#And then they go back to whatever job they've got now like nothing happened

[s-wordsmith]

Modern AU Steve and Robin having "Melodrama Moments" where they go hard to "Michael in the Bathroom" and promise never to leave each other alone in the bathroom.

[somebluemelodies]

@atthebell's SPIDERBIT WEEK DAY TWO: coffee shop | sparring i wanted to participate yesterday but i got a little too busy :') so today it is!! coffee shop my beloved classic au <3

The bell above the entrance jingles, but Roier doesn't pay too much mind to it, organizing some pastries on one of the back shelves. Mariana can attend to the customer.

Until he's nudged. "Your boyfriend is here."

His head snaps over to his best friend, who has that knowing, shit-eating grin on his face. "Pinche pendejo-- cállate," he hisses under his breath. "He's not my fucking boyfriend! We barely know each other!"

"Sorry, it's hard to remember sometimes with the way your eyes burn into his head every time he sits down," Mariana responds, and it takes all of Roier to not strangle him then and there.

He ignores Mariana's snicker as he takes the man's place at the register, just as the frequent customer approaches. The man in front of him smiles fondly, and Roier's stomach does a somersault as his lips curve up in return.

The man first started coming in a couple of weeks ago - Cellbit. Roier's brain had nearly blue-screened the second he'd approached the counter, and he wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but Cellbit had seemed just as flustered as him.

(Cellbit had nearly fumbled through what would become his usual order trying to maintain eye contact with the gorgeous barista, and he still kicks himself in the ass to this day over it.)

As of the last week or so, they've had some semblance of flirting going on; compliments thrown between lingering gazes and brushes of fingers. But nothing has happened.

It goes like clockwork: a brief game of catch-up since Cellbit's last visit a couple days ago (Roier finds his job as a private investigator rather fascinating, if not exhausting) before Roier reluctantly pulls away to actually complete his order.

When Roier hands off Cellbit's coffee, their fingers brush, sending a familiar electricity through his veins. Cellbit's smile returns, but something about it feels warmer than usual. More... flirtatious.

"Gracias, guapito."

Roier short-circuits. Guapito? Guapito? That's... new. That's very new.

He prays to God the heat he feels creeping up his neck isn't visible, and in his attempt to recompose himself, his mouth works faster than his brain. "Ay-- de nada, gatinho."

Cellbit looks pleasantly surprised, cheeks flushing, before he's smiling wider and laughing. All Roier can do is laugh as well as the investigator turns to go find his usual spot.

(New territory. This is very new territory.)

(Does that mean Cellbit feels the same after all? Or is he just having fun? Wait, when did all of this become so serious--)

"And I thought I was bad."

Roier is once again drawn back by Mariana. "Hijo de puta-- don't you have better things to be doing right now, man?"

"There's not much better than this, man."

"Go-- I don't know, go text your fucking fiancé or something." Roier grabs a rag to wipe the counter. "And for the record, you and Slime were bad, man. Fucking terrible."

Their bickering continues for a few minutes until Mariana finally fucks off disappears into the kitchen. Roier attends to a few customers, mind momentarily distracted with the work.

He ultimately spares another glance in Cellbit's direction, though. The man has taken a brief break from typing on his laptop to instead write something down on a napkin. He watches Cellbit run a hand through his hair, evidently frazzled about something, pushing it back as he turns his head.

They lock eyes, and he sees Cellbit's piercing blues widen behind his glasses momentarily. Roier feels like he's been caught red-handed, frozen in place, but Cellbit's stress seems to dissipate as he flashes him a smile.

(Do something.)

Roier instinctively smiles back, waving - and then immediately internally kicks himself in the ass for doing so. But Cellbit chuckles, returning the wave before turning back to whatever he's been writing on his napkin.

The barista is surprised minutes later when Cellbit approaches the counter, rather than heading right out like he normally does. The napkin is in his hand, folded, and he looks awfully sheepish.

(Do something.)

Roier takes a moment to admire him, heart racing in his chest. And then, before Cellbit can even speak first, he finally cracks. "Are you free tomorrow? I get out early."

Cellbit is stunned. "I-- sí. Sí."

(Do something.)

"Do you wanna go out? On a date?"

"I would love to." He sounds almost breathless, trying to compose himself, and Roier's heart could beat right out of his chest with adoration.

Cellbit's hand trembles slightly as he holds the folded napkin out for Roier to take, but his smile is blinding. "We can work out the logistics a little later. Hasta mañana."

Roier opens it, finding two words and a series of numbers. call me <3

Still riding his courageous high, he nods, looking back up at Cellbit and smiling. Winking. "Hasta mañana, gatinho."

(Cellbit's knees feel like jelly. He feels like a kid having his first crush, but he isn't sure how much shame he has left at this point.)

(It's hard to care when they're both blushing messes.)

"Guapito," is all Cellbit can manage before he's turning around and heading towards the door, feeling hell of a lot better than he did walking in.

Roier watches him leave, and as soon as the door is closed, reality crashes onto his shoulders. No mames.

It doesn't feel heavy, though. It's... light. Really light. Exuberantly light.

It feels like the start of something truly wonderful.

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 3

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"Aww, sweetheart. I'm so glad you were able to come" grandma said, giving me a hug.

"I would not miss grandad's birthday for anything in the world."

"Not like your father" he said, also hugging me. The moment my dad knew I was coming back to London, he suddenly had an important meeting to attend and he couldn't join us all to celebrate. "He is a coward. Not being able to face his own daughter..."

"Let's leave that conversation for another day, shall we?" grandma said. "Today is a day to celebrate that she has a new job. C'mon, tell us everything about this Spanish girl. Is she posh? Where is the kid's dad?"

"Yes, share all the gossip with your grandma" grandad laughed, sitting down on his big chair.

"She isn't posh. Everything Lucy has is because she's worked her ass off to get it. Language, sorry."

"Don't worry, darling. Living in the North does that to you" grandma said, making grandad snort.

"We also swear on this part of the country, you know?" he said.

"Whatever" grandma replied, rolling her eyes. "What about the dad? You didn't mention anything."

"She divorced from her husband last year. Well, they actually are still divorcing, there is nothing official. But they went their separate ways a year ago."

"A divorce lawyer getting divorced. Funny" grandad said.

"Getting a divorce is never funny. Especially when there is a child involved. How is she dealing with it?"

"Julia is ok. Her dad also is a lawyer, so she is used to only seeing him from time to time."

"That is so sad... But what happened? Why did they get a divorce?"

"You are so noisy" grandad chuckled.

"I just want to know who is the woman my granddaughter is working for!"

"And knowing the reason why she got a divorce is important because..."

"Because!" she said. 

"I don't know why she is divorcing from her husband. We don't know each other that well just yet" I shrugged. Which was a lie. Lucy and I had instantly connected and shared all our dramas with each other.

"Anyway, let's talk about more important things" grandad said before grandma could ask anything else. "You are coming to the game tomorrow, aren't you?"

"It is your birthday present, grandad. Of course I am." He's been an Arsenal fan since he was a little kid, and every time my father allowed it, he would take me to one of their games. Tomorrow they are playing against one of the big ones, Manchester City, and he wants me to go with him. I don't follow football that much, but I always enjoy going to the games and spending some time just the two of us.

"Oh, yes. And Robert is taking his grandson with him too. When was the last time you saw Harry?" grandma asked.

Harry... The grandson of my grandad's best friend, the one they've wanted me to marry since we both were kids, and also the one who tried to kiss me the last time we saw each other, getting a punch on the nose as an answer. 

"I can't remember when I last saw him" I lied.

"Well, I'm sure he is looking forward to seeing you" grandma said. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"This can't be your granddaughter!" Robert said when we met outside the Emirates Stadium. "Where did the girl with the pigtails go?"

"Hi" I said. I think I haven't worn pigtails since I was three, but oh well. "Harry."

"Hello" he replied, not meeting my eyes. It looked like what had happened during our last encounter definitely still was in his head. Good. Now he probably knew what happens when someone tells you no and you insist.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" grandad said. "Today is a big day, we'll probably have to wait longer than usual at the queue."

Once inside the stadium, we were seated next to the benches, getting to see the players very close, especially when walking in and out of the tunnel.

"Ah, look at this atmosphere" grandad said. "Those City boys aren't used to something like this back home, are they, Robert?"

"They definitely aren't" he replied, both men starting to laugh.

"But at least they win something" Harry said under his breath. Since he was sitting next to me, I was the only one who heard him. 

"Who do you truly support?" I whispered.

"Chelsea. But don't tell my grandad, it'll break his heart."

"Your secret is safe with me. You know I'm really good at that."

"Yeah..." he replied, his ears turning bright red. 

The first half of the game was just City attacking and Arsenal trying to defend themselves, somehow making it to the half-time with no goals on any side. As the players started walking towards the tunnel, there was one that caught my attention, one that was arguing with another teammate. Before he disappeared, he looked up, our eyes meeting just for a brief moment, and I could swear I had seen him before. But where? On tv? Online? There was something too familiar about him to be just a complete stranger.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry said.

"What?"

"You are completely gone, definitely thinking about something."

"It's just that a City player looked familiar. I guess I've seen him somewhere before."

"Maybe out in Manchester? You live in the same city."

"I don't think these guys and I visit the same places" I chuckled.

"You never know."

"Anyway, I'm going to the bathroom. Grandad, do you want a drink or something?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, darling."

When I made it back, the second half had already started.

"Which player looked familiar?" Harry asked me when I sat down.

"I don't know. A tall one, brown hair. He was arguing with another one that looked tiny next to him.”

"Dias?"

"Uh? Why are you speaking in Spanish?"

"That's his name. Well, his last name. When City came out, he turned around and looked to where we are sitting with a confused look. Maybe he also recognized you."

"Nah, that's impossible. Someone probably insulted him and that's why he looked like that."

I had never met a City player, had I? Someone would have told me, they supposedly are superstars.  

The game obviously ended with City winning but just by one goal, and grandad and Robert seemed to be very proud about it. We were still on our seats, waiting until most people had left the stadium, when I found myself looking again at the player from the first half. He was giving some interviews, and the way he was standing while talking, made him look even more familiar. Who was this stupidly handsome man? Because he was handsome. And hot. Very hot. His t-shirt was sticking to his body, letting you see his very defined abs and pectorals. And his arms... His arms were the size of my head. 

When he finished talking, he smiled at the reporter before saying goodbye, and it clicked. 

"No way" I gasped.

"What?" Harry said next to me. 

"Who is he?" I asked, nodding towards the City player.

"Oh, that's the one I told you was looking this way. Dias."

"But you said that's his last name, right? What's his name?"

"Rúben. Rúben Dias."

Rúben. My Chris Evans. The hot neighbour. It was him. He was a fucking football player. And not any player, no. A Manchester City one. And now he was looking at us, at me, trying to figure out why I also looked familiar. 

"He's looking at us again" Harry said. "Are you sure you don't know each other?"

"We..." But before I was able to say that we didn't, Rúben was smiling and waving at me. And I was waving back, also smiling. But while he gave me a cute smile, I probably was smiling like an idiot or with the ugliest grin.

"You were saying..." 

"I don't know him. I just waved back because..."

"He's hot" Harry said.

"Yes. That's exactly why. Wouldn't you have done the same with a hot girl?"

"Maybe... But are you really sure you don't know each other?"

"I'm really sure, Harry. Stop asking."

"Ok" he said, definitely not believing me.

"Alright kids, ready to leave? I'm starving" grandad said.

"Ready" I replied. Anything to stop Harry from asking more questions, and to stop me from thinking about the fact that Rúben, the neighbour, actually was Rúben Dias, Manchester City player and football star.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

Breaking the Rules

The google doc for this fic was called 'shameless breeding kink' so. there you go. I promise I eventually will write something other than seahorse dad Buck.

Huge thanks and love to @hangsters for beta reading!

Please consider reblogging and commenting over on Ao3!

----

Buck and Eddie will always insist that they are completely professional when they're on the job. Even though they're married, even though they're deciding to grow their family, they still make sure to never get distracted. They've got nothing but respect for the strict rules in place.

They're lying, of course. But they still say it.

----

People always asked Buck and Eddie what it was like to work together. 

Eddie understood the curiosity. You got a lot of married first responders- of course you did, who else would be willing to put up with them- but very few who wore the same uniform, much less worked out of the same house. So they always asked, blinking in surprise at the ‘Diaz’ and ‘B. Diaz’ on their turnouts or the silicone rings on their fingers or the matching tattoos, whatever they happened to notice first. And they always asked. 

Eddie would always say, and honestly believed, that it was actually good for them. The 118 had made them team members, it had made them friends and now it made them better husbands. In fact, very little felt all that different. 

It was the same jokes, the same smiles flashing at each other as they pulled on their gear, sitting next to each other at every dinner almost reflexively, the same glances in the locker room. Of course the fear for each other was there, but it always had been. Both Buck and Eddie knew how to close off that part of their hearts, get the job done, run on pure faith until they could hold each other tight enough to bruise on the other side. 

So being married really hadn’t changed much about working together. Which kind of proved everyone right about how they should have realized they were in love ages ago.

But it made it easy to keep things professional. Eddie prided himself on that and he knew Buck did too. Of course there was nothing in the rules about a quick stolen kiss or some playful flirting but there was also nothing in the rules about their team torturing them whenever they caught them at it. They all kept things in balance, the 118 was too important to both of them to start acting like idiots. 

That’s what Eddie would tell people whenever they asked. Even after Buck made a complete and total liar out of him. 

-

A good day at the firehouse didn’t necessarily mean a quiet one. There was a fine balance to these things. 

The bell had rung enough times to keep them all from getting antsy but not so much they hadn’t been able to catch their breath. Every call had a happy ending but none had been easy, leaving them all with the satisfying ache in their muscles that came with ‘making a difference’ being action and not just words. They’d had a long, uninterrupted dinner where it had been hard to find room in their mouths for the amazing food and the laughter. All of Eddie’s share of the jobs were done and his favorite spot on the couch was free so he kicked back gladly, without a shred of guilt. It had been a busy day but it had been a damn good one. 

He got a few pages into the copy of Sports Illustrated on the coffee table, enough to get annoyed at how the Spurs fumbled their last game all over again, before he heard footsteps behind him. Heavy footsteps, hurried and eager even when they didn’t have anywhere to rush to, like they just always believed whatever they moved towards would be something great.

Eddie already had his head tipped back, his mouth already curved into a grin as Buck walked up, “Hey baby…you look cute upside down.”

Buck braced his hands on the back of the couch, his smile giving Eddie the same feeling as stepping into warm sunlight. He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, just because they could. 

“So do you…listen, I think you need to go take a shower,” Buck hummed, his voice unusually quiet, almost conspiratorial.

Eddie frowned, not sure he’d heard him correctly, “You think what now?”

Buck clearly only just managed to choke back a laugh, his smile turning into something Eddie associated with their bedroom rather than the break room. 

“I said I think you should take a shower,” he repeated patiently, his lips gently skating Eddie’s forehead. 

“Do I smell that bad?” Eddie cocked an eyebrow, tone light just in case he was imagining that smile, that slightly smoky tone in his husband’s voice, if his pupils were a little wider than normal.

“You smell great, actually,” Buck cocks his head, a secret definitely held in his smile, “But Cap is in his office doing paperwork, Hen is catching up on her sleep, Ravi and Chim are playing pool. So I think you need a shower. And it just so happens, I do too.”

Eddie felt a tightness in the front of his uniform trousers, one that made him shift slightly. It had taken Buck and him a long time to realize their feelings for each other, way longer than it should have done, but even he wasn’t misinterpreting things now. Buck wasn’t kidding. 

“Baby…” he swallowed hard, reaching up to brush his fingers against his husband’s cheek.

God, it was impossible not to be at least a little smug that a guy who looked like Buck was standing over him, ready to break who knew how many HR rules just to fuck him. But he could be smug and responsible at the same time.

“We promised everyone we’d behave,” Eddie reminded him gently, “You know how hard they were gunning to send us to different houses after we got together. Cap fought for us and I don’t want to fuck it up. Believe me, I’ve thought about it too but we got a perfectly good bed at home we can wreck. Here, we’ve got to be careful.”

Buck’s expression didn’t flicker, like he’d been expecting every word, like Eddie was hitting beats on a script and he was a couple of pages ahead. There was more than a little bit of flourish as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, flicked on the screen and held it in front of Eddie’s eyes. He even remembered to turn it upside down. 

Eddie recognised the app immediately. It was a hormone cycle tracker, something Eddie hadn’t even known existed before he and Buck started living their lives according to it, months ago now. It had felt a little like a military operation at first, though only slightly better organized with Buck at the helm, but they’d gotten their heads around it. And right now, flashing merrily at the top of the screen were the words they’d been waiting to see since Buck had come off his testosterone. Potential fertile day. Ovulation likely. 

Eddie swallowed hard, sitting bolt upright and twisting to pull his husband into a deep kiss, the kind that would have knocked Buck off his feet if he didn’t have Eddie to catch him, the kind that had him laughing with all the joy of a magician who’d just pulled his first rabbit out of a hat and brought the house down. The kind that absolutely was not appropriate for work. 

“Like I said,” Eddie gasped, cradling his face, grinning a mile wide, “We’ve got to be careful not to get caught.”

There was some small part of Eddie’s brain still functioning enough to appreciate the irony. The amount of times he’d been in this exact locker room or ones like it, telling himself to keep his eyes down, to not stare, to get his thoughts in line. Even before he and Buck got together, before Eddie had been able to admit his sexuality to himself, he’d been keeping his eyes firmly fixed on tiled floors, getting into his baseball gear, his fatigues, his 118 uniform as quickly as possible, but not so quick that it was obvious he was hiding. Like the other guys would only need to look in his eyes to know he was different, even if it was in a way Eddie wouldn’t let himself understand. 

And now here he was, back pressed against the lockers so hard he’d have indents in his skin when Buck took a breather from shoving his tongue down Eddie’s throat. There was some irony there, enough for a small part of his brain to notice. 

The rest of Eddie’s brain told that small part to shut up and focus on kissing Buck back. 

They left their clothes in a haphazard trail across the floor of the little changing room before the showers, naked by the time Buck nudged them under the shower heads and reached past Eddie, sending a cold spray over the two of them. Eddie yelped and shuddered as Buck laughed, pulling him close so the warmth of his skin chased away the goosebumps rising on his skin, kissing him until his chilled nerves flooded with heat. The cold had never bothered Buck, of course it didn’t. How could it when the sun itself shone out of his skin? 

Eddie kissed him again and again, gasping, open mouthed kisses as water ran through his hair, in rivers down across his back, flowing from his hands to Buck’s shoulders. The hiss of the droplets hitting the slick tiles under their bare feet covered their moans as the kissing became something more than that, as hands wandered and grasped at flesh, as Buck hitched his leg up to Eddie’s hip, rolling his own until Eddie was stiff and aching. 

“Not wasting any time, huh?” Eddie groaned, biting his lip hard as the tip of his cock kissed Buck’s entrance but slid away with the tide of their bodies. 

“Like you said, baby,” Buck breathed in his ear, leaning down and nipping his earlobe lightly, kissing along the curve of his neck, doing everything he knew got Eddie’s motor running, “We got a perfectly good bed at home to wreck and, believe me, we’re gonna. But right now, you’ve got a job to do.”

Eddie had studied the human body enough to know how to fix it when it broke, at least enough to let it limp off the battlefield or out of the burning building. But he couldn’t say much about the messier parts, the parts that ran on ancient, deep rooted impulses and slow, mysterious chemicals, he didn’t know much about things like instinct. But when Buck moaned those words in his ear, Eddie felt something very old and very deep stir and pop its claws and shudder. He didn’t need to understand it to feel it. 

Buck gasped, all the air leaving him in a rush as Eddie turned them and pressed him to the wall with some force, “Oh fuck…”

Eddie’s pupils were so wide his eyes looked almost black, his eyes desperate to pull in every scrap of light, to see every inch of Buck, “Good?”

“Fucking incredible,” his voice was weak, breathy, but his hands grasped Eddie with a grip like steel, “More of that please.”

Eddie had more to give, he always would for Buck. He locked eyes with his husband as he slowly pressed his cock into him, unwilling to miss a single flicker of his muscles, the way water droplets shone on his eyelashes, his lips trembling as a low moan shuddered free. He tried to burn that expression into his brain, press it and preserve it like they had with their wedding flowers, holding it perfectly so time could never take it from him. So he’d always be able to remember the moment Buck trusted him so completely, welcomed him into his body and gave him permission to leave something behind. 

And it could only be a moment. Eddie rolled his hips, muffling the soft cry Buck gave as the head of Eddie’s cock scraped his g-spot. He pressed Buck with his body, one hand blindly groping until it found the faucet, cranking the water up so the rattle on the tiles got louder. Loud enough to hide the sound of skin smacking into skin as one thrust rolled into another, their movements soon becoming hurried and frantic, they knew they didn’t have a lot of time. If they had to be fast, they may as well enjoy it. 

Buck made those fractured, gasping snatches of breath Eddie adored, each one punctuating the moment their hips met, the moment where they were most inseparable. But still he managed to whisper in Eddie’s ear, urging him on. 

“That’s it, baby, that’s it, harder,” Buck’s voice was strained, pleading, one hand gripping his shoulder while the other slid down slick skin to grasp at his ass, “Give it to me, knock me up…”

Eddie groaned at that, those words yanking him forward like they were a leash tied right around his dick, somehow finding a way to speed up, “Yes. Yes, whatever you want, I’m yours, yours…”

The leg thrown up to Eddie’s hip trembled in his grasp, the hot muscle around his cock tightened, Buck’s voice in his ear sounded so desperate it was almost panic.

“I’m there, gonna…” he whimpered, clinging to Eddie like he was his anchor to the rest of the universe, “Gonna come, baby, please…”

“I’m with you, Buck,” Eddie kissed along the side of his face and down the curve of his shoulder, trying to reassure him with more than his words, “Let go, mi corazón, I’m right here.”

That was all the reassurance Buck needed. He turned his face to Eddie’s as the tide washed over him, as he was pulled under. Eddie curled around him, water breaking across his back, giving his husband that moment before he let himself fall apart. When he came it was blinding, almost painful, it took everything he had not to send him and Buck into a heap on the floor. Heat and salt flooded into Buck, making his toes curl and his breathing hitch, everything Eddie had to give him until it felt like there was nothing inside him but a strained moan of his husband’s name.

And all they could do, in the panting, heavy moments after, was burst out laughing. 

“Oh my god…” Eddie’s voice was a rasp, breathless but he couldn’t stop laughing, like all the joy he’d ever denied himself in his life was bubbling up and out of him, “We’re too old to be doing this…”

“I hope you mean the whole sneaking off to bang at work thing…” Buck slowly pulled his leg down, trembling like he was remembering how to stand on his own two feet all over again, “because if you mean we’re too old to have a baby, it might be a little late.”

Eddie’s grin turned gentle, arms coming around to hold Buck close, “No. I’m certain we’re ready for that…and it’s pretty unlikely we got it the very first time?”

Buck smirked, slapping his chest playfully, “Yeah, go back and tell your nineteen year old self that. See how that conversation goes.”

Eddie winced theatrically, “Oh, ow, alright then…I’m just saying, don’t worry if it takes a few tries. We’ll make it work, Buck.” He pressed a kiss to his forehead. 

Buck melted against him, giving himself a long, indulgent moment before finally pulling away, killing the water while Eddie went to grab their towels from the rail, “I know. I just can’t wait to do this with you.”

“Neither can I. Although, if we did just make a baby there…” Eddie snagged Buck with a towel slung around his neck, pulling him in close, face suddenly deadly serious, “We are never, ever telling anyone where it happened. Understood?”

Buck snorted, miming pulling a zip across his lips, “Not a word…”

Eddie smirked, yanking back that invisible zip before kissing him, unable to do anything else, “I love you so much, you know.”

Even grinning and joking and giggling like teenagers fooling around at the back of a class, Buck knew what those words meant and he gave them back willingly, “I do know. And I love you too, Eddie.”

-

People always asked Buck and Eddie what it was like to work together. 

Eddie would say that not much had changed, they were completely professional on the job, they had a strict line dividing their lives at home and their lives in the station house. He’d still say it, even if it was a lie. 

But Buck would always tell the truth. He’d always grin and only say that it was the best bit about the job. 

[dmercer91]

ebug’s sister, dm91

part one / part two / part three

we're gonna ignore the drastic hair change and the fact that the people in pictures 2 and 3 look absolutely nothing alike despite being twins in the au

pictures saved from pinterest !

blakefriarr_

liked by jackhughes, lhughes_06 and 4,867 others

blakefriarr_: my brother's an ubug, episode 3! birthday edition!

jj was not actually the ebug for tonight's game, he's just a huge suck and he got me devs tickets for my (our) birthday cause he LOVESSSSS MEEEEE

he was gonna get me a mercer jersey and then i apparently offended him by drawing dicks on the printed pdf of his 10 commandments

i can't not provide context for these photos, it's my brand. so buckle up.

one is me after unwrapping the gift my dad got for jj and accidentally put my name on. yes that is fire. yes this was our father telling jj to go get an actual job. yes i laughed. yes i kept it.

the next two capture jj and i's entire relationship visually, and they are me wanting to drink out of a much too heavy, glass bottle without using my hands. jj was incredibly concerned for his safety as well as the condition the floor would be in after i inevitably dropped the bottle and got glass everywhere. however, that did not happen because i am actually god himself. next.

dawson looks very displeased with whatever he is looking at (they were winning?????? the puck was in the o zone?????? hisch had the puck?????? idek. maybe he's got digestive issues)

the boys are having a pre faceoff chat. dawson is eating his gloves.

view 525 comments..

jj.friar31: i want that torch back

→ blakefriarr_: tough shit james

→ drayanewman: HIS NAME IS JAMES?!?!?!?!?

user6543456: dawson eating his gloves just like jack

→ user93456: will ny is the original sporting goods eater

dawson1417: happy birthday <3 hope you had a good night

→ blakefriarr_: this comment squished my heart like a pimple in the best way

→ dawson1417: you're welcome? 😭

→ blakefriarr_: thank you, handsome <3

→ dawson1417: i understand the pimple comment. good lord.

dawson1417: now that we're done being cute i do NOT have DIGESTIVE ISSUES???

→ blakefriarr_: it's nothing to be ashamed of, daws. just a tummy ache :(

→ dawson1417: i did not have a tummy ache i am a grown man

→ blakefriarr_: shit ur right my bad you've got functional dyspepsia

→ dawson1417: i've got WHAT

user230237: this is so chaotic

user098765: i love that everyone just goes with this

dawson1417: final comment i promise but why is your shirt half see through

→ blakefriarr_: why ISN'T your shirt half see through 🤨

→ blakefriarr_: lemme have a look

→ jj.friar31: this is why you didn't get a jersey

→ blakefriarr_: @/dawson1417 can i have a jersey

→ dawson1417: @/blakefriarr_ i will get you one from every theme night as long as they've got my number on them

→ jj.friar31: you're a TRAITOR, dawson.

njdevils: happy birthday, blake!

→ jj.friar31: happy birthday blake AND JJ. IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOO. I'M THE EBUG!!! I'M MORE SPECIAL

→ blakefriarr_: i wouldn't say more special but you're definitely a different flavour of special

→ blakefriarr_: also technically your birthday was yesterday so stop acting like a colossal piss baby

→ jackhughes: huh

→ blakefriarr_: i REALLY did not want out of there bro i was hanging on for dear life

→ jackhughes: oh shit i thought dad had mad game

→ quinnhughes: then they wouldn't be twins ?

→ blakefriarr_: oh my god one of them has a brain cell

→ quinnhughes: glad i could be of service, congrats on being whatever age it is that you are

lhughes_06: i was gonna say happy birthday and then you said i had less braincells than quinn.

→ blakefriarr_: correction- i said quinn had one (1) braincell. therefore implying that you have none <3

lhughes_06: happy birthday jj

→ blakefriarr_: and you WONDER why i like quinn better

jackhughes: you were born on this day 🎉 jj wasn't, i guess. but happy birthday to him

jj.friar31: @/blakefriarr_ thanks for pissing off 2/3 of the hughes' i needed that

→ blakefriarr_: you're welcome it was your birthday gift

→ blakefriarr_: but just cause i'm butthurt i'll leave you with the thought that ellen would probably like me better

nicohischier: happy birthday to you and jj, thank you for calling me something normal

→ blakefriarr_: kinda weird that you don't find cap normal do you have something to share with the class

→ nicohischier: no i am 24 and i do not attend class

dougieham: i would never in a million years have thought you two were twins before your first post i actually just assumed you'd hid behind him until you got to meet us and that there was no correlation

→ blakefriarr_: is it cause i am really cool and he is just jj

→ dougieham: no.

→ dougieham: well actually sort of

→ blakefriarr_: aw thanks dougie

→ dougieham: i said sort of

ryangraves27: my head made it into this one

→ blakefriarr_: i can't tell what tone of voice this was meant to be read in

→ blakefriarr_: like are you sad?? thrilled?? terrified?? should i crop you out next time?? emote please

→ ryangraves27: i think i will not

→ blakefriarr_: this comment made me call my therapist

→ jj.friar31: thanks man she needed this

→ blakefriarr_: remember when both of the gifts had my name on them and nobody was shocked and the first one was money and things i was actually interested in and the second one was a propane torch that nobody will ever use unironically (remember which one was meant for you?)

→ jj.friar31: while ur on the phone with her can you make me an appointment too

→ blakefriarr_: she made it right before mine in case you need more time.

→ jesperbratt: you're joking about the gift thing... right?

→ blakefriarr_: they paid his college tuition

→ jj.friar31: they paid for part of your car

→ blakefriarr_: i drive an '11 civic and the check engine light has been on for a year and a half

→ jj.friar31: they pay for your apartment

→ blakefriarr_: we live together???

→ jj.friar31: that is definitely a point

view more comments..

[dairy-farmer]

:3c you know Red Tornado? DC has MANY Advanced Andriods. Alien technologies.

And paranoid Timmy's.

What if Bruce gets thrown into the time stream again? Or too a different planet? Or is injured? Being Batman nearly destroyed Dick. It certainly destroyed his RELATIONSHIP with Dick. The family can't survive it happening again.

Protocols need to be adjusted. Contingencies made.

A back up Batman.

It doesn't have to be convincing, just a real enough stop-gap to hold the line. Maybe stand in for Bruce when both Bruce and Batman have to be seen at the same time. Tim doesn't know why they've never thought of this before! (He has. Decided it was a Bad Idea.) It's brilliant! (NOo, It's still a Bad Idea.)

So during his down time? He starts making the body. Best materials on the market, programs matching up EXACT coloration on skin and hair. Synthetic skin to cover andriod flesh and bones. Perfect! Looks eerily close to Bruce. If he held perfectly still, expressionless, and didn't not breathe.

It's not... EXACTLY the same, obviously. But then, Tim's not a pervert. And the batsuit gives the right illusion, so who cares! And? WEEKS of work in? Tim stumbles to his work computer... and makes a Mistake(tm).

Because Tim IS a pervert.

He just hides it well. And HAS hidden it well for about a decade now. As he followed Batman and Robin around the city, in costume and out. In "Mask" and out.

Because Brucie? Fucked. A lot. And Batman's flings on rooftops with Catwoman were infamous. Tim has seen most of them. Watched most of it. The panting, the groaning, the pleasure. Watched his hands do clever, depraved, things to willing bodies. Watched them squeel and beg. Ride him and suck him and be fucked like toys.

Tim has A LOT of pictures. Videos. The quality only improving, as he became Robin. Was able to get closer. The way his hips rolled, his muscles moved, how he adjusted his script partner by partner. Tim KNOWS it. Has secretly gotten off to it. More then few times.

It is his porn stash.

Problem? He's named it innocuously. Just one of many Bruce video files. Lectures and fights, for him to review. See, Bruce? Nothing untoward! No need to dig deeper!

And he is tired As SHIT. The world is kinda swaying and he wants to pass out. But he needs to start the machine learning program. Click. Got it. Okay, now the video flies of behaviors Tim wants the Android Bruce to emulate. Learn.

They sure to all blend together, don't they?

He DEFINITELY clicked and dragged his "Batman patrolling and Being Generally Batman" bulk file, right? And not, say, his PORN stash of Bruce Fucking. Certainly not. He's not THAT tired! Ha ha...

Anyway! Off to bed! For a festive little coma nap!

And then he stumbles off.

Leaving the Learning Andriod UNSUPERVISED and with incomplete instructions. Well, THAT won't do. Decides B, after he has finished his information packet. How is he supposed to do his Very Important Job, without a cock? Thank goodness he is still plugged in! He can download whatever information he thinks he needs! Again, unsupervised!

What could go wrong? >:Dc

And, well, B comes to some Conclusions(tm). With no one there to stop him or be a sounding board. OBVIOUSLY, he was created because the weak, fleshy, HUMAN Batman failed to recognize his Creator's ardent love and unwavering support. Took him for granted. He, the SUPERIOR B(atman), recognize that his Creator has NEEDS.

That his Creator deserves to have those Needs met. Not ignored in the pursuit of shameless others.

He ALSO realizes? That the REASON his Creator has be struggling and striving so hard, is because he is not being acknowledged! So, he will not need to go OUT and ENDANGER himself, once he has a Proper Batman supporting him!

This makes perfect sense to B.

Tim? Wake up the INSTANT he hears the hum of Lockdown charging up. He did NOT order that. Shit. Tries to go for his phone to override aaand? Nope! Pinned and click! Wrists handcuffed with Kryptonian grade cuffs, to his bedframe. Faster then a human can react.

Oh shit. Rouge Andriod. He's gonna die.

Lockdown finishes charging up and then they are completely cut off. At least Oracle will be getting pinged that it went live. Knowing his family, they WILL break in to check on him. But that will take hours. He might not have hours.

Except instead of pain? Fingers begin to tease his chest. No amount of squirming can escape it. Feather light teasing, brushing down and down, barely brushing skin. Making him hyper aware of where he's being touched. His sleep pants are gone. Fingers that VIBRATE, swirling and grinding a place only he's ever touched.

Tim RECOGNIZES Bruce's tricks. Realizes with horror what must have happened. But that won't stop the overwhelming feeling when those fingers slickly slide deep and grind. Find his good spots and torment until he wants to sob. Til his body is beyond relaxed and actively gushing.

Then B has him by the hips, with hands that could crush STEEL, and is pushing into him. No hurry. No frantic lust. Just unrelenting pleasure for Tim, because B is a machine and can't physically feel any of this.

He's just enjoying this intellectually.

Watching his Creator fall apart. Gasp and whimper. Cry out and beg. The little ahh, ahhs, punched out of him. Being able to meet his depraved little needs. Stuff him so full of seed substitute, he bulges. Then take care of his other holes. It's nice~♡

And by the Time Dick, Clark, and of course, BRUCE, kick down the door? Tim has completely tapped out. Is AWASH in fake cum and will need several IVs of fluids. Dropped so hard into his own head and the glow of sex, he's somewhere on Saturn.

Clark takes B's fuckin head off.

Dick seriously considers melting him for slag metal, now sentient Andriod or not.

Bruce just speedruns the Personal Revelations(tm) he has at see someone that looks EXACTLY like him fucking Tim through the mattress and gets Tim out of there. Will he be revisiting the bolt of lust he felt, seeing Tim spread out and debauched like that? Obsessively.

So will Dick.

There's probably gonna be a threesome. But that's AFTER Andriod smack downs!

Thoughts?

-🐼🐼🐼

👀👀👀👀👀👀!!!! tim accidentally creating a failsafe-esque robot but with a 'stand in for bruce' intent and accidentally creating a sex bot who comes to the clear conclusion that he was created to fuck his creator!!!! this is so good, tim having a secret stash and attraction to bruce that comes back to bite him in the ass in the form of his robot literally learning how to best fuck tim.

clark outraged and thinking he's helping and both dick and bruce coming to the realization they are very much interested in seeing tim debauched like that again.

[lentendays]

Kuroshitsuji 209 Theory

Snake will be a bizarre doll.

Let me explain. I don't think Snake's role is over. Yana hasn't really been in the habit of fridging characters without payoff, and Snake's arc hasn't paid off yet.

When Snake reappeared at the end of the Murder Mystery arc, we established two things:

1) Snake wanted to kill "Smile" for doing something to his family, the circus troupe

2) Ciel employed Snake under the lie that they were going to find his family

These two things immediately foreshadow future conflict, where Snake will inevitably find out the Phantomhive household massacred the Noah's Ark circus. At the start of his employment, he wouldn't have hesitated to try to kill them for it. But we get to know Snake more - he's kind, insecure and shy, willing to give a job his all, and responds most to kindness from others. He gets treated well by Ciel and the servants; told that his looks don't matter, given an education and housing, and has saved Ciel on more than one occasion. We don't know who he would choose once the truth comes out, and that presents great conflict. With Doll showing up, we knew this reveal was going to come.

And it did, and it broke Snake, then he died saving a boy from Doll. But that doesn't seem to be the end.

The major deaths we've seen in Black Butler have all happened for a reason to drive the plot forward; Madame Red was discovered to be Jack the Ripper and her death served to introduce Grell and shinigami. Her story was over. Agni died at peace, protecting Soma, who has now turned into a vengeful possibly inhuman force. His story had little arc beyond protecting Soma and suspecting Sebastian, and it heartbreakingly concluded well. We are still picking at the mystery behind the Phantomhive parents' deaths.

Snake's death offered no new information and did not conclude his arc. He was still in denial and wondering what was happening in his last moments. If Yana wanted to kill off a major character for shock value, Bardroy could have died in the previous arc. We had his backstory and there was nothing new to share. But he didn't die.

For Snake - who has a lot more story to tell - to die for a child we just met, having been unable to process his love for the circus and the Phantomhives and what he's just learned about both or take any action, feels too abrupt for what's been set up. He *is* dead; the shinigami's presence and his reel proves that. But will he stay that way?

We still don't know how the bizarre dolls are made, only that they require a constant supply of blood. Snake's corpse is now in Doll's hands, and we know she definitely is a bizarre doll. We never got to see her actual death onscreen but it's extremely unlikely that Sebastian would miss a kill shot.

Hence: Snake will come back as a bizarre doll.

We do know that Bizarre dolls retain the memory and probably personalities of who they were before they died. Doll remembered everything and while she's more violent than she was in the past, that can be explained by the trauma she went through and her desire for vengeance. Same for R!Ciel and whatever he has planned.

Yes, there was a shinigami for Snake, but notice that this isn't anyone we've seen before. Why introduce a new shinigami when there are so many established ones?

One potential reason: because everyone we know is already investigating the Undertaker.

In the Campania arc, we know the prototype bizarre dolls were created by editing the reels. We don't know if this is still the case, but if it IS, and the Undertaker needed Snake's - it would be easier to get from a shinigami we don't know. We don't know their loyalties, or how strong they are, whether they've heard of the Undertaker situation. And if it comes down to it, we don't like them enough yet to feel any way if Undertaker ends up offing them for the reels he needs.

So it's not impossible that Snake comes back as a bizarre doll. And that would put his loyalties further into question. Does he side with R!Ciel and his friend Doll and the memory of his troupe, who were kidnapping and killing children for bone prosthetics - in addition to the fact that they would be the only faction capable of keeping him "alive" as a bizarre doll? Or does he help O!Ciel, who lies aside has treated him kindly and given him peace and an education, at what would be Snake's own "second life" as cost?

This would be a far more interesting story than him dying confused with little resolution.

Narratively, in a meta sense, there are a couple reasons this makes sense. We already have Soma vying for revenge; there doesn't need to be another similar story. We saw that it was possible for Lau to go back for Bard in the previous arc, despite having little reason to and not really knowing Bard in the first place. So why was Finny, who's always been shown as ride-or-die, the heart of the servants, who clearly cares about his colleagues and Snake, not allowed to do the same for Snake (in a narrative sense)? Because he needed to leave Snake behind to let a different story start.

Anyway that's my theory. Thoughts?

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Situationship to Exes to Lovers [Saiouma Prompt]

Clown: Thinking about saiou being in the middle of completely mundane activities where shuichi casually brings up "I think I'm in love with you" And kokichi immeadiately responds with "You're insane" And they have this conversation like 6 times Ajsgdhdb I just want them to completely brush over it and continue on with whatever they were doing like nothing happened

Dra: Is it done for the "wait that was akward I'll just pretend it didn't happen" way or "I'm unlovable and will ignore it" way

Clown: Hmmm, in like the this is a fun fact we've both fully accepted but aren't ready/ don't feel the need to have a full discussion about it yet But it can be angst, as a treat

Dra: Aww,, waiting until ready my beloved

Beez: i interpreted this as like, theyre already dating, and its just a running inside joke between them kahdkshdjdk

Ves: "love you" "ur just trying to get my money huh" (he is broke) "love you" "YOU POISONED THIS DINNER DIDN'T YOU"

Clown: In the middle of a game of chess "I love you" "your psychological warfare is cheap, really."

Hina: Oh shit we all had different interpretations I thought that this was the first time he says it and it's just. "I love you.", "You're insane." And then they don't adress it, just comfortably live with it

Dra: They move in together and confirm nothing [!! emoji]

Ves: shuuichi knowing kokichi loves him back but he isn't ready to say it yet,,,,,

Clown: I really like the thought of it being really casual, they've found a place that's really comfortable with each other. Enough that shuichi doesn't think twice before casually dropping the bomb because it feels right. And there's no need to pursue it immediately because there's no rush, no judgment between them hehehehe Shuichi just does it whenever he feels like and there's no expectation attached to it because they'll keep going as they are for now

Dra: They comfy,,,,,,,,,

Clown: Okay so now we can angst it

Ves: insecure shuuichi,,,,,,,

Clown: Shuichi becoming really anxious at the lack of answers Maybe meanwhile ouma takes it mostly as shuichi joking around

Ves: i think when kokichi finally says it back it'd be sometime when he doesn't have to face it mumbled into the back of shuuichi's neck in bed..

Dra: Why is he like this [sob emoji]

Ves: terminal clown disease "haha wouldn't it be funny if you actually loved me??? ANYWAY" olympic sprinting from that commitment

Dra: Me @ him

[this wasn't necessary to include, but consider: funny to me]

Clown: Shuichis burying his face in his pillow after the 3rd time ouma seemingly brushes off his confession and meanwhile ouma is just. "Heh, he really though he could get me with that one, oldest trick in the book I'm 6 steps ahead-" Ouma is allergic to heart to hearts he's breaking out into hives

Dra: What would Shu gain from pretending to love him please [sob emoji]

Ves: his CRIMINAL EMPIRE smh dra his WEAKNESSES

Clown: The fact that he feels like he's losing is a crime in itself Shuichi stole his lunch money (feelings)

Ves: seriously though…shuuichi can't wait forever. bro better shape up or he's getting left

Clown: Shuichi starts to distance himself and ouma doubles down on trying to get his attention But its not working and he doesn't quite understand what he's done wrong Maybe shuichi just got tired of him too

Dra: Shu is in "You just want me to entertain you but never care for me back" mode now fuck

Me: oh, they're doomed

Ves: NOOOOOO THEY CAN MAKE UP I BELIEVE IN THEM

Dra: He also blames himself for being distant bc "I fell in love with him who cares if he just wants to use me at least we could spend time together"

Ves: shuuichi's gonna end up The One Who Got Away frrr he breaks the news of a job out of the country.. he leaves. they still never talk about it they basically cut contact but they can meet again years down the line bc i can't take them breaking up FOREVER

Clown: THEY HIT THE SPEEDRUN BUTTON They weren't even dating and they broke up, why are they like this [sob emoji]

Dra: How kicked puppy are they when away from each other

Ves: Maximum for at least a year kokichi never quite gets over it shuuichi moves on a lot more and then they do something stupid af like end up as coworkers

Dra: PETTY ARC

Ves: WOULD THEY BE,,,, i feel like it'd be more awkward and sad kokichi never forgave himself yknow yknow

Dra: I think he'd be "You left me" to Shu a lil

Clown: he tried to confess to him before shuichi left but circumstances made it so shuichi couldn't hear him

Ves: OKAY BUT HE'S GOTTA BE BETTER NOW OR ELSE THEYRE NEVER GETTING TOGETHER- DICE bullied kokichi into therapy after he turned into goo post-breakup okay. he's a leeeettle better at communication now

Dra: One of them sees the other crying over something and they just hug for way too long instead of talking

Ves: they get tipsy at a company bonding outing

Dra: They fall asleep clinging to each other !!

Beez: its the best sleep theyve had in ages /hj

Clown: Okay, okay. Shuichi arriving at the company post a messy breakup who's wary as all hell about hanging around ouma again. He doesn't wanna be hurt again. But its so easy to fall right back into the place he had with ouma and bicker despite the lingering tension. Ouma is post neet era. Took him a bit to accept help from dice and friends but he's finally breaking in there. Shuichi lighthearted asks about his plans to rule the world with his orginazation and ouma shrugs and says "I guess we grew up." They don't talk about anything until the alcohol lmao They're dapper buisness men at a soul sucking company I'm assuming aksbdkdh Where do they work actually??

Ves: i was assuming a detective agency

Dra: And what do they talk about when drunk enough [eyes emoji]

Ves: the good mediocre old times? "we were real stupid back then huh. wanna make out"

Dra: Did Ko become a detective too help

Ves: IT'S ONE OF THE BEST JOBS FOR HIM I'LL DIE ON THIS HILLLLL

Dra: They get fired for this/j [making out]

Ves: they hide in a corner it's fine

Clown: Fully silly speedrun one night stand that they both don't know how to deal with and now they're working on a case together whose events they're going to metaphorically link to their current lives/j

Hina: "This murder is just like the death of our relationship"

Ves: "see how these people didn't communicate, kokichi?? SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM???????"

Dra: Who wakes up/gets sober first [eyes emoji]

Ves: kokichi unfortunately shuuichi is a Squeezer so no escaping for him <333

Clown: He's going to jump out a window to escape alshsk

Ves: NUH UH he tries but shuuichi wakes up they cook breakfast together. it's. An Experience

Dra: They get eggshells in the yolk because fuck them/pl

Ves: these eggshells are also a metaphor for their-[GETS SHOT]

Me: Shuichi waking up groggily, what could he mumble to destroy Kokichi who's already been dying for half an hour?

Dra: An ex's name/j

Me: noooo that's not how I meant it!

Ves: an old petname

Me: YESSS

Ves: for a minute he doesn't even realize all those years've passed,,,,, kokichi's hair is still FUCKING ITCHY-

Hina: No but this was my first thought too It was that or "This was a mistake" Or even "Who are you?"

Ves: THIS IS MEANT TO BE THEIR RECONCILIATION GUYS WGAT THE FUCK

Me: that's as far off from what I wanted as it gets, I was trying to think of something cheesy with extra cheese, like "you stayed,,," is not enough

Dra: He says darling in the most eepy voice ever methinks

Hina: Or even just a "Stay…"

Ves: my goto for Maximum Sap is bunny but i know that makes some people cringe SNDJSBHDFJBGF….hitting him with darling could be an instakill… is he aware of the situation or is it more of a 'nooooo it's too early babe,,,,'

Me: something that was more personal to them, a pet name that clearly has a story behind it unaware, more than half asleep

Ves: if there has to be a Story than i am once again proposing bnuy

Dra: While yes they definitely have that Saiou are also the type of mfs to call each other a random object for the funnies and it sticks

Me: that counts as having a story and being something specific to them

Ves: i maintain that all their petnames start out Stupid

Clown: Called him bunny because ouma wouldn't stop trying to eat cardboard/j

Ves: it was their pens and cords actually. but i think he'd try cardboard if you put it in his hands when he was distracted enough but also a random object? does shuuichi just wake up and say paperclip?

Dra: Yes

Checkers: Kokichi starts calling him Baby Carrot

Ves: did i tell you about the 'punk' one i watch a streamer who apparently started calling her husband pumpkin -> then punkin -> then just punk. i know this because when he comes in the room she says PUNK!! in the most affectionate voice and it's hilarious every time very saioucoded

Clown: Shuichi lovingly calling ouma "punk" beloved

Clown: Okay, so saiou waking up together. Do they talk about it? Or is it an unspoken thing? And will there be a dramatic scene where ouma is physically ripped from his silly little dodging commitment Era when there's a real threat he might lose shuichi forever? /hj

Dra: Maybe not forever but something happens and Shu might have to leave again and he DOES NOT want that

Clown: Ajsgdjdh I was gonna shoot shuichi BUT YES

Me: it was a christmas office party and they got snowed in together I'm talking like. Snowstorm hits as they're eating breakfast, Ouma is watching his plans of leaving asap after they eat and not touching any heavy topics slip through his fingers as it's howling against the windows

Ves: ah, getting snowed in…mother nature's get along sweater the discussion is very stilted but it HAPPENS okay and then they kith <3

Dra: What if they like. Use metaphors. It's hard to actually talk about it so they pretend they're only talking about the weather

Ves: shuuichi starts it as a way to give kokichi an out but still make him Talk

Clown: Shuichi finding ways to get what he wants without sacrificing ouma's lying shield YES

Ves: they communicate strangely but they still do

Dra: Something something "The windows can't hold the snow out forever, they'll either need stronger support or the wind should be considerate and calm down" (I knew you weren't ready but it kept hurting me when you avoided me and I couldn't take it anymore.)

Ves: as the serious conversation (and coded apologies) eases down it just gets. Silly bad adult film dialogue they're both giggling like 'hmmm maybe the wind should get on over here then-' 'i sure like the feeling of the wind on my face' and they just double over wheezing they're so fucking annoying <3 their coworkers have a bigger storm coming than the snow one smh it turns out they're insanely good at solving cases together. but GOD are they obnoxious-

Dra: PDA is officially in

Clown: Everyone's walked in on them making out in the closet at least once

Dra: Imagine them praising each other in the already small cubicles after solving cases sjgjdj

Ves: i am a coworker kinnie now. if i have to hear about shuuichi's massive sexy throbbing wrinkly brain one more time i set off the fucking bombs they are communicating their affection TOO MUCH!!! GO BACK [after everyone starred it] so ur enjoyers of shuuichi's sexy brainmeat then????????

Hina: NO Shuichi Saihara is not sexy

Ves: -kokichi, in the denial phase

Dra: They call each other partner. Work and gay

Dra: They solve a really heavy case together and it impacts one of them and hurt comfort,, Points at Shu He can relive the first case tm methinks

Ves: he stumbles away from the scene and kokichi chases after to let him hide his eyes in his neck just huggin on the curb,, he doesn't want anybody to look at him :((

Dra: Can they be silly for a moment,, Kokichi tells him to close his eyes and just guides him until Shu feels better

Ves: he slaps his little babyhands over shuuichi's face "cmon, cmon, don't you trust me??"

Dra: Makes him walk into stuff for the funny/j

Apollo: Ngl, I love the 'guess we just grew up stuff' because you can angst it so fucking hard if you try hard enough

Like they always talked about ruling the world but they actually meant making a safe space for misfits like them. They wanted to change the world for the better and if at least one kid didn't have to go through what they did, it meant they'd won.

Shuichi knows this and to hear Kokichi say it was all just childish wishes? It hurts so much because Shu knows that he can help people. Hell, he's done it by becoming a detective.

Yet he gave up so easily… He's not the Kokichi he left behind that's for sure

Shuichi doesn't know how to react. Here's the guy who broke his heart (by accident mind you) who had an honestly noble dream and he just…Gave up. Kokichi Ouma gave up on something.

Now imagine this. DICE also broke up. They all decided it was time to grow up and felt they couldn't if they stayed in their silly little clown group

They have some contact with each other but have sorta drifted away like multiple friendship groups do Kokichi pretends it doesn't hurt him as much as it does

Shuichi doesn't know how to react. He can tell it hurts but he also knows Kokichi will deny it.

Theres also a tiny sick part of him that wonders if it's a good thing Kokichi is suffering at the breakup of his group because Kokichi broke his heart. Shuichi hates that part of him

LIKE A SMALL PART THINKS IT'S KARMA THEN HE WANTS TO PUNCH HIMSELF BECAUSE YEAH KOKICHI PLAYED WITH HIS FEELINGS OR WHATEVER BUT DICE WAS KOKICHI'S FAMILY AND NOW THEY'VE SPLIT UP AND KOKICHI IS THROWINFG HIMSELF INTO HIS WORK TO AN ALMOST UNHEALTHY DEGREE TO DISTRACT FROM THE LONELYNESS AND PAIN

Clown: AND PART OF HIM IS RIGHT. EVEN OUMA THINKS SO. HE KNOWS WELL ENOUGH THAT OUMA WAS ENTIRELY CAPABLE OF NOT BEING GOOD. Sometimes Ouma sucks and sometimes that has consequences. It doesn't mean he hasn't learned, but it also doesn't mean those effects went away. Ouma blames himself for a lot and somehow it hurts a bit to come to the understanding ouma's feelings aren't that far off from his own in that case They're better now tho

Apollo: They're better but it takes time Shuichi is glad that Kokichi had gotten better but those consequences are low-key permanent but at the same time, that's life Shu gives him a big hug though when he finally breaks down over it all

Clown: With ouma slowly growing distant to dice to the point where they rarely talk…I think it would partially be his own fault too.

They're family, they'll never not love each other. But they have their own lives, own goals, own families now. And so they'll never be as close as they were when the corralled behind ouma as their leader. Its a big change. And there's only so much they can do when their schedules conflict or Ouma doesn't respond to their texts.

They know Ouma, you don't spend a good chunk of your formative years together and don't learn something. And what they've learned is that ouma has to do it by himself.

He has to make the effort to reach out to them, he has to start extending his hand out to them again. They'll be waiting for when he does

Shuichi being the first push into getting him to do that and rebuild his family, its different now, but its just as good

Apollo: With Shuichi, there was no promise that he'd be coming back nor a promise he'd answer any messages but DICE? DICE was with him through thick and thin and know how his mind ticks.

They know that despite not talking to them for ages, he still cares about them.

He just doesn't want to bother them is all but thanks to reconnecting with Shuichi, he's able to reach out to them and become apart of their lives again

Ves: he's pushed himself out of his heartbroken NEET era and reconnected with shuuichi but DICE is harder DICE are divided on Shuuichi Opinions on the one hand it was super kokichi's fault they broke up. on the other SHUUICHI BROKE HIS HEART >:(

Apollo: Kokichi's right hand man eventually pulls Shu to the side to talk everything out and reminds him of how unused Kokichi is to being cared for by people other than DICE and that's why he never said 'I love you' back and just treated it like a joke. He wasn't used to be loved and still isn't in a way that's not family

Ves: "also he never got over you and if you leave him again i think he might actually die. good luck!" /J/J kokichi is so demi to me it's crazyyy he has no idea how tf to handle romantic love (or how to get over it!) it's not something that's supposed to Happen to him

Apollo: Poor Shuichi though. He got to move on and Kokichi never did

Ves: he mentions someone he dated in those intervening years and kokichi is so violently reminded of his miserable lonely NEET time that he makes up a guy

Apollo: He's just fumbling to describe this guy and Shuichi just nods along

Ves: HAHA YEAH WE BOTH HAD A LOT OF FUN HUH. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY VERY REAL VERY SEXY EX JEFFERSON RYAN GRANT HE HAS. SKIN. AND HAIR

Apollo: "Oh and we totally did alllll the sex!" "Sure Ko."

Ves: hey so they were just in an unnamed roommates situationship before right did they even HAS KOKICHI OUMA EVER KNOWN THE TOUCH OF ANOTHER

Apollo: HE'S A NEET THE HELL DO YOU THINK? /J

Ves: HE WASN'T BEFORE HE ENTERED NEET ARC OUT OF HEARTBREAK THEY HAD A BREAKUP THAT MESSY AND DIDN'T EVEN FUCK!?

Apollo: DO YOU THINK KOKICHI 'CAN'T TELL PEOPLE MEAN IT WHEN THEY SAY THEY LOVE HIM' OUMA FUCKED SOMEONE?

Ves: this is so embarrassing for him was. was that drunk one night stand his FIRST TIME?????????

Apollo: OH GOD WAS IT? IMAGINE HIM TELLING SHU THAT YEAH WE WERE DRUNK AND YOU TOOK MY V CARD Shuichi just pauses because he knew Kokichi had becoem a NEET after he left but he somehow didn't expect this Shuichi said Let's get drunk and throw out that card /j

Me: no… I was under the full assumption that they did, and were dating, Kokichi just didn't believe Shuichi loves him & didn't say he loves him because of that, the pet name scene doesn't make sense otherwise, it was because he was thrown back to waking up together

Apollo: Me waking up every morning: How can I ruin the Pit's day today?

Me: today by trying to make Ouma a virgin, apparently, but I won't let you they fucked, I know this in my heart, it's okay of course they were fucking, they were roommates, fucking is a lot easier than talking about feelings bet they even had a situation (or multiple) when things escalated that way as to avoid talking about feelings, Kokichi kissing him so he doesn't have to reply to something

Ves: you can ABSOLUTELY have a petname for ur roommate but i see the vision actually. ouma using physical affection to avoid verbal,,,OUGH

Me: yeah, but it's about waking up together and slipping into the old act because he's done it many times it just felt so familiar to wake up this way that he said it without thinking!!!

Clown: Thinking about ouma calling one of the dices members for the first time in a long while and they don't yell at him, they aren't even disappointed. They just start immediately gushing about how wow! They have so much to talk about. And ouma has a moment where he finds they've grown so much without him realizing. He doesn't have to protect them anymore. And they're having lunch on a Saturday and a weight falls of his shoulders for the first time in a while

Apollo: Kokichi gives a wobbly smile and they ask what's wrong and he says he's so relieved they're doing so well and that he missed them. He gets teased for being a sap despite them tearing up as well One of his former classmates is also at the cafe and is just like Fuck they're back together Maki screaming internally because Kokichi knows where she works

Clown: What crimes will they commit? Maki Cafe worker real??? :0

Apollo: Kokichi makes the worst sugar riddled drinks. He just grins while requesting the worst thing ever

Clown: He can't even finish them half the time he's just doing it out of spite

[darkkitty1208]

if you still accept prompts...

wholesome wings au?

Sorry it took like, nearly a year lol. Anyway. Thank you for the prompt!

~

"Okay," Tony huffs out, adjusting Stephen's new mechanical wings carefully. This is the moment they've been waiting for. Tony takes in a shaky breath, turning to Stephen.

"You ready?" he asks, assuring himself repeatedly that Stephen is taking flight in a safe, secure place and within his sight in case things didn't go as well as expected.

They were in a secluded, clear field, the sky above them bright and blue. He checked the area multiple times to make sure no one is in their vicinity. He's brought some of his bots, EDITH, and made sure his suit is with him in case things go south.

The wings attached to Stephen's back has been a project he's spent the last few months trying to perfect.

When the accident happened, Stephen had been the most devastated Tony had ever seen him. His wings had been damaged horribly beyond repair, and taking flight in its state is near impossible. Tony hates seeing him that way. Since then, he had made it his mission to make sure Stephen could fly again.

It took so long to perfect, but here they are now.

It surprisingly did not take a lot of convincing for the Wakandans to lend him some vibranium for it. He thought about using nanotech instead, mainly due to its flexibility and his familiarity with it from past projects, but he wanted nothing but the best for Stephen. And if that meant one of the strongest metals in the world? Then he'd fight hell and back just to get it.

His nervous eyes meet Stephen's gentle ones, a small smile stretching the sorcerer's lips.

"Yes," he says, "Yes, I'm ready."

There was certainty in his voice. It calmed Tony's nerves.

"Alright," he says, turning to DUM-E. "Look alive, DUM-E. You're gonna stand by for fire safety." One can always trust DUM-E for fire safety. Even if the bot does a shit job at it. (He just can't bring himself to get rid of it.)

There really isn't any possible fire hazards but, well, who could blame him for being prepared? (Perhaps he just wanted to bring DUM-E along, but whatever.)

He points to another bot at a far distance, the camera attached to it turning to Tony. "You, start rolling."

He claps his hands together and takes a step back. "It's gonna take a while for you to adjust to flight again."

"I know."

"It's gonna be hard to balance it, but there isn't any wind currently so you should be good. Oh, and make sure not to put too much of your weight upon landing."

Stephen chuckles. "I know."

"And y–"

"Tony," Stephen cuts him off, and Tony gives him a look. Stephen responds with a reassuring smile and a slow recline of his head. "I've got this," he says, gently, "You've told me everything I need to know. We prepared for every possible wrong thing that could happen. Hell, it's mostly guaranteed it won't go wrong. Even if it does, I won't be in any major harm. Don't worry."

Tony nods curtly, more to himself than anything, jaw clenched. He breathes in.

"I just can't stop worrying that it'll just blow up or something." That gets a surprised laugh from Stephen. The edge of Tony's lips tilts up on its own at that.

"Which won't happen," Stephen shakes his head as if the mere idea is ridiculous. It is. "You know it won't."

"Yeah, you're right."

"How come you're more nervous than I am?"

Tony cards a hand over his hair, chuckling as he shrugs. "I just... I really want this to work, Stephen. It can't go wrong," his tone turns serious just as suddenly as his eyes stare intently into Stephen's. "It just can't. I... I want you to fly again."

Stephen smiles, hand reaching up to cup Tony's cheek, who leans into the touch immediately. "This means a lot for me, Tony. And you've spend so long for it. It's going to work," he says, "Thank you."

The edge of Tony's lip tilts up. "Yeah, 'course. For you, Stephen, I'd give the world if I could."

Stephen laughs a little bashfully. Tony expects him to call out how sappy he's being, but instead he says, "You have," and with gentle eyes, "It's you. You're my world."

And with that, Stephen steps back. Tony moves to a safe distance, enough to give Stephen space when he takes off.

"Okay," Tony says, "Take off in 3, 2..." He stares nervously, "...1."

Stephen takes flight.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: New year new book! Welcome back -Danny Words: 2,342 Series' Masterlist Previous Book // Next Chapter Listen to: 'How Far We've Come' -by Matchbox Twenty

I: No Thoughts, Head Empty

Nothing prepares you to be a leader. You can be born as one, or climb your way up, but you rarely fall flat on the spot. You don't want that to be your case, but it is mine.

I'm not the only one with a new job, Rachel Dare got a job as our new oracle. Apollo's there and everything, he even talks to me and says the next solstice is going to be fun now that I'll be there to report how I'm handling everything in the mortal world.

When Rachel gives us the next big prophecy, Chiron offers her a room in the Big House until they figure out where to put her. Then he turns to me. "Our Daughter of Olympus," he states gravely. "Let's talk."

Percy steps forward. "Chiron, she's my little sister. What is—?"

"I'm not little," I interrupt him. "I can look after myself."

"What?" He scowls. "That's not what I'm saying, Ara, you're too young to be a General."

I'm the same age he was when we explored the labyrinth and no one told him he was too young to do that! I was twelve myself, I'm experienced enough to do whatever I want.

Chiron gives Percy a look. "Ara is our General, Percy. If she's willing, you may ask her what her new rank entails, after we're done talking."

Never before had I been above Percy, I'm usually the one pushed out of the room. Things are about to be very different from what we're both used to.

Ara wakes up to people arguing on deck and she just had the worst talk of her life with Aphrodite. She has no time to process any of this, so she leaves her cabin and goes to the deck to see what's the commotion.

"Impossible!" Someone's yelling."Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"

"Which is it?" Leo taunts the stranger. "Surrender, or leave?"

"Both! Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

"Wow," the boy continues. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look." Someone gets hit and Leo hisses. 

Ara walks into the scene, still too drowsy to understand. "What's going on?"

Annabeth turns to her. "Strategus, this is the guardian of New Rome."

When her friend moves to the side, Ara realizes they've been talking to a statue. She has 1.5 seconds to accept this and nods at the bust. "You must be Terminus. I'm—"

"The Praetor's little sister," the statue isn't as rude when he talks to her. "The daughter of Olympus."

Ara frowns. "Did you just call my brother a Praetor?"

"Leo, stop the ship," Annabeth orders unexpectedly.

"What?"

She's looking over the railing. "You heard me. Keep us right where we are." 

Leo looks at Ara for permission and she nods. They stop midway down, and Annabeth turns to the statue. 

"Terminus, there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"

"Well, no..."

"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth explains. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

"Okay," Ara pipes in. "That's a safe middle ground for all of us. Terminus?"

"I like technicalities," he hums. "Still..."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth continues. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course! Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, girls..." Leo wavers. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Annabeth's face is telling her that no, she doesn't think this is a good idea and probably the rest can tell that too, so Ara steps in. 

"If anything happens, we'll handle it like civilized people—and god."

"I suppose," the statue raises a brow. "For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, Strategus. Please try not to destroy my town."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she places her compass on the god's platter.

Chiron guides me across the strawberry fields. Lily and Nico follow us from a distance. 

"Are they you're official guard?" The centaur asks bemusedly.

"Lily's my second in command. Nico is just following Lily, but he doesn't support my decision, not entirely."

Chiron glances at them and then eyes me with uncertainty. "You're the first child of Olympus in this camp, I don't know what kind of responsibilities you'll have here, but I know what must be done at once."

"I'm listening."

"You'll remove your stuff from Cabin Ten and take them to the Big House before dinner."

"Oh. That means I won't eat with my siblings either?"

"You're the caretaker of camp now," he explains. "You'll sit with Mr. D and I."

"But I... I was supposed to be Cabin Ten's counselor," I continue hesitantly. "What about that?"

"The position goes to the person next in line. You're the caretaker of all the campers," he repeats patiently.

"What about my lessons? And the chores?"

"At the risk of hurting your friends' feelings," he makes a face, "that's beneath you. Now you watch over the barriers, the campers, and our oracle. That, and any quest the gods may give you. Could be a trip to pick up Zeus's suits from the dry cleaner, could be leading a war."

"But I'll still live with Percy and my parents, right?"

"If you want," he looks at me. "But it's not ideal, Ara."

I glance back at Lily, it'd be fun to be with her, but I would miss Percy and my parents. "I think I'll try New York if it's all the same to you."

"It's not. You're a priority, and must train twice as hard as everyone else."

"I already do that..." I mumble.

"What your friends taught you makes you a skillful demigod, but they didn't prepare you for bigger threats. That's my job."

I'm not going to contradict Chiron, he knows better than me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Are you happy for me?" I shake my head. "No, scratch that, I know you're not. What I mean is... there's gotta be an upside to this, right?"

He ponders my question, circling back to the Big House. "What do you expect to get?"

"Nothing," I reply. "I'm half-hoping my friends will be left alone, that's it."

"What about you?"

I smile. "I'm just getting started."

"You might get tired faster this way."

"There's only one way to find out," I shrug. "When I was little, I didn't know what to do with my time, but I always enjoyed helping my friends. I think it's my calling."

Chiron looks at me funny when I say that, but he doesn't question me. Lily and Nico are waiting for me near the end of the fields, and the centaur stops right before we reach them.

"Meet me at Apollo's cabin after you move. They'll need your help there, some of our campers will arrive in shrouds."

I get an unpleasant feeling at the thought, but being a General means I have to look after my army... and give them a proper farewell too.

Ara's wearing her cloak, and before leaving the ship she glimpsed into her dino bag and found her laurel crown in there. Lily must've packed it for her, but she doesn't know if it was to upset her or not. Ara has opted to hang it on her belt. She'd feel stupid wearing it, like a kid showing off, although she's feeling like a freak either way. 

The Roman crowd points fingers and whispers when she walks past them. The statue mentioned Percy was a praetor now, if her brother's in charge, maybe they're looking forward to meeting her...

When she reaches the end of the road, she spots a girl with a purple cape just like hers. Ara's not impressed by the stranger, but surprised, because she recognizes her. 

"It's you!"

Reyna's brows knit together. "Do I know you?"

Ara chuckles. "It's okay if you don't remember me," she offers to shake the praetor's hand. "You taught me how to do boxer braids!"

Reyna steps back, eyes widening. "You? But... Percy said you're his sister!" The girl exclaims, now with a bit of outrage. "You told me you didn't have a family!"

"Percy's mom adopted me the summer I met you," Ara grins.

"You've changed," Reyna's in distress, but Ara doesn't have time to ask why, because Percy decides to show up then.

He's acting like this is a party and he just happened to get there earlier than them. Ara's insides decompress when she sees him, but she barely manages to open her mouth when Annabeth rushes past and kisses him in front of everyone.

Ara diverts her gaze when the scarlet flash goes off. Without warning, Annabeth throws Percy to the ground and whispers something through gritted teeth. Percy laughs while Annabeth is still choking him.

"That's normal," Ara informs Reyna with a smile, "don't worry, Annabeth won't attack anyone else."

Jason clears his throat. "It's good to be back." He introduces everyone but leaves Ara to the very end. "This is our Strategus, Ara Jackson. I think you know her?"

"The daughter of Olympus," Reyna eyes her, serious and calculating. "The leader of all mortal armies."

Ara fixes her posture to look confident and excited. "Yes. I'm here to be your Praetor adjacent."

The people around them make noises of contempt that both, Reyna and Ara ignore. Reyna holds out her hand, and Ara shakes it. 

"Welcome to New Rome, General. Centurions!" The girl raises her voice. "Tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian—"

"You're letting these intruders into the camp?" A boy that looks like a terminally-ill version of Luke interrupts her. "Reyna, the security risks—"

"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian," Reyna drops Ara's hand, but the girl still senses a wave of dislike from her as she talks to Octavian. "We'll eat here, in the forum."

"Oh, much better," he replies sarcastically. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."

"Our warship is as harmless..." Ara glances at the plushies hanging from his belt. "As a teddy bear, if it's left alone. The ship was made to protect us from the threats outside your borders, that's all."

"These are our guests." Reyna nods in agreement. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As Augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely and for bringing a child of Olympus to make us stronger."

"Good idea," Percy adds. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."

Reyna gestures at the blond guy before walking away. "You have my orders. Go."

The girl starts to walk in the direction of a building, but Ara stays behind and approaches her brother and Annabeth. As the crowd disperses, Percy holds Annabeth's hand and squeezes it.

"Don't worry about Octavian. Most of the Romans are good people—like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."

Ara looks at the kids Percy is pointing at: they're the demigods of her dreams. She steps forward, the speech she's rehearsed about a thousand times spilling out faster than she can make sense of it. 

"Percy, it's been so long, and I know—"

The boy pulls Ara in a bear hug. He's taller and stronger than he used to be, his skin looks darker thanks to the weeks spent under the sun, and his hair is longer as well, it's like a whole cooler version of Percy, which makes her feel a bit of a dork. 

He kisses the top of her head. "You got bangs now! They make you look like a middle schooler, that's funny."

Ara's a little annoyed that he's talking and treating her this way in front of others. "Yeah..." 

She holds him by the shoulders to take a proper look. Ara spots the SPQR tattoo on his forearm, identical to Jason's except for the trident. She can't help feeling the Romans marked him like cattle, and she dislikes that, so she focuses on the purple cloak around his shoulders instead.

"Praetor?" Ara raises a brow. "You just can't let me have one thing..."

He laughs. "I'm sorry, Birdy. I tried to suck, but they loved me right away."

Ara's been called Birdy all this time, but it was Percy who came up with the nickname in the first place, so hearing it from him hits differently after all these months of not hearing his voice. The girl cups his face and beams. "I missed you tons, you jerk."

Percy playfully flicks her nose and then goes back to Annabeth, holding her hand as he starts walking. "C'mon, I wanna show you around..."

Ara sees them holding hands while glowing scarlet and remembers they're not done with the introductions yet. "Wait! There's someone I want you to meet—"

"Later," he says distractedly. "Come, they've got an elephant and—"

"Percy," she presses. "This can't wait."

Her brother seems a little confused but smiles anyway. "Alright. Who is it?"

Ara looks over her shoulder and smiles at Leo a few feet away, he'd stayed behind waiting for her. She encourages him to approach, and when he does, she holds his hand. "Leo, this is my brother Percy. Percy, this is Leo Valdez, my boyfriend."

Percy's smile fades, and so does the joy in his eyes.

"Hi, man!" Leo grins, which only makes him look even more dangerous from Percy's point of view. He reminds him of the Stolls. "Ara was worried sick about you for months, I'm glad you're okay."

The older boy stares at Leo, which is not great because he doesn't have a gentle gaze. He looks downright murderous, and Leo tries very hard to act like he isn't scared shitless.

"Boyfriend?" Percy turns to Annabeth, his voice full of concern.

Annabeth holds back a smile. "I'll explain. Ara, you two go ahead, Reyna's waiting for you."

Ara doesn't argue, now that the worst has passed she wants some alone time with Leo to tell him about what Aphrodite told her.

She looks at her brother with what she hopes is a confident smile. "I'm really happy you're back, Nemo."

Something about the way he keeps looking at Leo makes Ara feel like he knows something she doesn't. Right now, however, she's got more important things to figure out.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles

[wise-0ne]

Please: PART ONE

SUMMARY: ~𝙋𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙀, 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋~

After Sarah died, Joel found his new happiness. He loved his daughter, Hailey.

But when the unexpected comes, he's in need of help and happiness.

What will Joel do when he loses the people he loves?

Joel Miller x Daughter o/c

No trigger warnings just swearing.

You can't live in fear here. It just doesn't work that way now, or that's how my dad put it. These days, living in fear is a weakness. Living in fear will get you killed. Fear is not an option.

I was born after the outbreak. I'm 16 years old, my birthday was yesterday. It's 2023 and everything is just as bad as when it started. City's ruled by FEDRA, raiders, smugglers. Nothing is safe.

Even though I feel safe, I'll never know if I am. I know that as long as I have my parents, I'm safe. My parents made a promise to me when I was 6. They told me that they would never let anything happen to me as long as they were here. Luckily, for ten years, they've kept that promise.

My dad, Joel, had a daughter. Her name was Sarah. She was his ray of sunshine and my dad loved her more than anything. But Sarah was shot back in 2003 when the outbreak happened. My mom said he wasn't happy, nice, kind until I came.

When he found out my mom was pregnant, he told her that it was a bad idea to keep me. I was a one night stand baby. My parents were best friends and they got drunk one night.

He didn't want the same thing that happened to Sarah, to happen to me. He was scared for my mom and me. He didn't want to lose more people than he already lost, so he tried to convince my mom to get rid of me. Obviously it didn't work.

But when I was born, he was a different person. My mom, Tess, said he was so happy. From what I've been told. When he first laid eyes on me, he cried and said I was a miracle. His miracle.

Since then, he's always made sure I was safe and protected. I'm not allowed outside without him and I can't go with them anywhere that isn't in the QZ. They never let me outside until I I turned 15 because kids were supposed to be in the FEDRA school. They didn't want that for me, so they kept me locked up in our apartment.

I know they want to keep me safe, but it gets annoying. Knowing that I'm safe and loved makes me feel better about that though.

I love my dad and my mom. They would do anything for me, and by anything, I mean anything.

They are smugglers, so I am home alone sometimes, but they always have someone check on me. They usually have something to bring back to me. No matter if it's food or games, I'm always happy.

I love my parents, and if I were to lose them. I don't know what I would do.

__________________________________________________________________________

It was a long day of sitting inside, reading, and watching the civilians walk around while I sat on the couch in the living room of our one-bedroom apartment. The bedroom is not even really a bedroom. More like an open space with a wall. It was small, but in the QZ, we're lucky to even have this apartment. There are people who live on the streets, so we are really lucky.

The QZ is very full and most people don't have a lot. Like us. We live off of food rations, cards, and whatever my parents smuggle in. I'm very glad we are here. Dad said if we weren't, we'd be dead.

Both of my parents are working, and I was inside, alone. I was used to being alone in the daytime, but I made sure the door was locked at all times. So I was safe. You can't trust people.

Mom and dad were gone most of the day. I knew dad picked up an extra job, and mom was out dealing with things. For all I know she could be dead, but I know she isn't.

I was sitting on the couch, reading, when the door knob rattled. I looked up and saw the door swing open. It was my dad. He looked mad, he didn't see me and he just walked into the bedroom. I put my book down and scoot over to the other side of the couch so I could see what he was doing. I heard him stomping and then he bent over to move the dresser that covered his stash of stuff hidden under the floorboards.

Under the floor was some maps, an axe and more things that he kept hidden.

I watched him pull out a map and then he walked into the kitchen area and sat down with a map at the table. Dad was obviously mad about something, so I know not to bother him. I adjust myself on the couch and watch as grabbed his bottle of bourbon and stared at the map. Pointing and dragging his finger on the map, he sighed and took a drink. He drank half the bottle and didn't even look back at me.

I watch him put his hand on his forehead and sigh. I know he's stressed and angry. I wish I could help him in some way, but I don't want to make things worse.

I watched him take some pills and without looking at me, he got up, went to lay on the bed, and passed out.

This was usually the routine when he was having a hard day. He has a lot of those.

I then got up and walk over to the bed. I check his breath make sure he's alive. He's kinda old so I worry. And while he slept, I cleaned the apartment. I cleaned the table, did dishes, and organized the cabinets to keep me busy. I waited for mom to come home, but eventually, I sat on the couch and drifted to sleep.

Usually, we all share the one mattress we have. It was big enough for all three of us, but I didn't want to wake him up. He needed sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________

In the morning, I woke up to my mom making tea. I stood up off the couch and rubbed my eyes. I stumbled a bit but walked over to the kitchen. My dad walked into the room at the same time I did.

Sitting down at our table, I looked at my dad. He sat at the other end of the table and he was hungover and looked tired. My mom then walked over to us. I look up at her while she sets a cup of tea in front of me.

Her face looked terrible.

"Mom, your face," I say in a concerned voice.

Her face was bruised and cut. She had a black eye and looked terrible. She then sat down by my dad.

Dad looked over at her. His face said it all. He was pissed.

He slammed his hand on the table and almost got up.

"I got jumped by a couple of guys." She said calmly. Grabbing his hand

"What guys?" my dad questions her.

"Just a couple of teenagers." Dad then grabs her face.

"Said some shit probably shouldn't have," Mom said while my dad moved her face around. He then got up. My mom grabbed her cup and took a sip.

"Come on. You know these guys were born after the outbreak. Never learned how to argue." She said trying to calm him down.

"They just start swingin'." She took another sip.

"Fuckin' 19-year-old pieces of shit." I chuckle.

It's always funny when she those jokes. She made them a lot because she knew they made me feel better in these types of situations.

My dad came back over to the table. He had a bottle of alcohol and a towel.

"It's a miracle you're alive." He says while he pours some of the alcohol on a towel, he gently taps her face, making sure not to hurt her. She chuckles "It's a miracle any of us are alive."

I take a sip of my tea. I know my mom wasn't safe at the time, I was just lucky she was now. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without her.

As my dad tapped her face, he turned her head, "These aren't new."

"No, I was in FEDRA lockup all day."

Dad pauses. His face looks confused.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter." My mom says. She then takes a breath and grabs my dad's hand.

"I need you to take a breath," she says calmly

"What?" My dad says, putting down the towel.

"Joel-"

"What?"

She takes one more breath "The guys who jumped me were with Robert." She pauses.

"He sold our battery to someone else."

I set my cup down and hear my dad's chair scoot back. Looking over at them, I see my dad put his face in his hands.

"What the fuck." I say angrily.

"Nothing is lost. Shit like this is gonna happen. Now we shake it off and get our cards back or the battery." She says looking at me and my dad.

"We need the battery, Tess," Dad says and slams his hand on the table. He gets out of his chair and walks over to the bedroom.

"Trucks no good without one." He yells "And if I don't get to Tommy soon, he's gonna die out there."

"Okay, Fuck it. We get our money back, and the battery." She says, getting up out of her seat and walking over to dad.

"But Joel listen, Robert is terrified of you." She looks him in the eyes. "If you go to him about this, he's gonna get wind of it and skip."

I then get up out of my chair and walk over to them. I sit next to my dad. I lay my head on his shoulder, "Take a breath." I tell him. He looks at me with sadness and anger in his eyes.

While still looking at me, he asks mom "Who'd he sell it to?"

"Don't know."

"Well, where is he?"

"Don't know... Yet" She says.

"But we're gonna find out quietly."

"Understand?" she asks my dad. He nods and looks at the floor.

"Now I promised Robert you wouldn't hurt him, but I would very much like for you to hurt him," Mom says smiling.

She gets serious again, "So let's go hunt that mother fucker down, and get our battery, and our truck and go find Tommy." she takes a breath "Alright?"

My dad nods again "Alright."

Mom gets up and walks over to the other side of the bed.

I pick my head up, and my dad leans down to get his gun.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

can we just talk about how kenji has one of the Most tragic abilities in bungou stray dogs??? like. the more i think about it, the more heartbreaking it is.

he's fourteen years old and has an ability people would die/kill for. in s3, chuuya called kenji the ada's "trump card", so it's safe to assume the rest of the port mafia thinks the same way. he is immune to literal bullets, to being whacked in the head by hard metal or pretty much anything, he can easily lift cars above his head as if they were nothing,,,

but only if he's hungry.

if you ignore that last bit, kenji has one of the best powers in the show. and like he still does, but my God. he's fourteen years old. he doesn't think his ability is all that impressive. he doesn't see the issues.

since he has a job, he probably doesn't Really eat lunch, and if he does, it's snacks. but also his job is a part of the armed detective agency. therefore, things happen all the time. who knows how long cases will run, who knows when someone will try to destroy yokohama or the agency or whatever. there's been many times when it's been clear that they've had to work into the night. then we have to ask: does kenji eat dinner? no. probably not. and if he does, he probably just eats a piece of fruit or something small. that way, he doesn't lose his ability. he is the agency's trump card, after all. and he knows how important his power is. i mean, that's one of the reasons he joined ranpo and the others when they went against fukuzawa's orders in s3. it's not explicitly stated, but i'd argue that it's implied. anyways. does kenji eat breakfast? well, i don't think so. why? he sleeps when he eats. why sleep so soon after he just woke up? he has to go to work, anyways. so he can't fall asleep.

so, we've basically established that kenji probably has an extremely unhealthy eating schedule due to his ability. but also,,, what about his sleeping schedule? what kind of relationship does he have with sleep? so, let's say he eats a full meal three times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. let's say how long he sleeps depends on how much he ate... so let's say that a small snack is no sleep since it's barely anything, just maybe makes him a little physically weaker. and a normal meal is at least an hour. that's at least three hours of sporadic sleep during the day - one of them shortly after he wakes up. but you know what makes that even sadder? what if kenji doesn't sleep at night because of his ability. or, sleep consistently or well? we can assume the agency actually really wants kenji to eat, even if he falls asleep, so on days when he can't get away with not really eating, he sleeps during the day for an unspecified amount of time. his sleep schedule would get so thrown off. also, he was raised on a farm, so we can assume he wakes up really early anyways. maybe early enough to say that there isn't any reason to sleep because he would wake up soon normally anyways.

and... what if kenji can't sleep without eating? what if kenji has to eat to sleep? maybe it wasn't that way when he was younger, but the older he got, the more his body grew to rely on his ability's exception. like... that's just... really sad. this kid is fourteen.

and think about it. the agency is best friends because they are. they'd probably like to go out to lunch or dinner together. i bet half the time at least, kenji wouldn't eat. why? because he'd fall asleep. wouldn't want to ruin the fun. because then they'd have to watch their volume around him or try to wake him up (and i hc that it's really hard to wake him up for like... the first ten minutes after a meal at least - it gets easier the longer he's been asleep or the less he eats). and what if they can't wake him up? then someone would have to carry him back and that's so kind of them but, well, they didn't have to and now kenji feels like a liability or a burden. like he ruined all the fun.

and he works with the armed detective agency. they've got a lot of enemies. he is the trump card. the physically strongest on the team. also the most naive and, objectively, the kindest. oh and one of the two youngest. can you imagine how vulnerable he is when he sleeps? i would imagine the agency wouldn't want him to eat by himself in public for, you know, safety reasons. and that even includes the cafe downstairs. who knows what could happen if kenji fell asleep on his own? and that's probably why he went to eat with atsushi in s1 ep11: he was with atsushi so he could eat out. one of those rare chances. and if an enemy did get to him while he was asleep, he'd be pretty easy to keep out of it: just keep forcing him to eat. shove food in his mouth, force him to swallow. and there you are: you have the armed detective agency's trump card. and kenji knows this.

and the sad thing is? kenji probably doesn't even realize he's having problems. he probably thinks this is normal. something he just has to deal with - and i don't say that in a negative or self-loathing kind of way. a genuine "it's always been like this; i know nothing else" kind of way. he wants to help people: that's why he came to the agency. he couldn't handle not being able to help everyone back home. he needs to be useful, to help. he grew up on a farm: he values hard work a lot - that much is obvious. he feels like he can't help if he eats consistently. he's probably (albeit subconsciously, unknowingly) scared of what would happen if he did eat and sleep consistently. that means he's not useful, right? that means someone will get hurt because of him. he'd rather starve than someone else get hurt. he was given this ability, he has to use it to help people.

tldr: kenji's ability is so interesting and underutilized in the the manga/anime and in the fandom and is so overlooked in angst potential. his ability most likely has ruined his eating and sleeping schedule to the point where he doesn't know anything different and genuinely thinks it's healthy because it's what he's always done, it's what he was blessed with, right? kenji deserves more love in canon and by the fandom <3

[quartzhearted]

pegasus moon, year xx.

[ FIRST CORRESPONDENCE W. KINGDOM OF BRODIA. ]

To my beloved,

I want to start this letter off by simply saying: I love you.

I haven't said that in a long time, apparently. I'm sorry it's taken me so much time to get around to it, but I'll admit: I've been afraid. I've learned a lot about the circumstances surrounding what happened to me and what happened to Elyos afterward; I was a fool, and it cost my life and the lives of thousands more. I feel as though I've stolen someone else's second shot at life.

But I'm here, much as I feel like I shouldn't be. I've met up with both Alcryst and Diamant; they reacted about as well as you'd expect. Which was pretty badly. But I think I've smoothed it over well enough with them. And wouldn't you believe it, I've got a job at the fancy new school they're attending. I'm an axe, sword, and authority instructor---Dragons, if you saw the amount of tests I have to grade every other week, you'd cry. I know I almost have.

When this letter reaches the mailroom, I'll be surprised if the staff don't think it's a bunch of hooey and rip the letter open to read it. If that's the case, then, well. Hi there, folks.Sorry, off-topic.

I'm sure the boys have written to you about the school, so I won't waste paper explaining things you already know. There was a ball here recently, and I got to meet up with a lot of people I'd never seen before. Let me tell you, they've got some real cases at this school; don't think I've ever laughed so hard in one night. Except maybe on our honeymoon after that new kid waiter shot the champagne cork right in my eye. Dragons, the look on his face. Poor thing.

A lot of stuff happened at that ball, and talking about all of it will probably make my hand cramp like a beast. So I'll put it in a bullet point list:

Got punched (it was consensual)

Met a kid probably Alcryst's age who was as decorated as a winter festival tree

Was given pomegranate seeds by a little girl who I think was part chipmunk(??)

Had my first drink with Alcryst

Watched the prince of Solm start a spaghetti war

Spooked Alcryst's retainer Lapis (I still feel real bad about this one but I made it up to her later)

And there's other stuff that I'm probably forgetting. My memory's never been good at keeping anything that doesn't involve hitting swords together or my family, but you know that.

After the ball ended, I decided to take up dancing. It was pretty popular with the other attendees; I think the first class I went to had so many people there were folks waiting outside the door. I know we're already classically trained, so I didn't need to go take a class, but I sort of just wanted to go meet other people. It was hard as hell, too---the instructor was no joke. I'm pretty sure I fell over at least ten times and shook the room each time.

There's a special outfit they made for the dancers around here. It's supposed to help with movement and all that. I've had a peek at it and boy, it sure is something. They said they'll make one custom for me, but since I'm bigger than their usual clients it'll take a bit longer for them to have it out for me. I think the kids will be horrified when they see their father in this thing, so I'm quite honestly doing it so I can see their faces. They need to confront their fears if they want to do well in battle; this may or may not include seeing their father wearing skimpy outfits and busting a move with a frightful amount of leg.

Dragons, I miss you so much. I miss being able to sit with you and talk about nothing for hours. I miss laying with you in bed and having those little competitions on who will fall asleep first (if the running tally's still correct, then I'm up three nights). I miss just being with you. But I can't come back to Brodia right now, and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to. I can't throw the country into whatever disaster my being alive will cause. She's in Diamant's hands now, and I intend to let it stay that way.

I'm proud of Alcryst and Diamant. They've been through so much as I'm sure you have, and yet they're here, working on themselves and meeting new people. They're such strong kids. Seeing their eyes fill with all sorts of horrible emotions when they first saw me shook me something serious. I'm such a terrible father for what I've made them do.

One day, I want to see you again. I want to feel your hand in mine. I want to kiss your cheek, and I want to hug you, and I want to hold you until eons pass, the world explodes, and we're the only two people floating around in whatever debris is left. ( aside from the kids, they'll be there too. they can float with us. ) Life doesn't feel right without you, and while I'm thankful every day to the Dragons above that you survived the hell that took Elyos, I'm about ready to curse them out for the circumstances that keep me from running back to Brodia and kissing you until my mouth goes numb.

Maybe we can meet up at a halfway point.

Enclosed in this letter are images taken with the monastery's new-fangled instant portrait-capturing device, invented by one of the alumni. I'm not sure how they managed it, but it lets you capture portraits in about three-or-so seconds, and they're as perfect as if you hired an artist to do them. Boy, that would have been nice when Alcryst and Diamant were squirts.

This may not be all the proof you'll need to believe me, but I want to try anyways. It breaks my heart knowing I'm here, you're there, and I can't do anything to change it. I just hope you're safe, at least.

I'm on patrol duty tonight, so I have to go scan the halls for misbehaving students and whatever idiots decide to raid a heavily-weaponized military academy. It's not great work, but I at least get to chat with some people I don't normally see in the daytime. Night owls and all that. This monastery really is something; I think you'd like it here.

I'll write to you again soon. I want these to become regular so that I don't fall out of contact or keep you in the dark anymore. There's a lot I need to work through and a lot I still need to understand, but I at least want you to know what happens to me when it does. As my wife, you deserve that much.

I love you, my darling. You'll hear from me again soon. Please be well.

Signed,

Morion, Professor of Axe, Sword, and Authority at the Officers Academy

[canirove]

The Princess & the Football Player | Chapter 6

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Masterlist

"I still can't believe David told you that."

"He was just doing his job, protecting me" I say while I check myself in the mirror. The moment Roberta landed in Canada, she wanted to go shopping.

"Protecting you" she snorts. "I've googled Declan, and I have found nothing bad about him. The only negative thing I saw was that some people believe he may have cheated on his girlfriend last summer, but most believe they were broken up already."

"Please don't remind me of her. She was at the game again."

"But he was flirting with you. I think they aren't together anymore and she may be here as a friend or to try and win him back."

"Great" I sigh, rolling my eyes. "This skirt looks nice, doesn't it?"

"When you have your legs, everything looks nice. But let's go back to what is important here. You and Declan" Roberta says while I get changed. "They say they want to make the monarchy more modern, to be closer to the people, but then your parents would prefer it if you married a guy whose Godfather is the freaking Prince of Monaco, instead of a guy from Kingston."

"Aren't you going a bit too far by talking about marriage? I chuckle.

"It's what your parents think about when they see Charles, so" she shrugs.

"Yeah... Do you like this yellow shirt?"

"Yellow isn't your colour. It makes you look like your grandmother."

"Yikes" I laugh. "Declan said I look good in every colour, tho."

"Because he is a man completely infatuated with you, and would say that you look great even if you were wearing a potatoes sack."

"You think so?" I say, trying to hide a smile.

"I do. Anyway, are you done? I want to go try on perfumes."

"Yeah, I'm getting the skirt. I think it will look nice with the England shirt for the next game."

"Looking for Declan to compliment your legs?"

"Maybe" I smirk.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━      

"I think I'm getting this one" Roberta says, making me smell one of the perfume samples she got for the millionth time. "But I also like the Dior one."

"You are gonna end up giving me a headache" I laugh.

"Sorry for wanting to smell good" she says, rolling her eyes.

"Holy shit."

"What? What happened?"

"That's her."

"Who?"

"Her. Declan's girlfriend or whatever" I say, nodding towards two women outside the Louis Vuitton shop.

"She isn't that pretty."

"Roberta!" 

"It's the truth" she shrugs.

"Everything alright?" David says behind us.

"Yes, yes, don't worry."

"They've seen us."

"What?"

"Her and the woman she is with. They've seen us and are coming towards us" Roberta says.

"Hello your Royal Highness, sorry for bothering you" a woman with beautiful blue eyes says. Eyes that look very familiar. 

"Hello" I smile.

"Could it be possible to take a photo with you? Is that allowed?"

"Of course! Roberta, would you mind?"

"Sure" she says, taking the woman's phone and snapping some photos. 

"Thank you so much" the woman says. "My son won't believe me when I tell him I've met you."

"Well, you now have the proof needed" Roberta chuckles.

"Oh, look at us! I'm printing one of these and putting it next to the one I have of you and Declan."

"Wait. You are Declan's mum?" I ask.

"I am, yes."

"I knew those eyes looked familiar!" I say without thinking. She just giggles, but I notice Declan's whatever giving me a murderous look. 

"I believe he has told you about me?"

"Yes, after the last game. He said you had framed the photo of us together, and that you will probably do the same with the one we took that day."

"I already bought the frame to put it in" she laughs. "I have you on the shelf as if you were a family member."

"I didn't know that" Declan's whatever says with a confused look.

"You haven't been in the house for a while, and I put it just before we left. Anyway, I'm not bothering you anymore, ma'am. You probably have things to do."

"It's ok, don't worry" I smile.

"Will you be at the next game?"

"I would not miss it for anything in the world."

"Then we may see each other there. Thank you very much for the photo and the little talk" Declan's mum says, doing a little bow.

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Rice."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━      

"You saw what I saw, didn't you?" Roberta says once we are back at my hotel room.

"That creepy guy checking us? I definitely did."

"Besides that. Did you see the way Declan's ex looked at you?"

"She didn't seem very pleased" I say, sitting down and taking off my shoes. "Maybe she is against the monarchy."

"Or maybe she was jealous."

"What?" I laugh.

"I think she is trying to get him back" Roberta says, sitting next to me. "She didn't know about your photo at Declan's mum's house because she hadn't been there in a while, she said it herself. Why? Because they aren't together anymore and has no reason to visit."

"She did look very confused with that, yeah. But it means nothing. Maybe she's been busy, and like Mrs. Rice said, she put it before coming to Canada."

"Nah, that's not it. My sixth sense is telling me she wants him back, and sees you as a rival. His mum already loves you and basically treats you as family."

"Don't make fun of me, Roberta" I say, hitting her with a sock.

"Eww, disgusting" she laughs. "But you know I'm right. Mrs. Rice wouldn't mind having you coming over for Sunday roast for the rest of her life."

"She looks like she makes the best Sunday roast, doesn't she?" I chuckle.

"Why don't you slide into her son's dms and ask him?"

"Now? He probably thinks I forgot about him."

"Tell him you've been busy. That I have kept you busy. But text him."

"And if David finds out and tells my parents?"

"This is your personal and private account. They promised to respect it."

"They did, yes" I sigh. "Should I text him, then? What do I tell him?"

"Met your mum today. I think she's inviting me for Sunday roast when we make it back home."

"Love that" I laugh.

"Of course you do, I came up with it" Roberta says with a big smile. “Now text him.”

[cophene]

039 || ☆ ⁺ « NO REASON TO HESITATE.

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pairing : vento aureo x gn reader summary : with virtually nothing left in their credit account, a gang of space thieves turn to the richest man in the galaxy to give them  a job worth millions. too bad those never come easy, even with stand abilities and pretty-faced crew notes : sci-fi au, multi-chapter fic, sfw, doesn’t follow canon plot word count : 3.6k+

★˚⋆ FUGO SEIZED THE CAPTAIN ROUGHLY by the collar and hauled them up, surprising himself with his own strength. Or rather, Fugo hauled up whoever was in the Captain's body. It remained to be seen whether it was actually the Captain or not.

The Captain groaned, their head lolling. Fugo shook them roughly, and only then did they lift their head. There was a trail of dried blood over one of their temples.

"Fugo?"

"Are you the Captain or not?" Fugo demanded. "Tell the truth. No more flacking lies."

"Of course I am—"

"Tell the truth," Fugo repeated harshly. He stared hard into the Captain's eyes. "Are you the Captain or not? We don't have time to flack around anymore."

It was only because Fugo was looking at the Captain so intently that he saw something melt from their eyes. Confusion slipping into resignation.

"How did you know?" Bruno asked.

Fugo let go of Bruno, his shoulders dropping. "The simplest explanation is usually the right one. It didn't make sense that an ability like Chariot Requiem's would leave two people unaffected. Especially because there were two of you. If it switched Polnareff and Coco Jumbo, there was no reason why you and the Captain wouldn't have been switched too. So that either meant there had been a fluke, or the two of you were lying."

Bruno drew a hand over his face, wincing. "We didn't mean—"

"You were trying to protect us, I know. Except your plan has unwittingly backfired because Zero has the Captain on his ship, thinking they're you. And you're here when we really need the Captain."

"But—"

"I'll explain to you again, because it wasn't really you I was talking to before. The Captain and the rest of the crew are under the influence of Zero's Stand. It manipulates their willpower, makes them more susceptible to whatever Zero wants them to do. The Captain is the one under the strongest influence. They've been fighting it, but something happened. Them going after the Stand Arrow like that was them giving in. Losing control. They are now completely under Zero's control, and won't hesitate to do anything he tells them.

"Right now, Zero thinks you're on his ship because of some vestiges of his power from when you were working for him, Bruno, but when he discovers it's really the Captain and his true hold over them..."

Bruno swore, closing his eyes. Fugo felt much the same. No one knew where Zero was willing to draw the line. He still didn't have the Stand Arrow, not with Chariot Requiem guarding it. There was no guarantee he wouldn't send the Captain out as his bloodhound to track down the crew and force them to get the Arrow for him.

It was a shitshow. The Captain would betray the crew with everyone thinking it was Bruno, while Bruno would be trying to hold things together as the "Captain".

"I've messed everything up, haven't I?" Bruno muttered.

"Things were messed up long before you got back. But you've exacerbated the situation, yes." Fugo found he was too tired to be truly angry at Bruno. He'd already spent most of his temper at the Captain, and Bruno's part in this predicament was small. He had been trying to help. He was always trying to help.

"Come on, we need to wake everyone else up," Fugo said, starting for the engine room. "The Captain has left us with a ship full of comatose crewmembers."

As they went about rousing everyone, Fugo wondered to himself why he was always stuck in this position. He was always dealing with the fallout, the aftermath. He was the one who had to fix everyone's mistakes, to set them back on course, to make everything right. It was exhausting. He shouldn't have been the only one capable of dealing with everyone's bullshit.

To be honest, whatever had led to Bruno's retreat from the crew, Fugo wouldn't have blamed him. Fugo had contemplated doing the same many, many times.

The crew didn't seem to realize just how much they put on his shoulders.

Once everyone had been rounded up on the bridge, Fugo took a minute to just study them all.

Their ragtag crew was even more ragtag than usual. Down a captain and a pilot. Technically, Abbacchio and Giorno weren't even a part of the crew, and Bruno had been gone for a long time. Not to mention Polnareff was stuck in Coco Jumbo's body and nibbling on a piece of carrot. Sheila was still unconscious, now restrained in one of the seats near the back with a gag in her mouth. She would give them hell once she woke up, but they could deal with that when it happened.

They were like a shoddily mended quilt, fraying at the edges.

As it turned out, other people's bodies were like ill-fitting clothes. Awkward and stiff and strange in all the wrong places. On top of looking exhausted and haggard, Passione looked intensely uncomfortable. Paranoid and too scared to make too much contact with anything.

"So does anyone want to explain why Bruno went absolutely berserk and shot me in the face?" Mista said.

"He shot you too?" Trish asked in a small voice.

"It was a Stand ability," Giorno said, because he seemed to have an answer for everything. "Maybe even a byproduct of Chariot Requiem."

"It doesn't seem likely," Polnareff responded. "Chariot Requiem isn't capable of targeting one person, especially not to possess them to charge after the Arrow."

The entire time, Fugo avoided looking at Abbacchio. It was uncanny to watch himself from a distance and he found he couldn't stand it.

"Where is Chariot Requiem?" Abbacchio asked.

"And where's Bruno?" Trish said.

Everyone looked at Fugo. Of course they did. Who else were they going to look at, Polnareff?

To his surprise, Bruno beat him to the punch.

"We're all under the influence of Zero's Stand," he said matter-of-factly. "That's why we even agreed to get the Arrow in the first place. Zero has been subtly controlling us, making sure we did what he wanted. And now Bruno has given in to his Stand completely, having no will of his own. He led Chariot Requiem onto Zero's ship in an attempt to get the Arrow to him. He's probably still on Zero's ship now."

Mista and Trish immediately began to protest. Which was to be expected, considering they were the only two people here still under Zero's control.

Not for the first time, Fugo struggled to recall the exact moment he had broken through the film of Zero's influence. He had been at the initial meeting with Zero, which meant he must have been affected. If the ability affected people in degrees, the effect on him must have been the weakest. If he had to make a guess, the talk with Rikiel must have snapped something.

Rikiel. Fugo didn't know if his plan with the Prince was still in motion. Neither of them had accounted for Donatello, which was a mistake. He could only hope Rikiel was doing what he could to keep Narancia out of Donatello's way.

"It makes sense," Polnareff was saying. "There's no other reason for why Bruno would have acted the way he did. In all the time I've known him, he has never changed his mind so drastically."

"But Zero would never do something like that!" Mista cried. "You can't just control people. We still have our own willpower, don't we? It's not like he's doing something right now?"

Abbacchio narrowed his eyes. "You're proving the point by defending him, you know."

Mista's head whipped toward him, his lips bared in a snarl. But a split second later, he seemed to remember himself and his eyes widened.

"Holy flack. You're right."

"What can we do to save Bruno?" Trish said, biting on her thumb. "We don't know what Zero will do to him. Or what Zero will make him do. What if ... what if Chariot Requiem switched his soul and Zero's?"

Abbacchio raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you wanted? For Zero's soul to switch with someone so you could have a scapegoat?"

"We wanted Sheila as the scapegoat. Not Bruno," Trish said.

"It's not Zero we have to deal with," Fugo said, even as Trish's words sank like a stone in his gut. "It's Chariot Requiem. We need to figure out a way to defeat it before doing anything to Zero. It's too risky to do anything while it's still walking around."

Giorno raised a hand. "Before we do anything, there's something I need to tell you all."

Fugo's eye twitched in annoyance. He preferred it when the Prince had been pretending to be a scared, timid space rat. He wasn't as bad as Donatello, but he still had that Upper Space gravitas that he couldn't fully shake off.

Even now, with Giorno no longer pretending to be JoJo or Narancia, he had no Upper Space accent. It was a strange thing to notice, but Fugo did.

"Narancia is going to be killed tomorrow."

If nothing else, Fugo could admire Giorno for his impeccable composure.

Trish blinked at him. Mista made a face. Abbacchio stared and Polnareff paused mid-chew. Bruno's face flitted through a few emotions before settling on wariness.

"I'm sorry, what?" Mista said.

Giorno's jaw tightened. "He informed me a few hours ago. I did what I could to guide him, but it was unfair of me to expect him to keep up with the demands of Imperial court. Narancia was unable to withstand the rigorous interrogation, even with my direction. Donatello sees him for what he is—an impostor. He thinks Narancia is a political impersonator, put in place to threaten Imperial security. Narancia is going to be executed for his crimes in twenty-four hours."

If there was ever a time to throw himself out the airlock, this was it, Fugo thought.

"Why are you only telling us this now?" Trish asked, her voice tightening into a shriek. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I'm not telling you this to worry you. I only wanted you to know."

"What do you mean, not worry?" Mista snapped. "The flack else are we going to do? Bruno's stuck on Zero's ship. We're being controlled by Zero's Stand. We have to kill Chariot Requiem and now Narancia's going to get killed!"

There was a flash of annoyance in Giorno's eyes. "As I said, I did not intend for you to worry. I detest repeating myself. I told you that because I have a plan.

"Sheila's ship is docked outside. I'll take it and board Zero's ship. If I can find Chariot Requiem's weakness, I will return with both Bruno and the Stand Arrow. Zero will be dealt with."

"You say all of that as though you'll be able to do it," Abbacchio said.

"I will be able to," Giorno said.

"Right, you against a guy who can manipulate your willpower and a Stand that redirects all of your attacks and swaps your soul," Mista deadpanned.

"I don't mean to be arrogant, but I have a higher chance of success than any of you. You don't know the true capabilities of Gold Experience, and I have had extensive training to deal with situations like this."

I am an Imperial Prince and I am insulted you don't think I can do this, was what Fugo heard.

"Your Highness, are you sure you're going to be capable of identifying Chariot Requiem's weakness?" Polnareff asked carefully. "You'll be under intense pressure."

Giorno smiled, and for a second, Fugo almost saw the cunning Crown Prince.

"I'm always under intense pressure."

Fugo snorted and Giorno glanced at him sidelong.

"I understand what you're saying, however, Polnareff," Giorno said. "It's just that the less people on board Zero's ship, the better. With your permission, I'd like to take you with me."

No sooner had Polnareff acquiesced that Giorno scooped him up and went to the maintenance door.

"Wait, you're actually going to go?" Mista said, shooting to his feet. "You're going to get killed! Er, Your Highness."

Giorno ignored him. Everyone on the bridge looked at each other, then followed after him. They made it all the way to the maintenance door, Giorno picking up Sheila's discarded helmet to twist over his head.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Giorno said, as though this were a pleasant errand. "Prepare medical supplies and healing pods. I'll require direct transport to the Palaceship afterwards."

Trish shook her head. "We're coming with you."

"That would make things significantly more difficult."

"Don't care," Mista said. "Bruno's one of the crew and so we're going to rescue him. We gotta stick together, right, Captain?"

Fugo and Bruno exchanged a glance. While it would be easier to just let Prince Giorno fly to Zero's ship himself, Mista was right. Even if no one else was aware it was really the Captain in Bruno's body, their sense of loyalty was inextricable.

Besides, what else was there to do on the ship besides sit on their asses? They would be of no help to Narancia until everyone was back in their respective bodies. Giorno would never be able to convince anyone of his identity otherwise.

"It's going to be a tight squeeze," Bruno said.

It was more than a tight squeeze. It was nearly as bad as when everyone had squeezed into the escape pod back at the Penitentiary. Except Fugo didn't even have the luxury of being his own body, which made the experience infinitely more awkward.

Somehow, in the tangle of bodies, Giorno was having no problem navigating Sheila's small cruiser. Maybe he really had been trained for situations like this one. In fact, he had no problem doling out instructions as though he were on the bridge of a ship ten times larger. And he was also working on the ship's console to cloak the cruiser at the same time.

It was beyond strange to see Narancia acting even half-competent.

"Once we get onto Zero's ship, everyone will split up. Don't approach Zero, and don't approach Bruno. There's nothing we can do about either of them, so I suggest you don't try. Focus on finding Chariot Requiem as soon as possible. If you do, notify myself and Polnareff. Does everyone have a holopad?"

A scattering of yes's.

"Make sure to cloak its signal. Do not draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. Remember that Chariot Requiem is our primary objective."

Fugo couldn't help glowering at the back of Giorno's head. He enjoyed commanding people around entirely too much. It made him wonder how Giorno had managed to keep his mouth shut all that time pretending to be JoJo.

"I don't know if anyone has said this yet, but why don't you just command Zero to stop whatever he's doing?" Mista asked Giorno.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy. Zero is indirectly a very large proponent of the Imperial family. He has a hand in many of our funds and to expose him would inevitably lead to exposing the Imperial families' dealings with him. Not only that, Zero also supports many prominent Upper Space families. We would look like hypocrites. It's much easier to pin him for a crime."

"Have you considered the possibility that you might die on Zero's ship?" The question coming from Abbacchio held no malice. His voice was even, genuinely curious.

"I could have died any number of times before this," Giorno said. He tapped the console one last time. "I'm choosing to believe that if I'm still alive, the stars are giving me a chance, at least."

The stars. Fugo wanted to know what they could have to do with anything, letting the galaxy go to shit the way they did. He had never prayed to them before and he wasn't about to start now.

They docked against Zero's ship easily, seeing as Sheila's ship already had cleared access. They were practically spilling out of the ship already, but Giorno stopped everyone before they began boarding.

"I want you all to know that whatever happens, my goal is ultimately the Stand Arrow," he said, his gaze hooded. "Whatever happens to Bruno or all of you is ... secondary."

Fugo had to physically bite down on his anger.

"You might be a Prince but we don't have any particular loyalty to you," he said in a low, seething voice. "Whatever happens to you will also be secondary."

And even though it was too crowded to see everyone directly, Giorno still found a way to meet Fugo's gaze. What Fugo saw instead of the anger he had been expecting made a chill run down his spine.

Giorno smiled. A knowing, knife-sharp grin that didn't belong on Narancia's face.

"Good. I'm glad we're in agreement."

The Captain enjoyed the toffees that littered Zero's ship. They were light and fluffy, with just the perfect amount of sweetness. Their vision went blurry around the edges after a few of them, and it became so much easier to ignore the stabbing pain and blood pooling on the ground.

Zero had not moved from his seat since the Captain had stumbled onto their ship. They had barely missed a direct hit from Chariot Requiem, one that doubtless would have punched a hole clean through their middle. They threw down the Arrow in front of them and fell to their knees, coughing and gasping up bloody bile.

Chariot Requiem went smoothly to reclaim the Arrow, oblivious to its new surroundings. Zero had stood by impassively, the edges of dark robes fluttering as Chariot Requiem passed by him. He had not run after the Arrow. He had not helped the Captain to their feet. It seemed that being in such close proximity to the Arrow had frozen something in him, rendering him cold and unexpressive.

The Captain lifted their head, and Zero grimaced slightly. They didn't seem to be aware of the way their eye was melting into their cheek or the way their jaw was starting to stretch grotesquely.

"Clean yourself up," he commanded, and turned away.

Later, the Captain found Zero on the bridge. He did not look up as they entered, his gaze pinned to the surveillance footage in front of him, following Chariot Requiem's movements intently as it moved from screen to screen. The gold Arrow glinted against the chrome and metal, conspicuous everywhere it was. Despite that, Zero made no move to retrieve it.

The Captain was exhausted and in intense pain. But that did not bother them nearly as much as Zero's cold reception. They wished he would turn around. Look at them. Speak to them. Acknowledge them in some way.

"Have a taffy," he said after a while. "It will make things easier."

Thrilled, the Captain immediately took one from a nearby tray. Not long after, they slid down the wall and sat on the floor, gazing lazily at Zero as he continued to scrutinize Chariot Requiem.

Zero was neither tall nor broad nor particularly imposing. His shoulders hunched and his wrists, when they peaked out from under his robes, were thin and pale. His voice was thinner than it was over the holocalls.

But nonetheless, the Captain drank him in hungrily. Memorized his movements and his presence.

They had never been able to tell, but Zero had dark, curling hair. The Captain wished they could remove his mask so they could see what colour his eyes were. They were a little drunk, of course, of taffy, but also on the thrill of being so close to Zero.

The Captain did not know how long they sat against the wall, staring at Zero. They would have sat there forever if it was what Zero wanted. They only thought fleetingly about the Stand Arrow and whether or not Zero might want them to pursue it in some way.

Finally, Zero addressed the Captain. An electric zing went down their spine at the sound of his voice.

"Bruno, do you know why I desire the Stand Arrow?"

"No, sir." The Captain scrambled to their feet, even as blood rushed to their head.

Zero turned, the light from the screen outlining the edge of his mask. "What do you know about Requiem?"

"Requiem, sir?"

"Indeed. The ability to evolve one's Stand after it has been pierced by the Stand Arrow. It is granted immense power and imparted a consciousness of its own. The potential of such a Stand would be limitless."

Zero strode over to Bruno. Stopped a few feet away from him.

"Of course, that is the preferred outcome. I could just as well end up with a Stand like Chariot Requiem. And that would be ... disappointing."

Zero's gaze was intense, even through the mask. The Captain found they couldn't speak.

"It seems to me that the solution here is simple. We simply don't know enough about what will happen. There's not enough information. So we will have to gather more."

Zero leaned closer to the Captain. "I want you to pierce your Stand with the Arrow."

"S-sir?"

"It's the only way to figure out the Arrow's abilities for certain. My Stand's abilities are too volatile to test. But yours are simpler. If Requiem works for your Stand, it will work for mine. Do you understand?"

The Captain blinked. Something tugged on their chest, hard and insistent. "You want me to pierce my Stand with the Stand Arrow, sir?"

Zero tilted his head. Waited.

There was no reason to hesitate. It was a direct command from Zero. All there was was to do it.

I will pierce my Stand with the Stand Arrow.

I will pierce my Stand with the Stand Arrow because that is what Zero wants.

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[coff-in]

hello hello!! ヽ(^○^)ノcould i possibly req smut of ashley x the fem reader? maybe reader is trying to get ready for a job but ashley wants to spend more time with her and reader, of course, can't resist her best friend-girlfriend-confusing relationship!! (＞∀＜)

- 🕊

notes from coff-in: welcome back, 🕊 anon! i'm so happy to see you again, i hope you're doing well! this is written in second person just like my last answered request. i noticed that it's a little easier for me to write like this... idk why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i also couldn't do my bullet points or proper format writing for this either, so i did my little ramblefic writing instead. apologies about that 🕊, my dear :/ i hope you enjoy this nonetheless!! (edit: i'm sorry this took long, i feel so bad whenever i don't answer an ask the day it comes to me... i tried my best though!!)

[fem] reader-insert, [afab] reader-insert, NSFW

hm... i wonder when this would take place. probably before the quarantine happened, yeah? they've graduated from high school a couple of months ago and [reader] got a simple job working as a general manager somewhere-- like a store or something. maybe an office job? something that requires [reader] to change into professional/work friendly attire. her and ashley found a cheap apartment to move into together (ashley constantly complained about her parents and, um, "suggested" to [reader] that they find a place to move out to)

its normal for ashley to stay at home. i think she could get a job but chooses not to, you know? [reader] isn't mind being the breadwinner, and i think gives ashley money to get her own stuff if she wants to. i saw a post somewhere (i think i reblogged it, abt how andrew is hornier than ashley) that ashley usually shows her love via words of affirmation and acts of service so she does most of the cleaning and laundry around the house n such.

two bedroom apartments are expensive though right? and andrew has a college dorm, so he doesn't need a room in their new apartment. ashley and [reader] could just share a room, like she and andy did. in fact, they could even share a bed! (they compromised on sharing a room since sharing a bed is... very intimate in [reader]'s head). this doesn't stop ashley from coming over to [reader]'s bed some nights because "me and andy did it when we were younger, so it's fine if we do it! we're friends right? it's alright."

and of course they also share a closet and get changed in the same space because they're both girls. whatever [reader] has is nothing that ashley hasn't seen before... and she's certainly not judging either :) they even wear each other's clothes sometimes since they're such best friends! (if [reader] has friends outside of ashley (or maybe coworkers, i guess) they always wonder whether she and ashley are dating or not because they're so close to each other)

this ultimately leads to... sex? i mean, is it really sex if it's with your best friend who you may or may not be attracted to? this is [reader] coping btw. sex doesn't happen often, i think. ashley initiated it first to keep [reader] at home. [reader] doesn't need to go to work today, one break wouldn't hurt her, right? ashley hugs [reader] while she's changing her shirt, coaxing her back to bed with her voice

she can just call in sick right? it's no big deal.

this is both of their first times, so it's very awkward at first. ashley takes the reins and acts as the domme in the situation. kissing [reader] and cupping her cheeks, smiling at her and UUUGH I LOVE HER!! idk if they'd have a strap or a dildo (maybe [reader] would have a dildo now that i think about it). ashley slowly stripping her down, reassuring her that she doesn't need to hide anything "you're so pretty! why would you need to hide away? i'm not going to judge you, and honestly it's nothing new to me ;)"

all the teasing and kissing has made it so that [reader] is all slick, making it so easy for ashley to slip her fingers inside of her. [reader] has to tell ashley to do one at a time slowly since as to not hurt her. while she fingers [reader], ashley whispers teases in her hair "see? isn't this so much better than going to work today? way better getting fingerbanged by your best friend that sitting in that fucking office all day, huh? you like it, too, i can tell. you're so loud and whiny. i bet nothing and no one else has made you feel this good before, huh? and nothing ever will."

ashley brings [reader]'s hands to her boobs while they scissor each other, telling [reader] to squeeze them and rub her nipples. omg... omg omg omg ashley would definitely force [reader] to keep eye contact with her whenever they have sex. she tells [reader] to keep her eyes on her or else she'll stop thrusting the dildo in and out of her. UUUGGGHH!!! LOVE HER LOVE HER!!!

let's go lesbians

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coff-in