it's coming off you in waves. what kind of magician are you, then?" he folded his hands. "also, what's your real name? just by looking at you, i think maybe it starts with an a." he started listing off ideas, ignoring aiden's small noises of protest. "andrew? anthony? aleksanteri? antiseptic?"

he then seemed to notice how pale aiden had gone and how badly he was shaking. "oh, oh, i didn't mean to upset you," he said, sitting up again awkwardly.

"y-you didn't," aiden spat, trying to disguise his panic with anger. he wanted to fucking kill this man, he wanted to… oh, this wasn't right, he couldn't be here, he had to go home to jack. aiden stood, pushing past the chairs and making for the door. "i think this was a mistake."

"wait, wait!" rhudy said, setting his guitar aside as he leapt to his feet and stumbled past the chairs to stand in front of aiden. "i am so sorry, i get carried away sometimes and i swear i didn't mean to -" he took a breath. "sorry, really. i'll call you jack if you want."

aiden burned. he wanted to run, he wanted to pull the switchblade from his jacket pocket and rip this man's throat out. "ok," he instead said softly. more blood in his mouth as he sat back down, rhudy following.

he narrowed his eyes, desperately trying to push through his slowly building panic attack and regain some semblance of dignity. "magician," he muttered. "what makes you think i'm a magician?"

rhudy hesitated, reevaluating. aiden hated him. "you're… you smell like magic. harsh, like fire, or an overheating computer." he snorted, trying to keep eye contact with aiden. "do you do magic?"

aiden had come here for a guitar lesson. a fucking guitar lesson. "no," he said firmly. "i don't. do… do you?"

rhudy nodded. "you don't know about… well, suppose it doesn't matter." and before aiden can say a word, he picked up the guitar again. "anyway, let's -"

"hey, wait, you can't - you can't just dump that shit on me and then teach me guitar!" aiden spluttered, throwing up his arms. "how did you know my name wasn't -" shit. he visibly winced. rhudy just smiled, eyes twinkling.

"i know things," he said, tapping the side of his head. "that's one thing i'm good at. knowing things. clairvoyance, it's called."

clairvoyance. wow, everything made sense now.

rhudy absentmindedly plucked a tune on the guitar strings, raising an eyebrow. "so your name's not jack?"

"no," aiden admitted. he didn't say anything else.

rhudy nodded. "ok, i'm calling you antiseptic then. more badass name than fucking andrew. unless that is your name?" aiden shook his head. "ok. anyway. we'll have plenty of time to talk about magic later. for now, let's just… ok. what songs can you play?"

rhudy was odd. rhudy was odd, and aiden did not know how to feel about him.

over the next two weeks, he explained a bit about the magic to him. from what he said, it seemed like magic was slightly more common that aiden had thought, which worried him. surely he would have noticed, surely he would have seen at some point? he'd considered the possibility that jack's creation of his magician had something to do with it, but that seemed ridiculous. bringing to life one person with magic powers was one thing, but a whole group of people? unless… unless jack was one of them. a particularly powerful magician, maybe. ugh, it hurt to think about.

aiden didn't tell jack what he'd learned.

well, he did tell jack some of the things he'd learned. the music related things, at least. jack had commented on how much he'd improved in terms of playing, and despite himself, aiden had swelled with pride.

"thanks. i guess lessons are paying off." he grinned. jack ruffled his hair as he walked by, and aiden attempted to swat at his legs as his friend laughed.

"oh, they are. i can say this now, but you were simply terrible before, aid. completely and utterly horrendous." he smirked and disappeared into the kitchen.

aiden rolled his eyes, zipping up his guitar case and preparing to head out again. "well, that's rude."

"it's just truth!"

aiden followed jack into the kitchen and stuck out his tongue. "ok, whatever. dickwad. what are you doing today?"

jack shrugged. "dunno. i've been watching dude perfect a lot, i was legitimately thinking about attempting to fly to texas and do a collab with them." he laughed at the ridiculousness of it, evidently trying to relieve the tension of making a joke like that. he knew aiden didn't like jack's collabs. "what do you think?"

aiden rolled his eyes, grabbing his boots from the shoe rack. he knew jack was only joking. "alright then, bro average."

"hey, that's so mean!"

"oh, i'm mean? you just told me my guitar was shite!"

"your guitar was shite, past tense!"

"fuck you, i'm leaving."

jack rummaged in the fridge, pulling out a rectangular bottle. "stacy, no, don't take the kids," he joked, twisting off the cap and taking a gulp.

aiden suddenly frowned. "are you day drinking, jay? seriously?"

jack shrugged and sat down at the table, pulling out his phone and adjusting his grey snapback. "this whiskey is nice. don't worry, i wouldn't get drunk without you."

"can't get drunk with me, either, if you don't want to kill me." aiden said as he tied his boots. "are you forgetting i can't drink?"

jack started, blinking like he'd just woken up. "oh… oh, yeah," he murmured softly. "yeah."

aiden didn't move for a second. then he came round the table and hesitantly placed a hand on the back of jack's neck. "jay, are you ok? you've been acting… a bit off, lately."

jack nodded, far too quickly. "yeah, yeah, of course," he reassured. "just a… i'm fine, don't worry."

aiden didn't have time to worry anyway. he was late for his lesson. he just smiled and told jack to take care of himself as he left, half jogging down the street with his case on his back.

yes, rhudy was odd. he talked about magic ever so casually when he was around aiden, and joked with him like he was an old friend. aiden was still debating killing him. but part of him thought… maybe he liked this guy. he was interesting, definitely. and he was good at guitar. and he was nice to aiden despite how rude and snappy he was. aiden couldn't understand him.

"hey, anti!" rhudy greeted him as soon as he came into the store. he had his hair back in the tiniest ponytail, curls hanging down in front of his face. he didn't try to high five aiden, either, which showed he'd at least been paying attention to his touch aversive tendencies. "good to see you, even if it it ten minutes late." he laughed, already starting for the back of the room. aiden smiled slightly. yes, he thought he did like this guy.

there was someone waiting in the back room.

"oh, is someone in here?" said the man who was sitting on aiden's usual seat. he had spiky brown hair and a long beard, a bass guitar resting on his legs. "sorry, bros, lemme move my stuff."

aiden and rhudy waited awkwardly as the man slowly packed up his guitar, chattering all the while. "no one told me this room was being used, rhudy, apologies. i thought it was free, didn't know you did lessons in here on thursdays."

"yep, i do," rhudy interrupted. "it's ok, rory, just remember that for future."

aiden got the feeling rhudy wasn't exactly fond of this man. he shifted from foot to foot, tapping his fingers on his knife in his pocket.

rory looked up at the movement, standing up straight. "well, who's this awkward looking fellow?" he asked cheerfully, and aiden's face burned. the man flashed a grin. "name's rory. rhudy teaches me too sometimes, when i can pay him." he laughed, though no one else did. "so, you any good on guitar? can't be that great if rhudy's teaching you."

"hurry up, rory," rhudy said tiredly before aiden could do anything he wouldn't regret. "we have a lesson to have."

"naturally!" rory chuckled. he clapped aiden's shoulder, causing him to yelp and rory to laugh. "oho, calm down, i won't hurt you. a bit jumpy, are we?" he waved at rhudy as he went out, and he unwillingly waved back. "seeya, lads!"

the man had his phone in his pocket. by the time he'd left the room, aiden had gotten everything he needed. he sat down next to rhudy, shaking with rage and anxiety and disgust.

"sorry about him," rhudy said sympathetically. "he's… a lot to handle. doesn't mean any harm, really."

aiden didn't care. the second he was feeling upset enough to kill anyone again, this man was becoming his first new victim. he had his address now. fuck anything else.

but then rhudy tilted his head, looking aiden in the eyes. "can i touch your shoulder?" and just the fact that he asked touched aiden enough that he nodded, and before starting the lesson rhudy gently pat aiden's shoulder and smiled, and aiden felt strangely warm for the rest of the day.

everything was wrong.

everything was so painfully wrong that jack felt sick. if anyone had asked, he wouldn't have been able to tell them what the problem was, but he knew that something was so off it was making him shake and cause bile to burn his throat. he pulled his knees up to his chest on the couch and took a desperate gulp of his whiskey, hoping that maybe for a second it would burn this feeling away. it didn't. in fact, it seemed to make it worse.

he should be recording. he should be making videos. he shouldn't be shivering in his living room, curled up and drinking an expensive bottle of japanese whiskey. where was aiden? fuck, he needed aiden. he was going to throw up or pass out or something. part of him hoped for the latter if only to rip this strange horrible feeling right out of him.

no keys in the lock. no knock at the door. jack couldn't sit up to look at the couch, but he knew aiden wouldn't be back anytime soon. he let out a shuddering breath and laid sideways on the couch, his bottle falling to the floor. he didn't care. he fucking hated the taste anyway.

"i better go home soon," aiden said, though part of him really didn't want to. he was actually having a good time. he and rhudy had stopped playing guitar long ago - now they were just talking, or really, rhudy was talking and aiden was listening. which he was fine with, really. it was easier for both of them that way.

"aw, man," rhudy groaned exaggeratedly, slumping back dramatically in his chair. "really? come on, septic, stay here, i don't have any other lessons tonight."

aiden shook his head. part of him thought about staying, if only so he wouldn't have to go home and see jack. but he was getting tired anyway. "yeah, i should go."

rhudy made a face and stood. "ok, ok. see you tomorrow?"

aiden frowned as he slung his case onto his back. "i don't have a lesson tomorrow."

rhudy gave an embarrassed laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "oh yeah, you don't, do you," he murmured. then he raised an eyebrow. "would you like to? maybe somewhere… not here? like… out in the park or something?"

they made their way over to the door, aiden biting his lip. "you, uh, you wanna give me a guitar lesson in a park?"

rhudy nodded eagerly. "uh, yeah. a guitar lesson, yeah. just - yeah. if you want."

aiden shrugged, feeling a grin on his face. "yeah, sure, yeah. if you want."

"if you want."

"if you want!"

and despite wondering if maybe he was missing something obvious, aiden was smiling as he left the store and walked home, feeling light and warm.

that feeling immediately dissipated the second he walked in the house.

it was freezing. the windows seemed to be all open, a cold breeze blowing the curtains out. "bloody hell," aiden muttered, slamming one shut and glancing down the hall. "jack, you up?"

there was a moment of silence before aiden heard a sound that made every hair in his body stand on end. a sharp, pained whimper, coming from what seemed to be the living room.

he bolted down the hall, shrugging off his guitar and tossing it carelessly to the ground. when he came into the room, his heart dropped. jack was curled up on the couch, shaking badly, hands over his ears and blood on his face. his eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and he didn't look up as aiden dropped to his knees beside the couch, gasping. "jack! jesus shit, jack!"

jack gave a small, pathetic cry. "no, no, leave me alone," he sobbed, drawing even further into himself. "don't touch, don't hurt, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off!"

aiden cursed, noticing an empty bottle of alcohol on the floor near the couch. "fuck, jay, how much did you have to drink?"

"barely anything, swear, i don't drink, i don't!" jack cried, trying to cover his face and ears at the same time. "leave me 'lone, go away, don't want to hurt anyone, don't want to die!"

aiden's blood ran cold. "jack. jack, what are you talking about? did someone hurt you? did something - shit, jay, did you make another video?"

"no, no, no!" jack wailed, tossing and turning wildly. blood trickled from his eyes and onto the cushions below. "i didn't, aiden, didn't do anything, please!"

aiden couldn't get another coherent sentence out of him for another four or so hours. by the time jack calmed and was able to sit up and speak properly, it was late at night and the room was dark. jack leaned his head against aiden's shoulder, breathing heavily and shakily but still breathing, still breathing. aiden didn't know what to say.

"i'm sorry," were the first words jack said when he could speak. "i don't know what came over me."

aiden stroked his hair, the physical contact making him shiver. "there was blood and shit," he mumbled. "like a creation. but it was - you didn't make a video."

"i didn't make a video for you either," jack said, voicing what they were both thinking.

"i… i'm different," aiden said. "and we both know it."

jack glanced over, his eyes red. "different how?"

aiden didn't want to say it. he didn't want to say anything. so he didn't.

"maybe you have some kind of epilepsy too," he eventually said. "and that's why you have those…seizures."

jack snorted. "seizures that make me bleed from the eyes and create magic clones of myself?"

aiden smacked his chin into his knees. "well, you didn't make any magic clones this time." he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. "you just drank too much, that's all."

"drank one bottle of whiskey and bled like a demon," jack said under his breath, and aiden pretended not to hear him.

they spent the night watching voyager and eventually fell asleep, jack on aiden's legs and aiden slumped over the arm of the couch.

aiden left early the next day.

"who are you texting?" jack teased as he walked past aiden in the kitchen. they had wordlessly agreed to put the events of last night behind them until they had to face them. "and why-y do you have your guitar with you? you don't have a lesson."

aiden flipped him off without looking up. "because fuck you, that's why."

jack frowned. "be careful, aid."

he glanced up, relaxing and shooting a small smile. "when am i not careful, jack?" he furrowed his brow. "don't answer that."

after aiden had left, jack decided to go out shopping. it was early on a saturday, and there were a lot of families with kids and such, who jack carefully avoided as much as he could. he stopped in the sweets aisle, pondering buying aiden some black liquorice. he hadn't been spending a lot of time with him lately, and figured maybe he'd appreciate it. he was just throwing a bag into his basket when someone small bumped into his legs.

he jumped, turning round quickly to face whoever it was. a young girl, no older than six, with brown hair in a ponytail and a puffy pink jacket. "papa, connor's being mean!" she whined, not letting go of his legs. "i wanted to get the tangfastics, but he said he wanted them, but i asked first, papa! i asked first, i called bagsy!"

jack was stunned into silence for a second. "uh," he eventually managed. "uh, kid, i'm not your… your papa."

the girl looked up, bright blue eyes sparkling. "you're silly!" she grinned, then taking a step back. "lift me up, i lost connor and wanna see him over all the people!"

jack was just about to start panicking when someone came through the crowd, tapping the girl on the head. "lou-ise, did you -" he started, then he and jack both looked up and froze.

jack's first thought was - "aiden?" he said, confused. "what are you…"

but no, this wasn't aiden. but the man was jack's exact twin in every seemingly possible way. messy, yellow-green hair, a short brown beard, bright blue eyes, wearing a grey snapback and black leather jacket. he was staring at jack blankly, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open. jack stared right back, mind absolutely racing.

his first instinct was to run. what if this was jackieboy man or the magnificent magician, the ones who had hurt aiden? but before he could do anything, before he could race down the aisle as quickly as he could, the girl next to him spoke. "you're not my papa!" she said, skipping over to her other man and the tiny blonde boy that jack assumed was her brother. she grabbed her papa's hand and both kids joined their father in staring at jack in awe.

"holy sh- my god," the man said after a moment, sounding just like jack but with an american accent. "you look - wow, that's so unbelievably weird. you are… you're like my exact twin. and i found you in an asda. what - what the hell?" he broke into a grin, laughing at the ridiculousness of it. "are you my long lost brother or something?"

jack made several noises, struggling to speak actual words. "i… uh…" he snorted, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "yeah, this is… weird."

"he even sounds like you, papa!" the boy cried, stepping forwards slightly. he made a face at jack, his sister giggling. their dad shook his head before letting go of his daughter's hand and stretching it out towards jack.

"sorry, uh, my name's chase," he said, still grinning. jack shook his hand, suddenly very aware of how many people were in here watching this go down. "chase brody. it's, uh, nice to meet you, even under these odd circumstances, ha."

jack forced a grin. he didn't recognize the name at all. he couldn't be the doctor either, then, the doctor was german and his name wasn't brody, it had been… schneeplestein? "my name's jack," he said. "yeah, wow. nice to - to meet you, yeah."

there were several seconds of awkward silence after that, until the girl spoke again. "are you our uncle?" she asked. "or papa's brother? why do you look like him? are you twins? do you know each other? are you his clone?"

jack laughed despite himself. "i wish i could answer any of those questions, uh…" he looked at chase questioningly.

"oh! this is louise, and my son, connor," chase introduced, tapping them both on the head in turn. "and, uh, we should probably get going, my wife will be wondering. wait a sec." he pulled a tiny notebook and pen from his pocket, scribbling something onto the paper. "i don't think this is something we can just walk away from and never think of again, so i'm gonna give you my number, maybe we can talk later." he handed the paper to jack, and he took it, both of them smiling awkwardly. "yeah. uh, good to meet you." he grabbed his children's hands again, and they both waved at jack as they turned round and started to walk off. "see you, dude!"

jack waved slowly, staring after them long after they were gone.

it was cold out. so cold out that no children or families were even in the park, leaving it all to aiden and rhudy. they chattered warmly as they crunched through the early september frost in the grass, making their way over to a spot in the field next to the trees and sitting on the freezing ground. rhudy had bought them food from greggs, and they ate as they talked, both guitars forgotten on their legs as they leaned against the trees. despite the chill, this was the warmest aiden had felt in a long time. it felt like easier days, like when jack and aiden had been able to get along and be friends instead of snapping and ignoring each other. it felt good. it felt happy.

this wasn't a feeling aiden was used to, but he wished he could be.

later on, they picked up their stuff and walked down on the beach. the tide was in, so they kept close to the wall, stumbling over rocks and slipping on seaweed, laughing loudly and clinging to each other. for once, aiden didn't mind the unexpected touch that he usually only accepted from jack. it felt happy. everything really did feel happy.

"come on, anti!" rhudy yelled, racing ahead of him across the rocks. aiden flipped him off, finding solid ground and taking advantage of it to run after him. he was aware of how stupid the both of them must look right now - two men in their late twenties chasing each other like children - but he suddenly didn't care. he didn't care, and he didn't know why. he was having fun. he wasn't feeling depressed, he wasn't thinking about killing himself, he was alive and it felt fucking amazing. he laughed as he tore across the rocks, almost catching up to rhudy, reaching out to grab his arm -

and slipping, falling -

"anti! anti, shit, anti!"

he groaned, bright light in front of his eyes the second he opened them. something digging into his back. sand on his hands, something sharp, his head, his head hurt - "fuck," he mumbled. he felt a pair of hands grab his, helping him sit up. "oh, oh, fuck, ow."

"anti, are you ok? shit, did you hit your head? are you bleeding? your hands are bleeding, shit," rhudy panicked. his hands were on aiden's shoulders, aiden's face. he let out a noise and leaned into the other man, his whole body aching.

rhudy ran his hands over his back. "hey, i think you're ok, i don't - i don't have a medkit, specifically, but we can go to mine and get -"

and suddenly the embarrassment of everything hit aiden all at once. what was he doing, running around like an idiot, getting so close to someone who was still mostly a stranger? he pulled back, cheeks burning in humiliation, struggling to push himself up. "i'm fine, i have to - i have to get home, my - my roommate will be worried about me."

rhudy nodded, too quickly. "oh, yeah, sure," he said. he grabbed aiden's hands again, trying to help him up, but he was suddenly just so fucking angry with everything that he pushed him off, stumbling to his feet himself. it was after he'd done that that he realized that had been a dumb idea - sand had gotten into the big cut on his hand, and it stung. he swayed on his feet, and rhudy helped steady him despite his yelp of protest.

"i'm - uh, i'm sorry you… can i walk you home?" rhudy blurted. aiden started making his way back up the beach, trying to subtly wipe sand off himself.

"i'll be fine," he mumbled. the last thing he needed was for jack to see him like this with another person.

despite that, rhudy walked him up to the gates of the park, occasionally looking at aiden like he wanted to say something but never doing so. at the gates, he stopped walking and hesitated. "anti, uh… sorry this didn't go so great. maybe next time we can go get food or something. less risk of injury." he laughed awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair. aiden eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he was mocking him.

"sure, yeah," he said, having no intention of going out with rhudy again. he'd stick with just the guitar lessons, thank you very much.

rhudy brightened, a smile spreading across his face. "cool!" he beamed. he clapped his hands together gently. "sure you don't want me to walk -"

"yes, i'm sure," aiden interrupted and left rhudy at the gate, beginning the walk back himself in silence.

jack wasn't at home.

that wasn't extremely unusual, but usually he left a note or something. aiden wandered through the house uncertainly, making sure there was really no one there, before collapsing to the couch and staring at the wall, thinking about how much of an idiot he was.

"aid-en. wakey wakey, i got you liquorice."

aiden slowly blinked, seeing a pair of bright blue eyes in front of his own. he didn't even remember falling asleep. "mm," he groaned, closing his eyes again. "thanks."

he felt a hand run through his hair, and he unwillingly let out a small, relaxed sigh. "what's up?" jack said softly. aiden heard him sink down next to him on the floor. "how were lessons with - shit, aiden, what happened to your hand?"

oh yeah. he'd forgotten. "fell," he mumbled, not bothering to elaborate. jack cursed silently.

"and you didn't disinfect it or bandage it or anything?" aiden made another sleepy "hmm" as a no. "fuck's sake. stay there, lazy bastard, i'll fix you up."

it was another quiet night for the both of them, although jack did decide to forfeit recording for a little while so as to sit with aiden, chattering and playing music loudly. and despite how his anger had faded to a soft numb burn, jack's presence was nice, and he felt slightly more alive than usual.

it was the next day that aiden noticed.

a new presence. a new electrical item in the house. that wasn't extremely unusual, but usually jack would tell him something like that, obviously knowing that aiden would recognize the change and wonder. the fact that he hadn't mentioned just made aiden more curious, and he followed the signature through the house, somehow unable to locate it exactly until late that night, when jack was recording and aiden found it in his coat pocket. a new phone. aiden hesitated, knowing he should respect jack's privacy like he'd promised and not look - but what was he doing with a whole new phone when he already had a perfectly good one?

one look. just one look. no harm could be done with just one look.

there was nothing on the phone. nothing but a text conversation to a number aiden didn't recognize.

the conversation had been initiated by jack, at two am that morning. aiden would have been asleep by then, he realized with a jolt.

hey, the message said. figured i'd message you.

the number had responded. hey there! i almost didn't think you'd text me.

who the fuck was this? a girlfriend? but why would jack have bought a whole new phone just to text her? heart racing, he kept looking.

course i did. look, i can't say much over text. can we maybe meet up again, same place we met? i want to talk to you again.

hell yeah, dude. tomorrow at twelve work for you? i gotta get the kids from school, so i can't do later than three.

sure. seeya then.

that was how the conversation ended.

ok, aiden thought. so jack was keeping secrets from him. "i can't say much over text" - hmm, wonder why that was. aiden reassembled and slumped against a wall, breathing heavily through his nose.

that fucking bastard. whoever it was he was meeting, it was someone he didn't want aiden seeing. and that was exactly why he was going to follow him and see who it was.

he thought aiden wouldn't notice if he bought a new phone? fucking idiot. it would have been easier to hide if he had just used his normal phone. did he really think aiden was stupid? he clenched his fists, biting his cheek so hard he tasted blood in his mouth. that asshole. that asshole. that fucking asshole.

by the time jack was done recording, aiden was in his room, pretending to be asleep. but in reality, he was already planning exactly what he was going to do the next day, and how he was going to tell jack what he knew.

"i'm going out," jack said, around eleven thirty the next day. aiden was sitting on the couch on his laptop, eating apple slices, and he barely glanced up at jack's words. "got shit to do. what are you gonna do?"

aiden shrugged, holding up a hand while he finished chewing. "can i hack into police records and find wrongly released criminals so i can kill them?" he joked once he'd finished.

jack rolled his eyes, relieved aiden hadn't questioned where he was going. "oh yeah, absolutely," he chuckled. "have fun with that, dude. seeya." the door clicked as he left and walked down the steps, putting up his umbrella to shield himself from the pouring rain.

he felt kind of bad doing this without telling aiden. truth was, he didn't want him to know about chase because he might think he was bad like that hero and magician. but even that… after leaving asda yesterday, jack had gone to the library and done some researching. the hero had been seen several times around the city, his costume constantly changing but always recognizable. he had become known as "jbm," which jack knew was short for "jackieboy man." how no one else knew what the jbm stood for, he didn't know, but what he did know was that this hero didn't seem evil. he had appeared to only do good things from what he had seen, from rescuing that girl at the beginning to saving a kid who was being hurt by his father. jack didn't understand why he'd hurt aiden like that. it didn't seem right.

he didn't want to say aiden was lying. he didn't.

but there was something more to the story that he was definitely missing.

he saw chase standing outside, a small yellow umbrella with a duck's face on it held over his head. seeing him again was strange enough - it was like seeing himself wearing a stranger's clothes - but that umbrella had to be the icing on this very weird cake. he tried to hold back a laugh as he walked up beside him. "hey, there."

chase jumped at his voice, then jumped again at his face. "christ on a bike, you scared me," he laughed, shaking his head. "i haven't gotten used to - you know." he waved his hand round his face, jack humming in agreement. "so, uh… where do you wanna go?"

jack hesitated. "you wanna go get some food? there's some places just over there, i don't mind where we go."

chase grinned. "hell yeah. you have any preferences? i'll eat anything, i don't mind."

"subway?"

"sounds like a plan."

they walked through the parking lot and crossed the street to the various restaurants across from the asda. they politely chatted the whole way there, ignoring the very obvious elephant in the room in favour of discussing chase's umbrella. "it's louise's, my daughter," he clarified with a chuckle. "i think i've lost my own one. i have gotten several strange looks, but hey, that's how it is sometimes." jack laughed, and chase held the door for him to go inside. they each ordered and sat down, preparing to finally talk.

"so," chase eventually said as they finished a casual conversation about chase's kids. "are we gonna talk about the whole… why we look identical thing?"

jack had been hoping to avoid talking about that for a while, mostly because he wasn't sure how to explain the truth without seeming insane. how do you tell someone you think you might have brought them to life? "uh, yeah. i guess. i mean… i don't really know."

"it's not even a funny "haha we look sort of similar" thing," chase said as he unwrapped his bacon and salad sandwich and took a bite. "it's like - we're literally identical. every last detail. down to the shape of, like, our eyes. and our voices are the same, just different accents." he swallowed and then puts on a very convincing irish accent. "i mean, i can do irish too."

"that is weird," jack murmured. he was starting to feel very light. "how - how did you come to be able to do such a good irish accent if you're american?"

"my family moved us to ireland when i was fifteen," he said, waving his hand in a circle. "i learned to impersonate an irish accent to fit in with my classmates, so they didn't make fun of me. dunno how it got so good." he laughed awkwardly, sipping his coke. "so we both have ties to ireland, too? damn, ok, this is getting… very weird. i think that we genuinely might be related."

jack bit into his own sandwich, at a loss for words. "uh, maybe," he said. had he really created a person with a whole backstory that he didn't even write? "yeah. yeah."

chase hesitated. "think we should do, like… a blood test or something?" he winced. "that sounded dumb. i mean, i - i told my wife about this whole thing last night and she didn't believe me, even when my kids backed me up. this is all so weird." he shook his head again and breathed out a laugh. "but, anyway! we can talk about that kinda stuff later. tell me a bit about you, i've talked about myself enough."

jack did so, avoiding all mentions of aiden and his powers, instead talking about his time in ireland and his youtube channel. surprisingly, chase told him he had a channel too. "it's called bro average," he said, picking at his sandwich and not noticing the shock on jack's face. "i do trickshot stuff, lots of athletic shit. it blew up sometime last year, i've got like two million subs. it's wild, dude, seriously!"

bro average… where had he heard those words? he knew them. he'd heard that name. fuck, but he couldn't remember where. and if it was true, this man had only been in existence for a few days. why could he remember a past, how powerful were jack's powers?

the lights flickered. chase barely noticed. jack did. he glanced up, suddenly desperately hoping it was just a coincidence.

"and you've got a gaming channel?" chase said, oblivious. "how many subs does that have? i haven't heard that name before."

"about four million," he said, face reddening as chase cheered in awe.

"holy shit! that's so cool, dude. i'll have to check it out, i'm surprised i haven't seen it." chase stirred his drink. "i think maybe we're just the same person from different lives, ha." he stilled very suddenly. "i'm joking, but also i'm really not."

the lights flickered again, much more forcibly this time. the woman preparing the sandwiches glanced up, confused.

"so… you wouldn't happen to know any other clones, would you?" chase joked, tucking a strand of hair back into his hat. "you don't seem as… surprised as you probably should be about this whole situation."

jack hesitated. "what would you say if i told you i did?"

chase raised his eyebrows and was about to say something else when he paused, looking behind him slowly. "hey, what's that… can you hear that weird buzzing noise?"

"i have to go to the bathroom," jack said immediately, standing up and nearly knocking over his drink. "be back in a sec."

he didn't even give chase time to respond. just stormed into the bathroom at the back of the restaurant and, after checking there was no one else in any of the stalls, stood in the middle of the room. "what the fuck, aiden?"

there was a loud screeching that immediately spiked jack's tinnitus, and he cried out, clamping his hands over his ears. the room sparked with colour and static, and aiden formed in front of jack, face blank.

"jesus shit, dude!" jack yelled. "what the fuck is wrong with you, are you following me?"

aiden tilted his head and crossed his arms. "you bought a whole new phone just to talk to him?" he said flatly. "and you thought i wouldn't notice? seriously? do you take me for a fucking idiot, jack mcloughlin?"

jack sighed. "i didn't -" he threw up his arms, at a loss. "aiden -"

"what were you afraid of, jack?" aiden said, very quietly. his body glitched, and his eyes melted into a solid black. "were you scared i'd be upset? scared i'd do something? scared i'd try to -" he disappeared and suddenly reformed directly in front of him, causing him to yelp and jump back. "- hurt him?"

"aiden, stop it!" jack cried disbelievingly. aiden stepped back, still glitching wildly, an amused smile on his face. "what the fuck's gotten into you?"

"you were keeping him secret." aiden deadpanned. "hiding from me. lying to me."

"because i knew you'd react like this!" jack despaired, and aiden's buzzing glitches quietened for just a second, his smirk slipping. "i knew you'd freak out and get all possessive, like you always do!"

there was no sound but the hum of static for a long moment.

"so that's how you see me, huh?" aiden eventually said. "just possessive."

jack shook his head rapidly. "aiden, fuck's sake, of course not. you're my friend!"

the smirk came back. "am i really?" the glitching suddenly picked up full force, and even the space around him began to bend around aiden. "am i? or am i just your fucking puppet, jack? here to jump when you say jump, just made to keep you from being sad and lonely?" his tone became mocking and childish at the end, and each word felt like a stab to jack's heart.

"aid-aiden, dude, of course not! what the fuck gave you that impression? i love you, you mean the goddamn world to me!"

the glitching suddenly stopped, leaving a deafening silence.

"i'm sure i do," aiden murmured, and disappeared.

jack just stared at the spot where he had been for a moment. then he splashed some water from the sinks on his face, feeling sick with dread and worry. he had never been good with confrontation, and everything aiden had said just felt… painful. the fact that he thought like that made his head spin. was he really that bad of a friend?

the word "puppet" kept echoing in his mind.

he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. he looked tired, bags under his head, hair mussed from the weather. he didn't bother trying to sort it, just left the bathroom and back into the main section of the restaurant.

chase was gone.

panic coursed through jack's body. he raced outside, swinging round the corner, only to see - his heart dropped. aiden, talking to chase as they walked quickly away from the subway.

"chase!" he called, and they both turned round, chase's eyes widening in horror as he realized. aiden broke out in a huge grin as chase jumped away from him, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"what the - what the fuck, what the fuck!" he stammered, stumbling back into a lamppost. "who - what - i don't -"

"oh, keep quiet if you've nothing good to say," aiden jeered, letting his eyes turn black. chase cried out in shock, and aiden laughed in amusement.

"aiden, get the fuck away from him," jack ordered, pushing aiden back. "this isn't a joke, aiden, stop. whatever you're mad about, don't take it out on chase."

"aw, chase!" aiden sang, rapping his knuckles on chase's head. he shrank back, terrified. "you have a name, how sweet! did you call yourself that, or did jack name you?"

"i - i - i don't know what you're talking about!" chase sobbed. his eyes flickered over to jack, who was dithering helplessly at the side, fruitlessly trying to pull aiden away. "please, leave me alone, i have a wife and kids -"

"a wife and kids!" aide crowed. he turned to jack, eyes comically wide. "you hear that, jack? he has a wife and kids!"

"aiden, stop it. come home, we can talk - i'm sorry i tried to hide this from you, ok? please, calm down, just -"

"can we talk about what the fuck is happening?" chase interrupted, looking like he was about to cry. "i don't - i don't understand, i didn't think there was more - clones, more clones, i don't get it!"

"ohhh, you didn't mention me, jack?" aiden said in an exaggerated, mocking tone, pouty lip and all. "your first creation, too?" he cackled. "why am i not surprised?"

jack covered his face, suddenly too overwhelmed to speak as chase continued panicking. "creation? jack, what - what the fuck are you on about? what have - what have you gotten me into?"

"ah. you haven't told him that either." anti turned to chase, who was trembling enormously now. "would you like me to tell you why you look so much like our jack here?"

despite it all, aiden jumped when jack put a hand on his arm. "please," he said quietly, biting his lip. "go home. or go… somewhere. or stay, if you're gonna stop being an asshole. just - stop this. please."

all the fight seemed to go out of aiden at once, and he practically deflated in front of jack's eyes. he glanced at chase, who was breathing very heavily and scrubbing at his face to try and hide the tears leaking from his eyes. he didn't say a word this time. just vanished into the air, buzzing as he disappeared.

jack and chase were left alone.

"chase," jack murmured. chase was trembling badly, shoulders shaking. "i'm sorry, i - i didn't mean - that was a lot, i'm sorry."

"what did he mean," chase said through his tears. "created?"

jack went silent.

"ok… uh," he started. a couple people walked by, and jack realized; how had no one noticed his and anti's fight? a thing to think about later, he supposed. "i… i have these… these weird abilities. aiden thinks that, maybe, it's like soul -"

"no," chase interrupted. he laughed, almost hysterically, stepping off the curb into the parking lot. "no, don't even try that shit. you're - you're insane, you're fucking insane!"

"chase, wait," jack pleaded. he cursed aiden in his mind. "please -"

chase took off running in the other direction, leaving jack standing by himself.

the worst part was, he couldn't blame him, really. he wished he too could run and never come back.

jack was alone all night.

and the next night.

and the night after that.

he spent the fourth night crying, out of despair, out of anger, out of sadness, out of fear. out of everything. he missed his friend so badly, so badly. but he'd ruined everything. it was all his fault. all his fucking fault.

yep, he was a terrible person.

aiden spent four nights away.

he spent those four nights sleeping in people's attics and such, stealing food when no one was looking and using public bathrooms in shops. he could just go home and listen to jack apologize tearfully and put all the blame on himself, which he thought would almost ne worth it - but really, he was too fucking tired. too fucking angry. he wanted to do nothing but sleep and hate himself and feel angry at everyone around him.

surprisingly, he decided to go back to the music store for his next lesson on friday. he was bored and lonely and, quite honestly, desperate for human contact. rhudy's face brightened when he saw him enter the store, and aiden hated the smile that tried to rise to his lips upon seeing him.

"septic!" rhudy cried, and without warning, threw his arms right around him. and fuck, if aiden didn't sob slightly, practically melting into the warmth. it felt fucking fantastic. he hated it. he wanted it to last forever.

"i'm sorry about the beach," rhudy mumbled into his ear. "i can see so much shit, but i didn't see - i didn't know -" he suddenly pulled away. "are you… ok?"

aiden didn't dare say a word in case he somehow burst into tears right then. rhudy took that as a sign to take his shoulder gently and pull him away from the crowd. "come round the back, you're ok, you're ok."

aiden was dimly aware that he didn't even have his guitar with him. he almost laughed at his idiocy.

"sit down. anti, are you ok? talk to me, man." rhudy opened the back room curtains, and aiden winced in the light. "you haven't been home in a while, have you?"

aiden was confused, before remembering - clairvoyance. he sighed. "no. had a fight with my - with my roommate." a shuddering breath. "i'm fine."

rhudy sat down across from him. his black hair curled round his face, stopping just above his shoulders. his brown eyes were filled with worry. "i'm sorry," he mumbled. "the other man i taught guitar to - rory - he's dead. murdered, they said. he was fucking ripped apart, they wouldn't have known it was him if it wasn't his home."

aiden forced a look of surprise onto his face. "oh, shit. rhudy, i'm sorry."

"don't be," he sighed. "it's not your fault."

aiden swallowed and looked down at the floor, nodding.

rhudy tapped his knees. "you've hurt yourself."

aiden snorted, self consciously wrapping his arms around himself. "jesus, you know a bit too much for your own good, don't you think?"

rhudy ignored him, instead gently taking one of aiden's hands and rolling up his sleeve. aiden's breath hitched at the contact, and he felt almost satisfied with how shocked rhudy looked when he saw what aiden had done. "fuck, anti, did you do this to yourself?"

not intentionally, at first. he'd just scraped his arm against the scratchy, uneven floor, then he'd liked the pain and done it again, and again. grounding himself. "why do you call me that?" aiden said, instead of answering his question.

they stared at each other in silence, rhudy still holding aiden's arm. "i don't know," rhudy eventually murmured, evidently not wanting to leave the previous topic be. "it just seemed like… your name. like it was connected to you. if - if you don't like it, i can call you something else?"

aiden considered for a moment. considered a lot of things. then he gently pulled his arm away from rhudy's and smiled up at him, an actual, genuine smile for the first time in about a week. something about that felt right. something about him felt right. suddenly, everything seemed to make sense.

"no," anti said. "i like it. i think i like it."

rhudy smiled back at him, and the world was right again.

#jacksepticeye #boop writes #antisepticeye #chase brody #arc zero: cruthú #rhudy o'donnell

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