Hello! I am Galaxy (Gala for short) or Wren! 21, they/them.
This is an x reader multifandom writing account, but I do have specific fandoms I will write for more than others. That can be found in the Masterlist section. Please note: The list is very small currently! I've always written stuff creatively on sites, but I am only recently getting back into it after a long break, so I am very rusty.
On top of that, I am a college student. So postings will be slow unless I'm on a break.
Please make sure to check out the other sections before beginning! Especially the Rules section. Enjoy your stay!
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Curious about where the images and dividers come from? You can find the list here!
Warnings: Spoilers for the end game in Agnea's part
Length: 3.1k
Ochette
Loves hunters and farmers and anyone who wants to unite the world more
Works with them and hangs out a lot, often granting hunters some of her agility or sharpness to catch their quarry or aiding farmers with expansion and telling them where to stop so it wont harm the local wildlife
Because of this, she is known as the most hands on god. She loves people and is curious about a lot! How could she not interact with the general populace?
But while she is the most hands on, she is also part of the most elusive group. She only comes in the forms of animals, and very rarely shows her real form
The last thing biologists want is for wild animals to become friendly and it's... really hard for them to understand what's Ochette's doing, and what isn't
Ochette tries not to get in their way when there's research in Toto'haha because of this
People will very often underestimate her, and she uses this to her advantage
People who don't know her (mainly humans) will be stunned when they feel a childlike presence nearby, radiating energy and excitement
It's hard to keep hating and fearing when Ochette is around, so she'd be very good at discouraging any fights!
I like to think that each god can directly help by granting some of their powers to a person, but there will always be side effects and drawbacks from this
If someone is in dire need, Ochette can give the person brief powers relating to an animal best fit for the situation for a small window of time
The downside is that the longer it lasts, the more likely the person will lose their mind to the influence and eventually forget themself
Obviously she wants to avoid this, and it’s only given for a short time. Just enough for her animal allies to arrive to the scene!
Loves Castti and Osvald and the others, but she and Castti often are together the most
Lost or wounded travelers are at the best chance of making it safely home with this pair as their guides
Castti
One of the more direct and personal gods
She acts like a teacher to her followers who are apothecaries, and will often quiz them on concoction mixes, sickness symptoms, and injury types to help keep their minds sharp
She'd exude a comforting and warm presence, almost like being hugged by an old friend
She uses this a lot with people who are currently dying and cannot be saved. No matter how bad of a person they are, she wants to make sure they won't be alone when they pass
Never shows herself during these moments. She knows it will scare some people since they would then know their time is up, and that's the last thing she wants
Known for being very kind and patient but her followers know better
She can get VERY intense during stressful situations, such as taking care of people during a plague or injured soldiers
This mostly happens with apothecaries that are alone or new. She usually leaves the more experienced ones or ones in a small group alone unless they ask for guidance on something
The game says that the most genius apothecaries only know how to mix a max of 4 when concocting anything, and the average is about 1-2. 3 is mastering it and anything higher than 4 is unheard of
Castti in the game can concoct 5 things together at max burst
If, say, a plague is REALLY bad and there's no known cure, Castti will bestow knowledge on the apothecary she's following, allowing them to instantly know the cure and craft it in order to prevent as many deaths as possible
Afterwards the person will get very drowsy, and when they wake up, all the memories of the cure will be gone. They still remember what they did, but the recipe will just.. vanish from their mind
People with photogenic memories will last longer, but everything will instead be very hazy until a few weeks later when they forget entirely
Some people have tried getting around this by watching an apothecary that gets these powers and tries to write everything down, but to limited success
Throné
Similar to Temenos in which she will look after children in the orphanage, but I think she'd mainly watch over foster kids rather than orphanage children
She does both! But she knows Temenos visits the orphanages a lot so she trusts him on that part
Makes absolutely sure that the kids in the foster system are doing well, and that none of them are being abused or mistreated. If they are? All hell will break loose
Will kill the people involved (and make it look like something natural) and try leading the kid to safety, but she’s not the greatest at comforting people. The most she can do is silently sit there with them, even if they can’t see her
One of the more elusive gods. She doesn't like being seen, and will rarely ever show her actual form
But she is a thief first and foremost, even with her strong morals
Honestly probably competes with her thief followers, as a way to try sharpening their skills and mind
She’s used to being alone, so other than trying to help her followers via the above, I don’t think she would do much else? She helps them, of course, but she won’t necessarily follow anyone in particular for too long
Unless, of course, it’s someone bad
This is just in her usual line of work though. Follow anyone with any trinket that catches her eye or to kill, then go back to traveling alone
She only will grant her powers onto strong thieves when they’re facing down an equally strong foe
It lets them see into the future a bit, and can gain insight on upcoming attacks so the user can act quicker
A lot of thieves don’t like this though. Her followers are the most reluctant to get these gifts since they will be forced to confront something about their past they either didn’t know, or have been suppressing
Due to her thievery and murderous intents and not keeping her followers in check all that much, Temenos is likely also to cross paths with her with his own follower during an investigation
If she’s not doing anything? Perfect! That means she has all the time to come be his assistant for the remaining time of the case
Osvald
Heavily fits the whole theme going on with Fenrir from Norse mythology
Fenrir was a god born with a prophecy surrounding him saying that he would eventually kill another, so the gods tricked and binded him to an area because they were scared of the prophecy and Fenrir's growing strength
He represents bad justice systems and the wrongfully imprisoned, so Osvald would be the same
Rarely ever shows his form
Able to make a users spell power increase massively, but they will be unable to use fire spells for a long period of time
And people have tried. It wasn’t very pleasant, since massive fires started due to the person being unable to control them
Loves thinking. Adores it, even
He visits the prisons regularly to see if anyone had been falsely accused, and if so, helps them break out
Some people — while they appreciate a god helping them — aren’t too keen… Osvald’s plans tend to be very long and it’s certainly not a quick thing. Still, it beats being in prison forever
Also a MASSIVE family guy. If any of these prisoners have a family of their own that’s waiting for them, Osvald can be very persuasive… in his own way
He’s far from charismatic, but even his usual stoic and gruff features and tone can’t hide the way he softens a bit at the mention of family, or how his shoulders tense in anger if the person says something he does Not like
Oftentimes will silently try to find the family of the prisoner and see what’s going on, then reluctantly report back. Sometimes he does his investigations before going to the prison, too
Some people relate him to Temenos due to the whole planning thing, which Osvald scoffs and shakes his head at
When he’s not at prisons or court to ideally observe and help, he just… disappears. Nobody knows where he goes to, and it’s impossible to know with how reclusive he normally is
While they don’t know where he goes to, 9 times out of 10 he’s just mulling over theories and his papers, crafting up scholarly research papers of his own after each experiment. He may be a god, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to slack off when it comes to keeping his mind sharp
Partitio is always able to drag him out from time to time. Unfortunately for Osvald, Partitio knows just how much he loves new things. The less information about it, the better!
The two will often ponder over new tech, trying to decide how best it should be used and how to make a profit off it while still keeping accessible to the majority of people
Partitio
What is he not the god of, really? There's so much he could be and do it's crazy
Getting the main and big thing out of the way, he favors merchants and rich people
He does help out with the poor folk, too, since he wants to help Everyone, but he tends to mainly focus on the rich
He can't do much as a god. He can only help and guide, and can alter many things, but he tries to stay away from directly interfering too much
Now, him favoring rich people? Terrifying for them. Not for him, though
Partitio tries making sure everything is running smoothly in the places he visits, and if he sees one of his followers acting greedy, then boom. All of their wealth will be gone the next day
He's not heartless, though! He leaves enough for a few more meals
Acts like a disappointed parent as he scolds them, and encourages them to start again from scratch. Doing honest work this time
Rich people don't like them. They don't want his attention since he can take everything, and it begins a tradition of hosting feasts and activities once a year for the whole town (or a section if it's too big, like the city) just so Partitio leaves them alone
His main thing is merchants, so he’ll be inclined to grant them a boost in energy during any rush hours. They have to be able to sell him the product first if they want this!
Partitio isn’t too worried about the drawbacks, since his thing is the most tame. He does highly recommend the person get plenty of rest and try staying away from sales for a bit
It can cause the person to get very drained after, and want to purchase everything
The urges will last a few days most of the time since Partitio doesn’t give them too much. He never does longer than a few minutes, since the spending urges can quickly go into weeks of it
He'd also favor sailors and ships in general
And advancing tech
Big fan of workers rights
Honestly fuck it I'm just going to say he's like the backbone of society
Rich people fear him, poor people love him, merchants who are instructed by him will keep trade alive and well for the places they live in
Everything collapses if he's not there helping and guiding
Agnea
Agnea’s story in the game is FAR different from any of the other travelers, and so are her theme songs, so me and my friend both agreed that she would be the god of entertainment instead of favoring people? If that makes sense?
Her powers, when given to people for a time, is also a bit different. Instead of affecting one person, it affects an entire group or crowd of people
It is by far the safest one. She can make everyone's worries disappear, but time will pass far quicker
So not ideal for the average businessman or someone with a busy schedule, but likely they tend to avoid these crowds if that’s the case
Shows herself quite often, and is usually in large cities
Often helps aspiring dancers, no matter how anxious or bad they are at it. If they have a wish to be one, then Agnea will help!
Often helps plan and schedule events with the gods in the towns/cities they reside in or are currently looking over
A lot of them either don’t stay in place for too long, or just generally don’t really like looking after their followers too much, but Hikari resides in Ku and interacts with them a lot so Agnea is most often planning with him
At this point, Agnea’s and Hikari’s followers know each other well with how consistent the traditions have become
You know at the end of the game when everyone gets together again after defeating Vide and parting ways? Yeah, that stuff happens once every few years or so. Agnea’s doing!
She started the thing, eventually brought others along, and it became a common thing
When all of them are there, people swear they can sometimes catch glimpses of the gods laughing and having fun for a brief second
This only solidifies the followers beliefs and keep having them, yet those who are more skeptical only argue that they were just seeing things
Temenos
Loves loves loves nosy people, whether its people trying to solve a mystery or people with genuine curiosity about stuff
For that reason alone, he tends to favor detectives and children! Bonus points if its orphanage children
This does tend to backfire on him, though. He gets questioned by his own followers heavily in turn
Calls his followers his flock with him as the shepherd
Gets picky with the people he does favor, and will only exclusively follow a small handful
Tends to move around a lot. He follows rumors and any information on stuff that doesn't seem right, but he does take breaks from these. Said breaks are usually at orphanages! He has a soft spot for the one in Flamechurch for reasons he always avoids saying with the usual smug look on his face
When he is moving around, he usually follows detectives
Has a reputation for being HIGHLY annoying
He's amazing at solving cases. He's a god and it's his specialty, after all. That being said, his followers are not on his level
He doesn't usually show his form during cases, either
If his followers don't see something he clearly can, he's going to absolutely knock something over to get their attention. If it can't be knocked over or will break? Not to worry, he will make something happen
Lights flickering, maybe a gust of wind to blow the curtains or making a tapping sound to guide them to the item
Still not getting it? That's when he's going to appear with a quirked eyebrow and a very displeased expression saying 'really?'
With the people he has stuck with the most and longest, those followers would know that Temenos is far more than he seems. He's more than just annoying and they'd be the ones who have the most understanding of him
They have seen his more caring side, although they know to not speak of it since these are vulnerable moments for him
Gets FAR more serious whenever the sacred guard is involved, and will work a lot with his followers to prevent any deaths
During these moments is when he considers using his powers and granting the person the ability to see the past clearly for a few seconds, but this comes at the cost of fixating on the mission and ignoring other people
This is bad since there’s a very good chance a few people close to the person will die if they are involved in the case as well
Temenos will only grant people this power if the pros outweigh the cons, which is rare. Will also take it upon himself to watch over vulnerable people after this
Also gets genuinely distressed and sad whenever one of his followers dies. It's far easier when it's from something like old age, but being killed when they get too close to the truth during an investigation? That's far more taxing on his mental health
Hikari
Kings and warriors are his specialty, and he’s gained quite the following from warriors wishing to train with others to better themselves
He’ll train with his followers and show himself quite often, but he also wouldn’t hold back against them. The only thing he won’t do, obviously, is drawing blood. Bruises are fair game though if the session gets a bit heated
This goes without saying, but he only draws blood if it’s accidental, or if the person doesn’t give up and clearly wants to fight to the death
This is very rare, and only happened when someone tried assassinating him, but he and his followers were at risk so he was ready to fight and kill the intruder if they didn’t give up or flee
Likes reinforcing the whole everyone is equal here thing he always has going on, so his followers have gotten quite comfortable with him around
His shadow is always a part of him I do not care about canon and how he defeated that side of him so Shadow is here now
Shadow wants to be known too and frankly, having everyone praise Hikari and focus on him just gets him antsy and angry
Shadow WILL mess up Hikari's whole thing and his followers. He can still take control of his body (although this is only at night. He cannot do it during the day) and there have been times when he killed some of Hikari's more devoted followers
Chaos ensued once and it drew in more bloodthirsty people killing in Hikari's name, while the good ones stopped praying to him
Hikari had to desperately try to smooth out the situation with the help of the others once he got back in control of his own body
It took a lot of time, but eventually people started believing in him again. Although there’s still some people who are very wary of him
Will fight alongside his followers, but will never bestow his powers onto them. He knows Shadow can only come out at night, but the risk of his darker side overtaking the person and going on a rampage is too great
I feel like it's pretty obvious by now but I've been, and will be taking, a small break from here. I've paused my daily word count task on creative writing to focus on school since finals are very soon and I'm dealing with a bit right now, but I'll be back soon!
I should be back to writing around mid December. Good luck to those who have classes finishing!
Summary: Meeting with certain people had changed your views about N Corp., so you decide to quit. Someone isn't too pleased about that, though.
Warnings: Spoilers for canto 8 (this takes place after it), MAJOR spoilers for Jia Huan's whole character and background (its only like 1 or 2 lines but. just to be safe), typical yandere stuff like possessiveness and aggression towards the reader, physical harm to reader (getting pushed)
Length: 1.5k
Notes: Is this the first ever Jia Huan x reader fic... I've searched for ages on and off and literally never found a single one. If there IS another one out there somewhere, please let me know. I'd LOVE to read it
"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?"
(Name) had looked up from the papers they were just taking out to sort through, seeing Jia Huan standing in the doorway. Quickly they looked back at their papers, wanting to get done with their work for the night so they could rest. “Yeah, pretty much. The only one I really need to inform about this is Hermann, anyway.”
They shrugged, seeing no issue with it. As far as they were concerned, they had no friends in N Corp. and had no need to tell anyone other than their boss about their desire to resign. And their lack of friends wasn't because they didn't try. Everyone here was just so... aloof or unconcerned with anything other than their own life. Which (Name) expected; that was how most City residents were.
Jia Huan’s eyes narrowed at them, taking in their form and trying to gauge what would have possibly prompted this. “Is it that one person who’s been bothering you?”
“No, no! Nothing like that.” (Name) shut him down quickly. “They’re.. still annoying, but it’s not the reason I’m quitting. Really.”
He usually didn’t give a damn about anyone, but he’s had a strange grudge against one of the others lately. (Name) assumed it was just a coincidence that it happened to be their enemy. They were an annoyance to a lot of people within the group. Not just to (Name).
He shrugged. "I'm just saying, murder is an option."
(Name) rolled their eyes at that. "Yeah, it is. But the feeling is.. complicated towards the person. I don’t want them dead by any means."
Clearly, that wasn't what Jia Huan wanted to hear from the scoff that came from him. "Here you go again, playing the saint. You're in N Corp. now, and you knew what you were getting yourself into the moment you joined. You hide the name all the time too. It's annoying, really."
(Name) didn't even want to argue right now. They and Jia Huan never really got along, and only tolerated each other. The opinions they both had on a lot of things were very different and often clashed like this. They never said it out loud, either, but there was no way in hell they'd mention the person's name around him. They were wary of what he'd possibly do.
He wasn't special though — they were cautious around everyone in N Corp.
“What? Not going to say anything this time?” He was leaning over their desk at this point, looking down at what they were doing. Frowning, (Name) moved the stack of papers away from the desk, beginning to put back in the proper cabinets and folders as they swiveled their chair so their back was now to him. They never liked it when he watched them work. His gaze was.. not too pleasant to have on them. It was far too scrutinizing and heavy. Besides, having anyone stare at what they were doing was just uncomfortable in general. They quite liked having their privacy.
Their silence, however, made Jia Huan click his tongue in annoyance. He knew he was beginning to get under their skin, but like usual, they weren’t pushing back. He’s gotten close to getting them to crack and snap at him, but it still wasn’t there yet.
"Jia Huan... I talked to Hong Lu a few days ago."
The man behind them stiffened, breaking out of his thoughts. "Oh? Did you, now?"
(Name) turned around once they were done sorting most of the papers, and they could see the tension in his form, and the subtle lines near his eyes that had formed in barely concealed frustration and disgust at the mention of his relative. They had to suppress the urge to roll their eyes. A bad habit they had when he was around saying something stupid as usual. “Yes, I did.” They weren’t going to be cowed by his intense gaze and continued. “And I think I’m getting somewhere with him. He and the others are decently nice enough to me, and I think with just a few more convenient meet ups I can convince them to—”
“You’re not going to do that.”
(Name) gave him a dirty look. They didn’t dare say that they were beginning to sympathize with the Sinners in front of him, but they knew he was suspicious. "You need to get over the past. I know you don’t like Hong Lu, but someone needs to get more intel on them, right?”
Jia Huan clearly did not like that. He immediately bristled, turning on them. "You don't know what really happened there. You have no right—"
"Hong Lu was a kid, for fucks sake—"
"So was my brother!"
(Name) sighed, running a hand through their hair in frustration. It was impossible trying to get through to Huan today, as with every other day. "You're always such a dick to Hong Lu. You need to give it up."
Holding onto grief for this long wasn't doing him any favors, but Huan clearly thought differently. "You need to stop sympathizing with that traitor." The words were spat out in venom, and he took a step towards (Name), hand instinctively on his weapon he had yet to put away for the night. "He's always lied and manipulated people with that spiteful face of his. I will not have you be one of them."
A weird look was tossed his way, eyes glancing at him up and down once. Yeah, today was definitely not a good day. It seemed like they had pissed him off even more than usual today. Somehow. They had brought up his relatives before in conversation (usually polite) and while he was annoyed at times, it never went beyond a line that the two of them had silently established.
“I’m not—” Their own sigh cut the rest of their words off. They really didn’t have the energy for this today. “Fine. I’ll stay away from him now. Happy?”
It was a lie, and Huan could tell from the way his posture didn’t change. “Hermann won’t like this. You aren’t supposed to be in contact with Limbus. Your part of the job is in here.”
“Since when have you ever cared about what Hermann thought?” A look around to make sure she wasn’t anywhere around before they continued. “Hermann… she just doesn’t see the vision. Besides, I know I have my role, but come on. Unlike you or Gubo, I don’t have any enemies there yet. I could be a spy! A spy!” The thought excited them. “I would actually be helpful for once instead of—”
(Name) grunted in pain as they were slammed against the wall with him holding onto the collar of their shirt, their skull making a thud! against the hard material. They hissed out in pain, eyes tightly shut and a bit stunned, before they were able to collect their bearings once they realized what had happened.
Jia Huan was seething. “You are not going anywhere.” It was final, and he was infuriated they kept talking back to him like this. Did he want them to put up a fight at times? Yes. But this topic was grating on his nerves and making him furious. His grip on their shoulders tightened. “You are going to stay put in this building, and do the work you were originally assigned to. No going out, no spying, and definitely no meeting up with any of the Sinners.”
(Name) opened their mouth to retort that this was not fair, he couldn’t just decide things like this, he was not their boss, but he stopped them. “Am I clear?”
Was he being clear? Yeah. But did it make absolutely any sense? Not at all.
It wasn’t like they could disagree with him. They could, technically, but he was a higher rank than they were and he was actually out on the field a lot of the time. Disobeying a clear order, unless Hermann deemed the order itself to hinder anything (which was rare), could easily get them punished. Or kicked out of N Corp., but punishments were far more likely to happen.
“(Name).” They were still stunned, still angry, but held back their tongue. “I… understand.”
“Good.” It was clear that Jia Huan still wasn’t fully satisfied, and he likely wouldn’t be for a while after this. A beat passed, then two, before he reluctantly let go of them. “Stay here. I have more stuff for you.”
The ‘more stuff’ would likely only be more work. Proper papers to fill out rather than sort. It was night and they were tired, and (Name) knew he would tell Hermann that they were actually staying. Their mouth formed into a thin line, but they didn’t dare complain as they watched him leave the room.
It would be yet another long night of doing unnecessary paperwork, and they weren’t looking forward to it at all with the throbbing ache now present in their skull.
Apologies for nothing for a bit, I planned to write a lot last week but got sick on Wednesday and it hasn't gone away yet. Something will be posted either tonight or tomorrow night!
Tears of the Tarnished Blood Hong Lu x Thief Reader (One shot, gn)
.⊹˖ᯓ★. ݁₊ Summary: Hearing the great tales and rumors of a dragon god who grants wishes to people, you decide to investigate to find something you can steal. When you get there, a god isn't what you find.
Hikari Ku x Reader (One shot, gn)
.⊹˖ᯓ★. ݁₊ Summary: Deciding to follow under Ritsu after your old friend, Hikari, flees and is branded a traitor, you find him again once more at Ku trying to reclaim the throne. Not noticing how different he seemed, you make the mistake of trying to avenge Ritsu after he got killed.
Revising
What would they be like as gods in an au? (Main Octopath II 8, headcanons)
Summary: Failing something you're passionate about can hit a persons ego hard. Wanting to instead just be left alone and trying to abandon anything related to the medical field, that plan goes downhill when Hong Lu gets injured.
Warnings: None, this is just fluff
Length: 803
Notes: Wanted to write something soft for today since I was inspired and stressed from midterms.. this was Supposed to be very short (~300 words) but it doubled. Whoops. Not edited much because I'm tired.
“Tell me all about your day.”
(Name) didn’t think it was anything special. While the locations were always different, following Limbus Company wherever they went, the job was usually just the same. Cleaning up after the mess the Sinners usually caused. It was stressful and boring at the same time and they really didn’t think it was interesting. But back then when they would always give short responses to try signaling they didn’t want to talk, he would always get more inquisitive. The more they resisted, the more commotion would get caused and draw people’s attention.
They just learned that indulging him would keep all the fuss down.
(Name) originally wanted to join LCCB so they could better help their allies, only to get turned down since they weren’t qualified for it. Yet somehow they were qualified for LCCA. It bothered them more than they ever liked to admit.
It wasn’t like they could try patching up anyone afterwards. The team's manager, Dante, was able to take care of everything themself. Heal wounds and bring the Sinners back to life. It was great they could do that and everyone was alright, but (Name) still felt lacking.
“Is something wrong?” During their talk with Hong Lu, they couldn’t help but notice he was acting a bit strangely and favoring an arm. They raised an eyebrow at his sheepish smile as he pulled up his sleeve.
“Nothing, nothing~ Just got injured a bit.”
“...That doesn’t seem like nothing to me.”
They looked at the wound which was bleeding a bit but wasn’t too terrible, glancing towards Dante and crossing their arms to resist the urge they felt to help. Always resisting the pull. “You should probably get your manager to fix it.”
They heard Hong Lu hum, missing the way he was staring at their face the whole time. “Dante is a bit tired from the mission~ But you know how to patch people up, right?”
“What? No, I–” (Name) paled, quickly disagreeing with him and shaking their head, but Hong Lu was already sitting down on the floor with that bright smile still plastered on his face. He patted the spot next to him, a clear invitation.
(Name)’s partner wasn’t going to leave soon, as he still had to talk to the others about something... unfortunately for them. Reluctantly, they complied and sat next to Hong Lu, getting the med kit out of the bag they always had with them. They felt him only press closer to them, thigh pressing against their own.
Making sure their hands weren’t shaking from the nervousness they felt at being close to him and worried they’d mess something up, they opened it to grab some antiseptic wipes. There wasn’t much, considering (Name) had wanted this to be the last med kit they bought, but they could make it work.
Throughout the process they could feel his eyes burning holes into them, and they took the risk to look up at him briefly. A big mistake. (Name)’s heart thudded in their chest even more loudly when they saw him tenderly looking down at him. Hell, the man himself had no shame about it, either! He just smiled a touch bit wider in fondness when he saw them looking. (Name) looked away, swallowing the lump that had formed in their throat and hurrying with patching him up.
They were far too soft for the City, and it was a miracle they were even still alive if they were acting like this. They were supposed to be competitive and resilient. Not… this.
Thankfully they were done fast, wrapping the bandages around his arm. There wasn’t too much, and it would likely bleed through pretty fast, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it when they had meager supplies to begin with. “There. You’re good to go, and I need to go, too.”
“You’re leaving already?” Hong Lu frowned a bit, contemplating as he looked over where their partner was already wrapping things up with the rest of his team. He let them go when they got up to flee, but that didn’t stop him from calling out to them cheerfully as usual when he saw them. “Ah– Bye, (Name)!”
(Name) didn’t hear what he said after that, perhaps a thank you or wish to see each other again soon, but they didn’t care too much. They felt light and like they were about to suffocate at the same time, and needed to get away. They went ahead of their partner, ignoring the usual chatter from the Sinners and the ticking of the manager.
Hong Lu looked down where they had forgotten the med kit, rolling down his sleeve before picking it up. Next time he saw them, he’d return it. Full this time, with better equipment than they had been using.
thank you so much for writing for hong lu, your work is so lovely and your characterization is a delight. ♥︎ i wish you the best — 💣
Thank you so much for reading! I'm glad his characterization isn't totally off, haha. He is so fascinating to study, especially the IDs and EGOs where he's clearly Not doing well mentally. Have a great day or night! :D
Summary: W Corp. was going under. That much was for certain. Yet it paid well and was ideal if someone could stomach what went on in the trains. Some people did go missing, but that was rare and generally unheard of, so it's fine. Or, it would be fine if you weren't the one to go missing this time. Luckily there's someone there to help you adjust! Even if he seemed to have changed a lot.
Warnings: Body horror, gore, spoilers relating to W Corp. and the trains, possessiveness (doesn't go too far), possible slight ooc
Length: 2.6k
(Name) didn't exactly know just how much time had passed since the accident.
Stranded in a seemingly endless void that was a mockery of the roads and train stations they knew so well in the real world, it was surprising how they hadn't gone mental at this point when they couldn't find any exit.
All they had wanted to do was do their job well at W Corp., try not to die from handling the severed and mutilated bodies of the passengers, and get their retirement from the place once they got older and unable to work as effectively. Especially if it meant their memories got wiped from the entire experience? Yeah, it was a sweet deal. Money, early retirement, and they didn’t have to pay a dime on any therapy afterward.
Of course, there were some people who didn't want their memories tampered with, or didn't like how the job was done. There had also been many cases where once a new employee did realize what actually went on, they had tried quitting almost immediately, unable to stomach the job.
Those instances weren't very pretty to witness.
But maybe those people weren't entirely unreasonable, now that (Name) was trapped here... Wherever here was. They weren't even sure how they exactly got here to begin with. They had hidden in the designated hibernation pod reserved for the employees in a dangerous situation, and it was supposed to be safe.
Supposed to be.
Something must have malfunctioned. (Name) has seen multiple other workers come out of there in desperate times, so they knew it worked. It wasn't like W Corp. could afford tricking its own workers, either. It had been going under for a while—getting people to use the trains or even to work for them in the first place had been hard. The company just couldn't afford it.
“Are you serious..?”
(Name) sighed, staring at the crossroads ahead of them. They thought they had seen this area before just a while ago, but everything looked the exact same, so they couldn't be too certain. Their muscles were aching, and they wanted to sit and rest for a while, but they already knew that wouldn't do anything. It was best to just ignore the discomfort and keep walking.
A low sound rumbled through the station.
(Name) froze at that, hand gripping their axe tighter.
There weren't supposed to be others here... right? The company lost passengers before, but... that was a while ago. And that one recent employee that also went missing. Had one of them found their way to this area? Is the station just one big maze or–?
No, stop. They couldn't think about something like that. It hurt their head, and besides, there was a far bigger (potential) threat right now.
Maybe that's what was their downfall. Overthinking. It's why they had used the pod when they should have just tried toughing it out and actually do their damn job. They had gotten overwhelmed too fast from their own thoughts and—
“There you are...!”
A rip above them.
Instinct from doing their job for so long kicked in, and (Name) has just barely managed to scramble out of the way, putting their axe up to try blocking the attack. Their heartbeat quickened.
They had to see and analyze the threat, had to—
They were knocked down almost immediately. Pathetic. L3 and they were already losing to something they should know how to handle.
Looking up at their attacker, their eyes widened when they saw the once familiar heterochromic gaze looming above them.
“Hong Lu...?”
Just where did his suit end and his skin begin? Were they merged together? (Name)’s eyes lowered to look at the flesh that was visible beneath the bloodsoaked teeth that seemed to expand out of the clothing he wore. Blackened skin, bloodied, veiny…
That didn’t even begin to compare to what happened to his arms and hands. A writhing mass of flesh and teeth shaped into an elongated jaw on one arm that seemed to stick onto him.
“What… happened to you?” They usually weren’t so shocked by, well, much of anything, really, since their job had desensitized them quite a bit. Yet, the state of their former coworker seemed to do just that. As much as he annoyed them at times and managed to get under their skin, they did still care about him. Enough to notice smaller things, like how he fiddled with his weapon before cleaning up yet another WARP train, or the quiet sighs he'd let out when he thought he was alone. Which was extremely rare. Somehow he just.. knew whenever someone was around. It was always such a strange thing.
And his eyes… Something (Name) used to always compliment and study whenever they thought Hong Lu wasn’t looking, the same eyes that usually held so much mirth with that underlying look of loneliness they could never really figure out - all of that was gone. What replaced them were ones filled with despair and aimlessness.
His state was to be expected in this place, but it never really clicked with them until now just how horrifying it really could be. Having the task of restraining the WARP train passengers after they arrive at the station was one thing, and actually seeing their coworker become one of the abominations was another. Despite their inner turmoil, they couldn’t help but examine him closer to see if it was signs of self-mutilation or someone else’s hands. If there even was another person in the area, which they doubted. They had to avert their gaze once they caught onto these thoughts, a bit guilty for falling into their habit at this time. Again.
Hong Lu’s eyes widened slightly, a look of recognition slowly coming over him. “(Name)?”
Relief.
He got off them and helped them up, and (Name) was glad that they weren’t going to die today. Or get torn apart and have to live with it, since dying wasn’t exactly an option here. Hong Lu was proof of that.
(Name) didn't know just how much time had passed in this space, they knew WARP trains acted differently and that it took a huge mental toll within one, but getting lost was a whole other issue. Judging by the way Hong Lu had shuffled over to them and hesitantly reached out before pulling them into a tight hug, it likely had been far too long since he last saw another sign of a living person. They tried not to grimace in disgust as they felt the writhing mass of flesh against their clothing.
Deciding to indulge him for a bit since he looked like he badly needed it, they wrapped their arms around him as well, feeling him tremble in their grip and clinging on a touch tighter. They thought he would cry (they wouldn't blame him for doing so) but he didn't. (Name) was almost expecting him to cry, so it came as a bit of a shock when he didn't. Even now when he looked like death itself, he somehow managed to hold himself together. Or maybe that was just all the trauma he had gone through in the strange space they both were in.
Attempting to pull back once the hug was going on for a bit too long was clearly a mistake on their part, as Hong Lu resisted the movement and spoke in a bit of a frantic plea.
“Don't go.”
Well… guess they weren’t doing that anytime soon.
Sighing quietly through their nose, they let him do what he wanted and stayed put for now. They’d have time to question him later, so there was no point in pushing him right now. Neither of them were going anywhere for a very long time, most likely… Although (Name) hoped it wouldn’t come down to that, the likelihood of getting out was very slim. Sure, the two of them were trapped here in this hell and there have been no accounts of any missing people making it back (but those cases were low in general, almost unheard of), but they’d both be different. Dying here simply wasn’t an option, it was physically impossible. Maybe immortality wouldn’t be so bad, though? They’d have to stay here forever, but…
They should stop thinking for now.
Hong Lu made no movement still, and (Name) made sure to keep their arms around him still as they attempted to look up at him as much as they could with his head atop their own still. “Are you okay?”
Of course he wasn’t okay, but in this situation? What were they even supposed to ask? They weren’t good at dealing with people. That was usually Hong Lu’s job. They needed a paycheck, and they got it by cleaning the WARP trains. They didn’t get money from chatting up their coworkers, so talking was useless. It was a complete contrast to what Hong Lu did, somehow managing both his job and social life to the best of his abilities with people usually turning his requests down to go to the cafe nearby. It was clear he never really fit in, and (Name) eventually felt a bit bad for him.
“I’m fine.” He clearly wasn’t. They both knew that, and his words sounded more like an autopilot response rather than what he was actually feeling. “Just… stay with me.”
“Well, we can’t stay here forever.” They were trying to be gentle with it, to try encouraging him to let go so they could take a proper look around. “I wasn’t going to leave you even if I could.”
They let him stay in that position for a while. It was only fair, after all, considering what he had to go through. Despite not being friends with him. They'll just… blame this on their mental state later. Yeah. That could work.
Hong Lu felt conflicted. On one hand, he desperately wanted (Name) here, he needed (Name) here, but on the other... He really didn't want them to go through what he had to for who knows how long. The loneliness was insufferable and always made him want to do anything to get rid of it, to ignore the numbness. His body held evidence of that.
Selfish, selfish, selfish—
The loneliness was catching up to him. He tried to calm down, tried swallowing down the sudden emotions that were welling up inside him, but it was hard. It felt like hours had passed that he was holding onto them, but for (Name), it was only a minute.
(Name) felt him shake a bit in their hold, and they tried to pull back a bit to look at him. His grip only got tighter. “Hong Lu? Are you okay?”
There was a pause. Then, a choked sob. (Name) was stunned.
Hong Lu was one of the last people they would ever expect to cry, considering how he normally is.
Their eyes softened, a frown on their face as they held him closer. “Hong Lu...”
A hand moved to his hair, strangely well kept despite the circumstances and his overall appearance, lightly stroking his head. That seemed to break him.
“Sorry, sorry sorry—” Through sobs he apologized to them, yet made no move to pull away despite that. (Name) felt their uniform get wet. It was durable material so blood couldn’t get through it unless they were truly soaked, but they could still feel any cold or warmth through it.
Okay, so (Name) must have severely underestimated his mental state. Either that or they just weren't used to seeing him like this. Even more than they originally thought.
“You're alright,” they were quickly trying to come up with something, anything, to make this better. “You're okay. I'm here now, see?”
This was difficult. They weren't awful at comforting people, but they certainly weren't good at it either. Their mind scrambled at finding the right words, to not accidentally invalidate his feelings or make him feel even worse off than he already was, but it was hard. Their work never trained them for this. All they knew was how to rearrange genomes and stabilize the more rowdy passengers on the WARP Trains to put them back in their correct seats before the train arrived at the destination. Never this.
Just being there, letting Hong Lu hold onto them while they stroked his hair seemed to do the trick, though. It did take a bit, but it was fine. Time didn't work properly here, so technically they both had all the time in the world right now.
His eyes were red and puffy when he reluctantly pulled back.
(Name) tried to smile gently at him, ignoring their conflicting thoughts and feelings about the entire situation right now. “Feel better?” They quickly tagged on, after seeing his expression, “well, I mean, at least a bit. Obviously.”
Hong Lu huffed a small breath, and (Name) wasn't sure if it was supposed to be in amusement or annoyance. Then again, it could be anything else other than that. It had to have been good, though, since he hadn't yet pulled away from their touch.
“Come on,” they tried pulling him along, taking care to avoid the fleshy bits. “Let's find a way out of here. I haven't been looking too long, but I think—“
“There's no way out.” He cut them off. “I've looked.”
He couldn't even muster the usual cheery facade anymore. Not when his emotions were still raw and his brain was still going through every possible traumatic experience and thinking so many awful words towards himself. At least some people would delight at his suffering. Although the ones that really mattered would care more about the new company he had with him.
“Then... we'll keep looking.” It was hopeless, futile, but (Name) tried keeping a brave face on.
It was thanks to his family's constant trainings that Hong Lu was able to not shift uncomfortably in place. He felt exposed and vulnerable with (Name)'s gaze set on him, and it was a relief when they turned around.
As they began to walk in a random direction, Hong Lu didn't have it in him to tell (Name) that he's already explored every possible place in this area. More than once. Hell, he practically knew it like the back of his hand at this point. Still, he let them guide him all the same.
Hong Lu didn't know how much longer he could endure this, but he had to.
If he was going to be stuck here, forever hopping through dimensions, then at least he had (Name) here with him. He didn't deserve it, but it was a comfort. It was fine, he supposed. It was far better than the alternative.
He’d just have to make sure (Name) stayed well away from the other mutilated employee that lingered in the warped space, which would be easy enough when he knew every possible entry and exit and where it led to.
(Name) didn’t look back. Yet Hong Lu’s gaze stayed on them as they walked. He didn’t need a guide and had no need for any sort of light they emitted, but he’d let them take the role of one. Just like he would now take the role of their protector, despite knowing they could take care of themself.
His hand slipped into their own, and he felt (Name) flinch a bit, fingers curling awkwardly as they fought the urge to pull back and away from the exposed flesh. Looking down at them, he gave a small smile, his usual barriers slowly being rebuilt.
As long as he had them near him, everything would be alright.
