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anonymousewrites · 1 year

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A Good Day for Death (Book 1) Chapter Ten

Wednesday Addams x Reaper! Reader

Chapter Ten: A Good Day for Shopping

Summary: Everyone is excited for the Rave'N, except Wednesday, who, of course, just wants to continue her investigation. Unfortunately for her, her partner in crime is ready to party, and Wednesday herself is dragged in.

The next day near the end of botany class, after they finished their reading of the section, (Y/N) asked, “How did Enid take your new dorm decorations?”

When they had headed out for the morning, (Y/N) had spied Wednesday putting the photos of the victims and severed body parts up on a board. They had heard Wednesday sneaking out the previous night and guessed that she was up to something. They had been anxiously awaiting a moment to ask her what she had discovered on her little trip.

“She didn’t appreciate my unsanctioned trip to the morgue,” murmured Wednesday so no one overheard. “She fainted when she saw the different surgically removed organs and limbs.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine Enid would like seeing that so early in the morning,” agreed (Y/N). They frowned. “Wait, surgically removed?”

Wednesday nodded. “After the victims are killed by the monster, someone is removing body parts.”

(Y/N) furrowed their brow. “That just gives more questions about this monster issue than answers.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” said Wednesday.

“Alright, class,” called Thornhill. “I know everyone’s excited Saturday, but we have some lessons to finish up. To sum up the reading, while most plants reward their pollinators with sweet nectar, many carnivorous varieties turn to sexual trickery or deception. The orchid specifically produces a pheromone that mimics a female insect, luring the males in. Now, once the plant is pollinated, what do the male insects get in exchange?”

“Nada. Just like all the guys at the Rave’N,” joked Bianca. The students laughed and began talking amongst themselves once again.

“Okay, okay.” Thornhill gathered their attention again. “I know you’re all excited about Saturday, which is why I haven’t assignment any homework.” The students nearly cheered with joy. “But I do still need volunteers for the decorating committee. Anyone interested, come and see me up here. Class dismissed!”

“You’re not gonna volunteer?” asked Xavier, looking at Wednesday. “Aren’t you pumped about disco balls and spiked punch? There’s even a DJ. MC Blood Suckaz.”

“I’d rather stick needles in my eyes,” said Wednesday at the suggestion that she would go to a party.

“Yeah, but you’d do that for fun,” teased (Y/N).

“I’d at least stick them into others’ eyes,” agreed Wednesday.

“Well, you could always invite someone to the Rave’N to have some fun,” said Xavier. Clearly, he was hoping to go with Wednesday. He put his sketchbook away and revealed three long scratches on his neck.

“That would be even more torturesome. And not the fun kind of torture,” said Wednesday, standing up.

(Y/N) followed but trailed behind in slight disappointment. They had to admit they were hoping that if Wednesday did get convinced to go the Rave’N, that she would go with them since they were partners in crime. They didn’t think there was much of a chance of her going anyway, but (Y/N) had entertained a small hope.

“Did you see his neck?” remarked Wednesday, snapping them out of their thoughts.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, the scratches,” said (Y/N).

“They look similar to those of the monster’s victims,” said Wednesday. “I’m going to see what he’s up to in his free time.”

“Like in his art shed?” asked (Y/N).

“If that’s all it is,” said Wednesday darkly.

“Alright, good luck,” said (Y/N).

Wednesday looked at (Y/N) out of the corner of her eye. “You’re not accompanying me?”

“Can’t. I’m helping Enid decide on what look she’s going for at the Rave’N. She’s making a masterplan to make Ajax jealous since he ditched her on the date they planned,” said (Y/N). They grinned. “Hopefully we make him really regret that decision.”

Wednesday nodded. “If you are in need of torture tools for the boy, they are in my desk.”

“We only will if he manages to somehow hurt Enid’s feelings at the dance. That would mean war,” said (Y/N) brightly.

“Okay, so, full pink hair, I’ll ask some witches to perform a spell for it, sequined dress, which we’ll get in town, and what are we doing with your nails?” said (Y/N) as they wrote down what Enid had so far decided on.

“I don’t want to match too much, but I want to keep a theme,” said Enid thoughtfully.

“How about pink nails? And one of them could have some sparkles?” suggested (Y/N).

“You’re a genius,” said Enid excitedly. “So what about you, what are you going to wear?”

(Y/N) shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll take a look when we go into town.”

The door to the dorm swung open, and a traumatized-looking Wednesday entered the room. “I am horrified to say it, but I am going to the dance.”

Enid’s eyes widened. “You’re going to the Rave’N?”

Wednesday gritted her teeth. “In an attempt to investigate Xavier, I was accosted by him and had to save my cover by asking him to the Rave’N.”

(Y/N) felt their heart clench. Yes, Wednesday was just doing it so Xavier didn’t realize she had been sneaking around his art shed, but it was disappointing that she was going with a guy who definitely had a thing for her. (Y/N) was, well, jealous of Xavier.

“I guess we’ll have to get you a dress, then,” said (Y/N), swallowing their envy.

“I already have one,” said Wednesday.

Enid made a horrified face. “That thing was a fashion emergency not even lightning could resuscitate. Thing, (Y/N), back me up.” Thing gave a thumbs up.

(Y/N) shrugged sheepishly. “You looked nice, Wednesday, but it’s not exactly up to a formal dance’s dress code.”

Wednesday crossed her arms and just glared at them.

“I know just the place to fix this,” said Enid excitedly. “We need to get to Jericho, stat!”

“What kind of dystopian hellscape is this?” questioned Wednesday as she glowered at the “Hewte Kewture” store before her.

“The dance committee’s suggesting all white to match the white, but that’s not going to fly with us,” said Enid, ignoring Wednesday.

“I have more pressing business than to worry about a dance I don’t want to attend,” said Wednesday, turning away. “I’m going to speak to Sheriff Galpin. I’m planning to convince him to give me more information on the case.” She glanced at (Y/N) to see if they were joining.

Enid grabbed (Y/N)’s arm and smiled at Wednesday. “Have fun! I’m commandeering your partner-in-crime.”

“Good luck with Sheriff Galpin,” said (Y/N), smiling. Wednesday nodded to them and walked away.

Enid dragged (Y/N) into Hewte Kewture. “Alright, first things first, we’re getting you a dress.”

(Y/N) frowned. “I thought today was your fashion show. You know, make a statement to Ajax that he should have showed up?”

“Yeah, but I can’t have my best friend not turn up looking a-ma-zing.” Enid grinned at (Y/N). “You know, to prove to Xavier that he might be the one going with Wednesday, but you are so much better than him.”

(Y/N)’s eyes widened, and they turned red. “It’s just a cover. Wednesday doesn’t want him to know she was breaking into his art shed.”

Enid ignored the mention of Wednesday breaking and entering. “Yeah, but he thinks it’s more than that, and we need to remind him you and Wednesday are way cuter.” (Y/N) somehow turned even redder.

“Alright, we’ve both found dresses,” said Enid happily.

(Y/N) nodded, holding the box with their dress in it. They honestly really liked their dress and were excited to wear it. Even if they weren’t going with Wednesday like they hoped, they were determined to have fun.

“Now, I’ve been invited to get coffee with Yoko. Would you hate me if I headed out?” said Enid.

(Y/N) smiled and shook their head. “No, I’m going to head back to Nevermore. Have fun.”

“By the way, I’m hoping that Bianca charms Xavier or something so that you can go with Wednesday,” said Enid as she ran out. “Oh! I’ll ask a witch to curse him!”

You know, Enid can be craftier than people think, thought (Y/N), smiling and shaking their head.

“Don’t want to ask what trouble you’re in now,” said Tyler teasingly as Wednesday left the sheriff’s office.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” replied Wednesday. “Your father’s in particularly frustrating form today. Avoid.”

“Yeah, welcome to my world,” said Tyler. He cleared his throat. “You guys have the Rave’N this weekend, right? It was all the buzz at the Weathervane today.”

“I must be the only one not obsessed with this stupid dance,” muttered Wednesday. “Even (Y/N) is into it.”

“So, you’re not going?” asked Tyler.

“Actually, I was forced to ask someone as an act of self-preservation,” said Wednesday.

Tyler’s face was one of confusion. “Sure, that happens, I guess. So, who is it? (Y/N)?” Tyler had seen Wednesday with (Y/N) quite a bit, so his jealousy chose them as the person Wednesday would be going with for “self-preservation.”

“No. Xavier,” said Wednesday.

Tyler was further annoyed. “Got it.” He brushed past her. “Hope you two have fun.”

“I’m not sure you’re upset,” said Wednesday, turning to face him.

“That’s kind of the problem,” said Tyler. “I mean, call me crazy, Wednesday, but you keep giving me these signals.”

Wednesday’s expression didn’t change. “It’s not my fault I can’t interpret your emotional Morse code.” The only person she was seen hanging around with was (Y/N), so why Tyler thought he was getting signals was unknown to her.

“Then let me spell it out. I thought we liked each other, but then you pull something like this, and I have no idea where I stand,” said Tyler. “Am I in the ‘more than friend’ zone or just a pawn in some game you’re playing?”

Again, Wednesday didn’t react. Tyler wasn’t someone she sought out for anything other than information, and while he was traditionally attractive, Wednesday was never one to be drawn in just by that type of stuff. Sure, he may become a friend at some point (though she denied it), but there wasn’t really anything more on Wednesday’s end. Tyler’s assertion that he thought he was getting hints of affection from Wednesday were just odd.

“I am prioritizing, and emotions are not first,” said Wednesday to get herself out of the conversation. Without waiting for a response, she turned away and walked to the bus back to Nevermore.

After her trip into the monster’s cave with Eugene’s help, Wednesday returned to Xavier’s shed. She needed his DNA to compare to the monster claw left in its lair. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long and then she could figure a way out of going to the Rave’N. If she could get Galpin to test it, that would work. Wednesday nearly smiled in satisfaction as she found a bloody rag in the trash, undoubtedly Xavier’s. She tucked it into a plastic bag and then placed that in her backpack. Before she could leave, however, Xavier walked in.

“What are you doing?” asked Xavier.

“How do you know what the monster looks like?” questioned Wednesday. “Or are these all just self-portraits?”

Xavier scoffed. “What, you think it’s me? I saved your life.”

“With the gargoyle, that was (Y/N),” pointed out Wednesday. “But if you’re talking about the night Rowan was killed, the monster did save me.”

“You are so out of line right now,” snapped Xavier.

“I’m trying to uncover the truth,” said Wednesday. “And your art seems to have a recurring motif.”

Xavier swallowed. “Yeah. This creature’s been haunting my dreams for weeks. I try to block it out, but I can’t. So I just…come in here and paint it. While I was painting this one—” he gestured to a large painting “—claws reached out and took a swipe at me. That’s how I got these.” He pulled at the collar of his shirt to show his scratch marks.

“I thought you were able to control your ability,” said Wednesday appraisingly.

“Not when it comes to this,” admitted Xavier.

“Maybe it’s your guilty conscience,” suggested Wednesday.

“I told you I’m not the monster, okay?!” cried Xavier.

Wednesday took out of the drawing she had taken from his shed earlier. “You just happened to draw pictures of it, down to the location of its lair in the woods?” she challenged. “Those are some pretty vivid dreams. And you keep trying to convince me that visions can’t be trusted, yet yours are fine.”

“You were in here,” realized Xavier. “Before, when I caught you outside.” Wednesday looked slightly to the side as she realized she had given herself away. “That’s the only reason you asked me to the Rave’N?” He scoffed incredulously. “To try and cover. You are unbelievable!”

“It’s nothing personal,” said Wednesday.

“No! It never is with you, is it?!” cried Xavier. “I mean, do you even care about anyone or anything at all, Wednesday?!”

He’d be unhappy to know that she did care about other people, but it just wasn’t him that she cared about in the way he wished.

“No, Thing, for the last time, I’m not going,” said Wednesday as she gathered her supplies for the stakeout she and Eugene were going to. (Y/N) was too busy with the dance so Wednesday was heading with the Hummers crew.

Thing continued tapping against the desk furiously. He was trying to convinced Wednesday to go since he was on Enid’s side trying to pair Wednesday and (Y/N) up.

“No. I don’t care that (Y/N)’s going, and no, I don’t care that they’re dressed up. I don’t care about parties or any of that stuff,” said Wednesday.

Thing paused in his equivalent of a sigh and tapped out his final message.

“What do you mean you and Enid told them I was going to be joining them?” hissed Wednesday. “I didn’t even bother getting a dress.”

Thing pointed to the bed in response. A black box lay on it. Wednesday glared at him but opened the package. The dress from Uriah’s Heap shop window lay in it. She sighed.

“Fine. But only because I can’t have (Y/N) being upset at me,” muttered Wednesday. Thing tapped the desk. “No, not because I would care. Because it would interrupt my investigation, that’s why.”

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honeysmokedham · 3 months

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TIMING: november LOCATION: graveyard PARTIES: @honeysmokedham & @mortemoppetere SUMMARY: mentorship involves teaching your mentee. CONTENT WARNINGS: none

The Graveyard was at capacity, crowded by Emilio, Nora, and the dead that presided there. Nora stood across from Emilio, slayer - safely tucked away in a sheath - clutched in her left hand as she watched Emilio's every movement. Axis wasn't big enough for proper knife training which meant the pair often took the short walk from Axis to Gallows Grove to train. The first few weeks mostly consisted of Emilio telling Nora everything wrong she was doing with the knife. How to hold it, how to stand, how to wield it. What strikes to practice, what footing to work on. What Emilio didn't know, and what she would never tell him, was she took it all to heart. Each lesson he imparted to her she devoured. Each night she'd take what he'd taught her and practice it over and over until her exhausted body informed her it was time to go home and sleep.

A crowd of ghosts had taken to watching them whenever they showed up. A few of them would shout encouragement to Nora. A few of them would curse Emilio's name. It all depended on who was around. Today a trio of three old ladies made up the gallery. They sat and chatted on a large monument near them. Nora did her best to block out their chatter but every now and then she'd catch snippets of their bets and jokes. One, the middle one, bet that Nora wouldn't dare to attack because "Surely the girl knows the man is just going to disarm her and she'd lose again."

Nora struck first, throwing Slayer directly at Emilio while dashing in. Her other hand fumbled in her pocket for a moment before grasping Vampire's handle and wrenching it out of her pocket. Lunging forward after her thrown knife, Nora attempted a swipe to his side. Trickery always worked right? Was she supposed to throw these knives? She didn't know. All she knew is one day she'd win one of these little exercises.

—

It felt strange, being out in the graveyard with no intention to kill anything. Emilio patrolled the town’s graveyards often, though he tried to hide this fact from Nora. He didn’t want her to feel as though he distrusted her ability to take care of herself, but the moment he’d realized she was living in a damn graveyard, he’d made it a point to make sure the thing was free of spawns and other undead entities. And no matter how many times they came here, carrying knives they had no intention of bloodying, some part of Emilio felt foreign.

He’d never really been involved in training someone before. Jaime had been working on his training when he’d died, but Emilio hadn’t been involved in it. He wasn’t sure if Rosa had never asked him as a kindness or because she knew he’d say no. And Flora… He hadn’t had the stomach to start her training at her age, hadn’t been able to justify the idea of putting a knife in his baby’s hand and sticking her in a crypt with something to kill. But Nora was different. Nora was old enough to understand it, Nora was in more danger without training than she was with it, Nora asked him to help her learn. And Nora lived in a crypt, anyway, so she probably wouldn’t mind much if he stuck her in one.

Still, even with all this in mind, he made an effort to allow his training methods to differ from the way he’d been taught. When Nora lunged towards him and attempted to swipe his side after a decent distraction attempt, Emilio darted out of the way and grabbed her wrist. But he didn’t twist it the way his mother would have, didn’t slice his own knife across her side the way Edgar would have, certainly didn’t stick his blade into some fleshy, ‘mostly harmless’ part of her body the way Rosa had done to him countless times. His grip on her wrist was firm, but not painful, and he released it after one quick squeeze just to display the grip. “Getting better,” he told her. “But when you throw the knife, aim for the center. Here.” He tapped the center of his chest. “Makes them have to work more to move out of the way. Easier to catch them off guard. And if they’re slow, you may hit them anyway. A knife in the chest slows anyone down.”

—

“I should have gone for the knee.” Nora mumbled, as her attack was one more foiled. Despite the knowledge that not everything she fought would have a bad knee. In a lot of ways, Nora knew she had an advantage in a real fight. Her illusions would make for effective distractions. Plus, she could literally turn into a bear. Who wanted to fight a bear? Actually. She knew the answer to that. Sane people didn’t want to fight a bear, then you had those people on the internet who swore up and down they could win a fist fight with a bear. Bravado, she knew.

Still, Nora knew that if she relied on tricks and weaknesses one day, she’d encounter a fight where those things didn’t work. Then someone she’d cared about would pay the price for taking the easy way out. Nora went to retrieve Slayer, placing both the knives back in her pocket. “I need to practice aiming more.” As if she’d been aiming for his center. Of course, she wasn’t, she’d been trying to chuck it at his head.

Standing behind him, where she’d walked to go pick up Slayer, Nora tried a sneak attack. Coming from his back right side with an overhead swing. She didn’t find out if it was going to work or not, because a scent, familiar, caught her attention. It was faint, brought to them by the wind. Nora diverted the momentum of her swing into pivoting to face behind her. “Do you smell that?” Nora asked Emilio. She sniffed again, trying to get past the scent of freshly turned dirt, Irish spring soap and the sweat of physical effort. “Something smells dead.”

—

“Yeah,” Emilio agreed with a nod, “you should have. If you notice something you’re fighting has a weakness, that’s where you aim. Bum knee, bad shoulder, hole in the armor. Hit them where it hurts, okay?” It’s how he’d learned. Everything had a weak point; Emilio was no different. He’d take a hit to the bad knee if it meant Nora learned how to better protect herself, would happily accept any kind of momentary pain she might doll out to him — either accidentally or intentionally — if it meant she was safe.

As she went to retrieve the knife she’d thrown, Emilio pulled one from his own pocket and fiddled with it absently. He wasn’t planning on using it in this session, but he was bad at sitting still. His hands needed something to do, and while he’d usually default to twisting his wedding ring, he’d taken it off for tonight. Half for fear of losing it, half to make sure Nora wouldn’t catch him playing with it and ask about it. “We can set up some targets,” he offered, “work with that.”

He heard her creeping up behind him and smiled faintly to himself, letting her approach. He figured he’d sweep her legs out from under her when she got close enough, but he did commend the effort. But before he could move, she stopped, sniffing the air. “My nose isn’t as good as yours, kid,” he reminded her. “And we’re in a graveyard. Lots of things smell dead.” But, as he said it, there was that familiar shiver down his spine, that old clench to his stomach. Ah. “Good nose. Something is coming. Here.” He retrieved a stake from his pocket, handing it over. “You’ll probably have more luck with this, depending on what it is. Stick with me, okay?” He wouldn’t throw her to the wolves, even if it was what his mother would have done to him.

—

So much for the sentiment of not going for the weakness while training. Next time the knee was hers. Meant violently. Nora nodded at his instructions, a new idea forming in her mind. Next strike she could cover her movements with an illusion. Illusion her would go one way while the real her would go the other. That could be a fun little trick. Nora was bristling with excitement, ready to test out the theory. “Yeah, targets would be good.” There were enough knives laying around Axis it was a surprise he didn’t have targets to throw them at anyway.

Nora’s nose remained in the air for a minute until the scent got close enough, she could smell it without assistance from the breeze. Pride blossomed in her as Emilio praised her for noticing and handed her a stake Nora put Vampire back into her pocket and grasped the stake in her hand. Emilio was never getting it back, she wondered if he knew that the moment he handed it over. “Right. Stick with you.” Nora stated, as if she would have done it if he hadn’t said it. Which she wouldn’t have. She would have thrown herself forward with no consideration of any of the training they’d just been doing. Because at the core of it, she was young and reckless.

Now Nora felt truly battle ready. One hand on a steak, one hand on a knife, ready for whatever was going to come. Nora wondered if it would be an elder vampire. That had been the last vampire Emilio had taught her about. Now that she thought about it, he never did explain all those vampires with those long and complicated names. Wait, was Emilio a bad teacher? No. He probably just forgot. There was always something happening. Like someone getting cursed and almost dying. Nora shoved the thoughts out of her head, focused on what was coming. Her body was tense, ready for a fight. A familiar silhouette reached her eye line, and all tension dropped from her body. “It’s just a ghoul.” Nora grumbled. Disappointed, because the last one she’d seen killed itself without any help from her or Thea. Well. A little help. More started popping up around them. “A lot of ghouls.” Nora amended.

—

Training was useless if you didn’t treat it with the same ferocity you would a real fight. That was what his mother always said, her reasoning for the brutality in her methods. If Rosa stabbed Emilio because he wasn’t fast enough to avoid it, whose fault was it? Would he expect an undead monster to go easy on him because he was a child, because he was slow? If Edgar broke his arm because he hesitated, who had made the mistake? Of course, Emilio would hold back with Nora… but that didn’t mean Nora ought to hold back with him. If anything, it should make her more brutal. “I’ll find some. Branches or something, I don’t know.” No way in hell would he shell out money for real targets.

Or they could just settle for the moving kind. Whatever was coming at them in the graveyard would make for good practice, considering Emilio was there to ensure things didn’t get too dangerous. He could let Nora take on whatever was here, and he could step in if things looked bleak. His mother had never done that for him, would have berated him for doing it for someone else, but he thought it was the best course of action. He could train Nora without letting her get hurt. He had to be able to do that.

As they moved, following Nora’s nose and Emilio’s senses, he took note of the shape ahead of them. A ghoul. He thought of Nora in the graveyard, the morning he’d found her before it was light out sitting by a statue and mourning the fact that she’d killed something that was already dead. She’d been so hard on herself for it then, and he carefully glanced over to her now. She looked disappointed. Was she remembering the way she’d felt last time? “You can go back to Axis,” he said carefully. “I can meet you there. This shouldn’t take me long. You don’t have to do anything, okay?”

—

Branches for targets. That would be funny. It would add an odd decoration to their already odd work environment. Nora could paint tiny circles on them to aim at. Already, she could imagine the apartment covered in knife holes from missed throws. That wasn't her problem. It was also probably what the inside of Jeff's apartment looked like. The crypt also wouldn't have that problem. The crypt had nice and sturdy walls made out of stone. Absolutely no way knives would poke holes in those walls. Nora made the mental note to use that in any future arguments about which dwelling was better.

"Four against one?" Nora rolled her neck in a circle, a crack coming from its base. "In this economy?" Her arms raised as she started to stretch them out. Was stretching before a fight necessary? Especially after the two of them had just been sparing? Nora didn't know. But the people in movies always did their little stretches before running into the heat of battle. Nora's eyes flicked down to her hands as she tried to decide which weapon she was attacking. "Is this a knife or a stake fight?" Nora asked, squinting at the nearest ghoul. Remembering the way the last ghoul she'd seen cracked its head open on a headstone, Nora shoved the stake. Another day she would get her first dusting. Was that something to want? If they weren't a spawn they would be a living, breat- maybe not breathing- person, like Metzli. Whatever. Thought for a different time. Today her thoughts were on the ghouls.

Stick with him. Nora reminded herself of the one instruction she'd been given. She could do that, right? Nora unsheathed Slayer. How many ghouls had the knife killed before Emilio gave it to her? A ghoul had circled around them, staring Nora down. Nora stared back at it. She thought they were cool little fellas, with their sharp teeth and funny faces. It was a shame they weren't nice. Nora could probably fit this whole pack in her crypt and they could have all lived there as a happy family. Alas, that was their loss. The ghoul made a feinting sweep at her. Nora raised her knife. Stay close to Emilio, she reminded herself. Follow the one instruction. Oh chingados it. Chingado it? Fuck it. Nora flickered and rippled as an illusionary clone twined out of her. The pair of them rushed the ghoul in tandem.

The tactic worked to confuse the ghoul. It stepped back, tripping as the pair rushed it. As both Nora stabbed their knives at the creature, Nora was disappointed to learn that it was a lot tougher than she'd assumed, the blade scrapping off the tough skin with a harsh sound. "The fuck are these things made out of?" Nora's illusionary double disappeared from existence, as she dropped out of the way of a returning blow. That was the problem with the illusion trick. One of her could hit and the other could only pretend. Nora kicked the ghoul after it missed its blow at her. Thank god her boots came with tough toes because she did not think through the fact that they had equally as tough skin. "God, it's brutal out here."

—

Was he so pathetic that Nora thought he couldn’t handle the fight on his own? Emilio didn’t want her to sacrifice whatever strange morality had made her mourn the ghoul she’d killed just because she thought he was someone who needed protecting. His mother’s voice was a harsh echo in his head, reminding him of all the times she’d berated him for being too soft, too weak, too stupid to be a functional slayer. Nora wouldn’t have felt the need to stay for Rosa, would she? Not for Edgar, not for Victor. Emilio had always been the least valuable of the Cortez children, and now he was the only one left. How disappointed his mother would have been in him. How ashamed.

“Knife,” he said tightly, “but you know this.” She’d killed one before, and he doubted she’d used a stake to do it. If she had, maybe she’d have been less torn up about it. Maybe there was something less scary about killing a monster with a slab of wood than killing it with a shining blade. Maybe it made it hurt less. In any case, Nora didn’t seem to be thinking about that now. She launched herself at the ghoul with all the prowess he’d been working to instill in her, and if he weren’t so worried he might have been proud.

She was quick, at least. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he ducked a blow from his own ghoul, which had come at him the moment it was close enough to snap. He’d fought a thousand of these things before, found them just a step above spawn vampires in terms of entertainment. A slayer’s version of busywork, really — not a huge threat, but not something he wanted around, either.

He was more worried about Nora than he was the ghouls, not because he didn’t think she could handle them but because he was concerned how she’d react when she realized she could. Emilio wasn’t good at big, emotional talks like the one he’d given her in the graveyard that night, didn’t know how to comfort her the way she’d needed comforting. The fact that he’d managed it once had been miraculous. He wouldn’t put money on him being able to do it again.

Shoving his knife through a weak spot in the skin of the closest ghoul’s neck, Emilio kicked the thing back with his good leg and let it fall to the ground. It’d bleed out before it could do any more damage, so he moved on to the next. “You don’t need to be here if you don’t want to be,” he told Nora, careful and uncertain. “I don’t want you to be upset. I can take these on my own.” Four — or, rather, three now that he’d dispatched one — against one wasn’t good odds, even for someone with Emilio’s experience, but he’d chance it if it meant Nora was okay. Physically and emotionally.

—

In Nora's mind, the day Emilio had found her crying in the graveyard was the start of them. The start of her Axis apprenticeship. The start of a friendship. The start of her journey into the supernatural with him as her mentor. In her mind, she forgot the promise that bound her to never speak of Debbie. The words they had exchanged that night hadn't been thinly veiled behind the death of a ghoul that ultimately had meant nothing in the scheme of things. In Nora's mind, Emilio had listened to her story of killing Debbie and had forgiven her for it. He wasn't proud, because Nora didn't want him to be proud. Who could be proud of taking Debbie's life, the life of a girl her own age, who had just as much to live for as Nora? But he'd accepted she'd done it in self-defense, and most importantly he'd still accepted her.

Nora was delusional.

Because that night, Emilio never knew about Debbie. Emilio only knew about the ghoul that the girl was upset about. Now as Nora stabbed a blade into the side ghoul she'd faced, she couldn't even pretend to think of the ghoul she'd hidden behind then. Besides claiming its death as her first victory, and using a photo to torment a stranger who didn't want her to die, it had meant nothing more. When Emilio hit her with the "I don't want you to be upset. I can take these on my own." Nora was left with nothing but confusion.

The ghoul's dark, thick, rancid blood sluggishly pooled onto her fingers and she tore the blade back out of the creature and it fell to the ground. "Upset?" Nora asked him, a question tinting her monotone. "They're trying to kill us, Mimi. Isn't this what I've been training for? Self-defense?" The body collapsed to the ground in front of her, just in time for another ghoul to leap at her. Nora threw herself out of the way, rolling to the ground.

On the ground, Nora got a close-up of the talon-like claws the ghoul possessed. "They are kind of cute," Nora admitted. Scrambling to her feet. A jaw snapped around the air her leg had just been. "It would be nice if they didn't want to kill us." Hadn't Nora given him a picture of her next to one of their dead bodies? Wasn't it weird that he didn't want her to be upset? "Besides, I want to help. I'm your apprentice, right?" The question hung heavy, clear uncertainty in Nora's voice as she asked. She'd never said the word out loud to him before. Worried that he would laugh, and tell her that he was just helping her so she wouldn't be the next dumb kid. And that those two were not the same as being an apprentice. Nora stepped out of the way, a talon swiping where she had once been standing. Maybe these creatures were like her, they relied on fear to feed. The fear was supposed to paralyze their victims and make them harder to catch, or something. Because from where Nora was standing, they seemed pretty useless.

—

It was hard to match up the Nora fighting off ghouls now with the one he’d found in the graveyard those months ago, mourning the loss of something he hadn’t understood. Granted, it was hard to match that kid in the graveyard with the front Nora displayed most days, but right now? She’d been heartbroken over that damn ghoul, had gone on and on about what made a monster a monster. Had Emilio’s lecture about self defense really been this effective? Or the months he’d spent teaching her the difference between a sentient beast and a mindless one? He found that hard to believe. He wasn’t good enough at talking to make that much of a difference, and he knew it.

Maybe it was adrenaline. It was easy to feel okay about something in the moment, when your blood was buzzing and the violence wrapped you up in a tight grip. The after was what stung. Emilio thought of Mexico, of his uncle’s desperate apology and the knife he’d stuck into his gut in response. He hadn’t felt guilty about it in the moment. It wasn’t until days later that it weighed on him, wasn’t until months after that it became all he thought about. He’d never escape that feeling; he didn’t deserve to. But he didn’t want Nora to feel the same. He didn’t want Nora to feel any of the things he felt, didn’t want her to turn out like he had.

It was self defense in the moment. But what would it be when she got home later? What would she think when she was alone in her crypt, when the action died down? Some nights, Emilio swore he woke up with his uncle’s blood still caked beneath his fingernails. Would these damn ghouls haunt Nora’s nightmares the same way? “It is self defense,” he agreed. “It is. You don’t have to feel bad about it. It’s them or you, ¿vale? Like we talked about before. But if you’re not ready, that’s okay, too.”

Was thinking they were cute the beginning of another spiral? She didn’t seem upset when she said it, was willing to acknowledge that the ghouls were trying to kill them even if she seemed to think it would be better if they weren’t. “You are,” he confirmed, “but I worry more about you being okay than I do about this. The training goes as fast or as slow as you need it to. I know you were upset about the ghoul before. It’s okay if you want to stop for the night and go home now.”

—

¿Vale? It was another word that had slipped into Nora's vocabulary recently, taught by Emilio, and repeated for memorization. Okay? But why was he making such a big deal out of this? Of course, it was them or the ghouls. Nora didn't plan on dying, she also didn't plan on letting Emilio die. Despite how often he felt the need to remind her that she couldn’t count on him being around forever, and despite that, he didn’t actually need her help.. Even with his bum knee, he was one of the best fighters Nora knew, maybe second only to Metzli. "Vale,” Nora repeated the word back, the Spanish practiced from late night listening to youtube videos to get the pronunciation down.

“Don't tell me you're going soft on these ghouls." If Nora was a person full of freely given expressions, she might have found it in her to laugh. Instead, she was still staring down the ghoul that was intent on making her his dinner. The joke was on him. There was going to be one person eating well tonight, and it would be Nora. Her stomach let out a long-suffering grumble, as if he hadn’t eaten all day, at the thought. Nora could probably convince Emilio to get them a nice fresh honey-smoked ham after this. A victory meal. That seemed doable.

Then Emilio said the magic words that shattered her delusion. The magic words that reminded her she'd been hired under false pretenses. That he hired a kid crying over a ghoul, and not a kid crying over baby’s first murder, and the life-changing consequences. Hiring a hunter-killer. Because despite telling Nora that she had the right to defend herself, would he really believe that if he knew she’d killed a hunter her own age? Just another kid. The shattering of her reality, the breaking of her heart, the symphony of guilt wracking her, all of it was a distraction. The ghoul got a good swipe. Nora moved, but not in time. Its claws knicked against her arm, ripping her beloved jacket and causing a sting of pain to flutter over her. The scent of her own blood filled her nostrils. "Chingado!" She hoped she was using the word right, wouldn't it be embarrassing to learn a curse word in a different language and use it wrong? Wait, that thought itself was a distraction. An escape down a different path so she wouldn’t have to face the reality staring at her.

There was too much happening at once. Too many moving parts, Nora needed to break them down into sections. She needed to understand them so she could address them. First, start with what was in front of her. A ghoul, droplets of her blood clinging to its left claw. That wouldn't do. Nora ran at the ghoul, it braced, ready to snap at her, she slid under his outstretched claws that were ready to grab her again until she was under his belly. Slayer jammed itself into the belly of the beast as she slide under it. The knife wasn't strong enough to do the dramatic rip down the middle that she wanted. It stuck, heavy in one spot, but she dove it deeper and deeper. The ghoul gave a final heave of breath. Its body, now an empty husk, collapsed all at once on Nora, still laying on the blood-splattered ground under it. It was heavy. A lot heavier than she expected, then again when she'd created that plan she hadn't expected it to land dead on top of her. She hadn’t been planning any sort of escape at all.

Nora started kicking the creature, trying to shove it off her, but it didn’t want to move. Being stuck in one place gave her ample time to deconstruct the other thoughts invading her mind. The second thing to consider, Emilio cared that she cared about ghouls. Emilio, who was trained to fight these things. Emilio who had done her best to understand the crying kid in the graveyard, despite not caring about ghouls. He cared that Nora cared. Warmth filled her. Fondness for her mentor overwhelmed her heart. How lucky was she to have someone that cared? She wondered what her own dads would have done in a similar situation. They had never listened to her beg about not wanting to do a photoshoot. She had never once been met with an “Okay, you can stay home, and we’ll get a different model. You don’t have to do this.” It was always she had to do it. It needed to be done. She needed to consider her future. Didn’t she care about the family legacy? Was this what unconditional acceptance felt like? Before Nora could follow that thought, bask in its warmth, and hold it in her heart forever, it was chased away by guilt.

The third thing to consider. Nora had been lying to Emilio this whole time. That didn't feel great. Was theirs, not a relationship built on honesty? Didn't Nora know that if she ever asked Emilio about something, she would be met with an honest answer to the best of his ability? And she hadn't been giving him the same courtesy? Nora struggled under the ghoul, trying her best to push the heavy creature off her, she didn’t want to lay here with her thoughts, she wanted to be back in the action. Its blood oozed against her, staining her clothes. That really sucked. An extra suck on the sucker punch that was hitting her emotions.

"You know how I told you my best friend is a fae?" Nora asked, she might as well have been talking to the ghoul. She pretended she was talking to the ghoul, instead of admitting she'd been lying this whole time. Her hand came to her side, where it always rested when she thought of the promise that night. The imprint of the scar, easy to trace even if the muscle memory wasn’t ingrained in her. "It wasn't the ghoul. I mean, there was a ghoul. You saw the picture. But it wasn’t the ghoul. But there was a promise." Was that enough? Would he understand she couldn't talk about it? Could he forgive a lie? Could she brush past it? If Nora was good at anything, it was brute force. She could brute force her way past her shameful confession. This wouldn’t be a problem.

"Ghouls are nothing, right?" Nora doubled her efforts against her dead jailor. God, why were they so heavy? Its body was starting to turn to goo. She was going to be so disgusting after this. Nora wasn’t squeamish, she didn’t mind getting dirty, but this was just excessive. Did she have quarters to do laundry? "Childs play. Probably. I don't know. Did you hunt these as a child?" Nora was changing the subject, reaching for something to talk about Emilio. Asking to remain in his life, know about it even. She was always curious about his past. He shrouded himself in so much mystery. So much dramatic mystery. Whatever his pat was, it had fucked him up. "Also, when you're done with that ghoul, do you think you can help me? I.. Well. I made a calculated decision but man am I bad at math. I think I need to start lifting weights.” Emilio had enhanced strength, Nora would have to fight tooth and nail for her own enhanced strength. But she’d do it. To be just like him.

—

She said vale, and a burst of pride went through him. It was stupid, it was nonsensical, but he felt it all the same. Hearing this kid, who cared what he thought and asked him for answers when she was stuck on something, use a word he’d taught her, a word in the language that had lived on his tongue for as long as he’d been aware of language at all…

There was something special about Spanish. His relationship with it was strange and complex and not something he entirely understood, but he knew it was special. It was a contradiction, it was a comfort. It was the language in which his mother had torn him down for his own good, it was the language he had once used to sing his daughter to sleep. Flora’s first words had been in Spanish; her last words must have been, too. This language, it was a part of him in a way English wasn’t, in a way English never could be. And Nora had asked him to teach her. More than that, Nora used what he taught her. She asked because she wanted to know, and she wanted to know, at least in part, because of him. He wasn’t sure anyone else had ever wanted that, had ever cared to that extent.

But there wasn’t much room for thoughts of sentimentality in a fight. There never had been. It was the kind of thing his mother would have berated and punished him for. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you’ll take a knife to it. Better not to have one at all. It was one of the first lessons he’d learned, one of the ones he’d least wanted to pass along to his daughter. Let her keep her heart. Let Nora keep hers, too. It didn’t matter if it was soft, didn’t matter if it grieved ghouls and inspired sympathy towards men who were little more than sharpened knives looking to cause as much damage to the world as they could before they left it. Let her keep her heart on her sleeve. Emilio would step in and take any knife that came for it, would keep it from being carved to pieces even if it meant throwing his own heart on the knife in its place. His was too far gone to salvage, anyway. Like the rest of him, it was at its most useful when taking damage meant for someone else.

Nora yelled out a curse, another that he’d taught her, and Emilio tensed as the ghoul came at her. He prepared himself to jump in, readied himself to take whatever blow it would cost him to abandon his own fight and jump into hers, and there was something almost funny about that. Growing up in a family of slayers meant he was used to fighting with and providing backup, but backup had looked so different back in Mexico. He’d loved his siblings and he’d known they loved him back, but neither of them would have risked their own life to save his if he bit off more than he could chew. Neither of them would have taken a blow meant for him, even if the blow was a fatal one. You took spare slayers to a fight so that someone would be able to pick up your slack when you fell, not with the hope that they’d keep you from falling to begin with. Rhett might have done it for him, but Rhett was different. The exception to every rule, the only person (until recently) who’d ever seemed to care if Emilio walked away from a fight.

Emilio wasn’t Rhett and he knew it, but he prepared himself to step in anyway. It wasn’t necessary. Nora, with all the practice she’d gotten lately, could hold her own. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she slid under the ghoul, heart in his throat as her knife found a home. For a moment, he feared it wouldn’t be enough. He knew she needed better knives, sharper ones, ones more designed for this sort of thing, but he also knew she likely wouldn’t accept them. Giving her an iron knife wasn’t a bad idea, but given her friendly relationship with the fae she’d mentioned in the past, he got the feeling she wouldn’t like having it around. And she could manage with what she had; this was proof enough of that.

The ghoul fell, and Nora didn’t roll away quickly enough to keep it from falling on her. Emilio watched frantically, not releasing the breath he held in his chest until the moment she began to move beneath it. He knew, logically, that she was fine. The ghoul hadn’t gotten another blow in before she’d delivered the killing one, hadn’t been fast enough to leave her with anything worse than claw marks in her arm. He knew that. But he needed more than that, sometimes. Knowing wasn’t always enough. Sometimes, Emilio needed to see it, too. He needed visual proof. He needed tactile proof, too, sometimes, needed to touch something to know it was real. He couldn’t always trust his own eyes; that was evident enough by the way the streets of Wicked’s Rest sometimes flickered and turned into the streets of Mexico when there was blood on his hands, when someone he cared about was in trouble, when a kid in a crowd looked a little too much like Flora or when a woman laughed in a way that reminded him of Juliana.

But Nora was speaking, tone characteristically flat and monotonous in a way that told him she was fine. If he listened closely enough, he could hear her heartbeat, too. He focused on the ghoul he was fighting as she spoke, ducking a swipe of its claw. “Your friend is fae. Yes, you told me.” He was hopeful that this friend of hers was kind enough not to trap her in any binds, though it was still a little hard to be trustful. There was a reason why Emilio watched his words even among his friends; it was impossible to know, sometimes, whether or not someone was putting on a front.

And then Nora continued, spoke of how the thing she was mourning in the graveyard that night wasn’t a ghoul at all. Emilio’s brow furrowed, and he dodged another swipe from his ghoul before growing bored enough of the fight to stick his knife into the side of its head and drop it. A new silence filled the graveyard as the gears in Emilio’s head turned, rotating the new information she’d given him around and around. There was a promise. So her friend had bound her after all, and there was something she couldn’t talk about. She’d used the ghoul as a catalyst, a substitute for something else. Something she’d been mourning in a graveyard, something she’d spoken about with grief and regret and guilt and —

Oh.

The realization hit him all at once. There was a ghoul, and she had killed it. But that wasn’t what she’d been mourning the night he found her, the night their dynamic shifted from one of a surly detective trying to keep an annoying kid from getting herself killed into whatever it was they had now. There was a ghoul, and she’d killed it.

But there was something else, too.

Immediately, his mind was flooded with questions he knew she couldn’t answer. What was it and what happened and what did you do and are you okay? The last one felt surprising, somehow, as if it wasn’t a question he wanted to ask her all the time, as if it wasn’t the only thing on his mind at all most days, beating in his chest like a mantra. Are you okay, are you okay, are you okay. He had a feeling he knew the answer to it right now, and he had a feeling it wasn’t the answer he might want it to be. You didn’t kill something without feeling the blood on your hands for the rest of your life. You didn’t feel that regret in pieces. You couldn’t.

Slowly, he moved towards her. Lifted the dead ghoul off of her, cast it aside. He looked at it for a moment, brow furrowed as he processed the new information. “I was probably six,” he offered quietly. “Maybe younger. Used to lock me in a shed with them, you know? Here’s a knife, here’s a ghoul. Figure it out or don’t, but don’t make a mess.” He offered Nora a hand to pull her to her feet. “You good? Your arm?”

—

Emilio’s confirmation peppered the air before her confession. Then the words were out there, in the universe, on display for a smart detective to put together. They faded into the night, the only sound left behind was the single ghoul. The lone survivor from a pack of four, culled down by two people who didn’t even extend the courtesy of giving them their full attention in their final moments. Nora could hear the growls and snarls as it challenged her mentor. Ex-mentor? Maybe.

Thump.

The final sound of the ghoul’s life was its body hitting the ground. Death’s old friend, his drinking buddy, delivered one more life into its grasp. Silence swelled in its place. The moment between seconds expanded into minutes, into hours, until it seemed to stretch into a century. All the while Nora had convinced herself that Emilio would leave. While Nora was trapped under the ghoul, he would rid himself of the murderer, annoyance, and problem. He would use this confession as a reason to replace her with someone who didn’t lie to him. Honesty was what made their team work, it was the promise he had made her. It was important.

Footsteps.

The familiar and comforting scent of Irish Spring Soap, alcohol, and cigarettes approached. Time collapsed in on itself, it must have only been two seconds and a racing mind. The weight that had held her in place was lifted and tossed aside like it was nothing. God, she really was going to need to work extra hard if she wanted to catch up strength wise. Fuck. She could have used the bear. Why hadn’t she shifted. Instead, she’d let herself appear like a weak burden who couldn’t solve a problem. A burden and a murderer, was there anything worse to wish on somebody?

Emilio’s hand offered her help. It was calloused and in desperate need of lotion. Nora’s hands were dirty, dirt and goo from the ghoul packed under her nails. All of her was a ghoulish mess. Sick. And not in the way she normally encompassed the word. Nora tried to brush herself off, but it ended in a gross concoction of the graveyard dirt, ghoul blood and ghoul decomposition smearing over her jacket and across her overalls. It was a losing battle, Nora accepted her defeat and gave up. It was time to face her other losing battle. Time to face Emilio.

Nora’s eyes searched for his. Searched for the gaze that surely held the condemnation she knew she deserved. Was it the self-hatred in her that wanted that? Because surely Emilio had never given her any reason to suspect that he couldn’t be okay with a confession she couldn’t confess to if he understood the promise that bound her. But logic always seemed so elusive when it came to Debbie and the actions of that night. Would she ever be done punishing herself for protecting her friends? A crime, that by all rights, belonged placed at the foot of Debbie’s grave. Because if she hadn’t chosen to kill that night, she would have never been killed in return. The five girls would have entered the grocery store, had their breakfast club moment, and left. No harm. No promise. No murder.

There wasn’t hatred in Emilio’s gaze. There wasn’t the condemnation she was begging for as punishment for her crimes. There wasn’t betrayal over a lie about a ghoul. There wasn’t even annoyance that he had to come help her. Because Emilio had never exhibited any of those emotions towards her. Well, maybe annoyance, but the case of Debbie lived so firmly in her mind that she couldn’t get out of it. In Emilio’s eyes was worry, realization and understanding. Two out of the three she knew she didn’t deserve, but all made her feel unfairly safe.

“Six?” His parents had chosen to put their six year old against ghouls? Six with a ‘figure it out or don’t?’ He’d mentioned something about his mother before, something about her being tough and dead. It wasn’t coming to mind at the moment. But how could anyone ask a six year old to do that? “Six?” Nora repeated the age. Her voice did a good job at keeping her monotone. It didn’t betray the quiver in her throat. It didn’t acknowledge the scratching behind her eyes. Her eyes were the betrayers. A tear, one singular droplet, manifested where it wasn’t wanted. A show of emotion that always displayed itself around the memory of Debbie.

Nora lurched forward, arms wrapping themselves around Emilio, face pressed into hiding. This was an unprecedented action. This was an attempt to hide the emotion brewing around her while trying to express all the words she never had words for. This was a copy of the relief and love Cass had shown her in their hug, and the gratitude and support Van had given in their hug. It was only one tear, but the tear held the weight of the world with it. It cried for Debbie, her lies, the anxiety of the moment. It also cried for the six year old who’d been locked in a shed with monsters, who had still grown up to be the kindest, smartest and most reliable person Nora had ever met.

“Está bien, mi brazo está bien.” The question had been asked a lifetime ago or a moment ago. Time wasn’t working in the graveyard tonight. Except for a light sting across her arm, she could have forgotten it’d been hurt at all. “Oh. My bad.” Because she’d still been hugging him, when the most contact the two of them had shared were a pat on the arm or a shoulder bump. Nora detached herself, looking away as if she was examining the bodies of the decomposing ghouls. “Good job with yours.” Nora told him, like she was the mentor, like she wasn’t the one who’d been stuck under. “Guess training since you’ve been six pays off, right?” Nora’s hands slipped into her pockets, fingers fidgeting with whatever junk they found in there.

“Do hunters have a clean up protocol? Something to keep the norms from finding out?” Nora paused for a beat. “Norms. Normals. You know, the people who don’t know anything. Do we have a name for them? Civvies? But that’s military talk, and fuck the military. I ain’t no bootlicker.” Nora knew she was rambling to cover up her faux paus. “I’m assuming we don’t want them to find out about ghouls?” How they didn’t find out about anything in this town was beyond her. Behind every door was a new supernatural creature waiting to eat someone or something. Nora pulled out one of her lighters. “Please tell me it's arson.”

—

There was something reflected in her eyes when he finally pulled that ghoul off her, something in the way she paused. She was looking at him and, to anyone else, her face would seem just as blank as it always was. A carefully curated mask, painted on so carefully and painstakingly that there wasn’t a crack to be found. Would Emilio recognize the seams if he didn’t have his own mask that he put on every morning? Would he see through the blankness if not for the way she looked so much like the scared, anguished kid he’d found in the graveyard that night?

She was good at the mask, she was so good at it. But there was something reflected in her eyes, and Emilio recognized it. He’d seen it in the mirror more times than he could count.

If anyone knew what it was like to hate yourself wholeheartedly, it was Emilio. How many times had he bore his chest to a knife and begged the person holding it to push it between his ribs? How many mornings had he opened his eyes to find himself disappointed at the sunlight streaming through the window, grieving the fact that he’d woken up? Emilio knew what it was to look at yourself and see nothing worth being. He knew how it felt to hate yourself so entirely that the idea of someone else loving you felt almost wrong, like you were pulling one over on them somehow. And he hated seeing that reflected in Nora’s eyes now, hated knowing that she felt the same kind of things that had driven him to recklessness so often that his mind was almost forced to call it what it was.

He didn’t know what she did. He had an idea, of course — strangely, he thought of Ren, showing up at his apartment just a little while before he found Nora and recounting a story of killing a warden that had been about to kill her. But while Ren had been able to share the details of her tragedy, Nora was bound against it. He didn’t know the details of what Nora had done, and he probably never would. But he could guess. He could guess what she’d been through, could make an assumption about people like him and the lengths they’d go to when they thought they were right. In another life, where things had gone differently, she could have been sitting in front of some other man, covered in dirt and grime, and recounting a story of an angry slayer with a limp who she’d had to kill before he killed her. In another world, in the cruelest of them, Emilio might carry a silver blade and tell stories about the bear he’d killed with it.

He tried not to think of either of them now, tried to focus only on the world that existed in front of him — the one where Nora sat on the ground, looking up at him with wide eyes and a secret she couldn’t share. The one where he loved her anyway, even if that love wasn’t a thing he knew how to put to words anymore. Even if he never had to begin with.

She seemed a little horrified at the revelation that he’d been fighting ghouls since he was six, and he decided not to tell her that ghouls weren’t the first thing he’d fought. The Cortezes started their children off young, took pride in it. He was taught how to kill the least dangerous monsters first, the ones that often didn’t need killing at all. And he wondered, sometimes, what that had been for. Was it to get his body accustomed to the movements, to teach legs still learning how to walk that they needed to fight, too? Or was that a more psychological level of training, a way to turn off whatever part of a person’s brain fought against such things before it had ever had time to form at all?

He’d never thought his upbringing was odd until he’d been expected to raise his daughter the same. He still struggled, sometimes, thinking it was wrong for him to have been raised that way, because Emilio had probably deserved it. Emilio was too soft and too brutal, too quiet and too loud. Emilio was a thousand terrible contradictions wrapped up in a single irredeemable package, and nothing like that could ever deserve to have anyone decent grieve for it.

But here was Nora, grieving it anyway. Brave and brash and softer than she’d let anyone see, wrapping her arms around him so tightly that it might have hurt if he’d let it. He dropped his hands, patting her back carefully.

She was still grieving something, just as she had been in that graveyard the night they’d gone from whatever it was they were before to whatever it was they were now. She was still mourning it. The difference, he thought, was that now, he could mourn it with her. Every weight got a little bit lighter when you had someone to help you carry it. And Emilio was strong enough to carry a hell of a lot of weight.

She spoke again, Spanish once more, and it was so hard not to think of the daughter he’d lost. It was so hard not to think of the way she’d fall and scrape her knee only to jump up and utter the same words, like she was afraid to say anything else. ¡Está bien, papi! He ached, and he was no longer sure what he was aching for. Was he grieving what he’d lost, what Nora lost, what his daughter lost? Was he grieving all three at once? And did it matter, at the end of the day? Grief was grief. There no matter the reason, heavy regardless of what it was for. He could grieve one or two or all three at the same time and it wouldn’t matter. The grief would never feel any lighter.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, though he wasn’t sure if he was reassuring her about the hug or the ghoul or the murder or the childhood he’d never had or all of it. “It’s all right, kid.” He looked back to the ghouls, dead and decomposing long before he and Nora came across them but doing it quietly now. He let out a quiet huff of air as Nora began to ramble. When she finished, he only nodded. “Sure. It can be arson. What do you say, kid? Want to light them up?”

Yeah. They’d be all right.

#chatzy #chatzy: emilio #into the mentorverse

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olivyh · 1 year

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obey me brainrot again guys ;;;;

Spoilers for lesson 16 below!

Tw: manipulation, violence

I was thinking abt different ways that the main Obey me plot could have gone,,, mostly with the thought of another human exchange student! Imagine if there were two (both mortal, sorry solomon) humans, and both lived in the HoL (pretending that there are separate rooms for both of them,,, or they share the same room maybe?

Except one of the humans, the "chosen one" (i.e. the one who has the same abilities and lineage as og!MC), is evil, and power-hungry. Like,,, manipulative and acts all sweet and caring but is really on a mission to sacrifice the other mc (for immortality? power?). And, of course, the evil mc meets Belphie in the attic and sees right through his lies, promising to essentially sacrifice the other human to him, give him someone to get his aggression out on. In exchange? He would make a pact with them, giving them more power.

But sadly, the other human, the good mc follows everything, does everything by the book. They stay out of everyone's way and listens to every single one of the rules that Lucifer told them.

Evil mc puts on a display of acting kind and friendly to get the pacts from the brothers and to gain their friendship while also acting sweetly to kind mc. Kind mc is none the wiser and also gets close to the brothers, but without the powers of the pacts. Or...

Evil!Mc forces them to stay away from the brothers, either through trickery (telling kind!MC that they're demons and trying to betray them) or empty threats/magic

Here's where the story somewhat branches off... imagine if one of the brothers (let's say the one closest to them, or Mammon, since he's always around them and he's perceptive) picks up on the little clues. He notices how evil mc looks at kind mc, the sudden bouts of violence against kind mc, the teases that seem to be a little too serious. If he's close enough with them, maybe he'll make a pact with kind mc out of concern for them (will they take him up on his offer? considering how manipulative evil mc is, could they really believe a demon?).

In the end, evil mc makes them follow them into the attic, where they're killed (or almost killed) by belphie and they almost get another pact, until Belphie tries to attack them and exposes their plan to the rest of the brothers; calling humans monsters and asking how anyone could betray one of their own kind, one of their "friends" over something like a pact. Evil mc could either play the innocent card, or... they get exposed. Now the brothers have one dying exchange student, and another in jail (or somewhere else until Diavolo figures out what to do).

From there idk where it would go honestly. Maybe evil mc gets away and the brothers have to learn how to protect this other human? They still have to deal with the information about their younger sister, but now they're learning that her descendant is evil. Belphegor isn't as kind to the nicer mc (bc I feel as though a lot of his affections post lesson 16 was solely due to the information about lilith.). Will he continue to try to hurt them?

This is all just little scraps from my midterm-burnt brain, so a lot of it might not make sense, but I might write a fic on this later... (if not this, then a different OM!AU)

#obey me #obey me shall we date #om #obey me au

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writtengalaxies · 2 years

Text

All About the Timing

Characters: GN!Reader, Illinois

Words: 415

Spicy Rating: No spice, mentions of weapons (passing, not used)

There had been too many close calls in your early days. Traps he had barely managed to pull you from the path of in time, his heart racing in his throat. He was so tired of losing partners. He had gotten sloppy, careless, not bothering to train too many...and that wasn't going to keep happening.

He taught you how to use a whip, just in case, and a pistol. You rarely needed either, but it was always important to know your tools at hand. He tried to ignore the way his heart felt like it was beating a violent staccato in his throat as he carefully used his hands to adjust your stance, twisting your waist with slow guidance. Wanting more, so much more, and being so goddamn terrified of being turned down, turned away. He had never lost a partner to them leaving by choice before, and he didn't want to start now.

But then, you had done the unthinkable. You had tricked him, playfully turning one of your lessons with him in such a way that you stole his breath with a kiss. And that's when Illinois knew he was down bad. The two of you spent each quiet moment when treasure hunting building your relationship, and as his fear of losing you to a trap vanished slowly, stolen away by your skillful hands.

He knew.

He knew what you meant, then. To him, to how you slotted yourself into his life, to how he couldn't think of spending it without you any more.

Sure, he had to use a little trickery to get you to come here, but the waterfall was gorgeous, sparkling light diamonds in the right light. You were setting up camp, and he was supposed to be focusing on the campfire, but...well.

The little ring box in his pocket wasn't letting him focus too well on getting that set up right. It was worth it to see the way confusion danced over your face when he dropped to one knee, box held out and opened with a silent, nervous smile, like the world's largest cliché. It was worth it for the way you nearly tackled both of you into the water with a shouted "Yes!"

And, best of all, it was worth it for the way you kissed him, hands pushing his hat off his head to hold him to you, kissing him with a passion you admitted to him later that night, had been there since he pulled you out of that very first trap.

#khaki colored flirt #iswm illinois #heist with markiplier #gn!reader x illinois #gn!reader #my writing #GODDAMN IT QUILL THIS IS YOUR FAULT #markiplier egos #a heist with markiplier #ahwm illinois #markiplier illinois

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sl-newsie · 9 months

Text

Spelled (Carlos de Vil x Sanderson Daughter) Ch. 17: Lessons In Love

The next morning I decide to not wallow in sadness in my dorm and immediately join some of the VKs for breakfast in the dining hall.

“Chad tattled on me- he turned in my mirror! But it’s ok, because I still got a B+ without the mirror! Me and Doug are going to study later!” Evie says proudly.

“Oh really?” I say with a hint of mischief. “Doug’s starting to grow on you, huh?”

The blue-haired VK laughs it off. “Haha, maybe. He’s nice, and really sweet-”

“I’m sure Magica could say the same thing about Carlos,” Mal smirks. “Any chance you two’ll be an official couple?”

They must still think I’m spelled. I got to play- ugh. A dumb blonde. Just like Mother.

“Maybe! He’s super gracious, and really cute! Do you think he’ll ask me out?”

“I don’t know.” Evie stands up and starts ushering Mal out of her seat. “But right now we’ve got to get Mal ready for her date.”

I’m taken aback. “Really? Today?”

“Yes! Mal asked me out on a- date,” Mal says with distaste. “And never been gone on one before, Evie’s helping me dress properly.”

I follow them out and to their dorm, thinking about any precautions I could take to keep Ben safe from any trickery Mal might have planned for him. It’s my job to protect him, not only as Royal Advisor but as an old friend. If anything happens to Ben I’d never forgive myself, so what can I do?

“Uh, guys? What exactly are you doing for the date? Anything fun?” Why must I degrade my intellect? This is so humiliating!

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Mal looks bored out of her mind as Evie starts applying blush.

“You could at least be nice to him, Mal. He’s a nice guy. And, fair warning-” I step forward and hold up a flaming hand. “You hurt him, I do the same and worse to you. You might be able to fool him with your love spell, but not me.” Both Evie and Mal’s jaws drop in surprise, but I keep going. “I’m not going to make-believe as some ditsy blonde and pretend this is all normal. Be good to him, got it?” I point a flaming warning finger just as there’s a knock on the door. “I will leave you to your date, Mal. Don’t mind me, third-wheel witch coming through-”

The door opens and reveals Ben, who ignores me and smiles at Mal. “For the first time I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful.”

I gag. “Too sweet! Too sweet! Must- find- wickedness!” I stumble out into the hallway and-

“Ah!”

And I bump right into Carlos!

“Hi Carlos!” My face brightens.

“Um, hi Magica! Um… You’re not busy, are you?”

“Not for you, dear.” I poke his nose. Why did I do that?!

Carlos sways a little. “Oh- gosh. Um, would you- would you maybe want to go for a walk- or or something?”

I must be dreaming, because I think Carlos just asked me to take a walk with him.

“Yes! I’d love to!” Does he still think I’m spelled by the love potion?

Ben shuts the door before Evie or Mal can warn Carlos, leaving me to pretend to be- in love with him? But I already love him. So does that mean he’ll think it’s all fake? This is too complicated!

“Oh! Ok then, I was thinking maybe you pick the spot since you know more about Auradon than I do?” Carlos says while shuffling his feet.

I really feel sorry for him, because I know he’s just as awkward as I am about this love spell situation. So I try to make him less tense.

“So you want a more in-depth tour? Sure thing, Freckles.”

The new nickname makes Carlos relax a little, and we start walking towards the school gardens. Just keep focused, steady breathing. After all, he knows this isn’t real love, right?

“So where are we going?” Carlos asks.

“First off,” I start explaining when we get to the hedges surrounding the school. “This school is, in fact, a prison of sorts. You’ve seen how lovely the people can be here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Right. So once in a while I need to find a place to be by myself, or just to practice magic without Ben knowing. Behold!” I snap my fingers and the hedge parts away to reveal a small walkway lined with trees. “My passage to the outside world! Join me, if you dare!” I hold my hand out.

At first Carlos looks skeptical, but then a joyful grin spreads across his face and he grasps my hand.

“Sure will, Enchantress. Lead on!”

Grateful for his enthusiasm, I lead Carlos down the darkened path while he keeps looking at the wildlife as if it’s made of gold. He doesn’t say much, just an occasional sound of astoundment. It makes me wonder if he’s ever even seen trees up close before.

“Is this still on school grounds?” He asks in a dazed voice.

“Technically yes. It’s supposed to only be a small patch of shrubs and a few pines, but I used a memory spell and hexed it to be like Sherwood Forest. Just, you know… A little piece of home I can go to when I want to be alone.” We get to the end of the woods, where there’s a hedge wall marking the edge. “This is as far as I can go without breaking school policy.”

“You don’t seem too keen on curses, right?” Carlos observes. “Only hexes, spells, and jinxes.”

I’m surprised at his keen observation. Normally people don’t think about the different ways of magic except defining it as either good or wicked.

“Hexes, spells, and jinxes are universal ways of magic used by all magical beings. Cursing is a type of magic that is used for evil, and is almost always permanent. Once you’ve cursed something or someone, there’s no turning back unless the curse wears a time sentence or you can conjure a counter-curse correctly. But even so I’ve heard of cases where counter-curses have gone terribly wrong.”

Carlos nods his head and keeps looking around the forest, appearing to be fascinated by the roses I’ve placed out.

“So no one knows about here?”

“Yup. It lets me practice magic without any prying eyes.”

Carlos gets a confused look, and for a moment I fear I’ve said too much. Never overtell, Magica. You can always add, you can never take back.

“Magica… I know you haven’t had the best luck with friends, but maybe you can stop hiding your magic and start showing them how good you are?” I try to protest but Carlos grabs my hand. “I mean, your magic is just- wow! You’re so talented, and yet all people see it as a way to fix their problems. But you’re too nice to be cruel. You deserve more, Magica.”

He… he’s not scared of me? Doesn’t think I need to be controlled? God, Carlos, where have you been all this time? Everyone’s always thought of my powers as flickering flames needing to be tamed in order to prevent a raging inferno.

“Carlos, you’re really sweet to say that. B- But you have to understand that I- I-” I’m the daughter of a witch! “I’m different. I’ll never be like- Just, please understand that I can’t.”

“But magic is allowed here! It’s not like you’re on the Isle where you can’t even have a hot meal, let alone turn invisible or fly! And you said it yourself, people here can be difficult. Is the hope of halfwitted friendship worth downplaying your talents?”

My heart starts beating like a marching drum, but not from anger. Fear.

“Believe me, Carlos. When it comes to people like you or me, friends come in short supply. And before you say anything, yes, I know I didn’t grow up on the Isle and will never be able to fully understand how hard you guys have it. But that doesn’t mean life in Auradon is a peach either. At least you VKs were encouraged to be confident and cruel, whereas I was taught to be nice and let people torment me. Do you know Wendy Darling?”

“Yeah I’ve heard of her.”

“Her daughter Willow has always had it out for me just because I was friends with Ben, because ‘an antisocial weirdo shouldn’t have the privilege to associate with royalty.’ She started to suspect I was a witch, though I don’t know how. Year after year she’d find new ways to be a painful thorn in my side. But my father always told me to control my temper and keep my magic hidden.”

“But you’re so good at it. Surely you practiced?”

“Yes, I practiced in the woods away from prying eyes. But both father and I feared that if I revealed my powers then I would be taken away.”

I continued to tell him about how the villagers had turned against me after I’d set the building on fire, expecting him to laugh or make fun of my mishaps. But he doesn’t. He never interrupts, he sits and watches me with a serious face. When I’m finished, he looks to the ground and shakes his head.

“Magica, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I guess… Being a VK means your mind’s set on an island figuratively and literally. We thought that you guys here are all one and the same, but we’re wrong.”

“People in Auradon pretend to ignore the strange and unusual, but deep down they alway hide resentment under a fake smile. I’m starting to come to terms that you don’t alway need people to like you. Friends are overrated anyway.”

“But you like me- um, the VKs, right?”

“I do. I really do, Freckles. Although Mal can be a tad snarky at times she’s still not as bad as Aurdey.”

“Tell me about it.” Carlos rolls his eyes.

“And Evie’s helped me redesign my fashion style, Jay’s encouraged my shenanigans even after Ben’s said to put it all behind me-”

Carlos smirks. “Still running a-muck.”

“A-muck! A-muck! A-muck, a-muck, a-muck!” When I’ve run out my wild spree I put a hand to my chest in an attempt to calm down. “Told you that word triggers madness. Anyways… Lastly, you’ve always been a true friend, Carlos. You actually want to listen and care because you’re courteous, not because you’re looking to gain something. Mal wants my magic, Evie wants to use me as a fashion model, Jay wants my whitty ideas. Everyone who’s come close to being my friend has always wanted to use me for something, but not you. And I thank you for that.”

Carlos’ POV

Oh God… This is making me feel worse! Magica’s telling me I’m the only one who’s never tried to use her, all while she’s under a love spell. But if I tell her the truth then she’ll hate me… is it better to let her keep thinking I wouldn’t betray her?

“If… If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always here.”

The pink-haired Enchantress smiles kindly. “Thanks, Freckles. It’s nice to know I’ve at least got one friend.”

It’s like every word is digging me a deeper hole of guilt.

I try to change the subject. “Should we head back? I think FG said something about a surprise.”

Magica’s face falls. “Oh, really? I wasn’t notified… Maybe Ben forgot?”

Magica’s POV

We sneak back through the hedge and into the school garden, double-checking to make sure we’re alone. Carlos leads the way to the library, where we find FG and the other VKs waiting for us in front of a computer. I’ll have to ask Ben how the date went.

“Hey, Carlos!” Evie waves.

Jay smirks at me. “Hiya, trixie! Come to meet our parents?”

“Parents? What dost thou mean?”

Fairy Godmother tilts her head at my unusual tongue but proceeds to set up her computer. “I’ve arranged a surprise conference with the VKs and their parents on the Isle. Ben came up with the idea yesterday and I thought it was a thoughtful gesture.”

So, I guess being Royal Advisor means nothing?

I frown at Carlos. “Oh, like a Zoom meeting or something? Do your parents know how to work that?”

He shrugs. “Guess we’ll find out. I’ve never seen mom operate a tv remote, much less a computer. You, um… I guess you wouldn’t want to meet her, huh?”

I shake my head. “I’m grateful for the kind gesture, but I shall have to politely decline.”

Carlos gives my hand a squeeze. “I don’t blame you.”

In seconds, the electronics whizz to life and the screen fizzles on to show the VKs’ parents. I must admit they’re less… intimidating than how I imagined them. At most they seem like the type of parents I’ve seen squabble at parent-teacher conferences.

I try to keep a low profile and stand back next to FG, but my pink hair and unique clothes don’t exactly help me go unnoticed.

“Ooh! A new witch! Who is she?” Maleficent asks Mal.

Evie’s mom is all giddy too. “She looks familiar… but I can’t put my finger on it….”

Please don’t put your finger on it, don’t put anything on it!

Now a lady with puffy hair and black-and-white speckled furs puts her face to the camera. Cruella de Vil- Carlos’ mom.

“Carlos! Is that a dog? He looks the perfect size for earmuffs!”

Her son, however, has a different opinion. “He’s the perfect size for a pet! I love him and he loves me! And FYI, your dog is stuffed! So give it a rest!”

“Ooh, burn!”

Jafar starts the villains bickering and it all ends with Fairy Godmother pulling the plug. The saddened headmistress looks at the VKs, who’ve all grown dreary faces.

“I’m so sorry.”

Mal tries to ignore her and says everything is fine, but I can tell from the pain behind Carlos’ eyes that everything is indeed not fine. Jay’s got a worried look on his face, Evie keeps checking her reflection, and Carlos is clutching onto Dude for dear life.

Once Fairy Godmother has walked on, I turn to the group with a determined look.

“Don’t be worried. No one can harm you here, no matter how hard your parents try.”

“You don’t know our parents, Magica!” Mal yells with her arms tensed.

“You might think that you have to prove yourselves to them or live up to their evil standards, but I promise that here you never need to!” I try to comfort her, but she just shakes her head furiously and storms out, followed by Evie and Jay.

“She’s right, Magica.” Carlos is still clinging to Dude. “Our loyalty to our parents will always come first. We can’t change it.”

I approach him slowly and wrap my arms around him and his faithful dog.

“I’m so sorry, Carlos. You shouldn’t have to go through with this. Love comes in all sorts of lessons, whether it be through parenting or heartbreak. What matters is what we choose to learn from it.”

And what I’ve learned is that life isn’t fair, and that the world can be a very cruel place.

#carlos de vil x reader #carlos de vil #descendants carlos #evie descendants #mal descendants #jay descendants #disney descendants #descendants #ben descendants #audrey descendants #doug descendants #uma descendants #harry hook descendants #binx hocus pocus #hocus pocus #sarah sanderson #winifred sanderson #mary sanderson

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chidoroki · 2 years

Text

Ya Boy Kongming! EP11

aka: the total disrespect!

“Today, there is a chance of thick fog in the Tokyo area. Those of you out in the roads, please take extra care to drive safely.” This weather report makes me nervous because if it wasn’t gonna be important later then they wouldn’t let us hear it and make it so obvious ya know? God, there better be no car crash or something.

Azalea are really bribing people with the chance to win a bunch of money just for the 100k likes.. I know it’s more their manager’s planning but still.

“A total of 100 million yen’s a small price to pay.” Bro what kind of life do you have where that amount of money is considered small?? I mean.. okay, comparing it now to USD I guess it isn’t as much as I previously thought but still, enough for me!

Kongming really out here staring down on all of Shibuya like Itachi right before the Uchiha massacre.

Yo wait a minute, are Eiko & Kabe really gonna perform in the exact same spot as Azalea?

Dude oh my god, yeesss let’s go!

Oohh even if Azalea does show up, the crowd can’t scan their QT code to give them likes due to the fog! At least I think that was the whole idea? Unless the fog just makes it harder for the crowd to recognize Eiko instead? Either way, having our girl play one of Azalea’s songs to grab everyone’s attention is smart too.

Eiko had a QR code too but I doubt it would work the same way though, like Kongming doesn’t seen like the type to bribe the fans with money, just using the crowd’s knowledge of Azalea’s trickery is sly enough.

Hold up that little history lesson about the arrows was actually kinda nice. Totally fit this plan as well, which I know is the whole point of hearing about Kongming past achievements but this is the first time in a long time where one actually made a good amount of sense to me ahha..

We’re at 70,472 likes so far but not close enough, and with the real Azalea pulling up now, things are about to get heated.

I’m probably being bias towards Eiko but I honestly don’t think the whole Azalea group is that good.

Oohh Nanami finally recognized Eiko across the stage.

I love how we know little to nothing about this super Eiko fanboy that we keep seeing glimpses of all the time yet he’s been around since the beginning and working with Kongming in the shadows.

Kabe dissing not only Azalea but the crowd is everything I ever wanted right now. Dude is so damn quick with coming up with bars right on the spot.

Broooo our boy is spitting facts!!

Eh Azalea gained 98,749 likes but things are taking quite a turn with all the fake rumor chatter now.

The whole crowd might hate us now but Eiko’s gonna make em fall in love I’m sure.. we just gotta wait til next episode of course..

Oh hey, no crash happened, so that’s good.

#paripi koumei #episode reaction

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writeranon69 · 1 year

Note

Now listen closely Here's a little lesson in trickery This is going down in history If you wanna be a Villain Number One You have to chase a superhero on the run Just follow my moves, and sneak around Be careful not to make a sound (Shh) (No, don't touch that!)

We are Number One Hey! We are Number One We are Number One

Ha ha ha Now look at this net, that I just found When I say go, be ready to throw Go! (Throw it on him, not me!) (Ugh, let's try something else) Now watch and learn, here's the deal He'll slip and slide on this banana peel! (Ha ha ha, gasp! what are you doing!?)

Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba We are Number One Hey! Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba We are Number One Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba We are Number One Hey! Ba-ba-biddly-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba We are Number One Hey! Hey!

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koiyin · 2 years

Note

Robbie: "Are you, uh, a real villain?" Bobbie: "Well, uh, technically... nah." Robbie: "Have you ever caught a good guy, like, uh, like a real superhero?" Bobbie: "Nah." Robbie: "Have you ever tried a disguise?" Bobbie: "Nah, nah..." Robbie: "Alright! I can see that I will have to teach you how to be villains!"

Hey! We are Number One Hey! We are Number One

We are Number One Hey! We are Number One We are Number One

Then we're no different than everyone else

we'd be taking the easy road

offering nothing but cordial company and

a little shallow valuable advice you

might be right hmm in fact you're

absolutely right but you want to know

what I think about it are you okay we

just got our butts kicked we lost one

maybe we should all just quit

maybe we're washed up it could be a big

waste of time it's what we've always

been told right I guess all those people

knew what they were talking about we're

a bunch of game junkies locked in our

rooms addicted to wasting time and so

what if we are guys I mean it's not like

we didn't already know it we all knew

exactly who we were and still be kept

logging back in we all did the same

thing if they want to quit so be it but

I will not stop I'm not backing down

just because I got punched in the face I

get it we lost it's something that's new

for us but it probably won't be the last

time there's no need to start packing it

in after one defeat I mean our win to

loss ratio is what counts right all you

have to do is take a look on the server

and see it for yourself you're great at

this even if it's meant for kids it's

more than that it's something special to

I'm not saying grow up and go back to 16

oh I wouldn't tell you something like

that because we're all the same in here

look we all might feel like we're

worthless for losing this quest but

there's no way that's going to keep me

from doing it again for me this is the

center of my universe are we all just

bits and bytes of worthless information

on some server now I don't think so

because you're here and you're worth

something all of you

you might feel lost and stuck in here

but I'm glad that you're with me the

idiots out there who told you that games

were worthless well I'm telling you that

they were wrong never allow someone who

doesn't understand you tell you what to

do I might look a little ridiculous

right now

just some shut-in playing a silly game

but you know what if it's something that

inspires me and drives me what's wrong

with that it's my choice and that's all

that matters all of us decided we wanted

to be here I don't care who you are I

won't let anyone make light of that just

look at all the time we've invested in

elder tales seriously it was a whole

hell of a lot of time when a raid boss

showed his face we'd grab our weapons

and lay a feeding on him we couldn't be

stopped and yeah

we got all excited and sounded like a

bunch of giddy kids sure maybe it was

nothing but a bunch of ones and zeros on

a computer somewhere miles away but

since the beginning we loved it and

sometimes we won and sometimes we lost

but we came back either way so what if

we've actually let this game consume us

every minutes been worth it right yes

winning is the best part we'd celebrate

split up all the epic items and toast

our victory and when we lost we pick

ourselves up have an evaluation meeting

and try to find a better way if you want

sit there and tell me it's a waste of

time go right ahead like I said this is

your choice but I don't care if it's a

game anymore and if we do put our time

into this place then we make it worth it

okay we lost and for silversword winning

raids was like doing something sacred so

what do I do now what what else do I

tell them what else can I say what I

mean is that we're not like them aren't

we all the same here it's just us I

really don't care about anyone else at

this point

hey get it together what are you saying

I just mean I know it's easier to give

up and move on and you're all free to do

just that I'm so then why am I going off

like this anyway yes William what's the

point here so look it's like this I

don't know you got that right do it for

you anything that helps you make a

friend has got to be worth something

I guess this is really all I can tell

them it's fine if it's your good looks

or if you're clever and smart you're the

life of the party or maybe you've got a

good sense of humor but I've got to ask

you this did you really have all those

things in your personality when we were

in real life I know I didn't and I admit

it I was very awkward

look you guys I know I've never said

this before couldn't bring myself to but

you guys are all my friends

huh then you know what without the game

I wouldn't have any friends I'm just a

nobody I'm a loser I just I just hit

myself away and lived inside a game

not even sure why I guess I just needed

a place to heal or something and inside

the game I'd say I found that there's a

way to fall back and get help and a way

to help others I found a guy who thought

he belongs on the front lines but didn't

have to stay there instead he learned

another way to be valuable he may have

been quiet and reserved and didn't get

all the attention he wanted but you know

what turned out he was the one his

friends could always count on he was

terrified but he didn't let it show he's

dead tired from daily life but he made

it a point to log in every single day I

see it I really do I mean it and that's

what this is all about yes that's right

this game has taught me a lot about

people and myself I heard it all in the

outside world you just don't get it

you're self-righteous you're

inconsiderate you're a lousy team player

you don't have any patience you can't

take a hint

you don't belong anywhere you can only

hear so much of that over and over but

will you just shut everyone out of your

existence Elder tales was different it

was a place where somehow I actually

started feeling connected

I cherished those bonds with every ounce

of my being and in return my new friends

shared so many secrets with me the first

thing I learned was teamwork there were

a few people I worked well with but

others not so much

some players got it and others just

didn't but learning how to work with

others was the best reward of all

I soon figured out that some

partnerships didn't work out only

because they didn't know what I was

after and then I finally started raiding

and before you knew it I became a guild

master next I learned that our win-loss

ratio magically increased on nights we

were all hyped up sometimes about little

stupid things some party members played

feeling great and others lousy I mean we

all had our own personal problems going

on in the real world I quickly realized

that everyone in my guild was just like

me I started asking them about their

lives and what they wanted for me is

their leader I finally learned patience

and how to ask the right questions it's

really an art form you know and after a

while everyone started to put up with my

short fuse most raid guilds don't last

very long every raid will come across

something that everyone wants and not

everyone gets to have it especially if

there's only one item people in your

party feel cheated and they let you know

about it

everyone gets ticked at each other and

eventually it all breaks apart

but somehow we managed to always work it

out

I tried to be completely open with my

guildmates about everything they forgave

me for getting pissed off all the time

and started to trust me and word of our

guild grew and it wasn't long before

everyone knew we were a force to be

reckoned with

everyone in elder tales knew the names

silver sword I mean come on I know what

you're thinking it's not that hard to

figure out you think this is it don't

you game over

admit it you'd rather just go back home

and forget this ever happened

and yeah well maybe that is an option

but I like being here and I know that at

least a few of you enjoyed this too we

all ended up in this place because we

loved the game I mean is it really so

bad that we're here this is the world of

Elder tales we obsessed over it day and

night and now we're here this is the

world where we are at our best you can't

tell me this isn't a blessing

[Music]

the thing that made me the happiest was

seeing that everyone else was in here

with me you guys you're just like I

imagined and I hope I'm the same to you

maybe that's beside the point

but I'm just glad we could do this

together and there's no one to tell us

we're losers here right but now we will

we will be a bunch of losers if we leave

maybe we can't win maybe this is

impossible the odds are definitely

against us but who cares who cares if we

lose again can you look yourself in the

mirror if you don't try what do you

think we'll be doing if we just go back

huh what's left for us take this away

and what do we have left

I played elder tales so much that

everyone thought I was a freak I've

given two years of my life to this place

I couldn't think of anything else

whenever I played it when I ate slept

and bathed my head was in the game every

single thing I did in life everything I

did was for Elder tales yeah same here

mm-hmm you can call me crazy if you want

that's fine I'm used to that yeah I'm a

gamer dork who spends his nights with

friends he's never even seen to win some

imaginary prizes but I'm going to do it

the best I can so I'm not going anywhere

I'm not going to turn and run away from

an extra raid boss or two where would I

go if I didn't take this sign who would

I be if I were to scoff at all this like

the jerks back home so if you choose to

walk away then you will join the very

people that laughed at us and put us

down and then I say to hell with you

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paulinawoodpecker · 19 days

Text

we are number one script:

Tiffany: Okay, are you a real villain?

Sparrow: Well technically uh...

Tiffany: Have you ever caught a good guy like a real pokemon trainer?

Sparrow: Nah *Giovanni shakes his head*.

Tiffany: Have you ever tried a disguise?

Sparrow: Nah, nah. *Giovanni shakes his head*

Tiffany: Alright! I can see, that I will have to teach you how to be villains! *Plays saxophone*

All villains: Hey! *Starts dancing and Tiffany looks inside the saxophone*

*all villain minions start to play musical instruments*

Everyone: (singing) we are number one (hey!).

meanwhile outside, ash and misty both looked through binoculars and saw one of the villains setting up a trap, misty and ash both gasped and ducked back down

Tiffany: Now listen closely! Here's a little lesson in trickery! This is going down in history! If you wanna be a villain number one, you have to chase a pokemon trainer on the run! *Ash runs by* Go go go! Just follow my moves, and sneak around, be careful not to make a sound! Sh! *Sparrow steps on branch* No, don't touch that! *Grabs branch from Sparrow's hands* Agh! Everybody get ready!

Tiffany and other villains: We are number one! *Ladder falls onto Sparrow and the net falls onto Tiffany as Ash gets away* Hey! We are number one!

Tiffany: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

All villains: We are number one! We are number one!

Tiffany: Ha ha ha! Now look at this net that I just found! When I say go, be ready to throw! Go! *meowth, james and jessie throw net on Tiffany as Ash runs by*

Tiffany: Throw it on him not me! Ugh, let's try something else. Now watch and learn here's the deal! *Drops banana peels on the ground* You'll slip and slide on this banana peel! Ha ha ha! *the other villains slip on the banana peels*

Other villains: ugh!

Tiffany: What are you doing?! Ah! *Runs behind tree* *James sniffs flower and Meowth laughs* *James drops flowers, and him and Jessie attempt to grab the rope to trip Ash, but fail*

Tiffany: Ugh! *Runs over to the rope*

Other villains: (singing) Ba, ba-biddly-ba, ba-ba-ba Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba, we are number one! Hey! *James and Jessie grab the rope, and Tiffany trips on it* *Meowth runs out from the tree, and throws the bucket over one of the sick characters was green and Tiffany facepalms when Tim vomits in the bucket, and Tiffany fell over*

Tiffany: ah!

Other villains: (singing) Ba, ba-biddly-ba, ba-ba-ba Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba,

Tiffany: Villain number one! Hey! Ba, ba-biddly-ba, ba-ba-ba Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba,! We are number one! Hey! Ba, ba-biddly-ba, ba-ba-ba Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, ba-ba, We are number one! We are number one!

Tiffany: We are number one!

Tiffany and the other villains: hey hey!

0 notes

fumikomiyasaki · 4 months

Note

💖 with Vincent, Trixie or any of my mcs

Blind Date

He wasn't here on purpose... he was just curious about what was going on in one restaurant as he was shopping ingredients for his spells and then some people sat him down at this table... explaining a blind date to him... Might as well doesn't hurt to try, after all he was hoping after his past loves to find someone to hold close again...

However seeing who has been sat down at his table a bit of dissapointment spread over his face but he was willing to listen to this man... a Labcoat maybe he was a doctor... however he noticed soon that they actually were attenting the same school.

"Its an honor to finally meet the great magician of Forodwyn... I heard many stories about you."

"And you are?"

"Vincent. A great scientist from the Terrovania dorm. It would be my honor if we could use this opportunity to discuss maybe some spells and-"

"I apoligize to dissapoint you but... I have heard some rumors of your work... in regards to your efforts and I find them foolish."

"Pardon."

Odel picked up his staff and looked in a light stare at him.

"Playing with life and death... trying to undo what the world has foretold... will only end up in defects and things that might make someone happy for a short while but in all... it means if the revival results in them getting killed again it will hurt you over and over again... I must know. Goodbye, Mr. Vincent. I hope you will learn this lesson or rethink your work."

"How dare he... and I thought that old man would understand me..."

He watched Odel leave the restaurant holding a Pendant in his hand.

"If you could have spend eternity with me I would but... life doesn't work that way"

----- Trixie:

He was confused how he already got here but.. now he was faced with this small girl who just pouted looking at him.

"You are abnormally tall, bunny."

"I-I know... sorry if this is a problem."

"Say what do you do for fun? I do enjoy just putting small powder bombs in people pocket or swapping someones Lipstick... its fun to prank people!"

"Isn't that a-a little mean thought?"

"Geez you really just boring as a whole, Bunny... I should teach you the wonders that is trickery."

Fabio got off his chair nervous not wanting to upset her but he knew he was wrong here.

"Um let me get to the bathroom then we can talk about it."

Despite his height and everything he managed to call Lennox to get him out of this.... afraid of the little girl he just talked to.

---

James:

"Jamie what are you doing here?"

As he entered the whole room for the blinddates he was surprised to be placed right across from Zariyah who just got up and put an arm on his shoulder.

"I just got pushed here by my friends really... that is all?"

"Really... and I thought with how popular you are you already would have a partner... "

"Popular? You probably mean someone else."

"Nope, I don't think so... you probably just don't know how many people are talking about you, James. Anyways finding a friend is better than finding someone boring to talk to, how about we chat a little?"

He was a bit confused by her comment... Popular him? He listened to her talk about her training a little... some of those mannerisms made him realize why many called her puppy.... as he focused she suddenly snapped her finger in front of his face.

"Jamie, what are you thinking about, you seem lost again?"

"Nothing just... wouldn't Ciel usually not let you to such things?"

"Well... there is a lot my bestie doesn't know. I myself do want to be a hero but any hero needs someone to celebrate it in the end of the day, right? And I am willing to go here to find people that might be interesting. Still was happy to meet you here. Its rare we get to chat one on one... "

"You are right. "

"Oh right... how about we train together later, the food here is on the house for me?"

He was glad to at least not gotten a worse person to sit on this table with but also he knew what people meant that Zariyah had a certain charisma of an instant buddy. Both got off the table eventually and smiled at another before walking to the training grounds.

#twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland ocs #twst #disney twst #twst ocs #twistedwonderland #twistedwonderlandoc #odel aradia #fabio vierunar #zariyah hyacinth

0 notes

top-secret-twins · 1 year

Note

now watch and learn, here's the deal. He'll slip and slide on this banana peel!

here’s a little lesson in trickery. This is going down in HISTORY

(-haruko <;3)

#haruko answer #totally legit interview questions #(i couldn’t think of a funny way to answer this.)#(if only she could play her saxophone in a text post…)

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p2ep · 3 years

Text

dont fuck with me i still have the entirety of we are number one memorized from 2016

#krestel speaks #brain when math formulas: hmm idk #brain with funny meme song from 4 years ago: NOW LISTEN CLOSLEY HERES A LITTLE LESSON IN TRICKERY THIS IS GOING DOWN IN HISTORY

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curryandbread · 3 years

Note

Hello Curry! Can I request a Twisted Wonderland Headcanon with Dorm Leader when they witness they're S/o almost getting kidnap by someone (can be RSA student or anyone random but please no Neige) that have obsession towards their S/O.

Thank you~ oh! And make it Sfw please.

TWST Dorm Leaders protecting an s/o whose involved in an attempted kidnapping

hi anon!! thank you for requesting~

TW: drugging

Riddle Rosehearts

You were asked to meet someone at Heartslabyul’s rose gardens. It was a heartfelt letter, and for some reason it got you curious to who the sender might be.

Riddle keeps you close whenever you go somewhere. But this is a matter on your own hands, he lets you off once as he bids you a farewell with a kiss on the forehead.

You were waiting, looking around until someone from behind hugs your body tightly as you yelped. Unfortunately, your screams were muffled as the perpetrator covered your mouth with a hand.

Just when you were struggling, Riddle successfully hit the perpetrator down with his magic before running towards you.

He hugs you first thing, cupping your face as he checked if you had any injuries.

Riddle’s eyes were full of fire. He glared down at the person who attempted to kidnap you, not taking another latency of making them pay.

And once the situation was settled, with the perpetrator being taken away, from that since on, he will not leave you alone anymore.

He’d have you stay at his bedroom for security purposes, cuddling you to sleep as he whispered sweet nothings while he’s here.

Leona Kingscholar

Who dared to capture you?! Especially if you’re with the Leona Kingscholar.

In any circumstance that this one person doesn’t know that you’re dating Leona, he just signed himself a ticket for a train to hell.

Someone asks you to meet at the Magift field, offering you to ‘watch a game’, in which you allowed.

Leona would be somewhere unseen, most likely sleeping at random places again.

Someone violently grabs your arm, pinning you down to the ground with both of your arms behind you, you tried thrashing around but the perpetrator had a well-built physique.

Until suddenly, the perpetrator was sent flying by the jaw. The weight hanging over you dispersed immediately.

You look up to see Leona with the grimmest expression. His green orbs practically glowing.

Of course, the perpetrator got the message. As they scrammed without looking back, Leona eyes some of his men and gestured the delinquents to follow them.

Once the two of you are alone, he picks you up and slings you on his shoulder.

“Hey, herbivore. From now on I should see you in my sight. If you’re not there, you know the consequences.”

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul is the master of trickery, but he never saw it coming that someone would go to such an extent to kidnap you.

You were sitting alone at the bar of Mostro Lounge, waiting for your drink.

One of the students came to add something to your drink. Azul was not at the area, most likely at the VIP room doing his usual business.

You reach for your drink now being delivered to you. You took a sip, suddenly feeling your vision drop. The perpetrator purposely catches you before you even fall to the ground, insisting he’ll take you to the infirmary.

The perpetrator drags you somewhere secluded. Before they even tried to do something, a punch was landed on the perpetrator’s cheek.

All you could here was Floyd’s insanely high-pitched laughs, Jade following behind Floyd.

Once Azul gets the cue, the twins are going to give the perpetrator a little... lesson.

Whilst you can hear the perpetrator being abused by the twins at the back, Azul would stroke your cheek lovingly as he held you close.

“Let’s put it like this, treat it like a contract. You’ll stay by my side forever and never leave me, yes?”

Kalim Al-Asim

He knows he should be the one who’d get kidnapped due to certain cases in the past, but it had to be you instead of him.

You were only eating alone at Scarabia’s kitchen. The dorm head had gone to bed, and you were there to drop by for a little midnight snack.

Whilst your back was turned, arms loomed over you and your mouth was covered, trying to break free from the grip.

However the perpetrator stood his ground. You were struggling until the grip loosened. All you heard was a pan being hit on someone’s head.

It was Kalim who had thrown the pan at the perpetrator, now lying down on the ground.

He runs towards you and pulling you into an embrace, blaming himself for leaving you alone.

Jamil rushes down to see what’s the commotion he’s been hearing at the kitchen, of course, things are taken care of as he is already at the scene.

Next time, Kalim would have to reinforce the dorm with security barriers, and even make you sleep in his room, making sure that you’ll let him know that you’re running off somewhere.

Vil Schoenheit

Of course, some people will look down on you just like how people underestimate Vil.

It was the day of VDC, the representatives were busy preparing for their performance so you were left alone, Grim tagging along with the committees to secure other things for the festival.

You were only sitting on a bench by the stage. A student approaches you and they seemed to be from RSA. They hung around with you until they insisted to take you to a place they want you to see.

You politely decline but somehow the RSA student contained a short temper and was about to lash out on you.

However, Vil was quick to kick the student away from you.

The RSA student will definitely recognize who he just bumped into. Announcing a lot of apologies for his ‘rude’ behavior and leaves the two of you alone.

“Never mind you leaving us here. I’m taking you with me.” Said Vil.

Idia Shroud

Yada... yadaaaaaaa..! No way is he gonna have anyone even lay a finger on you without him around you.

You were only doing laboratory maintenance duties, you alone with another student assigned to help you.

Somehow, the student beside you pushes you down to the ground as he pinned you down. Shocked and unable to asses the situation, you suddenly heard a small voice from the corner.

“Charging laser beam, 30%.”

It was Ortho.

The student hissed, getting off of you as he ran away. Idia rushes in to check on you and pulled you up.

You asked him how did he know, he said he saw it from the security cameras. Don’t even ask him why he even has access...

Of course you had to thank Ortho for him nearly blasting the whole school down just for you. Giving Idia a reassuring smile as you held his hand with a light squeeze.

Malleus Draconia

It would bring a disgrace to the title of the next head of the Valley of Thorns if he were to harm someone for you. However, he will do so just to keep you by his side.

You were at a janitor’s closet, putting away the mop you had just used to clean a breakage that Grim has caused. Malleus was also there to witness it, however you insisted you’d clean up instead of him.

You were heading out of the closet, suddenly someone blocks your path and pushes you back in the closet.

It was a delinquent from Savanclaw who had wanted to take revenge for Diasomnia’s victory in every Magift tournament by holding the Diasomnia dorm leader’s precious, you, captive.

It was not long until a green mist of magic hit the back of the student’s head, knocking them to the ground.

Malleus had come to rescue you.

“I can never forgive myself for dragging you into this.”

You were quick to tell him that it wasn’t his fault and thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland headcanons #twst hcs #twst headcanons #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto x reader #azul ashengrotto #kalim al asim x reader #kalim al asim #vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit x reader #idia shroud x reader #idia shroud #malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia

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chaozsilhouette · 3 years

Text

A Revealing Performance

My rendition for the Shadow Play in @winterpower98's Swap Au.

It was supposed to be a simple thing, then it sort of spiraled into this whole deal. For the effects of the Shadow Lantern, I drew some inspiration from her Cursed Au as I never thought simply using her friends was cruel enough for the Monkey Tyrant.

It serves to show just how far Macaque has grown, but also to highlight just how monstrous he was.

_____________________________

Mei refrained from downing her bubble tea as she waited for the play to start. It had been a rough couple of weeks with Spider Queen and that creepy girl. And failing to find where Xiaotian had run off to after the misunderstanding. When Macaque sent her tickets to the local theatre, she was ashamed to think it was a trap.

Pigsy and Sandy were right. After everything that happened, she needed some serious me time. She had been too stressed.

Besides, everyone knew Macaque was a total theatre nerd. Few people knew that the star puppeteer was actually the Six-Eared Macaque himself. He would totally send her tickets from his stomping grounds as a way to unwind.

It was a shame that Tang couldn’t join them. Apparently, he finally managed to schedule a meeting with the Celestial Realm and was Taking the demon brothers to figure out a new way of sealing the Monkey Tyrant. It was also his chance to explain their little break-in during New Years. He encouraged her to have fun and if it was good, he’d join them for the next showing.

So here they were waiting for the performance to start. Although she wondered what the fake mayor was doing here. They hadn't seen him since he gave her the skeleton key. Still wasn't sure why he had it or why he gave it to her? Supposedly she was only supposed to have it for a day, but he never stopped by to pick it up.

_____________________________

Sun Wukong was a monkey of many talents, but even he had to admit Macaque was a far better storyteller and his mastery of shadows was sheer perfection. But that just made this plan all the more perfect. What better way to teach his wayward beloved’s little flower a lesson than through a trusted medium.

Obtaining a spot in the local theatre was child’s play, a little magic and they were all but begging him to take center stage. Apparently, they had been scrambling to find a new performer after their star puppeteer had to leave for a family emergency (three guesses as to who that was). And with a little glamor, a set of tickets was left at the little flower's doorstep. As far as she knew, Macaque was proud of her progress and believed she had deserved a reward for all her hard work. She was so desperate for something to go right she hardly questioned how her mentor, who was in parts unknown, managed to secure tickets for a new performer.

In his personal dressing room, Wukong delicately touched up his human disguise. Even if he was going to be hidden in his hanfu and cloak, it wouldn’t do to spoil the surprise. Applying his eye shadow with artful flair, the Monkey King took time to appreciate just how handsome he truly was no matter what form he took. Honestly, who would have thought such perfection existed?

A pulse of dark magic drew his attention to his latest partner in crime.

The Shadow Lantern gently floated before him. Its dark magic practically purring at the thought of being used. Wukong could almost laugh at his beloved’s foolishness. He was there when his darling created the lantern, when he infused his own shadows into its very foundation. Did he honestly think such a masterpiece would tolerate being left to collect dust in a cave?

Normally a magical artifact would never consider turning on its master, but after centuries of abandonment, all Wukong had to do was whisper his intentions to return Macaque to his former self to secure its loyalty. The second he first made contact, he could sense a twisted hunger writhing within and with each performance granting it the chance to feed on the life essence of the viewers…. hehe, he almost couldn’t contain himself.

Looking up at the clock, he saw it was just about time for his next performance. His clones had reported the girl’s presence along with the pig and the water demon. Strangely the one with glasses and the little matchstick was absent. No matter, he could make do with two hostages just fine.

After all, the show must go on.

_____________________________

The overhead lights dimmed, signaling the start of the play. Smoke slowly poured from beneath the floorboards, generating an air of mystery. In a flash of golden light, a tall man wearing a beautiful cloak manifested on center stage. The crowd silenced themselves at the display.

“Welcome viewers to a performance you shall never forget!” From the folds of his sleeves, an exquisite lantern floated in front of him. A mesmerizing yet familiar purple glow emanating from the center.

“Our tale tonight is one of love, companionship, and how even the strongest of bonds can be severed through the trickery of the wicked.”

In the background, the shadows twisted and grew in the lantern’s light. Carefully they formed a beautiful scene of a mountain covered in flowers and trees. Attention was gradually guided to the top, where a round stone basked in the sun.

“It all began with the birth of a King.”

The round stone broke, revealing a figure that resembled a monkey. But no, this was a monkey demon, a monkie if you would. The King journeyed down the mountain until he found a tribe of normal monkeys. The group frolicked for a while as the King established himself as the undisputed ruler of the tribe.

A large figure with an ax appeared. The monster brought down his ax upon a small collection of monkeys only to be stopped at the last second by the King. The King used his superior strength to steal the demon’s ax and used it to decapitate the intruder in a single stroke. The monkeys jumped around the King and praised his strength, but the King did not appear satisfied.

“The young King was born with great power and strength, but he sought out more to protect his people.”

The King crafted a raft and set out on a dangerous sea. The King was shown to face off against mountain gods, human warriors, and demonic sorcerers always to reign victorious but never satisfied.

“In his travels, he learned much and faced many enemies, in time his efforts were handsomely rewarded.”

The King climbed a fleet of stairs carved into a mountain to reach a humble monastery. At the top, a stern human stood, but behind him was another monkie. This one however possessed six ears.

“His quest for power led him to a Warrior of potential equaling his own. At first, neither was sure how to react to their mirror, but they quickly forged a comradery that took them far.”

The two monkies trained together, mastering new powers as they sparred.

“Their time together increased their power exponentially and as they grew stronger their feelings blossomed into something beautiful.”

The two were on a cliff overlooking the stars, slowly leaning closer to one another. Eventually, the two faced their opposite and leaned in close.

“Their fates had become intertwined. Their power was unmatched. It was then the King realized what he had been searching for all this time.”

The two shadows merged together in a complex dance until they separated into two beings once again, but not as they began. The two monkeys were now garbed in elaborate, yet practical armor and silks. The King wielded a staff and the Warrior took up a spear.

“Slowly their strength grew to where nothing could challenge them, whether in the Celestial Realm or on Earth.”

The King and Warrior were shown battling heavenly armies and powerful demons with confident smirks. Each battle resoundingly won through their combination of speed, strength, and cunning.

“But it was not enough. The King wished to ensure that he and the Warrior would be able to fight together forever and sought the power and respect needed to secure their future.”

The King took to the Heavens, where he stood before an Emperor in the most extravagant outfit, surrounded by massive guards in magical armor. The Emperor was clearly afraid as the King effortlessly toppled one guard after another, slowly approaching the throne at a steady pace.

“The King’s noble actions were viewed negatively by those who feared his ever-growing power. Eventually, a prison was crafted that could restrain the King, one that not even his beloved Warrior could destroy.”

Just before the King’s latest attack could reach the Emperor, chains wrapped around his limbs and dragged him down to Earth. With a quick flex, the chains shattered, but the King was doomed as a mountain landed on him with a seal placed at the top. The Warrior tried to pry off the seal or find some way to weaken the mountain, his acts growing more desperate with time, yet nothing worked.

“Cruelly, the King was forced to wait until he could be freed, forced to watch his precious Warrior defend their Kingdom on his own.”

With a heavy expression, the Warrior abandoned his efforts to return to the original mountain as dozens of terrifying figures surrounded the monkey inhabitants.

“Centuries passed and their love still burned strong. Soon their patience was rewarded, the King was freed but he was soon trapped in a new prison.”

A monk approached the mountain and removed the seal. The King swiftly destroyed the mountain. The monk humbly bowed to the King and offered fresh clothing and a fillet. The King garbed himself in the gifts only to collapse in agony when the monk prayed.

“Enraged the King played along until the time was right. The King and the Warrior reunited in secret and crafted a plan that would allow them to take their revenge on those that dared to separate them.”

The two monkies hugged and nuzzled each other in appreciation. A quick conversation later, the Warrior changed to resemble the King and joined the monk as the King headed into unknown lands.

“Decades later the King was ready to retrieve his love, confident in his regained strength. But when he arrived the Warrior had changed. It was as if the warrior had lost a crucial part of himself. The Warrior tried to dissuade the King from killing the monk and his companions. He even tried to convince him to give up his rage at the Celestial Realm, believing the war that would ensue wasn't worth it.”

The disguised Warrior was traveling with four colorful characters. The King dropped from the sky in front of the group, a massive crater forming around him. The Warrior regained his true form, but instead of returning to his rightful place, he blocked the King’s view of the monk.

“The King could not believe his ears. This could not be his Warrior. His love always understood his goals and knew why heaven had to pay. The King knew this change was the monk’s fault. The King moved to silence the deceiver in one quick strike only to find it blocked by the Warrior.”

The King and Warrior exchanged blows that tore mountains asunder, split the heavens, and burned down forests. The other demons following the monk tried to aid the warrior, but nothing they did seemed to slow down the King, if anything their attacks only served to further enrage him.

“The two clashed until the Warrior fled with the jailers. Time and time again they clashed, but never could the King reach the Warrior he held in his heart.”

The group fled from the battle, but time and time again the King tracked them down. The locations may have changed, but the carnage after each battle remained as world-shattering as the first. In the end, the Group managed to truly escape, and the Warrior vanished into the shadows he wielded, leaving the King alone with nothing but his memories.

“Even now the King yearns for the companionship of his beloved Warrior, knowing that at his core the Warrior craves the same.”

With the final line sending shivers down the spines of the viewers, the puppeteer vanished in a flash of light.

_____________________________

As Mei waited for her family to walk out, she couldn’t help but think about the play. It almost sounded like they were telling the tale of the Monkey King. But that was ridiculous. No one knew the Monkey King’s origins aside from minor details from the Journey to the West. Besides the narrator seemed to view the Monkey Tryant as a hero and victim. Clearly, that guy needed a reality check.

“Hello, young one.” Nearly choking on the remainder of her tea, Mei turned to see the puppeteer standing behind her with a knowing smile.

His cloak shrouding the top of his face in shadow. For a second, Mei envisioned her father Macaque. He would adore that look. Actually, didn’t she see a similar outfit in his closet on Flower Fruit Mountain? Doesn’t he wear that outfit when he’s hosting a shadow play?

Wait. How did he sneak up on her like that? Was she that out of it?

How long has she been quiet? Crap! Say something! “Oh. Ah-hello. C-can I help you with something?”

“I was about to ask the same. You do know the theatre is going to close soon right?”

“What?” Mei grabbed her phone. The digital clock flashed that it was past nine. That couldn’t be right. That meant she had been waiting for nearly an hour. But where were the others? Surely, they wouldn’t have left without telling her. Were they in trouble?

“Is everything alright?”

“Ah- yeah, everything’s fine.” It’s cool. It’s cool. She could handle this. She just needed to stay calm. “No need to worry about me. I just ah-I have a few questions about your play.”

“Yes.”

“How did you could up with the concept? I mean, no offense, but your premise could be taken the wrong way.” Maybe it was the panic over where her family had disappeared to, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being sized up.

“Hm. Have you ever heard the expression ‘History is written by the winners’?”

“Yes. It’s pretty common.” Like one of the most used sayings in the world.

“The tale was designed to show that love is one of the most cherished feelings of all and that in order to protect it, one must be willing to do anything to keep their loved ones safe. The King only wished to keep his beloved by his side, but the Warrior was misled and forced to battle against his love. That story may belong to only two, but similar tales can be experienced in anyone’s life. Tell me, can you think of a time you fought with those you cared about due to a misunderstanding?”

Without even considering it, horrible memories resurfaced. Mei arguing with MK as she tried to stop him from leaving with the newly released Monkey King. Mei forced to battle Red Son as his mind was slowly consumed by the True Fire of Samadhi. Tang lying to them about his true identity. Macaque leaving when they needed him most without saying why.

“I see you can.” The puppeteer gently guided her back into the main hall, where she took a seat on an empty bench.

“It’s nothing. I just-” She honestly didn’t know why she was pouring out her heart to stranger. Maybe she really was that exhausted. “-there’s so much going on and I’m supposed to be strong no matter what. But sometimes it hurts, just thinking about all my mistakes. Sometimes I wonder if I truly am strong. What if bringing me into this was a mistake?”

“What if it was?” That voice!

Mei turned to see Macaque garbed in a strange outfit, one that honestly reminded her of the Monkey King’s. She was confused. She had never seen him wear anything like that, he looked like the Monkey King’s twisted shadow.

And that expression! Her father Macaque had never made that face before. It looked as though he was reveling in her suffering.

“What’s the matter, little jade? Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.” He extended a hand slowly with the intent to cradle her face. A normal gesture he would use to comfort her, but her every instinct was screaming at her to get away.

Mei jumped to her feet and pulled out her spear, aiming it right between the imposter’s eyes. “Enough games!”

Macaque stared at the spear for a second, his fiendish expression only growing more vicious. He threw his head back with a full-bodied laugh, showing how little he thought of her threat. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

In a flash of light, the Monkey Tyrant was standing before her, still wearing his puppeteer disguise. “Wow. About time. For a while, I was wondering if you’d ever figure out it was me.” His red and gold eyes carefully roved over her body, taking in every shake and fearful twitch. “Put down the spear, kid. We both know you’re not nearly good enough to scratch me with such a pitiful copy of the Dragon Blade.”

That may have been true, but she’d sooner make out with DBP in full view of Queen Iron Fan than leave herself completely open before this tyrant. “So the play was from your perspective. I always figured you were delusional, but this is a new low. Where is my family?” She all but growled, unknowingly her canines had slightly elongated in response to her rage.

“They never left. I’m surprised you didn’t recognize this.” The Monkey King took out the lantern, once more bathing the room in that familiar glow.

“What’s the big deal about a lantern?”

The stone monkie found her ignorance all the more entertaining. To think he hadn’t warned her of his own past.

“The big deal is that my dear warrior crafted this lantern long ago. It was his finest work and like everything he made it has multiple uses.” With a simple hand gesture, the silhouettes of Pigsy and Sandy appeared on the walls. “The Shadow Lantern can do more than enhance one’s skills in shadow magic, it can trap the bodies and souls of its targets. So long as the targets are trapped, the lantern can steal the shadows of its victims so its master can use them as a personal army until there is nothing left.”

“You expect me to believe Macaque made something so disgusting?” Even as Mei said it, she couldn’t help but recognize how similar the lantern’s magic was to her teacher’s. It was cool and soothing, but on the edge, there was an unmistakable edge of malice. “Even if he did, I doubt he made it without you whispering in his ears.”

“Oh child, you have no idea how many secrets he keeps from you. Let me share one with you.” The lantern grew brighter, and the silhouettes of her family members gained more substance as they peeled away from the walls.

Mei adjusted herself so all opponents were in her sight, but nothing could stop the sweat collecting on her forehead.

She sensed something powerful appear behind her. Jumping out of the way as a spear nearly severed her arm. She faced her new opponent. Only to almost drop her weapon.

Standing before her was another copy of Macaque only this one was even more disturbing. Its eyes burned with purple light, the shadows loving curled around it, but worst of all was the sneer filled with razor-tipped teeth.

“Did you honestly think my love was always so nice?”

#lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid au #lmk #long xiaojiao #mei #sun wukong #liu er mihou #monkey king #monkie kid swap au #shadow lantern #winterpower98 #i need to lay down #shadow play #monkey tyrant

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