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yuriko-mukami · 6 months

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His Possession Ecstasy 03

Beta reader: @ruki-mukami-dl

Puffing, Yuriko leaned her hand against the wall and let her gaze wander around the backyard of the Mukami manor. During her training, the sun had traveled to the western sky and was now painting the clouds with orange and pink.

I don’t get it… No matter how much I wish to find the fox within me, it doesn’t want to come out…

Turning into a fox was the most important thing Yuriko needed to do. After her mother disappeared, she had been searching for the answers and finally got her hands on the woman’s diary which had revealed that Yuriko had a big brother who had been dragged into the Demon World. And not only that, both siblings were actually Kitsune from their mother’s side, but Yuriko’s fox had been sealed in her early childhood by blood magic which Ruki had then broken by taking her blood.

For years, Yuriko had been dreaming of a white fox in the moonless woods, and ever since the seal in her blood had started to break, the fox had been able to talk to her, telling her that he was her big brother, Yuuto. Now, Yuriko knew it was up to her to save both her brother and mother from the Demon World. The only way to do that was to call out her inner fox and sniff her way to the gate that would bring her into the realm of the Kitsune.

The problem was that Yuuto hadn’t been able to properly explain to Yuriko how exactly she could find her hidden fox side. It had surfaced when Ruki had threatened her father… and later her fox eyes had appeared when Elizabeth had come back… and during sex.

Do I need an emotional trigger for that? Should I think about something sad… or happy?

Sadness and getting scared had brought out the fire, happiness the eyes. But what Yuriko needed was to transform completely into a fox. A similar to the one in her dreams. She had never seen herself in that form since the dream forest didn’t have mirrors, but she knew that she had white paws with blue tips and the tail to match those.

Thinking about such a matter felt a bit absurd since just a couple of months ago Yuriko had thought she was a human. She hadn’t known anything about the Kitsune or the Vampires. After moving into Kaminashi City, her whole life had turned upside down, and Ruki had played a huge part in that. Now, bloody things were commonplace, and talk about fox tails at the breakfast table wasn’t that rare either, for Kou seemed to like to tease Yuriko over the whole thing. He kept asking if she could turn into a kitten instead since the Kitsune were known for their transforming skills.

But either cat or fox, Yuriko didn’t seem to make any progress. Even though she knew how it felt to be a canine being in her dreams, she couldn’t reproduce the feeling in reality.

“Ahhh! So annoying!” Kicking a tiny rock, Yuriko let out a frustrated burst.

“Oi Vixen! Dontcha ruin my strawberries! Why the hell ya threw that rock?!” Suddenly Yuma rose from his garden rows, giving a death stare to Yuriko who gulped.

With just a few wide steps, Yuma was towering right in front of Yuriko, arms crossed and grimacing. “What gives? I doubt Ruki gave ya permission to throw a tantrum in the yard! Maybe I should lock ya in the shed until ya calmed down?”

“I… I… sorry…”

“Dontcha go mumblin’ for me! You gotta speak properly! Shit! You’re a similar wimp as Eve!”

Blinking, Yuriko stared at Yuma. Eve? Slowly, her mind started to draw lines between the dots. Ruki had talked about the Adam and Eve plan and how he wasn’t involved anymore. Apparently, Yuma knew about the plan too. Knew Eve. Would he calm down if Yuriko turned the conversation about that girl?

“Umh… you… you seem to know Komori-san well then, Yuma-kun?” Yuriko tried to smile. Yuma was so huge that she felt like she had indeed been a tiny fox instead of… well… a fox in a human form.

“Why the hell yer so formal? It’s annoyin’.”

Flinching, Yuriko barely could give Yuma a glance. “Umh… then Yuma?”

“I meant… Haa… whatever. Just call me that then.” Yuma still kept glaring at Yuriko, but his angriness was clearly melting away since it didn’t waft around him as strongly as before.

Yuriko shifted in place. She needed a break, and it would also be good to get along with Ruki’s brothers. Ruki had said they were Yuriko’s family too, so she wished to learn to know them better. She couldn’t go on fearing Yuma.

“Then… about Komori-san? Why is she a wimp?”

“Hah! ‘Cause she can’t speak her mind either. She’s always just whimperin’ and followin’ that neet around. I don’t get it. What does she see in him? Why did she choose him?” Yuma frowned. “I’m gonna change that…” The last words came out in a much quieter voice, but Yuriko wouldn’t dare to point out that now Yuma was the one who was muttering.

Yuriko didn’t know to whom Yuma was referring with ‘a neet’ but that must be one of the Sakamakis, for Ruki had said that Komori Yui had chosen one of them as her Adam. Who would…?

“Oh… Sakamaki Shu-san…” Yuriko could only whisper. How come that boy could ever…? He was almost never at school. Yuriko should know since her seat had been assigned next to him in a couple of classes, but he was practically always absent. Since the other Sakamakis appeared at school much more often Yuma simply couldn’t mean anyone else.

Somehow, I thought that Sakamaki Reiji-san would have been more suited for that role… Not that it’s any of my business.

“Yeah, that damn jerk! But just watch and see, I’m gonna bring Eve to us and then I become Adam in that neet’s place.”

“I… I don’t think it’s good manners to try to ruin the relationships of others…”

“Ha! Whatta…? It’s not yer goddamn place to say anythin’ ‘bout it!” Yuma leaned in, clenching his fist, and making Yuriko take a step back. Her bottom hit the outer wall of the manor. There was nowhere to run if Yuma really got angry at her.

Yuriko shook her head and lifted her hand turning her palms toward Yuma. “Umh… all I’m saying is that I wouldn’t like it if someone tried to take Ruki from me…”

Suddenly, a wide grin spread on Yuma’s face. His hand landed on Yuriko’s head, ruffling her hair as if she had been a little kid instead of a 19-year-old young woman. “Yer head over heels for Ruki, right, Vixen? Dontcha worry. If Ruki makes up with his mind on somethin’ he’s gonna keep at it. He ain’t gonna let anyone mess with ya.”

“Really?” Yuriko gave a tiny smile at Yuma. “That makes me happy. I never want to lose him.”

“Fufu, it’s kinda nice that Ruki found ya. Tho at first, I thought he’d lost it when he dragged a chick here…” Yuma’s grin widened as he kept staring at Yuriko. “Say… wanna have some strawberries? Some of ‘em are lookin’ tasty already.”

“Oh? Can I? Then, yes, please. I could use something sweet to gather strength for the training.”

“Then come with me.” Yuma took Yuriko’s arm and pulled her with him, not minding she was stumbling because of his fast pace. “Whatcha trainin’ for anyway?”

The forest was as moonless as always when Yuriko darted through it. It had been a while since she had been here, and she couldn’t wait to see Yuuto again. However, she didn’t have any good news for him… As Yuriko arrived at the familiar cliff, she found Yuuto sitting there and staring at the sky. Stars glimmered as always but Yuriko couldn’t help but wonder why it was always the new moon in here. Yuuto swayed both his tails with blue tips and turned to look at her. “Found your inner fox yet?” Sighing, Yuriko lay on the ground on her belly and pressed her tail close to her tiny body. “I can’t seem to make it come out anywhere else than here… I’m so sorry… Yuuto…” “Haa… damn… It’s gotta be because you haven’t done it before. It’s more natural when you have done it ever since you’re a kid…” Yuuto pierced Yuriko with his amber gaze. “Didn’t Mother teach you anythin’?” The truth was that Tsukino Hisoka hadn’t even told Yuriko about her heritage. Without the diary, Yuriko would probably have figured out when her father would have handed her to the Kitsune in exchange for Yuuto. Finally, she decided to reveal these facts to him. “What the hell?! That damn jerk!” Yuuto darted on his paws, growling. “You ain’t gonna be sent here, no way in hell! You’re only gonna open that gate for me and then we both are out. You hear me, no goin’ into the village or any shit like that? Gotcha?” Pressing closer to the grass, Yuriko quivered. “I understood… but… but… Why? The Kitsune are our relatives, right?” “Unfortunately…” It was like the amber in Yuuto’s eyes had darkened when he sat back down. He hung his head and ears, not even swaying his tails anymore. “You have no idea how shitty it’s here. If Father said he would have you married to someone, it’d be even shittier. We don’t have that many vixens around since the damned bloodsuckers like to hunt them… so… You ain’t dumb, right? You don’t wanna have that kind of life, and I’m not gonna let it happen. Not to you.” Something cold and dark slithered in Yuriko. She had hoped that the Kitsune would have been better than her mother had described them. Yet, it seemed that her mother had had many reasons to run to the Human World. Not only to be with Yuriko’s father but to get out of the society that didn’t treat her well. And now, she was trapped there again with Yuuto. It was up to Yuriko to save them both. No matter how she simply needed to do it. She had to turn into a fox, and she was going to do it. For Yuuto. And for their mother.

Slowly, Yuriko opened her eyes. It was still dark; the Sunday morning hadn’t broken yet. Perhaps she should continue sleeping but she felt weird. As she gazed around, everything looked odd.

First of all, Yuriko had no problems seeing everything even though the room was dim, and she wasn’t wearing her glasses. Even with them, she didn’t usually see this well in dimly lighted areas.

Secondly, the room had changed. The bookshelves were now like buildings and even the bed felt big. Turning around, Yuriko gasped as she realized how huge the Vampire sleeping next to her was.

Am I still dreaming?

Jumping onto her feet, Yuriko let out a growl.

A growl?!

Yuriko looked down. Paws! She had blue paws! I did it! I need to tell Ruki!

Opening her mouth, Yuriko tried to speak to the slumbering Vampire but all that got out was some kind of bark. As she tried again, she managed to produce another growl, and that was when Ruki suddenly skimmed.

“Good grief… what is going on?” Ruki ran his hand through his ruffled hair and stared down at Yuriko who was sprinting on the bed.

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! What will Ruki do now? I can’t speak to him! Will he even realize it’s me? And what if he hates to see me like this? OH MY GOSH!

Yuriko darted to the end of the bed, her paws tangling with the blanket. She stumbled and almost fell on the floor, but a strong hand grabbed her at the last moment. It held her gently by her belly and lifted her toward the puzzled Vampire whose musky scent filled up her snout.

Stormy eyes peered into Yuriko’s, frown slowly melting into a smile. “Fufu, you are quite adorable like this, my angel.”

Ruki straightened up and sat on the bed, putting Yuriko on his lap. He petted her head between her ears, and before she realized she let out a purring growl, pushing the top of her head against the cold hand.

He doesn’t hate me!

“It seems you finally managed to transform. Such a good girl.” Ruki kept patting Yuriko who couldn’t help but sway her tail. “Though, I should punish you for messing up the bed in the middle of a night when you should be sleeping.”

Ehh? But I didn’t do this on purpose! Yuriko barked. The sound made her close her mouth. Yuuto could talk to her but somehow, she couldn’t talk to Ruki. That was so frustrating! How were they supposed to communicate if she couldn’t use her words?

“Hmm? Unable to answer?” Ruki slid his hand along Yuriko’s back. Yuriko shook her head and lowered her ears. “Do not worry. We can solve this.”

Ruki fell silent, simply stroking Yuriko who curled on his lap into a tiny ball, the tip of her tail touching her snout. She had no idea how she had suddenly managed the very thing she had tried to do every day. She had worked so hard without any result, and now, suddenly during her sleep, she had simply turned into a fox.

And that brought out another problem.

Yuriko had no idea how to turn back. She lifted her head, gazing up at Ruki. If she were to stay like this, everything between them would be over, right? Maybe Ruki would keep her as a pet? But that was not what Yuriko wished for. She only needed this form for one task, but other than that, she was quite fond of her human body.

Getting up again, Yuriko rose on her hind legs, pressing her front paws on Ruki’s chest. She poked him with her snout, letting out a whine and trying to give him a pleading gaze.

“What is it, Yuriko?”

Yuriko kept poking Ruki’s chin, finally licking it while whining. How on earth she could explain she needed help to turn back?

“So eager to kiss your master? Fufu, you are being silly.” Ruki’s words made Yuriko growl. “Hmm… not that then? Are you worried? I am sure you will find your voice again… and your beautiful body. You should relax and rest now.”

Without further ado, Ruki took hold of Yuriko and laid her on the bed. He fell next to her, pulling the blanket over them and pressing gently the tiny fox girl against his chest. “Sleep now. We will figure this out in the morning.”

Groaning, Yuriko closed her eyes. She couldn’t completely push her worries away, not when there was a chance that she would stay like this. But still, slowly but surely, she sank into darkness without dreams and slumbered heavily in the warm nest under the blanket.

When Yuriko opened her eyes, the room was as blurry as ever. She yawned and stretched her arms, and at that very moment, a cold finger brushed her cheek.

“Good morning, my angel…”

Yuriko turned her head, meeting the piercing eyes that glimmered in the morning light that peeked between the dark curtains. The room filled with silence that lingered between the couple.

“Was it just a dream…?” Yuriko’s words were nothing but a whiff. It had felt so real, even more than any visit to the dream forest.

“Hmm… I think not.” Ruki smirked, letting his gaze travel down Yuriko’s chin and then even further.

Looking down, Yuriko blinked. Hastily, she lifted the blanket to reveal the truth but pulled it back down again. “Oh my gosh!” Heat painted her face.

“It is nothing I have not already seen.” Ruki chuckled, placing one finger under Yuriko’s chin, forcing it to rise. “Though, I do wonder if there is a way to prevent this outcome, for I do not like the thought of you turning back into your human self right in front of someone else’s eyes if it happens like this.”

“I… I… I… oh my gosh! No…! I don’t want that to happen!”

This was a nightmare. Yuriko was lying naked even though she had worn her top and shorts when they had gone to sleep. What had happened to the clothes? She did not know but they weren’t in the bed nor — as it was later revealed — anywhere else to be found.

#yuriko's story #yuriko tsukino #ruki mukami #yuma mukami

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phantom-le6 · 1 year

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Ramble of the month March 2023: What if Batman Begins had begun the DCEU?

Another late ramble this month, I’m afraid. I had planned to write this up and more during a recent week off, but an atypically long walk took a lot of my energy, and it’s taken me the better part of a week to rest and recover from that. Anyway, after spending last month using the X-Men to x-toll the virtues of being mindful over accents in adaptational media, this month I’m shifting over the world of DC Comics. By now, many of us are aware that DC is about to undergo a reboot of its live-action film universe, and some are pointing to all manner of behind-the-scenes issues on this, wasting time finger-pointing and so on.

For me, this is no surprise; DC’s home animation film run the DCAMU recently underwent a similar reboot, with the so-called Tomorrow-verse now in the process of being released over however many films that will last. This is also no surprise, because rebooting is DC’s stock-in-trade; ever since the Crisis on Multiple Earths crossover event on the 1980’s, DC has used reboots to update, simplify and so on with the source material. In that sense, it makes DC a more flexible source material to adapt because the source material is regularly being cancelled and started over. That, in turn, means that the very concept of “canon” becomes rather a loose term in this area.

However, the one thing that does come to mind with all this is why didn’t the DCEU start sooner? When I consider DC’s live-action offerings from the era preceding 2013’s Man of Steel, they had a very good thing going with the Dark Knight trilogy, in-between the films of which were poorer offerings like Superman Returns and Green Lantern. These were poor less due to casting and more poor handling by those working behind the scenes, but nonetheless the question remains; what if DC and Warner Brothers had had the vision to use Batman Begins as the start-point for a wider DC cinematic universe?

The idea isn’t totally fantastic, given that DC created the Justice League in the 1950’s or 1960’s, as a modernised successor to the Justice Society of the 1940’s, and indeed Stan Lee’s first Marvel comics title the Fantastic Four was created as competition for the Justice League, with the Avengers coming later. As such, it would have made sense for DC to lead the way again, to one-up the viable superhero films made by Fox and Sony with Marvel film-rights by not only taking their heroes seriously, but working towards a Justice League film.

Last year, I did a few rambles looking at how a real 90’s MCU would look, and this ramble will be going down the same route, only this time using Batman Begins as a starting point instead of reinventing everything from scratch. So, without further ado, here’s the first stage of a DCEU with Batman Begins, well, beginning it…

2005: Batman Begins

2006: Man of Steel

2007: Wonder Woman

2008: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern

2009: The Flash, Man of Steel 2

2010: Aquaman, Justice League

This first stage re-works 2006’s Superman Returns with a film that bears the title of Snyder’s 2013 film, though as I’ll show in a moment, it’s very much adjusted to correct some of that film’s issues. Wonder Woman is then brought forward a full decade, after which the films shift to 2 per year, levelling up to 3 per year only after the first Justice League film. In the two-per-year part of this stage, we bring back the Dark Knight largely as was, give GL a major overhaul compared to the 2011 version, then we have a Flash film without going into Flashpoint. After that, a follow-up film for Superman and a solo film for Aquaman fill up the time pre-Justice League. Now let’s look at these films one by one for a bit more detail…

Batman Begins (2005) Directed by Christopher Nolan

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Alfred Pennyworth = Michael Caine

Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul = Liam Neeson

Fake Ra's Al Ghul = Ken Watanabe

Lucius Fox = Morgan Freeman

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow = Cillian Murphy

Rachel Dawes = Katie Holmes

Carmine Falconie = Tom Wilkinson

James "Jim" Gordon = Gary Oldman

Commissioner Loeb = Colin McFarlane

Det. Flass = Mark Boone Junior

As I’ve said, the first film of this alternate DCEU is almost completely unchanged. The only difference might be the odd newspaper or computer screen hinting at a wider universe; copies of the Daily Planet, computers in the bat-cave trolling the databases of Star Labs or Lex Corp for info on Scarecrow’s fear toxin, and so on. These subtle hints could also be joined by the odd spoken reference to those companies being rivals to Wayne Enterprises. Nothing major, just a little hint here and there that while the Batman is alone in Gotham, he is part of a larger world.

Man of Steel (2006) Directed by Roland Emerich

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Lois Lane = Kate Bosworth

Martha Kent = Diane Lane

Jonathan Kent = Kevin Costner

General Zod = Michael Shannon

Jor-El = Russell Crowe

Lara Lor-Van = Marina Sirtis

Faora-Ul = Lucy Lawless

Dr Emil Hamilton = Richard Schiff

Dr Silas Stone = Rocky Carroll

General Swanwick = Harry Lennix

Perry White = Sam Neill

Jimmy Olsen = Rider Strong

Now we’re getting to our first Superman instalment, and there’s some major shifts here. I’ve kept the Superman and Lois from Superman Returns, while taking the Kents, Zod, Jor-El, Hamilton and Swanwick all from the Snyder Man of Steel. Everyone else is my own selection, and I put Roland Emerich in as director because let’s face it, if you want Zod’s group coming over like the first contact out of Independence Day, you get that film’s director to come along and do it. I also add in Dr Silas Stone as a nod to the idea of Cyborg showing up down the line, albeit in his original Teen Titans role (the Titans being deserving of some serious film exploration instead of being increasingly kiddified in animation).

Plot-wise, the film follows a similar thrust to the Snyder Man of Steel, but without the stupid death scene for Jonathan Kent, not to mention having Superman be more guarded with his dual identity. The film would also be tonally and visually lighter without being goofy, cheesy or cliché (all something Superman can too easily become if you get the wrong people involved).

Wonder Woman (2007) Directed by Gates McFadden

Diana/Wonder Woman = Kate Beckinsale

Steve Trevor = Heath Ledger

Hippolyta = Connie Nielsen

Antiope = Robin Wright

Etta Candy = Lucy Davies

Ares = David Thewlis

Enrich Luddendorf = Danny Hutson

Dr Isabel Maru/Doctor Poison = Jolene Blalock

Sameer = Saïd Taghmaoui

Charlie = Ewen Bremner

Chief = Robert Beltran

Couple of Trek links here, the first of which being that it’s Gates McFadden, the actress who once played Dr Beverley Crusher, that I’d be putting in charge. While Gates was saddled with one of the worst Trek stories imaginable back when she was allowed to direct a TNG episode, she did as a good job with it as could be done, and DC’s best move on the 2017 Wonder Woman was putting a woman in the director’s chair. This is the first female superhero in comics, so it makes sense to have a woman directing the film as well as leading it in front of the camera. The other Trek link is Robert Beltran, who is one of the few actors I know of that could play the Native American character from the 2017 film if it was being done in 2007.

Cast-wise, a lot of changes and a lot of carry-overs, with most of the latter being in the supporting cast. Going back to 2007, Kate Beckinsale is the obvious pick of that era for Wonder Woman, and I’ve picked Heath Ledger for Steve Trevor because I suspect he’d do better in that role than as the Joker, both in acting terms and to avoid exacerbating the mental health issues that led to his suicide in real life. In terms of plot, it’s kind of similar to the original film, but with a change to any framing scenes at either end of the film to account for the change in continuity. Also, there’d be a behind-the-scenes memo that nothing in later Wonder Woman films set pre-present day can contradict how she appears in the present.

The Dark Knight (2008) Directed by Christopher Nolan

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Alfred Pennyworth = Michael Caine

The Joker = Willem Dafoe

Harvey Dent/Two-Face = Aaron Eckhart

Lucius Fox = Morgan Freeman

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow = Cillian Murphy

Rachel Dawes = Katie Holmes

James "Jim" Gordon = Gary Oldman

Commissioner Loeb = Colin McFarlane

Sal Maroni = Eric Roberts

With this film, there’s a couple of changes in the cast. First of all, the scheduling conflict that prevented Katie Holmes reprising her role as Rachel Dawes wouldn’t have occurred, and second, with Heath Ledger having played Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman, that frees up the role of Joker for Willem Dafoe, one of the few common fan-casts of the internet I can agree with. Here, the bigger change is with regards to the plot; since Batman is gearing up to work with other heroes in the Justice League, having him take the blame for Harvey’s crimes as Two-Face wouldn’t work.

Instead, Batman provides Gordon with falsified evidence that Dent only committed his crimes under duress from the Joker following his scarring, and both men live to be incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. This strains the Batman/Gordon relationship, but a hint is left that the two men may yet reconcile. Maybe not the iconic ending we got on the original, but better if you’re making something in a wider universe instead a stand-alone trilogy.

Green Lantern (2008) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan = Ben Affleck

Carol Ferris = Liv Tyler

Carl Ferris = Kurt Russell

Tom Kalmaku = Taika Waititi

Andy = Connor Trinneer

Biff = Josh Lucas

William Hand/Black Hand = Wes Bentley

Atrocitus = Liev Schreiber

Thaal Sinestro = Mark Strong

Kilowog = Tyrese Gibson

Tomar-Re = Hugh Laurie

Salaak = Dominic West

Abin Sur = Jude Law

Arisia Rrab = Anna Paquin

Ganthet = Patrick Stewart

Sayd = Glenn Close

Appa Ali Apsa = Hugo Weaving

Major overhaul was always going to be needed here, because let’s face it, the 2011 Green Lantern film was not brilliant. There’s a number of reasons for that, starting with the rushing of the Parallax story arc, so that’s totally removed and replaced with the Hal Jordan origin arc as shown in the pre-Blackest Night reboot, complete with Black Hand and Atrocitus as the main antagonists. Second, the film will also take a more GL Corp-centric approach to its opening act, and does a longer time-span for the training montage when Hal joins the corps.

Third is the matter of casting; Taika Waititi and Mark Strong are the only actors remaining from the 2011 version, and I’ve put in Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler for Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris simply because while the film Armageddon isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, Affleck and Tyler did well as an on-screen couple, and it’s a cool nod back to that film. I’ve also tried to incorporate more named corps members, plus some bigger-name actors for the Guardians. Needless to say, I think Patrick Stewart, Glenn Close and Hugo Weaving as the main ones is some quality casting. Finally, I put Matthew Vaughan in as director based on his work on X-Men: First Class.

The Flash (2009) Directed by JJ Abrams

Barry Allen/The Flash = Matt Damon

Iris West = Drew Barrymore

Det. Ira West = William Sadler

Dr Henry Allen = Harrison Ford

Darryl Fyre = William Russ

Capt. Singh = Faran Tahir

Patty Spivot = Cameron Diaz

Tina McGee = Pauley Perrette

Captain Cold/Leonard Snart = Rob Lowe

Heatwave/Mick Rory = Ron Perlman

Captain Boomerang/Digger Harkness = Hugh Jackman

Mirror Master/Sam Scudder = Terrence Howard

Golden Glider/Lisa Snart = Parkey Posey

Weather Wizard/Mark Mardon = Michael Fassbender

While Abrams’ work on Star Wars is questionable at best, his work on the Star Trek reboot films has earned him a place in this alternative DCEU as the director of the Flash. Now since 2009 was when Flash was rebooting the DC Comics universe by way of Flashpoint, this film would inevitably avoid going down that route. Instead, the film would be more a classic origin arc that pits Barry Allen against the Rogues. Keeping the plot this simple allows a bit more leeway to pad it out by looking into who Barry is, what he can do with his powers and so on.

Cast-wise, thinking ahead to the idea of a Justice League film, I had to pick Matt Damon just to get him paired up with Ben Affleck again (the two having previously worked together on films like Dogma and Good Will Hunting). The rest of the cast is a veritable star-studded line-up, with Drew Barrymore chosen as Iris because she and Damon voice-acted together on the animated film Titan A.E. and I wanted to recreate that duo. NCIS fans will also note a role in this for now-former actress Pauley Perrette, largely because the role is for a forensic scientist and the film is about a forensic scientist superhero. If that’s not something screaming out for the woman that played Abbey Sciuto, I don’t know what is.

Man of Steel 2 (2009) Directed by Ron Howard

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Lois Lane = Kate Bosworth

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Martha Kent = Diane Lane

Jonathan Kent = Kevin Costner

Jor-El = Russell Crowe

Dr Emil Hamilton = Richard Schiff

Lex Luthor = Kelsey Grammer

John Corbin/Metallo = Orlando Bloom

Eve Teschmacher = Jennifer Lawrence

Mercy Graves = Scarlett Johansson

General Swanwick = Harry Lennix

Perry White = Sam Neill

Jimmy Olsen = Rider Strong

Cat Grant = January Jones

Steve Lombard = Josh Brolin

Capt. Maggie Sawyer = Jeri Ryan

Insp. Turpin = Colin Farrell

For our second Superman solo film, the helm shifts to Ron Howard, and we get into the more classic Superman vs Lex Luthor dynamic. This time, however, we take a very different tack to Snyder’s Batman vs Superman. This time, Clark Kent is struggling with his Superman identity because his nature as an alien is outed in that identity and the public struggles to accept this, something magnified by the anti-alien businessman Lex Luthor. In this story, Superman meets and gets advice from fellow alien J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, and the main physical threat comes from Metallo, an anti-alien radical that Luthor turns into a Kryptonite-powered cyborg.

Here again, we get a lot of star power in among the new cast, and again, we’re not necessarily going to see Superman being casual with his dual identity. The MCU might play it that way, Snyder might play it that way; I don’t, and I hope James Gunn doesn’t either. The superhero secret identity concept is important, especially to superheroes like Superman who founded the concept, and I wouldn’t want any film in this alternate DCEU to pretend otherwise.

Aquaman (2010) Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Arthur Curry/Aquaman = Chris Pine

Thomas Curry = Bill Pullman

Atlanna = Kim Catrall

Mera = Felicity Jones

Orm/Ocean Master = Taylor Kitsch

Vulko = Jonathan Frakes

Dr Stephen Chin = Tadanobu Asano

Black Manta = Idris Elba

If reviewing Trek shows and having already worked a few other Trek alumni into this DCEU isn’t making it clear that I like Trek, having the Aquaman film be directed by and feature Jonathan Frakes should. This guy is a good director and actor, and I’d be curious to see what he might have done with a superhero like Aquaman. Bringing that film forward to 2010 certainly requires making some changes to James Wan’s version, as does the fact that one actor from the 2018 film is already cast in another role within this alternate DCEU.

For the lead actor, I’ve put in Chris Pine just because I think he’s a closer aesthetic match to the source material. This then brings about changes all across the board, with swapping out Amber “husband-hurter” Heard being the most crucial. In her place, we have Felicity Jones, another rare instance where I agree with the internet fan-casting of others. Frakes plays Vulko in addition to directing the film, and so on. Plot-wise, the film is similar to the 2018 film in places, but shows Arthur only learning who he is as an adult, and his mother usurped instead of believed executed, among other changes.

Justice League (2010) Directed by Steven Spielberg

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Diana/Wonder Woman = Kate Beckinsale

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan = Ben Affleck

Barry Allen/The Flash = Matt Damon

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Arthur Curry/Aquaman = Chris Pine

Snapper Carr = Josh Duhamel

Protex/Robert Grey = Keith David/Chris Evans

Primaid/Carla Jones = Zoe Saldana

Armek = Kevin Michael Richardson

Fluxus = Michael Dorn

A-Mortal = David Warner

Tronix = Eric Bana

Zenturion = Dominic Keating

ZüM = James Marsden

Alfred Pennyworth = Michael Caine

Lois Lane = Kate Bosworth

General Swanwick = Harry Lennix

I often wonder what a Spielberg superhero film would be like, so I figure Justice League would be a good project for him to helm. Unlike the 2017 live action film, we’re not doing anything related to Darkseid on this one, nor are we taking any plot already used by an animated Justice League film. Instead, this is based on the JLA: New World Order arc by Grant Morrison. In that arc, a group of alien super-beings come to Earth, supposedly to help, but turn out to be White Martians, the villainous counter-parts to the peaceful Green Martians like J’onn J’onzz.

As a result, we get a more interesting plot for our heroes, and one that allows the one founding league member without a solo film of his own more plot-time. A few key supporting cast members from past films also come back, and we also get Snapper Carr worked in, taking the same tack as the Justice League animated series and showing the League’s long-time “sidekick” as a reporter covering the events that transpire. As to the Martians, I purposely double-cast their leader because all Martians in DC lore are shape-shifters, so I thought having one change actors with a shape-shift would be cool.

So, that’s my alternate DCEU with Batman Begins as the kick-off point, or at least up as far as a first Justice League film. If anyone wants to see more of this alternate film universe, or the 90’s Marvel one I did rambles on last year, please let me know. Until the next ramble, ta-ta for now.

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mitchtheficus · 2 years

Text

A Golden Lovers Timeline

PART 3: FALLING BEHIND

Now that the Golden Lovers have dipped their toes into NJPW there begins to emerge a marked difference in their success. they’ve been fairly equally successful thus far, competing together and apart in ddt, but starting now Kota begins to see success in new japan that kenny can’t match

Both of the GLs get their first Wrestle Kingdom match at WK 5 (wrestle kingdom is the second biggest wrestling show in the world, held annually Jan 4th at the Tokyo Dome) Kenny is put in a meaningless tag match (a dark match, not even on the official show) where he is paired with some random opera-themed junior (it’s Taichi) while Kota challenges Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship [Official LINK] [Unofficial LINK (has extra content before and after the match)].

The match is promoted as DDT vs NJPW, with Kota presented as the face of DDT

[ID: picture from the pre-match video showing the DDT wrestlers standing in a V formation with Kota at the front and Kenny behind him on his right side. Words over the top of the image say DDT PRO-WRESTLING. End ID]

Kota proudly brings the tag title he shares with Kenny to the ring

[ID: Kota standing at the top of the Wrestle Kingdom ramp holding his tag title in the air and like doing a snarl face. End ID]

Kenny and Michael Nakazawa are there supporting Kota, kneeling beside the ring like young lions

[ID: a screenshot from the match with Kenny and Nakamura’s little heads circled. End ID]

Kota ends up losing to Devitt’s finisher bloody sunday, and Kenny gets into the ring to take care of him

[ID: two gifs from after the match. in the first Kenny kneels down beside Kota, holding his hand and holding an ice pack to his neck. their heads are close like Kenny is speaking to him. In the second Kenny is helping Kota stand, Kota leaning back against Kenny’s chest. End ID]

Because Devitt pinned Kota, he and Tagachi have the right to a title match for the tag titles, and they make the challenge immediately

The title defense takes place at Fantasticamania just a few days later (Jan 23, 2011 [LINK]). The lovers do several of their famous double pins where they both pin the person at the same time

[ID: Kenny and Kota both lay on top of Taguchi, trying to pin him for the 3 count. it’s not not extremely gay and romantic looking. End ID]

(which seems like it just Should be considered cheating and a heel move but isn’t because they’re In Love so we’ll allow it)

they lose and Kenny gets pinned. When they face Devitt and Taguchi again a few months later, it’s Kenny who gets pinned again. [Aug 14, 2011 - LINK]

After the match they’re both too tired to stand but Kota is still determinedly icing kenny’s neck

[ID: two gifs of the Golden Lovers collapsed on the ground after the match, Kota puts an ice pack on Kenny’s neck, Kenny puts his hand on top of Kota’s and he relaxes into the ground. End ID]

Kota never sees these losses as Kenny’s losses. Why would he? They’re a team. He never seems to look at Kenny the way Kenny looks at himself. he never values or devalues Kenny based on success, even years later when Kenny has come to believe that success is the only thing that gives him any value

from Kenny’s pov it’s a little more complicated. success and equal ability is an intrinsic part of their relationship to him

“Our "love” is based on trust and heading towards the same goal. It’s just like marriage. And to be the best, we know what we want to do and it’s important to synchronize perfectly.” -Kenny, July 2011 LINK

Being in sync, being the best and able to match each other, having a shared goal they can strive for together has always been a part of what makes them work in Kenny’s mind

And that goal is to show the world that they are the best, not just for themselves but for the fans who supported them and continue to make it possible for Kenny to come to Japan

[ID: Screenshot of a backstage DDT promo. Kenny is subtitled saying “We will be #1 not for us, for you.” End ID LINK)

And he saw NJPW as “the best place” to accomplish that goal (Kenny in an interview, Feb 2011 LINK)

Kenny getting pinned by Devitt again and again, Kenny not being good enough to retain or win back their titles, has put an end to the lovers’ dreams of tag team success in NJPW (for now)

As far as I can tell this is when Kenny stops coming ringside to Kota’s njpw matches. Kota wins the jr title from Devitt at Dominion (June 18, 2011) and Kenny’s not there (Taguchi is there. Nakazawa is there. Kenny is in Japan.) a few months later (Sept 12, 2011) Kota is forced to vacate the title due to injury but he wins it back as soon as he returns to competition

When Kota returns from injury the GLs are involved in a 6-man match for NJPW (June 16, 2012)

[ID: screenshot of the end of the match. Kenny, Kota and their partner Daisuke Sasaki are having their hands raised in victory by the ref. in the foreground a young and disgruntled BUSHI is holding his head. End ID]

this will be the last time they tag together in NJPW until 2018

Nothing has changed for them in DDT tho, except that Kota is beginning to see singles success there as well

In 2012 Kota is in the middle of a highly successful singles run in both companies, holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title and DDT’s KO-D Openweight championship simultaneously

[ID: picture of Kota holding both titles as he walks down the entrance ramp. End ID]

Altho Kenny has won titles in other companies, he has yet to follow in Kota’s footsteps and hold any singles title in either DDT or NJPW. but that may be about to change

Kenny competes in and wins DDT’s King of DDT tournament, giving him the right to challenge for the KO-D Openweight Championship at DDT’s anniversary show, which this year is being held at Budokan Hall. This is the largest space DDT has ever performed in (something Kenny and Kota are both incredibly proud of) and the Golden Lovers are going to main event the show, facing each other in singles competition for the first time in 4 years

“I’d made a mission statement to do whatever I could to help build this small company up to something bigger than it originally was when I had gotten there...then finally in the year 2012 they could run Budokan. Not only that, but we sold it out. And the company had enough faith to put me on top against, you know, one of my best friends and someone that I had done almost all of my greatest accomplishments in Japan with, which was Ibushi.” - Kenny, Jan 19, 2017 interview with wrestling observer

the lovers are excited but also a little trepidatious. they know what they’re capable of when they fight each other

"Four years ago I came to DDT with the purpose to try and match Ibushi. To kind of show that Ibushi isn't the only 'Ibushi' in the world...What caused our friendship to become so strong was our first singles match and since then we've become a great tag team as well, because of that strong relationship. So there's never a feeling that comes in my mind, I never feel like I want to do damage to my friend. And there have been so many times when we've talked with each other and said never again, we'll never have a singles match again. But we did say if there was a right place and a right time then we would do it. and to me and maybe to ibushi as well there's no better time than now.” - Kenny in a promo for the match LINK

The Budokan match takes place August 18, 2012, and it is truly, truly incredible. [LINK high quality version BUT the balcony spot is cut out; LINK lower quality but has a clip of the balcony moonsault in the correct place]

[ID: gif from the beginning of the match. Kota holds out his hand and Kenny takes it. Kota smiles and nods. End ID]

You can see how much they’ve both grown as performers in the intervening years, and how much their relationship and trust in each other has evolved

Knowing each other as well as they do has changed the way they fight, not only the strategy they (especially Kenny) employ against the other but also the intensity they bring to the match

I called their first singles match brutal, but this one is on another level entirely. it takes them a little while to work their way up to it, but once they get started the brutality is in every part of it. It’s in the way that their love for each other doesn’t cause them to hesitate

[ID: Kenny bounces off the ropes and kicks Kota in the face. Kota staggers back and his tongue comes out, kind of monstrous, kind of enjoying himself, he leans against the ropes and uses the momentum to kick kenny in the face. End ID]

It’s in the mean way Kenny keeps putting his hand on Kota’s face in the beginning

[ID: Gif Kenny has Kota pushed up against the ropes and instead of doing a clean rope break he presses his open hand into Kota’s face as Kota leans back and away from him. End ID]

and the little moments where they almost seem to be enjoying themselves

[ID: gif of Kota sitting in the ring corner, head against the second turnbuckle, he’s holding his arm, shoulders hunched in pain. Kenny kicks him in the face and he flinches. And then he just relaxes and looks up and Kenny, sticking his tongue out, almost smiling. Kind of like he’s daring Kenny to do it again. End ID]

it’s in the big spots (one of which Kenny still calls one of the most painful of his career)

[ID: gif of Kota giving Kenny a hurricanrana from the top turnbuckle to the floor. End ID]

it’s in the little details of their offense, like their use of closed fists

[ID: gif of Kota doing close-fisted punches to Kenny’s neck and shoulder, after the first one Kenny gets his arms up to try to block them. End ID]

and it’s in the pacing and their relentlessness, giving the other no breathing room even in the midst of incredible exhaustion and pain

(as with all wrestling, brutality like this is also a statement of utter trust, putting their body in the hands of the other and trusting they’ll be protected. Kenny has talked about how he can’t have this kind of match with just anyone)

when people talk about this match the infamous balcony spot is often the first thing that comes to mind. it’s an insane moment, and one that got Kota irl banned from performing in Budokan Hall for many years afterwards

[ID: gif of Kota doing a moonsault from the second story balcony onto Kenny who is waiting below him. End ID]

some people don’t like this spot, “Why doesn’t Kenny just move?”

how could he move? If he moves and Kota jumps, Kota will be hurt. In the midst of this incredibly brutal match, kenny is trapped, rooted to the spot by his love for kota and his desire not to see him be seriously harmed

As mithen points out in her essay on Moonsaults, Kota doesn’t look back before he jumps. He doesn’t check that Kenny is still there. He knows he is.

there’s so much in this match. I think the essay A Body from the Balcony by LB Teufel [LINK] has a really interesting analysis of their characters and relationship in this match, and I highly recommend checking it out

“Watching Omega struggle to keep up with Ibushi, not out of anger or disdain, but suddenly the protagonist of a shōnen anime trying to overcome the rival he loves and respects, I am struck by the feeling that what we saw in the beginning wasn’t true. This is the authentic Kenny Omega— earnest and tenacious— and this is the authentic Kota Ibushi— sublime and imposing.” (- LB Teufel)

In the end all Kenny’s earnest tenacity isn’t enough. He throws everything he has at Kota, even successfully hits him with the one winged angel. and Kota kicks out (becoming (to this day, if i’m not mistaken) the only wrestler to ever do so).

And Kota wins.

when the match ends you can see Kenny try to kick out just after the 3 count (fighting to the very end) and then Kota pulls him immediately into his arms

[ID: two gifs. In the first one Kenny attempts to kick out of the pin too late and Kota pulls him back down so that Kenny’s head is in his lap. He leans over him and holds onto him. in the second gif he continues to do this. End ID]

it’s an incredibly meaningful match for the wrestlers involved

“I had thought that there was really nothing bigger than that. It was uh not just on a professional level, but on a personal level as well. I mean how cool is it that you can share your biggest and greatest match with one of your best friends and do something that you never thought that you could do? It’s really the stuff that dreams are made out of. I had thought that there would be no greater feeling in pro wrestling for me than that moment.” (Kenny, Jan 19, 2017 - Interview with Wrestling Observer)

and they promise each other they will never do it again

[PART 4] [ALL PARTS]

#goldenloverstimeline #the golden lovers #kota ibushi #kenny omega #i planned for this bit to get us all the way to Kenny's last ddt match but it got so long i had to split it #i should've given these ao3 title names #myomegagifs #mykotagifs #myGLgifs #flashing lights #mostly just in the handshake gif and the moonsault gif i think #glera #mestuff

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nordleuchten · 3 years

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do we have any records on how lafayette reacted to the treason of benedic arnold?? I've read a while ago saying that he and bemedict arnold did not like each other very much while he was on the american army but i couldn't find anything else.

and also, how much acurate are those scenes of laf conforting georfe washington after he learns of the treason??

I know is a long ask, srry, but thank you so much <3

Hello Anon,

thank you for your question and don’t you worry about the length.

Yes, we have plenty of record about La Fayette’s reaction to Arnold’s treason … and the best thing is, La Fayette’s reaction alone even brought Arnold in a pretty awkward and embarrassing situation at one point in time.

From the get-go La Fayette was very involved in the whole Arnold-affair. He was with Washington and a group of other officers in West Point when Arnold’s treason was discovered on September 25, 1780 and he also sat on the court-martial for Major John André on September 29 and September 30, 1780. He later went on to say that he pitied André.

On September 26 (a day after Arnold’s betrayal and flight) La Fayette wrote the first lengthy account of the events from his point of view. He wrote the Chevalier de La Luzerne:

Robinson's house, across from West Point

September 26, 1780

When I left you yesterday morning, Monsieur le Chevalier, to come here to breakfast with General Arnold, we were far from imagining the event that I am going to relate to you. You will shudder at the danger we have run. You will wonder at the miraculous chain of accidents and unforeseen events that has saved us; but you will be even more astonished to know the instruments through which this conspiracy has been carried out.

West Point has been betrayed, and by Arnold. The same man who had covered himself with glory in rendering conspicuous service to his country had lately formed an appalling pact with the enemy. Were it not for the chance that brought us here at a certain hour and the chance that, through a combination of mishaps, caused the adjutant general [Major André] of the British army to fall into the hands of a few pejlsants outside all our posts, West Point and the North River would now perhaps be in the possession of the enemy. When we left Fishkill yesterday we were preceded by one of my aides-de-camp and the aide of General Knox, who found General and Mrs. Arnold at table and joined them for breakfast. While they were there, two letters were brought to General Arnold informing him of the capture of a spy. He ordered a horse to be saddled, then went upstairs to his wife to tell her he was ruined, and commanded his aide-de-camp to tell General Washington that he was going to West Point and would return within an hour. On our arrival here we crossed the river and went to inspect the defenses. You can imagine our astonishment when upon our return we learned that the arrested spy was Major Andre, adjutant general of the British army, and when, among documents found on him, we recognized a transcript of a very important council of war, a description of the garrison and fortifications, and remarks about methods of attack and defense, all of which were written in General Arnold's hand. The British adjutant general also wrote to the general disclosing his name and situation. We sent a person in pursuit of Arnold; but he had escaped by boat to board the English frigate Vulture, and since no one suspected his flight, no one from the posts could have thought to arrest him. Colonel Hamilton, who had pursued him, shortly thereafter received a flag of truce with a letter from Arnold for the general, in 180 Light Camp Commander which he gives no details to justify his treason, and a letter from the British commander Robinson, who, in an extremely insolent manner, demanded the release of the adjutant general, on the grounds that he had acted entirely under General Arnold's permission. The general's first concern has been to reassemble at West Point the troops Arnold had dispersed under various pretexts. We have remained here to look after the security of a post that the British will fear the less for being more familiar with it. We are bringing in Continental troops, and since Arnold's advice may determine Clinton to move suddenly, the army has orders to be ready to march at any moment.

He wrote several of these letters where he described what had happened. I am not going to quote any more letters because they are quite repetitive. There is however one passage in a letter to the Vicomte de Noailles that stands out. La Fayette wrote on October 3, 1780:

Arnold's baseness and villainy surpass in their details all that I have ever read about that sort of thing. The anger I felt over it did not extend to his wife, with whom formerly I had been somewhat taken. But what has truly afflicted me is the necessity of hanging the adjutant general of the British army, a charming man who conducted himself throughout, and died, like a hero. This severity was necessary; the enemy acted very stupidly on this occasion, and since they lost that unfortunate man, the soul of their army, they have not written one letter that had common sense. Andre was executed yesterday. General Clinton's anger does not frighten us, but this man's death, although inevitable in my opinion, left me with a feeling of sadness and respect for his character. I truly suffered in condemning him; but he was an officer under disguised clothing and name, passing within our posts with papers full of intelligence for the enemy, and he himself did not hesitate to recognize himself as a spy. The knave who hid him is, I hope, going to be hanged too.

We see in this excerpt very clearly what he fought about Arnold, but also what his thoughts were concerning Mrs Arnold (better known perhaps as Peggy Shippen) and Major André. The mentioned “knave” was a certain Joshua H. Smith who assisted Arnold and André in their affairs but who was ultimately acquitted and fled the country.

La Fayette furthermore wrote to the Comte de Vergennes (probably in an attempt to play the whole business down for the French court) on October 4, 1780:

This whole affair proves only the greed of Arnold and has no other consequences than the abhorrence inspired by his sordid conduct.

The tone is the same in all of La Fayette’s letters, whether they were written directly after everything went down or many months, years or even decades later. At first though, there was not much that La Fayette could do, because the army went into the winter encampment. On February 20, 1781 however, La Fayette was named commander of an expedition against Arnold in Virginia (where the latter had just received a command of his own) and left the next day for Maryland. La Fayette was hell bend on capturing Arnold and even received pretty clear instructions from Washington on what to do with Arnold. Washington wrote in his instructions for the Marquis on February 20, 1780:

You are to do no act whatever with Arnold that directly or by implication may skreen him from the punishment due to his treason and desertion, which if he should fall into your hands, you will execute in the most summary way.

Despite all of his efforts, La Fayette could not apprehend Arnold. There was a new development with the British ranks though, that afforded La Fayette a little bit of pay back. The British send reinforcement down to Virginia to aide Arnold. A Major-General William Phillips commanded these troops. I have written about Phillips before, he was the man who commanded the artillery battery that fired the shot that killed La Fayette’s father in the battle of Minden in the Seven Years’ War - and La Fayette was very well aware of the fact. Phillips was now in command and Arnold second in command. So far, so good. The war and the campaign in Virginia continued like before. It was commonplace for two opposing Generals to have rather extensive correspondence. They spoke about war crimes committed by one of the two sides, about a potential exchange of prisoner of war, about a temporary truce, surrender - all the military and civil matters that needed to be discussed. These correspondences were most of the time rather civil. The two Generals understood each other as “Officers and Gentleman” and were fully aware that each man had their orders to follow. Phillips and La Fayette started a correspondence as well. La Fayette complained about the tone in Phillips letters and the demands he made (I have read Phillips letters; they are indeed a bit odd) but their correspondece was soon cut short when Phillips contracted a fever and died within a few days. Now Arnold was again first in command and it would have been his place to pick up Phillips correspondece with La Fayette. La Fayette wrote to Washington on May 17, 1781:

Genl. Phillips being dead of a fever, an Officer was sent with a passport & letters from Genl. Arnold. I requested the Gentleman to come to my Qrs. and having asked if Genl. Phillips was dead to which He answered in the negative, I made it a pretence not to receive a letter from Gl. Arnold, which being dated Head Quarters, and directed to the Commanding Officer of the American troops, ought to come from the British General Chief in Command. I did however observe that shou'd any other officer have written to me I wou'd have been happy to receive their Letters.

La Fayette made it clear to the British flag officer that he had no problem with corresponding with the British army in general, but that he would not cooperate with Arnold, a man that he did not perceive to be a gentleman and man of honour. La Fayette later wrote in his memoirs:

After the death of General Phillips, who died that same day, Arnold wrote, by a flag of truce, to Lafayette, who refused to receive his letter. He sent for the English officer, and, with many expressions of respect for the British army, told him that he could not consent to hold any correspondence with its present general. This refusal gave great pleasure to General Washington and the public, and placed Arnold in an awkward situation with his own army.

It may not sound like much for us today, but La Fayette reaction was a massive slap for Arnold. He was now in a position where he either had to correspond with an American officer that was junior in rank or he had to order a British officer who was junior in rank to himself to continue the correspondence with La Fayette. Arnold was so angry indeed that he wanted to retaliate by sending the American prisoner of war to prisoner colonies in the West Indies if La Fayette would not correspond with him.

As to the second question - I think you are playing at this lovely (and deleted, if I am not mistaken) scene from the TV series TURN: Washington’s Spies were La Fayette comforts Washington after Arnolds betrayal. There is no direct evidence that such a scene took place. We have now written account à la “today I comforted Washington because Arnold betrayed us.” Several sources however state, that Washington indeed uttered “Whom can we trust now?”, just like in the scene and just as I stated earlier, La Fayette was with Washington when all of this took place. I think it is therefore very likely that something similar as depicted in TURN may have taken place. Washington and La Fayette were incredibly close and they trusted each other. Washington could open up toward La Fayette because La Fayette was person who, unlike some other officers and generals at the time, had no ambition to usurp his position as Commander in Chief. La Fayette, due to his French background, would not be able to do so anyway, even if he would had such ambition. This was one of the many reasons why Washington could let his guard down in front of La Fayette without having to fear that he would be seen as weak.

I hope you have/had a fantastic day!

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oh-ranpo · 3 years

Text

like an ever-expanding universe.

pairing: owen joyner x reader an: so, this was sent as a request, but somehow I got out of control with it, so it ended up being longer than I expected it to be lmao I hope you enjoy! request: a pair of exes (let’s say hypothetically in the middle of filming season 5 of JatP and reader came in during season 2 as a new character and the actress is the same age as him/Savannah and they hit it off but eventually broke up) try to get the other jealous so they can get back together. disclaimer: also, I just wanted to say that in a relationship, communication is key, so while jealousy is fun to write and read about sometimes, we stan healthy relationships with open communication : ) word count: 3.5k+

“You should really just talk to him.”

You scowled at Savannah from where you were sitting at your vanity as you had been working on getting ready for the evening.

“Talk to him? After finding out that he was bringing a date? No, Savannah, I need to get even.” Savannah sighed as she shook her head and fixed her gaze on the phone in her hands.

“You two are going to drive me crazy.” You pretended that you didn’t hear her this time as you turned back to fixing your appearance. Either way, it didn’t matter what your friend said because your mind had already been made up.

When you found out that Owen wasn’t showing up to the cast party alone, you had been hurt. Sure, the two of you had broken up over a month ago, but you hadn’t been ready to move on yet, and the fact that he seemed to be took you by surprise. Your friends tried to tell you that it meant nothing, but you channeled your devastation into indignance and all you wanted to do was make him jealous enough that he could feel what you were feeling now.

Your relationship with Owen hadn’t always been so complicated. In fact, it used to be the best one you had ever experienced. When you landed a recurring role in season two of Julie and the Phantoms, you had immediately hit it off with the blonde drummer. There was a connection that you shared that everyone around you could see, and it surprised no one when you confessed your feelings for one another just a couple of months after meeting. Three years and three seasons of the show later, you had been sure that you had found The One.

And then, things managed to fall apart.

It wasn’t like anything dramatic had happened, and when you looked back on it, you weren’t even sure what had spurred the reaction. Just, one day, Owen said that he needed some time apart, and for some reason, you had agreed. You didn’t really want to break up, but you were still fairly confident that he was your person and you truly believed that he would make his way back to you. You were both young and it could be overwhelming when you felt so much for someone so early in life. You never doubted your feelings for him, however, and you thought the feeling was mutual… until you learned about her.

Charlie swore that he had nothing to do with it when he told you, but you also knew that it was one of his friends. You didn’t blame him, of course, but that also didn’t stop the hole that had formed in your chest over how beautiful she was. Just knowing how good her and Owen were going to look side-by-side made you feel even worse. She was the reason why you had decided to go all out in hopes of grabbing someone’s attention, most of all, Owen’s. It was dumb and childish, but you were sure that it was the only way to make you feel better.

Savannah didn’t bother you about your questionable plan again, however, by the time you were both ready to leave, you had started to lose confidence in yourself. You didn’t say anything to your friend though as you still continued to laugh and chat about the night ahead, carefully avoiding the topic of the boy that you were hoping to win back. And while you were on your way to Tori’s apartment with Savannah, Owen was having nerves of his own while getting ready in the apartment him and Charlie shared.

“Do you think this is going to work?” Owen asked his friend as he ran his fingers through his golden locks anxiously. Charlie gave him a look from where he was sitting on the couch. He had been ready for a while now, but he was still waiting on his friend to show up and for Owen to make up his mind.

“Do I think that you taking another girl to this party is going to help you get back together with a girl that you never should have broken up with in the first place? No. Absolutely not.”

Owen sighed as he leaned against the arm of the chair he was standing next to. He had thought about cancelling with Jamie for a few days now, but he couldn’t get himself to do it. He knew she was excited to go, and while he also knew that you were aware, and probably hurt by the knowledge, of his date, he had made a promise. A stupid, selfish promise, but a promise all the same.

He knew Charlie hated the whole thing, as he had told him multiple times, but when there was a knock at their door, they both knew that it was Jamie and there was no turning back now. As Owen started towards to the door to answer it, Charlie called his name and Owen looked back over his shoulder at the brunette on the couch.

“You better figure out a way to deal with this without hurting anyone any further. I’m serious, Owen.” It wasn’t often that Charlie got that look on his face, and Owen slowly nodded in understanding. He just wasn’t sure how he was going to manage pulling that off.

When he pulled open the door, Owen was greeted with a big smile from the brunette on the other side. He did his best to smile back, but now that all of this was really happening, he was more nervous than ever.

“Owen, you look great!” Jamie cooed as she stepped in through the door and pulled him into a hug. Owen quickly hugged her back and his eyes met Charlie’s over her shoulder. The stern look was still on his face and Owen swallowed roughly.

“Thanks, so do you.”

It was going to be a rough night, and really, he had no one to blame but himself.

x.x.x

Your eyes couldn’t help but search the room for his face as soon as you stepped into Tori’s apartment, but it quickly became clear that Owen was nowhere to be found.

“He’s on his way. Charlie just texted me,” Madison informed you when she saw the dejected look on your face. You felt silly that you were being so obvious about it, but you did your best to brush it off.

“Good for him. I think I’m going to go mingle a bit. See you later, Mads.” You didn’t look to see if Madison rolled her eyes like Savannah had earlier in the night before starting to make your rounds. You wanted to make sure you were having a good time when Owen finally did arrive.

There was a good mix of new and familiar faces, so you had plenty of conversation partners to choose from. You wished you could say you were so wrapped up in conversation that you didn’t notice when Owen walked through the door about half an hour later, but you always had a sixth sense when it came to him. You did try to ignore it though, as you moved a little closer to the cute new boy you had started talking to. You couldn’t quite remember his name at the moment, but that was a problem for another time.

You could hear his voice no matter where he was in the room, and while you tried to ignore it, you could tell that it was getting closer and you were having to fight every instinct you had not to look over at him. The only thing that helped you maintain your composure was the fact that every time Owen would speak, it was soon followed by a higher, more feminine voice that you were sure belonged to his date. The last thing you wanted while you were trying to work the room in a positive way was to be struck with the heartbreak you were sure to feel by seeing them together.

“YN, there you are!” Charlie called excitedly, pulling you out of your conversation with William? Or was this one David? Either way, you forced a smile onto your face as you turned to face your friend and cast mate.

“I’ve been standing in the same place all night, Charles, I can’t help it you’re oblivious,” you teased as he pulled you in for a hug, and a part of you wished that he would have remained oblivious for a little bit longer. You could tell that William, David, or whatever the cute boy’s name was, was about to ask you to dance. It would have been the perfect opening for you to try and make Owen jealous.

When Charlie hugged you, you glanced over his shoulder to see that Owen was standing not too far away, and while he probably should have been paying attention to the conversation that was happening around him, you were surprised to see that his gaze was fixed on you. He had a drink in his hand that was going ignored, and while his date was excitedly chatting with Madison and Jadah, he seemed to be ignoring them as well.

Slowly, you pulled out of Charlie’s arms, and with one glance in the direction you were previously looking, he immediately knew what was going on. You saw his shoulders deflate a bit out of the corner of your eye as he looked at his friend and then back to you.

“You two need to talk,” he stated, and you could hear the exasperation in his voice. It was similar to how Savannah had sounded earlier in the night, and you quickly turned so that your back was now to the blonde, and you gestured towards the boy that you had been talking to before Charlie walked over.

“Well, I was kind of in the middle of a conversation when you came over so… maybe later.” You weren’t being very mature about the situation at all, and while it looked like Charlie wanted to say so, he threw up his hands in surrender and then walked away. You didn’t mean to come off so harsh, but Owen had been the one to mess everything up, so reasonably or unreasonably, you thought that he should be the one to come fix it.

Another hour or so passed, and neither you nor Owen approached one another, instead opting for a delicate dance around each other, pretending that the other wasn’t there except to occasionally share a few glances. You were trying to keep your spirits up, but anyone you would hear his date’s voice, or you would notice that Owen was laughing at something she said, you could feel your heart break more and more. Your hopes in making him jealous were fading, and you were starting to truly realize what a stupid venture it had been in the first place.

Eventually, you broke away from the third cute boy conversation of the night to head to the bathroom. You needed a moment to yourself as you could feel your emotions starting to get the better of you, and you just needed to take a breath somewhere where you wouldn’t hear Owen’s, or his date’s, voice.

Once you made it to the bathroom, you closed and locked the door before turning to face the mirror as your hands gripped the edge of the countertop tightly. You took one, two, three deep breaths but the pain in your chest wasn’t subsiding. You took a good long look at yourself, and you wondered why you had been silly enough to think that, if Owen had broken up with you, he would suddenly want you back just because you put effort into how you looked for this one party. Your relationship had always been deeper than that, and that translated to your breakup as well. The breakup that you still didn’t understand. The breakup that you had never wanted to happen.

You didn’t know that, while you were having your breakdown in the bathroom, Owen was slowly falling apart in the middle of a room filled with people. He had been trying so hard to keep his cool all evening. However, from the moment he saw you when he stepped through the door, he knew this was all a horrible mistake. He should have cancelled with Jamie. Maybe he should have stayed home and not come to the party at all. He was overwhelmed with feelings and he didn’t know how to express them in a way that anyone else would understand. This heartache was all his fault, and it was something that he could have prevented entirely if he hadn’t been just so stupid.

“You should go talk to her,” Jamie murmured into his ear just a few seconds after you had disappeared down the hall. The words took him by surprise as he looked over at the girl that had come here as his date. “Whatever is going on between you two… I think it deserves a conversation.” Owen’s brow furrowed as he tried to piece together what was happening.

“I- I really don’t-“ he started, but Jamie stopped him with a small smile and a shake of her head.

“I think you do. I’ve seen the way you’ve been watching her all night – I mean, I would have to be blind not to – and I’ve also seen the longing looks she’s thrown your way as well. She’s been silently begging for you to say something, and believe me, I get it. I’ve been in a few complicated relationships before but… it doesn’t have to be complicated if you don’t want it to be. Just go talk to her.”

The guilt must have been evident on Owen’s face at her words because Jamie reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a genuine smile.

“It’s okay, I’m not mad. I could tell from the beginning that your heart was somewhere else. But you’re a good friend, Owen. I promise, there are no hard feelings.”

For a moment, Owen genuinely didn’t know what to say, but Jamie gave him a gentle shove towards the hall where you had just disappeared, urging him to do as she said. This time, he didn’t need her to say anything more. The bathroom door was the only one that was shut when Owen investigated the hall to try and find you, so he took a deep breath as he walked over to it before lifting his hand to knock.

Even though it was soft, you jumped at the sound and you quickly wiped at your eyes where tears had started to form, hoping to brush them away.

“I’ll be right out!” you called to the person on the other side, and you took one last deep breath before pulling the door open. You froze in the doorway when you came face-to-face with Owen, but it was clear from the look on his face that he wasn’t at all surprised to see you. “Oh, Owen.”

He looked nervous as his blue eyes studied you, and you could feel your heart pound hard in your chest at how close you were to one another. This was the first time you had actually said a word to him in a while, and even though he still hadn’t said a word back, you were sure now that he had sought you out on purpose.

“Can we talk?” he asked, confirming your previous thoughts. You nodded slowly, and he stepped to the side so that you could move into the hallway and then follow him farther down until you came to the doorway of the guest bedroom. He motioned for you to step inside, so that you could have some privacy you assumed, and you did just that as he closed the door behind you.

“Where’s your date?” you asked, your voice hard as the question left your lips. You had no idea what Owen’s intentions had been getting you alone, but the devastation from the entire situation was still sitting heavy in your chest, and it was hard to ignore.

“She’s, uh, she’s not really my date,” he replied, clearing his throat as he spoke. You could still hear the nervousness in his tone, and when you turned to face him again, he was rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, at least not anymore.”

Even more confusion washed over you as you stared at him, and he took a daring step closer to you.

“And why not? Did you decide you don’t have feelings for her too?” The words that were flowing from your lips now were completely fueled by the hurt that you had been harvesting over the past month, and while Owen flinched a bit at your tone, he didn’t get angry.

“That’s not- YN, that’s not why I ended things, and I hope you know that,” he murmured, his hand falling to his side as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“I don’t know that. Honestly, Owen, I don’t even know what to believe at this point. I used to be… I used to be so sure that you were the one person I would always understand, and yet now, I feel like I barely even know who you are.” The tears had started to form behind your eyes again, and your voice got caught in your throat as you started to get choked up. Owen’s face fell at your words and you could tell they were affecting him too. Good, you thought. He needs to know.

After taking a deep breath, Owen began speaking again.

“When I told you that I needed space, it wasn’t… it was never because my feelings for you changed. At least, they didn’t change in the way you thought they did. They didn’t go away, and they didn’t get smaller… they got bigger. My feelings for you grew every single day for three years, and I thought that eventually I would reach the peak of them, but no. The things I felt, and still feel, for you were expanding like an ever-growing universe and it scared me. It scared the hell out of me because I’m only 20 years old, YN. This… this is adult, real-life stuff and I didn’t think that I was ready for that yet.”

A range of emotions washed over you as you took in his words, and you barely noticed how he moved closer to you as he spoke. It wasn’t until you could practically feel his breath fan across your face and his hand brushed against yours that you realized he was right in front of you. If you were to reach out, even an inch, you could feel him. All it would have taken was one small motion to confirm to yourself that this was all real. There was a short moment of silence that fell between you, and when he realized that you weren’t going to speak up, he continued.

“But the truth is, nothing has felt right since the day we broke up. I didn’t think I was ready for us, but really, I’ll never be ready for a world where there is no us. Seeing you here tonight and thinking that you were dressed up for someone else, and just knowing that you thought I was trying to replace you with someone else, I just…” He hesitated for a moment as he tried to think of the proper words to conclude with. “You don’t have to forgive me, because I would understand if you didn’t. But I need you to know that I love you, I have always loved you, and I will continue to love you whether we’re together or not.”

A tear slipped down your cheek as soon as he finished, and his lips turned up in a sad smile as his hand lifted quickly to wipe it away. It was an action that he couldn’t help himself from performing, and as soon as his fingers made contact with your skin, you leaned into his touch without hesitation. Even after the tear was gone, Owen’s thumb still brushed against your cheek as he seemed to be taking you in.

“I’m so sorry for putting you through this,” he added, his voice barely above a whisper. “I think I’ll always be sorry.”

You couldn’t take it anymore as you felt the full wave of relief and pure love fill you from his confession, and you leaned up onto your tiptoes so that you could close the distance between you as your lips crashed against his. Kissing Owen felt like coming home, and his reaction was immediate as he cupped your cheek with his hand and his other hand came around to rest against your lower back, pulling you closer. You probably should have apologized for how you had been acting as well, but you knew that you could do it later. Right now, you needed this, and it was clear that Owen did too.

“I love you too, Owen,” you mumbled against his lips when you pulled away a few seconds later. “Always have, always will.” Then, you were kissing him again, and all the sorrow from the evening, and the last month, was slowly lifted from your shoulders and you felt like you could breathe again.

tags: @crybabyddl @chrlsgillespie @calamitykaty @alexpjoyner

311 notes · View notes

gaywatch · 2 years

Note

i've been meaning to message you for months with some Golden Lovers updates, haha, but i was waiting for something more concrete, and boy howdy did we get it. there is way, way too much to explain in just this one message (i'm working on a gifset that goes into more detail, but it's hard to put time into that and also do NaNoWriMo, so it might get done in december), since it covers years of history and spans at least four/five companies as well as some dramatic shifts in the industry, but i'll try my best.

basically, AEW just wrapped up their biggest story yet, which they've been building up to since the start of the company in 2019. Kenny Omega was an essential piece of it, and right before the long-awaited climax, they revealed that his story in AEW since the literal beginning has been about his unresolved feelings toward Kota Ibushi this entire time. if you're a subtext reader like me, this has been obvious, but it's still absolutely incredible to hear that confirmed directly in the canon after i spent years pointing out individual details and looking like a conspiracy theorist. essentially what happened is that right before Kenny defended his title against his ex-partner, Hangman Page said "if i remember, you once had another tag team partner who maybe you felt like you didn't measure up to, either" (Kota liked a gif of this line on twitter, btw, akjfgdhgk). i SCREAMED

i'm going to link this other post that i made instead of going into too much more detail on that, but the whole segment was Hangman basically realizing that everything that Kenny had done to him was because he was projecting his own hurt and insecurity after Kota left him again, and it wasn't Hangman's own fault, which thus freed Hangman from his own cycle of doubt and insecurity and meant that nothing Kenny could say to him had any power over him anymore.

a few days later, Hangman faces Kenny with the AEW title on the line. there's a great moment at the beginning of the match where a fan (later revealed to be Anthony Burch, haha, who writes for Borderlands, and whose sister Ashly Burch voiced Chloe in Life Is Strange lol) brings out a sign that says "what would Kota think?" and Kenny stops and stares at it for like ten seconds.

Kenny loses the match and drops the title to Hangman (as we all expected). a lot of us Golden Lovers fans had been terrified going into the match that Hangman would become the second person ever to kick out of Kenny's finisher, the one winged angel, since they'd been talking that up again recently, but we needn't have worried. it's still the most protected move in the business, and the only person who's kicked out of it other than Kenny himself is the love of his life.

as far as where the Golden Lovers story is going to go next... well, the immediate next step for both of them is rest and recovery, because both of them are unfortunately injured at the moment. Kota dislocated his shoulder after failing to hit a phoenix splash on Okada in the G1 tournament finals in NJPW, so he's healing from that, and Kenny's been running his body so hard for the past 3+ years, he needs a ridiculous number of (thankfully minor) surgeries.

after that... well, no one really knows where either Kenny's or Kota's story will go, but i can say that in the 2.5 years that i've been following it, this is the most optimistic i've been that we're actually heading toward a reunion. the Kenny & Hangman story wrapping up in AEW is a great opportunity for Kenny to finally start that final chapter of the Golden Lovers story that he's been wanting them to have since 2019.

there will probably be fans writing various explainers summing up Kenny's AEW story as seen through a GL lens, but i don't have any to link at the moment, and the one i'm working on will take a long time to complete, because i want it to be comprehensive. sorry for giving such an incomplete description!

i'm not sure how much you actually care about all of this, haha, but this is enough for one message, i think

These updates are AMAZING as always like I may not go here but I am full on Tyra Banks ROOTING FOR Y'ALL ❤️❤️❤️

#Golden Lovers #GW Asks

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arthurtristankingsmen · 3 years

Text

More and longer theory chatter with @flash-the-geist with guest stars who popped in. This one is longer since it’s theorizing but turned into something Flash affectionately named the ‘Esprestissimo AU’ which I am keeping because I love it so much.

Most of this mainly features Duet thoughts and then shenanigans ! The most I did was add a missing thing in my own comments for clarification or that my brain skipped over when typing it before, or where I adjust the order of the messages for cohesiveness

please enjoy jdjd

flaaaash — Today at 4:35 AM

hmmm what if the note-taker is Duet, taking notes about "Solo"? that implies they're two different people

Arthur — Today at 4:36 AM

that's what i was thinking-- that the ‘He’ in the note is reverb, and this note is in reference to reverb, but also a comment on Solo, and the Duet 'wrote' this character profile as like-- a case file if they're in charge of the organization

so duet is like 'solo' claims she still needs to study him for research in a note on the file he's taking on reverb or something like that

flaaaash — Today at 4:37 AM

this might be my deep, unfortunate familiarity with bureaucracy talking, but- if the person in charge is also the one taking notes, it's a very small organization

Arthur — Today at 4:37 AM

oh yeah

i imagined it was tiny personally

tempo seems on the smaller side so if it's all based there, i was imagining it was relatively small

flaaaash — Today at 4:38 AM

not international then, perhaps

adkjfakjf oooh now I want to make a little card for Flash

Arthur — Today at 4:39 AM

yeah no-- at least since the name tempo of the town following the motif like seemingly implies it's based in/related to the town since if follows the reference style

or that's my thinking anyways?

flaaaash — Today at 4:39 AM

very true

imagine if Tempo is just Like That and the rest of the world is totally normal

Arthur — Today at 4:40 AM

i personally think vivi didn't grow up in tempo now more tho-- because i think if she did and there is an organization, they woulda gotten wind of her and she probably would've been recruited since she's smart and clearly into that kind of thing

and if she was in the org and knew what she was doing, i don't know if she would've gone to the cave if she was at all in the Know

flaaaash — Today at 4:40 AM

or they would have tried to study Mystery?

Arthur — Today at 4:41 AM

that too!!

even if they brought her in just because of mystery i imagine they would've brought her in

flaaaash — Today at 4:41 AM

maybe that's what the "her research into "REDACTED" is referring to. Research into mystery?

it all does seem to come back to him

Arthur — Today at 4:42 AM

or maybe she's relatively new to tempo still, and duet gave her a job because they intended to bring her in at some point but hadn't yet

like there were steps to take and like-- the cave happened before things could get fully underway

i mean at my job i applied in like-- march, and i didn't get an interview until may, and then i didn't get any training until november, and then i didn't get brought in to learn the job until december. so it'd be easy to imagine that if there was a reason, bringing her in could be a slow process

flaaaash — Today at 4:43 AM

that might also explain why there were all these "go back" signs in the cave

clearly someone with English language skills put the signage there

Arthur — Today at 4:43 AM

that too! it definitely felt like it was to warn off people and keep them from tresspassing

but the gang were kids and also ghost don't haunt the places that aren't super scary and dangerous! so of course they gotta go in!

flaaaash — Today at 4:45 AM

maybe they weren't expecting someone like Vivi at all

she was a wild card that popped up and threw a spanner in the works accidentally

Arthur — Today at 4:45 AM

yeah!

i can imagine her just coming in and completely bamboozling everyone

duet is like 'okay we'll get her in on this but we'll take some time to sort everything and judge where she's at skill wise since we have time and it's not like she can get into any danger with all our protective me--oh no'

flaaaash — Today at 4:48 AM

that calls Duet's motivation into question a lil bc - there's at least a significant amount of time between Lewis dying and them finding him again

since their search is reasonably extensive and Arthur's had time to heal up. So why didn't Duet do anything during this time?

Arthur — Today at 4:50 AM

hmmmm--- well we know it's been less than a year since the cave happened at least, and i think the way Ben talked about it sounded like it was a relatively short time table of only a few months, so maybe they wanted to give them recovery time or they weren't sure how to broach it-- i'm not sure. maybe the comic will give some kind of insight hopefully if the case is that vivi came in like that

i feel like it'd be interesting and make more sense given what she has available magic wise and mystery-wise if she wasn't in town until much later in life to explain why she wouldn’t already be working with the organization. but i'm still like hmm

because you do have a point that there would be a fair bit of inaction, unless for some reason vivi's memory issues or something was a problem or something happens in the prequel to explain or hint

tho now that brings into question if duet knows Lewis is dead, how are things not being managed better

i mean i've had arthur say in the past and i've said once or twice that like-- i think arthur was already working with prosthetics. so he could've had an arm mostly built and just had to make a more functioning one so that could've been fast. so hopefully maybe the prequel comic is set a bit before and might explain duet helping or something in a way that could make sense of it?

especially given he did make galaham's wheels already and such. he might've already built one but needed to make a new one set up for him

flaaaash — Today at 4:54 AM

I'm fairly sure people would at least know he's missing

I guess it's possible that the 'memory magic' thing that makes Vivi forget - it could affect everyone except Arthur and Mystery?

Arthur — Today at 4:56 AM

that's possible--

we have only seen mystery and arthur in the world seeming to know what's going on, so we don't know who knows what. just that vivi doesn't know lewis

but maybe nobody else does either to some degree

flaaaash — Today at 4:56 AM

Arthur being possessed at the time, and Mystery being a magical being himself. We don't have any evidence that anyone else remembers Lewis, although he seems to still be in pictures

Arthur — Today at 4:57 AM

people did seem confused arthur was freaking out in the store in the comic and like

idk. if i knew he lost his best friend i'd be more sympathetic/not look at him like he was crazy. I’d assume something set him off but probably feel bad for him if i knew what happened in the last year?

because i would imagine mental health is in the toilet after going on a trip and losing a friend even if he was only 'missing'

and the way arthur mentioned lewis and when vivi forgets he's just like 'nevermind'. if no one really remembers Lewis, then maybe giving up trying to explain is because he’s used to no one knowing who he means

flaaaash — Today at 4:58 AM

yea h

Arthur — Today at 4:58 AM

what if arthur only remembers lewis? (and mystery does)

Don't forget to take your meds ❤ — Today at 4:58 AM

In fairness most people would be confused if they saw someone having a panic attack in public, no matter how much was known about the person

flaaaash — Today at 4:58 AM

also if Lewis looked like himself for a moment just before dropping Arthur - does that mean Lance saw him?

or did he only see skele-version and thus didn't recognize him as Lewis

Arthur — Today at 4:58 AM

hmmmmm--- i lean to skele vision. he turned back pretty quick iirc

flaaaash — Today at 4:59 AM

I'm torn between analysing between a storyteller perspective and an in-world perspective

Arthur — Today at 5:01 AM

por que no los dos?

also

hmmm-- i think given people were like 'what's up with that guy', it seemed either not knowing what was going on with him or what it could stem from, but if lewis disappeared in a small town i feel like a lot of the details would've spread. so they might assume it had to do with that instead-- so it feels like maybe most people don't know

which seems strange in a smaller community because stuff gets around

flaaaash — Today at 5:01 AM

especially since the Peppers own a restaurant

Arthur — Today at 5:01 AM

yeah-- in a small town place a restuarant is usually a social hub of sorts

so if lewis disppeared i'm sure people would talk given he was a waiter and thus kind of a face for the restaurant

flaaaash — Today at 5:02 AM

also if they think he's missing and not dead, his family would be looking for him too. which means missing persons pics and all that

Arthur — Today at 5:02 AM

yeah and we didn’t see any. and some people not knowing or visitors i could get, but everyone seemed surprised by arthur freaking out, and if they knew lewis was missing and lewis and arthur were friends, it feels odd to like-- none of them to even look sympathetic

i would imagine if they knew lewis was gone they'd assume arthur would be more emotionally reactive than usual-- unless they have no idea that something is going on with arthur because you know-- lewis is erased jdjd

i mean the reason we know vivi doesn't remember is because her eyes glowed as lewis got phased out of the photo

but who knows maybe him being phased out was in general and that just meant she was affected too. everyone gets amnesia

flaaaash — Today at 5:03 AM

also slightly cracky theory but - if they ended up accidentally in the research facility during Ghost, that would explain why Vivi found a fully-stocked fridge alkja;gl

Arthur — Today at 5:04 AM

DSJDDLJSDLFJDSJL

that would be hilarious

lewis is his own scp in his tantrum mansion

they just keep an eye on the lot

flaaaash — Today at 5:05 AM

well what else are they gonna do with him??? xD

Arthur — Today at 5:05 AM

dslsdjdsfljdsfd

''welp no one knows who this guy is soooooo manor in the middle of nowhere time'

flaaaash — Today at 5:06 AM

"so the waiter turned into a vengeful spirit?" "oh uhhhh ok put him in a box i guess until we figure something out?"

ok theory- Duet knows Lewis is dead, but is trying to figure out a way to help/break the memory magic on Vivi, and that's why he's in the mansion/cave for a while before Ghost?

Arthur — Today at 5:06 AM

i like it! i think them knowing and approaching arthur in the comic and using 'rancid vibes' as an excuse would make sense

flaaaash — Today at 5:07 AM

"so that Vivi person wandered in again somehow and now the vengeful waiter ghost is loose?" "for fuck's sake you had ONE JOB-"

Arthur — Today at 5:07 AM

they know what's actually going on but they kinda act like everyone else while also getting arthur something that might help him in that book that i think will be important in the plot of the prequel

DL;G;HDGSAL;HKGSDHL;DGS

flash you have the biggest brain

flaaaash — Today at 5:08 AM

,kadjgalgkj

"also there was this killer tree-" "I do not care about the tree, one problem at a time"

Poor Duet is having A Week

but the mental image of them trying to avoid Arthur and Vivi investigating, while trying to find ??? and re-capture him while shoving Lewis in a box is hilarious, and then they run into Shiromori and just throw their hands in the air like "can u not????". And then Murder Mystery shows up and they just quit

Arthur — Today at 5:10 AM

dlaajldkljjdl;dldjlfkfd

duet is just like

on their tenth cup of coffee

Don't forget to take your meds ❤ — Today at 5:10 AM

Arthur: Those are rookie numbers

Arthur — Today at 5:11 AM

they see murder mystery and go back inside the shop like 'can you add like 5 espresso shots to this'

flaaaash — Today at 5:11 AM

explains why they're like "Arthur pls your vibes. Do you KNOW what I've been dealing with"

Arthur — Today at 5:11 AM

asdl;;dfslhsdahg;as;dghkghsdllhsgd

flaaaash — Today at 5:11 AM

"five extra shots and a red bull chaser please-"

Arthur — Today at 5:12 AM

(also just still crosses my fingers for medium/spiritually-sensitive!arthur to be canon but if not it will live on in my fannon)

dsldjllssfdf

they just start shoving coffee grounds directly into their mouth

flaaaash — Today at 5:12 AM

this series has a lot of antagonists

akjdalgj just crunching beans down whole

Arthur — Today at 5:13 AM

i need-- to draw duet

looking tired with a coffee

flaaaash — Today at 5:14 AM

Duet with a giant cup of coffee, staring at Murder Mystery with a deadpan stare and going "Absolutely not, I forbid it, there is not enough coffee in the WORLD."

Arthur — Today at 5:14 AM

flash and will if i share this chatter on tumblr would you be okay with it ? or would u rather i block out names if i do

i feel like some of this is hilarious and people need to experience it

flaaaash — Today at 5:14 AM

akdflaf no go for it

I will out myself as a sham of a storyboarder

Arthur — Today at 5:15 AM

duet is that gif of the ghost busters lady going 'mmm nope not today, room full of nightmares'

and turning and walking away

duet is doing their best and needs a nap

tired as Arthur

flaaaash — Today at 5:15 AM

Duet walking around the corner to see the gang facing down Murder Mystery: swivels on one foot and goes right back the way they came

Arthur — Today at 5:15 AM

ldjldljd EXACTLY

Don't forget to take your meds ❤ — Today at 5:16 AM

Heheheheh

Arthur — Today at 5:16 AM

like look at this person

look at their eyebags

they are Tired

they have deal with this bullshittery

they have sass to provide

but they also are Tired and done with this shit

flaaaash — Today at 5:16 AM

I want Duet and Arthur playing a game of caffeine chicken

Marshy — Today at 5:16 AM

Huge massive sigh as they see the whole bullshit situation go down and turns around to go back to the bookshop

flaaaash — Today at 5:16 AM

just lined up at the cafe bar, espresso shots in rows down the counter as they lock eyes-

who shall win- the CAFFEINE-OFF?

Arthur — Today at 5:17 AM

flash

pls if you right that i will pay you money

or maybe art

Marshy — Today at 5:17 AM

It's me I'll win

flaaaash — Today at 5:17 AM

SLFKJLKGS

Arthur — Today at 5:17 AM

dlasd;sdgkd;djslj;dags

i'm rooting for you take those nerds OUT

flaaaash — Today at 5:18 AM

"Duet gives him a look of Supreme Weariness and Nopery. Arthur counters with a double eye-roll of Resignation and Angst. In the true synchronicity of the Absolutely Done, they each take an espresso shot and slam it down."

Arthur — Today at 5:20 AM

djdasd;ds;lsda;ldj;lkdsl;jkdsj;lkasljkdjlkdg

they clink the little cups together first before taking their respective shots

flaaaash — Today at 5:21 AM

they do the thing where they turn it upside down to prove it's empty

by the fifth they're trying to outcompete each other with anecdotes

by the tenth they've moved onto toasting each other

Arthur — Today at 5:21 AM

Bonding!

Don't forget to take your meds ❤ — Today at 5:22 AM

The anecdotes get concerningly similar to each others

flaaaash — Today at 5:22 AM

by the twelfth, Arthur begins weeping. Duet pats him in solidarity and knocks the next shot clean off the counter due to caffeine-induced twitching

Arthur — Today at 5:22 AM

DSGLAHGLDGHDGHAAHDSGDG

EXCELLENT

want them to be friends now

flaaaash — Today at 5:23 AM

by the thirteenth, the barista stages an intervention and starts giving them decaf

by this point, they don't notice

Arthur — Today at 5:23 AM

asdlaadjsdsajd

thank you they owe you their life

they could taste the difference if they weren't vibrating into the 28the dimension atm

flaaaash — Today at 5:24 AM

after the fifteenth shot, the counter is clear and they're both full of sympathetic outrage for the other's plight. They sprint from the cafe, steamroll right over Shiromori, and punt the colours right out of Murder Mystery in a fit of industrial-strength caffeinated indignance.

Don't forget to take your meds ❤ — Today at 5:24 AM

Hahahaha

Arthur — Today at 5:25 AM

h;lsadlf;dsldj;fsljl;dfsajdfsa

flaaaash — Today at 5:25 AM

The newly Monochromatic Mystery has to then help Vivi contain the pair before they wipe all paranormal activity off the face of Tempo.

Arthur — Today at 5:25 AM

that's how the fifth video ends

flaaaash — Today at 5:25 AM

Lewis narrowly escapes by hiding in a box. THE END

Arthur — Today at 5:25 AM

dsal;gsdhldgsa;dgsdgs;hldgs;lhdsa

beautiful thank u flash

i owe you my life

flaaaash — Today at 5:25 AM

you're welcome it's my magnum opus

Arthur — Today at 5:26 AM

A+ story telling

i'm including it in the post

flaaaash — Today at 5:26 AM

ALKJGAGK

it's okay I don't have a reputation to ruin xD

Arthur — Today at 5:26 AM

dlasdl;dhsgldgdgs

this is a callout for flash being the funniest person alive--

or undead

flaaaash — Today at 5:27 AM

dead-

sfkjga

Arthur — Today at 5:27 AM

djdjdjdj

i thought about it and corrected myself xDD

flaaaash — Today at 5:30 AM

ok I have no idea if anyone will get this pun, but I dub this the Esprestissimo AU

Arthur — Today at 5:36 AM

djalsd;ldsjdsjldf

i LOVE THAT

music puns but espressos EXTRA ESPRESSOLY

flaaaash — Today at 5:49 AM

#headcanon #msa headcanon discussion #tristan rambles #flashthegeist #IT WAS SO MUCH FUN #duet #arthur #vivi #long post #mystery skulls animated #mystery skulls #my original stuff

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hopelesshawks · 3 years

Text

Hawks 400 Follower Special

A Hawks x gn!reader based on the song Home by BTS

General Masterlist Help Lulu <3

Hawks is exhausted.

It’s been a full month since he’s been gone on this mission but finally, finally it’s wrapping up. Throughout his final debriefing with the police in the area, one thought dominates all others: “I just wanna go home.” It’s been a consistent refrain for him for awhile now but his duty had kept him in Hokkaido. Now he’s finally been let free. He pulls out his phone and scrolls until he finds your number, desperate to hear your voice. “Hello?” you answer and already some of the tension in his body melts away. “Hey Dove I’ve missed you,” he sighs. “I’ve missed you too Kei. Finally wrapping up out there?” you ask. “Yes, thank god. I’m about to take off for home now,” he tells you. “Good. Fly safe baby.” “Always do. Love you.” “Love you too.” Hawks ends the call, those few words exchanged already doing wonders to soothe the ache in his heart from being so far from you for so long.

His muscles ache but he’s got enough feathers left to fly so he’s determined to fly home since it’ll get him there far faster than anything else. It still takes hours for him to get from Hokkaido back to Fukuoka. He flies right past the downtown area where his luxury apartment waits and further out to the outskirts of town before he finally spots the balcony of your apartment. He lands heavily and is about to tap on the window when he realizes the door is already unlocked. He slides it open and is immediately hit with the smell of fresh karaage as he kicks off his boots and drops his bag. He sheds the heavy coat of his hero costume as well, your entire tiny apartment heated by the work you’ve been doing in the kitchen. You’re just pulling the chicken out of the fryer and plating it for you both as he wanders into the kitchen in search of you. “There’s my hero,” you smile as he comes up to wrap his arms around you and press a kiss to your shoulder. “God I’ve missed you,” he sighs, allowing himself to sag into the comforting weight of you and further envelop you in his arms. “C’mon baby, you must be starving,” you encourage and the rumbling of his stomach only confirms your suspicions. He nods, using his feathers to grab the plates of food you prepared to place them on the table as you lead him out of the kitchen and over to your beat up little dining table.

Hawks absolutely devours the plate you give him and before he can even ask you’re already telling him where the extras you made are. It doesn’t take long before his feathers are bringing over the bowl of extras and by the time you’re both finished eating he’s managed to polish off the entirety of what you’ve made. He gives a satisfied groan and offers to help clean the kitchen but you just press a kiss to the top of his head insist he rest after his grueling month of work. He watches you move around the kitchen cleaning up and can’t help but be filled with a warm affection at the sight of you. Who knows how he got so lucky as to find a person as kind and compassionate and understanding as you. A month he’s been gone and instead of complaining about his absence or how little he’d called while he was away, you’d welcomed him back with his favorite meal and done everything you could to help refresh him after a hard month.

Later that night as the two of you are curled up in bed, your head laying on his chest and his exhausted wings splayed out on the bed a question occurs to him. “How’d you know I was coming to your apartment Dove?” he asks into the quiet night. “You said you were coming home,” you hum simply. The thought hits Keigo like a freight train. He can’t think of the last time he had a place he called home. His hollow apartment? The commission? The shack he’d spent the first few years of his life in? None of them had ever given him the warmth and love he feels now cradling you in his arms. He’s not sure when exactly that happened, him thinking of you as home, but he’s so incredibly glad it has. “I love you so much Dove,” he whispers. The small sleepy smile that spreads across your face melts his heart as you respond in a voice already rough with sleep “I love you too Keigo, welcome home.”

#hawks #wing hero hawks #hawks x reader #hawks x y/n #hopeless.oneshot

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do-not-careissa · 3 years

Text

Now that Men in Black has reinvaded my mind so have new plot bunnies. So have 2 Jason joins the min ideas/options.

1. Sort of a Mr and Mrs Smith type thing, jaykyle, only sadder and angstier:

Post death and resurrection Jason wasn't picked up by Talia, instead it was MiB. Using their alien tech they're able to heal him and put his mind back together. They know who he is, just like they know who Bruce and the Justice League are (for how much the Kents believed no one noticed their sudden baby acquisition, they were wrong. MiB's known all along, if anything they're the reason the Kents and other alien adopters and adoptees have done so well at staying hidden.) They give Jason the choice to either return to Bruce, go with a normal family (in both cases he'd of course have his memories wiped), or stay and work with them. Now while Jason might not have the Lazarus Pits affecting his emotions and mental stability here, he's still a teen/young adult (say like 18 or 19 by the time he's healed enough to leave) and his last memories of the bats and his bio mother weren't exactly the greatest. Add on top of that the feeling of being forgotten/replaced that would undoubtedly come at seeing the addition of, what, at least three more people to the batfam. He doesn't believe there's a place left for him there, decides to stay, at least he can do some good while he's at it.

Cut to a few years later, Jason's moved up the ranks, he's one of the organization's best agents (could be just that branch, division, or overall) but of course the job doesn't really leave much for certain other needs. So on his rare time off he'll slink off to this nice bar or something and just enjoy himself, feel human, all that good stuff. And that's how he gets involved with a certain Kyle Rayner. The guy seems normal enough, an artist with laughably bad pickup lines but a smile and eyes that make you want to laugh with him rather than at him. They have a night together, and that one night turns into two, then three, and by the fourth Jason's sure he's making a mistake here. Regulation says to keep contact with non-mib individuals to a minimum and don't give them a reason to remember you if you have to interact more than once. He shouldn't be doing this, really, but he's also given up so much over the years, both to mib, to the bats, to the universe, can you really blame him?

Between the two of them rain checks are a regular, either one or both claiming a sudden work trip that couldn't be skipped. It made Jason guilty every time but he couldn't just not go. This was his job after all. And Kyle, well he was just a normal guy who happened to be a bit loose in the head sometimes, it made sense for him to forget to call off meetups and hookups, that's just what normal people their age did right? It takes far too long for him to admit that he's in too deep, that he's fallen for this loveable dumbass. But the same could probably be said for Kyle too.

The moment they meet not as Jason and Kyle but as MiB and Green Lantern you could hear a pin drop. Jason couldn't believe this, not in a million years. Kyle? A fucking Green Lantern? Are you kidding?!

Because you see, while the general population and even the capes might be unaware of MiB, MiB is more than aware of them and they have a very big problem with them, especially the Lanterns. Because they know the GLs and Guardians would argue that earth is their terf and that minehas not right to set up rules and protocol, byt MiB has been on Earth longer, they've existed since Roswell if not earlier, GLs haven't touched Earth til maybe 15-20 years ago. And MiB's work is to protect not just the humans of Earth but the aliens who've made a home here, or even just those ones that are here for a visit. Thanks to the GLs, and by extension the Justice League, not only is MiB and its agents in so much more danger of being exposed or attacked, but so are those aliens.

Suddenly Jason's happy go lucky secret relationship has been soured if not ruined. Kyle, he'd trusted him, even l-, he actually liked him as more than just a fuck buddy, but this? He's devastated, he's angry, and while he's sure Kyle's feeling something like that too, he doesn't get to, not when he's siding with the group putting innocent people in danger, not when he's siding with the bats and Tha Guardians and everything Jason stands against.

He manages to catch Kyle off guard, taking him down and neuralyzing him quick enough that him can't take him down too. It hurts to see that blank look take over Kyle's face once the light fades, but he can't let that affect him. Kyle made his choice, and he needs to make his.

Idea 2: much angstier in the "fuck Bruce and the JL" sort of way

Post rhato 25 and Roy's death, Jason's health is deteriorating quickly. Maybe he lied about how well he was out of guilt so Roy wouldnt feel like he had to stay with Jason instead of going to Sanctuary. Now with no one there to help him, along with the mental and emotional toll, Jason's body is shutting down. This is it, he's accepted it, he fucking hates that this is how he goes, but well, it's kinda poetic that Bruce would ultimately be the reason for his deagb this time wouldn't it? Between the physical injuries he gave Jason and the mental ones he's caused, everything all ties back to Bruce.

So Jason's just there, accepting his fate, but then out of nowhere these suits just show up and they've got an offer for him. They know who he is, what he's gone through, they know how to help him and keep him safe. They can heal him. But the only way they can let him know exactly what they're doing or who they are is if he joins them. They say they've been watching him for a while, we're actually planning on approaching him, but the situation with Batman and now with the League and Jason's health has pushed their time table up. He's obviously skeptical til they really go in on everything, breaking down mib, breaking down what they try to do, and you know what, he's in. Fuck Bruce, fuck the JL, fuck them all.

None of them stepped in to help him, none of them did anything to stop Bruce, no one except Roy, Roy who's now dead because of them. They don't get to tell him what to do anymore, they don't get to control him.

So they bring Jason in for the procedure, and there's a few ways this could go. A) They just use whatever alien tech they have that heals him no issue, maybe need to replace a few bones or joints or something, whatever it is he's healed. B) they need to meld his DNA to a sample from an alien species that heals quickly (personal favorite, could go down the route of this giving Jason superhuman abilities, or even something akin to energy absorption as the reason he's able to heal which would make him a massive threat to everyone especially the gls (imagine him just draining their rings in minutes and then using that power against them)). C) the Lazarus Pits are actually of alien origin, and since Jason's already been dipped in one before and had his brain and body altered/healed by it, it still remains dormant in his system, they just need to activate it.

Whatever they do it works, and soon enough we get Jason as MiB and Bruce and the others all believing Jason to be dead ala MiB tricks. Months or even years later there comes a confrontation, the "I thought you were dead!" Shit. Or the GLs/guardians learn about them and try to impose their bs on them, try to scare them into disappearing, and guess who MiB sends to deal with them? Why their star agent of course.

#hoping to at least write something for that first one #just struggling through the words like usual #jason todd #fic ideas #jason as mib

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kafka-ish · 4 years

Text

a long time coming | r.t.

when a familiar face shows itself in derry, a familiar feeling picks up in richie’s heart

word count: 8,012

warnings/included: nsfw (smut, fingering, and regular vanilla sex, first time stuff), fluff (like... a conspicuous amount of fluff), fem!reader

a/n: gL gamers

y/n y/l/n was coming back to Derry.

To any other bystander, this wasn’t news. However, to Richie Tozier, it was because Richie Tozier loved y/n y/l/n.

He loved her when they were five and she had introduced herself as the girl who moved in next door. He loved her when they were ten and she made friendship bracelets for both of them (which he would later find out she made friendship bracelets for all the Losers). He loved her when they were thirteen when he should’ve spent his time running from the bullies at his toes instead. And he loved her when they were fifteen when he was writing love letters. But she’d never see them because she was away at some fancy boarding school in New York, per her parents’ request.

“I don’t see why you gotta go,” Richie said glumly. He was looking down and kicked at the dirt beneath his feet. Even if this would be the last time he’d ever see her, it would be too hard to look her in the eyes.

Richie was the last one y/n told about Hoosac School. But if y/n had the option, she wouldn’t have told him at all. It was hard enough for her to bid her goodbyes to Bill, Stan, Eddie, Bev, Ben, and Mike.

Naturally, Beverly was the first one she told. She was the only other girl in the Loser’s Club and the one y/n hung out with the most aside from Richie. Beverly was a blubbering mess. The brown mascara she applied delicately was running down her cheeks in ugly streaks and her red hair would sit tangled on her head for the next few days.

Bill was next, but Bill knew everything. He found out from Bev the next day and confronted her about it at school. And y/n would sob into his shoulder and ask him what to do.

“Tuh-tell the others,” he said sympathetically.

So she did.

She told Ben, Eddie, and Stan in her next period she shared with him. Ben sadly stroked her arm and told her he could have one of his CupCakes at lunch. y/n smiled, the sweet gesture easing the pain from her mind. And she told him she would take him up on that offer only if they were orange flavored.

Eddie cried that day, but he passed it off as an allergic reaction to the different brand of air freshener Mrs. Clarke used. Stan and Ben were just kind enough to believe him.

Stan was always the voice of reason. He told her this would be a great opportunity to learn new things and make new friends, but he also made her swear she’d write him—them—every week and call every night. He thought y/n would laugh at him for being clingy and compulsive but she didn’t. She took his hand in his, squeezing it firmly when she assured him she’d call every night and write every week.

But a certain sadness washed over her when it was Mike’s turn to receive the news.

It was on an early Saturday morning when he did. She offered to help him out with the farm—partly to spend time with him and partly to get some wear in her new overalls she’d thrifted before she left.

“I know… you’ve probably already heard.” y/n swallowed harshly before continuing. She was aimlessly shoveling a hole in the ground and she stared at the soil as if it were his brown eyes because this would be harder for her to say than harder for him to hear. “I’m leaving Derry.”

The sun wasn’t even up yet, but Mike was able to comprehend her words just fine. “When?” They were both turned away from each other—her working on the hole and him working on the bean sprouts.

“A month after school lets out. Don’t worry, Mikey. There’s still time for me to help you on the farm.”

“Just so you can dig holes in my daddy’s soil? I don’t think so.” Both y/n and Mike laughed. For a moment, y/n had forgotten about the packed boxes in her empty bedroom and the plane tickets her parents kept in an envelope for June the first.

And now y/n stood in front of Richie only a few days after she’d be boarding that plane because she’d been putting off telling him the way she did with the rest of the Losers.

y/n was staring at his forehead, desperately trying to meet his eyes. She didn’t care if the last time he’d be seeing her was with smudged mascara and red eyes, but she needed to see him. “My parents are making me,” she repeated. “If it were up to me I’d..”

“Don’t go,” Richie said abruptly, cutting her off. His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her—even if her lips were bitten raw and her eyes welled with salty tears that he’d kiss away in his dreams when he went to bed that night. “To hell with your parents. You can live with me, kid. It’ll be like college but without the debt.”

y/n sniffed. Even though Richie was the funny one, she couldn’t bring herself to laugh. Maybe if the words were coming from Bill, Stan, or Ben, but not Richie. Not when her whole life was in front of her and there was no sign of him in it.

Richie frowned because if he couldn’t put a smile on her face, he didn’t know what would. A strong silence edged itself between the two of them. It wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t comfortable either. He pushed up his glasses lazily with his index finger to get a better look at the sad sight ahead of him who was poorly trying to contain her sobs.

“Hey, kid.” Richie took her in his lanky arms. Neither of them said anything after that, but Richie couldn’t help but think if he said those three words maybe she wouldn’t have left.

“Well why didn’t you say so?” She’d say. They’d spend their next three years together attached to the hip before college sweeps them away. But they’d find each other later in life; at a record shop or on the streets of New York. y/n would ask “Richie, is that really you?” And Richie would reply in his British-man Voice:

“’Ello, luv. Don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

y/n would be left in a stunned sort of silence for a while—not because she was unsure if the person standing in front of her was him, but because she was in awe. In awe that she finally found him.

But now Richie didn’t have to wait. He didn’t have to wallow in his own pity because the girl he loved was no longer two states away, but a couple of minutes away as he paced back in forth in Stan’s room.

“Calm down, Richie.” Stan was laying on his bed, trying to ignore his friend’s loud footsteps. Even though he had forced Richie to take his shoes off before coming into his house, his feet still thumped loudly against the floor. He was uncharacteristically thrusting a baseball between his two palms. It cut through the air smoothly as it moved side to side in his soft hands.

“What do you mean calm down?” Richie stopped in his tracks so he could shoot him a cold stare. “How am I supposed to calm down?” His heavy steps had resumed. Stan sighed.

“Just don’t make such a big deal out of—”

“Don’t give me that shit, Stan.” Richie groaned and went to tug on the friendship bracelet y/n gave him from when they were in grade school. It was a habit he’d picked up when y/n left. Whenever he got nervous, or irritated, or missed her, his right hand would find his left and wind around the memento. Arguably, that friendship bracelet could be deduced to a tangle of old, ratty strings; better yet, trash. But in Richie’s magnified eyes, it was still the same bracelet made of vibrant blue and green yarn y/n had bought from the craft store and braided with her small, meticulous fingers.

“What shit?” Stan scoffed because sometimes Richie could be irrational. “It’s called honesty. And honestly, it’s just y/n. What could go wrong?”

What could go wrong? Hell, everything could go wrong. She could forget who I am. Or better yet, she would remember and hate me.

“She won’t hate you,” Stan said unconvincingly in his usual monotone voice. It was like he could Richie’s mind, but Richie was obvious when it came to this stuff. Painfully obvious.

“Wuh-what’cha guh-guh-guys talking ab-bout?” Bill let himself into the room without knocking. Neither of the two boys minded. “I br-brought my bb-b-base-ball cards. But I’m keeping the Babe Ruth—”

“We’re not trading today, Bill.” Stan put down the leathery ball which sat in his left hand and sat up exasperatedly.

“W-we’re not?” An odd sort of sadness flicked across his usually bright features and he pocketed the collectibles. “Ih-ih-if we weren’t you sh-sh… could’ve cuh-called me fuh-fifteen minutes ago.” He went down to sit on Stan’s bed with him but was met with a harsh stare and a scolding instead.

“Take your shoes off!” He screeched and Bill toed off his old, beat-up Keds.

“So, wuh-what are we doing… if wuh-we’re not trading?” Bill asked.

“Richie just wants to talk.” Bill’s nose scrunched like a child who had just been informed liver was for dinner.

“T-t-t-talk? Get a s-s-sex change while you’re at it.”

Both Stan and Bill laughed, and Richie only grumbled. “C’mon, guys.” His pacing had yet again stopped but Stan knew he wouldn’t stay still for long. “What should I do?”

Then, Bill knew what they were talking about. It wasn’t a secret that Richie liked y/n. But like was an understatement. It just remained unsaid between the Losers. Either because Richie wouldn’t hear the end of it if they did talk about it or because… what was there to talk about? There were only so many times six boys and one girl could sing ‘Richie loves y/n’ until it got old.

“Wuh-well…” The rest of Bill’s words were swallowed by a heavy build-up of saliva and replaced with new ones before either Stan or Richie could chime in. “What do yo-you wanna do?”

“Aw, man. Lots of things.” Richie took a seat next to Bill on the edge of Stan’s neatly made bed. Stan groaned and shoved a pillow over his flushed face. He was torn between wanting to hear the details and hating that Richie was taking this conversation to a sappy turn. “The first thing I’d do would probably pull her in for a hug and kiss her cheek… And then I’d—”

“Beep Beep, Richie.” Stan’s muffled voice came from under the pillow and Bill laughed in agreement.

“Kuh-kiss?” Bill asked skeptically.

“Yeah. I know that’s new vocabulary to you, Big Bill, but—”

“No,” Bill said, ignoring Richie’s previous, rude, comment. “I mm-mean, you cuh-cuh-can’t kiss y/n.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Richie said, only half-listening to what Bill was saying. But Bill’s next statement grabbed Richie’s (and Stan’s) full attention.

“I cuh-can’t. But her b-boyfriend wuh-houldn’t like it.”

“y/n has a boyfriend?” Both Stan and Richie said in unison. The pillow flew from Stan’s face and his eyes were now widened with interest.

“How’d you find out?” Stan sandwiched himself between Bill and Richie. Richie was almost falling off the bed and he wanted to scoff because if anything he was more a part of the conversation than Ol’ Stanny Boy.

“Oh-oh-over the phone. Sh-sh-she called muh-me and s-s-s-said some-thing about a guh-guy named Tr-Tr-Trevor Mmm-Martin. Nuh-Nothing s-s-serious at the tuh-time. Bb-but…”

Richie didn’t catch the bullshit spewing from Bill’s big mouth. His head was busy spinning in all different directions, and he felt as if he were going to puke. Though there were no signs of the tuna salad sandwich and salt and vinegar chips Stan and he shared trekking its way up to his throat and onto Stan’s just shampooed carpet. Was this what heartbreak felt like?

If so, it was one son of a bitch.

Richie couldn’t seem to enjoy himself for the rest of the day—or the rest of the week, for that matter. He didn’t laugh when Stan cracked a joke that Bill laughed at (something about Jews getting their dicks cut off as an alternative to hell). He didn’t race home to greet the girl next door he’d been longing to see. And he didn’t feel anything when that same girl was pressed against his chest during the scary part of the movie all of the Losers had planned to see.

It was a sort of ‘welcome back’ celebration for y/n. This whole week, actually, would be dedicated to y/n in regard to her return. Stan, Eddie, and Mike were the first ones at the theatre. They waited outside of the Aladdin Theatre, all three in a line while Stan checked his watch for what seemed to be hundredth time and Eddie counted the change in his pocket, hoping it’d be enough for snacks.

“Don’t worry about it, Eddie,” Mike reassured. He patted him on the back. It was firm but gentle at the same time. It calmed him. “If you don’t have enough for snacks, me or someone else can spot you. And don’t worry about paying back.”

Eddie visibly relaxed at his words but Mike didn’t know why he was all of the sudden anxious about something like that.

Just then, Bill and Bev came up. Beverly’s hair was held back in a blue cowboy bandana, a contrast to her red hair, as a makeshift hairband. Her white blouse almost blended against her pale skin and her blue jeans chafed because of how fast she was skipping. Bill was falling behind but he didn’t really care. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his denim board shorts and he walked—strolled—down the sidewalk as if he had all the time in the world.

“I’m so excited!” A harsh squeal erupted from Beverly’s lips and Eddie had to cup his hands over his ears.

“Jesus, Bev. You could blow out an eardrum with those lungs.” But he wasn’t too impressed with her vocal range.

Ben and Richie came up together. They were talking about some new comic issue—Ben looked really into it, but Richie just wanted to avoid the topic of y/n that he was sure was now prevalent in everyone’s minds. Beverly gave him a knowing smirk when the two finally reached the group and Richie displayed his best ‘what-the-fuck-do-you-mean’ expression when he really did know what the fuck she meant.

This left y/n to be the last of the Losers to arrive.

The rubber sole of Richie’s beat up left slip-on tapped impatiently against the hot cement. “How long does it take to get ready?”

“Do you think she got lost?” Ben asked curiously, hoping that wasn’t the case.

“We should go in. Y’know so seats don’t get taken.” Before the rest of the group could protest Richie’s lame idea in attempts to boycott seeing their long-lost friend, a familiar voice piped up.

“That’s awfully rude of you Tozier.” Richie turned around to see y/n. How could a person look the same, yet totally different at the same time? Her hair was longer from when he last saw her and there was a new glow in her eyes that Richie couldn’t help but think meant she lost her innocence. He could’ve sworn she got taller, but she was also wearing platform wedges with little white flowers on the straps which matched her baby blue sundress that came just above the knee.

“y/n!” Beverly was the first to say. She ran the not far distance between them and enraptured her into a tight hug. “I missed you so much! I can’t believe you left me here… with all boys.”

y/n didn’t miss a beat of Beverly’s sarcasm and rolled her eyes. “I know, how could I? I’m such a monster.” The two giggled for an ungodly amount of time which the boys summed up to a sort of telepathic communication between the two.

Ben was next to greet y/n. He said she and he could share a pack of Donettes this time and a nostalgic smile crinkled her eyes as she remembered how he shared his dessert with him when she left.

Mike, Eddie, and Stan were next. Mike told her that while there’s no work to be done on his father’s farm, they could still hang out. Eddie hugged her just like Bev had. And Stan scolded her for being late but then whispered a ‘thanks’ for keeping her promise of writing to him, even if it wasn’t every week.

y/n lingered behind to say hi to Bill when he opened the door for everyone.

“Luh-luh-long time no s-s-see. Stranger.” y/n didn’t realize the Losers were waiting for them.

“Nice to see you, too.” She nudged Bill’s arm with her elbow and walked in. They didn’t say much to each other because nothing had to be said. They had an unspoken connection. Bill was like her brother. Always knew what to say. Always there for her…

Richie was the last to greet y/n because unlike Bill, he didn’t know what to say. He could feel the words dancing on his tongue, but he knew they’d come out in either a stutter or gibberish. He was waiting at the candy counter, drumming his fingers on the glass while Ben ordered a large popcorn and Donettes. Mike paid for his own strawberry licorice whips—none of the Losers partook in his favorite candy. Beverly only got a soda, and Eddie bought his own personal popcorn, but if Stan asked, he could have a few kernels.

“Hi.” Richie looked like he had seen a ghost when y/n came up next to him. He shouldn’t have been startled by her, but he was.

“Hey…” He held off on calling her a cheeky nickname because she had a boyfriend and that would be wrong, and he had morals—

“Are you getting anything?”

That depends, are you for sale? Beep beep, Rich.

“Nothing really…really caught my eye.” He glanced at the menu one more time as if he hadn’t had it memorized from the thousands of other times he’s been there—alone or not.

“That’s too bad. I thought we could share a popcorn?” y/n asked hopefully. “Or a soda? If you’re trying to cut down on carbs.”

Richie laughed. “I thought you and Ben were sharing those mini nightmares.” His hand dove into his pocket anyway. You can never be too sure, right?

“It’s called balance,” y/n said all too knowingly. “Have you ever heard of salty and sweet makes the perfect combination?” She eyed him through her mascara coated lashes that he remembered from three years ago and Richie heard himself calling one of the girls at the concessions stand over for a large popcorn. Extra butter.

Was she the sweet and Trevor was the salty one of the pair? His mind was numb during the movie, except for the one persisting thought he couldn’t help but circle back to. y/n and Trevor sitting in a tree…

He felt the armrest that divided the seats fly up and a trembling body wiggle itself next to his. Her arms latched onto his torso tightly and her head buried itself into his tacky Hawaiian shirt. Slowly, Richie began to fall from his catatonic state. His eyes drifted down to her figure, squinting in the darkness of the theatre.

“Hey…” His large hand smoothed over her hair in petting motions as he cooed into her ear. “It’s all… this stuff’s all fake. It’s not real.” Her quiet, pathetic sobs continued throughout the rest of the movie. Richie still consoled her.

Only until the lights drew up and the Losers were the last to leave an empty theatre decorated with chewed up bubble gum, candy wrappers, and the remains of popcorn on the floor did y/n remove herself from his shirt.

“Sorry.” y/n cleared her throat and sat up straight as if nothing happened. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a horror movie.” She laughed, making fun of her own pitifulness.

“It was a h-h-horror movie. Not a d-d-drama.” Bill rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his lips.

“Girls, am I right?” Stan scoffed. He stood up, about to be the first of the Losers to leave the room until he stopped in front of y/n’s chair. “Don’t worry, I almost shat my pants.” Richie overheard him whisper in her hear.

y/n tried to eat the giggles trying to escape her mouth, but she couldn’t help it. Her laughter echoed in the empty theatre and the rest of her friends laughed with her. They didn’t understand what she was laughing at, they just missed the sound of her voice after so long.

Her small hand slipped into Richie’s sweaty one when the group met daylight which Mike was surprised at, even though they entered the Aladdin at one.

“What’re you doin’?” He asked, shaken up. They had officially fallen behind from the group, but it wasn’t like either of them cared. He took his hand from hers, opting to hold his own. Once his hand left hers he immediately missed the feeling. The warmth. The comfort. But his own would have to fair as a substitute for now.

“Just like old times… I thought.” y/n was flabbergasted at Richie’s antsiness. He wasn’t like this three years ago. Three years ago, he would’ve gladly accepted her hand in his. Three years ago, he would’ve scooped up her hand claiming that he doesn’t want her catching cold even though they stood in the summer heat.

Richie twirled his fingers around the end of his shirt. Old times. But the old times were different.

Richie Tozier was thirteen years old when he finally got his own bike to ride. He no longer had to ride double on Silver or walk to any of the functions that the Losers had planned. It wasn’t embarrassing, but no boy wanted to show up to the quarry or Aladdin Theatre riding on the back of Bill Denbrough’s bike, his arms actually wrapped around him. Especially if y/n would be seeing him.

So, he requested his parents buy him a bicycle of his own. Preferably green with a large bell so everyone knows when Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier was coming. Pretty please.

And after a few months, his parents finally complied. It was green but it, however, did not come with a bell.

“You’ll just have to come up with the money for that one on your own, son.” His dad told him. But that was fine by Richie. And he excitedly pedaled off to the Aladdin where his friends would be soon, in hopes to impress a certain somebody.

“W-w-wow, Ruh-Ruh-Richie. You got a bike?” Bill asked. He wondered why his friend never gave him a call, asking to come pick and him up—he just assumed he was walking today.

“Yeppers.” Richie proudly rode circles around his friends with his new ET Kuwahara. He couldn’t wait until y/n saw him on it.

“Wh-wh-when?” Bill was the most curious out of the group. He would miss hitching Richie rides, but he wouldn’t miss how tight his arms seemed to wind against his chest.

“Like, yesterday.” Richie shrugged and he was the last one to park his bike. He kept riding circles around the empty Sunday street until y/n and Bev showed up. y/n didn’t have a bike and Bev always walked with her out of courtesy.

“Hey, wide ride!” Beverly called while Richie tried to pop a wheelie.

“Stop it,” y/n giggled but Richie was too lost in his own world to hear her. Eventually, he parked it; carelessly setting it down with Silver and Stan’s, Eddie’s, Ben’s, and Mike’s bike. “You got a bike?” y/n asked, coming up from behind him. Richie grinned.

“Yeah, do ya like?” y/n nodded wordlessly.

“Green’s not my color, though… Why’d you get a bike?”

“’Cause riding double is lame.” He shrugged and they entered the movie theatre together while the rest of their friends waited for them. “Anywho, how ‘bout I take you home tonight?”

“I thought you said riding double was lame,” y/n repeated his words even though she didn’t think that.

“Well—you see… What I meant was—”

“Just kidding, Tozier. Only you think riding double is lame anyway.” y/n found herself giggling while paying for her small popcorn which Richie would end up sticking his fingers into later on.

So, Richie took her home that night (and the rest of the nights the Losers met up). Her arms wrapped around his torso in the way he used to wrap his around Bill’s. At first, it felt like he couldn’t breathe, but that could’ve been because there was a pretty girl sitting behind him and he would be responsible if they got hurt.

After a while, though, he got used to it. And the arms slung around his chest were like a seatbelt. Once in awhile, y/n would rest her chin against her shoulder. And if she were tuckered out from swimming or any of the other adventures the Losers were up against that day, he would find her dozing on his back. The breeze from his ET Kuwahara ripping through the hot air felt nice and a kind of superiority swelled in Richie’s chest for being the cause of that breeze.

The same breeze swept over y/n and Richie. The group was now long gone from their eye line, but they would’ve been anyway because of the path Richie and y/n would take to get home.

Richie had been oddly silent until they reached their houses; side by side, just like how the two friends stood. y/n took it upon herself to break that silence, but his jitters were contagious.

“We’re meeting up at the quarry tomorrow.” She turned to face him as she stood on the highest step of her doorstep. He was still taller than her.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Richie tried his best to avoid her steady watch that followed him, but it was hard. He so desperately wanted to see the twinkle in her ambitious, yet caring eyes which he missed. It wasn’t looking at her that was wrong, it was his thoughts—and Richie knew that—he just couldn’t bring himself to look at her while thinking those thoughts.

“You’re coming right?” Insecurity wavered in her voice. Richie was being weird. Richie was always weird, but something was… wrong. He didn’t greet her the first day she came home. y/n eventually concluded that she was just being selfish and that Richie was probably busy that day. But now Richie was being distant. Richie was never distant.

“’Ve been thinkin’ about it. You know I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to see Bev in her swimsuit—”

“Beep beep.” y/n wanted to laugh. She wanted to assume he was joking and think nothing more of it because that’s who Richie is. A jokester. Her heart couldn’t help but pang at the words and instantaneously the palms of her hands felt clammy. “Can you meet me beforehand? I thought we could go together?”

“Together?” Richie’s voice cracked.

“Yeah, goofball.” Again, her eyes searched for his under his mess of brown hair and coke bottle glasses, but they were playing a serious game of hide-and-seek. “I mean, it only makes sense.” She thought fast. “We live next door to each other.” And Richie realized this was only an act of convenience.

“Shore, shore, senhorritaa.” Richie couldn’t find the courage in himself—only in one of his Voices and y/n smiled, suddenly remembering how often he’d do impressions when they were kids.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” y/n said curtly.

“Tomorrow,” Richie replied cooly when he was anything but. Especially when he paced his own room, the same way he did in Stan’s, when he should’ve been at her door already.

He was only wearing the swim trunks (he had since he was fifteen and hadn’t bothered to replace) that resembled the shirts he wore, and he was debating on if he should put on a shirt or leave as he is. Or leave at all. It was going to be hot today. The weather forecast predicted to be in the nineties. Richie didn’t want to show up indecent, but he also didn’t want to sweat the whole walk there.

Two—that somehow felt like ten—aggravating minutes later, Richie stood at y/n’s door wearing a yellow shirt over his dark blue, tropical swim shorts. His forefinger hovered over the doorbell for a few seconds until he finally bit the bullet and took the bait. You’re gonna do it eventually, just do it now.

It swung open excitedly, revealing his favorite girl who stood behind it. “Come in!” She said and wasted no time to lead him up to her room.

Richie took a moment to catch his breath and take in his new surroundings. Her room seemed unchanged at first and he laughed at the grey, Victorian-style wallpaper that neither y/n nor her parents had taken down yet. But the longer he stood there, the more he noticed how bare it was. The room was stripped of any decorations she once had (except for her bed and desk)—replaced by brown moving boxes. It became apparent to Richie how much time she had spent away from the group. Even though she was here with them now, she had fabricated a life outside of the Losers Club. That fact hurt him, but a sort of curiosity burned inside of him. He wanted to know the new her, but they also had to get to the quarry at a certain time.

“When do we gotta be there by?” Richie asked. He was drawn out of his daydream by his own words and noticed y/n who was turned around in front of him. She was wearing a black, ruffled bikini that complimented her skin beautifully but barely covered the parts that should.

“Two-thirty… but I don’t think they’d mind if we show up early or late.” y/n shrugged as her fingers fumbled with the bikini strings that tied the top. “Can you help me with this?” She turned to him. If Richie picked any time to finally meet her eyes, he picked the worst timing. y/n’s neck craned to the side whilst she still struggled with her top. He knew this wouldn’t end well for him.

“Why’re you asking me?” Richie feigned a chuckle but walked over to her regardless. She angled her body dangerously close to his causing Richie to bite his lip, imprisoning the sharp gasp that threatened to depart from his lips. Cautiously, his hands took the strings from her and tied them into a sloppy bow with a double knot so it wouldn’t come undone anytime soon.

“’Cause you’re here, Tozier.” He made eye contact with her. “What’s been up with you lately?”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“You’ve been distant… really distant.” y/n’s honesty made it hard for Richie to catch a break. “Do you think I haven’t noticed when you pulled away from me yesterday and…”

“And what?” Richie probed. His hands rested on either sides of his hips. He tried to hide any sign of nervousness in his voice, but it was hard to fake what you were.

“It’s stupid.” Obviously, y/n didn’t want to drop the topic of conversation. She didn’t want to coerce the boy into something either.

“Nothing you say, think, or do is stupid, y/n/n.” Richie chuckled once more though this time y/n could tell he wasn’t faking anything.

“You didn’t greet me when I first came home.” She mumbled, hoping he wouldn’t hear her. But he did. “Why was that?”

“I dunno… Bill told me something.” Richie wanted to drop a brick over his head because honestly, how stupid did he sound right now? y/n didn’t have to say anything. The skepticism in her eyes and her bottom lip between her teeth was enough to prompt him further. “He said you have a boyfriend and I just—”

“You just what?” Her words were mysterious. Richie couldn’t seem to read her anymore because the only telling expression she had was a raised eyebrow and cocked head. But that could mean anything.

“I really like you, okay? And how are you supposed to greet someone you’re in love with after not seeing them for three years when you can’t hug them or-or kiss them cos they went off and got a stinkin’ high and mighty boyfriend in New York? New York, for Christ’s sake. It was hard enough to look at you before but now—” Richie’s rambling was quickly cut off when y/n’s arms wrapped around his neck and her lips pressed against his. Her fingers tangled in the loops of his hair and his glasses pushed up against her face. “What was that for?” Richie asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Stop listening to Bill,” y/n instructed. She was amused by the boy in front of her.

“What?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” She brushed a strand of hair from out of his eyes and adjusted his now crooked glasses.

“But Bill said—”

“Bill’s stupid.” Her lips met his again. The kiss was longer this time. y/n’s were soft and tasted like the artificial cherry flavoring from her chapstick she had applied prior; a contradiction to the faint scent of tangerines that clung to her bare skin and the spicy bite of peppermint on her tongue.

His wet tongue traced the inside of her mouth, lingering on the inside of her cheek. y/n bit down on the fullest part of Richie’s bottom lip tentatively, making sure not to hurt him. She could feel his smile lines against her thumb when she removed her left hand from his hair, using it to cup his cheek. y/n pulled from him abruptly, leaving Richie floored and panting.

“You don’t think the crew would care if we showed up late?” Richie asked, his eyebrows wiggling with the new burst of confidence that kiss had given him.

y/n shook her head. A grin bestowed itself upon her swollen lips. Her arms re-enveloped themselves around his figure that towered over her. Richie copied her actions. Except his hands ghosted across the back of her naked torso covered in goosebumps from the spur of the moment. They created an invisible trail to her clothed butt, cueing y/n to jump up.

She did and Richie’s large hands supported her legs that wound around his waist. “Do you wanna…?”

“Yes,” y/n whispered into his ear. At that, a shiver crawled down Richie’s spine.

It became harder for Richie to contain his excitement as he walked the two of them over to y/n’s bed. He was gentle when he set her down on the mattress covered in grey sheets and stuffed pillows. The feeling of the cotton bed sleeves cooled her hot skin although she would need an icepack to completely bring her temperature down.

Richie was on top of her. His lips tickled face that he left quick, unperceivable marks on. When she got the chance, y/n took in his appearance thoughtfully. It was evident that his unruly hair was thrown in all different directions due to y/n’s hands that were knotted in it. There was a blush on his freckled cheeks that resembled a sunburn and he wore a look. It was soft and welcoming like he was an astrologist who had just found out she was responsible for putting the stars in the sky.

But the stars were her eyes as they held the same sparkle from yesterday at the theatre.

“Have you…have you?” Richie’s eyes hesitantly raked down her half nude body from behind his glasses, still held together with adhesive tape. They couldn’t help but slide down the slope of his long nose and y/n pushed them up for him.

“No,” y/n said bashfully. She ducked her head down only for it to be lifted back up with Richie’s thumb and forefinger.

“Do you want this?” He tried not to pose the question awkwardly, but how can you make a question like that not awkward?

“Of course.” y/n’s hand, still playing with the hairs on the back of his head, guided his face towards hers. The two met in a sweet kiss for a sweet second. “As long as it’s with you.” Her tone was confident and assuring, leaving Richie with no extra questions.

“You really know how to flatter a guy, y/n/n.” Richie still marveled at the sight splayed out before him and a melodious sound filled his ears. It was her laugh, but all of his senses seemed to be amplified to the max during this moment.

Both of her hands coasted down to the hem of his stupid, banana-colored shirt that served as a barrier between the two. Her light touches made his breath catch in his throat, released in a throaty gasp, and his once loose shorts now felt strained and uncomfortable. Ignoring the occasional breaths that left Richie’s perfect mouth, y/n’s fingers tugged on the end of his shirt; a signal for him to take the damn thing off.

Instantly, his shirt was off and thrown on her floor. In his head, he thanked that her room wasn’t fully unpacked yet but another part of him thought he and y/n wouldn’t even make it to the quarry. y/n ran two fingers down his smooth chest; the tips of her fingers sent a tingling sensation throughout his being. Richie seized them once they reached his abdomen, his grasp firm but tender. Slowly, he led her fingers with his to the crotch of her bikini. The black material was soaked through. Richie smirked to himself, she’d have to change again before they left for the quarry. Or they could just not go at all.

Her own touch had elicited a moan from y/n. Her head fell back on the grey cushions, exposing her pure neck that begged to be marked. The sighs of pleasure coming from the girl beneath him while he directed her hand that was now slipping into the bottoms of her bikini felt straight from one of his fantasies. He could only hope he wasn’t dreaming, and if he were, he’d just have to remember it for another lonely night in the sheets.

y/n’s fingers danced over her clit. She inhaled sharply at the teasing feeling. Richie’s hand moved to tightly hold her wrist, the contact burned against her already hot skin. His mind was drawing a blank again; lost in the moment. Lost in her. Another moan left her mouth, her breath hit his face, and Richie imagined how she touched herself when she was away at school. Did she think about him the same way he thought about her? Did she wonder what lied behind his pants like how he had on multiple occasions?

For the time being, Richie’s questions would have to be left unanswered. He felt her hand leave her bathing suit and his hand detached itself from her wrist. A blotchy red handprint was left in its place from his harsh grip and before Richie could ask if she was okay, y/n was kicking off the at once restricting clothing. Her lower half was now completely revealed, all for him. Vulnerability, a feeling y/n had only felt on the plane ride alone to New York and on her first date with Trevor, took its rightful place in her chest that lifted and fell at a rapid speed. Her thighs instinctively rubbed together, part out of insecurity, and also to relieve herself, but Richie stopped them before they could make another move.

His right palm had settled on her left thigh, gently separating it from its counterpart while his left palm kept busy as it laid flat on her mattress and held him up. Richie’s index finger toyed with her clit, much like she had done before, and then probed her entrance. Her walls generously coated his first finger with the same nucleus that slicked her now tainted swimsuit. His middle finger entered with the same proficiency and care. Richie’s fingers were long and slender, and they did well to effortlessly curl into the spot that y/n could never seem to find on her own. Richie grunted at the sound of another pretty sound leaving y/n’s pretty lips. But this sound was different.

“Richie,” she moaned breathlessly. Richie, again, came painfully aware of the tent in his shorts. But this time was for y/n, not him.

In and out. In and out. His fingers moved at the relatively same, slow, and predictable pace that didn’t fail to evoke the dirty noises coming from y/n which might suggest otherwise. He continued these movements until her pulse picked up and a coil inside snapped.

Richie Tozier was y/n’s first orgasm.

And second, as he withdrew his hand from her, swapping his fingers for him. He stripped himself of his shorts so that the two now pressed together, even—this excluded the upper half of y/n that was still covered.

Richie hovered over the girl. The girl who moved next door at the ripe age of five, not knowing the impact she’d have on his life. The girl who crafted him and the Losers Club individual friendship bracelets that were tied around his wrist to this day. The girl who moved away too soon. The girl who’d share his first time with him. The girl he loved.

“Can I?” He asked timidly. The thumb and index finger of his right hand pinched at the black strap which prevented her top from falling down—which, ironically, was exactly what Richie wanted. y/n nodded. Her eyes were still shut from the intense euphoria she was still recovering from. First, Richie unclipped the back strap. Then, his hands moved to the thinner strap he’d tied earlier. His knees were holding him up, straddling over y/n’s waist. A wave of frustration overcame him when his fingers clumsily messed with the frocking double-knotted bow. A quiet mutter, “gotcha”, unintentionally rolled off of Richie’s tongue.

y/n giggled at his antics—not to make fun of him, but because he was cute.

The constrictive article of clothing fell from her bodice, uncovering her hardened nipples and flawless breasts.

Richie ducked his head down. Instead of meeting her lips, his mouth wrapped around the still perky bud. Licking, and sucking until breaths turned to whines and whines turned to his name.

Richie. Richie. Richie.

After giving both the same amount of attention, he kissed her. His lips brushed against hers and time felt like it had somehow stopped when y/n felt him enter her.

It was daunting at first. And Richie thumbed away a tear that raced down y/n’s cheek when she had finally taken his whole length.

“Tell me when you want me to move,” Richie murmured—his nose brushing against her cheekbone as he did so.

“Rich…Richie.”

“Yes, gorgeous?” y/n could melt at the nickname, but she didn’t; the rest of her senses too carried away in his intoxicating scent of Spice… Something… and the stimulation of him filling her.

“Can you move?” y/n asked in quiet, broken words.

Richie didn’t say anything. He just slipped out from her only to push back in. The sensation of her tight walls around him was enough to be the reason of his gasps and the resounding echoes of her name that pleasantly escaped his parted lips. His thrusts were steady and gradual—much like his fingers from earlier but… different.

y/n’s back arched into Richie’s front. Both of their pants quickened, and y/n didn’t have to ask to know what this meant.

“Richie,” y/n mewled. Richie’s pace accelerated, pulling them both to their highs. y/n’s eyes rolled back from under her heavy lids. On the other hand, the boy above her had frantically removed himself from her. She would finish on his fingers like once before and he didn’t need any more ushering to find his end.

“y/n.” The moan belonged to Richie this time, and he collapsed onto the newly soiled sheets next to the girl whose name he just spoke. “I love you.” Richie didn’t intend for the words to come out. They just did. He suspected y/n was none the wiser, still trying to catch her breath from when she came.

“What?”

Richie was wrong.

“I love you,” Richie repeated, but he hadn’t intended to say it again either. He was running on autopilot now. His eyes squeezed closed, preparing for y/n to yell at him. Why would you drop the bomb like this? To kick him out.

But she didn’t.

“I love you, too.” She wasn’t facing him, so he had to trust she meant the words. He had to trust she wasn’t actually repulsed at the thought of the guy who’d just stolen her virginity and would never talk to him afterward.

“You…you do?” Richie realized he was laying butt-naked on top of y/n’s sheets and he wouldn’t be shocked if his face were mistaken for a tomato right about now.

“Yeah.” The bed shifted under her turning weight because she was now laying on her side, facing him. Her eyes roamed his milky skin and her fingers apprehensively traced an outline on his arm. Richie didn’t think he would ever get used to her silk skin and feather fingertips. “You’re supposed to lose it to the person you love, right?”

Richie’s heart was already digging its grave. “Yeah.” He swallowed dryly. His hand found hers—the one that was inking an invisible fence on his skin—and weaved his fingers with hers. He didn’t know what else to say but he didn’t have to.

“You still wear this?” y/n was incredulous and judging by the tone of her voice, Richie figured she found the friendship bracelet he still wore. Treasured.

“It’d make me a monster to trash it.” Richie faced her now and y/n laughed whilst her pink lips grazed his knuckles.

“I still have mine.” She raised her eyebrow. Was this a challenge?

“Pish, posh, dahhling. Proof or it’s not real,” he said in his god-awful British-man Voice.

y/n let go of his hand, leaving it for the coldness to slowly eat away. She leapt off her bed and dashed to her desk. She opened one of the side drawers and fished around for a dinky little yarn bracelet that would match his, only she used red and yellow string rather than blue and green.

She skipped over to him, not caring that she was undressed or that they had to be somewhere. A braided bracelet, similar to his, dangled in front of Richie’s tired face and he smiled. Unlike Richie’s, y/n’s bracelet was in perfect condition—just like it had looked from when they were ten.

“I can make you another one,” y/n said, noticing how worn Richie’s was. It was almost falling apart.

“Nah. I like the rugged look.” Richie bared his teeth to her. It must’ve been the fifth time she laughed that day.

“Do you still wanna go?” y/n asked. She didn’t meet his gaze; too focused on slipping the bracelet over her hand. It seemed she had outgrown the thing.

“Go where?” Richie hummed and snaked his arms around her once more.

“The quarry.” His eyes widened and suddenly Richie didn’t feel tired anymore.

“Do we have to?” He whined as if he were still a child.

“I guess not.” y/n gave in; relaxing into his arms. “You can help me unpack.”

“Or…” Richie’s lips pecked her forehead.

“I guess there’s a reason why they call you Trashmouth.” y/n nuzzled into the crook of his neck. His fingers drew lazy shapes on her bare back in attempts to convince her. But y/n didn’t need convincing. Now that she found a home in his arms, she would never leave.

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wordsfromthesol · 4 years

Text

I Don’t Need a Babysitter (1/2)

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Warnings: Uhmmmm…violence kinda? Cursing probably? Word Count: 1.8k Requested: @lemontree205

Part Two

“Hey Bats, I could really use a favor.”

“Hal Jordan asking for my help. What could be so important?”

“The Corps is sending me on another deep space mission. I’m still not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

“I’m sure we can hold down the fort here on Earth without you Hal.”

“No…that’s not. Listen, my kid sister is at Gotham University. I’d been checking up on her, but now I won’t be able to.”

Bruce held up his hand in acknowledgement. “You got it Hal.”

“Listen, she doesn’t know…”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on going up to her in the Bat suit.”

“Awe man, so even she’ll know who Batman is before I do?”

“No.” Before Hal could question him further, Bruce climbed into the Zeta Tube and was gone.

“Alright boys. I have an assignment for you.” Bruce looked around at his boys all sitting at the dining room table. “Y/N Y/L/N.” He threw a file on the table.

“What’d she do? Drug runner? Arms dealer? Assassin?” Jason started spurting off anything he could think of.

“GL’s half-sister?” Tim questioned as he scanned through the file.

“Don’t tell me we are babysitting.” Jason huffed out, clearly agitated.

“No. I just need someone to check on her every day. You can all take turns.”

“How did you rope us into this?” Dick arched his eyebrow and smirked towards his adoptive father.

“Hal asked for a favor. And it’s family.”

“Alright, we’ll check on the brat. Is she at least close by?” Jason words were sharp yet understanding. It was for family.

“Gotham University, Junior, Double Major, Physics and Structural Engineering.” Tim rattled off the facts in the file.

“I still do not see the purpose in this. Can the girl not defend herself?” Damian finally spoke up.

“I’m sure she can, but I’d rather be safe.” Bruce tried to explain to his youngest.

“I’ll take tomorrow.”

“Jay, did I just hear you offer to take the first shift?” Dick’s eyebrows raised questioningly.

“I figure then I won’t have to ruin my weekend.”

As night fell Jason left for patrol. He stopped by your apartment every few hours, watching as all you seemed to do was study. Finally, Jason got bored and headed back to the cave.

“This girl is so boring. Why does she need us to check on her?” Jason complained to Tim as soon as he arrived.

“I’m sure Hal is just worried. He doesn’t know how long this mission will take.”

“Well, fair warning…bring a book on your shift.”

This went on for a few weeks and all the boys were getting bored with your lifestyle.

“I don’t understand how all she does is study.” Jason complained yet again.

“I have theorized she simply has no companions.” Damian joined in.

“Maybe she just prefers her studies. People can be tiresome.” Tim reasoned, understanding of your demeanor.

“But even you break away from the computer sometimes Timmy.” Dick pointed out.

“It just baffles me that she’s related to Hal at all.” Tim thought about the Green Lantern’s personality in comparison to yours. “Wait…it’s Wednesday night. Whose turn is it? Shouldn’t they be out by now?”

The boys all looked around at one another, unsure of whose shift it was.

Finally. You thought peering out your window. There was no sign of any vigilantes staring you down. Though you had to admit, their presence did force you to study a lot more than usual. Worried that your time was limited, you stalked out of your apartment and headed to an abandoned warehouse – your usual training spot.

Your muscles ached at the movements. The two weeks you had gone without were really taking their toll. You stepped out of the warehouse and immediately realized you’d been found. Shit. Not only could you feel someone watching you, your eyes darted immediately to the vigilante. You just told them more than they needed to know with one look.

They soon figured out that Jason, unshockingly, was the one missing patrol. He set out immediately and a panic set in when he got to your apartment and you were no where in sight. Thankfully, with Tim’s help they were able to trace your location.

Jason waited on a nearby rooftop, catching glimpses of your routine through the dirty and broken windows. What is she doing? Your eyes darted to him as soon as you stepped outside. That couldn’t be a coincidence. That skill comes with training. He waited, wondering what you would do next, though he was slightly disappointed, as you continued forward as if you hadn’t seen him at all. That’s impossible right. She looked right at me. Didn’t she?

You knew you had to play this right. Hal had gone too far sending babysitters while he was away. As if you didn’t know he was a Green Lantern. As if he thought you couldn’t take care of yourself. You decided to pretend as if you hadn’t seen Red Hood at all, going on your way back to your apartment. Though you were disappointed you didn’t see any action tonight, at least you were able to train. As you got back you immediately went to sleep, hoping to throw off any suspicions the vigilante had.

Now she’s just going to sleep? I need to get into that warehouse. Jason headed back the way you came and crawled in through one of the broken windows. He looked around, both in confusion and shock. Targets littered with bullets and arrows filled the walls. Training dummies and equipment were scattered about the space. Upon further investigation he even stumbled upon a locked room. He rang Tim upon seeing the security system connected to the door.

“Hey Timbo, you busy?”

“I guess not. What did do you? Did you find Y/N?”

“Yeah yeah, she’s asleep. I’m looking into something and it’s got a security system. Do you have a minute to hack it?”

“I suppose, but you owe me. Take my shift tomorrow for babysitting.”

“Done.” Jason would’ve offered to take it anyways. You were just starting to get interesting.

Jason was in awe as he pushed open the door. The weapons and gadgets cache was truly impressive, especially for a college student. There can’t be a vigilante in Gotham we don’t know about…right? He thought to himself as he rifled through your stash. Jason was fully invested and completely caught off guard when you approached behind him, pistol aimed at his chest.

“Care to leave my shit alone Hood?”

“Care to tell me why you have all this shit?”

“Not really.” Silence ensued as he slowly picked up one of the throwing knives and inspected it. You holstered your gun, “Look. If my brother sent you, I’m releasing you from service. Clearly, I can take care of myself.”

“But you were so boring!”

“Yeah, on purpose. So you idiots would leave me alone. You weren’t exactly subtle with the check-ins.” You walked over and grabbed the throwing knife from his hand. “Then again neither was Hal.”

“Wait, you know?”

“Dude, he’s not exactly subtle with the glowing green shit.”

“Hm. So are you a vigilante? Why haven’t I heard of you?”

“Probably because I don’t go around in some ridiculous costume.”

“Ha! So you are a vigilante.”

You rolled your eyes, “I don’t know if I would call it that. Either way, your services aren’t needed.”

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t think I could get out of them. Batman kinda promised your brother we’d keep an eye on you.”

“Wow. He must be desperate to ask the Bat for a favor. What happened?”

“Uhm…I’m not sure –” Jason words were cut off as you brought a small dagger to his throat. “Okay okay.” He threw his hands up in defense. “All Hal said was the Corps were sending him on a deep space mission. He didn’t know how long before he would be back.”

“He’s been on those before. What are you not telling me?”

“That’s all I know!”

You sighed, dropping the dagger to the floor. “Dammit Hal.” You mumbled, knowing full well there was more to this.

“So why,” Jason gestured around, “all this.”

“It started a few months after Hal became Green Lantern…wait, what am I getting out of telling you this?”

“How about I help you find out what’s really going on.” You look at him, skeptical. “I guarantee I have a lot more resources than you, no offense.”

“Fine.” You continued with your story, “Anyways, as soon as I found out I knew the idiot would become a target. Me being family, automatically makes me a target too.”

“So this is all out of self-preservation?” Jason questioned, he had watched you for weeks, he knew there had to be more to it.

“Yes and no. I never want to make Hal chose between saving me or saving the world. Hell even saving me or saving one other person. So I began to train and every now and then I head to the Narrows to get some real world experience…with the added bonus of helping people.”

From then on the two of you were virtually inseparable. Jason did everything he could to get his brothers shifts to watch you. Whether it was making bets he knew he would lose or asking for favors. He always made sure you knew if he wasn’t your babysitter for the night. Unfortunately, the two of you had found virtually nothing on why your brother was so worried about you. Granted you didn’t have much to go on to begin with.

“He’s hiding something, right?” Dick asked Tim and Damian one night while Jason was out with you.

“It does seem like Todd has been trying to obtain babysitting duty. He purposefully lost a bet with Drake just yesterday.” Damian commented on the matter.

“And one with me last week.”

“You don’t think he’s skipping out?” Tim asked with a worried expression.

“He better not, Bruce would have all our heads. Look up his location.” Dick motioned to Tim, suddenly concerned about his brother’s nightly activities.

Tim’s eyes grew wide. “He’s at a warehouse.”

“What? Where?”

“Dick…there’s something we didn’t tell you. Remember that night we forgot whose turn it was?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, Y/N wasn’t at her apartment. I was able to trace her through traffic cams to a warehouse. This warehouse.”

“And now they are back there?”

“That’s not all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I didn’t think it meant anything. But later that same night Jason had me hack a security system. I checked his location…he was back at that warehouse.”

“So what is it?”

“It seems to have been abandoned years ago.”

“Why do we not just go see for ourselves?” Damian interjected.

“Good point, Dami. Let’s suit up…just in case.”

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wayward-fable · 3 years

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I just started getting into reading omori fanfictions a few weeks ago and now I'm reading like 23 of them?? simultaneously??? anyways I wanted to ask if you have plans to bring up mari to the rest of group, if others will enter headspace, how scared I should be about a bad ending, and if omori will be brought up in real life. anyways gl going forward with the reading!

Yeah that was me a month ago. It is definitely a gateway drug.

Anyways there aren't plans for anyone other than Basil, Sunny and Mari to enter Headspace at the moment. I can't say if Mari will be brought up or not though she will get a lot more important later on. Also, I hate bad endings so you don't have to worry about that

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riceccakes · 3 years

Text

Earth, Wind, and Coffee: Chapter Four Analysis

and now the last chapter of the fic! i really had so much fun writing these analyses so i hope you’ve enjoyed too :))

i’ve got a lot to say about this last chapter too so be prepared for a long one. lets get to it, shall we?

some fun stuff before we start!

before changing the direction of the story, the last chapter of the fic was going to be Chapter 3: The Meeting, A Well Deserved Jab, and a Good Night’s Rest

so, The Meeting was going to happen, korrasami was gonna come back together and instead of the krew outing during this chapter’s A Well Deserved Jab, korrasami was gonna go out on a date. korra still would punch iroh, korra never ‘moved in’ with asami, it was just gonna be a fluffy section. A Good Night’s Rest was actually going to feature hiroshi going to asami’s apartment while korra was over and being like “who the fuck is this” and korra was gonna be upset asami didn’t tell her dad about them (as, in the og timeline, they would be dating at this point) they’d have a convo working this out, a little like how korra said she’d never understand how asami and hiroshi don’t have a great relationship in A Much Needed Conversation. korra would then go to hiroshi’s office and make that whole speech and still ask asami to go the south. this is a v summed up version, one that when i made it, i was happy with. having published what i did, i much enjoy that ending more than this one :)

i wanted a way to show that korra likes asami (obviously, this is a korrasami fic) but of course, asami spent most of this only wishing korra liked her

mako asking out korra was a late edition, one i actually really like. mako’s role in the fic is pretty minor, sorry to those of you who really love him and maybe wanted more from him. however, i am a really big fan of the fact that in lok, even after all the stupid love triangle shit, mako was able to be good friends with korrasami, so i still wanted to capture that. he’s not at all upset when korra turns him down, but rather super happy for the fact that korrasami feel the same way about each other. an even later edition to this point is the bedroom scene when korra asks asami to wait for her, i’ll mention more about this scene later cause i really love it.

and we in gooooo: (i usually try to write these following the sections of the chapter but for this analysis, im gonna go topic by topic within each section)

literary devices (diction, figurative language, etc.):

There have been better days than this one. Days where Korra blows up Asami’s phone with funny Instagram posts she finds while Asami’s at school, days where she invites Mako and Bolin over and the four of them play board games, days where Korra asks if they can go out for a walk and she excitedly explores the area around Asami’s apartment. There have been worse days than this one. Days where Korra won’t get out of bed, days where Korra won’t speak, days where Korra won’t even look at Asami and she has to see that glossed over gaze gawk out the glass window.

back again, just quoting my favorite sections. and this one, yall, this one. the mirrored writing style, the ending with alliteration, how easily it describes a passage of time i mean come on. when i wrote this i was like “yyyyaaaasssss” and i won’t deny it. the “glossed over gaze gawk out the glass window” is obvious in alliteration, one that just sounds so good, it rolls off the tongue. but, there’s actually also another one, one that’s a bit more hidden “she excitedly explores the area around Asami’s apartment” note how these both end the descriptions of korra’s bad/good days respectively, as a sort of way to frame which parts of the sentence correspond with the good days and bad days. now, going onto korra’s days, three examples of good days, three examples of bad days (that’s technically six different days right there, and it doesn’t even have to be in succession.) what i also love about this info into korra’s days is how it shows a passage of time without having to be like “it’s been a few weeks” or “after some time/a while” it doesn’t stick out, at least not to me, it’s not a jarring way to say, “hey, in the story now, time has passed since last chapter!” idk, i just am really proud of this paragraph and i wanted to point it out in its own section :)

Asami will never, ever say she’s happy that the Red Lotus attack happened, but, it’s what brought Korra to her. It’s what brought more friends to her, it’s what brought her to see her father isn’t as great and almighty as she’d grown up to believe. How could she ever thank something so horrible for bringing about all these life changing things in her life?

this sort of, existential section, was something i came up with on the toilet. (tmi? im not gonna apologize tho, this is a behind the scenes explanation of my writing and some of my best writing happens on the toilet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) any who, i didn’t want to leave any loose ends and, up until this chapter, i don’t really think i showed how asami felt about the attack and the situation and what’s happened after. also, asami being the perfectionist and analyst she is, i know she’d reflect on everything that’s happened to her in the span of about six months (give or take) and even more so, reflect on what’s happened with korra in the time they’ve known each other. it was a bit painful to write this section, it’s that sort of mentality that’s like “some horrible, horrible shit happened, but really, really good things came out of it. so, should i still hate all that horrible stuff or should i just appreciate the good things that came out of it?” (i’ve been debating this for years now with something personal and to this day, i’m not sure. i’m not sure if i’m more thankful for it all happening because of the few good moments it brought or if i wish none of it happened for the chance at some alternate reality of good things happening. anyways, i digress)

Kuvira stays silent for a moment, “When Hiroshi reaches out to you, tell him everything you said to me. Tell him everything you said when we were in your apartment after the presentation. He needs to know how you feel, he needs to know how he’s made you feel for years. Hiroshi can’t change if he doesn’t know what’s wrong and you want him to change, don’t you?”

Asami grips the steering wheel, staring at the red light in front of her. Her foot slowly pulses on and off the break, inching forward, waiting for the signal.

“I do.”

She feels the pit of her stomach churn, wondering if she could ever say all of it to her father. Kuvira isn’t wrong, she wants her father to change, but not in every way. Not in the business sense, not in the ambition sense, but rather, she wants a father, she wants to feel like the man she calls Dad really deserves the title. It pains her to say he hasn’t. The light turns green and Asami’s foot hovers over the gas pedal.

“So then you’ll tell him?”

For just a moment, her Satomobile doesn’t move but with a sharp, deep breath, Asami steps on the pedal. “I will.”

back again with our car metaphor/symbol thing! i really do love this idea of using the Satomobile as a way to show the relationship between hiroshi and asami, and how asami handles that relationship. this is from A Much Needed Conversation, some time after asami’s returned to future industries, calling kuvira in reluctant hope of knowing what her father is doing. they talk about asami telling hiroshi all this important stuff, stuff that asami’s been hesitant to bring up at all. (only after a breaking point did she finally let it out) this section has a mix of it all, diction, metaphor, along with some suspense by using line breaks.

Her foot slowly pulses on and off the break, inching forward, waiting for the signal. / “I do.” - here’s a good example of suspense. (it continues through the rest of the excerpt) so, here was have asami, absolutely scared shitless, as she always is with her father and this subject of her life in relation to him. except, now with their time apart and what happened with the meeting, asami’s kind of got this “fuck it, whatever” mentality that goes a few different ways. “fuck it, whatever” my dad totally turned on me and was an asshole, i don’t care. “fuck it, whatever” we cut off ties, i can do whatever i want. “fuck it, whatever” i might very well do whatever it takes to get my dad back because i miss him but im also super scared as per usual. “fuck it, whatever” im not the one who needs to do anything to get him back so i won’t even think about it. there’s just a lot for asami to unpack here and in the setting of her father’s legacy, it’s even more for her.

She feels the pit of her stomach churn...The light turns green and Asami’s foot hovers over the gas pedal. - more suspense. the light is green, green means go, but asami is waiting, thinking, hesitating. this also relates to the line earlier “waiting for the signal” well, this is the signal, the green light means go. but also, kuvira telling asami to tell hiroshi everything is also the signal to go, it’s like the push for asami to do it. she sees the signal, it’s go time, and yet “Asami’s foot hovers over the gas pedal” asami is still nervous, still scared to have this conversation with her father because she just doesn’t know what’s going to happen.

“So then you’ll tell him?” / For just a moment, her Satomobile doesn’t move but with a sharp, deep breath, Asami steps on the pedal. “I will.” - this mirrors just a few lines earlier. when kuvira asks asami to tell hiroshi everything while she’s waiting for the green light, her dialogue has a line break. for dramatic effect purposes, but also to show a sense of firmness. it’s by itself, it doesn’t need to be supported; asami really, truly means this. however here, her dialogue tag is connected to the narration its related to. even while asami confirms she’ll do this, that she’ll talk to her father, it’s hesitant, it takes a moment for her to say yes.

what i really love is how much can be covered in such few lines. i’m not sure you all saw this when reading, ive always been very into reading/writing analysis, so i’m always looking at everything with a fine tooth comb; in my own writing, it’s no different. if you didn’t see this before, i hope learning it now gives you a different perspective if you ever choose to read my fic again :)

content (typing up loose ends, leaving breadcrumbs, additional info):

lets talk about korra

a lot happens for our girl in this last chapter. i’ll try to be concise, i tend to kind of ramble. i think what’s kind of cool, and i didn’t realize this beforehand, is that theres a speech from korra in each section. in A Well Deserved Jab, we see korra’s first time speaking at the support group meeting and what i really like about this is there’s no real big event that’s happened for her to finally be able to go up there. i feel like there’s always this one, life altering moment in stories when people need to deal with trauma or just work up the courage to do something, but in our case, it’s not like that. it’s the time and the care that’s slowly been working and helping korra for her to feel ready. it’s been a culminating process for her to get to go up there and for whatever reason, korra felt ready. let’s go a little into this speech

we finally learn more about the attack. we learn why korra’s always been picking at her wrists, the memory of the zip ties are still strong and she scratches at hopes of making the feeling go away. we also hear more about korra losing control that night, which in turn made her want to control everything with her life after the event. (lil fun-ish note while we talk about some deep stuff right now, last chapter’s first paragraph, about korra enjoying pour over coffees, was a purposeful choice. when doing pour overs, you have direct and absolute control over the coffee and how you make it, which gives korra a greater sense of comfort, because she knows she’s in charge when doing this.) my favorite part about this whole speech is right before the tail end of it, where korra says “sometimes surprises are better than plans” it was never in her plan to meet someone and find comfort and support and love and grow with it. (my headcanon is that korra just wanted to mull this over alone, sort of like in book four after the canon red lotus attack.) instead, korra met asami and the two clicked and korra could see a light at the end of her tunnel she thought would be pitch black forever. i really enjoyed getting to write this for korra.

korra’s second speech takes place in A Much Needed Conversation. another scene from the fic i wrote beforehand, i think somewhere between finishing chapter two and mulling over the decision to make the fic longer. this was sort of my cathartic, “lets yell at hiroshi for being sucky” moment. a lot of points are brought up here, all of which i believe are valid. it poses the simple, yet ever complicated question of “why?” i’ll get into hiroshi’s response in a later section, but what i’ll highlight about this speech is korra’s statement, “Now, I know that I don’t need to be saying any of this, because Asami can more than hold her own in any conversation, but I am doing this because you are hurting the woman I love, and I will not just let that happen.” its a declaration of love, love that i know is deeper than just romance but also deeper than just friendship. it’s admiration for asami being so strong, admiration for asami being so powerful and smart, korra says more about it in the speech. i tried it make so that korra wasn’t trying to control this situation with asami’s father, but rather, this was korra’s attempt at getting them to try and work something out. korra wants what’s best for asami, she wants her to get everything she wants. korra knows asami wants a better father and the most korra feels she can do is slap hiroshi (with her words) across the face and get him to realize that’s what asami wants.

korra’s third and final speech opens A Good Night’s Rest. we get just a little more about that night, i actually wrote this speech out loud. i just sort of put myself in korra’s place and started talking. my intent with this opening was to give more insight into how korra feels about asami. this is also a call back to the beginning of the chapter, about waking up asami if korra ever needs her. i took this action as a solidifying definition for asami to know “yeah, korra really does love me.” sure, in the last section, korra sort of did say it, but actions still speak louder than words. a lot of this final chapter was just showing how much korra has grown, i think i achieved that.

before we move on, i just wanted to say a lil bit about the bedroom scene where korra asks asami to wait for her. it’s a small confession that i think just says so much. another time here to show that romantic korrasami will happen, but it’s also just insight into korra and her thoughts about romancing asami. she wants it too, so badly that she almost gets into it before she’s ready. did i psych you guys out like asami, who thought she was finally going to kiss korra? it’s all in the lines, “I’m almost there...I know I am, Asami. I’ll be there soon, I need to be better. I need to be better for you.” and now, after thinking about it, i almost wasn’t gonna word it like this. what korra’s saying here is that her progression is only being done so that she can be good for asami, which, i didn’t want to convey. however, sometimes, that’s just how people think; they think, “if i have to do something, i gotta do it for someone else.” and so that’s what i’ve done with korra here, it’s just this mentality that she’s growing out of. it’s okay to have this thought process, good even, but not for every single thing you do. and i wanted korra to know that, which is why i love asami’s response, “I think you’re already great.” it’s just to remind korra, yes you can get better, you will get better. but not for asami, but for yourself, because asami already loves you the way you are.

kuvopal

breadcrumbs; that’s all i’ve really done so far with kuvopal is put lil breadcrumbs everywhere for the people who like the idea of the relationship to grasp at. is that mean of me? maybe, but i really love kuvira and opal as a couple so i wanted to keep hinting and hinting and hopefully getting you readers interested too. kuvopal has been sprinkled in since chapter two and i wanted to leave the readers with just a little ounce of hope

asami’s official introduction with opal heavily involves bolin, enough to the point where the two kiss each other on the cheek. now, of course, after reading the chapter, you know bolin and opal aren’t dating, but i wanted to stress you out a lil bit xD asami is weary of mentioning kuvira, so there’s not much we really get to see about how opal feels. opal may have wanted to talk when asami mentioned kuvira just before korra asked about spring break, but she didn’t. why didn’t she say anything? do you think she’s wanted to talk about kuvira? what about her major, child services and the foster care system, do you think kuvira influenced that, being she essentially was fostered by the beifongs? do you think we’ll ever find answers? *wink*

iroh

so obviously, we don’t like iroh. if there’s anyone in this story who doesn’t get a happy ending or a second chance, it’s him because he’s the worst. i realized we hadn’t seen too much of iroh in the previous chapters and this being the last one, i needed to really show just how not cool iroh is. the soccer game is very clearly an indication of just how conceded and rude he is. after the game, his conversation with asami is bad. he’s being invasive and inconsiderate of asami and he doesn’t care. same with at the restaurant. so, of course i wanted iroh to get his comeuppance and we have that by korra punching him.

going off of this, i didn’t want it to feel like iroh got a one and done kind of deal. he was incredibly awful to asami and his “friends” and i didn’t want this behavior to be taken lightly. so, i chose to make iroh just basically lose everything :) he loses his friends, possibly his job, i just KNOW izumi is disappointed as fuck that he’s acted like this and uncle iroh is rolling over in his grave that someone of his own blood would be like this. i wanted to address iroh in his own category because i just wanted you all to know that he is the only character not getting off easy. i really hope that how iroh’s situation turned out is good, as in, he got what he deserves.

hiroshi

hiroshi was an interesting character to go about in the final chapter. obviously, throughout the fic so far, hiroshi hasn’t been a standout father or boss. if i haven’t said it before, i’ll say it now: i always wanted hiroshi to have a second chance, ie, i wanted hiroshi to try to be better. for one, asami deserves it. she deserves a good parent who’s there for her and isn’t just obsessed with his job and the glory and empire he’s built up for himself. another reason, i believe everyone (within reason, *cough cough* not iroh *cough*) deserves a second chance. at the very least one more try, to be better, and if they’re actively trying, they’re doing better.

so hiroshi gets a bit of a wake up call from not only korra, after she so passionately scolded him in the name of her love for asami, but hiroshi also got one from asami directly. take your pick as to which conversation sparked hiroshi to call her to say goodnight. it’s an effort, and asami even says it herself, that after a while, the juice of it ran out. but kuvira said it too, it’s a start. what im trying to highlight is that no one is perfect and their ways of trying to change themself isn’t going to be perfect either.

and the kicker is hiroshi going to the south, without any other reason than to see asami. hiroshi only ever travels for future industries related business, but here he goes, without kuvira, to the south to see asami. i want to keep highlighting, asami says this is just the start. she hasn’t yet fully forgiven him, but she’s giving him the chance to be forgiven. that’s what i want to make most apparent on the topic of hiroshi and asami’s relationship: hiroshi is not getting off easy. but he’s trying, and in the words of the good place, that is what matters isn’t if people are good or bad, what matters is if they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday. hiroshi, in this action, coming to the south, is trying to be a better father that day than all the days before. offering up the job offer from tonraq is hiroshi trying to be a better boss that day than the day before. staying in the south to spend real, quality time with his daughter is hiroshi trying to be better that day than every day before that.

it’s all in the trying.

honorable mentions:

in the og timeline, back when korrasami was going to be a confirmed couple in the fic, after returning from the south, asami was going to go to the cafe at one in the morning while korra was working and korra was going to make her an avatar. i liked the full circle aspect at the time but really, i much prefer what i’ve posted over that og timeline.

anything i would’ve wanted to change?

i think, overall, i maybe would’ve wanted to divide chapters up differently. as i continued writing, the three sections definitely could’ve supported themselves as singular chapters. especially this final chapter, which was almost 20k words. but, in the end, i am so proud of this fic and of myself for following through and finishing it.

i lost a bit of steam towards the end of this analysis, i’ve actually had this in my drafts for almost two months. but, i think what i wanted to say, i did, and as always, if you have any comments or questions, or just wanna talk to me, do it ! i love any and all commentary on my writing :))

thanks for reading the analysis if you did x

#ricewrites #earth wind and coffee #coffee shop au #korrasami #korra #asami sato #lok #writing analysis #chapter analysis

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ragewerthers · 4 years

Text

Autumnal

Summary: All Prompto wanted to do was have a nice evening ready for Gladio when he got home from the Citadel. Sadly Ramuh seemed to have other plans in store.

But with the help of a caring Alpha, poor eyesight and a Christmas gift gone wrong... maybe this evening won't be so terrible after all?

A/n: Hello there! This is an F3S work for my friend @bgn846! I had far too much trouble deciding on which prompt to write so... I did them all in one fic! The prompts were:

'1.One of the bros gets locked out of their apartment in the rain or snow or something terrible. They call someone to come help, cuddles and fluff may occur.

2.A/B/O if you wanna try or just regular… Alpha Gladio surprises Omega Prompto with some flowers or something after a long day. This is purely an excuse for fluff and purring.

3.”Is that a boob mug?” This has absolutely no context for a reason. Hahah'

They were all so fun how could I pick?!?!? XD

You can also read on AO3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590126

Enjoy! :)

Word Count: 4187

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“You have got to be kidding me?!” Prompto growled under his breath, his fingers fumbling inside his soggy pants pockets as he tried to desperately locate his house keys, shifting his couple bags of groceries from one arm to the other in his search. Was it unseemly for an Omega to growl? Maybe. Did he give any butts about it now? Absolutely not.

The poor Omega had found himself swept up in an early fall downpour on his way back from a quick excursion to downtown Insomnia and really, why wouldn’t it have happened on today of all days? It had been spiracorn dung since the beginning and no matter how much he’d hoped for it to get better it appeared it truly wasn’t in the cards.

Another gust of wind whipped its way along the street where his and Gladio’s townhouse resided, sending sheets of rain cascading over him once more. Why was Ramuh being such a dick today?!

He could hear other people rushing behind him along the sidewalk, seeking shelter in their own homes because they could at least remember to grab their keys from the little bowl at the front door. Hadn’t Gladio literally put it there months ago to make sure he would remember to grab his keys because he knew something like this was bound to happen?

After coming up short in searching his jacket pockets as well, the sound of something tearing and things hitting the ground instantly made Prompto want to scream. And so he did.

“Oh come on!” Prompto shouted to no one in particular. Glancing down he saw the paper bags he’d been using had become so soggy that literally everything he had bought now lay scattered along the stoop or was rolling down the few steps that led to the sidewalk. At this point, though it stung to see his purchases become waterlogged, he couldn’t bring it in himself to chase after them. If Ramuh wanted his groceries that bad he could take them! With another unseemly growl that made him feel slightly better, he thumped his head against the door as he tried to figure out what his next course of action should be.

There was always trying to call someone, but at this point his phone was probably so full of rain water it was useless. Even then who was he going to call?

Noct was in an incredibly important meeting with the delegates from Altissia. It was supposed to help rebuild some of the trading deals that had been in place before Insomnia had fallen all those years ago. He’d been working so hard to rebuild everything from the ground up and there was no way that Prompto was going to bother his best friend for something as silly as this. Besides, he could stand some soggy underpants if it meant that Noct could continue to raise Insomnia back to where it should be and far beyond it as well.

There was always Ignis, but today really would be an ill advised day to bother the Beta as well. If Noct was busy working on building trade deals then Ignis was more than likely pulling the work weight of five men to ensure that it happened. The man had become more and more reclusive when it came to his time in the archives and pulling out as much info as he could to help create a better and brighter Insomnia. And while there was definitely a reckoning coming for the Beta in the form of his three friends forcing him to take some sort of break or vacation, today was not going to be that day. That being said, he would also rather face a thousand feral daggerquills then interrupt Ignis while he was in extreme Adviser mode.

Bringing a hand up, Prompto went to wipe at his face to clear away some of the rain water cascading off his fringe, but aborted the movement a moment later. At this point it would be replaced in a nanosecond and he couldn’t find the energy to care anymore about it. With a deep sigh of defeat he took a seat on the soaked cement stoop and tried not to think of his last option.

Gladio.

Prompto gave a quiet, little whine as he thought of his Alpha. Gods he wished he could just warp back to this morning, wrapped up in the man's arms without a care in the world. It was a simpler time. A less soggy and cold time. He remembered only briefly waking to the brush of soft lips against his brow, his nose and then his own lips as Gladio promised to be back as soon as possible. The next time Prompto woke, the early morning sun had been replaced with fluffier autumnal clouds and the bed was far cooler without the living furnace that was Gladio

The Alpha had to get up early to be at the meeting with Noct and though the threat from Altissia was non-existent after everything, it still was better to err on the side of caution. And if there was going to be a force to dissuade any brazen acts of unrest, Gladio’s presence was more than capable of stopping it.

So sadly that meant enjoying a little breakfast together, or a few extra stolen kisses on the front stoop before Gladio went off were off the table for the day. Prompto found lonely mornings like this to be the roughest to start. However, he also knew that Gladio preferred them having their mornings to themselves as well and that always filled the Omega with a little extra warmth in his chest. Knowing that Gladio was going to have such a full day and that his own presence was not needed at the Citadel he’d decided that he would surprise his lovely Alpha with a nice home cooked dinner for when he returned to their cozy apartment.

Thus after spending the better part of the day buying groceries for a ramen dish he knew Gladio would love, and maybe buying a small dessert for them to share together later, everything went to heck in a handbasket.

If he’d spent more time thinking to grab his keys and check the forecast instead of imagining the smile on Gladio’s face he wouldn’t be in the predicament he was in now.

Soggy groceries strewn about the pavement, a chill settling deep in his bones and a wish in his heart greater than anything that he could just be back inside and restart the day from the beginning.

“Prompto? Prom, what happened?!” The sound of someone shouting to him through the downpour and rumbling thunder had Prompto’s head shooting up, not even realizing he’d ducked his head down to hide against his knees to begin with.

His eyes had to take a moment to focus, but as soon as the familiar warmth of the person’s hand touched his cheek he instantly sagged forward. Strong arms wrapped around him without hesitation and he felt the rain lessen minutely against his shivering frame.

“Gl-Gladio?” he stammered, nuzzling his face into the crook of his Alpha’s neck, taking in the scent of cool forests and wildflowers. A scent unmistakably Gladio’s, but with an underlying hint of firesmoke. The man was upset and Prompto hated knowing he’d caused it. “S-Sorry… sorry, Gladio. I… I was st-stupid and for-forgot my…!” His voice was cut off by a rather unmanly squeak that escaped when Gladio’s arms shifted and he found himself being lifted like a blushing bride and held against his Alpha’s broad chest, shielded from the unkind weather.

“No apologies, Sunshine,” Gladio murmured softly and Prompto felt the way his partner easily moved toward their door with him. After a little jostling he heard the familiar jingle of keys and soon they were entering into the small hallway of their home. Prompto could tell he was without a doubt drenching the little carpet they had down with the water coming off of him and he was probably making Gladio chilled by being held so close in his soggy mess of clothes.

A miserable little whine escaped Prompto without him meaning to and he felt Gladio give him a soft squeeze. “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes. You feel like an ice cube,” he murmured softly and this only made Prompto frown more, especially as he felt himself being carried toward their bathroom.

“I-I can go myself… you… you were wo-working all day. I’m s-sorry,” he stammered only to find a soft kiss pressed to his forehead. Looking up he caught the small smile on his Alpha’s lips.

“Please stop apologizing, sweetheart. It’s not your fault.”

“But…,” he murmured only to find the man's lips now pressed against his own to stop him from finishing his sentence. As Gladio leaned back he nuzzled against Prompto’s nose, the deep rumble of a small purr vibrating through his chest and making Prompto’s bones feel like they were turning to liquid. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was more than enough to quiet him and make him pliant for what Gladio had to say next.

“None of that,” Gladio murmured softly as they finally reached their bathroom. “The only time you should ever have to apologize is if something is directly your fault. Do you control the weather? No. Would you have apologized to me on a sunny day? No. This isn’t your fault, Sunshine. Just a little bad luck.”

Prompto felt himself carefully set down on the bathroom counter, Gladio’s large frame moving around their small bathroom easily as he went to turn on the shower spray and grab his own towel for Prompto to use. “Why does it always seem like I have bad luck though?” Prompto asked as Gladio closed the shower curtain and turned back to his mate.

“I don’t see what happens to you as bad luck. Merely… inconvenient moments?” Gladio tried to offer, getting an unimpressed looked from his Omega as water still dripped from his fringe and down his freckled face. “Okay… so maybe some of it is bad luck. But it just means I get to come in and be your knight in shining armor and you know how much you love that.”

The cocky little smile Gladio flashed him after that made Prompto snort, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth to quiet the noise. “You’re ridiculous,” he murmured.

“But I’m not wrong,” Gladio teased, stepping forward and sweeping his mate’s damp fringe to the side to press a gentle kiss to his brow. “Now go on. I’ll leave you to warm up a bit and I’ll bring in a change of clothes, okay?” With another soft kiss to the tip of his chilled nose, Prompto already felt himself warming just from the presence of his Alpha.

Once Gladio stepped out, Prompto scooched himself off the edge of the bathroom counter, moving a bit slowly as his fingers still felt a little numbed and chilled from the rainfall. Soon he was free of his soggy clothes, quickly put in the hamper, and was stepping into the wonderfully warm spray of their shower.

It wasn’t much longer that he was feeling more human and less like the Astrals personal punching bag. The feeling had returned to his fingers and toes and if he chose to use Gladio’s body wash to wrap himself up in the man's scent a bit more he was sure his Alpha wouldn’t mind. Pulling the curtain back he saw that his favorite pyjama’s, the sweats with chocobo’s on them and his favorite band t-shirt, were already on the counter waiting for him. Apparently he’d been so engrossed in getting the icky feelings and weather off of him that he hadn’t heard the door open and close. For such a big guy it always surprised Prompto how stealthy he could be. Which generally made impromptu games of hide and seek a nightmare for him because the man was a walking shadow!

Soon he was changed, his hair toweled off with Gladio’s towel and hung back up to dry. Now to figure out how he was going to save the evening from his ridiculous ‘inconvenient moment’ and do something nice for Gladio! Opening the door to the bathroom, Prompto only had a moment to think before he found himself literally enveloped in a blanket and hoisted back into the air with a squeal that would’ve put the best horror actress to shame!

Gladio’s booming laughter echoed through the hall a moment later and as Prompto wriggled his face out of the warm fabric he glared at the man. “Wh-what are you doing?!“ he squeaked, finding himself once more being carried around in his darling's arms like a bride in a quilted gown.

“Making sure my Omega is taken care of, sweetheart,” he cooed, making Prompto try to hide his flushed face in the blanket which, he realized, was radiating heat. He nuzzled his cheek against the fabric and a soft little trill of content escaping him making Gladio chuckle again.

“I see putting the blanket in the dryer for a little bit worked its magic,” he teased, making Prompto flush more, though his soft smile on his lips stayed. Soon he was being deposited on their sofa, his favorite tv show already playing and something warm and delicious smelling steaming on the small coffee table in front of them.

“Did… is that Cup Noodle?” he asked as he saw the noodles presented in a far fancier mug then he had ever realized their house had and a fork already nestled in it, only waiting for him to pluck it up to dive into the meal.

“It is. I went back out to clean up what was left of the groceries and I saw what you wanted to make,” he murmured, taking a seat beside Prompto and wrapping his arm around the man to hug him close to his side. “I know it’s not homemade, but I hope it will still do. If nothing else it should help warm you up even more.” Prompto felt his cheeks heating for the umpteenth time now at the sweetness of his mate, but also at how spectacularly he had failed. Sighing quietly he nuzzled closer to Gladio, taking in a deep breath and just focusing on his Alpha’s warmth for the moment. “I wanted to surprise you,” he whispered quietly. “You had such a busy day and… I just wanted to give you a relaxing evening. All I managed to do was make you worry about me and look after me.”

Closing his eyes as he spoke he curled up a bit more in the blanket. “I’m sorry.”

Gladio’s arm around him moved slightly and soon Prompto felt strong, calloused fingers gently soothing through the damp knots in his hair. “You have nothing to apologize for, Sunshine,” Gladio whispered gently. “And I’ll keep reminding you of that. That you don’t have to apologize for things like the weather, or dropping something, or forgetting something... until one day those apologies don’t happen anymore. Because there is nothing you could ever do that I would think you should be sorry for. You’re my sunshine. And sunshine has only ever made me smile and happy. No apologies needed.”

The soft reassurances and the gentle soothing to his hair was almost enough to make Prompto’s barely held together composure break and a quiet sniffle escaped him. “Y-You’re too good to me, ya know that?” he murmured, a watery little giggle escaping when he felt Gladio ruffling his hair lightly.

”No… you deserve the world, Sunshine. Don’t ever doubt that,” Gladio murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his temple before shifting and leaning forward. “Now. I think the noodles have cooled long enough and if you wait any longer they’ll lose their chewy integrity.”

“Chewy integrity?” Prompto questioned, bringing a hand up to soothe his hair back down and feeling the weight in his chest lifting more and more. “I feel like only Cup Noodle addicts would believe in such a thing.”

The dramatic gasp that left Gladio and the scathing look he was given had Prompto fighting another round of giggles as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth.

“I am not an addict! I’m a connoisseur!” Gladio huffed before passing over the ceramic cup, fighting a smile of his own.

“Mmhm. And I’m the queen of Duscae,” Prompto teased, stirring his fork into the noodles in search of a few veggies.

“I’m gonna tell Iggy you don’t believe in the integrity of noodles. You’re going to get such a lecture,” Gladio huffed, leaning back with his own cup and twirling a fair amount of the noodly goodness onto his own fork.

“Oooor… you’ll get an earful about your sodium intake again and… then… uh…,” Prompto paused as he turned to look at Gladio, watching as the man stared back at him in confusion.

“And… what? Everything okay, Prompto?” Gladio asked carefully around a mouthful, but Prompto’s eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to process what he was seeing.

“Is… is that a boob mug?” he asked, looking at the coffee cup Gladio was currently enjoying his meal from.

Gladio almost choked on his half chewed bite, coughing and smacking his chest before looking at Prompto like he was the crazy one.

“What?! No this isn’t a boob mug! Look at it,” he said, raising up what was clearly the mug of a female torso.

Prompto stared at his mate in disbelief before pointing at it. “I am! It’s a mug… with boobs! Where did you even get that thing?!” In the few years they had been living here he had absolutely no recollection of that hideous thing and if he had seen it, it wouldn’t have stayed in this apartment for very long. “Cor gave it to me last year for Christmas. He said it was a bag gift, which was weird because it was wrapped, but still!” Gladio groused as he narrowed his eyes at the mug, apparently trying to see what Prompto was seeing. “It’s obviously two moogles next to each other! Look! They even have their bright red noses!”

Prompto slowly started to see all the pieces coming together in this one moment and honestly, it was both endearing and hilarious. “Uh… I’ll be right back, big guy,” he said lightly, only just keeping the tremble of laughter out of his voice as he wiggled out of the warm blanket and ran to their room. Quickly locating what he was looking for he returned with his old glasses in hand and handed them to his Alpha. “Would you please, please, please humor me and put these on?”

Gladio had waited patiently for his mate’s return, but seeing the glasses instantly had him grumbling. “What are you trying to say?” he questioned, holding the glasses as if they had personally offended his honor.

“Nothing! Nothing, just… please?” Prompto asked, jutting out his bottom lip and making his eyes go extra wide in that way he knew Gladio couldn’t fight against… adding in a little whine making it a sure thing.

With a growl, Gladio begrudgingly unfolded the glasses. “Fine. But I’m gonna tell you the same thing I said earlier,” he reassured as he perched the glasses on his nose before picking up the cup again. “This mug is just an innocent picture of… shiva’s tits!”

“Exactly!” Prompto crowed as Gladio’s now seeing eyes beheld the world’s most atrocious mug. The absolute shock that crossed his mate’s features had the laughter Prompto had been trying to hide finally break free.

“It’s not funny!” Gladio whined, still gripping the mug in his hands and staring at it with betrayal. After a moment his eyes widened in horror. “I’ve been drinking from this at the Citadel! I brought it home because it chipped and wanted to fix it! Oh my gods I must’ve looked like such a dick!”

Prompto was positively beside himself now, his laughter high-pitched and squeaking as tears of mirth clung to his eyelashes. Oh his poor sweet Alpha!

“Y-You… dihihihihidn’t?! O-oh my gahahahad!” Prompto wheezed out, laughing so hard he was leaning on Gladio who looked like he wanted nothing more to have the sofa swallow him up. The mug was now abandoned on the coffee table and Gladio had his head in his hands.

Slowly Prompto started to calm, a few stray giggles still bubbling up as he wrapped his arm around his Alpha’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, big guy. But… I think what Cor might have said to you was that it was a ‘gag’ gift. Not a ‘bag’ gift,” he murmured softly. Gladio groaned even louder as he heard that and shook his head.

“So not only is my eyesight going, but I can’t hear as well?” Gladio mumbled and Prompto smiled gently, pressing a soft kiss to the man's shoulder and soothing his hand over his broad back.

“First of all, I was at that Christmas party and if the music was any louder you would’ve had to send flare signals to talk to anyone,” Prompto said gently, getting a little huff from his Alpha as he wrapped his arm around him and hugged the big guy closer. “But as for your eyesight… you’ve definitely been squinting a bit more lately. But… those glasses are cute on you.”

Prompto watched as Gladio’s ears tinged red at being called cute and he bit his lower lip as a smile appeared over his lips.

“Shields don’t wear glasses… and they aren’t cute…,” came the haughty little reply and Prompto found himself rolling his eyes.

“Well… my Shield just mistook a boob mug for moogles so I think there maaay be an exception to the rule,” he giggled softly. “And while I hate to argue with my Alpha… he most definitely looks cute in glasses.”

Gladio finally peeked his eyes out, his cheeks matching the light pink of his ears and making Prompto’s heart flutter a bit. Leaning forward he pressed a soft kiss to one of those warmed cheeks and finally saw his Alpha’s smile returning.

“I guess we both had a tough day, huh?” Prompto murmured softly. “I got caught in a rainstorm brought on by the rage of Ramuh himself… and you found out you’re getting old,” Prompto teased his Alpha lightly, giving his side a little pinch and earning a squeak from the man.

“Hey! I’ll show you old!” Gladio growled, quickly tackling Prompto onto the sofa and gathering up his giggling Omega in his arms, pulling him flush against his chest. “Do old Alpha’s cuddle? I think not!” he mumbled from somewhere above Prompto’s head, making the blond giggle harder as he wrapped his arms around Gladio’s waist and snuggled closer to the warmth he adored. “I don’t know. Should I do tests to find out? Find some nice young Alphahaha’s! Okahahay! I won’t! I w-wohohon’t!” Prompto squealed out as Gladio’s fingers teased at his vulnerable side, tickling him mercilessly for a few seconds before stopping.

“Shush it, you,” Gladio chided with a soft smile, glancing down at Prompto with a look that always managed to melt Prompto’s insides. The omega gave a happy little trill at that and snuggled closer as Gladio’s arms wrapped more snugly around him.

“Well… now that your Cup Noodles have lost any and all texture and you’ve managed to lure me into a cuddle pile… why don’t you get some rest, Sunshine?” Gladio murmured, the quiet, deep timbre of his voice already starting to have an effect on the Omega.

Cuddling closer and hiding his face against Gladio’s chest, Prompto felt his eyes already starting to close. The warmth of his mate’s embrace that he had missed since this morning enveloped him completely and finally, finally every bad thing from the day felt like it was starting to ebb away.

He felt Gladio shifting for a moment, hearing the faint sound of his glasses being placed on the coffee table before the man settled once more. A hand soon made its way up to his hair, gently running through it and lightly scratching over his scalp and truly, this was all Prompto ever wanted or needed.

It wasn’t much longer that Prompto found a soft purr starting to escape him and a little smile flickered over his lips as Gladio soon responded in kind. The Alpha’s deeper purr made Prompto’s mind go wonderfully fuzzy and he sighed softly.

Finally, after the struggles and ups and downs of the day he was able to be back where he had longed to be since the beginning. In the strong arms of his Alpha, a soft smile on his lips and knowing that regardless of what little turmoils and inconvenient moments happened, he would always have Gladio there to pick him up, making him laugh and offer him comfort. Hopefully he could do the same.

Perhaps he’d start by getting rid of that mug for him?

But that could happen after a nice autumn nap.

#ffxv #promptio #prompto argentum #gladiolus amicitia #fluff #whump #my fics #I hope you enjoy my friend!#cuteness #everyone lives nobody dies au #alternate ending

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