#sb: wait. the fears are the same?

[mechamausoleum]

I think everyone is missing the point here. The fears are not different, they are exactly the same. They haven't turned into desires all of a sudden or anything.

We are seeing them through different lenses.

These "incidents" are not being recounted in full detail against their will, they are being heard as they are happening. The forum with redcanary, the blog, the 999 call with Needles, hell even the letter Augustus read. These are just random things that happened that we happen to know go deeper than the rest. But you have to remember, the OIAR is sorting through so many cases like these.

They are NOT different. The Fears remain as they always have been. They are not suddenly desires; they were always desired by some. It's important to remember that. So stop trying to see them as something different. You'll understand so much better.

[aettuddae]

business matter — chapter 131.

a christmas special.

↳ synopsis: two of the most important kpop companies covet a partnership with a huge global brand, only to be surprised when the deal is extended to both labels. fearing potential sabotage and cynical strategies to secure exclusivity for just one of them, both CEOs resort to desperate measures. in a bid to maintain trust and prevent betrayal before the signing, they come up with a pact: forcing a fake relationship between the leaders of their star girlgroups. if one side attempted to fail the other, they threaten to expose it all to the conservative south korea.

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[written chapter]

december 25, christmas had arrived.

for many ordinary families it was a special holiday spent together, where they ate delicious things and showered each other with attention and gifts, for other ordinary families it was perhaps a day like any other. but if there was one certainty it was that if your job is to be an idol and during the year you released even minimally relevant music, then december 25 was just another workday, and a very exhaustive one at that.

all the groups that played on the radios during the year today were at the sbs stations recording the christmas special. a compilation of pre-recorded performances of the same songs they had sung over and over again the past twelve months, and some special ones among the most relevant celebrities.

karina had arrived earlier than the rest of the members that day as she had a collaboration with other groups to film, and then wandered around the station waiting for her bandmates and her turn to take the stage as a group. every year she would have liked to spend that date with her family, but instead she had to be cooped up for hours in that building surrounded by people she hardly knew who were in her same situation, bored and uncomfortable with her wardrobe, waiting for the time when everyone would come out on stage at the end of the event to greet their fans.

after trying to kill time walking around the venue interacting with her industry friends, making content together, playing games on her phone and anything else interesting she could find, it was finally time to go up to say goodbye and she headed her members excited as it meant she would soon be going home. so quickly she reached to the entrance to the set that aespa ended up among the first in line, ahead of everyone, and while waiting to be signaled to enter, the girl got distracted looking around the room they were in.

she was confronted with many familiar faces, even making eye contact with some and having to greet them, while many others she didn't recognize from anywhere. as she moved her eyes through the crowd, she ended up bumping into a figure she identified.

trying to keep herself entertained and with all the work she had to do, she had forgotten that HeAVEN would also be showing up there.

she met chaeyoung's back and couldn't help but stare as if the girl, who clearly couldn't stand her, was going to feel her attention on her and turn around to greet her. but it wasn't the taller one she wanted, it was the presence of the group that captivated her because it made serim, even though she wasn't there because of her hiatus, feel closer.

ningning followed her gaze back to what had her so transfixed, meeting the people with whom she had already formed a bond of friendship and raised her hand to greet minnie who was the only one standing there facing her side. the older one noticed the movement on the girl's part and when she realized it was yizhuo, she returned the greeting cheerfully, tapping yves' shoulder, giving her a strange look and causing her to wave back too, though more shyly. yujin and chaeyoung joined in last as they saw their companions, turning to see who they had met to also say hello. out of nowhere, chaeyoung, just looking at ningning, pointed to the side, telling her to look, and both she and jimin, who was witnessing the entire interaction, turned their heads in that direction, finding serim leaning against a wall with her manager, eyes lost in the screen of her phone.

the girl was so bored that she had gone to support her teammates to at least spend christmas with them instead of at home alone with her porcupine, and now she had to wait for the others to come back from the closing.

when jimin saw her, she became anxious. they had been talking through chat these days, but as it happened lately, they didn't have time to meet because of the younger girl's busy schedule. serim was surprisingly more friendly and that made jimin not hesitate to interact with her. when she knew they were in the same place, she wanted to run out to be with her, but as she started moving people out of her way to get to her, yizhuo stopped her.

"they are about to tell us to come up." she warned her.

"but namu..." a small pout formed on her lips, she really wanted to go talk to her.

"namu will still be there when we go down." she reaffirmed.

and as if they had heard her, a group of staff appeared to order them, putting the groups in line and making them pass slowly in an organized way. aespa passed among the first ones, staying in the front row.

other than posing for the fans' cameras and waiting for the conductors in charge to say the last words, there wasn't much more to that part of the show. they would also receive christmas, although it really only consisted of a confetti explosion and, actually, the day was almost over. it was all performative, but for a part, if anything, they had something special to do during the holidays and they could spend time with their fans.

one of the mcs started to speak, reading his letters full of formal words and superficial questions to ask some of the guest acts, while the idols greeted the audience as they had been trained to do. but karina's head wasn't there, as much as she loved interacting with her fandom and wanted to show respect for the hard work of the narrators, her mind kept going back to the backstage.

she was trying to be patient, but it seemed like every word they said came out slower. she just wanted to go be with her who was sure lonely and bored on christmas eve. just wanted to spend all the christmases that followed with her.

her senses came back to work when she noticed that they were saying the final words, the last words of the speech they had prepared, welcoming christmas and allowing all the groups to start wandering around the stage for a while before letting them go.

but jimin wouldn't stay for that,

jimin wanted to spend christmas with serim.

at least she could say she thought twice about it and both times thought it was a great idea to run off the stage, passing through a bunch of colleagues who, if they didn't clear a path for her, tried to hold her back to ask if she was okay.

and she was fine, almost, just losing her head a little over a woman.

when she got to the stairs leading to the staff area, her own team rushed towards her to help her with whatever she needed, but jimin pushed them away, passing them and running to where the aisles were, reading the names on all the doors looking for the one that read HeAVEN.

hell, there were an eternity of groups present.

she walked past so many doors, bumping into a world of people, her managers chasing her with intentions of finding a reason for all the chaos as she frantically ran the sbs dressing rooms. until she found it, she found herself face to face with the sign indicating what she was looking for and knocked desperately on the door, but didn't wait for anyone to open it, she opened it herself, almost falling inside where serim, sitting on a chair, looked at her dumbfounded, as well as the whole team of the group who didn't expect a member of aespa to throw herself towards the leader of the group they managed, landing on her lap, taking her face in her hands and pulling her to look her in the eyes.

"merry christmas." spoke jimin while from the monitor showing the transmission the exact same words could be heard from the conductor. "merry christmas, my namu." she repeated, leaning over her, who was now holding her waist to help her keep her balance. "i love you."

she dared to admit it and also to kiss her. drawing her face up to hers, shortening the distance, joining in a desperate, but somewhat shy kiss charged with tenderness and need. it had been so long since they kissed that it was like rediscovering something you knew you were addicted to, falling back into the vice. they were looking for more closeness, contact, for their bodies to intertwine like roots of a tree that grow without direction and belong to the same system. karina's arms clung to the older girl's neck, while she stood up, pushing the chair a little out of the way, so she could occupy the space her legs took up with the girl's presence, without letting her lips come loose even by accident.

"are you sure?" serim broke contact for a moment, opening her eyes to show desperation and illusion in these. "do you love me?"

"i love you." she left a short kiss on her lips. "i love you, i love you." she gave a peck each time she said it. "i love you." the girl kissed again. "and i'm sorry for not saying it sooner." she leaned her forehead against hers. "but after your birthday and seeing you sick, thinking about the possibility of something happening to you and the need i had to be me and no one else to take care of you..." the sentences came like waterfalls from her mouth, intraquilly trying to express her emotions. "i was afraid of being wrong, but nothing was ever so certain in my life."

serim wrapped her arms around karina's torso. "do you love me?" she asked once again.

"i love you." she confirmed, a flirtatious smile on her face.

the older one lifted her into the air taking advantage of the hold she had established on her, causing her to bend her knees, lifting her legs, and hold tighter to her. "i love you too!" she reciprocated in an exclamation, making them spin, looking genuinely joyful for the first time in months. "and merry christmas." she set her down again, accompanied with a chaste brush of their lips. "please, don't ruin this." she pleaded, a little jokingly, but you could see the sincerity in her eyes.

"i'll be good." she caressed her cheeks. "we'll be fine." she assured.

"oh my god, how beautiful." a gangly voice filled the room making everyone turn to look at aespa's manager who was choking back tears admiring the whole scene as he futilely wiped his tears with a handkerchief.

"slut!" appeared chaeyoung from the hallway.

"my manhwa lives!" celebrated ryujin with her head poking out from the door frame.

ningning was also among the accumulation of people, at the front of it all, next to the members of the staff who had tried to stop jimin, leaning against the doorframe, she said nothing, but gave them a genuine smile.

(!)

— taglist [CLOSED]: @yoontoonwhs @cwpiqwon @aliceiwk @xen248 @gtfoiydlyj @rinapomu @aeriuchinarga @multiliker @somedaydream @impossiblesharkcashrebel @yjiminswallet @nwjnsloona @yerimbrit @73vyn @dni-unavailable @yizhuobberi @sewiouslyz @yeetaberry127 @masuowo @yallatalla @aerithykly @chaenniefirst @minfolio @starrynini05 @hotluvlet @wmnrhot @mineige @lisaswifey @brocoliisscared @fae-the-wanderer

[daylighted]

MANAGER BEN HERE AND I KNEW U WOULD SEE MY VISION !!!!! hate fucking in the payback conference room, desperate secret make out sessions in the elevator, intimate touches during vought banquets and parties AAAAAHAHHHHHH i can always count on u queen!!! and i live for a (healthy) age gap story !! in my head shes mid-twenties and sb is around 30-40's like u said, bc honestly its jensens prime

love u

i fear i think all of jensens life is his prime so of course i have to agree with u. anyways let me feed the ppl a lil. a tease if u will

also can we pls send all the love to manager!ben anon bc this is literally not my idea whatsoever it is all urs pooks u are the genius behind all this every time u come up in here i SCREEAMMM

it started so innocently, when you think back on it now. this man you couldn't stand; the girl he was instantly pulled in by and couldn't leave alone. maybe you should have known that it was doomed from the start from that alone, but perhaps you were, while denying it, hoping that it wasn't.

soldier boy's kissing you in between the first and the ninety ninth floor. your parent's office, where you were supposed to be heading, is on the twenty-fourth. but of course, ben was conveniently waiting for the elevator at the same time as you. of course, he stands by the buttons, acting as if it's an act of chivalry within itself to hit your button for you.

"what floor are you, sweetheart?" he'd asked with that little quirk in the corner of his mouth. and you'd said twenty-fourth, and he'd promptly ignored it, pressing the ninety-nine at the very top of the list.

an argument ensues. it always does. but he plays you like a harp, and touches you just as gently, as if those same hands weren't stained with invisible blood that you only knew about from the stories your parent told you about. none of them are heroes, they'd said, it's best to not fall for that illusion no matter how desperately they try to paint it.

ben was desperation at its very core. your leg was hiked around his waist, and it felt heroic; the way his tongue swiped against yours. it felt heroic as he stole your breath from the cage that was your lungs. and it definitely felt like you were being saved when his bloodstained, killing fingers pushed the fabric of your panties away and he dipped them inside of you like you could singlehandedly wash them clean.

"they hate you," you pant on his mouth, not as an accusation but a simple statement. you do this sometimes, when you're overwhelmed, and he's making you feel too good for a man that you despise, that you punched in the face on your first meeting, and tried to the next three times you saw him, too. little reminders for yourself that this man did not equate to his actions. it was too much, though, to think about if that logic applied to the deaths on his conscience. "i hate you," you correct, and somehow it becomes a loop, like you could convince yourself if you repeated it enough.

his fingers are buried deep, the tips of them pounding relentlessly against your cervix, stretching out your spongey wet walls while they desperately clench around them. his mouth is a bruising force on yours, teeth having already nipped your bottom lip, and even his soothing kisses to follow were rough and intense.

his nose presses against yours, and for a second he might be ben, but then his mouth opens, and you're reminded that he doesn't think you're special; at least, you don't think so. you don't know that he doesn't do this with anyone else - pin them to the elevator wall in the midst of an argument, trying to stoke the flames that so far only you have been able to rise within him.

"hate me quietly," soldier boy chides into your mouth, and you must be utterly screwed, because you listen.

[l-in-the-light]

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Whole Cake Island (part 12)

Lawlu in Whole Cake Island? There is none! Actually... do we really need Law to be present to analyze it, come to think of it? Luffy is really all we need; to watch his behaviour, things he says, his determination, to guess how Law's influence would show and how partying ways with him (even if temporarily) would impact Luffy.

This is the Alice in Wonderland Arc of One Piece, which means Luffy's main struggle will be to face himself, his own weakness, fears, and maybe even his own self-hatred. Which is why this time it won't be the usual scrutinizing analysis of frame by frame, but instead I will take a deep-dive into Luffy's mind. Are you ready? :D

Luffy starts Whole Cake Island arc in a rush. Because why wouldn't he feel in a rush? There's a wedding to stop! There's a chance they won't make it in time, after all. But... seeing how Zou ended, there's probably one more reason why Luffy is so irritated and wants to get things done as fast as possible... there will be someone waiting for him in Wano, alongside the rest of Luffy's own crew. Luffy could tolerate being seperated from his own crew for two years, but this two weeks trip to Whole Cake Island seems like a torture to him. What changed exactly between timeskip and now? Oh, right, Law got added into the picture ;)

"See? She didn't have any problem with my yeeting!" and I wish he could add "Law also had no trouble after I yeeted us in Dressrosa, you should be more hardboiled like him!", because I swear, this feels like the thing he actually means. And he is right, Law hated being yeeted, but he dealed with it just fine in the end, keeping his clear mind and sense of direction intact.

And then, out of nowhere, Luffy gains an interest in cooking. Luffy, of all people! The very same Luffy who thought a musician is more essential on the crew than a cook!

He even compares Nami's nutritional knowledge to a doctor instead of a cook. For Luffy, a cook is just someone who makes your food look and taste extra great, but it's not neccessary for a kid who grew up in a jungle eating everything the way it comes or simply by roasting it over a fire. So why is he suddenly so interested in cooking?? Is he missing Sanji that much? Is he trying to make his crew miss Sanji so the reunion is more emotional? Good guesses, but they have one flaw: they don't take Luffy's personality enough into account.

Back in East Blue, Luffy agreed to recruit a cook before a musician only because his crew wanted one and also because he's a freaking glutton.

"You guys are really rude, I made this food for you!" now that doesn't fit with Luffy's personality of "I want to eat all the meat". Suddenly, it's for them, hm?

Then he tries his own "kitchen sink curry", spits it out, shouts that's it's inedible and flips the table! Why so mad? Oh yeah, because as we learn soon after, he tried cooking multiple times and it's still something that can't be eaten. He tried so many times that he wasted a stock of food they had that was supposed to last them for a week, for all of them! And it's all gone in one day.

Luffy's frustration is understandable then, because this is what he considers to be "his best attempt". As we learn from SBS, Luffy's best dish is just a bowl of meat (in other words: pieces of meat put in a bowl lol), which means he would not prepare "curry" or any sort of exquisite dish for himself. He indeed did this dish with others in mind. He would be more likely to just roast whatever he caught and shove it towards them, asking "you want some?", if it was only about him.

Despite his constant failures, he's still not getting discouraged and wants to learn how to cook edible things for people to enjoy. Nami though stops him and tells him "to never go into the kitchen again", ouch. They have been starving for days as the result of Luffy's "cooking attempts" and Luffy almost lost his life as the result (eating poisonous skin of a fish they finally caught), so her reaction is understandable. But this should make us realize that Luffy, thanks to this whole (mis)adventure, understands Sanji better without even realizing it. After all, Sanji was also told to "never cook again" by his father.

But I think this adventure has one more meaning. Whole Cake Island is basically a tale about the good and bad sides of food industry, but also how food creates connections between people. And I think XxXholic covered the latter part better than I could ever put in words, so forgive me for the unexpected crossover here. You don't need to know XxXholic, its plot or characters to be able to follow the quotes, they also don't spoil anything from the plot, so don't worry. We're just following one of the many, many side characters there.

First of all, if you want to repay a debt or show your gratitude, the best way is to offer food and good drink. And the best way to do it, is to offer stuff you cooked yourself, because they require your own time and effort, and include your feelings (of gratitude and love) for the person you cooked it for. If someone does you a favour, it's a good idea to say "thanks" by preparing a dish they like, for example.

"I would like to cook with you and then eat it together. And then I would really like to know more about you. And for you to learn about me, as well" says the protagonist to one of his clients. Cooking together is a big thing because it creates an equal, mutual bond: you get to know me, I get to know you, and we can both try to become better at cooking together, but also better people for each other as well. Because by cooking we learn more about what the other person likes and dislikes, but also about their personality: their usual way of problem solving, about their patience, flexibility, stubborness, ability to learn etc. Your prefered way of cooking can also reflect your personality this way and you try to offer your best through a dish you put a lot of effort to make, for someone to enjoy.

You can learn a lot about yourself as well through cooking. If you compare your own cooking to someone else's, you can realize your own personality traits you wished you would have never noticed (for example impatience, like Luffy flipping the table in anger: even Nami called him out on it, Sanji would not approve of that action!). You might also realize that someone preparing food for you did it with lots of feelings, of kindness and love, and that's why that food tastes good. And if in comparison your own food is terrible, bland, without flavour or personality, it just shows you don't really share your own love with the world through the act of cooking. In Luffy's case up there, his food was so terrible (though definitely full of his personality lol) despite him putting in his best effort and feelings. How did it make him feel about himself? Perhaps like he has nothing good to offer to people he loves? But his final reaction is always this: try to be better and do better!

Luffy offering his failed attempts to his crew serves the same purpose: he's offering them what he has, even if the result is disgusting. But this is the kind of person Luffy is at the moment and he has nothing better to offer!

The sidestory in XxXholic has a happy ending, the struggle continues on and the woman's significant other supports her efforts and says they will wait for as long as it takes. Now, what does that have to do with One Piece? The reason this woman couldn't cook something that would taste good wasn't because she's clumsy, or didn't put any effort in or lacked knowledge (she actually studied cooking like it's an university subject, it clearly mattered a lot to her!).

What she lacked in the end was love, not for others, but for herself. She hated herself so much that she believed anything she would do would turn out bad (which is exactly what happened over and over), almost like she was subconsciously self-sabotaging her own efforts. And since she didn't have love for herself she had nothing to give to others either, despite caring for them and being so grateful to people who loved her the way she is, imperfect, disbelieving in her own worth, broken. She just didn't feel like she has anything to offer to all the great people around her.

Sounds familiar?

"What can you do?" Arlong asks Luffy. "You can't do anything, you're a disgrace as a captain". And Luffy proceeds to say he has great people who support him (which means he does not think of himself as great, he knows he lacks in so many ways), but there is one, just one thing he can do for them back: it's to beat up people like Arlong.

And yet despite that, in Whole Cake Island, Luffy attempts to do what he literally can't do: to cook. He knows he can't do it, but he tries it anyway, knowing very well what the end result will be. It's not that he lost his mind. We mustn't forget why he's doing a stealthy mission on WCI. It's exactly because he can't do what he usually does: beat up Big Mom. He promised he won't do it. But what *can* he do then? It's his struggle to become better and get out of his comfort zone, and he starts that from attempting cooking. It won't be the first or last time that he will fight against himself in this arc, even denying things he had the most confidence in. This is the arc in which Luffy loses the sight of what he can and can't do, and needs to come up with a new answer or rediscover the one he already had all along. This is Luffy in a crisis.

Now is that related to Luffy being seperated from Law and dealing badly with it? Or Luffy realizing how much he knows Law has faith in him and he wants to live up to it? Because like we established before, Luffy is doing this stealthy attempt only for the sake of his alliance with Law, he would not bother usually and would just destroy Big Mom because she's in his way. I can only imagine Luffy's inner struggle when he tries to come up with a new solution here but can't get any, nothing works out if he just can't beat up the bad guy and move on. Luffy's later refusal to eat anything that isn't Sanji's cooking, not even the syrup rain, must reflect how Luffy feels about himself in this moment: he feels pathetic and useless and he must hate himself for it.

There's one more angle to it. Luffy suspiciously wants to cook as fast as they're seperated from Law. He thinks nutritional knowledge is something a doctor does and he's impressed with it. Law is a doctor. It's not a stretch to think that Luffy wants to learn something new to impress his favourite person upon return. It's highly likely he wants to cook for Law as well (and he's using his crew for taste-testing for now), because he has feelings of love and gratitude he wants to convey to him, but he doesn't know how to do it. But Luffy always had Sanji who used his cooking exactly for that: to show his feelings of love for people (and was very vocal about it!). Luffy is just trying to do the same, but he realized he can't do it no matter what. By the end of the arc he comes back to terms with himself and finds the old truth again: he will leave the cooking to Sanji and rely on his crew. He can try to be a better person in other ways, but he will keep on searching for a way to show love and gratitude to them.

And we will not talk about Luffy suddenly remembering people smooch each other and talking about it in context of Sanji's wedding, uhum. If that's on his mind all of a sudden when it wasn't even once for last 80 volumes, then you can guess why it suddenly would be. People who love and care for each other smooch, so maybe he was considering... things...

Another odd thing Luffy does, which is to check on the map and comments, frowning "it's weird". He has a point, because we learn later it was a deliberate trap. But he's paying attention here because he tries to be useful and does things he usually wouldn't be doing. Just like with cooking.

Same here. It's probably the first moment in which Luffy realizes that having a longterm plan would be actually a good thing. Yeah, Luffy of all people. That's because he must be thinking "if it was Law, he would definitely have one". I feel like other people were pointing it out to Luffy before, but it's the first time he actually shows that he kinda cares and isn't answering with "I'm just here for the adventure. And become a king of the pirates, no plans included!".

Look here. This is Luffy in a crisis. "I have to get back and I'll destroy everything in my way if I have to!" Not only he's not supposed to destroy everything or beat up Big Mom, which he points out a moment later, but Luffy is clear here, he made his decision: if he can't go back, he will simply get rid of everything on his way. Getting back is the most important thing, everything else be damned.

Except... are we really talking about Sanji here? Get back where, Luffy? To Wano perhaps, where your crew and Law will be waiting?

"I'm not going to die in a place like this!!", "I made him a promise, but it's not here!!". I'm just saying, this applies both to Sanji and the promise Luffy made "to meet up in Wano". And if he wants to get back no matter what, it's because he knows he can't die here, he can't force a certain someone to go through a big loss again. He would rather tear off his arms than not return at all and break his promise.

And we get Sanji with his "I didn't tell you to wait..." and Luffy just laughs in reply. This particular laugh he used only once before, btw, and I don't recall anywhere else:

When he was telling Zoro how much he's worrying about Sanji. Because why wouldn't Luffy know that Zoro and Sanji are the most important people for each other? Zoro is his best friend and his first crewmate, Luffy just knows what's in his heart, the same way that Zoro probably knows who is so important for Luffy as well.

Do you still think Luffy-Sanji scene was *only* about Luffy and Sanji? That the whole promise talk was only about Sanji? And not two particular people waiting for both of them in Wano? It was always about both reasons.

Luffy says he can't be the king of the pirates without Sanji. And demands that Sanji says how he really feels (which is "to go back on Sunny" ❤). Imagine if Luffy said both of those lines to Usopp in Water 7. Maybe a lot of the conflict could have been avoided. Especially if Luffy would also follow his very own advice, because he was not saying his true feelings in the quarrel with Usopp. What changed since Water 7 in Luffy? A lot, actually. Ace, timeskip, Dressrosa, Law... All those things are huge milestones in Luffy's development. But there's also the promise he made. He promised Zoro his crew to bring Sanji back. And that promise also changed everything.

WCI is also the first arc in which Luffy says he is ready to drop everything, even his own dream, and go save whoever needs to be saved for his crew's sake. It's very ironic how in this scene he also needs to struggle against himself, this time with his enormous hunger, that seems to sabotage his ironclad determination. For once Luffy doesn't do things for food and that despite the whole arc being exactly about food. That's how serious he is.

Now we have to talk about the alliance with Bege. Here is Luffy's initial reaction: "what an awful person", "Bege is gonna get it!". He does not like Bege at all, he also wants to punch him for what Bege did to Pekoms. In other words, Luffy doesn't think Bege is a good person, at all.

But just a moment later, when Jimbei tells him "you should work together with Bege", Luffy changes his mind immediately. He's all up for this alliance. His crew, that has been with Luffy the longest (Nami and Sanji) can't believe their ears. What an interesting change, isn't it? Like I argued at the beginning of this post, Luffy has to do things differently this time instead of doing what he usually does. The problem is, he's not good at anything else than "beating the main bad guy". That's why in this case he's determined to do something he would usually never do. And forgive me for the callback again to XxXholic, because I can't resist:

Luffy has the same idea as the protagonist here. "This is all I can do", and "if this person was with me, they would be able to find a better way". In other words, Luffy agreed to this alliance because he thinks this is something Law would do as well. Luffy is constantly wondering in Whole Cake Island how Law would handle the situation and he knows he can't come even close to his level, but at least he will try to follow in his footsteps.

Of course Luffy wants at first to punch Bege for Pekoms. He's still trying to make this alliance a friendship, and if he hits Bege then they will be even, so they can try becoming friends. That's basically the idea.

But he doesn't get to do that and in the end, Luffy agrees to alliance based on "common goal" or "allignment of interest". He did not become friends with Bege in the process and didn't make things even between them. This proves Luffy knows what an alliance is and it's not friendship. I wouldn't say this means Luffy finally learned what an actual alliance is (though it's tempting, ngl). I would rather say he always knew that, but he chose to make it a point that whatever he has with Law, is friendship firstmost, alliance second.

And here is Luffy listening to Bege's plan. He's trying, okay. Not his fault he's constantly getting distracted, sidetracked and overfocused on making a silly entrance party trick (jumping out of the wedding cake). Bege is just not Law, and Luffy's tiktok's level span of attention is struggling here, heh. Also please notice Luffy's unusual focus on the smooching lol.

Oh, so that's Luffy's idea for the wedding surprise. He just wanted to do ninja's shadow clonining trick, definitely inspired by Raizou's show in Zou.

Coincidentally, that's the technique that was Law's request and made Law so damn impressed. Yeah, this is for sure a coincidence, that Luffy chose to do it like that, even though he didn't really have to have multiple copies of himself here to make it work. I bet he just thought "if Law would be here, that would impress him, I'm sure!" and I bet he's looking forward to telling him all about this adventure later on and seeing his face.

But it was essenstial for his plan to create chaos! He didn't do it just for fun! Are you sure? Because it was Brook who hid himself in the midst and did the deed with Mother Carmel's photo frame, and Luffy did not tell him to do this. Luffy simply wanted to be cool, okay, he didn't think that far ahead. He was supposed to cause chaos, he delivered.

And in his fight with Katakuri, Luffy is the one who has to have faith. Law had his faith moment in Dressrosa, now it's Luffy's turn.

Luffy found his answer about what he can do and how to become a better person for someone. It's to master his observation haki. Which, coincidentally, is Law's forte.

Luffy's curious, very strict words to Jimbei. "Don't let even death stop you, we'll be waiting in Wano!" It's basically Luffy's own promise he made before leaving Zou, just said in more deadly serious manner. That's because his experience in Whole Cake Island made him realize it himself: he will go back to Wano and not even death can stop him from achieving that. Because he promised that to Law people.

I'm sure for Law this would be indeed the most important thing, not to lose anyone ever again, especially Luffy who he (miraculously) managed to save all the way back in Marineford. I don't know how Luffy knows this or if he knows at all about Law's deepest fear, but he's determined not to die on him, that's for sure.

This is also the first big seperation for Luffy and Law. Luffy deals with it, treating everything like an adventure to tell Law later so it feels like Law is there with him even though he's not. But also treats it like a challenge, to become a better and stronger person so he won't disappoint him.

Still convinced there was no Lawlu in WCI? Oh well, if that's the case then all I can say is: I tried my best :D

If anyone wants to read all the parts of this series without going to my masterpost, then just click "love is a hurricane" tag :3

[just-a-floofy-catt]

THE LAST DRABBLE FOR NOW

Thank

Fucking

God

XD

This ones another barely coherent bullet point one lol

Its based completely around the song "Rises the moon" and its lyrics :)

• The dca bois in their recovery after the virus incident in sb :(

• Like, imagine a fic where you have to help them get better/back to normal after all that trauma

• Sun is still super paranoid and has a breakdown or panic attack at even the insinuation of the lights going out

• You have to slowly get him used to it and try to chill him out

• He feels really bad for not trusting Moon, since he missed him so much after all. But he just cant help it, and ends up overworking himself and trying to stay in control as long as possible and give as little chances as he can for Moon to come out.

• So then he has warring fear and guilt eating away at him

• On the other side of this, Moon is doing a hell of alot of reflecting

• He feels absolutely awful about what has happened, despite how much others try to tell him it isnt his fault and that hes also a victim in the situation

• He becomes incredibly distant and lost in his own wallowing, avoiding literally everyone and isolating himself out of fear of hurting someone

• Just imagine a super soft scene where after a month of trying to get Moon to just properly talk to them, YN ends up catching him sat alone in the dark with only the faint glow in the dark elements in the daycare illuminating him on the balcony. Hes literally just sat there, just staring sadly at the fake stars along the ceiling.

• YN approaches him carefully and he doesnt even notice

• They sit on the edge of the ballpit, looking up at him in silence

• He finally notices them and startles

• Random note - (Metaphor in the song of how every day with sun feels different, due to both his erratic behaviour and him actually slowly improving over time, but every night is always the same with moon refusing to open up to you)

• He just waits and stares at them suspiciously

• (This isnt their usual shift. They werent supposed to be in today and theyre a later than usual too.)

• (They asked if they could go in, because they felt like they just couldnt give up on Moon and made a spur of the moment impulsive decision before going to bed that they would go and see if catching him later would help at all or make a difference. They were desperate for just anything at all to work)

• They didnt really plan this, so not only do they not know what to do or say, but their lack of sleep means theyre tired af

• After a few moments of just silent staring, they start to droop a bit, and yawn, laying their head on their knees, just waiting for any reaction at all from him.

• Theres just complete stillness between the two, and YNs body seems to give into Moon’s stubbornness, dozing slightly and causing them to fall asleep

• Moon softens slightly, programming kicking in at seeing them so tired

• He hesitates, waiting a little longer, then goes down to them

• He cautiously approaches them, then reaches down to pet their head

• They shift slightly and he smiles

• His fear of accidentally hurting someone, or suddenly becoming a monster still holds him in its grip, making him rather scared when gently lifting them into his arms

• He goes back up to the balcony, heading for his room

• He jumps slightly as they suddenly grasp onto him

• "I promise things can get better, Moon... it will soon"   "i trust you."

• Moon is shocked and emotional from their sleepily-murmured words, suddenly having the realization that- yes. He does want that to happen. He does miss being with the childern. He misses being with Sunny. He misses being happy.

• He settles down into a pile of pillows and holds YN close, protective, as they sleep.

• Moon then agrees to working with YN and they slowly start his road to recovery

• Just YN helping a very nervous Moon to get his confidence back :)

• Meanwhile though, as this progresses, whilst Sun has pretty much eradicated his issue, he gains a new one. Dealing with the daycare kids all without Moon again is really taking its toll on him again, and not only does he desperately need the help, but he also really misses Moon

• Having him so close but just out of reach was destroying him over time. He knew he needed to be patient. Every time he asked you when he could properly talk to his Moonie again, thats what you always said. That moon needed more time to get better. And he understood that, but that didnt make it any less hard

• Eventually, theyre reunited

• Just

• Omg

• Imagine how FUCKING ADORABLE THAT SCENE WOULD BE

• I WOULD CRY

• Reading or writing it, i would S O B

• They finally have eachother back to take refuge in once again, and they owe it all to YN

• Cue the 3 of yall just being really sweet and all

[mochiwrites]

I don't think I quite have all the words I want to say- But my goodness if this is gonna be long.

Your writing is gorgeous. And you can take all the time you need on it if it means you can be proud of it and enjoy it as much as I do. When I read Songbird, the characterization was genuinely on point and made complete sense for all of them. I love their unique ways of going about things and how anything they do can be led back to the concept of cause and effect. Idk, I like how despite all the traumas they experience, all the fear, all the blackmail, and wondering if tomorrow will even exist, the one constant they can look forward to is each other. They're hurt, lonely, confused. But they can hold each other's hands and tell the other it'll be okay. (ALBEIT THE RECENT CHAPTER HAS GOT ME IN SHAMBLES THANKS A LOT???) I genuinely love the way you write them all. Grian has got his iconic sass and is always on the go, moving around. He's curious. So curious that it leads him to find people he wants to protect. He wants to do something. He wants validation and to know he's doing things right. He's only human, but since when did that stop him from playing a game way beyond his understanding? Mumbo is lonely and filled with his past mistakes. He pushes away until he realizes he can't anymore. And he lets the light in. The only light he can look at. He grows attached. He's easily flustered, gets snarky, and gets surprised, he's painfully human despite how much he says he's a monster. And I think that's what has gotta hurt about the most recent update. The only humanity he could look forward to, not his own, but another- Possibly gone.

Scar's development is so interesting. He's perfect in every way. He knows what he's doing and doesn't hesitate to do it. Until he does. And just like Mumbo he's grasping for that light to hold onto, but in turn, he crushes it in his palm, only feeling the warm memory of what it was like to be looked at as himself and not a monster. I find your play on words so incredibly fascinating. Fae have such a connection to identity. Scar identifies with a word Grian refuses to call him. Something he was consistently called by so many people until he got a gentle look of determination and care that shattered down his walls. That made him feel with his non-existent "soft human heart". Being taught that identity is what you make of it, and it's up to you and nobody else to decide what you are. But he can't go through with it. Because it's not his choice.

RAAA!!!! I'm so sorry for the long message but I'm such a sucker for your writing and I will probably write more in your dms soon if you're okay with it. But seriously, your writing has got my brain ticking around the clock. Every second of waiting is worth it if you can hold your story in your hands and tell yourself, "I'm proud of this." Because you should be. (Plus, it gives me more time to plan art pieces BNFJBN)

WAILS AND SOBS AT YOU???? REALLY LOUD????

uwahhhhh thank you sm 🥺💕💕 everyone's characterization is something I keep in mind all the time, with every action or thought they may have and ueueueue I'm glad they feel true to their characters. there's just something about like... experiencing so much bad and evil together, but knowing with certainty that the people around you will be there at the end of the day.

AND ALL THREE OF THEM,,, WAILS. grian and his stubborn curiosity but determination to protect and help. yet he's still so pesky and sassy and the impact he has on mumbo and scar is so important. so so so incredibly important. I genuinely don't think the songbird story would hit the same way if he wasn't human.

and mumbo ;-; he has such a kind heart but he's filled with guilt and regret that he pushes people away. and the thing that gets me with him is like,,, he tries so hard to squash that innate kindness, yet he can't help but give that kindness out anyways. and that's so painfully human??? I love sb!mumbo a lot, sad little vampire man.

theN THERE'S SCAR. SCAR WHO I WANT TO SHAKE AROUND SOOOOO AFFECTIONATELY I PROMMY. he's a character that is SO incredibly interesting to me both to study and write and I love how he's developing in the story. we're finally approaching the point in the story where we really see the goodtimeswithscar that we all know and love, and I'm so jittery about revealing his backstory. scar's connection to his identity is so... AUGH. AUGH. I love him ( even while he's making terrible mistakes rn <3 )

but,,, sobbing so incredibly loud at you 🥹💕💕 songbird is very precious to me and I am so proud of it. so incredibly proud of it. long message is 100% welcome, and please!!! feel free to wiggle on into dms :D (and sobs??? plan art??? soBS????)

[miiilowo]

hey, same anon from earlier here. Idk if you’ve thought of it but, do you have any thoughts about a fnafsb ruin rewrite? I like hearing your rewrite thoughts btw :] I think your ideas are very neat

i dont have any thoughts about a ruin rewrite exactly, but i do have ones for just the base game! so ill. share that here ^_^ sorry if youve alr seen me ramble about this specifically but its more simplified and straight to the point than my previous posts ab it anyways

my copycat killer vanny au is less of an AU and more of a "what if steel wool . didnt. do that: a collection of ideas" and so SB being different is a big big portion of it

First off, lore wise, I'd completely remove william. as much as i love him, im tired of his corpse being dragged around much like everyone else. This means no glitchtrap. Fnaf VR would be non-canon, and purely just be a compilation of games and have ZERO story implications. so it'd go straight from ucn+ffps -> security breach. the pizzaplex would exist because of the fazbear ent franchise package (the same one michael got in FFPS)

Vanny would be a true-crime obsessed freak failwoman who gets a little bit too invested in the missing childrens incident and mr afton as a result. she is homocidal. and unwell. after months (possibly years or more) of being obsessed with william and the murders, she sees that the pizzaplex is hiring, and takes her chance!

In one of the SB endings you can see that theres multiple already missing children listed in a newspaper. I'm sure you can see where im going with this

So. Security breach. My first course of action would be to solve the glamrock issue-If theres no glitchtrap, theres no reason to be aggressive. my solution to this is making it so they have a night mode where they try and find any patrons still in the building after closing time and alert the security guard ((think of all the vloggers posting WE STAYED OVERNIGHT IN THE PIZZAPLEX!?!?!?! (WE ALMOST GOT CAUGHT) videos)). this is bad because the security guard is vanessa

I think for the beginning of the game, we have gregory being caught by her straightaway. he would be upset, but not have a reason to really fear her; afterall, shes just some nightguard. she can take care of him and make sure hes safe, right? lure him into a false sense of security. i want her to bring him to a room (perhaps the vanny hideout in sb), say she has to leave and that she'll be right back. from here, the lights will go out (she shut them off + put on her little murder getup + disabled the security cameras). Now, going back to the missing kids, i like to imagine shes a bit of a freak and hasnt stuffed any of the bodies into the suits yet because she wants to wait until she has enough victims and then do it all at once. Gregory will either see blood or smell a corpse in the vanny hideout, and manage to escape through a vent. from here, the game will take place in the dark. vanny will peek around corners and from railings, always watching you but never quite catching up except for some chase sequences because she likes toying with her prey [which will eventually be her downfall]. You try to avoid her and the animatronics.

Glamrock freddy is a problem. I dont want the glamrocks to be as sentient as they currently are, so i think making them be a sort of shitty chatgpt AI would work wonderfully. It means that glamfred could be very, very, very unhelpful at times, and would leave room for uncanny interactions as well as funny ones, which fnaf is sort of known for. the funnies. the sillies. the jokes. the "dont poop on the floor"s. He would be programmed to protect children above all else, however, so he isn't in night mode like the others are.

In security breach, theres a really fucking good cut plotline about glamrock freddy. After getting all of his upgrades, when vanny disassembles him, he turns against gregory, and becomes an antagonist. i cannot stress enough that this USED TO BE IN THE GAME. we have lines of gregory crying and shit. i would 100% keep this in the SB rewrite. its at this point he would shift into night mode instead of just succumbing to the mind control stuff like before. thatd happen either about 2/3rds of the way through or halfway, with a few stretches of time where freddy either isnt cooperating or is unavailable like in the OG game beforehand

outside of that, i would make the pizzaplex smaller, grimier, and dingier. not the same levels as fnaf 1 of course, but the only super clean areas would be like. the atrium and dining areas. fazbear ent is neglectful and unsafe, the vents and rooms patrons dont go into typically arent gonna be super clean. the kitchens probably only get cleaned when they know a health inspector is coming. lets be real

id also love a heavier focus on liminal space sort of enviornments in the pizzaplex. its an empty 80s themed mall! its the perfect setting for it! they kinda sorta did it in the daycare, but didnt fully commit, and id LOOOVE more areas like that, because in the dark theyd be 100000x more unsettling. the only lighting would be very dim neon lighting for ambience and a flashlight i imagine, maybe one on gregorys fazwatch

i dont have a lot of plot points rounded out overall, just some concepts id throw in there, and i especially dont have an ending planned out. ive never been too big on the sci-fi elements fnaf took on around SL and the release of the books (been a fan the whole 9 years!), so trying to figure out an ending that would lean into ruin and making ruin....not like that . would be a whole. Task. a fun task, but a task nonetheless. i do like ruin quite a bit unlike SB, but it wouldnt mesh well with everything else i have going on here and would be bit out of left field i thinks

[koorinokujira]

☾ Nightmares - SB Imagines ☽

(Kojūrō, Masamune, Yukimura, Sasuke, Motochika, Keiji, Magoichi)

After a particularly bad nightmare, you are left awake in the middle of the night. You sob, absolutely inconsolable as sadness and fear wreak havoc in your exhausted mind. Who will comfort you, and how?

☾ Kojūrō ☽

Kojūrō feels his shoulders tense when he hears the first few sobs. He's just been passing by your room, going about whatever business he had to put away for the night because of his lord's needs. And now all he hears are the alarm bells blaring in his mind. Without any hesitation, he slides open the door and rushes in, hastily checking if you are sick or injured in any way. After finding out it's not the case, his stern expression softens a bit.

He asks what's wrong- but only once, as you don't really respond to his question. He puts two and two together pretty quickly. After all, this is not the time he's dealt with this. Masamune was the same when younger. And so the Right Eye does what he does best; being someone you can rely on. He doesn't really say much before tightly wrapping you up in a blanket and holding you close. Hugs aren't his forte, but he has to ground you somehow, right? It used to work on Masamune, anyway.

And all the while, he doesn't force you to talk about your nightmare, instead choosing to remain in silence. He just holds you and waits patiently, with a strangely fatherly look on his face, until you either fall asleep in his arms or tell him what made you so scared. The tight, comforting embrace soon forces you to relax, and your breathing slows...

He is there to listen. And he will stay as long as you need him, just like he would for Masamune.

☾ Masamune ☽

Masamune is easily woken up by the muffled sound of you crying. He's always been a very light sleeper, and it saved his hide many times when out fighting. But this time is a bit different, as he isn't the one in potential danger. Without even thinking, he grabs his weapons and rushes to your side, his hand already on the hilt of one of his Claws.

After almost breaking down your door, he quickly realizes there's no enemy present and freezes for a moment. Leading men to battle and losing yourself in the passion of combat is one thing, but comforting someone who's this miserable... that seems like a daunting task for the One Eyed Dragon. But he doesn't let his doubts stop him. What kind of leader would he be if he did? He's no coward.

And so he decides to do one of the things that help him clear his head when he's not feeling good. He doesn't even ask what's wrong, having a few theories already. Despite small protests from you, he lifts you up into his arms, letting out a soft huff. After that, he swiftly carries you to the stables, and gets up into the saddle of his horse with you. Before you can even say anything, the horse is already in motion. It's clear Masamune is trying his best to balance speed and comfort as you ride. He holds you close so you don't fall off, and starts telling you all sorts of embarassing stories about him and Kojūrō, until the tears stop falling and you let out a small chuckle. When that happens, he gives you his signature smirk, looking incredibly proud of himself for calming you down.

Not even nightmares can escape the Dragon once he sets his eye on them. Not when he has someone so precious to protect.

☾ Yukimura ☽

Yukimura is startled awake by the quiet sobs, even though he probably wouldn't admit it. A thousand thoughts rush through his mind at once as he gets up and goes to check on you. He's worried, very worried. And when he sees you being a sobbing mess, his heart drops right into his stomach. He starts questioning you on what happened, but you are still too out of it to answer.

So, he awkwardly sits down next to you with a troubled look on his face. He thinks long and hard about what his revered Oyakata-sama would do in this situation, but nothing fitting seems to come to mind. After all, punching you so hard that you make a hole in the wall and giving you life advice during it is out of the question, even he recognizes that his lord's methods wouldn't really apply here. Sasuke would maybe know what to do, but he's out on a mission somewhere, so he's on his own.

He carefully reaches his hand out, placing it on your shoulder to let you know you're not alone. He's a bit surprised when you lean onto him for comfort, but he doesn't push you away. After a while, you feel comfortable enough to tell him about your nightmare, and he listens intently. Everything is quiet for a moment, until...

"I, SANADA YUKIMURA, SWEAR TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE NIGHTMARES!"

Yukimura yells it out so loudly that it probably woke everyone else up, too. He sounds even more determined and dramatic than usual, complete with wild hand motions and an intense but genuine look in his eyes. That promise is just so absurd, and... endearing, in true Yukimura fashion. And then he even has the gall to look surprised when you burst out laughing!

Never change, Yukimura, never change.

☾ Sasuke ☽

Sasuke notices that something is wrong just before he goes out on another mission. Maybe it's because he's a shinobi, or because he often has to drag Yukimura out of trouble, but he's developed a sixth sense of sorts already. And that sense, that gut feeling quickly leads him to your room. He doesn't walk in just yet, and you aren't even aware of his presence. Luckily for you, it doesn't take him too long to decide that the mission can wait for a while longer.

He gently opens the door and walks in. If he's worried, it's not showing, he looks as calm and laid back as ever. He sits down next to you and waits for a while to see if his presence is enough to calm you down. He knows better than to overwhelm you with questions at this moment. But the amount of tears lessens only a little. He sights softly. Perhaps there is one thing he could try...

He stands up, but you don't see what he's doing, your vision is all blurry from crying. Suddenly, you feel a pair of arms wrap around you. And another. And... another? You go quiet for a moment, blinking in surprise as you realize that he summoned two shadow clones to smother your sadness with a hug. And honestly... it's working. Who wouldn't want to be hugged by their favorite person three times at once? It doesn't take long for you to finally relax again and fall asleep. Sasuke simply makes the clones disappear and lays you back down, watching over you for a while. And then, he disappears into the shadows, as if nothing even happened.

Mission complete.

☾ Motochika ☽

It takes Motochika a while to get to you. The seas aren't exactly calm, and the sound of crashing waves and the crew yelling at each other on the deck drowns out... everything else, essentially. Still, you're lucky, as he managed to hear you while walking by the tiny cabin you tend to sleep in. He steps in, and he instinctively tilts himself to one side to balance out the ship suddenly getting rocked by another wave.

The captain looks pretty drowsy, and he's only half dressed. Not a very uncommon sight, since he has a ridiculous sleep schedule while the crew is out treasure hunting. He wakes up at random times and then goes back to sleep after checking if everything is under control on the deck. And this time, he chanced upon a different issue than he expected. Seeing you in distress, he finally seems to properly wake up.

He says nothing, simply taking you in his arms and wrapping them around you in a very comfortable bear hug. He doesn't like seeing any of his crew sad and scared, and that applies even more when it comes to you. The rocking of the ship suddenly doesn't seem as bad anymore, as he's stable on his feet. He's like a lighthouse in the midst of a terrible storm.

Motochika has many things on his mind that he could say. That it's fine, that whatever you saw in that nightmare wasn't real. But he knows you know, and that it probably wouldn't calm you down. And so he sings. It's only a low hum at first, which slowly changes into words. It's a shanty you and the crew often sing. Usually, it's very energetic, but his rough, slow singing makes it seem more like a lullaby this time. And it does help. Even the sea seems to grow calmer as you finally relax and close your eyes once more.

You're safe here. Aniki has your back.

☾ Keiji ☽

Keiji is awake even before you are. Since you're travelling together and often sleep out in the wilderness, with the trees acting as your only roof, you're always near each other. For safety reasons, of course. But before you even woke up from the nightmare, you were thrashing so wildly that you managed to kick the poor Maeda vagabond in the face.

Still, once you wake up and break down into tears, he seems to be way more concerned about you than the red mark on his face. He's panicking a bit, not really knowing how to calm you. Yumekichi looks at him judgementally for it, but this has never happened to you two, what is he supposed to do?! He at least pulls you in for an awkward, tight hug, trying to tell you that it's going to be okay while patting your head. It doesn't seem to be working much, however.

In the end, he decides to use his inner romantic to distract you. He carefully tilts your head up, and points to the stars above you. Keiji doesn't wait even for a second before he starts waxing poetic about the world around you both. He points out the stars, the moon, the chirping sound of crickets and the quiet whispers of the wind. And it's all so genuine, too. The happiness that he gets to travel with you and see everything in a different light. When you calm down enough after listening to him softly talk about what makes him happy, he starts asking you to tell him what you can see. And every single time you point to something, he tells you about a nice memory you two share that it reminds him of. The panic and awkwardness is gone, and it's just the Keiji you know and love now. You two talk and talk, until the sun rises once again, and you two simply rest each other, Yumekichi curled up on Keiji's shoulder.

You can't even remember what the nightmare was about now.

☾ Magoichi ☽

Magoichi is still awake when she hears you cry. With all the chaos in Japan right now, she spends day and night making sure everyone in the Faction is safe and prepared for anything. Though, hearing you in distress has given her a pause. At first, she just wants to keep walking. After all, she can't coddle the members of the proud Saika Faction as if they were children.

But then again.. crying is not exactly a common sound heard around here, so it's probably something that really got to you. And as much as she tries to be stern and heartless, she does care about her own. Dearly. So with a sigh, she opens the door and walks towards you. She gives you a quick once-over to make sure you're not wounded and trying to hide it, as a few would do.

Ah, so a nightmare.

She has her typical stern, determined expression on her face, but there also seems to be something softer in her eyes. She's not judging you. In fact... she gets it. She gets her own share of nightmares. Terrible ones, too. And she hates the idea that someone she's secretly so proud and fond of is a victim of their own mind. And so she starts speaking to you. Her voice is slightly softer than usual, but it still has enough authority to properly catch your attention.

She doesn't offer you typical words of comfort. She tells you that you're strong, and how she's seen that strength shine many times. How proud she is how far you've come, and how she is glad that you're fighting under her banner. And how she believes that you can overcome this, just like you usually do in battle. That you can kill this nightmare, this fear, with a carefully aimed metaphorical bullet to its head. She grips your shoulders while saying all this, so you know how serious she is. And she also doesn't forget to mention that you never, ever have to fight it alone. It's not really Magoichi's words or tone of voice that calms you in the end. It's the fact that she took her time to try to comfort you in the only way she knows. You know you're in good hands now.

No Sacred Crow will get lost from the flock on her watch.

---

Well, that's it for the first round of imagines! I am still kind of getting used to writing shorter scenes like this, as I usually write longer things, so the formatting or pacing may be a bit strange for a while. I also apologize for any possibble inaccuracies or grammar mistakes, I wrote basically all of these in the middle of the night, and I'm currently feeling pretty sick (￣▽￣*)ゞ Still, I hope you enjoyed them and I hope to write more soon! I am also oficially opening SB imagines and fic requests now, so if you guys wish to see something specific, now's the time to ask for it! Thank you for reading, and as always...

Have an amazing day!

[stone-97]

FNAF: SB – Revelations

A different plot idea I’ve been bouncing around my head is what would happen if a massive blackout occurred in Security Breach as Gregory (Post-GGY) is being chased by Vannessa through the Plex. It always piqued my interest how GGY and Gregory would interact with each other, same with Vanessa and Vanny. Here is my take on their interactions. Gregory chatting with his savior, as Vanessa confronts Vanny on what had befallen her entire life prior to the PizzaPlex; the truth behind Foxy’s and Bonnie’s deaths will also be unveiled.

CHAPTER 1: The Mother Wakes

“Wake up Gregory. Time to go.”

“HHHUUUGGGGGH!” I come in contact with a cold surface.

Everything felt so sore, but I felt an immense buzzing in my head, but this floor is unforgiving with the chill it exudes. It hurts to think more than standing, I want to crumple into a mess on the floor right now. I can barely stand, much less walk, but staying in this damp, dimly lit room wasn’t much better. I wobble forward on unsteady feet to the bed.

“Hello, is anyone in there?” A stranger’s standing in front of my door?

A voice cuts through the silence and buzzing in my head. I feel myself jump in surprise; my vision, blurred as it is, turns to the door behind me.

-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-

I can feel my mind violently recoil as the stranger waits in…expectance? What’s going on here, I’ve never heard this voice in my entire life. However, my body is trying to move on it’s own. I’m swaying as a war tears my very being, why does my body turn obedient to someone unknown to me.

-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-HRN-

“OW! I’m gonna be sick! How did I end up here, this isn’t my kitchen.”

Despite my body lurching backwards, letting gravity run its course, I fall to the wall beside me and slump to the floor like a doll. My mind deems this safe as the rest of me goes cold in the silence. Despite this happening, I feel the stranger no longer wants to wait as the atmosphere constricts immensely to his unanswered question.

“Open up. It’s alright, miss, your son asked me to find you. This isn’t a safe place.” This guy is scaring me.

“Who is he, how does this guy know I have a son when I’ve never spoken a word.” I can feel my mind racing as it seems he knows about my life.

-KNOCK-KNOCK-

“Miss, open up please, your son is outside the building.” His voice still sounds convincing, yet I feel acid and poison.

Despite my mind’s best interest in my silence, my mouth opens immediately to demand answers.

“Where am I? What happened to me? Where’s Luis? What’s my son’s name?” Like a motor mouth, the questions fly into the tense air.

It suddenly feels ominous as nothing but explosive anger rings into the man’s voice in response to my questions.

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! OPEN THE DOOR IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!” My body recoils in fear as my mind’s suspicions were proven.

-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-

The sound of metal meeting flesh rises with each hit, the door groans but remains firm to the violence. Eventually a different sound rises from afar, my body reacted so violently everything became blurred as my mind felt excitement and…warmth?

“GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR” The floor rocked in response, like a giant landed on the ground.

-CRASH-CRASH-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-BAM-

“GET OFF ME, MONSTER, I’VE NO TIME FOR YOU! VVVAAAAAANNNNNNYYYYYY!” His voice trails as the noise trails off.

I don’t know who Vanny is, but my mind sure does. Seems like something bad happened, bad enough to land me in this cell. However, I need to leave before either of them return, despite the feelings in my body and mind, I know I must go.

PITTER-PATTER-PITTER-PATTER-CCCCRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKK-PITTER-PATTER-PITTER-PATTER-PITTER-PATTER-

“Gregory!” I feel anxiety and hesitance erupt in my heart as the door cracks open.

I lunge for the door, hope blossoming as I feel more stable moving. However, I’m met with an empty hallway, three paths emptying before me, no light visible down either, but the cold from each one is different. I can’t make heads or tails of this, but clearly left and right are out of the question. The “Beast” came from the left pathway and the stranger’s voice faded into the middle pathway. My only option left is the coldest of them all, the right pathway.

Turning myself to the right completely, I’m frozen as a familiar pair of ruby red eyes stares at me, giggles abound as SHE pounces down the pathway. I feel such animosity that the whisper I gave was freezing as RAW HATE overtook me.

“You’re not getting away from me.” My body blitzes down the darkened passage.

“I know this may be a trap but chasing HER is better than the previous two.” My gut is in knots, but I keep running.

“Where are you going?” I whisper into the cold hallway.

END CHAPTER

[zepskies]

Ahhh thank you, my friend!!! 🥰 Omg I'm so glad you've heard of The Clock! (And oh YES, same with Vought Rising. 😭 I foresee so much SB fanfic coming soon from this fandom lmao.)

Love how the first line of this story is an easter egg. You never cease to amaze me, Alex 🤓

Hahaa I love you for catching that! It's funny, when I was trying to decide how much time after WWII to set this in and finally landed on November, I couldn't not do November 2. (Because I'm a nerd. 🤓)

*furrows brow* The Producers?? 🤔

Oh my God, you got me again!!! I freakin' LOVE The Producers (2005 version), and since it's set in New York (albeit in the 50s), I couldn't help a little easter egg. 😝 (again, big nerd alert)

Oh yes, we all remember that episode. Of course he would 😂 Poor Sam lol

lmfaoo Sam is so long-suffering, ain't he? 😂

Uh-huh... Dear Lord he needs help 🙈

Alllll the help. Pre-decent psychiatry, unfortunately. 😭

Btw, I've been doing my own 40s research for a fic and came across the contraception question. Idk why but condoms and methods of that time freak me tf out. Wondering what your experience with that was (if you came across it) lmao 😂

Oh dear lord yes, but I first learned about it from Downton Abbey. Condoms back then were the weirdest effing contraptions I've ever seen. As a woman it would scare me to have that come near me. 🤢

Ooof so rough 😮‍💨 PTSD and seeing all the dirty shit that goes on during a war is really brutal 😢 (My grandpa was in WWII and told a lot of stories when he was still alive) And then they were seperated too and didn't even know what happened to the other. Heartbreaking 😭

Oh wow, the stories your grandfather must have had. ❤️❤️ From what I've been able to research, it was truly horrific. And in the case of this story yep, compounded by the fact that Sam and Dean were separated for about three years with little to no way of knowing the other was still alive. 💔

The sass! Already love her 😂🩵

LOL she's got plenty of fire in her. ❤️‍🔥

*vibes* 😍 (even though I know MMM is set in 1958 lol)

Oh I love MMM!!! Love that comparison lol.

You don't know how fucking weak it makes me that he smokes in this. That vice will be the death of me 🫠🔥

Ahaha I remember from one of your comments on Break Me Down where SB was smoking (literally and figuratively)! 😜 I figured Dean smoking here would be true to the time period, and one of the few ways he can cope with his PTSD.

Aww yeah, Sam's just doing his job. Not easy having a vagina in 1945 and dealing with dicks... 🙄

Ughh exactly -- a major theme in this story. 😪

I get abusive vibes from shitty husband. There's more to it than cheating. Either he's emotionally abusive, physically or threathening to be. She seems like she wants to leave quick and quiet, fearing retaliation 👀 I loved how "damn" counted as cursing 😂 (Darn it!)

Ooh you're on the right track, unfortunately. 😢

And LOL gosh darn it, she just couldn't help herself! 😂😂

Yes, thank you!!! I knew Dean's spidey senses would turn on. (And I know that darn rat bastard can't hurt her now as long as soldier!Dean's around 💚)

Oh you already know, Dean's sharp enough to connect those dots. But darn right he's gonna be around to look out for her.

Melted 🫠 (I legit die every time I write "Sergeant Shaw" in TCF, but I married a military guy myself, so makes sense I can't resist a uniform and a rank 😂🥵)

Oooh I love it!! I can't resist a man in uniform either, and I'm not even married to one. 🫠 But while I'm incredibly behind in my reading, I haven't forgotten about the new chapters of The Exit Strategy, which I can't wait to dive into soon!!! 💜💜 (TCF is the prequel, right?)

I love the 1940s cadence, by the way! You can tell it's a different time period the way the characters speak, the words they choose, and how they phrase things. So well done, my friend! 👏👏

Aw thank you, Wayne!! That makes me so happy that you think so. 🥹 Especially after watching The Clock, I tried my best to make the reader's cadence feel like a woman from the time period (and Sam and Dean to some extent too). 💕

Mama's smelling mob activity... 🤌

Ooh you're not the first person to have made that observation. 😏

Such a Dean statement lol I do hope he won't feel so hopeless for long ☺️

Oooh shall see. 🥰 But I'm glad you thought it was a "Dean statement" loll, he's so self-deprecating sometimes. 🥲

Aww, they could've almost met. I love these little coincidences when people meet each other. It's fate 😍💕

Hahaa that's exactly what I was going for! (Imagine if they had met before she met Michael. 🥲)

I'm too busy plotting a gruesome murder in my head to properly get into how much I despise that guy 😂🙈

LOLL girl I don't blame you -- Michael is hot garbage, but it's a case of "got married hella quickly in wartime," so she didn't exactly know who he truly was when she married him. 😭

This was such an amazing start to this series! The storyline is so intriguing and the world-building is, well... simply otherworldly. You really took me on a journey to the 1940s here. Speechless, honestly 🩵 I so can't wait to see what else you have in store with this, but I think there will be lots of yelling from me lol 😅

I appreciate you so much, Wayne, thank you!! 🥹🥹 I'm so glad you enjoyed the start of this, and that it managed to transport you to the '40s. This chapter was a bit short, but it's a jumping off point for a lot more drama and hyjinks to come! (I anticipate lottts of yelling lmao) 💞💞

BETWEEN THE CITY & THE STARS - Part 1

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: In the fall of 1945, Dean is having a difficult time assimilating back into civilian life after the War. He’s visiting his brother Sam in New York City, where he’s beginning to build up his law firm. At two minutes to closing time, you interrupt their evening to solicit a solicitor. Your request? You need help in order to divorce your husband.

AN: My day tomorrow is going to be a bit packed, so I decided to release this a bit early for you guys! So here we go! The first chapter of yet another new series, my first ever 1940s AU. 🥰 I hope you have fun on this one, because I sure did. Again, very much inspired by The Clock (1945), starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker. 💜

Prompt for @jacklesversebingo: Historical Epic

Song Inspo: For this chapter it’s “Cry Me a River” by Ella Fitzgerald

Word Count: 3.9K

Tags/Warnings: Angst, mentions of cheating, PTSD, historical tidbits

✨ Series Masterlist

🎵 YouTube Playlist || Spotify Playlist

Part 1: Legal Grounds

November 2, 1945

Dean idly read the pamphlet stacked with others on his brother’s desk, which advertised his new and successful enterprise.

Law Offices of Winchester, Bialystock & Bloom

What do you know? His brother had his own office, his own business, and his name on a pamphlet.

Dean couldn’t help but curl a finger around a steel ball on the abacus sitting at the head of the mahogany desk, right next to Sam’s nameplate.

He let it fly. The abacus began to clack as one ball hit the other.

Sam looked up from the deposition he was writing to give his brother a wry brow raise.

“So this is what you do, huh?” Dean remarked, crossing his arms.

Without his jacket, his suspenders were on display over his shoulders. His red pinstripe tie was still in place, but his white dress shirt was rolled up to the elbows. Meanwhile, his brother preferred to keep himself more presentable with his sleeves down to his wrists. Jacket on.    

Dean glanced around the office, nodding at the line of bookshelves behind Sam, framing him as the bookish academic he’d always been. There was limited seating in here though, just a spare chair in front of the desk, and another to the right of it. Dean stood on the opposite side.

“If you’re bored, all you have to do is say so,” Sam said. “Which is strange, considering we’re smack dab in the middle of a city that never sleeps.”

He was right, Dean could concede. His little brother had given him a veritable list of things to do in New York City: visit the park, go to the zoo, see a picture show, visit a nightclub, or sample a host of restaurants that Sam knew Dean would probably enjoy.

He’d seen a lot of this place in the week that he’d been here visiting Sam, but a good deal of it he’d either spent alone, or with any willing young lady Dean came across, thanks to the demands of this office. If he was honest, entertaining young ladies was eating into the wallet in his trouser pocket, and the hustle and bustle was starting to be a little much for him.

“You don’t get tired of it?” Dean asked, gesturing to the out there beyond them. “The, uh…the lights, the noise, all the people?”

Sam picked his head up from his paperwork to consider the question. “No, I like it. Keeps my mind busy, and…I guess it makes me feel alive, you know?”

Dean supposed he could understand that, so he nodded.

Sam wasn’t fooled though. He thought he could tell what was running through his brother’s head, watching him fidget, and turn his head a bit sharply when a bus honked loudly outside the office’s glass doors as it thundered past.

It had only been two months since the end of the war. Two months since he and Dean met back in their family home in Lawrence, Kansas after three years fighting on two different fronts, in two different countries.

Both of them had enlisted, but Sam had spent most of his time in London while he was deployed, helping British Intelligence. Dean had clawed his way out of Normandy, and later, out of the Ardennes—the last offensive before the end.

Their experiences might as well have been worlds apart, but one thing remained the same: it had been three years in which neither brother knew if they’d see each other again.

Now, Sam saw the signs. Dean seemed a bit jumpy, overstimulated, but willing to be here to spend a little more time with Sam before he went back home. Guilt prickled in Sam’s gut. 

“I’ve got some work here to finish up, but afterwards let’s go to dinner,” he suggested. “Maybe see a show?”

Dean’s lips flickered at a smile. “You’re burning both ends of the candle. You know that, right?”

Sam opened his mouth to reply, when there was a knock on one of the glass doors—at the entrance to the small building. Their heads turned, and through the open door of his office, they spotted you standing there in the evening light. You wore a wide-brimmed hat on your head and a scarf underneath, wrapped over your hair and under your chin to shield your face. You knocked again with a hand covered by a leather glove, more persistently.

Cocking his head in confusion, Sam stood from his desk and left the room to let you in. Dean hung back and sat on the corner of the desk to wait. He withdrew a cigarette from the pack and a lighter from his pocket as he did so, but he heard you talking with his brother by the door.

“I’m sorry. We’re closed, miss,” Sam informed you.

“It’s still two minutes until closing. At least, according to my watch.”

“…Well, I suppose you’ve got me there.”

“So can I come in? I need to speak to a lawyer.”

“You sure it can’t wait until tomorrow?”

“I’m afraid it can’t, sir.” Your tone was firm, and it more than implied that you wouldn’t be moved. Sam paused then, perhaps to take a steeling breath.

“All right. Come with me, please.”

You later followed behind him through the hallway and into the office. With a lit cigarette between his fingers, his arms crossed, Dean took note of you. He subtly glanced down at your crème-colored blouse, neatly tucked into the long, burgundy skirt (with lipstick to match), your modest, classy heels, and the way you wore your hair. His brows subtly raised. He’d met quite a few girls this week, but he hadn’t seen a lady like you in quite some time.

Should’ve shaved this morning. The thought was accompanied by the way he swiped a subtle hand over his prickly chin.

You gave him a cursory glance in turn, and offered a polite, “Hello.”

He stood from the desk and switched his cigarette to his other hand, so he could shake yours.

“Hey there. Dean Winchester,” he said. He offered a smile with no small amount of charm. “Pleased to meet you…”

You dutifully gave him your first name only. He found that a little strange, but you soon slipped your hand out of his and focused on the nameplate on the desk, followed by Sam himself.

“So you’re brothers,” you realized. “Do you work together?”

Dean scoffed. “Nope, I’m just here to distract him.”

Sam tossed him a sidelong glance. There was a subtle edge of bitter truth in there somewhere, and you didn’t seem to miss it. You looked between the two men, a hint wary.

“Well, as I said, I’m here to speak to the solicitor,” you said. 

“That would be me,” Sam nodded. He went to his desk and sat down behind it, gesturing for you to do the same in front of him. You obliged him, smoothing your hands down your skirt once you were seated. “How can I help you?”

You met his eyes with a directness that surprised him a little.

“I want to divorce my husband,” you said.

To say it shocked the room would be an understatement. Behind you, Dean gave his brother a pair of raised brows. Sam didn’t allow himself to react too much in order to remain professional, but he still tilted his head, blinking, before he focused on you again.

“What’s your husband’s name?” he asked.

“Michael. Michael Milligan.”

“Why do you want a divorce, Mrs. Milligan?” 

Here, your gaze fell to the folded hands in your lap. 

“I have reason to believe he’s been unfaithful,” you quietly replied.

Once again, there was a pregnant pause.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sam said. His sympathy was genuine, because he could see the way you’d hesitated to say the words, like they embarrassed you, shamed you, and saddened you all at once. 

“But I have to ask,” he added, “do you have proof?”

Dean glanced his way, his brow raising once again. Sam knew what he was thinking, just as he saw how you frowned as well. But there was a reason why he asked, and it wasn’t to be unkind.

You sighed. “What kind of proof?” 

“Pictures. Letters. A witness. Something of legal standing that we can use as leverage and as grounds to grant you a divorce, whether he wants it or not,” Sam said. 

You let out another heavy breath through your nose. “No, I don’t have anything like that.”

“Then what makes you so sure he’s steppin’ out?” Dean chimed in. By now he was leaning against the wall, off to the side where he could smoke with the window cracked open. It let in the sounds of cars and distant honking, people traversing the sidewalks. 

You turned in your seat to give him a tight look. “If you must know, there’ve been��signs. I won’t trouble you with the details, but I’m sure.”

You met Dean’s gaze, and then Sam’s firmly. 

“So will you help me?” you asked him. Sam nodded.

“Yes, I’ll look into your husband and try to find some evidence of his…extracurricular affairs.”

Your lips pursed. “And how long will it take?”

Since you were being so direct, Sam levelled you with honesty.

“It may take time,” he said. “Realistically, we’re looking at months, even after I find what we need… It would be easier to legally separate.”

You had been slowly deflating the more he spoke, but now your expression became stony.

“Mr. Winchester,” you began. “I don’t want to just be separated. I don’t want to live in our apartment, let alone share his bed or wear his last name.”

Despite your best efforts, your voice began to shake. Tears welled up and stung in your eyes.

“I don’t want anything from him, other than his signature on the damn papers,” you said. “The case is that I can no longer tolerate that man in my sight, much less in my life. Will you help me? Or should I look for another lawyer who will actually do his job.”

Sam and Dean shared a glance. For his part, Dean couldn’t remember the last time he heard a woman curse. Despite your outburst, the tears clinging to your lashes stirred both men.

“I understand, Mrs. Milligan,” Sam said. “I’ll help you. Don’t worry.”

He began to look for his handkerchief, but you retrieved one of your own from your purse and quickly dabbed at your eyes, sniffling. You were embarrassed.

“What about your fee?” you said, withdrawing your checkbook. “I, um…I have a little money stashed away. I’ve always worked, you see.”

Sam nodded and went over what his rate would be going forward. Once the two of you came to an agreement, you signed the first check right then and there, even though he felt bad for even taking it from you.

You were still sniffling, and twice you dabbed under your eyes to make sure your face was dry. When you handed over the check, your hands shook, just a little. Sam wouldn’t tell you that he discounted his usual rate.  

Again, he mentioned that he would need some time first to investigate your husband and begin collecting evidence for your case. He asked you for any documents you could safely bring him of your finances, for example. You agreed to do an investigation of your own.

“Just be careful,” Dean cautioned. He was getting an idea of what kind of man your husband was, but Dean couldn’t be too sure of what the man was capable of. He’d hate to hear of a girl like you getting hurt over a few papers.

Dean put out the bud of his cigarette on the ashtray lying on the windowsill. He pushed off the wall to approach where you and Sam were getting to your feet. You gave Dean a nod of acknowledgement.

“I will,” you agreed. “Thank you both. I’m sorry I’ve taken up so much of your time, but I’ll be heading home now.”

“Did you take a bus or a taxi?” Sam asked.

“Oh, I walked,” you replied, and you checked your watch as you gathered up your purse. You headed for the coatrack, but Dean got there first, helping you into your beige wool coat. It went nicely with the burgundy you had on, namely on your painted lips.

“Thank you,” you said to him, but you still didn’t smile. You were a hint demurer now. It seemed with Sam’s promised help, the fire had dimmed behind your eyes and your tongue.

“How about I give you an escort, make sure you get home okay?” Dean found himself offering. “It’s getting pretty late on a Friday.”

Sam shot him a knowing look, but Dean ignored him, instead focusing on your face.

You hesitated. “It’s a bit far though. Out of your way, I’m sure.”

“All the more reason that you shouldn’t go it alone at this time of night,” he argued.

You considered his offer, and him, with a quick perusal. You seemed to be judging for yourself if he was trustworthy. Dean kept his posture straight, yet relaxed. Maybe he’d liked what he saw the moment he took you in, but after hearing your situation, he felt for you. It really was just an honest offer to walk you home.

“Where did you serve?” you asked. “The Army, the Navy, or the Air Forces?”

The question took him off guard for a beat, but he answered you.

“The Army,” he replied.

“Your rank?”

“I was a sergeant, ma’am.”

You looked at him a little more shrewdly, then you relaxed.

“I might’ve guessed,” you said. “All right, Sergeant. Let’s go then.”

You buttoned up your coat and turned to leave the office. Dean shot his little brother a raise of his brows and a what do ya know? kind of smile. He grabbed his dark brown jacket and hat and followed you out.

Sam’s smile was more reserved, with a shake of his head. He closed the door behind you and Dean and locked it. He still had some work he wanted to finish before tomorrow, and Dean’s little show of chivalry would give him time to do it.

Dean had his hands in his coat pockets as he walked with you down the long city sidewalk. Night had drawn into the November sky, but with all these lights, he couldn’t see many stars. It was also cold as all hell. The frigid wind slapped at him every time they turned the corner of a building, snapping right into his bones.

Still, he supposed there was a kind of attractiveness to the city at night. The stores and their signs were all lit up gold and other neon colors. Couples and families walked together, all done up nice for wherever dinner reservation or movie they were trying to get to. It begged the question of what your husband was doing right now if he didn’t notice his wife out at this time of night.

“Where’s your husband tonight, if I might ask?” said Dean.

You shot him a look, reading between his lines.

“He claims to be working late virtually every night of the weekdays,” you said, “but he usually comes home stinking of alcohol.” Your eyes dimmed, even with the pretty lights shining in them. “He was in the Army as well. A corporal. He’s had a hard time adjusting to being back home, and I know that… He doesn’t sleep very well. And do you know, he had a hard time finding work for a while too. Luckily, he has his father’s business to fall back on.”

Dean tried not to show how much your words resonated with him. He didn’t think it a good thing to have common ground with your husband, if he was the kind of man you said he was.

“Yeah? What’s his business?” he asked.

“He manages a meat production plant, of all things,” you said.

“Ah, located in the Meat Packing District, I presume?”

“You’d presume right.”

Dean nodded. “I get it. I inherited the family home back in Lawrence. I just need to figure out what’s next.”

“Lawrence?”

“Kansas.”

“Oh, the Midwest,” you inclined your head. “What’s it like there?”

Dean scoffed. “Dusty.”

You almost laughed at that. At least it earned him your first smile of the night.

“Do you have an idea of what you’ll do for work?” you asked.

Dean chuckled. “Not just yet. Didn’t plan that far, you know?”

“Why not?” you asked.

“Hmm. Guess I didn’t see the point,” he replied with a mild shrug. It hid a deeper, darker well inside him. The part of him that hadn’t thought he’d make it back home after the war.  

You turned to him then, and you saw it behind his eyes. The two of you walked in silence for a little while as the neighborhood blocks began to shift and change, becoming somewhat quieter, more residential. Dean put himself between you and the sidewalk when a taxi zoomed by too close to the curb, resting a hand on the small of your back for protection.

Part of you trilled inside at the small touch, but you immediately beat that reaction down. Dean Winchester was an attractive man, to be sure. His hair was a lighter brown than his brother’s, and shorter too. He had an air of roguishness about him, even though he’d been perfectly pleasant so far.

But by the way he eyed you when you came into the law office, you had a strong feeling he was a flirt. You had no room for that in your life, and not only because you were still a married woman.

Yet, there was something about him that…well, made you curious.

“I was a nurse,” you said eventually, earning his attention. “I was there when they liberated Paris.”

Dean turned to you with newfound interest lighting his green eyes. “You were at Normandy.”

You nodded. “For a while. Almost a year before D-Day.”

Dean let out a short, if humorless chuckle, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, that’s where I was. At that time, at least,” he said. You gave him a similar look; respect, and perhaps finding a kindred spirit.

“I did what I could do before, during, and afterwards,” you said. “I think that’s all we can do now, Mr. Winchester.”

“Call me Dean,” he said. “If you like.”

A second smile almost tugged at your lips. You nodded in agreement.

“Dean,” you said.

In another ten minutes, he was walking you up to your porch at your apartment building. You travelled up the four small steps, while Dean stopped at the second one. For the first time, you had the vantage point above him as you turned on your heel to face him. You were about to thank him when he shook his head, scoffing.

“This guy must be dumb, deaf, and blind, sweetheart,” he said.

Your face warmed in a blush, and you gave a rueful smile when you realized what he meant. He was looking up at you like someone who couldn’t understand your plight. You knew the feeling.

“That’s kind of you, but you don’t have to do that,” you said.  

His brows furrowed. “Do what?” 

“Try to make me feel better,” you said, scuffing the toe of your sensible heels against the brick platform. Dean crossed his arms. 

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because the fact of the matter is, Sergeant, words don’t move me anymore.” You picked up your gaze from the ground, and you met his. “Flattery is just a pretty way of lying, and I’ve grown to really, truly hate lying.” 

It took him a moment, but Dean nodded.

“I guess that’s fair,” he said. He had to stop himself before he proved your point with a smart word on your pretty smile. Although, it wouldn’t have been a lie. He tipped his hat up. “Goodnight then, Mrs. Milligan.” 

You stopped him from leaving with just your voice. 

“Please,” you said, your eyes briefly closing. “Just…call me by my name. My first name.” 

Dean slowly smiled. “Perfect. I like your name better anyway.” 

This time, your smile in return was genuine, if tinged with amusement. 

“Goodnight, Dean,” you replied.

He gave you a charming grin and a more casual soldier’s salute. Then he stuck his hands back in his pockets, turned on his heel, and began to walk back the way he came. You couldn’t help but watch him go for a second or two. His legs were slightly bowed under his slacks, you noticed.

With a blush, you shook your head to rid yourself of those silly thoughts. You closed the door.

That night, Michael came home late, as usual—this time at two in the morning. He reeked of alcohol, also per usual, but this time when he rolled over towards you in bed to say goodnight, you stiffened. He also smelled like a woman’s perfume. Expensive stuff. 

This was one of those signs you hadn’t wanted to tell Sam Winchester. Frankly, it was crude and embarrassing.

“Sorry it’s so late, darling. Got held up,” he said, kissing your shoulder through your nightgown. His fingers played with the ends of your hair while you laid facing away from him.

You squeezed your eyes shut. You were fighting every instinct you had inside you that wanted to recoil from his touch and bolt out of the bed. When just a few months ago, his touch was all you craved, almost desperately so. 

“Where were you?” you asked. Somehow, you kept your voice steady and calm. “You weren’t at the office all this time.”

“Had a couple of drinks with the guys after,” he said with a shrug. “Sorry. The night got away from us, but, uh…I’ll be home on time for dinner tomorrow.”

With your back turned to him, you were able to roll your eyes.

“What’d you make tonight, outta curiosity?” he asked.

“Egg salad sandwiches,” you replied flatly. 

“Hmm. No real loss there then.” 

Your teeth clenched. “If I thought you were actually going to be home when you said you would, maybe I would make a rump roast with all the fixings.” 

Michael paused, but then, he grasped your shoulder, slowly turned you around in the bed until you were facing him. His face was sterner. 

“Excuse me?” 

You remained quiet. Your gaze travelled downwards, avoiding his.

Michael huffed, shaking his head. “Sometimes you got a real mouth on you. One of these days, you just might regret it.” 

He turned his back on you, laying on his side. You did the same while trying to stem your tears.

When did this become your life?

AN: Oof, sorry for all that angst at the end there, but I hope you liked the first chapter! Did you enjoy soldier!Dean and soldier/lawyer!Sam? Do you want to find a dark alley for Michael yet? 😅

And are you ready for what's coming up next? 😘

Next Time:

Dean both could and couldn’t believe it. He might not have been a saint himself when it came to the fairer sex, but if he went through the whole ordeal of marrying one, let alone a straight-shooting woman like you, beautiful, clever…

“Geez,” he muttered. “He could’ve at least waited until the ink dried on the certificate.” 

Sam nodded in agreement. He picked up the receipt to the Cotton Club, and he shot his brother a grin.

“Wanna go to the club tonight?”

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[agentcable]

Taxi Driver Season 1 Ep. 1 and 2

Taxi Driver (Korean 모범택시, mobeomtaegsi) is a South Korean TV series based on the webtoon "The Deluxe Taxi (Red Cage)" by Carlos and Lee Jae-jin. The first season premiered on SBS TV on April 9, 2021, and aired every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST) for 16 episodes.

The series was renewed for a second season on July 6, 2021 and premiered on February 17, 2023, on SBS TV, airing every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST) for 16 episodes.

A renewal for a third season was confirmed on April 16, 2023.

The series is based on real-life heinous crimes committed in Korea and has received praise from viewers for its performances and storylines.

All episodes of Season 1 are available on SBS World's official YouTube channel.

If you want to watch the series for yourself, stop reading! This post contains spoilers to the storyline.

Kim Do-gi (also Kim Do-Ki), a KMA graduate, works as a taxi driver for Deluxe Taxi, a company that offers a "revenge call" service to clients seeking vengeance when the justice system fails.

Deluxe Taxi operates under the police radar and serves everyday people with various troubles. Their clients share a common goal: seeking revenge on those who wronged them. Deluxe Taxi fights violence with violence.

Cho Do-Chul

The first episode "Don't You Want Revenge?" opens with chaos outside a prison as a large crowd of reporters and citizens gather. The commotion intensifies when the police release an inmate named Cho Do-Chul, who had just completed a 10-year sentence for sexual assault and other heinous crimes. Understandably the citizens are enraged by his release.

Cho Do-Chul apologized to the public for his crimes and bowed down. The crowd became even more riled up. After the apology, the police helped Cho Do-Chul into a waiting black taxi, driven by Kim Do-Ki, and he took off for Busan. Later, we discovered that the ex-con mysteriously disappeared on his way to Busan.

Many of you may be reminded of the 2008 case involving Cho Doo-Soon, a man who sexually assaulted and injured an 8-year-old girl, causing severe and permanent damage.

Cho Doo-Soon claimed that he was drunk at the time and lost his judgment. The case went to trial, and the judge handed out a sentence of 12 years in prison to Cho Doo-Soon. By the time Cho Doo-Soon is released the girl will barely be 20 years old.

On December 12, 2020 Cho Doo-Soon was released and returned to his home in Ansan. The family of the girl moved away out of fear that he might show up at their house or in their neighbourhood.

To learn more about the Cho Doo-Soon case, you can watch the 2013 K-Movie "Sowon" (engl. Hope), which is based on the case. The trailer for the movie is provided below. Please note that viewer discretion is advised.

Kang Maria

The other storyline (Episode 1 and Episode 2 "Just Get Out of the Car") where we see how Deluxe Taxi operates from start to finish is Kang Maria's case.

Upon awakening in the hospital, she is injured and scared. Despite leaving without being stopped, we follow her as she stumbles around the streets before eventually ending up on a bridge crossing the Han River. Looking around with uncertainty, she climbs over the railing, which displays messages aimed at reducing the high suicide rates in South Korea.

Maria stands behind the railing, hesitant to let go. Suddenly, she loses a slipper which falls into the Han River. After a moment of hesitation, she notices a yellow sticker with a phone number on the bottom of the railing, which gives her the courage to not let go of the railing.

Kim Do-Ki picks up Maria in his black Deluxe Taxi. She tells him her story of being trafficked by a health insurance worker and forced to work in a factory producing salted seafood. She was accompanied by several other disabled people who were likely trafficked in the same way.

Workers endured long hours, violence, and theft of their personal property by their employers. Maria attempts to escape and succeeds, but a police officer who is in cahoots with the company owner apprehends her and returns her to the factory. After her punishment, she is sent back to work the next day.

Maria achieves her revenge with the help of Rainbow Taxi. The responsible parties, including the insurance worker and the employers, are caught and punished. The fight scenes at the factory show Kim Do-Ki taking action against them, while Mr. Jang and Jin-Eon kidnap the insurance worker. The suspects mysteriously disappear for prosecutor Kim Hana, and we later discover their whereabouts.

In 2008 and 2012, two disabled men named Chae and Kim were deceived by an unregistered employment agency and sold to salt farms on Purple Island.

The individuals were forced to perform strenuous tasks, including salt farming and construction work. Additionally, they were restricted to a maximum of five hours of sleep, despite the recommended 7 to 9 hours depending on age.

The two men attempted to escape multiple times but were unsuccessful. They were threatened with death if they tried again. The salt farms were located in a rural area where many locals and police officers ignored the exploitation of the workers. The nearby police station was initially praised for their work, but it was later revealed that they sent escaped workers back to the salt farms.

The horrific conditions were exposed in 2014. The county's Deputy Speaker and local parliament members were arrested for exploiting and failing to pay laborers who worked on their farms.

The public was outraged to discover that they could not always trust public officers to protect the vulnerable in society. The South Korean National Police Agency conducted an investigation and ispected salt farms and facilites for the disabled throughout South Korea. They discovered that around 100 workers, many of whom were disabled, had not received proper wages, and many more were missing or unidentified.

Purple Island is located in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. It consists of two islands, Banwoldo and Bakjido, which are connected by a large bridge. The locals, along with officials from South Jeolla Province, initiated Project Purple to boost tourism in the area. The colour purple was deliberately chosen to attract tourists, particularly instagram users and fans of BTS (the band is associated with the colour purple). The rebranding was successful. Purple Island was named World's Best Tourist Village in 2021 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

After the successful rebranding, the terrible events on the island are being increasingly forgotten. BTS fans, also known as Army, are trying to spread the story of Purple Island. They want to prevent any association between the band BTS and their fandom with the terrible story. Additionally, they want to discourage the island from continuing to profit from fans who visit solely because of its alleged connection, which is not true. Some believe that this colour was chosen for this reason. BTS has gained worldwide popularity since 2018, and their fan base continues to grow.

[jayoonology]

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰/ 𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐮

𝗮/𝗻 - procrastinated and then gave birth to this. I low-key want to make the Beomgyu part a proper one shot but idk if I should.

𝘄𝗰 - sb (331), yj (324), bg (346), th (314), hk (290)

Choi Soobin | 최수빈

manga shopping date

It took him weeks and I mean weeks to ask you out. He sits behind you in class and Beomgyu swears Soobin spends more time looking at you than he does at the teacher. From all that creepy staring (as Beomgyu likes to call it) Soobin noticed your wallpaper. Is that jujutsu kaisen..? No way! If it was somehow possible Soobin likes you twice as more. After some (bad) hyping up from Beomgyu and an entire night of pondering he finally decides to ask you out.

Low-key he zoned out while he was talking to you because he couldn’t believe he was actually interacting with you. But somehow he didn’t mess up and asked you if you wanted to check out a manga shop with him. And you said yes?!?! Soobin was still zoned out so didn’t actually process it till later but Beomgyu (who was rudely eavesdropping was SHOCKED) 

On the day of the date, however; Soobin was NOT calm. Man was internally freaking out, he must have changed his outfit at least 3 times. When he did make it there he couldn’t help but overthink the entire thing. Are you actually coming? Do you know this is a date? Is he wearing his shirt backwards?

All his fears melted away when he saw you though. The conversations flowed easily and he sort of forgot it was even a date, everything seemed so easy with you. The both of you spent hours at the shop, browsing and recommending each other series. Most of the time both of you were just freaking out that they had every single jjk manga, even the super rare first edition ones. And by the end of the date the both of you had two heavy bags full of books. You two agreed you’ll never have a date again at the manga store as you’re both most definitely broke now.

“Next time we should go to watch the new jjk movie!”

“next time?” MAN WAS OVERJOYED!!!!! 

Choi Yeonjun | 최연준

chill evening at roof top bar

you and Yeonjun both work the same shift and for months now there’s been so much playful tension between the both of you. Enough to make your coworkers think there’s something going on. Now Yeonjun can’t lie, he does like you a little bit (a lot) and he admits you’re gorgeous (the most breathtaking person he’s ever seen) but he also knows that you’re his coworkers and things could become awkward (he’s too much of a pussy) This game of cat and dog had been going on for a while now and frankly, you’ve had enough of waiting for Yeonjun to make the first move. If he isn’t going to do it, you’ll do it yourself. So you super confident go up to him and don’t waste any time on pleasantries.

“Yeonjun there’s a new rooftop bar that opened down the street, do you want to go—”

“Yes.”

Literally the two of you bolt the second your shift was done. This is your first time seeing Yeonjun outside of work, and there was something different about it. The two of you seemed even more unhinged, even more flirty. You didn’t even need alcohol turns out you just needed to leave that grey office. When you were at the bar the two of you ordered almost every drink on the menu and refused to leave before closing getting absolutely wasted. It was fun sitting on a skyscraper looking at the tiny people below you.

As far as first dates go, it must have been the most brilliant one you’ve been on. You and Yeonjun didn’t leave a single topic uncovered discussing popcorn flavours to white sand beaches. And you have to admit, it was kinda cute how Yeonjun got wasted, he looked like a lovesick boy. And then there was when drunk Yeonjun went on a tangent about everything he likes about you. (you made sure to never let him hear the end of that)

Choi Beomgyu | 최범규

vinyl shopping

So Beomgyu ended up getting a vinyl player from Hyuka for his birthday, the only problem is, he doesn’t have any vinyl albums. So now he has two options:

Sell the vinyl player and make some cash.

Ask his pretty roommate to go vinyl shopping with him and blow his entire paycheck.

Logically, Beomgyu chose the latter. He isn’t exactly sure when he started developing a crush on you, he just knows that one day he woke up and no one seemed to matter except you. But there’s a little bit of a problem, how is he going to make the outing seem like a date? As roommates you practically do everything together, this needs to be special. He knows that you like music and him buying your favourite vinyls could be called romantic but with no previous warning, it’s just platonic.

He’s determined to make this seem special, but how? Naturally, he watched a romcom, sure he could have consulted his friends but they’re bitchless anyway: how could they have even helped. He landed on getting you flowers, that’s the most romantic thing a guy can give you right? So the next day as you get ready he quickly runs to the grocery store and back and gets you a bouquet of tulips, awkwardly handing them to you.

“uh what’s this?”

“flowers.”

“but why?”

“cause this is a date.”

“okay cool.”

OKAY COOL? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Does that mean you like him too? Does that mean you’re uncomfortable? You can see the gears turning in Beomgyu’s head and figure you should probably help the poor boy out. You grab his hand, dragging him out of the apartment. Beomgyu’s face was pinker than the tulips he got you.

You two spent the entirety of the afternoon picking out cool records you found at the shop (and emptying Beomgyu’s pockets) buying the most obscure music you could find. Despite the long day, it was rewarding cause the two of you just chilled the rest of the day, playing the music you bought and eating takeout.

Kang Taehyun | 강태현

escape room

You and Taehyun have been project partners for a while now and instead of completing your project, Taehyun has spent more time falling for you. He’d vowed to himself that 2023 was going to be the year he was going to focus on school but here you come knocking his walls down.

Now Taehyun knew for sure he was going to ask you out, it was clear to the both of you that you liked each other, you were just patiently waiting for Taehyun to make the first move. The dilemma is, Taehyun doesn’t know where to take you. Sure he could be a basic bitch and take you out to the movies or a restaurant but you were more important than that. He wanted you to enjoy and remember the first date. He thought of many things like bowling or going to a school game together but they’re so crowded and loud, how will he be able to focus on you?

It was like a eureka moment when it struck him while having a shower. He could take you to an escape room! It’s private and fun, plus teamwork. The two of you were good at that (despite not finishing your project that was set 2 months ago) When he proposes it to you, you were overjoyed. Not only have you been waiting for Taehyun to make a move, but he also made the perfect move.

You work together to decipher the clues and solve the puzzles, using your teamwork and problem-solving skills to make your way through the room. Taehyun's quick wit and intelligence are a valuable asset, and you can feel yourself growing more and more impressed by him with each passing moment (his plan is working !!) now not only did you and Taehyun enjoy working together and talking about your interests, but it was also the most memorable date you’ve been on.

Huening Kai | 정카이

create your own plushie workshop

You’ve been trying to go on a date with Kai for weeks but something or another always comes up. First, you two had a planned a picnic and it turns out it was going to rain, then he gets called to pull an emergency shift, and then your car breaks down. You’ve been wondering if it’s a sign from the universe, the universe is definitely against picnics and you know what it’s fine, who wants to sit on the grass surrounded by weird bugs anyway?

So you decide to come up with something new, something fresh and better. So scour the internet for new events happening in your hometown. Wait, what’s that? A plushie-making workshop? If that isn’t the universe giving you a sign you don’t know what is. Kai loves plushies and wait for it, it’s happening this Saturday when the both of you don’t have work. It’s perfect.

So you call up Kai, telling him to write it down in permanent marker cause there’s no way in hell that this date is going to get cancelled. Luckily the two of you make it there early and basically have the workshop all to yourself. With the help of the instructor, you work on making a plushie together.

Of course, it had all the essentials, plus a little note the two of you wrote, hiding it in the stuffing on the plushie. Your plushie was perfect in every way and the icing on top was that you got to make it with the guy you’ve been crushing on for ages.

[lnkedmyheart]

@themoonawaitsherexecutioner

So about how skk would hit different if one or both was a woman is less in regards to how it changes the overall story but how the general energy changes.

For starters if either one of them was a woman while the other stayed a man, the biggest change in their interaction and by extension in the way they are perceived would have been their dynamic. Nobody would have denied the way their interactions are heavily charged with some kind of tension. Sexual or romantic or whatever there is a pull there in canon but with one of them being a woman nobody would deny that they have some kind of subtext there. From Dazai waiting for Chuuya to show up, their banter moving from vitriolic to friendly teasing, to the dead apple scene with the princess-prince analogy, to Dazai catching Chuuya in his arms in sb, the silly little love confession and admitting Chuua was part of the reason Dazai decided to live at the time and even the current meursault situation with the line about the moments where their hearts connected. Remove the mlm or wlw aspect for half a second and people will automatically begin to notice all the subtext present in the story and interactions.

We also know that Dazai is a womanizer who broke many hearts back in the mafia and that his interactions with women tend to be pretty shallow (except Yosano and Koyou) and I think it would have been interesting how that would have changed had Chuuya been a woman. There is a distance between Dazai and the important women in his life, there is also a distance between him and the men, all of them, including Oda (at least from Oda's perspective he never fully grasped how much he meant to Dazai). That distance is entirely absent with Chuuya and it's repeatedly brought up not just in the text but also in their interaction. Dazai has a way of talking to Chuuya and Chuuya can read his words like they're his own thoughts. Dazai is also very physical with Chuuya in general, constantly ignoring his own boundaries all the time. I would love to see how that would change had Chuuya been a woman. It would also lead to a scenario with a woman as the muscle and the man as the thinker/damsel.

The same is true vice versa, how would their interactions with each other change if Dazai was a woman while Chuuya stayed a guy? Chuuya is stated to be very respectful to women by the creators, we know he has a soft spot for little old ladies, but he doesn't underestimate them as was the case with Yosano and he has been raised by Koyou. The point is how would things change in that situation? It would be more traditional, yes. Dazai being the damsel and Chuuya being the rescuer on a surface level but not entirely because Dazai is never actually helpless. I also think the most interesting thing about Dazai as the woman is actually in how it changes a lot of the subtext in general with everyone else in the series and not just Chuuya. Dazai would perhaps be less feared in the mafia as the demon prodigy as a woman because of the potential to underestimate her or maybe even more feared idk. How would it alter her interactions with the men in her life normally. How would Dazai's depression and suicidal tendencies be viewed and treated in the story and how they would affect her. Would there be any major change at all or would there be none.

And lastly if they were both women, again, most of the above points still hold true for this scenario. However there is more here given that there would be heavy subtext with 2 women instead of 2 men. In this situation there would imo be less change in how they interact with each other and more in how the others interact with them and perceive them. (Also I'm a lesbian, wlw is always more fun to me than mlm or wlm lmao).

On a negative sidenote, had one of skk been a woman it would have been less popular of a ship because it would have been a het one.

[moogey-likes-things]

Can we get some SB headcannons for the animatronics receiving surprise gifts?

Aww, you've given your favorite animatronic a gift!

(HC 8)

Freddy – You've gone and flustered the poor bear! You're so sweet! He'll feel bad that he hasn't gotten anything for you, but you bet he'll find something, or win it at a game. (Fairly, of course) He'll thank you with gentle hugs and apologize repeatedly for not having something on hand in return.

Chica – Cover your ears because her squeal of delight might cause a few malfunctions! She's happy yo open the gift and see what it is. Doesn't matter what it is, how big, how silly, or how random, she LOVES it! She's gonna let everyone know about it! It's going on display! Also, you're getting something in return, and until then, you're getting ALL the hugs.

Monty – Ok, first of all, don't you dare make him all flustered and emotional in front of the others! How dare you be sweet and thoughtful, especially to the guy who is used to being feared and seen as unapproachable? Well, no matter what the circumstance or gift you've chosen he's going to cherish it. He won't flaunt it like giddy little Chica does, but he's certainly going to proudly tell anyone who even glances who he got it from and how much it means to him!

Roxy – Again, how embarrassing, making her heart melt like that... She loves your gift. She will immediately find something to give you. She'll wait until no one is looking to hug you and tell you thank you in a soft, maybe slightly strained voice. She'll give you a long, warm hug in thanks. This gift will be in her room, safe from others' hands, and right where she can always see it.

Bonnie – He's the slowest out open a gift from you. First, he's going to go all wiggly, flustered. He'll hug you tightly and chuckle as he laments that if he had known, he'd have done the same and gotten you something! When he opens your gift he will take time to admire it from every angle. He will be grinning the whole time. You'll be thanked repeatedly until you tell him to hush. Also squeezed.

Sun – Boy, oh boy, does he go bonkers! A gift?! For HIM?! You are the bestest friend in the whole wide world! He will bounce, dance, and hop about in joy, exclaiming about this! Once he realizes he wasn't prepared to give you something, though, he's gonna feel so bad! He'll quickly offer to make you a glittery card, or some other type of craft in return on the spot. He's gonna put all your favorite colors in it!

Moon – Oh? You got him a gift? How sweet, but you should have let him know so he could give you something, too! Ah, well. He'll gladly take what you offer. Like Bonnie he'll look it over thoroughly. He doesn't receive things as often as his bright counterpart, and this touches him deeply. He will take a little time to decide what to give you in return. He wants it to mean something. You are welcome to hugs and nap cuddles in the meantime.

DJMM – This is highly unexpected! Getting a gift from you will certainly make his day! He'll have to be careful with it, seeing as he's gigantic, and he'll take care to keep it somewhere safe. Whenever he gets the chance between songs or parties, he'll admire it. Hope you aren't scared of heights, because his affection means you're getting picked up and carefully held!

(Y'all think I should start including Foxy like I do Bonnie?)

[ghostlyvelvetheart]

Idea 5: Vanessa visits the graves of her victims and sees ghosts

An idea that I've seen exceedingly few fics try and cover is Vanessa encountering the ghosts of the people whom she (as Vanny) murdered after the 3-star ending.

I am unsure as to how one would make this situation happen. Maybe it could be a dream.

A scenario that I like most has to do with the idea that Vanessa visits the graves of the children she (no vanny) killed. After she was freed, she reported the location of the bodies so that they could recieve a proper burial. Vanessa knows that it isn't enough, she doesn't think that she will ever be able to do enough to atone for what she did to all of those children (it wasn't you, it was Vanny.) At the very least she tries to go and visit their graves once a week, making sure to bring flowers for them everytime. Vanessa doesn't say anything during the visits, what is there to say? "I'm sorry?" Yeah right, as if SHE is deserving of forgiveness...

I really like it because there are a lot of things you could potentially cover, including:

How would the ghosts react to seeing the freed Vanessa? Would the children be enraged? If so, what would they do?

Or would they be able to see that the person in front of them is not really the same as the one who murdered them, not mentally, at least? Maybe (relating back to idea 2) the children who were taught by her would be able to convince the other children of this.

How about the therapists? They would likely be more willing to listen, being adults trained in understanding psychological conditions.

One could discuss how Vanessa has been dealing with having 2 sets of childhood memories, a fake abusive one (put there by Glitchtrap for reasons of trying to make her more obedient, which ended up failing) and her true, standard, evidently normal one. (in this universe patient 46 and their tapes didn't exist, save for that one line about lying about childhood, just pretend it was in one of Vanessa's tapes)

And, of course, we can't forget Vanessa. What would she do? It is most likely that she would curl up into a ball and await the punishment that she thinks she deserves (she doesn’t). After all, it is HER fault, right? (No, it’s Vanny's.)

If you include Gregory in this encounter, he, being the "no fear" gremlin that he is, would probably try and start to defend his… uh… paternal guardian of unspecified rank in some way, either by trying to explain that Vanny is no more, or try and actually fight the ghosts.

As you can see, there are many ways that I think someone can make a mini story out of this concept.

To set the scene a bit: going to assume Luis and Ness reconnect after SB. Probably dating, maybe even married.

I can imagine one of the earlier times she visits, she heads off, and it gets late. She doesn't come back home. Luis gets worried and heads out (alone. Gregory would be asleep by now) to see where she went, first checking the graveyard as that's where she said she'd be, and he finds her curled up asleep in front of the graves, clearly exhausted from crying.

Let's assume that Luis can somehow see ghosts too, and when the ghosts realise this, they explain that "Yeah, we keep trying to tell her we KNOW she wasn't in control. Oh, and check her for untreated injuries - she managed to get some control back at some points and redirected Vanny's attacks to herself to try and buy us more time, but it didn't work all that often but did save a few lives. This grave plot would be twice as big it wasn't for her at least trying."

Now understanding the situation, Luis would wait with Ness until she wakes up, helps her home, and tries to explain to her what the ghosts had already explained.

[mischiefandspirits]

Conall and Kon-El

In a world where Bruce’s acquisition of his kids isn’t as legal, but is just as well-meaning, Superboy gets some friends and a name.

This takes place immediately after the events of The Rise of Batman III

Click here for more of this AU

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yeah, long story. Point is, B.B.’s doing good. I’d offer to let you see him, but he’s just a baby and we’re all a little hesitant about letting outside heroes get too close to any of us. Justifiably.”

Taking the opening, Superboy asked, “Because of the Fear League or because the Titans tried to return Richard to his parents?”

“Both.” Tim turned his full attention to Superboy. “You talked to the others about me then?”

“No, I didn’t tell anyone about you. Cadmus thinks I was too busy freeing the others to notice the break-in and if Lex knows about B.B., he didn’t say anything to me. Looking up Tim, Bat, and Gotham got me plenty of results online, though.”

Tim tilted his head slightly and Superboy got the impression he was rolling his eyes. “Well if we’re going to talk about what we found out online, how do you like your cage in the secret lab underneath L Tower?”

Superboy groaned and tilted his head up to stare at the smoggy night sky. “I have a room in Lex’s penthouse apartment! People have pictures of me hanging out on the balcony!”

“Nah, I heard those were staged as a PR campaign and to distract people from the experiments Luthor runs on you when you’re not saving people.”

Tim sounded fond as he spoke, but Superboy barely noticed before the words registered. He looked down to glare at the other boy, ready to argue, only for Tim to smirk in a way that said he knew what he was saying wasn’t true. “Is this your way of saying Batman didn’t kidnap you and the others?”

Tim shrugged and turned to look out over the city. “Depends on your definition, I guess. Do you think it counts as kidnapping if a kid comes and asks you to protect them from their awful parents?”

“You’ve never said anything about your parents being bad before.”

“Would anyone listen if I did?”

“And you -- all of you -- really asked for Batman to take you?”

“Oh yeah. Hood even snuck into B’s car and I practically gave the family a resume when I asked for help.”

“Why would you go to him? Like, I get Richard since Batman had a good reputation when he was taken, but why did you and Jason trust him?”

Tim chuckled. “Hood didn’t trust him. Wing said Hood spent his whole recovery period after Ethiopia -- and a good two months after -- waiting for B to indoctrinate him. He just chose B because he thought getting brainwashed into being a sidekick would be better than what Willis had planned for him.

“And I had known the stories were wrong because my parents work for the same people as the Graysons. I figured them out while… Well, it doesn’t matter. I knew he was helping Wing and Hood so I knew he’d help me too.”

“But -”

“SB, if you’re just here to argue about B, then you’re wasting both our time. Time I could be spending tracking down Hatter.” He met Superboy’s eyes. “Wing saved me and the others gave me a home. They care about me as more than a tool to be set aside until it can be sold off to benefit the family. Nothing you or anyone else could say will change that or make me question my family.”

Superboy held his gaze for a moment before looking down at his lap. He wasn’t sure what to think. Tim sounded so genuine before, and he sounded genuine now. “I didn’t come to argue. I just wanted to be sure B.B. was okay.”

Tim looked over at Jason for a moment before pulling something out of his belt. “Do you have a phone?”

“Of course I do.” Superboy snorted and pulled his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

Before he could react, Tim swiped it and plugged something into it.

“Hey!”

“One second.” He tapped at the screen for a moment before unplugging the device and tossing the phone back to Superboy.

There was a new app on his main screen. The icon was a sky blue box with a yellow dot with sound waves on either side. It was labeled Wave.

“It’s Batwave,” Tim explained as Superboy opened the app. The screen lit up blue with a black bat silhouette outlined in red across it. Yellow bars blinked across the bat, starting at the center and moving across the wings, like a loading animation. “It’s the system all our gear works on. I gave you limited access.”

The bars stopped blinking and FACIAL RECOGNITION COMPLETE quickly scrolled across. The screen went gray and two tabs appeared. The first had a lime green question mark and was labeled Information Request while the second was a pair of white quotation marks and was labeled Messenger.

A black 1 appeared over the messenger with a chirp and Superboy opened the tab to see Tim had sent him a photo.

Batman was cradling B.B. in one arm with the hand of the other cupping the baby’s cheek. He had the smallest of smiles on his face as he watched the baby sleep. At his side was a woman in a sleek black suit with a whip at her hip and a cowl with cat ears at the top. Catwoman -- he presumed -- had pushed up her amber goggles, but the angle hid her eyes as she held out a small red blanket and a stuffed black cat. Given the rough stone walls behind them, the three appeared to be in some sort of cavern.

“You’re the only one who can access Batwave through your phone and the facial rec will kick you off if someone else tries to look at the screen,” Tim explained while Superboy was looking at the picture. “And if anyone -- yourself included -- tries to hack into Batwave through your phone, it will automatically delete itself from your phone.”

Another photo was sent. This one showed Nightwing and B.B. hanging upside down from a thin bar in what appeared to be the same cavern. Nightwing had his legs hooked over the beam and was holding B.B. by the waist below him. They were caught mid-swing with Nightwing smirking down at the baby, whose face was scrunched up with laughter.

“So there’s no point in trying to use it to find B and while I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone you had it, it wouldn’t -” Tim cut off with a hum just as Superboy received another photo.

He looked up to see the other boy dismissing his gauntlet’s holoscreen and climbing to his feet. “Duty calls. You should get going before you’re spotted. If you need anything, just let me know. The offer’s still there as long as you don’t involve your dad.”

“Superman’s not my dad,” Superboy huffed.

“Obviously. He’s not the one taking care of you.”

His face grew warm. “Lex isn’t my dad either!”

Tim smirked then backflipped off the roof.

Superboy leaned forward to see him grappling down to a waiting motorcycle then turned to see Jason had disappeared. He decided to take Tim’s advice and started back towards Metropolis. As he flew, he looked at the last photo.

B.B. was sitting on someone’s lap, though the picture cut off at the other person’s shoulders to hide their identity. Likely because they were wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt instead of a suit. The fair skin on the hands supporting B.B. and holding up a book pointed towards either Jason or Batman, though. B.B. was staring up at whoever was reading to him with wide eyes, the tail of his stuffed cat in his mouth.

He was wondering how to reply -- if he even should -- when he received three messages at the same time.

They weren’t from Tim, though.

Hoodlum: Hurt him and 🟢🔫💀

All_Seeing: If you betray Ghost’s confidence, I can’t guarantee Hood won’t try to kill you, but I can guarantee he’ll get away with it if he does

Wing-a-ding: GB trusts you so we’re trusting you. Don’t make us regret it 😊

“Why is the smile the most threatening part of that?” He muttered as he sent a Got it! to all three.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Superboy stared up at the ceiling, the phone in his hand buzzing as the sidekicks (mostly Impulse) texted the group chat in a near-continuous stream.

“Lena.”

She hummed, not looking up from her paperwork.

“Do I have a name?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, Superboy’s not a name, right? Do I have a name? Did Lex just put Superboy on my birth certificate?”

“You don’t have a birth certificate,” she said and set her pen aside. She looked him over slowly. “Where’s this coming from? Wait, let me guess…”

“Tim,” he said and she nodded. “He mentioned it the first time we met. I shrugged it off at the time since I didn’t care, but I don’t know. Maybe I kind of want a name?”

“Well, what kind of name would you want?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, would you prefer a human name or kryptonian one?”

He picked his head up to look at her better. “You know kryptonian names?”

“I know a little bit. Supergirl told me some names and explained how their naming conventions worked. Like how their names are only ever one or two syllables and that females have their most prominent parent’s name pinned to theirs while males only have their family name. That’s why we get Kará Zor-El instead of just Kará-El.”

“You talk to Supergirl? And she tells you about kryptonian stuff?”

“Sometimes. We meet up while I’m in National. We don’t have Superman and Lexy’s confrontational relationship.”

“Could you introduce me?” he asked, sitting up. It would be nice to talk to another kryptonian, and maybe Supergirl would give him a chance if she associated him with Lena instead.

Lena frowned and looked away. “We haven’t been talking recently.”

He slumped back, taking the hint. “Because of me.”

“No, not because of you.” When he looked unconvinced, she came to sit next to him and tucked him against her so she could run her fingers through his hair. “We’re fighting because she’s decided to blame a child for the sins of his father and I can’t keep my mouth shut about it. You didn’t ask for any of this. Lex shouldn’t have stolen Superman’s DNA to make you, but that doesn’t mean you should be treated poorly for it. You’re a good kid. I see that and so do Lex and your friends. If Supergirl and Superman can’t see that through their -- justified -- anger with Lex, then that’s on them.”

He nodded, leaning into her.

“Come on, let’s forget about them and think about your name. Were you thinking human, kryptonian, or a mix?”

“A mix?”

“Yeah, something like, hm… My grandfather’s name was Conall. You could go by that, which would make you Kon-El.”

“I don’t think Superman will like me taking his family name,” he scoffed.

“If Superman wants a say in your life, he can petition for custody,” she tisked, making him laugh.

He looked up with a cautious smile. “You’d be okay with me using your grandfather’s name?”

“Of course. That’s why I suggested it.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” She ruffled his hair, then went back to her work.

He focused back on his phone, opening two different group chats to send the same message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sup: My name’s Conall, or Kon

Der: Cool!

Imp: We’re unlocking the secret backstory!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

Wet: Nice ❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TheTank: My name’s Conall, or Kon

Wing-a-ding: Congrats 🥳🎉🎉🎉

Poltergeist: Happy for you, Kon!

Hoodlum: Subtle middle finger to the big guy? I like it

All_Seeing: Congratulations!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry, that was Speedy,” Arrowette said as she dropped onto the couch. “Guess Arrow’s got some League mission so she wanted to know if I wanted to stay at Titans Tower this weekend with her so I can avoid my mom. I think she wants me to join the Titans.”

“Are you going to?” Kon asked as he blasted Wonder Girl’s character off the racetrack and took second place.

He promptly fell face first when she kicked him off the couch in retaliation, saying, “Joining the Titans would be kind of cool. Flash wanted you to join too, didn’t he, Imp?”

“Mhm,” The speedster hummed, glancing between the tv where he was maintaining first place and the phone he was scrolling through. “He hasn’t asked me to join, but he did ask if I wanted to go on the next mission he’s on to see if I’d like to work with the Titans. I think he wanted me to stay in Central longer, but the thing with Cadmus spooked him.”

“If we all joined we could be on the same team and go on missions together all the time.”

“Because that worked out so well with Cadmus,” Kon chuckled, floating away from the demigoddess and dodging the bomb she threw his way in-game.

She stuck her tongue out at him. Or, more accurately, at the screen since she didn’t look away from it. “It was going fine before you got involved, and you’d be on our side this time.”

Kon frowned as he sped over the finish line. The excuse he’d given Tim about why he could keep sneaking into Gotham to hang out was that he wasn’t a Titan so he technically wasn’t banned. If he did join the Titans, would the Bats make him stop coming? Would the Titans be able to find out and make him stop coming? Or worse, would they try to use him against the Bats?

It had been a few months since his first visit to Gotham, but he still didn’t know how to feel about Batman.

His record seemed spotless aside from the legality of being a vigilante and the three kidnappings (two, technically, since Nightwing took Tim, but everyone seemed to blame Batman for that anyways), but the three were adamant that they’d gone of their own free will and that they could leave whenever they wanted, which Oracle backed up. Lena, the only one he’d confided in, said to take everything they said with a grain of salt, but she wasn’t entirely convinced either.

While she had nothing on Sheila Haywood or the mysterious Court of Owls Tim talked about, she had turned up enough through Lex’s other dealings to know Willis Todd wasn’t as clean as most thought. Then there was the freedom Batman seemed to give his captives. Nightwing had been allowed to travel across the country alone and stay there with an entire team of heroes while Tim had been allowed to make friends with someone who could spirit him away in a literal blink of an eye. Nightwing had worked almost exclusively out of Blüdhaven for years, only coming back for Arkham breakouts or similarly dangerous events. Red Hood had been setting himself up as the protector of the Narrows since shortly after Tim’s introduction and mostly ran solo nowadays. Tim was also starting to set up a similar situation in Burnside for himself and had been getting more solo runs over the past year, though he still mostly worked at Batman’s side.

There was also the vigilante Huntress. She’d started out in Gotham and still worked there from time to time, yet never clashed with the Bats. Arrowette said she’d overheard Black Canary (who worked with Huntress and a few other female heroes on their own team) telling Green Arrow that Huntress had brokered and accord with the Bats through Oracle to stay out of each other’s way, but that didn’t explain why she’d been spotted working individually with Tim, Nightwing, and Red Hood sans Batman.

According to Impulse, Martian Manhunter had also stood up for Batman when he and the League first clashed and he and Miss Martian had stayed out of any Bat discussions ever since Nightwing left the Titans, citing a conflict of interests. Lena thought it was likely the martians had already known Nightwing was Richard Grayson and had kept it from the League, which meant they might know more than they’re letting on.

The whole thing was a confusing mess so he and Lena had decided the best thing to do would be to wait and see. He’d just keep an eye out for anything that didn’t add up while trying to be an honest friend that the younger Bats could go to when/if they needed him.

Which wasn’t hard.

Tim was probably his best friend. They texted all the time, played video games online when they were both free, and hung out whenever they got a chance. Red Hood was fun in the crass, show you how to shoot a gun and blow stuff up with you kind of way (if anyone asked, the guns never left their holsters and they’d been learning how to disarm a bomb when something went wrong). He hadn’t met Nightwing in person, but they texted. Most of it was trading memes and funny videos, but Nightwing also liked to check in with Kon and see how he was doing. He got the impression the vigilante was keeping an eye on him in the same way he was looking out for them, but he wasn’t going to be a hypocrite and say something. The Bats had thankfully kept any opinions they had on Lex to themselves (excluding Tim calling him Kon’s dad), unlike Arrowette, Impulse, and Wonder Girl.

Since he couldn’t bring up any of that, Kon offered another reason for him not being able to join the Titans. “You think Lex would allow that?”

“Who cares what he thinks?” Wonder Girl said, rolling her eyes and grabbing her drink off the table.

“I do.”

Her face scrunched up, but his phone went off before she could say anything.

He pulled it out to see Tim had sent him a photo. He opened Batwave and smiled as he saw that the younger Bats had made good on their threats to drag Batman with the “teenage angst diaries” Tim had found the morning before during a bout of insomnia-fueled reorganization.

Red Hood was at the center of the shot and posed dramatically with one outstretched hand holding up a journal while the other rested against his chest. Batman was in the background in front of a large computer, arms crossed and staring at the ceiling with a dead expression. Tim was next to him in the computer chair, curled up from the force of his laughter. Nightwing was closer to the camera, but off to the side. He was sitting on a table next to his girlfriend (Kon didn’t know her name, only that she was a civilian who happened to know who they were because of circumstances). He couldn’t see either of their faces since hers was blurred out and Nightwing’s was buried in her shoulder, but he assumed they were laughing as well.

Suddenly the screen went dark and he looked up to see Wonder Girl looking over his shoulder.

“Sorry,” she said, pulling away. “Just curious what got you so distracted all of a sudden.”

“I bet it’s T,” Arrowette said, winking at him.

T was Kon’s way of explaining away anything that had to do with Tim. It had started when he’d said he’d had plans with “someone I met while on the job” so he couldn’t meet up with them. Somehow the three had assumed that meant T was a girl. He’d gone along with it since he figured it’d make it even harder for them to guess he was talking about Tim. Unfortunately, they’d also come to the conclusion Kon and T were dating. He’d denied it, but Arrowette wasn’t convinced.

“Stop it,” he growled, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

She winked again.

“You know, even if we all did join the Titans and managed to get on the same team, that doesn’t mean we’d all be on the same missions all the time. They assign mission groups on a case by case basis,” Impulse said, tossing his phone and controller aside in favor of a bag of chips.

“That sucks,” Wonder Girl groaned. “Why can’t we just have our own team?”

Kon frowned and shrugged. “Can’t we?”

The others shared a look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chat names:

Sup/TheTank - Kon

Der - Cassie

Imp - Bart

Wet - Cissie

OST/Poltergeist - Tim

Wing-a-ding - Dick

Hoodlum - Jason

All_Seeing - Babs

Don’t mind me, just adding an accent to Kara to create at least a vocal difference between her Kryptonian name and her secret identity. Especially since it just seems weird for her name to be a human name.

The Fear League, Fear League Day, and the Fear League incident are the names Gothamites gave to what happened when the minor Leaguers got gassed. Everyone outside Gotham hates the term since they feel like it places all the blame on the Leaguers when they were victims too and had only been there to help Gotham. From Gotham's perspective, though, the Leaguers had rushed into the city without notifying any authorities (who could have warned them about Scarecrow), without any protective gear (which was really just a gas mask, which most Gothamites carry at that point), and without doing any research on the city and it's villains (which, again, would have told them to be careful) so they feel the Leaguers do hold some responsibility for what happened.