violet parr.

no, it wasn't fun that one of the few times grim would crawl out of the depths of the underland, he would get smacked by someone. it would be so easy to get angry, but he breathed in and out. the other person might not just see grim coming. it's fine. it's all fine. just enjoy the sun. he told himself.

but he couldn't help it when he heard her continuing to murmur something about the paper. yes, he heard her the first time around.

she tried not to wince at his expression. "—sorry," she repeated, under her breath this time. maybe if she looked away, he'd leave. and besides, she had better things to do than argue social graces with someone.

no such luck.

violet had grown to never back down from a contention, but she was also naturally never one to want to bother people (was there a paradox there? probably). she'd already apologised; if she apologised again, that might just piss him off more. and in her face, she was sure the whole thought process of what to do with this stranger was showing clear as day.

"well, it's — it's —" violet's brows furrowed again, frustrated at how her mind was slow to the uptake. "wait, you didn't get one of these?" violet flipped open the paper, revealing the card. "an invitation to be an ominously vague guest?"

eric immediately let go of her wrist once he realized he'd grabbed her harder than intended. "shit! sorry," he said quickly, a crease forming between his brows as his eyes flicked toward where she was rubbing at it. "i didn't mean to grab you that hard. i just... saw the thing glowing and panicked for a second."

she grimaced at his apology, rubbing her wrist more to soothe her awkwardness than any pain. "you saw something potentially dangerous, and acted…i get it," she shrugged. then violet nodded thoughtfully, casting a wary look over the stall. she tried to avoid the gaze of the vendor, who was standing off to the far edge of the stall, seemingly aware that violet and the guy were talking about their wares.

at first glance, it all seemed to be an array of glass art. the thing she'd almost picked up looked like some sort of creature.

it took all her willpower to not go invisible and flee the scene. "i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to," violet rushed out the words, "i didn't see you, i —"

saved by the mystery. she blew out an anxious breath as the woman spoke, steadying a little as her mind went back to the matter at hand. "okay, so it's definitely widespread." she gave a weak smile. "i…don't. i just have suspicions. i really don't think this is going to end well, though. either the people organising it mean bad news from the start, or the bad news will find it." violet paused, then looked to the woman again. "you ever seen anything like this before?"

Kate flinched more out of reflex than pain, one hand lifting automatically to her shoulder as she blinked at the paper that had just clipped her and then up at Violet with an expression that was equal parts surprise and amusement.

“Ow." The woman said, tone immediately softening into a grin. “Okay, that was aggressive for a bakery table.”

She glanced at the invitation Violet was holding, then at the crumbs, then back at her.

“I respect the commitment to the mystery.” Kate leaned in slightly, peering at the paper like she could intimidate it into confessing. “This absolutely looks like one of those things that’s either completely normal or contains the beginning of a very expensive problem.”

Then she took in the phrase evil, red herring paper and laughed under her breath. “That is such a specific level of suspicion. Which, to be fair, usually means you’re right.”

She reached out, not taking the invitation, just angling her head so she could see it better. “Any weird texture? Hidden seams? Anything that screams ‘secret society’ or is it just being annoyingly plain on purpose?” Her mouth twitched. “Because if somebody went through the trouble of making an invitation that looks this boring, I feel like that’s almost more suspicious.”

Kate glanced around the bakery patio, then back to Violet. “Also, for the record, if this is the kind of clue that only reveals itself under dramatic lighting, I’m going to be extremely annoyed on your behalf.”

"Sorry," she repeated, in a more embarrassed whisper. Her hand went limp, the invitation still held up in the air but going floppy. "The aggression has nothing to do with the bakery, I swear, do NOT let me an obstacle between you and these cakes." Of course this had to happen today, she was overdue for a social blunder.

It was nice to hear, though, that she wasn't the only one who thought there was something else to these invitations. "Thank you. Expensive or traumatising. Usually both. But always a problem."

Violet straightened the paper a little so the stranger could see it better. And as the paper was inspected, Violet did some inspecting back — there was something about the woman's face that struck her as familiar, in the turn of her nose, or the shine in her eye. She wasn't really a stranger at all. There was a flicker of recognition in Violet's eyes as it came to her — the name escaped her, but this was someone from the Avengers campus. A place she seldom visited, her whole family working there now.

The words 'secret society' brought her back to the moment. "...are those real? Actually, you know what, if it's in Elias I'm not surprised." Then Violet broke into a laugh. "I think they were going for a high-society minimalist look. But I don't know enough about how the 1% lives and how they manufacture and distribute invitations." She flipped the invitation back and around. "I think after all that, it's really just going to be a regular invitation. But an invitation to what?"

Violet set the invitation down, sliding it across the table as if to invite the woman to pick it up for her own perusal. She sighed and smoothed her hair back with both hands, looking up at her curiously. "Hey, you're…you're at the Academy, aren't you?"

violet saw them slowly coming in from her peripheral vision and she wondered at what point she should react. maybe they were just trying to get a better angle at the painting? she'd been staring at this one for longer than she intended, but it seemed like every time she thought she could tear herself away, something caught her eye.

a new little detail. the brushstrokes on a hat. the way a mouth was tilted up or down — were they smiling or frowning? what reason did they have for doing so?

when a question was finally thrown out there, she had to smile.

The city felt different after New York. It lacked the rush of busy people with a million places to be. The impatience of the east coast was truly unique. His skateboard cracked sharply against the pavement as he dropped it down in front of him, one foot settling onto it with practiced ease. The motion was automatic at this point. Familiar muscle memory from years of skating through alleyways and rooftops trying to outrun his own thoughts. The late evening air was warm enough that he’d ditched the heavy hoodie for once, sleeves shoved up to his elbows while his goggles rested loosely around his neck. His duffel bag sat abandoned beside the bench nearby, still half unpacked from the trip and now his stuffed with gym clothes.

Jasper would absolutely complain about it later. The thought pulled the faintest smile out of him before he caught himself doing it. Donnie pushed off hard against the pavement, skateboard rolling smoothly beneath him as he glided down the stretch of sidewalk bordering the park. New York had given him too much time to think. About Jasper. About the engagement sitting heavy and warm on his finger. About Yoshi. About the encrypted files currently hidden on three separate drives involving mutagen stabilization and a project labeled For Raph.

Maybe that was why he nearly clipped someone while turning too sharply around the corner. Donnie jerked sideways at the last second, sneaker dragging hard against concrete to stop himself before collision.

“Woah, okay, either you appeared out of nowhere,” he said immediately, stepping one foot off the board as he steadied himself, “or my depth perception has finally been destroyed by sleep deprivation.” His eyes flicked upward properly then, expression easing into something dry but noticeably less guarded than it used to be. “Please say the first one. It’d be less medically concerning for me.”

Violet gasped like the wind had been taken out of her, but she'd managed to stay upright — and just very shocked. She held her notebook and pen to her chest, her heart beating rapidly.

"The first one," she said without thinking. Truth be told, Violet didn't actually know if she'd been walking invisible or visible, but the former was more likely to be true. She'd been known to pace around in her invisible form when she was really caught in her thoughts, and a walk through suburbia was the surest way for her to get lost (sometimes literally too).

It took her a second to recognise the guy; with a different get-up and a starkly different environment (no books!), she almost didn't. But when her eyes settled on his face, she brightened. "Oh, hey, it's you! Donatello Hamato," Violet grinned. "Wow, that's a mouthful. But, like, a really cool one. How are you, I haven't seen you haunting a dark corner with a pile of books recently."

Should she have introduced herself? She'd said everything in such a rush, she didn't know if he could place her just from her voice, so instead of potentially interrupting him, she just waited with a slightly more awkward smile.

all he wanted to do was eat in peace. and for goodness sake, he was by himself. anyone wanting his autograph surely would want the rest of them too? he had fans of course but damn was it annoying not getting to do things in peace. although some days were worse than others. sometimes he liked getting the attention.

he played the part convincingly as she ordered. at least now he wouldn't be that guy who almost lost her favorite pen or whatever the hell she was holding a grudge about. that happened ages ago. he paid the person and quickly walked away.

"that's funny. i'm never free." he almost laughed at the statement. jinu wasn't free at all. if it wasn't one of the workers it would be someone else. "i don't know if it isn't obvious or what, but i really don't want the attention on me." he thought that was obvious when he'd had her pretend to be his girlfriend. "that's okay. i don't know what a cruffin is and i don't think i want to know." he'd rather eat what he ordered. "now i'm doubly offended. do i look like a tech billionaire entrepreneur?" he snorted. jinu furrowed his brow. "i'm a singer. jinu saja, leader of the saja boys. you've had to have heard our song soda pop before." he tilted his head to the side. he couldn't tell if she really didn't know who he was or she just didn't care.

"i guess not everyone listens to k-pop here," he mused out loud. "what's your actual name so i don't call you pen lady or lunch saviour?" jinu looked around and thankfully no one was paying attention to them. "i'm not usually this annoying."

violet started picking off pieces of a cruffin, eating as she walked out of the shop with him. "never is a strong word," she couldn't help but say. violet had her fair share of doom and gloom (just that morning she'd lamented that she'd never find another job) but it was always easier to try and encourage someone else rather than herself. "oh, jeez, it's not nuclear, it's just a croissant-muffin. a cruffin. see?" she held up the one she was picking bite-sized pieces from.

as he introduced himself (re-introduced?), violet stared at him. she tried to place his face somewhere with bright lights — album covers? but as soon as he mentioned 'soda pop', her eyes widened. "oh my god. stop, you were everywhere. are everywhere ♫ da-na-na-na, my little soda —" violet halted, red-faced. "sorry! of course you know it," she rolled her eyes at herself.

this was different. superhero-famous was different to musician-famous. musicians had people screaming and crying at their feet, while superheroes often had screaming and shouting for different reasons (at least, in metroville).

now the weird autograph moment made sense. that was a hell of a viral song. and she vaguely remembered everyone crying about how hot the singers were.

"but hey, enough people do if you're still getting mobbed in elias." violet looked around as well, suddenly feeling like she owed it to him to help him find privacy. "i'm violet parr. nice to officially meet you, jinu. you're okay — i'd say i'm not usually this, uh, stubborn but apparently i am." she gave an apologetic smile. "you know, if we head down that way…" she pointed down a thin street, "it cuts through some residential streets and gets you to new elias. if that's where you're headed."

"will you ever go back?" she asked. agnes was getting attached to violet, to the point that agnes dare not consider the possibility of losing her new friend. but people come and go. agnes couldn't demand them to stay because she wanted to. that's what agnes told herself, especially when it came to her parents.

agnes' widened at violet's answer. it was good that violet found her answers... "wait, what do you mean? so you're saying there's a lot of things that they leave out of the archives? are they hiding secrets?"

but agnes reigned herself back as she noticed some slight shift to violet's demeanour. "are you okay?"

suddenly, telling violet aboutbeing fired from a job seemed non-urgent and... silly.

the question gave her pause. she puffed out her cheeks and blew out some air as she thought. "um…i wanna say…no. metroville was nice, but growing up there was weird…" violet shook her head. "it feels like i should go back. to help make it better. someone's got to. that's…kinda the realest answer i can give right now," violet admitted with a shrug.

one of the reasons for metroville's not-niceness was the need for secrets. and here she was, persisting with the same old one with a new friend. a friend she considered close. a close friend she could trust. not just with a party trick, or as a passing 'hey look what i can do', like she did with others, but the truth and emotions that came with it too…

violet looked at the people around them, then down at her hands.

…she thought over her options as agnes asked her next questions. and when she spoke again, it was with a renewed vigour:

"i don't know if they're leaving it out on purpose. i felt more like a case of me not knowing what i'm even looking for. i have no precedent for magical things, so i didn't know where to start," she sighed. "but…that being said…the council is definitely spread way too thin. i think things are happening that they didn't even think could happen. they're not prepared."

she'd gained so much momentum with her speech that when agnes didn't rally right back as she expected, violet had to reign herself in too. she took a moment to slow her breathing. "i'm all right, i promise." she searched agnes' face, seeing the concern suddenly appear there, and she felt even more lucky to have become her friend.

"...okay, look…i'm definitely hearing your secret. because i'm guessing you have one," she whispered, with a small smile. "but just to get it out there...the thing i spoke about with jasper, i'm pretty sure i was kidnapped over christmas — i'm fine!!" she quickly added. "i got back all in one piece, but it was a magical christmas monster kidnapping thing. and i've just been...recovering. sometimes when i slow down i feel like it all catches up to me. but i'm okay."

the day hadn't gone anywhere near how chess thought it would go, as days around here rarely did. after a diversion pulled him out of his original plans to monitor the grotto from a feline view, he instead decided to lap the market from time to time on two legs. easy to blend in with a crowd when you're of similar height. but now it was getting later, crowds were starting to thin, and chess had been thinking about the shop every since he scurried out of it with his tail shot straight up. the girls that had been left in charge didn't know the true lay of the land and chess needed to return in order to make sure that the demon twins hadn't set it on fire while he was away.

a sigh of relief passed their lips as the caravan still stood tall, a hand running through blond hair as chess braced themself to walk in. it was quite peculiar how suddenly the cat seemed to care about things and people around them. he tried not to dwell on it.

instead, chess walked into the grotto with his head held high and hands shoved in his pockets, like he had nothing to do but spend money he didn't have. immediately their gaze zeroed in on violet, who had been working today in curly's absence. he sauntered over to the register and offered a temperature check masked as a smile. "it is almost time to lock the doors," they said, looking to the wall where he knew a clock to be. "how are you feeling?"

"oh, hey," she blinked, surprised to see them.

she hadn't seen chess in months, she thought their interactions had been scenes in a rough draft. a stranger saying they were as old as a millennia? speaking nonsense? the play could practically write itself. and funnily enough, it was today that violet started scribbling down ideas again — right there in the notebook she had on the grotto's register desk. the uncanny setting of the underland, lines of dialogue she'd overheard, questions that had no solid answers … but perhaps she could ask them again on a stage and have it shared around.

in other words, a bunch of highbrow, Absurdist mumbo jumbo. how her family ever sat through one of her plays, she'd never know.

it had been so long since violet thought of herself as a playwright, longer than the last time she saw chess, at least. and now that they were standing right in front of her, she felt some shame in thinking of them only as a character rather than a living, breathing human being. a quirky and confusing one, sure, but still an autonomous human walking around the earth.

not everyone needed to be a character. even if that was how violet used to make sense of people. bystanders, plot devices, heroes, villains…

she shook herself out of her reverie, looking down at her open notebook of dialogue notes. "i — um — sorry, that's not work-related, it's — " she took a pile of receipts and covered the notebook with it, "anyway..." violet looked to where chess looked, squinting at the time. "jeez, it's that time already? did you, uh — did you want to buy something? welcome to the grotto?" she gave a wonky smile. "and i'm okay. thank you. for asking. and yourself?"

mavis hesitated for just a second too long before sitting, like the chair might ask more of her than she was ready to give. her fingers brushed the edge of the table, then curled into her lap, neat and controlled in a way that didn’t quite match the flicker of something unsettled in her expression.

“a word?” she echoed softly, a faint huff of a laugh following it. “that feels… hard.” her gaze dropped to the paper violet had picked up, like it might already be judging her for whatever she was about to say... or not say.

she leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing in thought. “i think people always assume it’s going to be something big,” she murmured, almost more to herself than to violet. “something poetic, or tragic enough to sound meaningful.” a small pause. her eyes flicked back up, studying violet now, something softer slipping through the cracks of her composure. “what if the word is… too small?” she asked, quieter. “like it doesn’t quite carry what i mean, but it’s the only one i've got?”

she'd been trying not to worry about her friend, but that ill-timed wind she was thinking about before, the one that could blow mavis or her words away, threatened them from a distance. violet almost offered to just talk about something else. maybe even not talk at all. but instead, she waited. practically at the edge of her seat.

a word? at that, violet nodded. she placed the pen down gently but her hand remained on the cool surface of the paper, and when mavis looked away to think, there was a sort of reprieve. she took the time to reflect, asking herself the same question of the power of a word, and what word would it be? what word could she possibly start with that explained how she felt right now?

"small to whom?" violet smiled softly. "it already carries meaning because it's your word. it could be 'hotdog' and that's still something. a memory, a promise, an inside joke," she encouraged gently. "you absolutely don't have to share it if you don't want to." she slid the paper and pen across to mavis, just a few inches. "also...having a mental block for writing is so normal, and for something like this, you shouldn't have to rush or say what you think others wanna hear. your own words, at your own pace." violet paused for a beat. "and if you want a glittery pen, i have those too."

——— luz stared at violet with pure amazement, at least, she believed she was staring at violet. was she technically staring through her? it didn't matter how or where really, what mattered is that violet was gifted with incredible powers and luz's socks were knocked clear into next tuesday. "You can turn invisible!?" she screeched, a little too enthused.

"how did you do that? were you born with your powers or did you get them in some freak accident? like did you get hit with an invisible ray gun? are you a superhero!" her eye lit up. luz had to remind herself to reel it in. with a deep breath, she centered herself and tried to act nonchalant. "i mean, that was really cool."

she tilted her head ever so slightly. luz never imagined someone would come to her for help. she wasn't as knowledgeable as amity or eda. there was still so much she had to learn about magic but the thought of violet wanting help from her made her insides pool with warmth. luz was going to make sure that whatever violet needed, she was going to do her best to provide. "maybe me." she repeated with a nod. "yeah! magic from symbols. i saw shapes in the spell circles eda created ... when i drew what i saw .. light appeared. i've found there's a symbol for everything. light, fire, ice, etc."

"SHHH!" violet pushed luz gently, bringing them further into the aisle. she looked behind them to see if the loud screech had bothered anyone. but when she faced luz again, it was with amusement. having someone be so excited about what she could do was definitely a welcome change. and then came all the questions.

she waved her hands weakly in front of her. "whoa, hey, slow down —" there was only a brief waiting period before luz took her moment to try and be cool again, and violet cracked a smile. "thank you. i was born with them, and i just…i just do them, i guess? there's training involved too," she said, "and admittedly, i…don't do a lot of it. i'm not a superhero." violet's eyes flickered to the side, self-conscious. "i can also do another thing. i can make force-fields, but they're kinda crap."

this was nice. for a second, violet just revelled in that feeling again of showing her powers and not feeling terrified. "right…okay…" she nodded, brows furrowed in thought. "i have some symbols that i found…they're at home, i'm kinda bad at drawing but maybe if you take a look you could see if they're familiar? if they fit the…language that you know? all i know is that it's to do with…winter. and holidays. is that your…world?"

clover is not particularly ditzy, not unless on purpose to claim the attention she so fiercely believes belongs to her, but she is focused when needed be and that leads to accidents sometimes. she has been on a mission of surveiling the underland, making sure there is no trouble to be found, at least not out in the open. and her eyes scanning the shops fail to notice the people right in front of her, causing her to walk into someone in full force.

"oh my, geez, i'm so so so so sorry, ouch."

" — ack! — whoa —" the bump had led violet to bump into a teetering table. she grabbed the vase before it could fall, but a tin can of jingling change fell off, all the coins spilling to the ground. "oh, crap — i got it, i got it, i got it —" she began picking up the coins. it was a hard job with all the people walking around and how full the grotto caravan area was gtting. around them sparkled all of ariel's items for sale and perusal, with the trinket trove extending behind the caravan too. violet herself looked a bit sparkly, decked out in a purple-gem necklace (not glowing or otherwise cursed) she bought elsewhere.

ariel had worked in every version of a community market the greater area had to offer, but the gloam market always had a very prominent piece of her heart. to find home here full time and to be able to host an event that celebrated her neighbors at the same time - it was a dream come true for the mermaid. organizing this event introduced her to businesses she had never stepped in before - beautiful shops and restaurants that helped breathe culture through the cities. she had a feeling that this would be a great marketing opportunity for everyone showcased this evening, not just the grotto.

with the shop left in capable hands, ariel was making a lap around the rest of the market, where traditionally empty spaces had been filled by stalls that normally didn’t see this side of the bridge. whispers of the event seemed to be mixed, for some didn’t necessarily agree with ariel that the underland could be welcoming if it so chose, but still she ran around with a grin on her face. twirling in her dress. basking in the fanfare.

one of the events she was looking most forward to was the line up of DJs and bands that would soon get ready to play into the night. with the help of mister o’malley and the rest of the crew at scat cat, they managed to get a robust spread of entertainment. she watched as the next act set up, excitement bubbling up as instruments started to tune. she looked to the person next to her and grinned. “just to warn you - if you stay next to me, i’m eventually going to ask you to dance.”

violet walked with her hands deep in her pockets, jogging away from the stall to make the most of her little break. she walked like this, exploring the market, until about ten minutes in when she realised, she could just go invisible.

exploring unseen, she let herself look at things for longer than what was usually deemed appropriate. she watched locals peel away from the shadows, and though their faces looked weathered and pale from lack of the bright sunlight found in elias, in their eyes was curiosity. she watched a child stare at the heart-shaped pizzas sold by pizza planet, until the vendor decided to give him one for free. she saw a man try out a drink from the lucky cat stall, his eyes widening from either the brain freeze or the sweetness. this was the real magic of elias: the people.

and wasn't the underland once part of elias? or somehow part of it all anyway?

there were still parts that made her wary. peering down a dark alleyway, being bumped against in her headless form — a fear jolted inside of her. it seemed like she would see the face of krampus himself the longer she looked down that alley, and she was only able to unstick her feet from the ground when someone bumped into her again. this time, they'd said 'sorry!'.

violet became visible again, breathing heavily. walking alone had her disappear off the face of the earth last time. she was not about to make the same mistake again. and what could be less alone than a dancefloor?

not that violet was going to dance anytime soon. spotting ariel, she lifted her hands as if in surrender. caught by the boss. "oh nooooooo, i don't dance. can't, actually. i'm technically working," she teased. "and i was born with two left feet," she laughed. "but i can hold your stuff while you do the hustle or something." violet smiled, holding out her arms like a coat rack. "how are you! are you actually giving yourself a break? i promise i'm on my way back, by the way, i just wanted to check this corner out."