adieu ! (๑>؂•̀๑)

𑣲 requests are open! ⋆ she/her ⋆ call me faye! ⋆ happily bestie westies AND twinning w/ THE nemoi bemoi <33 ⋆

[lunaefreya]

🫧 introductory post <3 (2026 revamp) 🫧

a/n: had to make a mini edit now that I plan on using tumblr frequently! I want to connect with people and fangirl about shared interests hehe :D

hello hello!! you can call me faye or lunaefreya <3 // 18 // she/her // enfp guhhhh // hi if you want more info, read my carrd ! i'm a person on the internet who writes for both self-indulgence and for the joy of others !!! I don't really have a set schedule, I do whatever I want ☠️

sometimes i can go weeks without writing anything.. or i'm able to post multiple pieces of works in the span of a week or so - all depends on my inspiration and free time! c:

if you wanna chitchat about anything you can lowk hit me up on disc: lunaefreya😝i'm fun to talk to i pinky promise !11!!!1!1!!!

I rarely organize my posts so expect loads of chaos because that's how i operate as a writer and as a poster?!? (does it do me any favors? not really lmao) ☠️‼️⁉️⁉️⁉️ but i manage to make it work occasionally 😁

who and what will i mainly write about?

this is a zzz centered blog but i'm very much open to the other two hoyo games (hsr & gi)! + open to writing for other characters !! the characters listed below are the characters i'll primarily focus on, that's all 🙂‍↕️ zenless zone zero!! - mainly hugo since he's a character i love the most and know the best ???!! and hes so cute to me awwwwwww i love you and your theatrical flamboyant ways <3

- harumasa because my bestie @nemoibemoi loves him and i quite like his character !! he's so bestie coded to me 😭and very relatable too

- severian because goodness gracious he's so fine and i love men who look like they can kill me if i act out of line!!! 😁😁😁i love them serious and intimidating!!!

- wise because he's really cute to me and very much a dork and i love cute dorks like wise gueheughe i wanna ruffle his stupid hair hes so cute ughgeu - seth because he was one of the first zzz men i loved in 1.1 before i decided to do lycaon's agent story thingie and saw hugo in 1.4😭 but seth is very much a cutie and i really love his silliness and sincere character as a whole <3 honkai star rail!!! - caelus because hes so cute and upid i love him so much hes such a silly goober UHGEUGHEGUH a cutie patootie he is i NEED to do side quests with this man - blade but same reason as severian, lowkenuinely my day 1 he literally carried me through my 4 years of highschool ngl 😭 - i love moze he's silly too, also same reason as blade and severian are we seeing a pattern here - i like phainon he's adorable like awawwhawh cutie!!! such a green flag !!

persona 5 - hi so i still have to finish playing the game before i can EVEN write about them i'm too scared to make them ooc (maybe ill do headcanons hahehaeh) but the oneshots GOTTAAA wait till i actually sit down and resume my save from last yr march spring break!! I still have no clue how to structure everything and such, so expect me to mess up many... many times.

i don't think I'm gonna write full-blown 45k word fics... not there yet. However.. expect the typical headcanons, short fics, mini drawings, song and character analyzations and random blurts of ideas i have going on in my noggin.

a few things to note...

𖤐 I don't plan on writing NSFW at all, mainly because i am uncomfortable with writing that type of material. I can write suggestive stuff here and there, but NSFW is a no-go for me.

𖤐 i may or may not edit my posts right after i post them... because i just KNOW i made a mistake there once or twice... or may add more material (i.e: the headcanon series i'm doing) because my brain is never organized D:

(i will add a small '🫧' emoji to next to the new bullet point to symbolize the extra bullet point i added moving forward <3). 𖤐 I write the reader as neutral as possible so anyone can have the ability to insert themselves as they so wish. If the reader has specific personality traits/quirks/physical trait/gender etc, then I'll make sure to address it at the beginning of each post :D

𖤐 (🫧) you're more than welcome to send in a request! I'll be more than happy to fulfill said request. I may or may not fulfill it depending if the request inspires me! But please do be patient, It may take me a bit to finish if I do decide to honor that request, I simply cannot force the flow state or else my writing will turn out buns D: 𖤐 (🫧) if i don't finish a request within a month then yeah it's wraps </3. but that's okay!! you're free to send in another request in if you so wish :D

[lunaefreya]

their dynamic in a nutshell no one can tell me otherwise ‼️⁉️😭

[lunaefreya]

hihai!! i’d just like to say that i absolutely ADORE ur hugo fanfics and headcannons and for support, please bro… KEEP WRITING!! WE NEED YOU!!

and i may or may not yearn for anything harumasa related.. i was wondering if you’d ever do a harumasa headcannon post, i have absolutely no imagination whatsoever and i think it’s so silly and fun whenever i just see other people’s takes🦭

also, happy birthday!! it may be a bit late for that now but yah!^_^

harumasa headcanons (school au)

wc: ~2.6k notes: might be ooc, very long.. it's 7 pages on the google doc goodness gracious... 💔 a/n: hello!!!!! your request was NOT forgotten!! I was just very busy in surviving living through my last few weeks of senior year and finishing up other works before i got to your lovely request! hopefully you enjoy it because i sure as hell did!! it's kinda beefy with a few snippets that cannot even be called snippets with how long they are, but yeah! <3 and also thank you for the kind words, they're very much appreciated! hopefully i did his amazing and charismatic character justice here 😭 your wish is very much my command!!! :D

🌻homeschooled in his early years because his chronic illness kept him weak and bed-bound 24/7. yet as time passed and he grew older and able to support himself, he was enrolled into a public school by his master.

🌻One would think he’d be unable to integrate himself within a new environment immediately, but it’s Harumasa we’re talking about here 😭

🌻Many guys may not bond with Harumasa over sports he doesn’t play many sports (football, baseball, etc) but they will definitely bond over playing video games together.

🌻he’d be such a SWEAT on clash royale.

🌻Imagine you’re sitting in class, minding your own business and out of nowhere you hear the obnoxious clash royale startup™ sound at max volume 💔

🌻look to your right and lo and behold - Harumasa… playing clash royale in the middle of class. Without a care in the world, by the way.

🌻“What are you doing-?” you lean slightly over his shoulders, watching your seatmate seemingly lock in on clash royale. “playing.” Harumasa replies, half paying attention to the conversation and not really. Eyes glued to his screen like a dedicated ipad kid. You let out a soft hum of acknowledgement at his focus, brows furrowed. “in the middle of class??” he glances up from his screen, making eye contact with you- prolonging it than necessary. “Yup.” slowly, he resumed back to his gaming shenanigans with no issue.

🌻Throws trash from his seat because he's lazy, the trash actually making it into the trash can is a question we don’t ask.

🌻The big question… would he join clubs? - yes and no.

🌻On one hand he seems like the type who doesn’t join clubs only because he doesn’t want to prolong his stay at school.. But he’d only join two clubs at best.

🌻Archery - not because he wanted to, but because his master wanted him to do so in order to continue honing his skills/so his skills don’t become rusty just because he isn’t home as often.

🌻Photography - joined willingly because unlike archery, he actually handpicked photography and is more inclined to show up with genuine enthusiasm (he enjoys archery too, but not as much as photography, i’d wager).

🌻many girls will like him for a plethora of reasons: he’s easy to get along with, he’s magnetic, he’s not a creepy weirdo so they’ll be more open in befriending him. but most importantly… he’s a pretty boy AND charismatic.

🌻Thanks to the girls liking him enough to befriend him, he knows all the girl drama because other girls basically view him as a girl as well! And best BELIEVE he’ll tell you ALL of it, no questions asked. He is SO the type to say when someone tells him: “be sure to not tell anyone else ok…” - “mhm.. This little secret will stay with me till the day i die~” (which isn’t anytime soon) so of course he only tells one person and it’s you💔he knows you won’t go around spilling the tea, it’s between you two to sit down and decipher during lunch.

🌻“(name)...” harumasa says, his voice giddy with how he sits beside you on the bench, lips quirked up and shaky, as if unable to contain himself any longer. “Hm? What seems to be the matter?” you look at him curiously, to which prompts harumasa to let out a chuckle at your cluelessness. “Don’t you know?? The two girls??”

He slouches against the bench, “oh you know…” you nod your head, gesturing for him to continue… and to stop withholding this seemingly crucial piece of information? “Those two in our class.. Fighting for the same guy..” he sighs loudly, “ the same two girls fighting for a guy who, and i quote.. ‘Isn’t gay’” he waves his hand nonchalantly. “Pfft.. what type of cope is that?”

“Oh come on!!” you roll your eyes. “Harumasa… you know gossiping isn’t very-” - “noble? Pfft?? I’m only gathering useful intel on our fellow classmates?” he shrugged off your words with a mere carefree grin of his. “Besides… it’s journalism. you may want to dabble on that if you’d like to keep yourself afloat in the real world~”

🌻And yes.. Harumasa would be quite the snark, no one will believe you because it’s hidden underneath all that friendliness and easygoing attitude he has going on for the rest of the people who don’t know him nearly as well as you, yanagi, miyabi, soukaku and the phaethon siblings.

🌻Despite those amazing… qualities harumasa has, many of his classmates may dislike him for a few reasons.

🌻A big one being… the worst partner for group projects.

🌻Slacker™

🌻He’s that one classmate where everyone DREADS to be partnered up with, the one where you are internally giving the RNG gods the middle finger for giving you a horrible roll 💔

🌻Expect to do 90 percent of the work on those group/duo projects when working with him.

🌻Harumasa seems like the type to sit down, rest his head on his desk because he “needs to take a break from working” for “five minutes” and proceeds to be out COLD.

🌻But…

🌻Contrary to popular belief, harumasa is actually a skilled/hard worker when he willingly sets time aside to complete work. He’s capable of completing work AND doing it outstandingly well, but most of the time? He only ever wants to laze around and relax.

🌻just because he’s a professional slacker does NOT mean he doesn’t pull his own weight when absolutely necessary.

🌻Don’t think you’ll be on the project document by yourself before the assignment is due JUST because it’s 3 am - you’ll see Harumasa on the doc too.

🌻Yeah… it’ll show he’s idle on the document and you’ll be like: “Sounds about right, he hasn’t done anything for the project at all!!!”

🌻But the moment you click the little show history??? You’ll see 95% of the project completed.

🌻Questions? Answered with a paragraph or two, three if he’s feeling particularly ambitious. Citation page? Completed AND done properly.

🌻And you’re there like: “???? what ???? since when does he do his work on time??”

🌻And at the bottom of his section, you’ll see a short message meant either for you or anyone else who so happens to be on the document at 3 am. It’ll read like: “Finished my part of the project, feel free to check my work for any mistakes - see you in class tomorrow :)”

🌻Funnily enough, he also seems like the type to communicate to you via the document for funsies. Expect a friendly “helloo! :)” or a “oh!? you’re on the doc too??!”

🌻But if there are moments where harumasa doesn’t pull his weight (which is rare, but let’s say hypothetically) and it’s a group presentation - expect him to bullshit his way through the entire presentation and still end up getting full marks 💔

🌻Harumasa can feel his poor heart sink to his butt when he realizes he has to be the one answering the questions. His eyes shift between you, his groupmates - trying to assess the situation. And then back at his classmates, sitting there, watching him intently. 🌻Sighing internally, he quickly snaps his head to fully face the audience, smiling charismatically. Acting like he isn’t shitting his pants at this very moment. “Any questions?” he inquires, a single brow raised in such a way you weren’t sure if he’s busy looking for a raised hand, or if he’s busy racking his brain in order to figure out how to bullshit his answer in a way that’s believable.

🌻And the moment someone raises their hand? Best believe he’s smiling through the pain.

🌻But even if he doesn’t work on the project via compiling sources and analyzing, etc, then he’ll pull his end of the bargain by yapping up a storm in those group presentations.

🌻So if you’re… 1. an introvert, 2. you’re shy, 3. Or you’re none of those things but you happen to be someone who hates public speaking overall.. then harumasa would be a literal godsend.

🌻professional yapper™

🌻Because of his easy going and generally carefree personality, he’ll definitely attract people without meaning to. He’s one of those people who can make you feel as if you can talk about anything and everything with, he just seems to get it somehow.

🌻So of course, in return, makes him pretty popular/well-liked amongst his peers, despite his… questionable work habits, or lack thereof.

🌻Like sure, he doesn’t mind chatting it up to his classmates, doesn’t hurt to talk to new people once in a while.

🌻But relationships can be quite tiring to maintain, and knowing harumasa? He’d be one of those people who knows a BUNCH of people (LOADS of connections), but once you ask him how many friends he has? he’d say he only has 6 friends. 3-4 of those friends being his actual close ones. He likes to keep his close circle small - easy to maintain and he finds it enjoyable that way :D

🌻^ in addition, he’ll probably have two social media accounts where… “main account but treats it like a burner” - the one where he hands his username out willy-nilly - hands his username out to people he deems acquaintances/classmates/have no desire of getting close with - a bunch of followers, has one post with tons of likes and that’s it 😭

🌻^ “His actual main account” aka that one account where he rarely hands out his username. If he gives you his username? Never doubt how much you mean to him ever again 😔posts a bit more on his private account but it’s not saying a lot, you can see what he likes a bit more since he’s active on it, has 6 followers and that’s it.

🌻Just because harumasa knows alot of people doesn’t mean they know-know him. Those who really know harumasa may have gotten a taste for his snarky/witty side 💔he keeps that side of him tight on a leash i fear (or not), depends on his mood.

🌻Is that one student who gets plenty of early dismissals within a week, is dismissed from school 2-3 hours earlier than everyone else so in return that makes his peers envious of him.

🌻Front desk on speaker: “Can I get harumasa sent down to the main office for an early dismissal?” 

unfortunate teacher: “yeah-” Students all in unison:  “ohhh my GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!”

🌻If unable to head home early due to complications concerning the attendance office or he was unable to convince his master, then he’d stop by the library to wind down for the time being - probably best buds with the librarian.

🌻The librarian visibly perks up at the sound of the bell chiming, signaling the arrival of another student. As soon as they notice that it's the infamous Harumasa, they let out a weary yet understanding sigh - as if he could feel the massive weight the young student has to carry on his shoulders due to his illness. “Hm? Is it one of those days, I presume?” they inquire as Harumasa inches closer to their front desk, watching the young student with a patience the attendance lady never had for him. “Yup… one of those….” Harumasa let out a deep sigh he didn’t know he had in him, his voice sounding garbled. It sounded as if there was fluid within his lungs by how… drained and out of it he seemed. The librarian hummed, nodding their head in quiet understanding that never needed to be announced. “The comfortable chairs aren’t being used,” they informed softly, to which Harumasa gave a weary but grateful smile - so earnest it lifted the librarian’s spirits as well. “...Thank you…” he muttered under his breath as he dragged himself to his secluded corner of the library, refusing anyone to see him at his current sorry state.

🌻Attendance office lady HATES to see him approaching, especially if he has a tardy slip in his hand 💔his excuses for being late are actually abysmal it’s hilarious. You aren’t sure if he’s playing it up for shits and giggles or if he’s actually serious, it’s hard to tell with harumasa when he has that permanent, “i could never do no wrong” grin on his face.

🌻“Reason for being late?” The front desk attendant asked, looking up at Harumasa and you from her glasses with a fierce look in her eyes, clearly not wanting any funny business from him especially. In kind, Harumasa continues his innocent charade, tilting his head inquisitively. “Oh you know…” he sighs loudly, giving you a glance from the corner of his eyes, sending you the glance of: “I’ll take it from here~” Oh boy. You remained silent, standing beside him idly, causing the attendant to raise her eyebrow - a sign for him to continue. “The usual… my illness flaring up…” he places his gloved hand to his chest, his heart specifically. “...and… because (name) and I had so valiantly saved a fish from drowning…”

The ever so icy attendant blinked slowly. As if making sure she heard right. “I beg your pardon?” Harumasa grinned, but his grin was wiped off his face almost immediately in order to keep his melancholy stricken facade in place. He sighs once more, nodding his head solemnly like a lonely, weeping maiden. “Yes… it was truly tragic.” he shrunk slightly. “You have to understand how dire the situation was, right? After all…” he raised his head up, now suddenly confident. “(name) and I went through plenty of tribulations to get us to where we are today, completed a heroic deed - a deed no other student can top, especially if we managed to save the fish.” He wiggled his pointer finger. “So.. you might as well excuse us from our very reasonable tardiness?”

Harumasa gestured to you by tilting his head, receiving the signal to take his tardy slip and offering both your tardy slips to the attendant - hoping she’d bite her tongue and excuse you both. The attendant stared at you and harumasa, then at your outstretched hand holding the tardy slips. Cold. Looking as if the two of you had insulted the entirety of her bloodline. “Nice try.” She scoffed, her voice clipped with how she snatched the tardy slips out of your hand. “A for effort,” she scribbles on both the tardy slips, sharp eyes now settling on you both, causing the hairs on the back of Harumasa’s neck to stand up. “F for execution.” With a sharp whip of her hand, the attendant pointed to the security desk. Unforgiving. “You both know what to do. Get to it.” “Awh man… really??” - “I won’t repeat myself.”

🌻he’s probably one of those students who pulls up to the school parking lot, looks at the time, realizes he’s 5 minutes late to his first period, then proceeds to say: “ahhhh i can just wait it out in my carrrrrrrr, i’ll enter the building during passing period.” he says as he slouches against his car seat, doomscrolling on his phone lazily like he isn’t parked in the middle of the school parking lot.

🌻Senioritis has nothing on him. He had it for years prior 😭he knows ball

🌻No but the moment senioritis hits for Harumasa, it doesn’t seem like anything changed because this man is always lazy. But oh, it’s there alright - he will raise his hands up and say “Nahhhh, not doing it.” when it comes to completing assignments close to the end of spring. “School basically ended! Why do I have to continue working?? Pfft, it's not like I'll fail if I don't complete it anyways, where’s the harm in not doing it?”

a/n pt 2: mini shoutout to @nemoibemoi for inspiring me into finally finishing this request/throwing in her two cents, ty ty truly <3 but other than that, i had fun writing as usual!! now i feel inspired to write a Harumasa fic lowkey.... 🤔

[lunaefreya]

zzz men (hugo, harumasa, severian and seth). but they deal with the insects/spiders when you’re deathly afraid of aforementioned animal.

wc: ~6.1k includes: 5-6 bulletpoints + snippets per character! c/w: might be ooc, very silly, bugs mentioned, quite angsty in seth's section whoops😭(it gets lighthearted in the end i pinky promise).

Hugo Vlad

𑣲 can kill bugs without a hitch. not scared of bugs in general, has dealt with horrors far more triggering. a mere bug cannot shake him into submission  - but it doesn’t mean he won’t feel at least a bit grossed out by the bug itself. Is the type to NOT let a bug touch his bare hands, will have to use another item like a tissue and or cup to kill the bug 💔(normally makes vivian kill the bug, she probably has a higher tolerance for bugs in general than hugo). 𑣲 but if it means he’s capable of pissing you and or vivian off with only the dead remains of a small little bug?? he’d ignore his general distaste for bugs, at least by a little bit if it means he gets to evoke a reaction. 𑣲 he’s one of those people who have a scarily accurate/godly aim when it comes to catching bugs (he’s a literal thief, his ability to steal anything and everything HASSS to be top tier). It's almost mesmerizing… minus the disturbing factor of having to catch a bug. if he has to go and capture a bug with mere chopsticks - then he’s able to do so within the first try without much issue. 𑣲 revels in the chaos that’s about to ensue the moment the roach decides to move a centimeter closer to where you’re from. as soon as you give him the panicked look of “hugo vlad you’re literally the man of the house what are you DOING !! go kill it!!” 𑣲 and what does hugo do? he stands still. seemingly unfazed by your quiet, incessant pleas. though you don’t miss the subtle grin playing on his lips as he watches the chaos begin to stir within the mockingbird hideout.

“me? you want me to kill the wretched vermin?” hugo inquires, tapping his chin with his index finger in deep thought, rubbing in the fact he’s literally doing nothing at the moment to take action. “you want me... to get my hands dirty… after i had just finished painting my nails? what do you take me for?”

he scoffed, waving off his hand, acting as if this whole situation was nothing but insignificant. (it isn’t), “I’m most certainly not a bug exterminator,” he sighed heavily, “although… if i were a bug exterminator, my services would come at a hefty price-”

before you even allowed hugo to finish his sentence, you cut him off with a loud blood curdling scream as soon as the roach decided to take off from the wall and commence war, the sounds of the roach’s wings whirling did far more harm than good.

and you? you were shitting your pants in sheer horror. if this were a small bug, or hell, even a fat fly?? you’d be a-okay! no screaming involved, just a quiet death in the midst of a warm and humid summer day, no biggie!

but a fat, FLYING cockroach?? out of all things?

yeah no, it’s safe to assume that you’ve clocked out. killing that hellspawn was out of the question - it’s wraps.

and now it’s hugo’s turn!

without much thinking on his part, he grabbed a nearby paper cup with elegant haste and swung the opening end of the cup at the flying roach, catching it in the process without much trouble. to hugo, this was nothing more than child’s play, just a little bug extermination in hopes you don’t accidentally get a heart attack.

now that wouldn’t be a fabulous outcome, he thinks.

he pinched the paper cup with his pointer and thumb by the rim in a bone crushing grip, refusing the captured flying roach to get any ideas about escaping a thief’s grip alive, much less an esteemed and infamous one as hugo. “ah ah ah, no escaping you little rascal,” hugo crooned as soon as he felt the subtle rattle and irregular, panicked tapping from within the cup in his grip. “you’ve caused enough trouble for my lovely friend over there,” he gestured to you with a subtle tilt of his head, chastising a child (roach) for its silly mischief, “...you might as well pay for your transgressions, right~?”

“for a cost, of course,” he shook the cup slightly, taunting. “...a cost that i deem appropriate.. and i have high standards~”

there’s no way he’s talking to a literal roach, out of all things!! is he crazy-?!?!

“ever heard of ‘a life for a life’?” he chuckled, the sound silky and rich despite its threatening undertones, “ah, bet you haven’t. you don’t have the emotional capacity of grasping a concept larger than your entire life, but it’s the best your measly life can offer.”

and now it was the roach’s turn to feel fear.

having grown tired of listening to the roach’s useless pleading against the cup, he crushed the paper cup in his hand in silent finality and nonchalance. he shot you a knowing look, scheming. “well?” he tilted his head, ignoring how his nose crinkled instinctively at the stench of death that emanated from the now dirty paper cup. “what’s done is done, don’t you think?”

hugo watched as you let out a breath of relief you didn’t know you were holding, saw how the tension in your shoulders from before seemed to mellow out, coaxing a tiny, sincere smile to grace his lips in response. yet that sweet and sincere smile was quickly wiped off his lips when a mischievous idea made itself comfortable in the crevices of his mind. shaking the crumpled paper cup filled with the crushed roach without much thought, he offered it to you with a knowing grin.

“want to check if it’s truly dead?” he offered lazily. hugo knew it was dead. obviously, he made sure of it. but it wouldn’t be fun if he didn’t get his piece of the pie by not subtly poking fun at your fear - silly as it was endearing to him. 

“it’s merely protocol-”

 “no.”

Asaba Harumasa

𑣲 generally indifferent to bugs if they were ordinary, small and insignificant bugs like flies or mosquitos. if he’s not feeling entirely lazy or if the bug actively gets in the way of him lazing around working. 𑣲 then he’d kill it without much thought. he’ll only need a small tissue and simply call the bug’s life quits from there. 𑣲 if harumasa’s capable of killing big and scary ethereals with little to no fear at all? then surely he’s capable of killing any and every bug that’s out there… right? wrong. you are sorely mistaken. 𑣲 as soon as a spider bigger than a dime is on the battlefield? he’ll fold, but not immediately. 𑣲 he may try to hold his ground against the eight-legged creature before him, his stance rigid and ready to pounce… but pounce without much enthusiasm as he’d like. with quiet, underlying hesitation. 𑣲 don’t expect him to be too thrilled about killing it though, expect plenty complaints and demands for compensations for his “noble sacrifice”

“(name)?” harumasa called your name out in confusion, watching you with a curious gaze as he noticed you stand eerily still, as if your feet were glued to the wooden floor of his apartment against your own will. not once in his time knowing you, have you ever stayed frozen in place for longer than a second, you were always up and about doing whatever you can to stay occupied.

so… to see you so still and tense? now that was uncharted territory for him.

eventually, his eyes made the rookie mistake of following the general direction of yours, zeroing in on the fierce, eight-legged threat prowling around his apartment like it paid the rent.

a spider.

but not just any spider, no no no. a beefy one with elongated spikes for limbs and a rotund abdomen. even he was surprised the spider hadn’t crushed itself to death by now, although he would’ve preferred that outcome so he wouldn’t have to come face to face with it.

because internally? harumasa knew he would have to be the unfortunate soul who has to deal with the threat himself. sighing, harumasa set his trusty bow and arrow down against the side of the couch, placing a hand on top of your shoulder - almost shielding himself behind you as he stared down at the slow moving arachnid as well.

“...perhaps it’s friendly!” he tried to cope, his voice almost a weak croak with how he was this close to making a run for it. “...maybe… it’s just a lost little guy who doesn’t know any better! maybe… just maybe, it’s so scared of us he’d never approach us…” he glanced at you for a moment, expecting a sound of agreement.

well.. anything from you at this point.

“… right?”

as if the universe decided it needed a good laugh today, the spider paused its prowling. as if the fear lingering in the air caused it to pause its movement before it decided to make a calculated move and completely do a 180, crawling in a circle in order to try to face its food source with its impaired vision. its pedipalps twitched with a purpose, relying on the fear that emanated between you and harumasa - using the subtle vibrations to detect the source of your shared fear.

this day can’t get any worse, right?

realizing that this entire situation cannot afford to go down to shit, harumasa made the brave decision of grabbing a plastic cup and a piece of watercolor paper - his movements visibly subdued than the usual, in hopes it would be enough to not disturb the spider and potentially ruin the makeshift stealth mission at hand.

taking a much needed deep breath, he approached the slow moving arachnid with great care, albeit shaky hands, his golden eyes refusing to move a single inch away from the animal. “...easy… easy…” he crouched in front of the spider, slipping the paper underneath its spikes for limbs, internally wincing with how his sudden movement seemed to alert the spider - causing it to move at a slighter quicker speed, prone to bolting if it wanted to.

and that’s the last thing you and harumasa needed, especially harumasa if he was in the line of fire.

“no no… do not panic on me now!! I do not want a heart attack at the ripe age of 24…” he whispered frantically as he slammed the plastic cup on top of the spider - entrapping the living, now fearful animal within its temporary enclosure. “see? now that wasn’t so hard now, was it?

he ignored how your mouth went agape at his brave action, his attention primarily focused on placing the spider outside… preferably on his neighbor’s balcony - their balcony was close enough to his, not too straining to his sick body yet not close enough for the spider to make a reappearance and potentially scare the living daylights out of you once more.

they can deal with the little guy themselves, no biggie!

“phew… now… i need you to cooperate with me here…” he says to the spider, pressing the rim of the plastic cup against the sturdy watercolor paper firmly, ensuring it wouldn’t escape, “me and my dearest friend, (name)... are nothing but innocent people… we, yes… us, we are NOT your enemy…!”

he cleared his throat loudly as soon as his feet finally made it to his balcony, the fresh summer wind billowing through his hair and golden bandana, now edged with beads of sweat. “see?? don’t you miss the feeling of nature pulsating through your entire body???” he nodded his head eagerly, mainly eager to get this arachnid off his property. “...you’re meant to go outside and experience the highs and lows of nature! not the lows of a man who is probably two seconds away from meeting his maker at every turn!” ouch.

“... there there…” he smiled wearily, placing the watercolor paper onto his unfortunate neighbor’s occupied plant pot, angling the paper to work as a makeshift slope. “... take it easy now little guy, wouldn’t want you to fall off and hurt yourself.. that’d… be kinda bad!” he chuckled, lifting the plastic cup slightly, allowing the spider to walk off and be done with it.

slowly, harumasa pulled his shaky hands away from the scene, allowing the spider to explore its new surroundings and hopefully its new home - away from his apartment, and most importantly..

away from you.

“is it gone now???? has it been taken care of?” you ask, taking measured steps towards harumasa at the balcony, tapping his shoulder for quiet reassurance. he turned to face you, giving a small nod in response. “...pfft! obviously!!” he rolled his eyes playfully, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “...did you really think i’d leave you out to the wolves??? hm?? buuuuuuutttttttttttttt…. did you ever stop and consider how i could’ve been that spider’s spoils for the week? hell, the entire year??”

“...didn’t interpret it that way.” you replied, looking a bit remorseful for single-handedly throwing harumasa to the wolves without thinking. It was basically every man for themselves at that moment! “and don’t exaggerate … you won’t become that spider’s spoils for the year, that idea in itself is asinine-”

harumasa was quick to put an end to your logic, wiggling his pointer finger in refusal. “no no no, i wager my worries are very much valid and not exaggeratory in nature,” he tilted his head off to the left, slow and methodical. “i’d recommend making it up to me by treating me to a cup of black coffee, my favorite~”

“absolutely not-” - “ah, but who was the one who benevolently swooped in and saved the day??”

you sigh deeply in quiet defeat, knowing that arguing with harumasa can be quite.. futile. “...fine.. fine..” you acquiesced without much resistance, knowing he has a point. “a coffee hangout it is.. my treat.”

Severian Lowell

𑣲 the epitome of nonchalance and stoicism - he does NOT gaf 😭 𑣲 out of everyone on this list, he’d be the least reactive (in comparison) when it comes to insects as a whole, he’d be too preoccupied in making sure to deescalate the situation/deal with it swiftly - there would be no room for fear to take root in his mind. 𑣲 will definitely feel annoyed at the fact this insect believed it had the audacity to cross him and get away with it scot-free - specifically when he’s actively working and a fly decides to land close to where he was about to write on an important document. 𑣲 unlike hugo, he’s the type to swat the fly away with his bare hands. not caring if he touched the bug, he cares more about resuming back to work more than anything else. 𑣲 but generally, if the insect isn’t in his way of what he’s doing - then he can learn to coexist with it, even if he’s slightly bothered by its presence. It’s not the end of the world for him, he has better things to worry about and do. 𑣲 however.. if a literal centipede has proven to cause unnecessary commotion and capable of inducing fear in others for simply existing, then he’d deal with it himself without much issue.

severian clears his throat in a way that demands the attention of the other n.e.p.s officers crowding your cubicle, arms crossed over his chest. “what seems to be the matter here? i reckon you all aren’t at (name)’s cubicle with the sole intention of getting any work done,” he states, sharp eyes sweeping across the… fearful gazes of the officers crowding your cubicle as if it were life or death.

how… strange.

“so tell me, (name),” his eyes settled onto yours, which refused to move from the corner of your desk. “what could possibly be the reason as to why-”

“commissioner lowell..” one female officer piped up almost immediately, her voice shaky at both the fear of being the sole receiver of the senior commissioner’s wrath.. but also-  “...bug… there’s a large centipede at (name)’s cubicle, crawling up and about and scaring everyone into submission with its..” she trailed off, biting the inside of her cheek at how ridiculous this all sounds. “...over 100 legs… and– and– it keeps making weird noises.”

what.

are you serious right now.

“is that correct?” instinctively, severian pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a deep, drawn out sigh, “this..” he gestured to the centipede in utter disbelief, brows furrowed. “...really?”  his exasperation, so palpable underneath his measured and cold voice even the centipede itself had to stop crawling. he couldn’t fathom how what he believes to be a small insect, was more than enough to render professional n.e.p.s officers into gawking machines who are incapable of their own autonomy.

how aggravating.

sensing their boss’ displeasure, the other officers — seasoned, rookies and everything in between, all gave each other a knowing look, whispering amongst each other before they came to the unanimous decision of turning around to face severian’s scrutiny head on. “yes.. really… everyone’s pretty bothered by its presence,” one officer exclaimed, shifting in place as though uncomfortable with the stuffy atmosphere. “and.. to be quite frank.. no one has it in them to deal with it.”

silently, all your co-workers turned their heads to face you, a silent plea for you to - well - do something. “what?” you frowned, immediately defensive. “am i incapable of having my own set of fears?”

you, who typically has it all under control. you, who has seen all the horrors new eridu and the neverending hollows had to offer… is currently glued to their seat, stuck watching a centipede sneak and curl around your favorite blue pen that you’re more than sure is now covered with gross centipede juice… and you’re expected to kill it??? unprovoked?? yeah… no. it’s not surprising your co-workers began to spectate the spectacle that is a LARGE small insect vs. a rookie n.e.p.s officer. who wouldn’t want to watch that!

not severian, it seems.

unable to handle the idiocy of his employees, he decides to take matters into his own hands by letting his golden eyes settle onto the very still centipede, narrowing into displeased slits as his fluffy white tail begins to swish lightly. the lack of commentary from their senior commissioner was more than enough for the rest of the officers, who were initially crowding your cubicle like a group of vultures, to make a rigid pathway for a peeved severian, allowing him to take the steering wheel and to hopefully steer them back into normalcy.

“out with it.” he shrugged the rest of the officers off with a simple wave of his gloved hand, inching near your desk, causing you to break out of your fear induced trance and eagerly pushing yourself out of severian’s line of sight - no way in hell are you going to get in the senior commissioner’s way when he’s this serious.

more than the usual.

without needing to say much more, severian’s ears twitched, attuned to the centipede’s every vibration and lack of defense on its part, allowing the commissioner to reach over without an ounce of disgust, snagging the centipede with his bare hands - leaving no room for the centipede to even think about escaping a lynx thiren’s grasp.

everyone in the room collectively gasped, eyes wide with both horror and silent respect at commissioner lowell’s… boldness. a boldness they should’ve grown used to ever since he took charge. “Mm, now that wasn’t proven to be difficult,” he says with the calmness of a man who has seen far too much to even bat an eye to a centipede currently squirming within his death grip. “clear cut, swift and efficient - just how the academy taught you all.” he paused, squeezing the centipede in his grasp without much thought, unblinking to its remains dripping off his bare hand. “hmph. or should’ve.”

that is, till you took note of the way severian grimaced under that pristine mask of cold and harsh professionalism, tight-lipped and silent. “i’d advise you all to not get too ahead of yourselves,” he says, wiping the sticky remains off with a handkerchief, sharp eyes that learned to never give mercy now settling onto you. disapproving. “...we want to avoid making room for inept officers who are incapable of fending for themselves against minor threats.”

now that stung… ouch.

ignoring the rest of the officers’ scandalized looks, severian tossed the handkerchief into the trash, fixing the expensive cuff of his sleek black tailored suit, quickly taking his leave — pretending as if he hadn’t decimated everyone within your cubicle in under the span of 10 minutes.

nervously, one male officer decided it was a bad (good) time to speak up:

“...preeeeetty sure that was targeted—”

“don’t start.”

Seth Lowell

𑣲 the most reactive out of everyone on this list, he is NOT nonchalant about the idea of having to go and kill a bug 😭 𑣲 i’d wager he would feel a bit creeped out by the creepy crawlies - he most likely was fine with bugs prior until he learned to be fearful of them in general, and that fear has stayed with him since. 𑣲 can imagine him minding his own business until a bee landed on the bridge of his nose and without thinking he began to flail his arms around, absolutely mortified and running around in circles as the bee tries to sting him 💔 𑣲 i’m sure when he and severian were younger/still on good terms, seth was never on the frontlines of killing a bug, severian probably had to step up and kill the bug himself 😭#youngersiblingprivileges #relatable #oldersiblingwoes #notrelatable 𑣲 like harumasa, i’m sure seth would be fine if he had to swat an annoying mosquito and or fly away from his face without much issue —or he’d be too locked in working given he’s mainly career driven, seth probably didn’t even notice a little buzzer invading his personal space. 𑣲 but it would be a different case entirely if he had to come face to face with a silverfish roaming around his apartment without a problem, and realizing that he would be the one who has to kill it since you (or anyone else for that matter) is deathly afraid of them? then yeah… he’s shitting his pants - fear can be contagious after all!

“(name)!!! I bought some tuna sandwiches,” seth announced excitedly, closing the front door behind him as the pitter patter of his shoes bounced off the decorated walls of his quaint and humble apartment. “i made sure to leave extra early today to get not just one, not two, not three… but four tuna sandwiches, all half off!” he says, stacking the plastic containers with the tuna sandwiches on a nearby side table.

no response.

the jovial lynx thiren paused in the middle of the living room, bewildered, ears twitching in an attempt to locate, well, you. “...(name)?” he called out, his tail low and suddenly alert. “...now this isn’t funny.. if you plan on pranking me like last time..” a displeased shudder ran through his shoulders at the mere thought of the last prank you pulled on him — that one time where you pounced on him from behind and he almost elbowed you in the face because of it.

yeah… safe to say he’s grown more alert whenever you decide to stop by his apartment.

his eyes darted around his small apartment for clues:

the couch in the living room? nope, nice and neat. you didn’t lounge or sleep on his couch like a cat sunbathing on a warm sunny day - blankets were folded neatly at the corner, safe to assume you were unable to crash at his couch the moment you arrived.

the kitchen? nope, a barren wasteland. left untouched.. how unusual. you often treated his barely used kitchen like it was your oyster, unapologetically chaotic. and yet… it was.. tidy? Just how seth left it?

the pantry? nope. remains untouched.

the bathroom? the door was left ajar. rarely does seth leave doors ajar. they’re either closed or wide open, never in the in-between.

perhaps it’s a clue worth investigating.

he didn’t mutter a single peep as he tried to sneak towards the ajar bathroom door, but of course, stealth was very much not seth’s strength with how he tripped on one of the books scattered across the floor, making the wood beneath him croak in agony - alerting anyone in the premise of his position.

great.

there’s no use hiding it now, right?

seth took a much needed deep breath, allowing his ears to twitch before they eventually stilled and went back to their usual, fluffy and relaxed state, tail stagnant despite the tension curling within his stomach at the lack of movement in his apartment. “you don’t need to hide from me!! you know, pranks don’t have to be scary in order to provoke a reaction?” he tried to reason, nearing the door, he wrapped his fingers around the silver doorknob, opening the door slowly with the intent of poking his head inside. “I’m coming in, okay? i’m only here to make sure everything is alright!”

as soon as he poked his head inside though, expecting nothing out of the ordinary.. well, he was about to be rendered speechless the moment he took in the scene before him:

you, standing on top of the marble countertop, holding a fresh roll of toilet paper and pointing it to… the corner of the bathtub? more specifically… at a silverfish?

seth couldn’t believe his eyes, could’ve sworn his mouth went agape like a cartoon character who had the intelligence of a peanut, absolutely dumbfounded beyond disbelief. “...(name)...” he gulped, eyes darting between a very much horrified you, now settling on the fat silverfish claiming its territory on his pristine bathtub. “...can… can… you elaborate as to why you’re currently standing on top of my countertop???”

he shook his head incessantly, as if slapping himself for asking such a dumb question in the midst of a very distressing situation. “..no no.. scratch that–” - “it attacked me first,” you answered hastily, fingers tightening around the fresh roll of toilet paper in hopes it was enough to protect you from the silverfish strolling around the bathtub. “it bolted towards me in the middle of me shitting–”

seth blinked. “...what…–”

“I was clearly vulnerable and it had to have known that, so of course, it had the audacity to bolt towards me like i offended its entire bloodline!” you huffed, now taking the time to face your confused friend. “say, if you noticed your enemy was vulnerable, you’d take the opportunity to ambush them, no?”

this day cannot get any weirder. clearly, you were passionate about your current predicament. not that seth could fault you here.

the bewildered thiren blinked once more, rapidly. helplessly trying to grapple the absurd situation to the best of his abilities. “...uh…” he falters, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “if it means bringing them closer to justice.. then.. yeah?? probably?” he says, eyebrow lifted in sincere, deep thought. “but.. then again, they’d get hurt before i could interrogate them, so–”

before seth could continue to what you believe to be the beginning of an unskippable ad, you nodded your head rapidly before pointing at the silverfish - to which it began to squirm underneath the scrutiny of not one, but two individuals at hand. “...since you’re a figure of authority…” you cleared your throat loudly, gesturing to the silverfish with a tilt of your head. “you might as well kill it… because.. because.. yeah?”

are you for real right now.

seth felt his heart drop all the way to his stomach with how you entertained that ridiculous idea of him playing the bug exterminator! what do you take him for??? he’s a rookie cop!! meant to face hardened criminals head on and to allow justice to shine through new eridu’s corrupt underbelly…

he’s not meant to kill bugs on command!

but with how the situation is looking… with you being two seconds away from genuinely bolting and acting hysterical, or even worse… trap him inside with the silverfish. yeah no, he has to deal with this as swiftly as he can. quick and painless.

acquiescing to your helpless (demands) pleas, seth grabbed a nearby toilet plunger, literally anything he could get his hands on in order to be done with this. determined as he was drained with this entire fiasco, he most definitely deserves compensation for his noble sacrifice. “...don’t do anything rash, okay??” he instructed, angling himself in front of you, hackles slightly raised with how he eyes the silverfish with the same intensity he uses when facing hardened criminals in an interrogation room. “i don’t want you to get hurt, especially if i can avoid it from happening.”

examining closely, he took measured, cautious steps towards the bathtub. toilet plunger raised over his head executioner style. he peered over the bathtub, and there it was, the silverfish - wiggling around in his bathtub like it was its territory, and not the furniture of a formidable lynx thiren.

he took a massive deep breath, trying to soothe his fear of having to kill a bug executioner style. the tip of his tail shivered in mild disgust. “...don’t move…” he inched closer. “...easy there buddy…” without giving the silverfish a moment to react to seth’s looming shadow, the rookie cop then slammed the rubber part of the toilet plunger against the unlucky silverfish. again.

and again.

one more whack – for good measure.

with each whack made against the silverfish, its remains splattered across the bathtub and walls, painting the once pristine tile walls of seth’s bathroom with the scent of death. his nose visibly crinkled. “eugh… to think this was crawling up and around my bathroom is quite…” he paused, turning to face your expectant expression. “unexpected…” his ears flattened, cringing at his own discomfort. “and unwelcome.”

you break the short moment of silence by jumping down from his marble countertop, setting the toilet paper roll aside. “pfft yeah…” you roll your shoulders. “tell me about it.. who knows how that little bugger got in,” you say thoughtfully, looking at seth with a troubled, albeit apologetic look. “we’re better off not knowing, ignorance is bliss after all.”

seth bit the inside of his cheek, this entire situation leaving him perturbed. he can’t help but feel a bit uneasy since he may have to deal with a potential silverfish issue – if he encountered one, then who knows if there’s more out there? just sitting there, idly in the shadows of his neat apartment that he rarely occupies due to his long shifts at n.e.p.s.

Its off-putting, to say the least.

he set the stained toilet plunger inside the bathtub – he’ll clean it later. “i guess so…” he shrugged off with a roll of his shoulders, or tried to. “even though i dealt with it without much issue.. it doesn’t sit right with me,” seth admits, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as though left rattled than victorious. “it’s weird, i know i know.. you don’t have to poke fun at me for it. go ahead, call me soft-hearted for feeling repulsed over a tiny bug when i’m often faced with cruel ethereals and even crueler people.”

huh? where did this come from?

you felt your heart constrict within your chest, blinking back a few stray tears – emotional or not is a whole different story. “you know,” seth begins, “i’m used to my older brother doing the heavy lifting between us when we were younger. if a problem ever arose in the family, our school life, or hell – between us? he was the one who stood up and fixed it with no complaints.” he crosses his arms in front of his chest, as though trying to guard himself from his feelings of inferiority and insecurity when facing his short-comings.

“but me?” his voice wavered slightly. “i couldn’t even kill a bug without feeling as though my heart was about to burst out of my chest! or better yet, feel uneasy even after killing it! ” he sighed deeply, head hung low. ears drooping in silent defeat. “if i’m so easily disturbed by a bug…” he glances at you, his eyes searching for answers. “then am i truly capable of protecting those i love?”

you froze up. throughout this entire exchange, you thought that once this situation was over, it’d be one of those stories where you and seth can look back on a few weeks later and laugh it off like it was nothing – a silly and absurd tale between two friends who almost met their maker thanks to a wandering silverfish.

but to see seth look so dejected and like a husk of his usual self – bright-eyed and eager to bring justice anywhere and everywhere? it was quite the whiplash, and to be quite frank, it made you quite guilty for putting him on the forefront just because he so happens to be a rookie cop.

with hesitation that’s unusual for you, you made an attempt to reach out to him. your hand lingered in the air between you two before it slowly settled on top of his shoulder – the same one where his faded scar made its brand. “of course you’re capable of protecting those you love,” you smiled, melancholy.

“if you truly were incapable of protecting those you love, then you would’ve taken any opportunity to bolt out the bathroom and leave me there to rot with that silverfish.” you say with a weak laugh. “seriously, seth. you didn’t let your fear and disgust of bugs derail you from your main goal, and that was to protect me – when i probably didn’t even deserve in the first place with how i treated you.”

you cringed, recalling those memories of where you practically shoved seth towards the line of fire. “i.. acted out of sheer impulse..– no. i let my shamelessness get the best of me and treated you unfairly, disregarding your discomfort and confusion only because i was worried for my own skin.” you sighed, offering him a strained, gentle smile. “so yes, you are more than capable of protecting those you love – from gargantuan and ferocious ethereals to itty bitty but feisty insects who seem to love your bathtub more than we had anticipated.”

and just like that, your words served like the sun’s rays sifting through gloomy rain clouds, dispelling those persistent negative words meant to wear down on his generally optimistic demeanor. “(name)...” seth felt his breath hitch. taken aback by this sudden… seriousness from you. his curiosity piqued. “really..? you mean it?” you nodded, to which his voice began to pick up a bit. his scarred shoulder subconsciously leaning towards your comforting hand.

“you… you don’t understand how much your words mean to me, it.. it–” he chuckles weakly, shaking his head. “it feels… awfully nice, to be acknowledged for all the hard work i do to make sure everyone is safe and sound – often setting my personal fears aside in order to protect those who are far weaker than me.”

he sighs softly, exhaling all the negativity that tried to sink itself within the deep crevices of his mind. “and for that, i have you to thank,” he smiles earnestly, causing the tip of his tail to perk up in silent delight.

“me???” you pointed to yourself, eyes wide in genuine surprise – wider than saucers. “Pfft… i hardly did anything… you, on the other hand…” you poked seth’s forehead with your pointer finger, causing the lynx thiren to close his eyes briefly in surprise before letting out a huff of laughter at your silliness.

finally, he seems to be doing awfully better now! “you did alllllllllll the heavy lifting today, as you so eloquently put it!” you pointed out, deciding to pull away from him in order to give him some space. “now… if you truly want to thank me for whatever…” you grinned. “you might as well share those delicious tuna sandwiches you so generously bought for you and i, yeah? how does that sound?”

the sound of tuna sandwiches seemed to trigger all the hunger hormones within seth’s stomach with the way his stomach grumbled – like it was agreeing to your words before he could even respond. he let out a sheepish chuckle before his expression softened into something akin to happiness.

“yeah…” he agrees, the dead silverfish and his past insecurities long forgotten in the name of hunger and sincerity. “we both deserve it.”

a/n: oh my god this took me DAYSSS to finish good LORD this one is a beefy one😭 yesyeys i deserve a round of applause for doing the bare minimum wowie!! yippee!! 😭 anyways, i must give thanks where thanks are deserved... everyone say thank you to @nemoibemoi for both helping me articulate my thoughts/help shape up my writing AND for helping me figure out severian's... sense of being? i didn't realize how much of a difficult character he was to write for 💔was going off of straight up vibes for this one gang.. 💔i even had to go the extra mile of logging in and looking through his dialogue to get reacquainted with his character once more.

p.s - i didn't mean to make seth's section so long?!? i swear his section could've had a separate post of its own but it's too late go back righttttt 💔 anyways you seth enjoyers are gonna be eating WELL!!! besides the point, i had fun writing this !!! guhhh its 4 am i need a rest shnoook mimimimi

[nemoibemoi]

cissia tries to surprise belle for her birthday; 7.2k words (i don't know how that happened); suibian temple mention, stars of lyra mention, uhhh a lot of factions get mentioned + some phaethon sibling bonding time at the end

Birthdays used to bring Cissia a feeling of contempt. The thought of people singing songs to her, bringing her carefully chosen gifts, making her blow out candles and make a stupid wish… Ew! Cissia couldn’t help gagging at the very thought of it! Thank god nobody ever thought to do that for her, nobody ever remembered a day for her… Because she doesn’t want them to. It’s weird, and creepy. Who in their right mind would want something like that?

… Birthdays also stirred another emotion in Cissia. Envy. It curled low and ugly in her gut as she peered into the Pubsec office with Belle, and saw a group of scary officers celebrating one of their new members’ birthdays. Singing her the song, giving her gifts, letting her have the first slice of cake… Whatever, Cissia had said. I don’t need that stupid stuff anyways.

But maybe Belle had noticed that small pit of longing, of envy in Cissia’s stomach, tucked just beneath her obnoxious bravado. Because the next day, Belle practically forced Cissia into celebrating a day she couldn’t even name or remember– Keyword, forced! Cissia didn’t want to do it at all, no thank you! But…

… It was nice. Being celebrated. Even if it wasn’t your traditional cake and candles celebration, and Cissia couldn’t even bring herself to choose any of the– extremely pricey– things in the Galleria for Belle to buy as a gift. The feeling that maybe, her birth into this world was something good to someone, that someone was happy she was around… It was something that kept her nice and warm when she slept on the managers’ couch that night.

So naturally, it’s Belle’s turn.

Cissia had marked the date in her mind. She had been subtly gathering intel on the exact things Belle likes for the last few weeks– “Belle, what’s your favorite cake flavor?” “Belle, what would you want to do on your birthday?” “Belle, if you had a choice, would you want your birthday to be celebrated at home or in a restaurant?”– and now, it’s time to put the plan into action!

Cissia hit the town with her Belle birthday fund savings, a fat pouch in her hand containing all her newspaper clippings and coupons, and a slip of paper noting all the currently running discounts at stores in her messy scrawl. Cissia’s primary target? A cake. According to Cissia’s super stealthy intel gathering, Belle has no preference for cake flavors– But Cissia does, so she’s buying a cute little egg custard cake!

She pauses in the center of the shopping district, closing her eyes to help her focus on untangling all the scents and smells filling the air… There's a store offering samples of a new flavored caramel to her left, a laundromat running a lot of dry cycles, a grocery store… Then, she catches a whiff of custard.

Like a hound catching a trail, Cissia’s eyes fly open, before she darts down the street. It’s like she can see the scent trail in the air, a heavenly scent of egg custard luring her through crowds and foot traffic until finally, finally, she sees the bakery just down the street– But an offhanded conversation between two highschoolers catches Cissia’s ear, bringing her to a dead stop.

“He bought me a bunch of stuff for my birthday, but it’s like… What am I supposed to do with it?” one of them asks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s not even stuff I asked for. All the gifts are really expensive, so I can’t just refuse them, but…”

“But you wanted something more personal?” her friend suggests, prompting a gasp and nod from her. “Yeah, I agree… It feels like he didn’t actually know what to get you, and he was just throwing a bunch of ‘valuable’ stuff at you hoping one of them would be something you liked.”

The girl nods again, sighing. “I just wish he’d try to put a little more effort into what he got me, instead of just blowing all his money on stuff I don’t even like.” Her friend hums, clicking her tongue and shaking her head disapprovingly. “Yeah. Handmade stuff is much better than store bought.”

… Handmade? Cissia freezes, her eyes widening. Crap, she didn’t even think to ask about whether Belle wanted handmade gifts! And Cissia doesn’t even know how to make stuff, she isn’t exactly the craftiest person around. But, on another more important note…

… Does this mean Belle wouldn’t like a store bought cake?

Cissia hovers in the middle of the street, frowning as a cyclist barely manages to weave around her. Surely the “handmade better than store bought" logic doesn’t apply to food too, right? Cissia doesn’t even know how to make a cake, she hardly even cooks her own meals!

Before she can even consider what she’s doing, she’s already looked up egg custard cake recipes on her phone and rifled through her pouch for any coupons on the ingredients… It looks like her decision is already made.

She stares longingly at the bakery– In fact, she’s pretty sure she can see the egg custard cake sitting in the storefront window– before sullenly turning away and slinking off down the street. It’s alright, Cissia didn’t need to buy the cake anyway– She can follow a recipe instead! She’s… alright at following orders from her demon boss. Following a recipe can’t be that much different. Besides, the cake was probably gonna be crazy expensive; A majority of her savings were allocated to the cake alone. Surely ingredients for a cake won’t be that expensive, right?

She was wrong.

Cissia stares down at her nearly empty wallet, the once plentiful dennies having been almost completely stripped dry; She could feel their worth in the heavy grocery bag in her other hand, filled with flour, sugar, and all the works. “Jeez…” she mutters, slightly dazed as she leaves the grocery store, “I barely had enough for everything…” Even her coupons barely saved her.

Cissia shook her wallet, prompting a handful more dennies to make their presence known. All in all, she’d say she had… 2500 in dennies? Cissia fights the urge to whine, kicking at the ground as she stands in front of the mall. Cissia definitely didn’t have enough to buy materials and make Belle something special or cute like a little snake plushie– although, it's not like Cissia can make a plushie in the first place– and if she bought her any snacks as a gift… Well, that’s hardly a proper gift! And more importantly, Cissia will probably eat it all before she can give them to Belle. 

She was about to just give up on the present altogether, turning away with the intention to walk home, when she notices a small craft store. In its display window, she sees what looks like red paper cranes hanging from clear, thin string. In an instant, Cissia is pressed against the window, looking at the paper cranes with a narrowed gaze. “Paper… can do that?” She hadn’t even considered that something like paper could be used and made into little animals…

… Wait.

“Belle would love this!” Cissia exclaims, her eyes widening as she leaps back from the storefront window and immediately dashes inside the store, buying as much pretty colored paper as she could afford with her dennies.

Unfortunately, it’s only once Cissia arrives back at her cramped company-covered apartment that she realizes… Buying origami paper didn’t mean she bought the skill to turn them into cranes. It’s fine, she’ll just… She’ll look up a tutorial! The Interknot has everything these days, she’ll just pick one and make them while the cake is baking.

Cissia hums a happy tune to herself as she drops the paper on the little couch, walking to the kitchenette and laying out all her ingredients– Butter, milk, vinegar, flour, caster sugar, and imitation vanilla extract since she took one look at the price of the real thing and immediately put it back on the shelf. Either way, vanilla tastes like vanilla, no way it’d have that much of a difference on the final product, right?

As always, Cissia has a stock of fresh eggs in her fridge, and takes out a few before laying them out on the counter. She pulls up the recipe on her phone, before frowning. A baking tin…? As if people just have one lying around their company-covered apartment?! Cissia spends a minute digging around the cabinets before she resurfaces with an aluminum pan, the kind one would see at a family reunion holding food to be shared. She stares at it curiously, before tentatively setting it down on the counter. It should be fine… Right? Aluminum can stand high temperatures, right? It’s a metal, right?

Cissia decides to not worry about it.

She spends another moment actually trying to find the recipe instructions, scrolling past the terribly sad and depressing tale of a woman whose husband’s dying wish before succumbing to cancer was to have a taste of this custard cake until she finally starts to see some numbers appear in a bulleted list. Then, she preheats her little oven to 320° fahrenheit, puts some milk on the stove on low heat, and pulls out a bunch of bowls for mixing.

After struggling to separate the eggs into whites and yolks, with one poor soldier falling on the floor and sending cold goo all over Cissia’s foot, she manages to combine the yolks with the caster sugar– likely with a bunch of extra calcium. Eventually when her oven beeped to let her know it was done preheating, Cissia realized she didn't have an electric mixer.

“Crap…!” she whines, looking through her tiny kitchen twice over in the hopes that maybe an electric mixer might manifest in a dark corner, but as expected, an apartment only made for employees to rest for a moment before clocking back into work won’t have anything for baking. She finds a whisk, though. Cissia slowly turns around, looking back at the rather innocuous bowl of egg yolks and sugar, before groaning and dragging herself back to the counter. “Belle, you’re lucky I care so much!” she grunts, gripping the whisk and bowl with white knuckles as she hisses in annoyance. Far away on Sixth street, a certain video store manager sneezes.

What the recipe said would take five minutes with an electric mixer took roughly seventeen with Cissia’s rigorous mixing of the yolks and sugar by hand– Not including the breaks she took for her poor, untrained wrist. Seriously, she’d rather go on fifty missions to apprehend bigshots for her demon boss than beat any mixture involving eggs or sugar by hand again. With that out of the way, though, she adds in the butter and vanilla, thinking the hard part is over– Until she fumbles the imitation vanilla’s bottle, spilling what would be well over a year’s worth of real vanilla– but luckily isn’t– into the bowl.

Cissia freezes in place, her eyes growing as wide as saucepans. “... You gotta be kidding me.” For a moment, it’s just her and the bowl with a spreading dark brown splash. Then, she shyly dips her pinky into the mix, bringing it to her nose and giving it a sniff.

She pauses, before deflating with noticeable relief. “Oh thank god, it actually doesn’t smell that bad.” While it was a little strong, at least it wasn’t overwhelming like she heard it would be online. Maybe this imitation stuff isn’t all that bad. Cissia smiles, popping her pinky into her mouth to lick off the mix.

A moment of strong gagging and water guzzling later, with Cissia clinging to her sink for a solid five minutes as her tail thrashed like crazy behind her and she fought the urge to throw up the tiny amount of straight fake vanilla she ingested, she calmly and carefully spooned out the excess fake vanilla back into the bottle. It’s a real feat that she doesn’t chuck the bottle across the room– But knowing herself, she probably didn’t screw the stupid lid all the way on, and that would probably end with her whole corporate living space getting doused with fake vanilla. And her demon boss taking the cost of replacement furniture out of Cissia's paycheck.

Sifting flour is one of those things Cissia imagined would be really easy until she actually pulled out her sieve. The first step– Where all she needs to do is put the flour in the sieve– already spelled doom and despair with how she dumped the flour, resulting in a giant cloud of white going up to her face and all over the counter. However, bravely, Cissia soldiers on. She taps the side of the sieve repeatedly, careful to keep the sieve over the bowl– But for some dumb reason, no matter what she does, the stupid flour just won’t sift! Cissia growls, her eyes narrowing at the flour before she hits it a little harder a few times. Nothing.

“Are you serious? You’re supposed to go through!” she hisses, as if the flour had missed the memo when she first put it into the sieve. “What’s the point of this anyway?! It’s already a powder, do they want it more powdery?” She scoffs, promptly overturning the sieve and dumping the rest of the unsifted flour– Which was basically all of it– into the bowl, folding it in with a spatula.

She burned the milk.

Cissia turned around with the purpose of acquiring her decently warmed milk, and found that not only was it about to bubble over with a wall of froth at least two inches over the lip of the pot, but she also found the realization that oops! Her company-afforded stove is rather crappy, and the one burner she set the milk to heat on was the one burner with a habit of jacking up the heat to hell’s bathwater no matter what she turned the dial to.

… The milk went down the drain, with the second attempt being under careful supervision by Cissia– And a different stove burner too.

Once the milk was added in, with Cissia taking a break to wash her face and hands and chin and neck and everywhere really, of flour, she looked at the recipe again for the next step– Before immediately groaning and falling to the floor with a dramatic cry. There, in the middle of her phone screen, lay the innocent words: “Add the egg whites to a separate mixing bowl and beat with the electric mixer until stiff peaks form.”

“... You can’t be serious!” Cissia whines, grabbing her phone and looking at the step again. She groans, slumping over for a moment. Her wrist still hurt from beating the yolks and sugar… Cissia contemplates calling her demon boss, but the strong shudder that immediately ran down her spine at the very thought of willingly contacting that monster on her free day made her scrap that idea.

After her moment of melodrama, Cissia pulls herself to her feet, looking at the bowl of separated egg whites with a reluctant pout before she grabs the whisk, rinsing it off in the sink before she grabs the bowl and starts whisking. “I’d rather just get you over with in one fell swoop, than deal with you again and again after multiple breaks!” she mutters, a fierce determination momentarily taking away all ability of feeling her wrist– Or maybe that’s just the pain canceling itself out, who knows.

Once the peaks started to stiffen, which took an amount of time that Cissia doesn’t want to discuss, she added in the vinegar before continuing to beat the whites for another five minutes. After those five minutes are up, she pauses her whisking, her hand visibly shaking as she slowly raises the whisk out of the egg whites. “... Those peaks look pretty stiff to me,” Cissia mumbles to herself, before immediately dropping the whisk and the bowl onto the counter as she rushes over to the couch and falls over the back of it, cradling her wrist to her chest with a strong whine. There's no doubt about it in her mind– Cissia definitely wasn't built to be a baker.

Folding in the egg whites with her non dominant hand, she leans in a little bit to give the bowl a nice long sniff. Although she may be permanently turned off from all things vanilla, and there’s probably more than a few egg shells and flour clumps in the batter that she just couldn't mix out for some unknown reason, but despite all that, she'd say… The batter was smelling pretty good.

She pours it in the aluminum pan, before carefully sliding it into her oven and shutting the door with an excited giggle. Cissia happily skips over to her couch again, turning around and falling over the backside with a relieved sigh. “Finally…” she groans, stretching her arms and legs before twisting fully onto the couch and picking up the origami paper she had left on the cushions over an hour before.

For a moment, Cissia was really fighting the urge to take a nice long nap, but the couch was too stiff and cold. It’s nothing like the managers’ couch, which was nice and warm with plenty of pillows and throw blankets for Cissia to nest in… And that thought reminded her why she was doing all this in the first place.

That’s right… The managers let her crash on their couch all the time. They buy extra snacks because of her, keep more eggs for her, and now whenever one of them goes out for groceries, they’ll always ask Cissia whether she wants anything too. Belle celebrated her birthday with her, buying her all sorts of eggy foods and even taking her through the Galleria in order to pick out a present.

As if Cissia even has a place to ask.

She’s still for a moment, staring up at the popcorn ceiling of her cold apartment. This cake and gift should be more than just for Belle’s birthday… God knows they both deserve everything and more for all they’ve let her do. Cissia drags herself up into a sitting position, wiping the flour off her phone screen with her sleeve before she looks up a paper crane tutorial on the Interknot. These are going to be the most beautiful damn cranes Belle and Wise have ever seen if she’s got anything to do about it!

Apparently there’s a lot of different terms for folding paper. Between figuring out what a “valley fold” is, constantly pausing and resuming and rewinding the video, and tearing her paper more than a few times with her long nails and constantly redoing folds until the paper was too weak to continue, Cissia manages to pump out one wrinkled, shoddy, rather pathetic looking crane. She stares at it for a moment, holding it in her hands with an unreadable expression.

Then, she crumples it and tosses it behind her, grabbing another sheet to start over again. I’ll get it right, she thought to herself, I still have plenty of paper left! 

As she folded, smoothed, tore, crinkled, and threw away crane after imperfect crane, she started to smell the cake cooking in the oven. Her apartment was beginning to fill with the yummy smell of faint vanilla, almost making Cissia want to sleep again. She yawns, wanting nothing more than to drag herself over to Sixth street and crash on the managers’ warm couch again… Instead, she continues her folding, eventually churning out one rather nicely made paper crane with blue and gray colors. Cissia holds it in her hands, appraising it carefully for a moment… Before she smiles, nodding and gently setting it aside on the coffee table.

She hums faintly to herself as she folds another crane with yellow and pink colors, this one coming out less messy than her last one. She sets it right next to the blue and gray, before starting again on her last crane made of blue and orange.

Cissia is in the middle of folding the wings down when she suddenly notices the vanilla smell turning… burnt. She freezes, her eyes widening as the crane drops to her lap and only one question remains on her mind. How long has it been?

Leaping over the back of the couch, she skitters to her oven and yanks open the oven, almost reaching in with nothing more than her hand before she quickly fumbles around for a glove. She takes out the pan, her jaw dropping as she sees the entire top layer was a dark brown, with patches of burnt black sending smoke in her face as she sets it on the counter and kicks the oven shut.

Cissia stares at it for a moment. It’s impossible to see if the layers of the custard cake actually separated since she didn’t have any glassware to use… And it’s not recommended to touch the cake until it’s fully set in the fridge…

She swallows nervously, before slowly inching away from it. The burnt smell isn’t bad, it’s just… More than Cissia would’ve preferred. Maybe she can scrape off the burnt layer, so long as it’s only the surface of the cake…?

Cissia whines, making her way back to the couch. “I should’ve set a timer…” she mumbles, flopping onto the cushions and picking up her Belle crane from the floor. Finishing the crane was uneventful, but it turned out her best one by far, with its more crisp folds and confident edges.

Cissia takes a moment to look at the three she made, all sitting side by side on her coffee table. She smiles, before reaching out and gently nudging the Cissia crane closer to the other two. Then, grabbing a black marker, Cissia scribbles on two eyes and a goofy smile on each crane. With the hard stuff out of the way, now comes the easy part… Bringing it to the video store!

The next day, she cut a tiny piece off of the cake, taking a peek at the layers with bated breath. Then, she blinks in surprise– It actually separated, just like the recipe said. The custard layer looked a little stiff, but one taste let her know that overall the texture was just fine, if not a little strong with the vanilla. The burnt part of the cake was also… Saveable. Nothing a butter knife can’t fix.

Once it was ready– without the recommended fruit toppings to decorate since she didn’t have any– Cissia popped on the lid to the tin. She carefully folded the cranes’ wings down, before slipping them into her pocket as she flounced out of her cold apartment.

Taking the subway to Sixth street, Cissia taps her foot rapidly as the lights fade in and out of the cab. As soon as the train rolls to a stop and the doors wheeze open, she’s out, hurrying off the landing and rushing up the stairs towards the morning light of Sixth street. Breaking out into the sun, she looks around, immediately spotting the Random Play–

–And a giant crowd of people.

“... No way the managers are working on Belle’s birthday,” Cissia mutters, taking a few steps closer before her jaw drops. Through the dense crowd, she spots them.

Teal uniforms. A woman with pink hair, a man with a yellow headband, a thiren, and a blue oni. Her eyes widen. “You’re kidding me.” What the hell is Section 6 doing at Random Play?! The crowd was filled with all their fans, each one trying desperately to get an autograph or a picture or both as the hollow specialists politely brushed them off, slipping inside the video store. Cissia immediately feels a shiver run down her spine, about to turn tail and go home, but she can’t! It’s Belle’s birthday, and she didn’t put in all that work the day before just to run away now!

But no, there’s more– A sleek black car pulls up outside Random Play too. Crisp black vests, a female shark and male wolf thiren, a girl with green pigtails, a tall ghostly lady with two mini bangboo at her side, white frilled aprons on the girls and a tucked red cravat on the man… Cissia blinks, no recognition in her brain. Either way, she’s certain the managers aren’t bougie enough to have hired a whole maid service for one day– But it’s now that Cissia notices the large, sleek, black box held by the girl. From where she’s standing, she can faintly make out the words Victoria Housekeeping Co. embossed in cursive on the front.

“... You’re kidding me.” Victoria Housekeeping?! Those are the guys who get hired by the uber-rich folk, aren’t they?! Thing is, Cissia’s fully certain now that the thing in that box is a cake… She’s heard of the maid service that doubles as a hollow service, reporting directly to the mayor himself. And Belle did mention she worked with a maid service when they went to the Ballet Twins statue that time…

Cissia feels her stomach sinking, looking down at her pathetic aluminum tin pan. But she pauses, her ears picking up on a faint rumbling sound… Suddenly, something loud and fierce rips past her, sharp laughter followed by a whole bunch of motorcycles?! And what did she expect, they all come to a screeching halt outside of Random Play, the biker gang dismounting their motorcycles as two of them– Both girls, one with green hair and the other with blonde pigtails– skipping ahead and calling out for Belle. Cissia immediately stiffens, a sense of danger making the hairs on the back of her neck raise– What does a biker gang from the Outer Ring want with the managers? They didn’t get into trouble, did they–? But Cissia notices the name written on the back of one of the biker’s jacket. “‘Sons of Calydon’...?” Cissia mumbles, before she blinks. “... Oh. They’re the guys who own my hometown now.” That place she remembered as rundown and dangerous was nothing like that anymore. It was warm and open, the people living there carefree with no fear of danger or hunger. Last time Cissia went there with Belle, she said it was them who caused the change…

… Wow. Cissia didn’t know Belle had so many cool friends. Standing on the side of the road, holding her aluminum cake with her paper cranes in her pocket, she feels a little pathetic.

Instead of entering through the front door like she wanted, Cissia quietly walks around to the back instead. Climbing the fire escape, she slips into the video store the same way she did the first time, but instead of brashly raiding Belle’s room for snacks, she just plops down on Belle’s couch instead. Setting aside her cake and taking the paper cranes out of her pocket, she curls up into a ball, her tail wrapping around her as she pulls a blanket over her shoulders. Sounds of the commotion downstairs drift up to Cissia’s ears as she waits for Belle to come up, an odd tangle of feelings in the pit of Cissia’s stomach.

Out of the corner of her eye, though, she notices something that wasn’t there before. Cissia blinks, narrowing her eyes as she shifts on the couch to get a better look. There, sitting on the table with a cream envelope beside it, was a deep royal purple jewelry box with a silver bird insignia. She tries to resist the urge for a moment, but it’s hard to fight her nosy tendencies as she snatches up the box and envelope, tearing it open with her nails and pulling out a handwritten letter in looping cursive. It faintly smells of a rich wood cologne, and if that wasn’t enough of a sign, the paper itself felt thicker and fancier in a way that only someone with more than extra money could afford on a simple letter.

Dear Belle, Cissia reads to herself, we’re in a rush, so I’ll unfortunately have to keep it short. While we haven’t been able to speak to you in some time and weren’t able to see you in person, we hope you still had a splendid birthday. I would have gotten you something less flashy, but Vivian insisted that you deserved nothing less than the flashiest thing money could buy. I suppose I can agree, since you are akin a glowing star spreading warmth and life to those around you, and should be celebrated as such. I hope your day was filled with joy, surrounded by friends and family gathering just for you. Enjoy yourself, and once again, happy birthday. As per usual, please burn this letter once you are finished reading it.

From, your dearest friends at Mockingbird.

… Mockingbird? Cissia blinks, before slowly turning her gaze to the royal purple jewelry box. She slowly unclasps it, gripping the top and prying it open. Inside lay a silver necklace with large pear-cut sapphire stones inlaid in a dripping pattern, with the center stone cut into one fat heart. Each stone was easily within seventy to ninety carats.

This was the kind of jewelry bought as an investment rather than a piece to wear. The kind inherited through family generations, bought to be sold when the going gets tough.

… This was definitely worth more than Cissia’s value as a NEPS asset.

Absolutely bombshelled, Cissia could only close up the box and set it on the table along with its perfumed letter as she curled back up on the couch again. Looking at her aluminum tin, she feels even more pathetic– And then feels guilty, because why does she feel bad in the first place? Belle is allowed to have other friends, she’s allowed to have cooler friends! Cissia should be happy that Belle is so loved, that she has whole government factions making time to come see her on her birthday.

… But still. It’s a little embarrassing, wanting to surprise Belle on her birthday– Only to find that twenty, or more like fifty, other people had the same thought. Cissia sighs, before she hears footsteps coming up the stairs. Instead of Belle, though, it’s…

“Wise?” Cissia calls out, watching him stumble and nearly fall with his arms filled with gifts from everyone downstairs. She uncurls from the couch, hurrying over to him and quickly taking half the boxes.

“Cissia?” he says, blinking in surprise at the sight of her before he glances downstairs. Loud cheering erupts, Belle’s voice faintly heard over the noise. “Uh, Belle’s a little busy right now… Being her usual outgoing self. You won’t be able to see her for at least thirty more minutes if you wanted some one-on-one time.” Cissia gapes at him for a moment. Thirty minutes?! In the end, though, she doesn’t object, nodding somberly as she trudges into Belle’s room with Wise trailing along behind her. They set the boxes down on the floor, before Cissia flops back onto the couch again, Wise joining her on the opposite end. He pulls out his phone, scrolling idly as he deflates from all the commotion downstairs.

“... Is it like this every year for you two?” Cissia asks after a moment, breaking the silence as Wise glances up from his phone. He shrugs, nodding. “Yeah, pretty much,” Wise says, “It feels like the crowd visiting for our birthdays got exponentially larger in the last two years.”

He sighs, staring longingly out the doorway. “There’s so many people now that I, her brother, barely get to talk to her on her birthday. This year we actually had to set ground rules for everyone, since last year we had so many dinner invitations and surprise parties and group hangouts, we physically couldn’t be everywhere all at once…” Wise chuckles weakly.

“All things considered, this year is actually pretty tame. It’s just…” He glances at the looming stacks of gifts with a sour face. “... Now we have to deal with all their gifts at once, instead of staggered over the course of the day. Let’s see,” he pauses, reaching over and grabbing a box, “This one’s tagged from Astra and Evelyn, along with a majority of the other boxes… She sent us a message saying she bought Belle a bunch of clothes from the best dressmakers and seamstresses across the continent. I don’t know where we’re gonna put all these.” Cissia blinks after a moment, her eyes widening.

“... Wait a minute. Did you just say Astra? As in, Astra Yao, the idol singer?” Wise freezes, before wincing. “Yeah… You’ll get used to it after a while. You saw Section 6 out in the front, right?” Cissia’s eyes were still as big as saucers, though. Wise smiles nervously, before moving on.

He shifted to sorting out the gifts on the floor, making piles from each person who visited and talking out loud about them to Cissia. “Aw, the Angels got her light sticks and plushies… Shifu sent cash like usual… this one’s from senior Fufu, this one’s from Xiao’Guang, Yuzuha and Manato sent this one…” After a moment, he notices the royal purple jewelry box and torn envelope on the table. “Oh, is that from Hugo?” Wise reaches over, popping open the box before his whole body goes rigid. He’s silent for a long moment, Cissia watching as he visibly short-circuits. After a moment, Wise shuts the box, setting it back on the table. “... Definitely Vivian.”

It continues like that until the gifts are sorted into many shorter piles, except for the overwhelmingly large stack belonging to Astra Yao and Evelyn. The whole time, Cissia stayed curled on the couch, humming every so often as she watched Wise put the boxes and bags into their respective groups. There were so many… Her three cranes paled in comparison. Once it’s all done, he sighs, leaning back against the couch.

“... That’s not even all of it. I already know our friends over in the Obol squad probably sent something that’s gonna arrive a little later, and she hasn’t gotten anything from Dialyn or Xiao’Zhao yet.” He sounds tired. Cissia can relate, even though she hasn’t even spoken to Belle yet.

“That sounds tough,” she says, resting her head on the arm of the couch. “... You know, I wanted to surprise Belle for her birthday.” Cissia sighs softly. “Since she celebrated mine with me, made it feel like it was worth something… I thought I could do the same for her. And, just in general– You two have done a lot for me, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to thank you both.” She shifts, propping her cheek on her hand.

“I guess I should’ve figured that she’d be busy, though,” Cissia says with a laugh. “Just, I didn’t expect this many people.” Wise nods, shrugging. “Yeah, she does that. Between the two of us, she’s definitely the more charismatic one.”

“I mean… I’m glad they all care so much,” Wise continues, “And I’m glad they stop by every year and send gifts for our birthdays, but I mean…” He shrugs. “I don’t know. I kinda miss getting up early to set up a little party for her downstairs, with everyone from the neighborhood invited out for some food. It’s not tailored clothes from across the continent or a silver necklace with the fattest gemstones I’ve ever seen in person before, but it was… It was nice, being able to actually spend time with my sister on her special day.” Wise pauses, before he laughs, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks up at Cissia. “That probably sounds weird, right…? I am glad she has people to spend her day with, but I just–”

“No no no, I get it!” Cissia says, sitting up immediately. “Like, I feel bad that I can’t spend time with her because of all those people, but then I feel bad for feeling bad in the first place because I feel like I’m getting all controlling!” Wise’s eyes widened, before he nods furiously. “Exactly! And I want to be supportive, but also I barely even got to say goodmorning to Belle before gifts and people started arriving, nevermind a happy birthday.”

“Mhm, mhm– Not to mention, my gifts are so sad compared to that,” Cissia says, pointing at the leaning tower of gifts from Astra and Evelyn, “Even if I made it all myself, how does it hold a candle to fancy imported clothes or a cake made by literal maids and butlers?!” Wise runs his hands down his face, nodding gravely.

“Exactly. I don’t want to view it as a competition since she’s my sister, but there’s still nothing I could make or buy that would come close to the value in some of these gifts,” Wise says with a heavy sigh, “And I hate to even think that Belle is just smiling and accepting my gifts purely because I’m her brother, and not because she actually likes them…”

Cissia shudders, wincing. “Yeah, that would suck… I’d probably cry.” It was silent for a long moment, both Cissia and Wise looking at each other with a sense of camaraderie in their newfound sympathies, before Cissia notices the silence. Not just in the room, but the whole video store.

“Uh… Guys?” Belle starts, standing awkwardly in the doorway to her own bedroom as Cissia and Wise snap up to look at her. “I sent everyone off already.” The silence immediately becomes stilted, as Cissia and Wise realize Belle heard most if not all the stuff they said. Belle shifts from foot to foot, before stepping inside and moving between the piles of gifts to sit in Wise’s vacant spot on the couch.

The silence still stretched, before Cissia broke it. “Um. Belle,” she starts, suddenly feeling a wave of nerves as she clumsily grabs her aluminum tin and the paper cranes, “I, uh… I wanted to surprise you for your birthday, but obviously that wasn’t possible,” she says with a laugh, “But, um. I made you a custard cake, and I folded some cranes for you and Wise.” She pulls off the lid, setting it aside to reveal the cake. Belle’s eyes widen, before she leans closer to take a better look. Cissia also folds out the wings of the cranes, showing them to Belle a little shyly.

“See, um, this blue and orange one is you, this one is me, and this one is Wise…” she says, feeling embarrassment burn her cheeks. “I-I know it’s nothing compared to the other stuff you got, but I thought you’d like them… I thought they looked cute…” God, is Cissia shaking? She could feel the faint tremble building in her hands, and that made her cheeks burn hotter. “A-And, I just wanted to say thanks… Since, you know, you both let me crash at your place whenever I want, and you both take good care of me when I’m staying over,” Cissia says, glancing between Wise and Belle, “So… yeah. Happy birthday.”

Belle reaches out, gently stilling Cissia’s hands with her own. She smiles, taking the cranes with such care that one would think they were precious stones anywhere near as large as those sapphires. “Cissia, I love them!” she says, and Cissia dearly hopes she means it. “They’re so cute– I like their little faces,” Belle says with a giggle, before reaching out and wrapping an arm around Cissia’s shoulders. “You’re so sweet… You’re welcome, Cissia. Don’t worry about it, seriously.”

“... You know, I understand why you both think I won’t like your presents,” she says after a moment, before she pulls away a little, “But… I do like them. Wise, you know I keep that plushie you got me last year on my bed, right?” Wise immediately perks up, his head snapping around to look at Belle’s bed to see for himself.

“The point is, I value everyone’s gifts, no matter how expensive or inexpensive. Because at the end of the day, they all took time out of their day to try and find me something they thought I’d like– And that is more important to me than anything else.” Belle smiles. “Which includes you two, so stop thinking I’ll hate your gifts just because I already got so many!” Wise looks at her, his eyes big and slightly watery– although, maybe it’s just a trick of the light as he stumbles to his feet.

“Hold up, I left your present in my room,” he calls behind him as he spins around the corner into his own room, returning a moment later with three coupons. He hands them over to Belle, watching as her eyes widen. “... I asked General Chop if he could do me a favor for your birthday, so… Tonight, our dinner will be free.”

Belle gasps, before immediately kicking her feet and jumping up to hug Wise. “Seriously?! Oh my god, hell yeah!” He hugs her back, smiling as he melts. “Uh huh. Happy birthday.”

Cissia smiles, that knot of feelings in her stomach starting to unwind. Then, she pauses. “Wait, why’s there three?” she asks, Wise and Belle looking at her. “Who else are you guys gonna take?”

It’s silent for a moment. Slowly, Cissia’s brain works through it, the cogs turning until her eyes widen. “... You’re kidding me. Are you for real?!” She points at herself, and Wise nods. Immediately, she smiles, setting aside her cake as she leaps up to hug them both extra tight.

“You guys!! You didn’t have to! Seriously, you don’t have to, I don’t mind not eating–?!” she starts, before Belle works her hand free and pinches Cissia’s arm. “Ow– Belle, what was that for?!”

She huffs, taking one coupon and shoving it into Cissia’s breast pocket. “You said so yourself, right? We take good care of you, we let you crash at our place whenever you want and as long as you want…” Belle smiles then. “You’re part of the family, Cissia. You’re coming to my birthday dinner, and you’re eating for free.”

… Cissia might cry.

She sniffles, before burying her face into her shoulder and squeezing them both as hard as she can– Until they start protesting, Wise frantically patting Cissia’s shoulder to get her to stop. Cissia finally lets go, wiping at her eyes before she smiles softly.

“... Okay.”

Since the prolonged time outside the fridge made Cissia’s cake a little too warm for her liking, they all went out for dinner at Waterfall Soup first. When they returned, stomachs full and moods lifted, Wise carried up the few extra boxes that arrived at the video store before they all bundled up together on the couch, Belle sitting in the middle as she chose her favorite thriller movie to put on the TV. Cissia cut out squares of her custard cake onto little paper plates with plastic forks. Wise turned off the lights, and once everyone was settled, Belle hit play.

Sitting there on that tiny couch, squished against the arm and Belle’s side, making loud commentary on the perceived strength of the villain and how Cissia would easily beat him up if she were in the movie, she felt… warm.

It was really nice.

-------

A/N: Genuinely i could not tell yall what happened. I don't know how it ballooned up into 7.2k words, i deadass thought it would be like 3k max. I wrote this in 11-point font with 1.15 spacing on google docs. it's ELEVEN pages long. I don't know how this happened, literally this evening it was at like 2.7k and I was like "??? why are you getting so fat" Also her sifting flour experience came directly from me LMAOAOAOAO i was making pandan cake with a buddy and she put me in charge of sifting flour, I'm standing there like "heh this is gonna be EASY",, i don't know if I just had shitty technique or what, but most of it went outside the bowl, and gently tapping like she instructed me to just didn't work 💔💔 so she kicked me off of sifting flour duty ALSO origami. In my opinion, it's one of those things where you need to learn to just do it. Like, the fact that the fold doesn't have a "spot" for it to happen or a "spot" for it to land shouldn't matter, just do the fold anyway and let it fall where it will. When I was doing origami, this idea that the fold had to have a "spot" for me to do it literally kept me from finishing any shape. To be honest there were a LOT of interactions I wanted to write between Cissia and other characters (i.e. seeing victoria housekeeping co. at the grocery store and realizing they were getting ingredients for a cake for belle too) that i obviously didn't include, but i'll probably write them as their own snippets later + they'll be linked here later Also pt. 3 I was at like 2k words before I remembered that I CAN'T BAKE. i know, it's really hard to tell. I didn't know what cake she was making, especially when I remembered that there's a lot of results that pop up when you look up "custard cake", so I followed this recipe for her cake, it looks really yummy and was the closest to what I was imagining. FINAL also, i feel like I didn't imply this enough, but they DO come over and send lots of gifts for Wise's birthday too– but they also know that (imo) he's the much more introverted sibling, so they don't stay over as long and they don't celebrate as hard as they do with Belle. okay that's all, hope you enjoyed ☆

[nemoibemoi]

harumasa does the penguin thing and wraps you in his coat from behind; 1.1k words; unnamed POV + they/them but insert as you like

It was growing colder in New Eridu as the holidays drew nearer. Slowly but surely, coats and scarves with fluffy hats became the new style, with stores changing their decorations to thick pine wreaths and garlands. Red ribbons, multicolored baubles, and warm yellow lights were everywhere to be seen. As per usual, companies began promoting their limited time holiday sales and holiday themed items. And finally, the real nail in the holiday themed coffin was the sudden influx of vacation leave requests.

One such request spanning the middle of December all the way to the end of the first week in January, was Harumasa's. He was lucky; It's almost as if every year, the ethereals in the hollows seem to sense the holiday cheer, and decide to not cause trouble for the time being. In fact, perhaps they even huddle up together and celebrate it in their own special ways?

“What do you think about that?” Harumasa asks his partner as they stroll along the boardwalk, their shoes crunching over the light layer of falling snow. He tilts his head back, looking up at the darkening sky– Just barely, he could catch the faintest glimpses of stars between the thick clouds. “I think it'd be pretty funny, getting called out to Hollow Zero and finding a strange gathering of ethereals having a Christmas party,” he says, idly swinging their intertwined hands.

“... You're so silly,” his partner says, fondness in their tone as they lean against his side. He smiles, looking at them; With the faintest dusting of snow on their head, they could almost resemble a powdered donut. The thought made him smile even more, as he reaches with his free hand just to tilt up their face so he can place a kiss on their forehead.

“But you love it when I'm silly, right?” he asks playfully, chuckling softly when a small smile appears on their lips. The way their nose scrunched up from his kiss was adorable to him, and the steady chill only made that feeling stronger, filling him with the desire to wrap them up all safe and warm.

Eventually, they came to a stop at the end of the boardwalk, standing at the railing to look across the frosty lake. It wasn't cold enough for it to freeze over, not yet– If it was, there would've been at least one story on the news of someone attempting to skate on the lake, before falling through the ice and nearly catching hypothermia.

“... Say, is it just me or did it get a little colder out here?” Harumasa asks after a moment, tugging up his scarf as the wind picks up. “How are you not cold with what you're wearing?” he mutters. At the lack of response, he glances at them, before pausing. They tried to hide it by freezing up and standing straight, but it was too late– He saw it. The shiver.

Their shoulders had started to unconsciously hunch up, and he suddenly noticed that they were pressing against his coat with something more than just the usual heart melting joy, and the way they immediately shifted their posture as soon as they sensed Harumasa looking at them… 

“... You,” he says slowly, a soft frown forming on his face as he clicked his tongue at them patronizingly, “I told you to wear a thicker jacket. I told you, didn't I?” he chides, even going as far as to wag his finger at them while they glared at him. “Don’t give me that look, I saw that shiver. If I'm getting cold even in my thick coat, then I know you're basically a popsicle right now.”

They open their mouth with the intent to disagree before a gust blows through them, prompting a shiver that they just couldn't stifle. Once they settled down, they looked away from Harumasa with a slight pout. “... I didn't think there'd be so much wind,” they mumble, “Otherwise, I'd be fine! The coat would've ruined my outfit.”

Harumasa huffs, before he quickly starts to undo the buttons of his coat. His partner blinks, before immediately grabbing his hands to stop him. “Hey, w-wait a minute–! I'm fine, let's just go back, don't take your coat off–”

Harumasa suddenly gives them a wide eyed look of shock. “Uh, are you crazy?! I'm not taking off my coat, not in this weather.” He shakes off their hands, finally getting the last button undone before he swiftly flings open his coat and pulls them into his embrace, trapping them with their back firmly against his chest. He manages to tug three buttons through their loops, before smiling as he settles against them. 

“... There. Feel better now?” he asks, nuzzling the back of their head against his temple. He hears them sigh heavily, before they lean back against him.

“Yes,” they say with an exaggerated sigh after a moment, “Thank you.”

He grins. “I feel so appreciated,” Harumasa says, pulling his arms out of his sleeves just to hug them from behind. He sways gently back and forth, creating a steady rhythm as the wind blows over and around them rather than through them. Watching the sun set over the city of New Eridu as the snowfall began to thicken, Harumasa felt a sense of peace wash over him. Standing here, his partner all nice and warm in his coat, the steady cold of winter nipping at their faces, he could almost fall asleep…

… Until the snow piling up in his beanie suddenly shifted, falling down the tiny sliver of open space between his neck and his scarf. He freezes immediately, a thorough shiver running through his whole body as he let out a loud squeal. “Ohmygod it’s so cold what the hell–?!” he cries, his voice abnormally high pitched. His comfy coat turned into his own prison while he thrashed and tried to rid his poor neck of snow.

His partner just laughs, trying to keep them both from toppling over by quickly turning around and hugging Harumasa tightly– But instead, it has the opposite effect, making him stumble before he loses balance completely. Before he knows it, gravity turns over in itself as they fall backwards onto the ground. For a moment, all he can do is lay there, staring up at the navy sky as snow drifts down and settles on his cheeks. After a moment, though, he hears loud giggles coming from his partner laying on top of him.

They raise their head, a smile on their lips as they reach up and brush the snow off of Harumasa’s face. “... I think it’s time to go home, yeah?” they ask, their voice still warm with laughter as their eyes crinkle with mirth. Harumasa blinks, before his expression softens.

“Yeah.”

------

A/N: I'm doing literally anything but write the hugo vivian longfic ohmyGODDDD but this has been sitting on my brain for a while now, the idea is ofc a courtesy of my GOAT @lunaefreya lowkey was in a bit of a writing slump, this definitely helped me pull out of it tho,,, it's christmas in may everybody anyways hope you enjoyed ☆

[lunaefreya]

MY GOAT UPLOADED AGAIN LETS GOOOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭harumasa here is so cutesy ohmge 😭😭😭😭😭

[lunaefreya]

caelus being a silly loser (lovingly)

wc: 1287 c/w: very fluffy, light angst if you squint hard enough, i yap a lot this was SUPPOSED to be a short oneshot why was this 4 pages long on the google doc </3 p.s: when reading, i recommend listening to "my homie" by atlus sound team, i pinky swear it adds to the silliness of it all </3

imagine caelus playing basketball or any sport and he quickly turns to you before making the shot, exclaiming to you with pure, unbridled excitement: “(name), this is for you!!” whilst beaming that adorable, boyish smile of his. his confidence was through the roof because of one, simple reason:

you’re watching. 

a baddie is watching.

and caelus?? he canNOT fumble this ‘once’ in a lifetime opportunity to impress you with everything he’s got, he’s that whipped for his lover. but, how can he not? not with how you’re currently looking at him with an endeared look in your eyes that makes him want to outperform every expectation you have of him.

and tonight? he’s more than confident he’d be able to outdo himself once more!

“bet you aren’t ready for this cool trick shot!!!!” he says, his back facing the hoop with the intent on throwing the basketball behind him and PRAY that the gods above would smile kindly upon him and his skill were enough to allow the ball to enter the hoop - with no bumps on the road.

“remember! don’t blink… or else you’ll miss it~”

oh how he’ll eat his words later.

caelus let a giggle escape his lips before he winks at you - but accidentally blinks with both eyes instead because this man does not know how to wink to save his life. and with that, he clutched the ball in his hands as if he were clutching his pearls before applying all the force he could muster, throwing the ball behind him.

please make it please make it please make it plea-

shaking his head, he places his hands on his hips proudly, allowing the corners of his lips to quirk up into a knowing, self-assured smirk. “see?? aren’t i such a basketball prodigy?!”

“basketball prodigy huh?” you shake your head with the same momentum as a parent coming to terms with their child’s silliness, allowing a quiet huff of laughter to slip through your lips. “that’s a new one, glad to know i’m with a esteemed man such as yourself-”

and before anyone could comment on what’s to come-

the sound of the basketball rim clattering echoed across the cold night of the dimly lit park, announcing caelus’ missed shot to the world, followed by the sound of the ball clashing against the back of caelus’ head without his permission.

at maximum velocity too? absolute generational fumble of the century.

he could’ve sworn he was seeing stars, the pain throbbing throughout the back of his head like a fresh wound coming in contact with salt - uncalled for and stupidly painful. there’s NO way he can financially, emotionally, physically and spiritually recover from such an embarrassing moment-

“caelus!!! are you okay??”

no response.

preventing a single thought from holding you back, you ran towards your eerily still boyfriend, probably from both shock and any form of movement inspired pain to course throughout his body without his permission. your brows knitting into a worried bunch, “hey… cae…” caelus blinked once, twice, golden eyes struggling to gather its bearings. “earth to caelus… hey..” your voice hushed, waving your hand in front of his face like a madman, pleading for some sort of response from the dizzy-eyed man before you.

any response.

“...ugh… me?” he groaned, wincing, a frown tugging the corners of his lips downward, almost pouty. “...didn’t mean to make a fool of myself…” he glanced up at you before averting his eyes down to the concrete ground, “ especially in front of you… didn’t want to look stupid… but… but I always manage to do so anyways…!” he lamented wearily, voice quivering with each syllable that rang out his mouth.

goodness, it’s rare to see your boyfriend in such a slump, specifically in a vulnerable state. so to hear caelus practically whine, seeing the way his waterline burned with tears refusing to make themselves known, felt as if all the wind knocked all the air out of your lungs.

it’s… jarring, to say the least, and most definitely a sight you never, ever want to see reoccur again.

“no.. no.. don’t start… don’t ever say that about yourself,” without allowing caelus to utter another self-depricating word, you place your hands on top of his shoulders, gentle but firm, squeezing them in hopes to anchor him back to reality and reason. “you aren’t foolish for wanting to show me a cool trick, much less if it backfired,”

“in fact… seeing it backfire was quite…” you trailed off, your cheeks taking on a softer hue of red, “... adorable… some may call your clumsy luck… endearing, definitely made my heart flutter in ways i never thought were possible.”

eh? huh???

that’s a new one.

your words seemed to have done the trick with how quickly caelus snapped out of his self-deprecating stupor, looking at you - mouth agape, eyes wide, allowing genuine shock and… is that??? warmth?? swirling within the golden depths of his gaze that only, ever knew to look ahead. mistaking his genuine surprise and silence for offense, your stomach drops with how your boyfriend was looking at you as if you ate his last cup of his favorite pudding like stealing candy from a baby.

“uh… no..-” you cleared your throat, panic making itself known with how your voice trailed off into a weak cough, eyes averting side to side in a poor attempt to begin damage control, “...i most definitely didn’t mean it that way!! I just.. just… gods, that was so dumb of me to say when you’re so obviously distressed… i’m-”

then, caelus does the unexpected:

he grins, an actual, big ol’ grin that’s bright enough to rival the sun.

and suddenly, the pain and dizziness that refuses to ever leave caelus’ side, was nothing more than insignificant, little details that were easily squashed by your sincerity - albeit awkward, but sincere nonetheless.

“hm??? you reeeeeaaallllyyyyy think so??” he sounded out, inching his face closer to yours in order to gaze into your eyes - where he sees double due to his dizziness, but hey, double the beauty he sees right in front of him! “like… you mean it? sounds like you do~”

as if a heavy, invisible weight has been lifted off your chest, you let out a deep breath you didn’t know you held ever since caelus bonked his head minutes prior. “...well…” your voice trailed off into silence when your eyes met caelus’ expectant face - so sweet and earnest you couldn’t bring yourself to hide anything from him.

“you aren’t wrong… not that i could ever deceive you, really.” you chuckled awkwardly, allowing your head to nod slightly - a bit robotic with how awkward and stiff the movement was, but still charming all the same. “... even if your trick backfired on you or not, i’ll always think you’re the brightest star in all of the cosmos, clumsy or not.”

oh.

caelus’ could feel his blood pumping excessively, rushing straight to his ears and cheeks with how.. whipped and shy he got whenever you spoke such flowery words to him, especially when you don’t mean to!

makes it all the more rewarding and heartwarming, at least, that’s what he thinks.

he scratched the back of his head lightly, suddenly bashful. “how sweet… now i feel a bit better about a basketball boinking the back of my head!”

now it was your turn for your mouth to go agape.

he didn’t say much to disrupt the silence between you two, only allowing his actions to speak for himself, for how he allowed his body to lean against your warm hands (still) resting on his shoulders.

and with that, caelus knew he was in good hands, knows that yes, he’s the one for you.

a/n: guys are we proud i FINALLY wrote for another character other than hugo!!! yippee!!! a new character AND another hoyo game, may i add!!!

#characterdevelopment #finally #wowlunaefreyayouresocool

ok but seriously i had so much fun writing this one can you tell?? hopefully you can because i SWEARR all the words flew amazingly like i was genuinely in a flow state <3

side note i think this fic is longer than my two other hugo fics like wow can i actually lock in for hugo the hell </3 i swear i love him guys i pinky promise!!!

[lunaefreya]

hugo being a (loving) ragebaiter towards his lover <3

wc: 1021 cw: might be ooc, i don't edit my stuff thoroughly don't execute me </3

hugo would make it his personal mission to ragebait you with every chance he gets like his life depends on it.

he’s not beating the vampire allegations with the way he feeds off of your annoyance whenever he pulls a cheeky stunt on you. to him, it’s cathartic - seeing the way your facial features would scrunch up in blatant annoyance that’ll only last for a minute or two before reverting back to normal.

back to your normal, charming self. it’s adorable, really.

“sweetheart.. you seem to be shivering up a storm tonight,” hugo pointed out, referring to the way you were currently bundled up on the couch - covered in layers of blankets, trying to shield yourself from a cold, winter night. the tip of your nose red from your body's poor attempt in keeping you warm.

cute, he thought, biting back a smile that reeked of both smugness and genuine warmth.

“and you aren’t?”

“hm? me? Why would I be shivering when your excessive shivering is enough to keep me warm for the entirety of winter?”

you rolled your eyes, annoyance slowly bubbling beneath the cracks of typical patience. “ah, good one. want a cookie?”

"hmph. you know i cannot stomach such sweet atrocities.”

you shifted on the couch, turning your back on him in hopes to drown the image of his stupid smug face from the forefront of your mind. you did NOT feel like dealing with his shenanigans at the moment, not when you were freezing to death.

did that stop hugo from executing phase two of his mischief?

no.

with the silent grace of an experienced thief, he shifted closer to you on the couch, practically crowding you at the corner before he leaned down, long, loose strands of his blond hair tickle the side of your slightly exposed shoulder - lips scarily close to your ears.

oh. 

he let his warm, soft breath fan your ear - watching the tips of your ears turned from its usual even skin tone to a soft, red hue. “a prideful one you are…” he whispered, slow and steady, savoring the closeness between you two - savoring the sexual tension he’s creating with only his heavy presence.

a presence that demanded attention from the one he adores.

“never once asked me to keep you warm…” he nudged the tip of his nose against the back of your head, letting the strands of your hair tickle his pale skin slightly. 

chuckling, the rich noise echoing within your skull.  “what? fearful over the idea of being held lovingly by your one and only?”

unable to handle the closeness between the two of you, you let out a quiet huff of surrender and decided to flip over - still bundled up within the soft blankets, back pressed up against the soft cushions, now facing the man who made it his life mission to make your life a living hell… and heaven, sometimes.

he shifted back, slightly so.

“and now you decide to act all so righteous?”

“mmh? And what do you mean by that, (name)?”

shaking your hand, you willingly expose your hands to the elements within your cold, shared home, expecting hugo to act normal for once and warm your hands up, at the very least.

“very well..” you sighed softly, “feel free to prove me wrong.. for once.”

hugo grinned, taking the offer without much resistance. “At your service, darling.”

slowly, he took his one glove off his left hand before allowing his hands to meet yours - unbeknownst to you…

a little surprise was waiting for you.

a chilly one, perhaps.

before you had the chance to pull back and retreat into your little bundle of fluffiness, hugo grabbed onto your hands with his noticeably cold ones, colder than the outside world itself, than the sharp end of final’s notice.

you must’ve reacted harshly enough with how hugo began to laugh like he held that in since the moment he stepped onto this apocalyptic world - unrestrained and yet so raw, raw in a moment where ragebaiting was the star of the show.

typical.

after he quickly gathered his bearings, he cleared his throat, letting his eyes settle onto your annoyed expression, eyes gleaming with impish mischief. “hm? something the matter, my love?”

“...”

“i can’t hear you~ i won’t know what’s the matter if you don’t speak up~”

your right eyelid visibly twitched. “... you know what you did.”

“ah?” he crooned, interlacing his cold fingers with yours, the tip of his nose brushing against your red one. “and what did i seemingly do? what did i do that evoked that adorable reaction of yours?”

you bit your tongue, unable to wrap your head around at just how… how-

how smooth. Irritatingly smooth your boyfriend was.

“do i really have to spell it out for you-”

and before you could even blink, hugo pulled his hands away just so he could wrap his arms around your entire body, letting his head rest at the juncture of your neck and shoulder, already making amends by nuzzling his cold nose against your skin.

it’s over.

he sighed against your skin, allowing his warm breath to warm your cold skin for a little bit. “hm.. no. you don’t have to.” he whispered, “i may be guilty this time around…”

he pulls back slightly, not breaking from his hold, but only to look at your face. the same one that never fails to render him a mess.

internally. most of the time. rarely.

he takes the time to look at you, really look at you, taking in your confused expression - annoyance persistently swirling within the depths of your fierce gaze. Unwilling to hold back if necessary.

he hums. content.

“however,” he began, “if you're ever gracious enough to allow a guilty man, such as myself, to hold you for a little bit longer before i’m sent off to face my unforgivable crimes against the world…”

hugo smiles, nudging his nose against your cheek sweetly. so sweetly, no sickeningly sweet pastry could light a candle to mockingbird’s leader acts of affection. “then i’d be the happiest criminal in all of new eridu~”

a/n: i'm always hugopilled but it's 10x worse and i don't even know why!!! pretty sure because i haven't written in a fat minute... happy to be back on the grind though!! #risengrind🔥anyways!! enjoy a cutesy fluffy hugo oh em gee he's so cute 💔

[nemoibemoi]

after a hard 2 weeks of work, harumasa takes soukaku out for lunch to let yanagi rest; 3.9k words; sibling-coded harumasa and soukaku my beloved + miyabi jumpscare at the end

Harumasa was finally starting to see cracks in the Deputy Chief’s seemingly endless composure. According to Miyabi, the higher-ups were really breathing down Yanagi’s neck with all the Hollow Zero assignments they had been sent on lately, to the point where Harumasa found himself doing overtime with everyone to finish all the reports HAND was sending them like a flood crashing over a cliff. For once, he couldn’t even bring himself to slack off at work– not when Yanagi’s eyebags were getting deeper by the day, her exhaustion growing to the point where she couldn’t even bring herself to engage in Harumasa’s usual lighthearted banter. He is still a human with feelings, after all– He wouldn’t bail on her like this.

However, little Soukaku seemed to be getting hit just as hard by the sudden increase in workload, if not even more so than Yanagi. More missions meant less time for snacks, more reports meant even lesser time for snacks, more overtime meant she was getting meals way later than she’s used to; And, while Harumasa wouldn’t call himself an expert on the Oni and their dietary needs, he’s been part of Section 6 long enough to know that Soukaku?

She eats a lot.

So seeing her look so lethargic, biting her tongue so as to not worry Yanagi, was… worrying, to say the least. Which is why, as soon as the flare in ether activity in Hollow Zero began to quiet down– and with it, Section 6’s workload– Harumasa decided he would take Soukaku out for a meal. Especially after he glanced at Yanagi’s face across the office, and determined that getting dragged along by a hyperactive Oni was the last thing she needed to recover from the last two weeks of work.

As the clock reached noon, Harumasa stood up from his desk and walked over to Soukaku, tapping her shoulder and watching as the little Oni jolted awake. “Wuh– Masamasa…?” she mumbles, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. He smiles, giving her a small wave. “Morning, sleepyhead~ Come on, it’s time for lunch.” 

The amount of joy that immediately sparkled in Soukaku’s eyes at those three special words– time for lunch– was enough to rival the brightness of the sun. Her whole face lit up with such happiness, for a moment it felt as if the office itself had become brighter. “Lunch?! For real?! Yay~!!” She pumps her fists with joy, scooting her chair back and hopping to her feet. Harumasa sees Yanagi’s head pop up from her desk, though, as she sluggishly stumbles to her feet.

“Ah– No no, I can take her,” she says, adjusting her glasses and stifling a yawn, “You don’t need to do this, Asaba…” Harumasa waves her off, laughing as he walks around and gently– but firmly– pushes her back down into her seat.

“Deputy Chief, let me take care of this,” he says. “To put it plainly, you… look really tired. These last two weeks were rough on all of us, but you really took the brunt of it.” Harumasa pats her shoulder sympathetically. “Just stay here, I promise I won’t let her get poisoned.” He smiles innocently. Yanagi meets his gaze, and he can see something in her itching to refuse him… but he can also see the stress sliding off her shoulders, and knows his victory is secured.

“... I promised her I’d take her to the noodle shop in Lumina square,” she says after a moment, sighing softly. “Sorry about all this.” Yanagi tucks some stray hair behind her ear, although it only falls forward again due to her more hastily put-together braid. Harumasa opens his mouth, about to wave off her concerns again when she smiles. It’s small and relieved as she looks up at him. “Thanks for this, Asaba. To be honest, it didn’t even occur to me until just now that it was time for lunch… So thank you.” She looks at Soukaku, pointing at her more sternly.

“Be good,” Yanagi says, “Don’t accept food from strangers, alright?” When Soukaku nods vigorously, practically vibrating in excitement for lunch, Yanagi turns away to open her phone. “I’ll contact Miyabi and have her bring something back for me, so you two go and enjoy yourselves.” 

Harumasa smiles, before giving her a two-fingered wave as he walks towards the door. “Sure thing, Deputy Chief! Rest up, alright?” He gestures for Soukaku to follow along, the little Oni happily skipping out in front of him as he catches one last wave from Yanagi before letting the door swing shut behind him.

Once they arrive in Lumina, Harumasa stretches his arms, resting his hands on his hips as he looks up and down the square. “So,” he starts, swiftly placing his finger on the top of Soukaku’s head to discourage her from wandering off, “Tsukishiro mentioned a noodle shop, right? You know where it is?” He immediately stumbles, his finger doing nothing to stop her as Soukaku dashes across the square with a loud squeal.

“Noodles, noodles, noodles–!! Huh, Masamasa, hurry up!” She whirls around, waving her hand hard enough for Harumasa to believe it might fall off. He fights the urge to groan, instead chasing after her with only a slight complaint– He did know what Soukaku was like going into this, after all.

Following along behind Soukaku eventually leads him to one of the family owned restaurants of Waterfall Soup, the scent of miso and chili oil enticing them as they sit down at the counter. He faintly recalls trying out the other restaurant establishment on Sixth street with Belle and Wise, and the memory brings a smile to his face as he glances at the menu with Soukaku.

“... Just one bowl probably won't be enough for you, right?” Harumasa asks after a moment, a sense of slight dread building in his stomach as he remembers how big Soukaku's appetite is. 

As expected, she nods, before pointing at five different noodle bowls on the menu. “I want these ones! With extra pork!” Harumasa’s smile turns stiff as he internally debates whether he should even bother to eat at all, when Junior Chop approaches the counter.

“Oh my, I have some famous guests today,” he says, beaming with excitement. “Welcome, welcome! You two must be tired working in the hollows all day– For the esteemed Section 6, I'll make sure your noodles are perfect. So, what'll we have today?” He whips out a notepad and pen, stars in his eyes. Harumasa doesn’t bother to correct him on the more mundane nature of their jobs.

Soukaku hums for a moment, before she shows the menu to Junior Chop. “I want… Actually, I want the seafood ramen with shrimp instead of the spicy ramen. Ooh, and I want this one, this one, this one, and this one, all with extra pork!” She smiles, her mouth watering already as her finger finishes flying all over the menu, before Harumasa glances at her and nudges her foot under the counter. Soukaku blinks, looking at Harumasa with a confused expression before she gasps. “Please!” she says, nodding to herself as Junior chop’s eyes threaten to pop out of his head.

“F-Five… And with extra pork? All for you?” Harumasa can see him running the math in his head, before he seems to realize the sheer amount of dennies he’s about to milk out of them. His face immediately lights up with joy, and he nods vigorously. “Of course, of course–! Anything you want, missy! A-And, for you, sir?” he turns to Harumasa, an expectant gleam in his eyes.

Harumasa hates to disappoint, but he simply points to the miso ramen. “Just this one, thanks. And, take off the egg.” Junior Chop deflates a little bit, but once he finishes writing down their order, he nods. “Alright, they’ll be ready in a moment!” With that, they get to see those large mechanical arms in action– Like children enraptured by an entertaining TV show, both Harumasa and Soukaku watch with great interest as Junior Chop exercises his craft. He stretches dough, boils noodles, chops green onions, and slices logs of chashu pork with perfect precision and artistry– all simultaneously. He easily assembles five bowls at once, garnishing each with the sliced green onions and two halves of a soft boiled egg before slowly, carefully, serving them to Soukaku.

She’s practically vibrating in her seat with excitement, soup spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other as she wriggles closer to the counter. As soon as the bowls touch down, she’s on the attack– loudly slurping up the ramen and making small sounds of contentment as Harumasa feels his stomach growl. Not long after, though, Junior Chop slides over his bowl of miso ramen, and Harumasa smiles before happily digging in.

As expected, the noodles are delicious. For a moment, neither of them talk, too busy enjoying their respective meals– Although, to Harumasa’s surprise, Soukaku had stopped eating her food and was mostly picking through it.

“... Hey,” he starts around a mouthful of noodles, nudging her shoulder with his elbow, “You alright?” Soukaku glances up at him, her chopsticks hovering over her soup spoon with a tangle of noodles before she drops it back into the broth. She mumbles to herself, staring down at her ramen. Then, she frowns, her body wilting slightly.

“... It doesn’t taste good without Nagi,” she says after a moment. Harumasa blinks, before he raises a brow. “What, am I not good enough company for you? Too busy missing your mommy to enjoy our lunch?” he teases, feigning hurt when Soukaku gasps sharply and whips around to stare at Harumasa.

“No, no! Not what I meant!” she cries, grabbing his arm as Harumasa’s face crumbles and he makes a pathetic wailing sound. “Soukaku, you hate me?!” Harumasa cries back, turning away and burying his face into his hands. “Soukaku hates me! Soukaku, you’re so cruel!” he stifles a laugh as Soukaku shakes him by his shoulder, words of apology filling the air as she hugs his arm. After a moment, he relents, turning back to her and brushing her hands off.

“Alright, alright,” he says with a laugh, slurping up a bite of his noodles before facing her again. “What’s wrong, why are you upset? No more jokes, I promise.” Soukaku eyes him with a soft pout, before she turns back to her ramen with a sigh.

“Well... Nagi’s been doing a lot,” she says after a moment. “And, and you said she looks tired, but it’s even worse when we’re at home.” Soukaku picks at her noodles, slurping one up. “Nagi didn’t sleep for a long time… And if we weren’t at the office, then she was hunched at her desk, which isn’t good for backs! But Nagi wouldn’t listen to me when I asked her to sleep, because she had so much to do…”

“... I am hungry, but I feel bad enjoying a big meal when she couldn’t bring herself to eat anything at all. Nagi works so hard– I didn’t really care whether she kept her promise about noodles, I just want Nagi to rest.” Her bottom lip starts to tremble, before she sniffles, shaking minutely. Harumasa hums softly, before reaching out and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“... Well, we did make it through that hell, didn’t we?” Harumasa says after a moment. “She said the Chief will bring her some food for lunch, and she was napping at her desk earlier– The ether activity in Hollow Zero also finally settled, so she’ll definitely have some time to rest now.” He ruffles Soukaku’s hair, ignoring her cries of protest. “So don’t worry about her, alright? Tsukishiro wouldn’t want you to ruin your appetite because of her, you know that.”

Soukaku smacks Harumasa’s hand away from her head with a grumble, fixing her hair before she gives a small nod. “... Okay.” Despite that, Harumasa can tell she still wasn’t fully back to herself yet– But at least she was eating normally. 

When they finished eating– With Soukaku flying through all five bowls while Harumasa lagged a bit to savor his– Harumasa paid with his work card before they began to make their way back to headquarters. Before they could leave Lumina, though, he glances down the square at a small playground tucked away in a corner of the boardwalk. He hesitates, his brow furrowing in thought, before he ultimately turns to Soukaku. “Hey, let’s go to the playground,” he says after a moment, smiling at her confused look.

“But… Aren’t you an adult?” she asks, the question piercing Harumasa’s chest with unrivaled precision. Not even Miyabi has been so accidentally scathing with her remarks before.

“... Y-Yeah, but, I figured maybe you’d want to go…” Harumasa says, stumbling over his words as he feels the urge to just forget it all. “And you still seemed a little upset, so I thought it might cheer you up…” His voice tapers off at the end, embarrassment still lingering in his tense stance. Soukaku hums, looking around until she spots the playground. She deliberates it for a long moment, scuffing her shoe against the plaza before she nods.

They find themselves sitting on the spring riders, both Harumasa and Soukaku quietly rocking back and forth. While Soukaku was able to fit into her bee themed spring rider more easily, Harumasa… was having a harder time, as his knees were pressed to his chest in the uncomfortably tight space.

“... Nagi worries about me too much,” Soukaku starts after a moment. “She's always remembering to carry snacks for me, to buy extra meat for me, to do this and that– it makes my head hurt!” She grips the handle, rocking back and forth on the spring rider with more force. “All that, and her normal work stuff… I’m not like Nagi, or like Masamasa, or like Mimiyabi. I eat more, I need more, all I do is eat at Nagi’s dennies and her time…” Harumasa can see the words on the tip of her tongue, yet she hesitates to say them out loud– Almost as if by doing so, she’d be bringing them to life. 

She must hate me. 

Soukaku eventually stops rocking in her spring rider, leaning forward and resting her chin on her knuckles. “Do you understand…?” she asks softly, turning to look at Harumasa. It’s now that he’s certain– Soukaku was probably thinking about this for a long time, and the sudden influx of work draining Yanagi was just the catalyst. 

He hums, before reaching over and tapping her back. “... Sit up. That kind of slumping isn’t good for backs, remember?” he says, before leaning back in his spring rider. “You know… Tsukishiro doesn’t mind taking care of you, right? She loves you a lot.” To that, Soukaku’s face crumbles as she sits up.

“B-But I wish she didn’t!” she cries, “I-I make her do so much, it’s all my fault she doesn’t get enough rest, a-and, and–!” She sniffles, fully breaking down into tears as Harumasa stumbles to his feet. He almost trips as he escapes his spring rider, his legs threatening to buckle from the lack of blood circulation as he carefully kneels beside Soukaku and wraps his arm around her.

“Shhh, shhh, calm down,” he says a little awkwardly, trying to soothe her by rubbing her shoulders and wiping away her tears with his gloves. “Come on, come on, pull it together– Here, I’m gonna take your hand real quick.” He gently grasps her little hand, pulling it away from the handle and pressing it against his chest instead. “Alright– Hey, are you with me?” He taps her wrist, waiting until she looks at him with her watery eyes and tearstained cheeks. He smiles. “Follow my lead, alright?”

Harumasa takes a big, deep breath, grossly overexaggerating it so that Soukaku could easily feel the rise and fall of his chest with her hand. He holds it for a moment, before releasing steadily. Soukaku follows sloppily after him, her chest stuttering rapidly as she hiccups and gasps for breath– Before finally, she finds his rhythm, slowly calming herself down with Harumasa’s help.

Once she’s more or less calmed down, Soukaku sniffles, rubbing away her tears with her sleeve as she pulls her hand away. “... N-Nagi does that with me too,” she mumbles, and for a moment, it looks like she’s going to cry again– But she holds her breath, her cheeks puffing out as she reins in her tears.

Harumasa rests his hand on her shoulder, letting her settle herself before he opens his mouth. “... I don’t think you should feel bad because the Deputy Chief takes care of you, and you feel like you’re burdening her, or whatever else your head tells you,” he says after a moment. “You’re right, you do require a lot– You eat a lot, it probably does put some strain on her finances. But, Soukaku, you’re literally a whole other species.” He shoots her a look.

“I don’t know a lot about the Oni people, but I do know that they’re notorious for needing a high-protein, high fiber diet because their bodies are built to do hard work. You go with us on every mission into Hollow Zero– And you keep up with us extremely well. You can’t expect yourself to do all that work on half the stomach your people are used to.” Harumasa smiles, before leaning in as if to tell her a secret. “And trust me– There’s ways to game the system. If she hasn’t been already, she can probably dismiss all the grocery costs and snack runs as a tax deduction since they’re mostly for you, and you’ll underperform as HAND’s investment if you don’t get enough energy.”

Soukaku giggles faintly, reaching up to rub her eyes again. “Of course Masamasa knows about that…” she mumbles, prompting Harumasa to make an affronted sound. “Hey, what’s that supposed to–? Whatever.” He huffs, looking away as Soukaku laughs louder. After a moment, he continues.

“... But, seriously. Tsukishiro loves you a lot.” He looks back at her, before ruffling her hair again. “And, when you love someone, you’d do nothing short of anything for them.” Soukaku was silent, not even protesting Harumasa messing up her hair. Then, she nods.

“So… Nagi doesn’t mind buying me all my snacks and food at all? Even if it adds a lot to her work?” she asks. Harumasa pauses.

“Well, maybe she minds a little bit… But she’d rather buy you all the food in the whole world than watch you get sad and be in pain because you’re so hungry,” he says. “And because she loves you, she won’t complain about it. Because to Tsukishiro, any amount of money she spends for you, and any amount of extra work she needs to do for you– so long as it makes you happy– will be worth it to her.” Harumasa tilts his head, shaking Soukaku lightly by the shoulder. “... Do you get it now?”

Soukaku blinks, looking down at her hand gripping the handle of her spring rider quietly. Then, after a moment, she nods, a strong hint of resolve in her eyes as she looks up at Harumasa again. “Let’s go back! I wanna see Nagi!”

They leave the playground, Soukaku dragging Harumasa along towards the parking lot with more demands that he walk faster. With all that happened, time really slipped away from them– It was late afternoon now, with both of them having gone over their allotted lunch break by an hour. By the time they arrived back at the office, it would only be a few hours until the work day was over.

Soukaku burst through the door with a shout, running immediately to Yanagi as Harumasa slinked in quietly behind her. She throws herself at Yanagi, with the Deputy Chief barely able to stand in time to catch her. “Nagi!” Soukaku cries, hugging her waist tight as Yanagi blinks in surprise– before she immediately shoots a glare at Harumasa, freezing him in place with a squeak.

“Soukaku, what is it?” she asks gently, her sharp gaze never leaving Harumasa, “Did something happen?” It’s clear that the question wasn’t just intended for Soukaku as Harumasa rapidly shakes his head, putting his hands up and mouthing I didn’t do anything!! She’s fine!! 

“Nagi, Nagi, Nagi!” Soukaku looks up at Yanagi, drawing her glare away from Harumasa and immediately softening it into something more worried. “Yes..?”

Soukaku beams, before jumping up and clinging to Yanagi’s chest, her arms wrapping around her neck as Yanagi blinks in surprise. “Nagi, I love you!”

Yanagi’s face immediately blooms in soft pink, and her eyes widen. “I-I… Where is… Huh…?” she stammers weakly, before she smiles, holding Soukaku close. “I love you too… Although, I’d appreciate it if Asaba didn’t stay out with you so late. I was beginning to get worried, but… it seems I was worried for nothing.” Her smile melts, endlessly tender as she smooths down Soukaku’s hair. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Soukaku closes her eyes, humming as she soaks up Yanagi’s embrace. It’s been a long time since they hugged like this. Harumasa smiles, taking the tender moment to sneak back to his chair to sneak in a cat nap before the day ended– When Chief Miyabi walks in.

“Yanagi, I completed the stealth mission you assigned me,” she says, her usual monotone voice bringing Yanagi out of her little warm bubble with Soukaku. “My tail Soukaku and Harumasa to make sure he doesn’t accidentally kill Soukaku training is complete. My notable observations are that Soukaku was loudly crying at the playground–”

“What?!” Yanagi immediately whirls on Harumasa, Soukaku still wrapped protectively in her arms as Harumasa almost falls out of his chair. “Wait, wait wait wait– I didn’t make her cry, that’s not what happened–” Harumasa stumbles to his feet, glaring at Miyabi. “And, since when were you tailing us? Hey, I work here too you know! I’m a trustworthy coworker, what’s with all this?!” Just before they can dissolve into mindless bickering, Miyabi holds up her hand, bringing silence to the office as Harumasa shoots her a pleading look.

“... I wasn’t finished,” she says, to which Yanagi clears her throat, nodding stiffly. Miyabi waits for a moment, before continuing. “... When Soukaku cried at the playground, Harumasa helped calm her down with a very effective breathing technique– And spoke some very poignant words about love to soothe her.” Miyabi smiles, a daring hint of teasing in her gaze when she looks at Harumasa. He pales slightly, giving a small shake of his head. A moment passes between them, and Harumasa knows he’s going to owe her a melon for her silence.

Yanagi glances between them, but before she can ask about their silent deal, Miyabi continues. “Overall, I conclude that Soukaku was not in any danger, and that Harumasa is indeed a trustworthy coworker as he says.” She nods, signaling the end of her report.

For a moment, Yanagi is silent. Then, she looks at Harumasa, a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. “... My apologies, Asaba,” she says, “I should have trusted you more. Thank you for looking after Soukaku when I wasn’t able to.” To that, Harumasa places his hands on his hips with a huff.

“You’re welcome, Tsukishiro,” he says, drawing out the syllables with more sass before he crosses his arms. “Seriously, you’ll trust me on a life or death mission in Hollow Zero, but not with taking Soukaku out to lunch…” Then, his expression softens, before he smiles.

“Glad you were able to get some rest. You’re looking better already.”

It’s a nice, easygoing, short day in the office of Section 6– Harumasa’s favorite kind of work day.

-------

A/N: I wish I saw more found family section 6 content </3 I feel like we all moved on a little TOO fast from Yanagi and her whole "single mother of two grown adult children and one actual child" shtick, also Soukaku??? Nearly nonexistent in this fandom, WHERE is the LOVE for her <////3 Also the whole time I was writing this one, I kept thinking to myself "huh, where tf is Miyabi during all this" so I thought it would be cute if Yanagi sent her to watch over Harumasa and Soukaku LMAOOO it was originally supposed to end when Soukaku and Yanagi were hugging, but I'm also just really bad at writing endings. Actually I still think the current ending is so cringe and too "and they lived happily ever after!!" but whatever man 🥀🥀 Hope you enjoyed ☆

[lunaefreya]

gheuaegoahgaeguo my late-ish birthday post ohmgid wowie i turned 18 </3 yiepephgeihe happy birthday to meee!! p.s - ignore that this was drawn a week ago and i decided to open the file again just to add a party hat and text shhhhhhhh

[lunaefreya]

mb for not posting anything ohmg ive been a BUMMM playing tomodachi life + trying to survive senior exams/finals 😔 but i'm alive!!! maybe i'll do another headcanon post as a mini warm up and HOPEFULLYYYYY i'll be inspired enough to write a proper oneshot 😭😭

be on the lookout cause i may or may not post something randomly trust trust 🙂‍↕️

[nemoibemoi]

belle vents about most of the ingame events to cissia and they go on a midnight snack run afterwards; 3.3k words; platonic or romantic either will work here

Tonight was one of those restless sorts of nights. 

Laying awake in her bed, Belle stared blankly at the ceiling, the faint pulsating behind her eyes from the implants only serving to make her more agitated. So much happened in the last year– Countless near-death experiences, thousands of threats to New Eridu in this past month alone, so many things happening politically and socially all at once that somehow drag her and her brother into the thick of it; She brushes these things off like they’re dust, she cracks a joke or two with Wise over the ludicrosity of the situations they find themselves in, but quietly– When she’s alone laying in bed on nights like these, where the air is too hot and it’s reminding her a little too much of the hollows in the Waifei peninsula with all its thick red fog choking her, she can’t help feeling a little… Overwhelmed. They're finally making headway on finding out the truth behind their teacher, but at what cost? That glimpse of Carole in the miasma fog still haunts Belle's peace, how she spoke about the Creator as if she truly were helping wake it, just as everyone said all those years ago… 

Belle sits up, unable to continue wallowing in her own thoughts any longer. If she didn't get up, if she didn't move, she'd surely drown herself in her own mind. Belle rubs at her face tiredly, taking in a shaky breath before she shifts to slide out of bed–

–and immediately sees Cissia, frozen on the edge of her bed, clearly about to invade with no sense of personal space or care for basic manners. 

Ah. That's right. Belle and Wise were letting Cissia stay with them– “letting” is a little too generous, it's more like Cissia breaks into the video store, but neither Belle nor Wise care enough to tell her to leave or install a new lock on the hatch leading to the rooftop.

Cissia smiles, only a hint of shame on her face as she tucks some of her loose blonde hair behind her ear and leans backwards on the edge of Belle’s bed. “... Hi,” she says after a moment. “You, uh… I didn’t think you’d still be awake.” Cissia fiddles with the sleeves of her sweater– which was without a doubt stolen out of Belle’s closet– before she continues to try and reason her way out of why she was in Belle’s room.

“It’s just, well– The bed here is the best bed in the whole house, and you know, I’m an honored guest of yours,” she says, shooting Belle an innocent smile, “So I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could just… wriggle on into here. You’ve got a pretty big bed, you know, so I don’t really see why there wouldn’t be space for little ol’ me– See, I can be really small, look!” Cissia proceeds to ball herself up on the edge of Belle’s bed, looking up at her with an expression clearly asking for Belle to compliment her excellent compact form.

Belle… couldn’t help the small giggle that bubbled up at the ridiculous sight of her biggest nuisance and biggest relief twisting herself into pretzels just to convince Belle to share her bed. Her shoulders were still tense, mind still swimming– but at least Cissia was here. “... Alright, alright, you can stop that now,” Belle says after a moment, tilting her head slightly. “Seriously, I don’t know how you do that. It’s freaky seeing you do stuff that would snap my bones like twigs.” Cissia blinks, before she smiles, quickly unwinding herself and sitting normally on Belle’s bed– It’s not unnoticed by Belle that Cissia was scooting closer, and tugging Belle’s blanket towards herself.

“It’s just snake thiren anatomy,” she says, waving her hand dismissively, “Same as our sixth sense, which you call our ‘smell’– I’m pretty cool, I know.” After a moment, though, Cissia’s expression softens, and she looks at Belle with a little less playfulness.

“... So. What are you doing up?” she asks quietly. “Yeah, you’re a night owl, but you’re not nocturnal. Regular humans shouldn’t be up at this hour– and, you smelled funny too.” Cissia leans in slowly, her gaze trying to decipher Belle’s own. “Something’s wrong, so tell me. I promise I won’t tell your brother if it’s something embarrassing,” she says, offering Belle a cheeky grin.

Belle hesitates for a moment, staring at Cissia as she tilts her head, expectant. After a moment, Belle sighs, shifting on the bed to allow Cissia more room and pulling her knees to her chest. “It's nothing, I just… I don't know. There's a lot going on all the time, and I guess it's just…” She sighs again, dropping her head into her hands and letting out a soft groan. Cissia hums softly beside her, sensing that this was something much deeper than she thought. 

“... Well. I have all night,” she says after a moment, shifting closer and gently patting Belle’s shoulder with the tip of her tail. “Start from the beginning, or don't– I don't mind. Whatever you need, Belle.” She leans back, grabbing some pillows and shoving them around herself so she can lay comfortably. 

Belle raises her head a little bit, glancing at Cissia. After a moment, she nods, her heart softening. Belle shifts to prop herself against the small fort of pillows surrounding Cissia, rubbing the ridge of her nose. 

How does she even start this? Carole, Helios Academy, Phaethon… The transition from hiding from the authorities to openly working with them, sneaking into illegal facilities, almost meeting the Creator face to face… “I don't even know how to begin,” Belle says after a moment with a laugh. “I guess… Sometimes I wish we could go back to being underground.” She swallows roughly. 

“It feels like, out of nowhere, me and Wise just got thrown into all these different situations. I mean, we worked with Section 6 in Hollow Zero, we became disciples of Suibian Temple, suddenly I'm able to go into hollows, and that’s great! I’m happy to help keep the city safe, I loved meeting everyone and talking to people who I never even thought I’d ever share the same air as, and I would feel awful if I ever chose to sit back and do nothing– But it just… It feels like every day there's a new threat to New Eridu, that requires me and Wise to help dispose of it to keep everyone safe.” Belle can’t help herself– now that she’s actually speaking these thoughts out loud, it feels as if a barrier within her was broken, and now words pour from her lips unfettered.

“And I-I feel bad sometimes, wishing that it wasn’t us who had to put ourselves in danger– Because that’s horrible, to just run away from danger simply because we’re scared, and let the danger hurt and consume thousands of other innocent, defenseless people,” she says, “We’re able to help, so we should. It’s the right, morally just thing to do.”

“But I…” She trails off for a moment. “... I'm really scared.” Belle looks at Cissia, meeting her gaze.

“What if one day, Wise gets seriously hurt? I mean, it's not exactly hard to consider– I did almost die on my way home from the Outer Ring some time back, and all the Exaltists’ attacks in Waifei… I was there when Sarah became that… that thing, and I…” Belle looks away, resting her cheek in her palm as her other hand picks at a loose thread in her blanket. “... I guess it shouldn't be so surprising, and maybe it sounds a little silly, but even just finding out that the peace in New Eridu is held together by the thinnest of alliances between a bunch of private organizations…?” She shrugs helplessly. “It scares me, thinking about how the slightest misstep or the wrong word might send all of New Eridu spiraling into chaos.”

Belle whines, burying her face into her hands. “I just wish we could go back to being normal…! I wish our commissions were back to leading the Cunning Hares through the hollows and maybe one or two small investigation commissions, and our video store was only a video store to everyone, and our contact wasn't the top contact for every extremely dangerous situation needing a proxy– seriously, do they have nobody else?!” Against her will, Belle feels her eyes start to well up with tears, and she grumbles miserably as she tries to blink them away.

“... I don't want Wise to get hurt. I know things like this should be expected, considering our business, but… Being a proxy usually doesn't mean we'll be dealing with large-scale catastrophes every month!” She shivers, rubbing at her eyes and tensing when they start to ache again. “If anything happened to him, after all we've been through… He's the only family I have left.” Belle’s voice softens into a quiet whisper, her knees pressing against her chest again.

“I don't know what I'd do.”

Cissia was silent for a moment, her usual cheeky grin nowhere to be found as she listened intently. Once Belle sighed, indicating she was finished, Cissia shifts. Then, slowly, so Belle could move away if she wanted, Cissia reaches out, hesitating for a moment before she wraps her arm around Belle's shoulders and pulls her close.

“... You know, I guess I was an idiot for always seeing you as this paragon of justice and morality,” Cissia says after a moment, her tail winding itself into a gentle coil around Belle's leg in a bid to make her relax, “You're still human, after all.”

“Really, I don't know how you guys do it,” she says softly, “I know you're scared, but… being scared, and still choosing to do what's right in spite of that? You're incredible.” After a moment, though, Cissia pauses. She taps Belle's shoulder, waiting until Belle raises her head to look at Cissia.

“... This has been weighing on you for a while though, hasn’t it?” She holds Belle's gaze, letting her question sink in. “Maybe I’m not the kind of person you’d expect to hear this stuff from, but… It’s not good to just let all this build up inside you. I know you’re scared, and I know you probably don’t want to worry other people… But at least try to talk to someone about all of this. Wise is your brother, but I get a feeling he hasn’t heard a thing about any of what’s been going on in your head.” Cissia smiles, though it’s faint. “You’re so busy worrying about him, don’t you need somebody to worry about you, too?” Belle’s breath hitches, her eyes widening slightly.… Huh. She never really thought of it that way.

After a moment, Cissia’s expression melts into her usual unserious look. “So… If you ever decide to run away, just come tell me and I’ll sneak you two out of here immediately~ I don’t mind deserting that demon over at NEPS,” she says, laughing when Belle blinks in shock and shoves Cissia's shoulder.

“Cissia! Don't say that!” Belle snaps, but her lips still turn up into a reluctant smile as she giggles softly. It feels as if a weight has been lifted from her shoulders, and she wipes her eyes as she takes a deep breath.

Once their giggles peter out into the night, a comfortable silence stretches between them. Then, Cissia sits up a little, pulling away from Belle. “... That was a really heavy conversation,” she says suddenly, “The best thing after serious talk is good food, and I’m hungry. Let's go get some snacks!” Belle pauses, before frowning.

“We don't have any downstairs since you ate them all yesterday.” Cissia blinks, before laughing weakly as her cheeks grow colored with shame.

“Then… Let's go buy some! There's a convenience store down the street– Those are always open, right?” She grabs Belle's hand, yanking her out of bed and pulling her towards the door. “Come on, come on, come on– It'll be a cute night time getaway, just you and me!” Belle gapes at her, before pointing at the clock.

“At this hour?! Come on, you can’t be serious!” Belle hisses, before stumbling as Cissia pushes the bedroom door open and drags Belle behind her. Belle sighs softly, reluctantly giving in and shaking off Cissia’s hand so she can go grab a pair of sandals.

Once Belle slips them on, they both begin to silently pad their way downstairs to the video store. Belle glances at the closed door to Wise’s room, hesitating for a moment before she makes a note to really talk to him at more reasonable hours. Giggling, Cissia grabs Belle’s hand again, before dashing out the front door and greeting the warm night air.

It was hard to see the stars through the clouds. The air smelled of rain, with Belle’s skin growing sticky from the humid night. At this hour, there was nobody out on Sixth street; It was just her and Cissia, walking through the dark and following the sparsely lit streetlights to the cold white light of the convenience store. Most stores were closed by now– Even the lamps of Waterfall Soup were extinguished, the lights of the kitchen fully turned off– but not the convenience store. There was the faintest sound of crickets, the peacefulness of the small night hour making Belle reluctant to break the tranquility. Cissia has no such qualms, though.

“I hope they have ice cream,” Cissia says aloud, idly swinging their intertwined hands as her tail sways casually behind her. “It’s so hot out… And it’s definitely going to storm soon, the air is so humid!” She rubs sweat from her forehead, wiping it on her sleeve. Belle nods, her gaze raising towards the sky. She catches glimpses of stars through the blanket of thick clouds, faint pinpricks of light against a sky of black. 

When they finally reach the convenience store, they step inside, the cold white lighting giving the place a nostalgic feel as Cissia brings Belle to the freezer. They glance inside, sandwiches and drumsticks and soft serve all wrapped in bright plastic with styrofoam cups of varying flavors of ice cream. In the corner, Belle sees an assortment of popsicles– Strawberry, chocolate, cherry, blueberry, and lemon flavors all sit neatly sorted in their own compartments within the freezer. She hums, noticing a bunch of orange-flavored twin pops in the corner of the freezer. “Hey,” she starts, nudging Cissia’s side and pointing at the popsicles, “We can get that one and split it.” Luckily, Belle was an expert in splitting the popsicles perfectly down the middle– She always ensured she’d get her fair share, much to Wise’s dismay when they were kids.

Cissia glances over at it, before her eyes widen with intrigue. “Ooh~! I’ve never had one of those before, it looks cool! Let’s get it!” She throws open the freezer, snatching one before slamming it shut and wandering off to the snack aisles of the store. Belle follows after her, watching as Cissia carefully inspects each bag and candy bar. She can already tell Cissia is shopping with no mind to Belle’s finances, so she sighs, reaching out and grabbing Cissia’s shoulder to slow her.

“Wait. You can only get three snacks, alright?” Belle says, narrowing her eyes at Cissia. “And they can’t go over six thousand dennies.” Cissia’s expression immediately melts into despair, and she grabs Belle by the shoulders too. “What?! Only three– no, only six thousand dennies?! You’re kidding me, right?” she cries, ignoring Belle’s attempts at shushing her. “That’s hardly enough for the five bags of chips I wanted! Come on– Belle, Belle, we’re best friends, you won’t give me a little more wiggle room than that…?” she pleads, blinking her cute eyes at Belle and leaning in close with a soft pout.

When Belle shows no sign of giving in, though, Cissia immediately huffs, turning away with an exaggerated sigh. “You’re no better than that demon,” she mumbles, gazing longingly at the bags of different flavored potato chips on the shelf before begrudgingly only choosing one– Pickle flavored, with a ruffle texture. Belle smiles tiredly, the small hours finally starting to creep on her as she grabs a large bag of sweet corn puffs for herself– although, it would likely end up being for Cissia too, knowing her voracious tendencies.

After listening to Cissia struggle to choose between a bag of chocolate candy and a bag of sour strips, they eventually landed at the cash register with Belle’s corn puffs, the twin popsicle, and Cissia’s pickle flavored chips, sour strips, and a bag of sea salted corn chips. Once Belle paid, they walked outside with their haul, making their way back to the video store before Cissia grabs Belle’s forearm and brings her to sit at the foot of the staircase leading up the side of the Turbo Remodeling shop.

Belle blinks in confusion, before Cissia grins at her. “If we go inside now, there's no way the sounds of the bags won't wake up Wise– So how about we stay out here for a moment?” Without waiting for Belle to agree, Cissia immediately tears open her bag of pickle flavored chips, popping one into her mouth as she leans back against the stairs. 

Belle hesitates for a moment, before she chuckles, taking out the popsicle and tearing open the wrapper. She frowns, though– It was soft, having melted a little from how long they were in the convenience store. “Awh man, we should've left it in the freezer until we were about to leave,” Belle mumbles, before carefully gripping the two popsicle sticks. She nudges Cissia's side. “Hey. Watch this,” she says, before slowly tugging on the sticks. Finally, it snaps with a soft crack, a perfectly even split. 

Cissia's eyes widen, though Belle can't tell if it's awe for her neat trick or hunger for the popsicle. “Oh, wow! Gimme gimme!” She snatches one from Belle, taking a large bite out of the flavored ice and making Belle's teeth hurt just watching her. Cissia continues with barely a reaction, though, before humming. 

“... Huh. It just tastes like a normal popsicle, but it was much more expensive than the others in the freezer,” Cissia notes. Belle didn't even notice that Cissia was looking at the prices in the convenience store– Her usual greed made Belle assume she was just looking for the best flavor. “Well, yeah,” Belle says after a moment, “The selling point isn't really the popsicle’s flavor, it's more so that you're able to share it.” At that, Cissia frowns.

“Seriously?! All they did was put two popsicle sticks instead of one– I could do that!” Belle laughs, before nudging Cissia's side with her elbow. “But did you?” Belle asks, to which Cissia pauses. Belle smiles. “No. You didn't.” With that, Belle takes a small bite of her popsicle, looking up at the cloudy night sky. 

A silence stretches between them, filled with the sound of rustling chip bags and loud chewing. Finishing her popsicle, Belle tosses the leftover stick into the convenience store bag set at their feet before popping a handful of corn puffs into her mouth. After a moment, Belle leans against Cissia's side; Sitting on the stairs with nobody around, with nothing but the sky to witness their gluttony, makes Belle's heart feel soft. To her surprise, though– or, maybe she shouldn’t be surprised– It’s Cissia who breaks the silence again.

“... You know,” she starts around a mouthful of popsicle, “If I had met you way sooner… I bet my life would be much different than it is now.” Belle blinks in surprise, before she feels her chest grow warm and fuzzy. She smiles, letting Cissia’s words settle into a small corner of her heart.

“... Thanks,” Belle says softly, her gaze still on the sky above, “For all this. Listening to me, and bringing me out for snacks.” Even if she paid. Now it’s Cissia’s turn to be surprised, looking down at Belle before she smiles too. She leans into Belle as well, letting Belle rest her head on her shoulder. “No problem,” she says, taking another large bite of her popsicle.

“Anytime.”

[lunaefreya]

hugo's the type of boyfriend to praise you hell and back for 10 consecutive minutes without missing a beat with the intent to fluster you, but the moment you give him a piece of his own medicine by complimenting and flashing your sweet, genuine smile? he fumbles immediately. a generational fumble, if you will.

"my my, (name)," Hugo began, letting his gloved hand reach for a loose strand of your hair, letting it fall through his fingertips seamlessly before taking a single step closer — close enough for the tip of his nose to brush against your hairline. "you look absolutely radiant today, but when are you not?" he hummed against your forehead, "enchanting you are, even when standing still under the moon's gentle gaze—" just as he was about to finish his sentence, his sharp eyes caught onto the sudden smile on your face. warm. he thought. too warm, yet not unwelcome. "ah, you think so?" you inquired, voice seeping with a tinge of playfulness. "why thank you.. but i beg to differ this time around." you shrugged, causing hugo to look momentarily off-guard before he composed himself back into charming mode once more. just what did you mean by that? normally, you'd either accept the compliment with a subtle tinge of pink draping your cheeks no matter how many times you vehemently deny it whenever hugo dared to point it out... or you playfully brush him off with a single flick of your hand! not once have you ever disagreed with him whenever he had the luxury to compliment you at every turn he got. nevertheless, he cleared his throat, attempting to sweep the odds back into his favor. although something in your expectant expression told him to remain silent for the time being. slowly, you let the tip of your pointer finger trace the corners of his upturned lips — feeling the smooth edges that demanded both perfection and natural poise befitting of a sharp noble. even feeling the way hugo trembled under your probing yet gentle touch. barely noticeable under the naked eye, if you squinted hard enough.

and then, you spoke. "the reason why i disagree with you tonight," you began, voice barely above a whisper, not even allowing the hustle and bustle of Port Elpis to listen in. eyes now settling on his heterochromatic ones, sparkling. "is not because i don't view myself as radiant..." you chuckled. "far from it, actually." you exhaled slowly, "but because my radiance pales in comparison to your smile, to the way your smile actually reaches your eyes in a way it knocks me off balance sometimes." ... what. hugo's breath hitches under the sheer pressure of your words. such sincerity in one night? he might as well say his goodbyes to his cold composure. It's over for him. to be so caught off guard by a genuine compliment is beneath him! not once has the hugo vlad been rendered speechless, no one has ever stolen his spotlight without him taking it right back. but tonight? he didn't feel like taking back the spotlight. not when his lover was looking at him like he hung the stars. he blinked once. twice. thrice before he decided to let out a huff of laughter from his nose — weak and shaky with the way it trembled under the ocean breeze, a far cry from a man who commanded the shadows with a mere point of his finger. with new, profound shyness that's considered a rarity for someone as confident as hugo, he gives in to these warm sensations — a type of vulnerability that is only grasped in the hands of those you trust. "ah.. seems like i've been played by my own game tonight," he admits softly, his gaze softening under the sincerity of your praise. "not that i mind, far from it..." "in fact," he couldn't help but continue letting that genuine smile finally break through from his protective shell of elegant composure. "i welcome it with open arms, as long as you're beside me through it all, yes?" in that moment, hugo knew he was caught firmly in your grasp tonight. a grasp that didn't feel restrictive nor edged with judgment — instead, it cradled him with such gentleness and patience he didn't know what to do with himself. but tonight? perhaps it's okay to unravel every once and awhile, if it means getting caught by the person you trust the most.

[lunaefreya]

hugo vlad - rebellion

song inspo: soy rebelde by jeanette for an accurate translation of the song, here it is! word count: 684 cw: angst, lowercase everything, didn't edit, disorganized perchance 🤔

the world taught hugo many lessons, rebellion being one of many.

to him, rebellion meant life or death.

at a young age, the world granted him the effortless ability to set your chin up against authority. The very authority that foolishly believes they were above the law they so vehemently ‘practiced’ - perfect for sowing in the seeds of justice in the very same soil where greed and self-interest reigned superior in new eridu.

in the end, the world taught him how to survive. that's perfect, right? however, whenever it was hugo’s turn to wish for something other than survivability?

he was only greeted with the world’s punitive gaze, resulting in him being deprived of the warmth and sincerity he so desperately sought.

how could a kid learn to embrace warmth when all he knew was the shadows that danced within the cramped closet he hid whenever the mansion grew too loud?

shadows sharp enough to carve deep, intentional scars only time could mend. far too vicious for a young, noble boy to wield and embrace when he’s meant to be caressed by the softness only sincerity and selflessness could provide.

a fearful young boy, whose crime was desiring a family where they hugged him without him ever asking, the ability to smile without needing a reason to, to be able to list off as many names with such familiarity and security no currency can buy. slipped past his fingertips.

all hugo ever truly wanted was to laugh freely like the clueless boy next door. laughter coated with a naivety he lost as soon as the ravenlock name brandished itself onto him like a commodity code - easy to identify, easier to discard when proven to be a hindrance.

no one treated him with the love he needed from those he could trust, but what love is there to gain when there was no one to trust? there was no one in his early life hugo could trust without them trying to gouge his paler eye out in the name of purification, or who would try to stuff his gut with sweet treats in the name of wicked retribution over an innocent mistake. and so, in those secluded nights spent in a dark closet where darkness shrouded his being and barricaded his tender heart with barbed wire, he had a measly wish. to be able to dream, to laugh, to forget the resentment that'll only continue to fester as his life went on, but most important of all? companionship. companionship, the very concept hugo's more than willing to offer all of himself in exchange for friendship, friendship where wealth was off the table and only authenticity remained a constant.

ah, but what does hugo get in return when his wish for companionship was granted? misunderstandings. from those he hated, sure. that was bound to happen.

but, by those he deemed as his close companions? that's a new one.

like his former companion.. lycaon? that same, wolfish brute who didn’t know how to act in line since the genesis of mockingbird? 

the one who lulled hugo into a false sense of camaraderie in the end? the very same companion hugo held with such high regard to the point he saw lycaon as the light at the end of the tunnel he calls his fate?

what does hugo get in return, one may ask?

lack of trust. doubt. incomprehension from the one he so believed was truly different from the crowd. no one bothered to listen to hugo when he said he was more than capable of removing himself from the ravenlock name. no one dared to look past the flamboyant man who puffed his chest out like a peacock, who flicked his fingers around with silent authority. so much for a man who rebelled against his family name, defied fate against all odds, to shine so brightly even shadows curl in itself when faced with hugo's confidence - only for in the end, to be left bare in the dark from the very beginning.

how ironic, but irony was a constant in the tragedy hugo calls his life.

a/n: sooooo about my last post... yeah... hugo sick fic is coming soon, but not now!!! whoops !!! don't come for me ok okkkkk anyways. i've been meaning to write a song inspired mini fic (?) for hugo for a while now!

apologies if its all disorganized, i wrote it all in one sitting in the span of an hour with a bajillion thoughts running per minute as i wrote 😭 the next hugo posting will be cutesy and fluffy i pinky promise... 😊

[lunaefreya]

writer's block is preventing me from finishing a mini hugo fic 💔 so take this drawing in the meantime 😭😭 think of it as a sneak peek of my next post oooooooooh 👀

[lunaefreya]

hugo vlad headcanons (idol au)

idol au - but i use my kpop knowledge & love for hugo to make this list possible 😭 ft. song recommendations! (do listen to them!) cw: lunaefreya yapper galore, too detailed, may be ooc. wc: ~2.1k (🫧) = new bullet points! (yes i added new bullet points </3)

Got cast because someone from an entertainment agency saw him strutting down the street, was amazed by how he carried himself with shameless confidence and immediately thought “He HASSS to go on stage.”

main position would be a main dancer // visual ohmg HEAR ME OUTTTT

Main dancers (that I like, atleast) are notorious for being praised for their artistry and the way they can express complex emotions through just movement alone - and I feel like Hugo would be one of those artists.

(🫧) if you want specific k-pop artists i think hugo would be similar to, i'd say taemin: a soloist and member of SHINee (in terms of skill and artistry) ! and kai: soloist and member of EXO (in terms of overall vibe he brings, aka the mysterious, sensual but dangerous allure) !

Hugo’s love for items that carry a riveting and rich story aka the ability to tell a story without having to utter a word is immensely valuable to him. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes the contemporary route since it’s known to prioritize expressing themselves freely and personal expression, rather than just doing the move and calling it a day.

^ i’m pretty sure part of his character revolves around trying to fight for a sense of freedom he never had ever since he was born… and maybe, he views dancing as a bridge to that freedom… so, that’s something to consider.

Knowing him, singing wouldn’t be enough for him if he wants to convey a story in its full glory. Especially if it’s the intense and raw nature of how he wants to express himself, so, through movement it is!

He’d so go the sharp, controlled yet dramatic route when it comes to dancing. Considering the sharp and grand gestures he does when in combat tells me everything I need to know. (i.e: he raises his leg up abruptly??? So sharp, clean and straight???).

He’d go the sexy/elegant concept the moment he debuts 💔 he would NOT have a cute/boy crush phase ever in his entire idol career.

^ the ONLY time Hugo would ever be seen dancing a cutesy/bubbly concept is if he’s ever forced to do a dance challenge with Vivian 😭

The few challenges that came to mind is catch catch by yena and otsukare summer by halcali 💔the imagery is so funny but adorable.

^ sure, Hugo may be out of his comfort zone but he’d adapt fairly quickly.

“You really want to make a fool out of me, don’t you now?” Hugo teased warmly, reaching a playful hand out to tousle Vivian’s hair. Unable to stifle a rare, sincere smile at the heartfelt moment between them. “Very well,” he acquiesced calmly. “Let’s be fools together, then.”

His songs range from cunty and sensual, to straight up dramatic or melancholic angst, or a mix of both. (honorable mention: yearner songs).

HEAVYYY jazz influence, the saxophone and piano in his instrumentals would go crazy.

He’d either sing about being a heartthrob, the allure/thrill of living on the edge, lament about the loneliness that comes with donning many masks yet no one can ever reach the real him, or, unable to live with the grief and self-loathing of being too weak to protect those he cares about. (I’m looking at you serena 💔).

vvv some songs for reference, feel free to listen and search up the meanings:

Cunty songs: perfume by dojaejung  spellbound by tvxq! , funny valentine by misamo , criminal by taemin , trouble maker by trouble maker , house of cards by bts , hot times by s.m the ballad

Honorable mention (this is literally hugo’s song i’m sobbing): danger by taemin

Angsty songs: stigma by bts , no sad song for my broken heart by k.will , dead man runnin' by seulgi , perfect world by twice

Yearner 101: i’m sorry by teen top , please don’t… by k.will , side by side by the8

Despite his edgy yet melancholic discography, I’m sure some fans would overlook the depth and complexity of his character just to narrow him down as a simple “sexy pretentious bastard who toys with people’s feelings” 💔 guys he's more than just his persona

I’m more than confident that his visuals would be praised for its uniqueness (i.e: sharp ears and heterochromia). His visuals would be described as “ethereal” (pun NOT intended) or “otherworldly”

His sharp fangs, heterochromia and sharp ears would have a dedicated fanbase of their own. (the amount of ‘hugo’s left/right ear piercing’ usernames would be absolutely diabolical oh my goodness)

I can already VISUALIZE people posting on twitter dot com bashing the stylist for forcing him to wear same colored contacts. (forcing him cover up his gray eye)

Another specific example would be if his hairstylist cut his hair short for some promotional thing for his album.. His dedicated fanbase would lose their marbles if that were to ever occur. (Hugo with a buzzcut is a horrifying image I do NOT want to think about).

Coined the sexy vampire™ of his generation. (no one can tell me otherwise).

If Vivian is also an idol, those two would definitely be coined as the vampire siblings !! (not beating the biological siblings allegations).

Hugo would be so protective over Vivian.

^ he knows how exploitative the idol industry truly is, and doesn’t want Vivian to get caught in the line of fire like he did at a young age.

“Vivian,” Hugo called out softly, shrugging off his expensive blazer from his shoulders, draping it over Vivian’s legs tentatively. “Please, do remain wary. Not everyone can keep their eyes from straying to where they shouldn’t.” He warned, placing a protective hand over her shoulder.

Hugo’s designated emoji is either a bat, performing arts or bird emoji.

Oddly specific, but he’d so be the type to always insert a masquerade mask within his choreography. A Hugo staple, similar to a calling card a phantom thief leaves behind after a heist that screams “I’ve been here~”

His merch line would have a default masquerade mask, the fan is then advised to decorate it however they please and then they wear it to the concert.

He’d don the confident, smooth talker, dramatically shameless flirt persona so well it’s ridiculous. (he’s already like that what am i saying).

Hugo’s the type of idol to fluster other idols without meaning to. He could just be standing there, looking at the other attentively, waiting patiently for them to respond while the other idol is silently losing it.

“Hm?” Hugo hummed, heterochromatic eyes fixed on the nervous idol’s eyes, which were currently set at an unimpressive corner of the room. “I couldn’t quite catch your words earlier… Would you care to repeat yourself? If that isn’t proven to be troublesome, that is.”

And would Hugo revel in this power? Yes. Don’t lie to me and say he wouldn’t. Yes he would.

All he has to do his direct his undivided attention to someone, flutter his pretty eyelashes and that’s enough to render someone mute 💔 actually unstoppable.

nation’s heartthrob™

Hugo would be one of those idols who try to portray themselves as open, but are incredibly private about their personal life.

His Hypoglycemia? He’d clutch that secret close to his heart like his life depends on it.

The public would only find out about his hypoglycemia if he overworked himself too hard for a world tour and he so happens to collapse as he performs.

Ever since then, whenever he does a fan sign, many fans may try to gift him sweets (clueless about his great dislike for sweet treats) or glucose tablets to try to lessen the extensive labor being put on his body.

“Oh? For me?” Hugo whispered, taking the small cupcake with great care, as if he were handling a fragile artifact rather than a symbol of terror. His eyes softened before he knew it. “How generous.. Why, thank you. I’ll make sure to cherish this treat for as long as I live.”

His talking voice → swoon worthy.

Fans would love his talking voice so much. So much so that he would record asmr videos where he just reads a book on the side, similar to an audiobook.

And Hugo? He’s flattered. Yet, he’s not surprised, it doesn’t take much for his fans to go crazy over him. (lowkey real!!! I’m his fans!!! 😊).

His concerts would go CRAZYYYY, he’d have those types of concerts where you PRAY your parents don’t tag along with you.

“Hey so… why is his shirt off?” Your parent asks, “Could’ve sworn it was on a second ago.” Eyebrows raised in bewilderment. “And why is he grinding on the floor-?”

“That step is crucial to the choreo. We don’t question, we observe.” You say calmly, eyes fixed on everything but Hugo currently grinding on the floor while fans scream in either terror or fascination. This is not your first rodeo.

If there was a concert vibe that’d fit him well, it'd be an Nct or Ateez concert… you can imagine.

^ first song that came to mind is love on the floor by nct 127 i IMPLOREE you to listen to it, it’ll make so much sense i pinky promise.

Shirt? Off. (his shirt being ripped off in his ep is CRUCIAL to his lore ok). Hair once tied in a low ponytail? Now loose and free to the elements. The concert? It would put magic mike to shame.

But worry not, for his encore would make the fans tear up by making sure to sing/dance to his most heart wrenching songs in his entire discography.. To keep them guessing, of course! (his ep in a nutshell basically).

Talking about ‘keep them guessing’, he’d be the most unpredictable idol ever.’

Wild card.

You wouldn’t know if he’d either flirt with you or make a snarky comment when provoked.

Talking about snarky comments - it would be impossible to media train Hugo. He simply does not care.

At the beginning of his career, sure, he’d abide by the rules for the most part - he’d keep his mouth tightly shut (with the exception of making small comments. Those comments where you didn’t know you were insulted until a few hours later). Wouldn’t snap back if a fan and or producer intruded in his space for the most part.

The only time he’d EVERRR break the picture perfect idol persona is if Vivian or a fan of his was in danger, he wouldn’t hesitate to put his reputation on the line.

But the moment he’s considered a senior? It’s free rein, he’ll say whatever he wants.

Not beating the gay allegations I can already sense it. His flamboyant ass is NOT doing him any favors.

Does Hugo care? No.

Instead, he’d fan the flames in order to stir chaos and further confusion for funsies.

His manager would be working overtime to make sure Hugo doesn’t get canceled or something💔

The fan wars between mockingbird and victoria housekeeping co. fans would be diabolical. This would be the equivalent of armys vs. blinks duking it out on twitter dot com. 💔

Hugo would have many vocal hard stans (hard stans are those who mainly focus on their idol’s mature side).

There would be PLENTY of those… → I.e. the infamous “no guillotine can take away the head i’m about to give him.” quotes.

Thirst traps.

^ Hugo doesn’t seem like the type to make the thirst trap himself, but I’m sure his fans would be more than happy to produce plenty and post them on the inter-knot.

The moment he hears about it thanks to Vivian, he’d find it too amusing… but play it off nonchalantly 🥀(WHO does he think he is).

“Oh? Is this how my fans view me?” Hugo sighed loudly, acting as if he didn’t play a direct role in making sure one of his fans got a good frame of his abs in 4k. “Hm. How peculiar.”

(🫧) on a real note though!!! i should've prefaced this weeks ago... but hugo is one of those idols who does NOT have to take their shirt off in order to be sexy - the confident way he expresses himself, his overall roguish vibe and classy way of dressing is already enough.

(🫧) ^ he doesn't have to show off his abs in order for fans to go feral, his presence is already enough.

(🫧) but the abs are definitely a plus!

DEFINITELY those idols who play into the parasocial relationship aspect 💔gotta make bank somehow.

^ “Hm? What is that? You have another favorite artist besides me?” Hugo spoke, his heterochromatic eyes drilling into your own with his very being. Corners of his lips quirking up in subtle amusement. “Ah.. such a shame. Such. A. Shame.” He huffed. “How foolish of me to believe that only i was capable enough to steal your heart.”

 like always, no one can tell if he’s being sincere or not (Which knowing him, it's a mix of both).

a/n: I had so much fun with this list can you tell? holy smokes!!! Anyways it felt so fun applying my long term kpop knowledge into this 😭 I would love to make this like a mini series of sorts? As in, same format yet different characters? (Each character would have their designated post, i yap way too much). Feel free to send me a ‘req box' relating to this or any other au you want me to write about :D p.s: do listen to the songs i put,, it really adds perspective and makes me NOT sound like a madman. I swear those songs make sense in this scenario :D

[lunaefreya]

hugo vlad headcanons (school au)

cw: might be ooc, over-explainer galore, i yap alot😭(I accidently wrote 4 pages instead of two on a google doc hello💔). First post ohmge kinda scary it may be buns !!! word count: 1702

Would be homeschooled for the majority of his elementary career (was too busy surviving the literal hunger games his ‘parents’ orchestrated in the name of handpicking an eligible, cruel heir). That is until his parents had enough of his shenanigans and enrolled him into a private school in his high school years.

Enrolled in those top tier private schools (Those schools where reputation matters more than the student body, but that’s almost every school what can I say). Where everyone has a ruler up their butt. Those ridiculously wealthy schools where kids pull up in helicopters, beef wellingtons served in the cafeteria every Tuesday.

Lunch ladies love him for some reason, which ends up in them giving him two extra slices of medium rare steak.

Instead of eating it, he’d give those extra slices to Vivian to ensure she’s eating.

Due to Hugo’s familial connections with the Ravenlocks (illegitimate or not), classmates would either be intimidated/wary of him (i.e: walk in the opposite direction if they ever encountered him in the hallways). Or others would try to form some sort of connection with him in order to gain something out of it. (i.e: power, status, wealth).

If one would ignore his familial connections that are drenched with cruelty and nobility, classmates would still be intimidated by him regardless - most likely due to the effortless confidence and elegance he carries around like a second skin, making even the most cocky individuals feel a bit uneasy.

To be frank, even if people wouldn't mess with him generally, there would still be a few mean-spirited classmates who would weaponize his background against him - like his heterochromia.

There's just something about Hugo that inspires people to talk about him.

And Hugo? He’s not oblivious to people’s perceptions about him. In fact, he finds their perceptions to be quite ridiculous and hilarious - to an extent.

Especially the vampire allegations, thanks to his pallid skin and sharp fangs. For shits and giggles he’d play into it just to cause some mild chaos for his own amusement.

“What? Can’t keep your eyes off my sharp canines?” He hummed, smiling in a way that made his sharp fangs prominent under the fluorescent lights. “Afraid they’d suck you dry? That should be the least of your concerns, I’d say~”

Knowing him, he would use people’s perception of him to his advantage, weaponizing their fear and his mysterious allure to weasel himself out of situations, or in situations.

And he’d get away with whatever shenanigans he plans on doing while flashing that stupid grin of his.

pretty boy™

Ragebaiter of the CENTURY oh my god he’d be absolutely ruthless.

He’s one of those people who would provoke you with a seamless smile on their face. Their words wouldn’t bother you as much, not as much as their conniving smile that screams ‘I won’ would be the most aggravating part of his whole ragebaiting process.

Hugo would most DEFINITELY be popular (not by choice), even if he’s feared by his peers.

He’s the type of person to have a BUNCH of connections (while maintaining cold distance), dislikes every one of those people but lingers around anyway. Still flashing that same smile that doesn’t reach his eyes in order to garner information on everyone to use to his advantage for a future situation. #networking!!

Would be such a good gossiper, it's almost criminal. The great lengths he’d do just to remain updated on the latest tea is kinda funny, but asinine in an eccentric way.

The type to stir the pot without inserting himself into the drama - mainly dip his toes into the drama, but not fully submerge himself if you catch my drift.

Like imagine a group of people having a verbal argument, trying to figure out who exacerbated the situation when the real culprit is blending into the background with a sly grin on their face. Yes, that'd be Hugo.💔

“Oh? You don’t think your best friend is a traitor?” Hugo questioned, fighting the urge to let out a scoff at his classmate’s naivety. Regardless, he leaned in, his warm breath fanning their ear. “Well… A little birdie told me something rather scandalous that ought to catch your utmost attention.”

Oh my god he’s such a devil’s advocate.

A common phenomena that’d definitely happen is whenever he’s in the middle of his immersive storytelling regarding tea he heard a few days ago, the classroom would suddenly go silent at the worst parts.

“Hm? Sounds like we have an audience~” He exhaled through his nose, leaning his cheek against the palm of his gloved hand. “How quaint.”

Theatre kid (pretty self-explanatory have you HEARD his combat dialogue good lord).

Would most definitely be cast in those roles where he has to play the villain/cool, hot mysterious suave guy and he’d play into his role a little too well no one knows whether he’s acting or not.

Edgelord 5000 but his face card conceals it well.

Hugo’s one of those people who are intimidatingly good looking so you're under the assumption they're normal, only for them to be weird/eccentric/edgy that it’s jarring.

Hugo would be like the theatre kid equivalent of those choir kids who break into song in the middle of class, but instead of singing he emotes.

Dramatic hand movements (i.e: placing the back of his hand to his forehead like a distressed maiden). Would spur random one-liners with such confidence you don’t know whether to let out an audible sigh of resignation, cringe, or be in awe - or all of the above in that exact order.

“Now now, don’t flash that icy glare my way,” Hugo tapped his finger against his chest. Slowly, with the intention of provoking a response. “Surely you wouldn’t want to break a gentleman’s heart now, would you?”

Is the type of classmate to ask you to help him memorize his lines during lunch.

Favorite play is most DEFINITELYYY Phantom of the Opera. (I only thought of this because of the song Phantom by Wayv i SO recommend it!!!).

If he were to join clubs he’d be in the drama and or fashion/sewing clubs.

Dance clubs? He'd either participate in those elegant waltz, ballroom dancing ones or tango.

Classmates may or may not fight to be his partner for those dances. Simply because he's good at what he does (Charming and chivarlous) - and happens to look good while doing it.

Takes French all 4 years. Absolutely harrowing. Why would he do that.

Knows how to play violin, piano and the organ eerily well. Only because his parents forced him at a young age.

Does NOT play when it comes to designer, is the type to point out people’s fake designer. (I'm pretty sure there was a whole main story dialogue event related to this in 1.6😭).

Hugo would ONLY point out people’s fake designer if he believes they deserve it. He’d be such a snake about it you couldn’t tell if he was genuinely insulting you or not.

Sometimes he doesn’t even sugarcoat his contempt, depending on how pissed off he is.

Yet no matter how pissed off he is, he manages to convey his rage with such elegant finesse it’s remarkable. The art of passive aggressiveness!

He most definitely learned how to be a snake through attending those banquets his parents forced him to attend under the Ravenlock name.

“Goodness… someone of your caliber ought to know your bag is… ersatz." Hugo began, letting his finger caress the red lining of the bag, prodding at the synthetic material with quiet displeasure. Golden brows furrowed. "The red lining is far too deep, too loud in a space that isn't meant to be filled,” He sighed, shaking his head side to side in mild disappointment. “Much less filled by you and your poor mimicry, if you will.”

And as soon as they flash him a flabbergasted look that screamed "What did you just say?"

He'd just flash that same serene smile that drips with unadulterated venom, playing dumb - the epitome of innocence!! "Ah! but what do I know?"

Like at this point you would rather be called ugly by him than whatever clever, pointed and personal insult Hugo has tucked in his chest pocket at the ready.

He's a literal diva I fear he would NOT hold back💔his name is literally Hugo Vlad what did we expect.

Has the uncanny ability to spot someone’s botched plastic surgery.

You'd notice him looking at someone for far too long and before you could ask him about it he starts listing off every procedure imaginable.

"Rhinoplasty, lip filler, cheek implants, brow bone reduction, buccal fat removal, botox, eye lift-"

If there was a class he’d excel at the most, he’d excel in history. Given his allure to items that have rich history, he would love history class.

If there was a designated uniform, he’d rebel by either not wearing said uniform and or modifying his uniform slightly that matches his aesthetic, or wearing a mockingbird pin on his chest - a sign of his mini ‘rebellion.’

Is the type to sit at the back of the classroom and watch a show on his Chromebook when bored.

Would finish his work quickly just so he could do whatever he wanted for the remainder of class.

If a teacher were to notice him not doing his work (i.e: either reading a book or bothering talking to Vivian) and calls him out on it, he’d save his ass every single time. Regardless if he did his work or not.

“Ah, pardon my insolence, professor.” He tapped the end of his pen against the fine paper. “But if you’re so inclined to believe what isn’t true, then that’s fine by me. Fine, continue supporting your self-serving bias tendencies~”

Can smell him from a mile away, but instead of axe body spray it’d be his expensive cologne

Always has a handkerchief on him no matter the occasion.

If you need information on a certain classmate, the best person to ask is definitely Hugo. He’s the type of person who would only need a name and he’d find everything about them with the snap of his fingers.

a/n: this was actually so fun to do like wowie!! It's a bit scary because this is my first post on here. Given that I've been a lurker since 2021, never a poster. Nevertheless, I'm quite excited for what's to come :D Might do this for other characters in zzz or hsr!