Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello, it's thatotherauthor, i'm back with another oneshot/headcanon series, but this time it's different because I have so many fandoms I can do! I will do x reader or x another character and I do poly ships as well! Also if a character’s sexuality is confirmed I will only write readers/other characters who fit the romantic and sexual preferences of said character (i.e. Florence from Winter Moon is canonically gay so I will only take him x male requests)

ALSO you can request a fandom not on this list and a pairing and I will go down a research rabbit hole, but that will take longer than usual.

What's on the table and for which characters:

🃏Bungou Stray Dogs🃏:

(reading the manga and watching the anime)

Literally anyone who isn't under 14 (all the minors are really close to my age but im gonna age them up if i write for them)

🌊Wuthering Waves🌊:

(caught up to everything in the game)

Everyone but the minors

✒️Deathnote✒️:

(Finished the anime, going to read the manga)

Everyone (i don’t think there are minors/children in deathnote but if there are I won’t write for them.)

⏱️Reverse: 1999⏱️:

(Playing the story, reading every adult character’s page on the wiki)

Everyone who isn't a child

👺Demonslayer👺:

(Read some of the manga, watched every anime ep except for the hashria training but i know everything that happens)

Everyone not a child 

🫧Oshi No Ko🫧:

(Seen all anime currently out)

Anyone not a child

(I’ll do aqua ruby ai akane and kana and stuff but the reader is the same age as them and i think theyre all like 19 so its not that big a deal to me)

🫃Buddy Daddies🫃:

(Watching the anime)

Anyone not a child

💥Winter Moon💥:

(Read the entire thing and will reread if need be)

Everyone not a minor***

*I won’t write anything but platonic for Risa

**I will be writing the players and the characters separately (If I get a request to do Gideon in Magonlia Online, the reader/character will be living in a fantasy world and trying to stop Augustus  vs. if I get a Gideon irl, they’d play together but no one lives in a fantasy world) so I will write for characters who are played by children canonically but not for the children playing them (I might change their personalities so they don’t seem mentally a child like Hardmann is a himbo if I get a request for him)

💅Howl’s Moving Castle💅

(Read the book and watched the movie like a billion times)

Anyone not a minor, and I’ll separate it into book and movie version

🕷️Iron Widow and Heavenly Tyrant🕷️

(read both books)

Everyone bc im pretty sure there are no minors

💎AFK Journey💎

(caught up on the starters and the season rn)

Everyone not a minor

💙Solo Leveling💙

(Almost caught up on the anime)

Sung Jin[w]oo

ig other adult characters but i lowkey just put this for sung

❇️Random Fandoms im in but i only sometimes write them❇️

all adults

🐦‍⬛The Grishaverse🐦‍⬛

(read every single book multiple times omfg theyre so good)

All the main characters in the books, (reader will be their age), but NO David and Genya.

⚜️Kpop Demon Hunters⚜️

(I CANNOT STOP WATCHING THIS MOVIE ITS SO GOOD)

All named characters

🐉Jungle Juice🐉

(caught up on the weboon)

I mean i’ll write for anyone of age ig??

I will write anything EXCEPT the following:

• Noncon
• Incest
• Yandere
• Pedophilia
• Abusive relationships
• Super hardcore kinks

Requests are open <3

I’m definitely a little rusty, and if it gets freaky I’ll put the trigger warnings dw!! (help why is that so ominous lol)

Chapter Text

Characters: 6, Dikke, Marcus, Dazai, Chūya, Akutagawa, Brant, Shorekeeper, Carlotta

SPOILERS FOR Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien (3RD) E LUCEVAN LA STELLE IN REVERSE 1999 (6TH), DARK ERA AND SEASON 2 & 3 AND AKUTAGAWA’S BACKSTORY BUNGOU STRAY DOGS, and ig like the rinascita storyline in wuwa

6

• You had stayed over last night and woke up before him.
• Somehow, no seagulls had stolen his crown/headband thingy, and it looked cool, so you decided to wear it. 
• 6 is a heavy sleeper once he’s out, so you figured you’d have time to satiate your curiosity and then put his crown away before he noticed.
• Somehow this guy sensed your absence and silently woke, tho you don’t know it yet.
• He just sat up watching.
• You look so ethereal, he really doesn’t want to disturb…whatever you’re doing.
• You do turn around and notice him, and you turn BRIGHT RED.
• “I’m sorry! I was curious about your crown and you were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to disturb you!”
• You fumble to take the crown off but you’re stopped by him grabbing your hands.
• His face is also bright red.
• Bro he thinks he’s going to die on the spot you look so amazing how did he end up with someone as perfect as you?
• He buries his face in your stomach.
• “You look good. Keep it on.”

Dikke

• It’s one of her days off, and you guys are just lounging around her room in the suitcase doing nothing, when you suddenly had an idea.
• “Dikke?”
• “Hmm?”
• “Can I wear your robes?”
• Dikke.exe has stopped working.
• She takes a moment to process your request, but since it’s so random it takes her a WHILE to fully wrap her head around the fact that you want to wear her judge’s robes.
• You’re getting nervous, and you assure her that if she doesn’t want to let you wear her robes it’s fine, but she’s just so fucking confused she doesn’t really register what you’re saying.
• “…I suppose I shalt allow thou to don mine robes, though I cannot discern the reason for this.”
• You wear her robes, and she thinks you look kinda adorable though she’d never say it
• It’s not that she doesn’t think you look cute, it’s just that she doesn’t understand why you’d want to wear her things. She can buy you some robes of your own, you do know that, right?
• She’ll let you wear her robes again if you ask, because if it makes you happy, she’s happier, even if she can’t understand for the life of her why.

Marcus

• “Can I wear your hat?”
• Marcus has ceased to function.
• Her mind is BLANK, and she’s internally screaming but on the outside she’s dead silent
• You think you did something wrong, so you’re about to brush off what you said before she yanks her hat off her head and gives it to you, looking away.
• “…here, dragoste.”
• *that Romanian is love, tho I used google translate so it may not be accurate.
• When you put her hat on she swore she died and met her mentor because holy shit you’re so cute.
• Her face is redder than Constantine’s hands, and that’s saying something. 
• She may think that you wearing her hat is cute, but you are not exiting this room with it on, she’d be too embarrassed!
• If you asked her to wear it again she’s going to get soooo flustered but she’d say yes!

Osamu Dazai

• You were about to head to the ADA, but it was SO COLD OML and you didn’t have a jacket. 
• You didn’t want to wake Dazai, because this is like the first time in a billion weeks he’s actually sleeping, but you do have to sneak out of bed to find a coat.
• You do not get far, because this motherfucker KNOWS when you’re leaving.
• Somehow he wakes up lucid enough to wrap his arms around your waist and tug you back to bed. 
• “Stayyyyyyyy.”
• He’s such a whiny child in the morning.
• You indulge in his whims for five minutes more, but I feel like Dazai runs colder and it’s already pretty chilly so you end up extricating yourself from his arms.
• “Dazai I’m cold.” 
• Oh. Wait if you’re cold because he’s cold then it means he failed you and if he failed you that means you’re going to leave him because you know he doesn’t deserve you and he’s going to be proven right because everything worth desiring crumbles and rots once he obtains it you’re going to leave him and it’s all his fault—
• You break him out of his stupor by kissing him on the head. “Not your fault, Dazai. You can’t control the weather.”
• He wishes he did tho, because he loves seeing your face light up during snowstorms, but he does not.
• You go into the closet (me after coming out to my parents for the fourth time) to find a jacket, while Dazai short-circuits, and after a while you come out wearing his trench coat.
• His brain is melting as he just stares at you.
• You’re…wearing his coat. The coat that he picked out because it was reminiscent of Oda. The two most important people in his life have been incorporated into this coat in some way.
• Just strangle him with the sleeves and he’d die a happy man.
• He thought it was more impossible for you to look anymore angelic, yet you proved him wrong. 
• He may or may not have started crying but he brushes it off almost instantly.
• “You look stunning, Belladonna.”

Chūya Nakahara

• You are not going to be the one initiating this outfit-swapping, not with Chūya as your partner.
• Honestly, during your relationship he’s going to just randomly drape his coat around your shoulders or something, but he’s never, never done the same with his hat.
• That’s why you’re so surprised when you guys are cuddling and he just…places his hat on your head.
• No explanation either, but this is Chūya, so there really isn’t an explanation that comes with most of his actions.
• You stare at him for like a whole five minutes as he’s becoming more concerned that he did something wrong, and he tries to take his hat off, but you bat his hands away, snuggling closer to his chest.
• “My hat now.”
• His face is RED, like redder than his hair.
• You fall asleep on his chest wearing his hat, and he didn’t think he knew peace until that moment.
• He pulls a blanket over you, letting his arms wind around your waist and he falls asleep too.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

• His coat is where he holds Rashōmon, so to let you wear it means he trusts you with his life.
• Letting you wear his coat, letting being the key word.
• He did not allow you to wear this precious coat, and he is making that very clear. 
• Almost everyone in the Mafia can hear him yelling “YOU’RE LUCKY I’M NOT USING RASHŌMON TO KILL YOU RIGHT NOW AFTER YOU STOLE MY COAT!!”
• Everyone in the mafia knows of Akutagawa’s temper, and to them it sounds like some idiot with a death wish snuck in to mess with him.
• That could not be further from the truth.
• In reality, you’ve managed to climb up onto the chandelier in his office, leaving your boyfriend on the floor as he angrily jumps to get to you, face redder than some of his hits. “GIVE ME MY COAT BACK!”
• Even as he’s yelling, you can see the small smile that graces his face and the blush covering his entire body.
• You swing the chandelier, and he visibly tenses, prepared to catch you if worst comes to worst.
• You grin down at him, until you hear him saying something.
• “Rashōmon!”
• Shit.
• Immediately the coat sleeves whip around your arms, trapping you in a hug-straightjacket as you fall from the chandelier.
• You fully expect him to let you hit the floor: even though you’re dating, he’s still harsh on you if you fuck up missions, but to you surprise and delight, warm arms catch you in midair as you’re carried to the floor.
• He lets you down, but without any arms to balance you you just crumple to the floor, grinning maniacally.
• “That was fun, I wanna do it again.”
• He rolls his eyes.
• “It was foolish of you to try to steal my jacket.”
• His face is so red you almost miss him mumbling, “you looked really hot.” 
• You don’t though, and he recognizes that look in your eyes.
• He needs to buy a safe for his coat when he’s not using it. 

Brant

• Doing performances at random is something you should come to expect when sailing with Brant and the Troupe of Fools.
• He’s always spontaneous with anything he does, and so you decide to fling that energy right back at him.
• Plucking his pirate hat off his head during a dance, you shoot him a grin and dart away.
• He knows you well enough to know that the chase is on, and so far you’re winning. 
• He expected to find you on the other side of the deck, but you are not there.
• Unbeknownst to him, you’re in the crow’s nest, giggling at his efforts to find you.
• His hat still perched on your head, you adjust it so it won’t fall off, and lean over the railing to call to him.
• “Up here, love.”
• He wastes not even a moment to race across the ship to get to you.
• You look absolutely ethereal; warm rays of sunlight illuminate your face in the golden hour, turning your silhouette gold. Your face is speckled with light, and you turn to smile at him.
• “You found me.”
• He feels his face melt into a smile as he brings you into a hug. He wants to see you wearing his hat every second of every day. You look amazing in anything you wear, obviously, but something about that hat on you makes you even more stunning. 

Shorekeeper 

• When she’s doing work, she likes to have you near her.
• Something about your presence really calms her down.
• I don’t think yoinking her veil would be a conscious choice, you’d just be sitting on her lap all sleepy and she’d say fuck it and put the veil thingy on your head.
• You’re still half-lucid, but you do have the presence of mind to mumble, “I love you” before passing out on her paperwork.
• She smiles down at you softly, just admiring you and wondering how she managed to find an angel like you.
• No, she’s not going to wake you, which means she’s not going to move either.

Carlotta

• The Montellis have everything. You know this. So why do you insist on stealing Carlotta’s casual clothes whenever you can? She can buy you some sweatpants and an oversized tee-shirt
• Don’t tell her I told you but every time she sees you wearing her clothes, Carlotta’s heart starts beating a million times a minute and her face gets super red.
• You tell her you know she can buy you anything, but you like wearing her things because they smell like her and honestly propose to her right then and there.

Chapter Text

 SPOILERS FOR THE ALL OF THE APIERON QUEST AND FOR 6’S REAL NAME, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

• 6 is not a naturally outwardly affectionate person.
• He’d be fine with like holding hands in public but anything else? Behind closed doors, please.
• Oooh you totally have a bazillion nicknames for him and if you use them anywhere there’s someone who you don’t know, he’s going to die of embarrassment. 

————————————————

“Come on, dear,” you tease, relishing the way your lover’s face alights with vibrant hues of reds and pinks as he squeaks out a protest. 

“<Name>!”

You simply grin at him and he feels all the embarrassment drain from his body. You’re an irrational number. You shouldn’t have this effect on him, and yet.

————————————————

• BRO THE FUCKING NICKNAMES HE HAS FOR YOU WHEN YOURE ALONE THO
• As someone who cannot do math to save their life, please excuse the monstrosity I’m about to write. (I should become a rapper that rhymed)

————————————————

Most days he’s gone and you’ll wake up to a text from him, something along the lines of “(x^2 + y^2 – 1)^3 = x^2 y^3” and a winking face emoji (you don’t know how he had any idea that emojis existed), but this time when you open your sleep-dreary eyes, he’s still next to you, staring at your face. You are…ethereal isn’t even strong enough a word to describe you. 

He’s so caught up in admiring you that he doesn’t notice you’re awake until your arms latch around his waist and drag him back to a laying position.

“How many hours?” you ask drowsily. He doesn’t need to clarify with you, opting instead to bury his face into your shoulder in a feeble attempt at muffling the words.

“Four.”

You’re most certainly awake now, shooting up and dragging 6 with you. “Atticus…” your hands are delicate as you brush the hair out of his face. “You need more sleep than that.”

He agrees, but there’s no way he can do so without either spurning the other followers of Apieron or you, and he’d rather die than do either. Pulling you back onto bed, he smiles softly as your breathing becomes slower almost instantly. You tried to stay up with him last night and clearly it took a toll on you.

“Rest, my darling irrational.”

————————————————

• I have no idea what i just wrote aaaaaahhh

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

• My personal HC is that he would only be friends with someone who came to the island with Vertin or Arcana, the power imbalance with one of the followers would rub him the wrong way.
• You are most certainly an irrational number who’s friends with Regulus (Re-re-re-re-regulus alchemical genius, call me what you like)
• There’s two ways this can go. 1, you’re the loudest person in the room, or 2, you’re the quietest one there.
• Let’s go with 1 first.

————————————————

There is no determining what thing to scare the shit out of him today, and to be completely honest, he stopped trying to predict you long ago, right around when you stopped 37 from eating Regulus’s hair because in your words, “You gotta add noodles first so it’s a game of is it her hair or noodles.” He’d almost ask what was wrong with you, and therein lies the issue. You’re an irrational number, yet you don’t act the way one would normally expect. You’re wickedly smart too, so he knows, he knows that Vertin sent you to befriend him to figure out what’s going on on this island, yet he doesn’t kick you out when you act all buddy-buddy. He hates to admit it, but you’ve grown on him, and he can tell he’s grown on you. You might be impossible to predict, but you’re a good friend and it’s worth it. 

“37, can I try to ride one of the Abaraxes?”

“What the fuck, <Name>.”

Scratch that.

————————————————

• I heard 37 saying what the fuck so when you read that line of dialogue please hallucinate her voice in your head too <3
• If you’re quieter, he’s going to be that meme where it’s like “THEY ASKED FOR NO PICKLES.”
• A naturally quiet person himself, 6 understands you better than most and knows when you want a conversation instead of the silence of parallel play.
• He knows what you want to say, and if you have trouble saying something you’d best believe that he’s going to interpret for you lol

————————————————

He’s working silently when the door of his office opens. Quiet footsteps patter across the floor and he doesn’t need to look up to identify who it is.

“Hello,” he says, putting down his pen to acknowledge your presence. Silence. Shuffling. You’re looking for something. “Do you need help?”

A tap at the wall. No.

It’s a code you have, really. He knows what you’re saying, even if you’re not truly saying anything, something not even Vertin can do with complete accuracy yet, and it makes him feel special. Two taps on his bookshelf.

Found it.

“Feel free to sit anywhere,” he tells you.

A snap.

I will.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

• I think it depends entirely on your comfort level how much he would cuddle.
• After a stressful day dealing with everything there’s definitely nothing he wants more than to curl up in your arms but if you aren’t game then neither is he.
• One of the best cuddlers imo
• Loves spooning
• Depends on the hour if he wants to be the big spoon or the little spoon, but either way you’re going to be relaxed.
• Even when he’s craving your comfort, 6 is so attentive to you and your needs.
• gbiufdhcxfdsudfihxfbdsrw9 malewife material
• He likes cuddling with you the most when he gets to hug you, but if you’re not a hugger, no worries, his new favorite way to cuddle with you is whatever you prefer

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

• After the Storm, I think he’s a traumatized boi and would throw himself into work to rebuild Apieron
• He’s the meme meant to be a silly forced to lock in
• He DEFINITELY comes home late, like unhealthily late, you almost had a heart attack because who the fuck is unlocking your door at 2:40 am?? 
• Oh its him why the fuck is he unlocking your door at 2:40 am??
• 6 would love to settle down and just be cozy with you, but you might have to wait a little longer to achieve that dream.

————————————————

You’ve always been a light sleeper. It is 2:40 a.m. You should not be awakened by the sound of your front door opening and closing. Is it an axe murderer? Are you going to die? Is this the end? Is someone breaking into your house? You allow yourself to freak out for one minute before springing into action. There’s nothing very weapon-like in your room, but there is a stack of hardcover books and math textbooks on the desk you share with your boyfriend. Slipping out of bed, you grab the thickest book you can find (Math and Its Application To Nuclear Physics: Imaginary Parabolas and Their Roots) and creep towards the door of your shared room. The doorknob wiggles and you almost have a heart attack. Quickly adjusting your stance to move away from the door as it opens, you raise the book. 

In the dark, you can’t make out the figure that steps inside your room. You hear their breath hitch, however, and see them run over to your side of the bed and collapse onto it at the realization that it’s empty.

“No, please, come back, please, I didn’t imagine you, did I?”

You recognize that voice. Setting the book down quietly, you make your way over to 6’s hunched form and lay a hand on his shoulder. He looks up, eyes wild before registering you and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug, burying his head into your shoulder and accidentally wiping some of his tears onto your shirt.

“You scared me,” he mumbles, and you laugh, petting his hair. 

“So did you.”

“…You won’t go anywhere I can’t follow, right?” 6 asks tentatively.

“Of course not, my love. I’m here, and I will always be here.”

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

• Him breaking up with you would disappoint you, and even if he doesn’t love you, disappointing anyone simply isn’t something he can do
• If he REALLY had to end a relationship, I think he’d do it over text in a big chunky paragraph because why would he invite you out just to break up with you?
• He’d definitely try to let you down easy, but he would be hella monotone which kinda only makes everything worse 

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

• I think 6 would want a fianceé in name but he’s not ready to commit to a marriage. 
• He would propose to you around a year after you guys started dating, but he won’t marry you for a long time after that, he’d be too scared that you’re playing a big joke on him
• You’d be engaged for like at least five years before 6 is ready to tie the knot
• He doesn’t have commitment issues, he has too much work

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

• SO SO gentle
• he holds you like you’re made of glass, and you’re one of the only people he can be emotionally vulnerable with
• You helped him through the trauma of the Storm, and he knows he can never do something for you of that scale, so he tries to make it up to you, day by day, to show you just how much he loves you
• This man worships the ground you walk on don’t forget it

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

• If 6 had it his way, you’d be in his arms every second of the day, but 6 will not get his way on this, because you need to work and so does he
• He’s a koala, honestly.
• Blud come back from work even a second late and he’s attaching himself to your leg like bro get off the floor
• Anything you give him is going to be one of 6’s most treasured possessions, and so it’s only natural that the hugs you give him are some of his most treasured memories
• I think the only time 6 would not want a hug from you is when he’s locking in to do some math problem and he knows if you hug him he’ll want to stay in your arms instead of doing his job lol
• 6 is also a great hugger, though he’s kind of awkward with giving them because this man has only ever been hugged by 37 and 210, and even then it was rare
• For someone so introverted, 6 doesn’t really understand touch aversion, so if you refuse one of his hugs and he gets all i killed their parents and took their food on you, just tell him to google touch aversion or something 

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

• 6 will not say i love you until at least year three of your relationship
• ‘We live together and make out all the time but what if they’re just doing that as a friend-’ 6 what the fuck ‘friends’ don’t make out whenever they feel like it oml
• You will probably have to be the one to say I love you, and it lowkey might be worth it because when I tell you the man will get RED, he will get RED.
• Bros so confused and stuttering and I think Atticus.exe has stopped working
• When 6 says I love you, because he will, it’ll just take him a while, he’ll try to make it the most romantic thing ever.
• (I would write a scenario but I’m trying to finish this alphabet so I can push out this work and I think I would genuinely die if I tried to write something not made of headcanons right now)
• (Sorry beautiful things and the zillion WIPS i promised to write later)

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

• I don’t think 6 really gets jealous; he’s secure in his trust of you and vice versa
• Even if it’s someone much hotter than him trying to hit on you (cough cough, Getian), 6 knows you’re dating him, and I don’t think he’s poly, so he doesn’t have to worry about anything.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

• Kisses from 6 are rare, mainly because he’s not that much of a PDA guy and by the time you two are alone he’s all tired out from the day to be fully present, also i haven’t kissed anyone in a hot second and i don’t feel like whipping some feelings from my ass to try to describe a kiss <3
• I lied it’s a different day let’s get into this
• 6 kisses you like the world is ending.
• Every time your lips connect he’s giving it his all, 100% because with the storm, for all he knows, this kiss could be your last.
• He’s not too keen on makeouts normally, but if it’s been a rough day for him and you’re game he’s gonna make you lightheaded with how good of a kisser he is.
• This dorky boy has never kissed anyone in his entire life before but he probably whipped out some math formula about how to kiss well and that’s how he can kiss you until you see stars and what the hell when did your legs stop working
• He gets sooo flustered when you use tongue too lol

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

• Children are scared of him
• He once tried to explain parabolas to some random kid from the Foundation and made the kid run away crying 
• It’s like other kids know what he did because they lowkey avoid him and he doesn’t understand why
• “So the square root of a multiplied by the square root of b – wait where are you going?”
• Despite all this I can see him being a good father tho kinda forgetful
• He would try to teach his kids algebra at like two years old and be surprised that they don’t understand a thing tho

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

• Where is bro in the mornings
• He defo wakes up hella early to go to work but he doesn’t wake you up with him because he doesn’t want to disturb you.
• If you’re a morning person, please help him get out of bed because 6 hates mornings, he just has to wake up because he has a job.
• Born to sleep in and cuddle forced to lock in and struggle

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

• 6 is the most atrocious night owl known to man except for maybe me and that’s only because i’ve achieved partial nocturnalness
• Late for you is like 11 or 12 but to him the night has just started
• “6 go to bed it’s four in the morning” 
• “hiss” 
• “did you deadass just say the word hiss at me?”
• He is all over the place lmao
• If you’re a really light sleeper 6 will do his nighttime things in another room so as not to disturb you but he finds a surprising intimacy in staying up with you
• Idk but smth about the way the moonlight slants through the windows and lights up your silhouette as you ask him for the billionth time what the fuck he’s doing staying up this late makes something soft and good fill him up.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

• I mean theres not really much to say 
• Like i was in charge of a math cult and then my home got destroyed by the storm and thats lowkey kinda it
• Idk i feel like if im aiming for consistency then you’re the friend who was with vertin when she landed on that island so you know almost everything there is to know about him anyways
• I think the only thing you don’t know is his real name but even then once 6 gets comfortable with you it’ll be like ur lounging and he says it.

—----------------------------------

You’ve asked 6 what his real name was before, and all that got you was a confused look from your boyfriend. You barely remember that incident and you certainly don’t expect him to, not when it was so many months ago and he’s such a comfortable pillow right now (though his shoulders are a bit bony for your taste) that you almost jump out of your skin when he moves his mouth close to your ear to whisper, “Atticus.”

“Bless you?” you ask, raising your head off his shoulder. 6 blinks at you. You return the gesture with a blank stare.

“It’s Atticus,” he repeats. “A while ago you asked me what my real name is. It’s Atticus.”

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

• He had to deal with all of Apieron and Arcana what do you think that says about his patience
• No bc the way i wouldve been like HUH whenever arcana started yapping until she killed me bc i dont understand that old ass english
• Also he works for the foundation now (i think, it could be a lie tho maybe i like misinforming the people) so already yeah he has some damn patience do you see their management 😭 
• The bullet above was a LIE i was a misinformation spreader but Foundation!6 hc??
• Off topic but if a lot of the foundation is arcanists and mesmer jr is racist towards arcanists why is she there
• Nah 6 has good patience he also does math and that specifically requires patience
• Math twinks for the win honestly i wouldnt have passed my math class without them

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

• 6 knows the vibe of everything you like and he unconsciously notices and gets things for you based off that but when he’s trying to remember some story you told him or what your favorite flower is his mind is blanker than my math test answers when the timer’s up
• He doesn’t expect you to remember very many things about him either but if you do and bring it up in casual conversation (“yeah, i got you a signed copy of this book, I thought you’d like it!” and its just a fucking algebra book lol) he can’t help the dopey smile that breaks across his face.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

• Right after the Storm, when Vertin was doing something with 37…actually fuck this im writing it

—-------------------------------------

6 cannot speak. He cannot hear or touch or think or smell or breathe. He cannot open his eyes and gaze upon the destruction the Storm wrought yet he cannot close his eyes to block it out either. If he were even a little more coherent, 6 thinks he might appreciate the irony of the situation; he was the captain of the “ship” that is- was Apieron, but instead of a captain going down with his ship, the ship sank without a captain. He’s sitting in the rubble of the only home he’s ever known, knees drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around his shins and he hears static. His eyes are unfocused and the world is blurry but he’d much prefer a blurry world to one in which Apieron is simply not there. Someone is distantly calling his name, but he doesn’t care. Whoever it is can wait forever and it still would not be enough to extinguish the anguish in his soul.

6 continues staring blankly ahead. There is no point to anything anymore; what is disappointing one more person? He blinks and you’re in front of him like a guardian angel, hair wild, eyes bloodshot, and voice hoarse and then he blinks again and you’re engulfing him into a hug and whispering things in his ear and he knows he shouldn’t want to do anything but mourn, but in this moment all he wants to do is melt into you and forget about everything. 

6 unwinds his arms from his shins to wrap them around your shoulders. Tears he doesn’t recall crying stain the fabric of your shirt but you don’t care, and he eventually falls asleep hugging you as you rock him and hum platitudes into his hair.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

• He knows you love him and wouldn’t cheat on him so he isn’t very protective of you around other people unless they’re making you uncomfortable or you very explicitly ask him to
• If you’re in danger expect to have the enemies taken care of in an instant.
• Even though he knows you’re strong, 6 can’t bear to see people close to him in dangerous situations where they could potentially get hurt.
• He’s kind of a hypocrite in that regard because 6 is very self-sacrificing and if he was in danger he would rather die than ask for your help which is definitely a point of tension in your relationship.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

• Both you and 6 are busy people so your house is kind of a mess but he definitely tries to do anything you need him to do
• 6 likes cleaning because it calms him down (sweeping and doing the dishes especially because he likes the repetitive motions of each one)
• On anniversaries he goes ALL OUT
• Like 6 why did you bribe 37 to plot a math problem thats answer will read as a crazy declaration of love???
• Dates are generally quiet affairs; movies cuddled up on the couch, air-conditioned bookstores, candlelit dinners, and 6 wants to make every date memorable. 
• He tries 1000/10

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

• This man
• This man does not sleep
• Bags under eyes hey look Madam Constantine is doing the macarena behind you tired hey 37 is eating bean coffee tired hey vertin is being chased by a mountain of oranges tired
• He doesn’t get sleep he gets winks.
• And those winks are not slept
• Also he just generally doesn’t take care of himself mentally

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

• As long as his appearance doesn’t get in his way or your way he generally doesn’t care.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

• He’d miss you when you’re gone, but 6 wouldn’t really feel incomplete, yk.
• He respects and acknowledges that you are both grown adults with your own responsibilities and it isn’t fair to reduce you to just his other half just like it isn’t fair to reduce him to your other half
• Also he’d probably take issue with the fraction not being properly divided or some shit but my school hasn’t started yet so i don’t need to do math 

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

• I always love these Xtras because I love learning about people’s headcanons of certain characters (feel free to put yours down in the comments im curious) so there will be many
• He has PTSD from the Storm since he literally saw so many people he held dear fucking die and be happy about it so if he’s looking for you and he can’t find you he’s gonna have a panic attack and kinda dissasociate and relive the Storm but instead of all the Apieron people it’s you and 37 as every single person that was there
• HATES socks you cannot convince him to wear them idk why he just gives that vibe
• His hair is either REALLY greasy or perfectly soft and conditioned no in-between
• malewife 6 era i think he can bake
• OMGOMGOMGOMG musical theater 6 bc 37 got him invested in hamilton or smth and then she kidnapped Sophia and they all watched Wicked and loved it
• Speaking of music 6 is a Kpop Demon Hunters fan. No, he will not admit it to anyone, yes you did hear him singing Takedown in the shower.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

• He doesn’t like mean people or people who’d insult his beliefs
• Also doesn’t freak with coffee drinkers or bean enjoyers
• (lowkey he tried coffee one time from Sonnetto and it was the best experience he’d ever had in his life but he felt like he was betraying the people of Apieron  (and 37 tried to eat his hair afterwards) so he stopped)

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

• See N, he just doesn’t sleep

Chapter Text

Arms wrap around you, and you flinch for a hint of a second before registering the voice that follows the arms. 

“I’ll guide you to bed, okay mio dulce?”

You relax almost instantly. It’s just Pavia. The room is completely dark, turning harmless piles of clothes into axe murderers, but you force yourself to breathe. You’re safe, you’re going to be okay, Pavia is with you and he’s not going to let anyone get to you. Slowly, slowly, like you’re made of glass, he guides you to your shared bed, helping you under the covers before crawling beside you, arms still wrapped around your waist.

“You’re safe.”

You feel so childish, needing your boyfriend to guide you through your dark room when you should be perfectly capable of doing just that on your own. It’s terrifying, though, to walk through the darkness to find your bed. You’re stubbing your toes on things that were not there before, flinching away from killers created from piles of clothes, and nothing makes it better. Nothing until Pavia moved into your room in the suitcase, and though he isn’t capable of making your fear go away entirely, it’s so much better than it has been.

Chapter Text

(Dan Heng, Aventurine, Suwa Rei, Kurusu Kazaki, Hoshino Aqua, Hoshino Ai, Hoshino Ruby, Kurokawa Akane, Nikolai Gogol, Dazai Osamu, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Akutagawa Gin, Getian, The Fool, Kaalaa Baunaa, Isolde, Berial, Ravion, Sung Jinwoo)

Dan Heng

It’s not every day that a mysterious train appears in the sky to save your war-torn world from ruin, and it’s certainly not every day that you, as the current ruler’s only child, are sent to greet these outsiders only to come face-to-face with the most attractive man you’ve ever seen.

“Hello,” he says, kneeling to kiss your hand. You force yourself not to turn red. He has manners, that’s literally the bare minimum, though it’s a step up from all my suitors.

“Greetings, outsiders,” you return, tearing your gaze from the kneeling man and up to the rest of this strange group. The woman with crimson hair looks mildly amused, while an older man is trying to explain to a pink-haired girl that no, you cannot ask this person if they’re single, it’s rude. It takes you far too long to figure out that the older man is talking about you. Behind all of this, a man and a woman who appear to be twins, with gray hair and matching yellow eyes are observing the scene carefully. The man speaks up.

“I’m Caelus,” he says. The woman beside him introduces herself as Stelle, the red-haired woman says she is Himeko, the older man is Welt, and the pink-haired girl who wants to know if you’re single is March 7th. Yes, like the date. The man who kissed your hand finally stands, and with a start you realize that he’s a few inches taller than you. 

“My name is Dan Heng, it is a pleasure to meet you, Your Imperial Radiance.”

“What?” asks March, turning to you. “You’re royalty!?”

You grin. “Your train did land in the royal hangar, did you expect a commoner to come greet you? Now, outsiders, what can I help you with?”

Aventurine

“This curio is of the utmost importance, if you give it to anyone who isn’t Aventurine of the Ten Stonehearts, and I mean anyone, even if they say they’re a messenger, I will dissolve your research in a pot of acid and dismiss you from your position here,” Herta threatens. 

You nod blithely. All you wanted to do was go into your best friend’s office and steal a comfortable pillow to nap on, but now you’re stuck doing busywork because apparently there’s been a mixup and Herta doesn’t trust anyone but you to deliver this very important curio to some IPC lackey. You don’t really know where the Stonehearts lie in terms of importance, but you really do not give a fuck, you just want to sleep.

—

Breaking into an IPC ship should decidedly not be as easy as it is, but you feel a grim sense of joy in the fact that not even the “untouchable” IPC can keep you out. The ride to the main ship takes far too long, and by the time you feel the ship dock in a hangar and the automated gravity switching frequencies, your arms are tired from holding the curio. You slip out of the ship unnoticed as well, and just as you’re about to head into the main part of the mothership, you smack into a man. 

“Fuck, sorry,” you tell him, not sorry in the slightest. He ruined your illicit sneaking, and though you’ve no right to be pissed about that, you are. The man doesn’t respond for a while, looking down at you with the prettiest eyes you’ve ever seen.

“It’s cool,” he finally says, grinning easily. “I should have watched where I was going.”

Damn right he should’ve. You don’t say that, though. Clutching the curio to your chest, you attempt to shoulder past him, but the man grabs your shoulder.

“Where’re ya going?”

“To find Aventurine,” you snap, so thoroughly done with human interaction. “Unless you can help me find him, please leave me alone, Herta told me this was a sensitive matter.”

She did not, but if it makes this conversation over sooner, you’ll say anything. To your dismay, the man’s smile only widens. “I’ve been looking for him myself, actually. He doesn’t receive visitors, like, at all, but you can probably drop whatever that is off at his door.”

Suwa Rei

Bookstores are your saving grace. Especially the ones with cafes. The bookstore you’re in right now is perfect. Rooms separate genres, the cafe is actually good, and there’s a reading area for patrons who don’t want to leave the cozy environment. You wish that was you. Instead of curling up on a beanbag with the books you’re going to buy, you’re having an aneurysm over the cost of the one fucking textbook you need.

$1,300.

And it’s mandatory reading. 

If you knew how pricey college in Japan was, you’d never have applied. That’s a lie. Going to college at twenty-six is definitely not your ideal situation, but you’re just glad you can go at all. You thought your dreams would never be realized when your parents died, leaving you to take care of a younger sibling, but after holding the two of you together as your sibling graduated from high school and then college, they decided to turn the tables and support you for a change, helping you achieve your dream of a higher education. You were excited, and you still are, but textbooks are so fucking expensive. Already, you’ve blown five hundred dollars that your sibling promised you wouldn’t bother them, but paying over a thousand? For one book? You think you might actually be sick. You do need this book, though, and none of your usual piracy sites have the textbook you need, so you shuffle into the checkout line miserably. A black-haired man who looks to be around your age steps in behind you, noting the textbook in your hands with mild curiosity.

“You going to college?”

Is he going to judge you? You don’t know why you care; you’ve only just met this man after all, but you nod.

“Yeah.”

The man hums. After a pause, he asks, “I heard that the textbooks are like super fuckin’ expensive, are they really that bad?”

You snort out a laugh before you can stop yourself. “You don’t even know half of it. This book I’m holding is thirteen hundred dollars.”

The man’s eyes bug out. “For a book? That’s insane–”

“Next in line, please,” calls the cashier. You step forward, reluctantly pulling out your credit card, when the man moves faster than you can register, holding out his wallet to the cashier instead. You blink up at him. 

“What are you doing?”

“Consider it my good deed of the day,” he says, voice monotone. “You clearly don’t have the funds to spare that much on a book and I do. It’s only logical that I pay for you.”

No, it’s not logical at all, but this stranger is buying your textbook for you, so you really can’t be complaining. Once the purchase is complete and after you thank him numerous times, he turns to go. Wait, shit, you don’t even know his name! This random attractive man paid for your thirteen hundred dollar book and you don’t even know his name.

“Wait,” you call. The man turns, head cocked. 

“Yeah?”

“What’s your name?”

He blinks, as if he hadn’t expected you to ask him something like that. Finally, he says, “Rei.”  

Kurusu Kazaki

You have a pressing issue, and you don’t know if it can wait much longer. Or rather, if you can wait much longer. You doubt it, it’s fucking freezing and your hoodie isn’t strong enough to keep out the wind, but you did promise Kyutaro not to enter his bar until his shift is over, so you wait. You can’t imagine what sort of business your older brother has going on that is so important you can’t even know, but it makes amazing money, so you don’t pry. Finally, it gets far too cold outside, so with a muttered,

“Sorry Kyu,”

You push open the door to his bar. The conversation stops. Kyu is behind the bar, clearly about to get something for the two men sitting on the stools in front of him. The blond one turns to face you and the black haired one plops his head into his arms. 

“Oh no, looks like Kyu’s girlfriend is here, guess we have to come back another time.”

You blink. “I’m…that is my brother, what the hell?”

“My bad,” the black haired man says, not sounding sorry at all. “Did we interrupt a family reunion then?”

“You interrupted nothing of the sort,” you say. “Kyu told me to wait outside until this meeting was over but it’s cold as shit out there, so I’m here now.”

The Kyu in question is shifting behind the bar nervously, looking to the blonde for help.

“Hello! I’m Kazuki!” the man says, and you resist the urge to roll your eyes.

Hoshino Aqua

He dreams of a life that isn’t his quite often, much more so after Ai died. He wants to ask Ruby if she also dreams of who she once was, but knowing his sister, she’ll say she forgot and run off to bury herself in idol work. He’s so deep in his thoughts that he doesn’t realize he’s bumped into someone until they’re both on their asses.

“Sorry,” he says, moving to offer you a hand up. Well, that’s what he tries to do. The moment Aqua’s eyes lock with yours, a searing pain erupts in his head and he collapses. Dimly, he hears a panicked Holy shit!, and then there is silence.

Hoshino Ai

“<Insert name>, there is someone I think you’d be interested in meeting,” your manager tells you, leading you by the arm through the crowd to a table with a solitary girl sitting at it. She looks up, and your breath catches. Her eyes have stars in them. Literal freaking stars. This girl can’t be older than you are, and by the way she’s dressed, she’s about to debut. Like, about to debut in 20 minutes. That’s what your manager tells you, then leaves with a reproachful, “be quick. Get to know each other.”

“Um.” you say. “Hello, I guess?”

“Hello!” the girl says. “I’m Hoshino Ai! Who are you?”

“I’m <Last Name> <First Name>,” you tell her, catching a glimpse of people moving towards you two out of the corner of your eye. Shit. The reporters crawling at this event are heading your way. “You’re new to the idol world, right?”

Hoshino nods. You almost sigh, then remember someone is going to catch every single one of your movements on screen, and decide against it. “Lesson number one, let the media see only what you want them to.”

You see a news anchor drifting closer and closer, and light up with a smile. “Hello!” 

The reporter behind the anchor looks a bit abashed, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he’s flustered at the attention you’re giving him. “Hello, girls,” he says, thrusting the microphone at you. Hoshino cringes, and you want to groan. You don’t cringe when you’re on camera. That’s like basic performance etiquette. Hoshino is new to the scene, however, so you decide to cover for her just once. Taking the microphone with all the charm you can muster, you grin at the camera.

“I’m so lucky to be here today! This girl behind me is Hoshino Ai, and she’s a rising star! She’s super new to this whole idol thing, so to all my fans out there, be nice to her, okay?”

Hoshino Ruby

Your social circle isn’t exactly big, but you don’t think it’s truly as pathetic as Kana thinks it is. To be fair, she has your best interest in mind, but you really don’t think meeting the girls in her idol group and her crush will help you “come out of your shell” or however she put it. You don’t really get much say in this, however, as Kana is dragging you to the cafe she told her friends to meet you at. 

You wish you took Kana up on her offers to work out together because you cannot escape her grasp right now. Finally, Kana lets go of your hand as she stops in front of a cute coffee shop and opens the door to shove you inside, only for you to slam facefirst into a blonde girl with pink eyes.

“Oh, my god, I’m so sorry!” you yelp as Kana walks up behind you to flick the girl in the forehead.

“Ruby, are you leaving already?”

The girl winks at both of you. “I’m sorry, Kana, Kana’s friend, but Miyaemon wants me to do a photoshoot for a new album cover, I’ve got to go!” 

Kurokawa Akane

Most days, customer service jobs make you want to commit vehicular manslaughter, but today is a good day because the bookstore you work at is near empty right now and your shift is almost over. You sigh, leaning against the counter you’re stuck behind as you count the minutes until you can go home. A man comes to check out at your register at the ten minute mark, and you don your customer-service smile as he plunks down a stack of books.

As you start scanning, he decides that this is the perfect time to make conversation with you.

“Young people these days are crazy,” he says.

You nod noncommittally.

“All of them are reading the craziest books, why can’t normal, less sexual relationships be romanticized anymore? No one in the youth respects their elders anymore.”

“Yep,” you say, scanning a book with a very sexual cover and ringing it up. “Too much sex.”

You want to go to sleep, but this man clearly wants to talk, and you like having your job, so you pretend to care about what this random customer has to say.

Finally, you’re done ringing the man up, and you’re at three minutes until your shift ends, when a girl around your age comes up to your register to shyly place a book on the counter. 

“I’ve heard good things about this author, do you know if they’re worth reading?” she asks, and you think you feel your heart skip a beat because her voice is so calming, like a brook or a stream in an empty forest, her voice exudes the quiet tranquility that just makes you want to curl up and lay down. You look at the book she’s set down. 

It’s your favorite book.

Nikolai Gogol

Your phone buzzes and you sit up groggily to grab it. Who is texting you at three nineteen in the morning? It seems to be an unknown number, and even now it’s spamming you, because apparently you are a man named Fyodor who has failed to deliver bombs to your spammer. What. the. Fuck. Actually, screw that, you’re too tired for this. You toss your phone off to some far corner of your room, a problem for future you to worry about.

Future you forgets about your mysterious texter until your phone starts blowing up again in the middle of the night (read: early morning). You try to ignore it, but your phone is on vibrate and you’re too tired to get out of your bed to make it silent. You can fall asleep with your phone buzzing every ten seconds. 

You cannot fall asleep with your phone buzzing every ten seconds. Sighing, you grab your phone and fire off a quick message to whoever is on the other end before you regret it. You fall back to sleep as your phone pings a final time before falling silent.

You: deadass shut the fuck up im not fyodor youve been texting me when im trying to sleep can you not

Unknown: :(

Dazai Osamu

You’re due to leave any day now. It’s been a week since your roommate left and those days have consisted of laying in bed and answering a few nurses. You’re pretty sure you’ve been labelled the most difficult person in the ward, which is why you’re surprised when the door to your room opens and a nurse you don’t recognize ushers a boy about your age into your room. He surveys the room with keen eyes, sitting primly on his bed. You know to tune out the questions the nurse will ask. You know to tune out the soft sobs that will follow after the nurse leaves the room. You know not to ask about any scars you see. Clearly, this boy doesn’t know the rules.

“I’m Dazai,” he says, sticking out a hand. You startle, realizing that he crossed the distance between your beds silently. “I’m sixteen years old. How about you?”

You blink. Is this kid serious? “You know you shouldn’t tell anyone that, right?”

He cocks his head. “My age? Why?”

Do you seriously have to spell it out for him? “Because someone could figure out who you are from the information you give and kill you. Did the nurses not drill this into your head?”

Dazai grins, brown eyes sparkling. “Oh, yeah, I know that, I’m just hoping you’ll be the one to kill me!”

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

When he can’t sleep, Akutagawa goes to the roof of his apartment building to stargaze. It’s a habit he’s developed over the past few years, and the roof has become a safe place of sorts for him. The first time, he took the stairs up then coughed up blood onto the rooftop garden. He’d learned to take the elevator.

This time, he’s failed to catch that damn weretiger again, and all he wants to do is sit on his rooftop - and it is his, Akutagawa hasn’t seen anyone else on the roof in all the years he’s lived in this apartment complex with Gin, so he is not prepared for the elevator doors to open on someone attempting suicide. Reflexively, he summons Rashomon to wrap around your waist before you jump, and you whirl around, eyes burning with rage when you spot him. Akutagawa hopes his eyes mirror yours.

“What,” he spits, “Are you doing on my roof?”

You scoff. “What does it look like, genius? I’m committing suicide.”

He knows he should care about another person’s life, but he’s Port Mafia and he’s killed more people than most of his subordinates (and even superiors) combined, so if you expect him to start waxing poetic about the importance of human life, you are sorely mistaken.

“Don’t do it when I’m here, you’ll interrupt my calm,” the man snaps.

What.

Akutagawa Gin

Damn Chuuya. Actually fuck him, he’s the worst. Of course he invited you to his house in the middle of the mafia security’s serious inspections. When you get to his house, he owes you a free drink.

Peering out from the alley you’re hiding in, you see three armed ungifted gunmen, and one Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, who swore he would kill you the next time he saw you “skulking around Nakahara’s house like a spy”. Is Chuuya actually trying to kill you?

Pulling out your phone, you decide to take a selfie with an unknowing Akutagawa in the background. You send it to Chuuya with the caption Are you trying to kill me? Ur as good as a carrotcake you hear me?

Chuuya responds almost instantly. 

Leprechaun: wait wheres the other one

You: ???

A noise from the back of the alley prompts you to shove your phone into your pocket, whirling. No one’s there, but you definitely heard someone back there. Something cracks against the back of your head and your world goes black.

Getian

The Wilderness isn’t first on your list of quiet reading spots, but the Suitcase, which had power, apparently, decided that AC was overrated and your room started heating up like you were in an oven. You decidedly do not like hot weather, so you grab a few books and a bag and exit your room, opening doors at random until you come upon the Wilderness. You wander around for a bit, trying to suss out a kind-of-cold quiet spot. Apparently, many of your companions have the same idea, because you pass by Avgust, Vila, and Windsong splashing in a small lake, and nearly get your head chopped off by a frisbee thrown by Medicine Pocket. After what feels like hours of searching, you find a tree by a river, and you settle below it, opening a book. 

You remain undisturbed for a while, but as the sun starts to slip under the horizon, you hear someone approaching. It’s not anyone hostile; Vertin doesn’t keep dangerous people in her suitcase, so you aren’t worried, but whoever it is gets closer until they’re almost looming over you. You look up slowly, and your breath catches. This must be Getian, the bird-man that 6 wanted to introduce you to. He’s gorgeous, and you honestly don’t trust yourself to be normal around him.

You scramble to your feet, closing your book and shoving it into your bag. “If you want this spot, it’s all yours.”

The Fool

“-- And therefore Next to Normal has a weirder plot than Wicked,” Charlie explains, but The Fool has long zoned out and they think that their boss(? Could you really call a teenager your boss?) knows that. All they remember is that Horropedia was talking about how Sweeney Todd was a horror musical and represented the twisted nature of humanity but could also be weaponized to promote bigotry, and then Charlie was talking about how Alexander Hamilton was gay, and now this. They just want to go to sleep, and Charlie must finally notice just how not-invested into this conversation The Fool is, because she takes pity on them and says, 

“But rehearsal’s done for now. We gotta wait until Vertin brings our Euridyce, and then we can get back into business.”

The Fool nods, slipping out of their chair and out the door as quickly as possible. It’s nothing against Charlie, really, they just miss the privacy of their room. As they near their door, The Fool hears Vertin explaining something to someone, but they honestly don’t care enough to eavesdrop until Vertin says, 

“You’ll be in this room, right next to your co-star. They’re an Arcanist called The Fool.”

“Huh,” the other person says. “Thanks for doing all this, by the way, Vertin. You really don’t have to.”

Vertin snorts in her very British way. “It’s no problem, really.”

The Fool is feeling very awkward, and so they step around the corner to see Vertin talking to you. They offer a tiny wave as they sneak around Vertin to open the door to their room.

Kaalaa Baunaa

The stars of the Wilderness will never compare to their counterparts in the real world, so most nights you leave the Suitcase to stargaze before going to sleep. This time, you get to the exit of the Suitcase to see Kiperina waving at you. You grin at her as you jog to meet her.

“Alia, how’ve you been?”

Kiperina blinks, as if she still can’t believe that there are people in the Suitcase who care about her. “I’ve been…good,” she tells you. “Hissabeth and Pointer are trying to make translation devices for Voyager and I so we can understand each other!”

You smile fondly. Sometimes, you bring Kiperina outside with you to look at the stars, and today seems to be one of those nights. “Would you like to stargaze with me?”

The younger girl nods eagerly, eyes lighting up. You ruffle her hair affectionately.

“C’mon, then.”

There is someone sitting on the ground by the Suitcase outside when you and Kiperina get to your usual spot. The person stands, and you see that they’re one of the most beautiful women in your life. She brushes by you and Kiperina, departing back into the Suitcase with a wave. 

Isolde

“Excuse me, what is that melody you are listening to?”

You turn from your desk, expecting Ms. Radio or Ezra to be standing behind you, and your heart nearly gives out as you register the Arcanist Kakania’s been talking about every time you go drinking with her - Isolde - standing behind you, looking at the sheets of paper on your desk quizzically. Gods, she’s even more breathtaking in person. You clearly have gawked too long, because Isolde repeats her question and you have to fight down the hysterical squawk that bubbles in your throat because there is no way that someone like her is talking to someone like you.

“I’m not listening to anything, I’m rewriting this,” you tell her. Isolde stares at you blankly which, yeah, fair reaction, and you half expect her to leave and then you’ll be the one at the bar crying and wondering how you could have been such a freak for doing literally nothing, something only Anjo Nala has perfected the art of. So, in typical you fashion, you decide to close your eyes and overexplain everything. 

“My arcane ability lets me hear all music ever made, past, present and future, and recreate it in the present. The Foundation uses me as a musical historian of sorts. Then Vertin recruited me because she’s working with Ms. Radio and Kakania and Barcarola and Anjo Nala and Regulus to make music from everyone’s time and broadcast it, and then Kakania wanted to use her Arcanum to make the music very therapeutic for everyone, and right now I’m in charge of transcribing everything.”

Cracking an eye open, you expect Isolde to have long vanished, but she surprises you again, simply humming and smiling at you before leaving your office.

Berial

Hypofiends don’t usually put up this much of a fight. You leap back, narrowly avoiding a strike as you summon your magic once more. This is the fifth light beam you’ve lobbed at the mass of shadows, and it doesn’t really seem to do anything, but it’s really all you’ve got.The hypofiend surges forward and you only have enough time to grab the dagger General Hogan gave you and stab it into the hypofiend before its claws dig into your shoulders and blood starts flowing. Fuck. You kick and struggle, but all that accomplishes is your shoulders getting even more shredded. Is this it, then? Are you going to die?

You’re so focused on your imminent demise that you miss the exact moment the hypofiend starts laughing, but you’re back in your body as it releases its hold on you and starts howling with laughter. Is it vulnerable? You can feel your body shutting down as blood streams in rivulets down your arms, but if this monster is too much for you, someone who trained under the great Merlin, then you can’t even begin to imagine the massacre it would cause if it found a town full of innocent people. You grit your teeth and force your magic to respond to your call. 

The strange knight recovers from his attacks in a much shorter time than Berial anticipated. Honestly, they thought that you would realize that he wasn’t any ordinary hypofiend by the third time your attack (which would kill a hypofiend in one shot) failed to even scratch them, and he definitely thought that you were done for after injecting his poison straight into your bloodstream via the wounds on your shoulders, but you’re summoning magic to attack them right now, which is not something you should be able to do. Berial sighs as you launch the ball of light at them, batting it away. 

“Was that it?”

They don’t really expect you to answer, but he also doesn’t expect you to pass out after trying to kill him. Berial could leave you out here to die, but honestly, what’s the fun in that? 

You wake in a medical tent with a throbbing headache and a dim recollection of a monster far too strong to be natural.

Ravion

He’s five years old and Ravion knows he’s met his best friend forever. All he needs to do is fall asleep and wait until he’s dreaming and then he sees a figure obscured by shadow. Ravion has tried to get closer to the figure every time he’s had this dream (nearly every night since he was old enough to remember his dreams), but last night, he called out to the figure and got a response.

“Who are you?”

“...I’m nobody. Who are you?”

Ravion wanted to answer you, but his servants woke him early. He can’t wait to fall asleep again, yet when he does, the figure isn’t covered in shadows anymore. Instead, as he enters this strange lucid dream, Ravion sees a child around his age sitting primly in a field of flowers that weren’t there before. He approaches carefully; his father has warned him about the dangers of strange happenings, and those flowers look to be from the Surface. 

You notice him before he gets closer, turning and grinning up at him. “You’re Ravion, right? Come join me!”

Sung Jinwoo

Gates popping up in this damn city is getting to be a problem, you decide. All you want to do is go home after a draining day of killing monsters, you need literally anything else than a gate popping up on the highway you’re on. Already, lower ranks from the Hunter’s Association have started directing the flow of traffic around the gate, faces colored with anxious energy. You can just leave. You know that you can just leave with the civilians and no one will stop you, but the faces of those newbies helping cars avoid the gate getting gutted if there’s a dungeon break stops that train of thought. 

Fuck, you hate having empathy sometimes.

You pull over to the side of the road, stepping out of your car with the enthusiasm of a child who’s been told to eat their vegetables. Immediately, the air shifts. The D and E-ranks corralling non-hunters look up as if they notice the aura you emit. Traffic comes to a second standstill as civilians try to roll down their windows and get photos of you. You step closer to the dungeon, appraising its aura. Medium to high A-Rank. 

It’ll be annoying to clear, sure, but you’ll clear it. You’re about to step into the dungeon when someone gets out of their car and taps you on the shoulder. “Are you a Hunter? Because if not, you might wanna get away from that gate.”

You turn, fully expecting to see some hotshot B-Rank trying to fulfill his romance manwha wishes or some bullshit by “protecting” you, and are instead faced with someone your age who emits the weakest magical aura you’ve ever felt in your life. He’s looking at you, eyes wide, and once he realizes that you’ve turned, he turns a bright red. 

“I…I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize that you were <Last Name>, please forgive me for assuming you weren’t a hunter.”

“It’s fine,” you tell him, because it really is, and this random dude did not just get under your skin by assuming that you don’t know how gates work at all.

Turning back to the gate, you offer a one-armed wave behind you at the boy. “I’m an S-Rank, but thank you for your concern!”