#and almost every one of them has a time loop au i wanna write

[awesome-shoes-with-wings]

So I really love Time Loops. And I have decided I'm gonna write a Time Loop fic with Percy Jackson. But first I need to finish my reread of The Last Olympian!

Current plan - Kronos has one more trick up his sleeve - send Percy through enough loops so that he gives up and lets Kronos win!

[familyvideostevie]

extra one shots for the farmer’s market au, you say?? i know requests are closed and the fic isn’t even done yet, but if you felt inclined to write steve and r apple picking and then pie baking… i would be indebted to you

-b

you asked for this before the fic was even done but i knew i had to do it. so, here you go! hope you enjoy :)

bee girl and steve bake apple pie before thanksgiving, post-au | [1k] a no good at waiting one-shot, au masterlist __

"I just don't see how you have never baked a pie before...ever." Steve shrugs and continues to wash the apples you scavenged from the almost-bare orchard. It's the very end of the season and you've just spent a few hours in the cold collecting as much as you can carry.

"El usually does it," he tells you. "But this year she practically begged me to invite you over instead. She said she had faith that we could work it out." The soft smile on his face is so endearing you just have to kiss him. So you do -- a soft, quick peck on his cheek. He doesn't stop washing but his cheeks darken. The air has been cleared after Halloween and every day you wake up with butterflies knowing that Steve is your boyfriend. That this town is your new home.

"You're not going to make me do all the work, right?" Steve's kitchen is too small for the number of pies you're going to make -- four, apparently -- so you've taken over the kitchen of the main house. It's huge and airy, the sink boxy and deep and the cabinets painted a light green. It's a little too stylish for Hopper, you think, but El seems to make good use of it.

"Oh, because you're the pie expert?" He flicks water at you from his fingertips and you yelp. "I don't think so, honey. I am out here to prove myself." Apples washed, he properly dries his hands and steps around you to get the cookbook. The kitchen is big enough for you to have your own space but Steve sticks close, hands on your hips lightly as he moves, as if he's happy to float in your orbit. Which, you suppose, he is. He loves you.

"Okay," he says, dragging out the second syllable. "Wanna do a big batch of dough, then cut apples, then we can fill and decorate the tops?" You hum, coming to stand behind him to hook your chin over his shoulder and read the recipe for yourself. He leans back into you for just a second, sighing with what you've come to recognize as contentment.

You work together well, turning on the oven and pulling out ingredients in sync even though you don't know where anything is in the kitchen.

"Why the fuck are tablespoon and teaspoon abbreviated almost the same," he mutters. "Oh, El said she made crust for us and it's in the fridge."

You open it and find four neatly rapped balls of dough. "She did the hard stuff for us!" you cry. "Next year we have to make it ourselves." You don't realize what you've said until Steve doesn't reply. Next year. Like you're planning that far ahead.

"Okay," he says softly. When you turn to look at him he's smiling, eyes find and hands already reaching for you. "We'll do it next year." He pulls you in by your belt loops for a quick kiss, on the lips this time. It still leaves you a little dizzy.

"Don't think Hopper would want us making out in his kitchen, Steve," you mumble, eyes closed. He groans but release you, heading for the cutting board.

"Fine," he says. "But once the pies are in? All bets are off." He winks at you before he tosses a clean apple in the air and catches it. "Now, you wanna roll out the dough while I cut these?"

You make four large circles and save some to top the pies with, thin strips that you intend to weave into lattices. Steve carefully chops the apples before you both make the filling to toss them in.

It's a quiet process, but you're good at that. Much of your talking as a couple occurs in bed when you're holding each other close, or on the phone in the middle of the day, or when you're driving. When you're together you settle into the peace of enjoying each other's breathing. Sometimes it's enough to just be in the same room as someone you love.

Before you know it, you have four filled pies and all that's left is to lattice the tops. "This looks complicated," Steve says. "You sure you want me to help? I might just mess it up."

"Don't be silly, Steve," you scold gently. "Just watch me and do it at the same time. You're coordinated." He rolls his eyes at you but copies your movements as you weave, carefully lifting and placing the strands of dough. "Just like that, yeah, see? You've got it!" you tell him and he preens, mouth curled at the corner as he looks over at you through his fringe. He insists on doing the second one himself, and it's almost perfect.

"How much time do we have?" you ask. He checks the cookbook as you slide the dishes into the oven.

"50 minutes, I think. We'll keep an eye on them. It would be a bummer to burn down my own job, huh?" He starts to put the dishes you used in the sink and turns on the hot water. You move to help him, drying as he finishes scrubbing.

For just a second, you imagine doing this with Steve in a kitchen that you share. A home of your own, life together in a whole new way. Maybe for your own dinner party or just for yourselves, baking something delicious and eating it on your couch in your living room and going to your bed after. It's a nice thought.

"What're you smiling about?" he asks you, bumping your hip with his.

"Oh, nothing," you say, and he crinkles his nose at you. He won't push but you're trying to be more candid with him and though you're a little embarrassed, you tell him a version of the truth. "I just love you, is all." He blinks like he wasn't expecting it, though you've said it many times by now. Then he turns off the water and gently takes the towel you're holding to dry his own hands before he turns to face you fully.

"Well," he says, a little shy. "Maybe taste the pie first and see if that's still true." You laugh and lean into him, breathing in the smell of the apples mixed with the warmth that's all Steve.

"Love you, too," he whispers against your temple.

[blurglesmurfklaine]

time loop fic 👁️ VERY INTERESTING WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT

ONE DAY!!!! I have, in fact, started writing it but I am however an incredibly slow writer so do with that what you will!

I WANNA GO OFFFFD ABOUT THIS AU BUT ALSO DONT WANNA GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY BC J THINK ITS GOT SOME FUN TWISTS AND TURNS SO ILL SOUND OFF UNDER THE CUT

Si the premise is basically: season four shooting time loop. It’s from Eddie’s pov and the first day he goes about his day and then gets shot in a similar fashion as in canon and boom—wakes up the next day like “Hm. What a weird fuckin dream I had. Also all this deja vu is weird????”

He realizes pretty soon that he’s in a time loop and he doesn’t always get shot, but he does always die. It’s giving Happy Death Day. But for the gay wee woo show.

Anyhow, finally, someway somehow, he FINALLY survives an entire day. He hasn’t told anyone about the time loop at this point because this is Eddie Diaz we are talking about. He will keep his feelings and problems right here, and then one day he’ll die (it’s the same day just over and over again)

It’s the end of a long hard shift so Bobby lets them out early and Buck and Eddie go to the Diaz residence and… there keep being… Moments. Moments With Gravitas. And Signifcant Looks. And Buck is Very Close and Very Much In Eddie’s Space, but… Eddie can’t bring himself to close the gap between him and Buck. Because today isn’t like other days. He survived. So when he wakes up, he’ll have to deal with the consequences of ruining his friendship. He almost wishes this had happened before the time loop was about to close. Because there’d be no risk, so there’d be nothing holding him back.

So instead, he laughs it off, tells Buck he’s had one too many beers and takes another swig of his own. The clock strikes midnight. Everything goes fuzzy.

Eddie wakes up in his bed again, with the same Cindy Laupner song playing. And he just yells “FUCK”

Okay so. (He almost kissed Buck last night). Surviving the day didn’t break the loop. (Buck almost kissed him last night. Tonight. Whatever.) Then what will? (Hoooooly shit he almost kissed Buck).

As it turns out, Eddie is not as interested in figuring out what will break the time loop as he is in avoiding his feelings. He books a flight to El Paso and hangs with his parents for the day. Then stays home and cleans, learns to draw, literally ANYTHINGG except going to work. And then he takes Chris on an all day adventure, and of course Chris asks if his Uncle Buck can come. And of course Eddie has to oblige.

And they have a lovely day playing hooky together! Of course they did, why wouldn’t they? They’re best friends and NOTHING IS WEIRD. Why would any of it be weird. It’s only weird if Eddie makes it weird and it is sooooo not weird.

But it gets weird. Later at the Diaz residence when they have a repeat of the same Heavh Ass Moment. And it’s weird but Eddie decides FUCK IT because if he’s going to be stuck in this time loop he might as well his his best boy friend! And so he does. He kisses Buck. And Buck kisses back. Holy shit. Buck kisses him back.

The clock strikes midnight. Everything goes fuzzy.

Eddie wakes up in his bed again, with the same Cindy Laupner song playing.

But this time, he’s got a big ass grin on his face and when he walks into the firehouse, the first thing he says is yell, “Buckley! Get your ass down here!” And Buck, thinking there’s something wrong, runs down all concerned but Eddie just pulls him into the nearest closet and kisses the absolute sense out of him.

Then they have sex. Gay sex, to be sepcific. A looooooot of gay sex, every day that the loop resets they just be fuckin nasty. Matching each others freak. No it doesn’t make them gay. You can’t be gay in the time loop it doesn’t count.

Anyway. So. Eddie gets to know Buck’s body… intimately. Biblically, really. And he slowly learns all the things Buck likes and doesn’t like etc and he almost feels bad for Buck because he’s at a disadvantage, but it’s Buck and Buck is veeeeeeery good at sex so. It’s not like Eddie is really missing out on anything.

I keep thinking of this interaction, during foreplay, where Eddie is just being a gif damn fucking simp, melting like chocolate in Buck’s hands and says, “God I love it when you do that”

And Buck, being the cheeky little shit he is, grins and laughs, “Oh, don’t I know it”

And Eddie. Freezes. “Wait what?”

“What?”

“How would you—OH MY GOD? YOU TOO???”

“OH MY GOD????”

“HOW LONG??”

“A LONG FUCKIN TIME!!!”

And that’s how they find out the other is in the time loop :) not through any means of actual communication, but sex :)

The ending is a secret between god and someone else, not I. I’ll figure it out. Probably.

[sam-loves-seb]

weekly tag wednesday!

thanks for the tags @deedala @metalheadmickey @michellemisfit !!

🚑💨 Get in bitch, we're going on a mystical adventure through space, time, and reality. (in ian and mickey's ambulance of course) ✨

Name: Sam

Zodiac Sign: libra

Personality type in enneagram, myers-briggs, or both: entp

Before we hit the road, what snack are you gonna bring for our trip? cheez-its, always

Navigator gets to pick the music so what song are you turning on? You Know it by Colony House

What is a universe from a fantasy tv show you would like to visit? great question, uhh probably the Grishaverse from Shadow and Bone, but specifically Ketterdam 'cause I wanna hang with the Crows

And what about a fantasy movie? probably Lord of the Rings, i wouldn't mind hanging out in the shire for a bit

Okay, how about a scifi tv show? Stranger Things, take me to Hawkins i wanna meet Steve Harrington

And a scifi movie universe? can i say hot tub time machine? i wanna go skiing with a young sebastian stan in the 80s, sigh me tf up

Any other tv show or movie universes you'd like to swing by before we move on? tv or movie, no, but can i suggest a book universe? because i'd love to visit the night court in acotar (do not come for me about these books, i know they're super hit or miss for ppl but i don't care, i love them, they're my comfort read)

Okay hold on to your butts we're switching gears to fanfic universes. Tell me which fanfic universe we're visiting first? i think it's gonna have to be cooperative gameplay by grayola, i think about this fic almost every single day of my life

Cool, do you have one more you'd like to stop at before we head home? the beloved where the oleander grows by kairach, this fic lives rent fucking free in my head. i'm shit at remembering fic titles, but i have not forgotten this one since the day i read it, it's inspired. (someday i want to write gallavich with this soulmate au concept but i'm gonna need someone to hold me to it)

Alright, on our way out of fanfic land you get to snag some tropes to bring home and apply to your own life, think fast! soulmates or enemies to lovers // coffee shop or flower shop // fake relationship or slow burn // amnesia or time loop // body swap or miscommunication // love triangle or arranged marriage // sharing a bed or drunken confession

Wow okay, hope those tropes work out for you!! Our adventure has finally come to an end, where in the world am I dropping you off? can you drop me off anywhere on cape cod, MA? i'm yearning for it to be next summer already so i can go back, i miss my happy place

tagging: @rereadanon @mickeysgaymom @suchagallabitch @gallawitchxx @heymrspatel and anyone else who wants to play!

[clockworkspider]

3, 13, 32, 59?

For the ask 👉👈

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

So it depends on whether i'm trying to write a fic or if the fic's trying to get me to write it.

Once in a blue moon, an inspiration will struck, and it'll just bounce in my brain and expand and then i'll have the whole scene playing in my mind on loop and it won't leave until I write it. Normally this is gonna be really good. These little wishes and Changeling are inspiration fics, and are probably the best ones I have recently.

If I have SOME inspiration and wanna write a longer thing for it (multiple scenes lol), but already have a few semi-solid scenes or ideas, then I really gotta talk through it with a friend for it to gain form. (What i'm trying to achieve for Vampire AU. Thank you for letting me bounce things off you.)

If I wanna write but has no motivation or ideas, then I generally ask for prompts. And like... it has to be prompts through the ask box or a comment, not through a challenge. Cause I'll be perfectly honest that knowing at least ONE person will read the writing is enough motivation for me. Cause like... when I have a solid inspiration I know it'll be good, I'm writing for myself. But when I am trying to milk an idea or squeeze water out of a rock I never know if it'll end up good, you know. And if I don't feel like there's a single specific person I'm writing for then I am not as motivated... So then i'll try to marinate on the prompt while walking or falling asleep. Just... keeping it in the back of my mind for a while. And most of the time nothing comes of it these days (it use to be so easy, I use to be able to write something for every prompt, but now my brain is like 'no writing unless you know it'd be decent!' and I'm cursed). But sometimes things come out of it! And it ends up good! I found you was written that way and I'm rather proud of it.

But yeah that's the process.

Mostly it involves staring at the cieling hallucinating a lot. Rambling about characterization and complaining about the characters I'm writing.

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

Um. I have a hard time following tips.

Oh, the laws of "omit needless words" and "diction" are two tips that I deeply internalized and trained myself to do, and is actively fighting AGAINST whenever I'm writing enstars fic. I'm like "no minimalism, clock, you gotta let it all out, otherwise it'd be OOC!"

32. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

Umm... Well I can definitely list my friends again, I think ehyde, greymantleish and kaz knows I love them but we actually haven't been in the same fandom for a while, so I'll go by most recently read.

But i'll go by order of last read. It'd be ivoryandhorn, who write some super great IbaNagi.

4dmemedoggy, who writes really good ibayuzu. (In Chinese, tho.)

And asagiri, also an ibanagi writer.

59. Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? if not, would you tell anyone?

They literally all know. Except my current co-workers. I don't think I've told many of them because we don't talk much.

[jellifysh]

Fake Love (prequel)

Or, Namjoon Needs a Break

OT7 x reader, idol!bts x fan!reader, amnesia au, takes place late 2019 and covid never happens, involves heavy manipulation from the boys, reader loses three years of memory (permanently? 👀), dark fluff, mostly cute, Namjoon just loves his boys man 😔, jimin's hornee in this au I will not apologize,, this prequel is about three years before the story starts tho

A/N: sorry for not being so active lately guys, I was busy for the week of my birthday, and then my phone broke and that’s where I do most of my writing, so I got a new one! But this is the prequel to Fake Love :) if u wanna be on the taglist, reply to this post <333

It was Namjoon who noticed you first.

He was at the end of the table for the meet and greet, the first person the fans talked to when it was their turn. It always felt like a new experience whenever they did meet and greets in the States though, just because of the absolute culture shock. Fans here were so touchy, so ready to grab their hands and lean in across the table towards them and almost always flirty. It was something some of the other members took in stride, Jimin hardly faltering before tossing a flirty comment back and Jin responding with a squeaky laugh and a cheesy joke that he struggled to tell in English, but Namjoon could only smile awkwardly. Especially when he would talk with a fan and notice their eyes were only glancing down the table at members they were clearly more excited to talk to.

To put it simply, Namjoon kind of hated meet and greets. To be honest, the other boys did too, even if they were good at faking it. They loved being performers and having people scream their name. After a while, it started to inflate their egos. Of course they were the most popular group in the world, of course they worked harder than everyone else, of course they deserved everything they got. Their fans practically worshipped at their feet and they had every reason to. The humble attitude they kept up was a disguise, a persona only made to fish for more of the praise they thrived on.

He could see the line of fans clearly from where he sat, boredly inspecting the people in line while waiting for the next fan to take their seat in front of him.

That was when he first saw you.

You weren't necessarily different, not when he first looked at you. You were as fashionably dressed as almost everyone else there, BT21 merchandise of all their characters woven into your outfit, meant to impress them obviously. A cute Koya headband, Mang charms on your bracelet, Shooky charms on your necklace, RJ charms dangling from your ears, small Chimmy and Tata keychain plushes hooked into the front belt loops of your shorts, and a little Cooky ring. Actually, after getting a good look, Namjoon was pretty sure half of that wasn't even merch they sold. You could've made it yourself, fans have done similar things before. Nothing special. But he kept staring, eyes fixed on you. You were alone, not taking to anyone in line like others were, but you seemed perfectly content with that, like you were used to it and made your own peace with it. Namjoon couldn't remember the last time he'd been alone, really alone. He always knows he has the boys to rely on, to go back to when he gets lonely. It made him pity you a little and wonder what it'd be like to live a different life.

This sort of life got monotonous, being constantly surrounded by people and barred from dating by the company led to some irritation with their work. Having someone to spoil, someone to love, someone to have, would make up for all the time they've spent lonely in rooms full of people. He found himself distracted watching you, giving half-hearted answers to the people who sat in front of him, counting them down until it got to you. You were smiling excitedly when it was your turn to walk over to the table, a cute shy thing like you weren’t sure if you were really here right now. You walked over with wonder in your eyes, looking at him as you sat, only at him. He returned the smile, almost surprising himself when it came easier to his face than before. You bit your lip nervously as you sat before him and he found himself focusing on the action.

"Hello, I'm RM." He introduced, realizing he was silent for far too long. His voice seemed to startle you, you choked on air before composing yourself. Cute, maybe you weren't as put together as you seemed, he internally chuckled. The thought that he made you nervous made him weirdly proud.

"Sorry, I just-- Hi, I'm Y/n." You stuck your hand out suddenly, almost knocking over his water bottle. "Nice to meet you." You finished weakly.

Instinctively, he went to respond before stopping himself. It took a moment to realize, but you hadn't answered him in English like he expected. You were speaking Korean. Putting aside his shock, he went to answer. Fans often learned Korean for them, it wasn't anything too surprising, but they usually didn't speak Korean with him, since he spoke the most fluent English. You speaking to him in Korean was something that put him more at ease. His smile grew, even more genuine as he took the chance to tease you. "I'm supposed to be the clumsy one." He chuckled, pulling his water bottle aside to avoid any further accidents. That got a laugh out of you, a cute snort, but judging by the way you covered your mouth after you heard it, you didn't think it was as cute as he did. "You speak Korean?" He said instead, to distract from your embarrassment.

"Ah, yes, I've been learning for a couple years now. I wouldn't say I'm that good though." You said sheepishly, biting your lip nervously again. He chuckled inwardly. You better not do that in front of Jimin. With your cute mannerisms, seeing you bite your lip would probably make the other man determined to fluster you.

"No way, you're a natural." He insisted.

"It’s been a lot of hard work. Thank you, Namjoon-ssi." You responded softly, flustered by the compliment. "You inspired me actually."

"Me?" He blinked in shock. Well, he wasn’t really shocked, he heard people say that he inspired them all day long, but for some reason hearing you say it warmed his heart more than any of what he’d heard before.

You continued, unaware of his internal plight. "Yes. Well, yes and no. I was originally learning because I loved variety shows. I wanted to understand the jokes the way they were told, not just what the captions said." You explained, fidgeting nervously with your hands. He had to hold himself back from grabbing your hands to settle you, something in him racing to comfort you. "But I became quickly unmotivated. When I heard about how you learned English through watching Friends, I thought it was hilarious, and impressive. It reminded me that I only have to take it one step at a time. Or one episode at a time."

"Wow that's," he paused to laugh, his turn to be bashful, as he covered his mouth with a hand. “That's really sweet, actually. Are you this kind to all the other bands you do meet and greets for?" He teased.

"You're the only band I really follow closely. I listen to music of other groups, but there's something about your personalities, they mix so perfectly. Even if you weren't musicians, I'd be drawn to you." Your sweet voice said, and knowing that they were the only band who managed to catch your attention so firmly made him strangely proud.

"Drawn to us, you say?" He asked, voice trailing off as he leveled you with a look that, judging by the tilt of your head, was unreadable to you. But the mysterious look in his eye was a sign of his brain working, cranking out possibility after possibility. A flicker of hope burst inside him that he quickly extinguished. Be realistic, Namjoon, the leader needs a level head.

But his head was telling him only one thing.

Eventually your time was up, you having to move back down the table to his other members, but he kept a close eye on you as you moved. It looked like the rest of the boys were easily charmed by you, too. He could see you conversing with them easily without missing a beat, going from chair to chair with the same energy, leaving a bright smile on each boys face that was different from the practiced ones they usually had.

Jin hadn't laughed louder all day than when you were in front of him, and you and Taehyung seemed to have immediately entered a hushed serious conversation, though a light hearted one if the smile on both your faces was anything to go off of. Jungkook teared up at something you said while you were with him, and judging by the way Jimin was giving you his fuck-me stare (complete with his flirty smile) at the other end of the table, you were charming them exceptionally well. For the rest of the night after you left, the members were distracted, giving stilted conversation to the remaining fans. Namjoon caught himself drifting from reality at least twice, and if he was that bad off, he knew the rest were struggling even more.

——

When the fanmeet was finally done, they headed to a break room, waiting for the managers and staff to tell them they finished up for the day and were ready to leave. As Namjoon settled on the couch, chugging a bottle of water, the maknaes were still talking about you, huddling together on the floor and giggling like children. Namjoon was both surprised and unsurprised, he knew the boys all took a liking to you, but they weren’t usually so lively after an event like this. Usually they would be drained and be silent or half asleep.

Jimin sighed, melting against the couch as he stared up at the ceiling. "She was so perfect. You know, she said Chimmy was her favorite BT21 character." He sat up, boasting to the other two.

Yoongi chuckled, not moving from his position leaning against Hoseok’s shoulder as he spoke, eyes closed. "That's Jimin for you, give him one compliment and it's the only thing he'll talk about."

"Are they still talking about that girl?" Hoseok asked, cracking open a water bottle.

"You noticed her too?" Namjoon asked him. Hoseok was the impersonal out of all of them, honestly. He didn’t usually pay attention to what girl he was talking to, knowing they all wanted to hear the same generic spiel about how each and every one of them matter and he was just so excited to be meeting all his fans. Playing the happy one got tiring for him, Namjoon knew, and honestly he didn’t envy him.

However, Hoseok was smiling too, a genuine one as he fiddled with his water bottle. “She was nice. She just talked to me like a regular person. She called me Hoseok. Not Hobi, or J-Hope, or anything.”

Jimin sighed, leaning his head back against the couch cushion. “She had the cutest smile when I talked with her, she didn't even get half the stuff I was saying." He chuckled.

"Because she's not a native speaker and you were saying dirty things to her with your accent." Jin pointed out.

"So fucking cute, hyung" Jimin smiled, sliding down until he was laying flat on the floor.

"That girl is my soulmate--" Taehyung said, dreamily gazing at the wall with a twinkle in his eye.

Jungkook cut him off, "You mean my soulmate!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you exchange all your deepest secrets in five minutes? I didn't think so." Taehyung gloated.

"That girl was pretty charming. She actually laughed at all my jokes! And she wasn't faking it either." Jin agreed, smiling as he thought back on the pleasant conversation with you.

"She must be insane." Jungkook teased.

Jin huffed. "No! She told me she didn't know all the figurative language and slang. The jokes were all new to her so she found them funny."

"We talked about dance! She said she did ballet when she was younger and looked up to me as her inspiration for getting back into dancing. What I wouldn't do to see her in some tights. And the way she bit her lips, oh my god." Jimin babbled, slapping the floor excitedly.

"Stop being horny, Jimin." Yoongi scolded, flipping through the channels on the TV boredly.

"Like you have any room to talk, hyung. You were staring at her so hard I thought your head would pop.” Jimin teased, Yoongi turning pink.

"Was not!" He denied.

"Was too! What did she say?"

"She just said she liked my music." He replied, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Bullshit. What did she really say? There’s no way she'd say something generic like that."

Yoongi hesitated for a moment, then said, "She said when she listens to my music, her soul yearns to be comforted."

"Woah.”

"And that got you all hot and bothered?" Jimin continued teasing.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes but continued. "She was just so genuine. The passion in her eyes was... magnetic. I could understand her and see myself in her. It was... an instant connection."

"With me as well. We talked about art. She speaks so many languages, did she tell you hyung?" Taehyung said, turning to Namjoon.

Namjoon shook his head no. "She only told me she learned Korean."

"She also knows Mandarin and Japanese and French and Spanish. She's incredible. She says she envied us for being she to travel the world. It's a dream of hers."

"She wants to travel the world?" Namjoon said, brain overworking again.

"She said that when she heard my story, it made her sad. She heard about my past and how hard I worked to become an idol and she related to it, she said she felt the same way I did. We're the same age but hyung, her life is so sad. She's been so alone for long." Jungkook added, looking up at Namjoon with his puppy eyes. It always made Namjoon’s heart hurt when he had that look on his face.

Hoseok nodded. “That's kinda like what she told me. She said she envied my charisma, my personality. She said she loved my confidence and how I always had the strength to keep going. She told me to never stop loving myself."

"Hyung, we have to see her again." Jungkook turned to Namjoon again, puppy eyes in full force as he pleaded.

"Ah, Jungkook, this has all been good fun, but I don't think that'll be possible." Namjoon scratched the back of his neck. He’d been thinking about it, sure, but Namjoon thinks about a lot of things. Treating this like anything other than an indulgent daydream would be crazy.

But Jungkook was persistent. "No, hyung, you can do something about this, can't you? You always know what to do."

Namjoon could feel his resolve straining, "I don't know, koo."

"It would be nice. Just to see her again, at least once." Yoongi hummed.

"Can't you get her address off of the raffle tickets or something?" Taehyung suggested.

"That’s crossing a couple boundaries." Namjoon said, slightly concerned.

"So? She's a fan, she'd be happy to see us." Jin shrugged.

"And she's already made us so much happier! Please?" Jungkook whined.

"I’ll... see what I can do." He acquiesced finally, unable to deny any longer.

"Yay!" The maknaes cheered, and while the hyungs rolled their eyes at their blatant enthusiasm, Namjoon could see their moods brighten too. He won’t deny he was eager to see you again as well. Having you in their lives would definitely make it better.

After meeting you, he was sure. The impact you had on him, on his band mates. They needed you.

Now they just had to get you to need them.

[lovesick-panmess]

Protect Them

Soo I know I'm way overdue with the 3rd part of my Armageddon AU but I've actually been replaying the lessons so I get a proper feel for what I'm writing, so to make up for it and to get this idea out of my head I've been thinking about it for days here is a related fic between the oldest brothers

-------

Levi can count on one hand how many times he's seen Lucifer coming home injured. The Avatar of Pride could easily crush irrelevant demons with his glare and he proved worthy of Diavalo's right-hand man for a reason... But the first time that Levi remembers was on a travel mission with Lord Diavalo within a year after their fall from grace. It was a distant memory, seeing Lucifer stumble up the stairs blooded up and adamantly refusing care from any of them, even Mammon who was following behind his every footstep. He had gotten used to such behavior and just settled for turning up his headphones on his way to the safe haven that was his room, stopping when he noticed the eldest's door cracked open. He watched Mammon gingerly wrap the bandage around his shoulder, blinking back tears in his eyes and shaking his head vehemently as Lucifer spoke. The music was loud and distracting he just settled for reading their lips-

"Mammon I need you to do this for me.."

"I won't! There's no need, ya just paranoid-!"

Watching the tears well up made Levi shift, uncomfortable and jealous, wondering what bond allowed them to be so vulnerable so open. Hadn't they all fought their father together? Rallied behind him so readily behind Lucifer, their Morningstar that only shined a light that only Mammon was allowed to see. He lingered before continuing to walk down the hall, to dwell in his own sunken loneliness but hearing Mammon speak one more time before the door had shut.

"..I'll do it, alright? Just stop ya crying, Luci.."

He had felt the deja vu of that very moment playing out in front of him, though this time he was hiding from Mammon in his secret spot in the living room. They had planned to go to the movies in an hour and Levi knew that Mammon would try to find him to convince him to pay for the tickets yet again so he decided to wait out the time so that scumbag would have to bring his wallet. It was a surprise to see the door open, everyone else is out and Lucifer's return to be scheduled for a few more days, but instead, the eldest had come early with visible wounds and beatings. Levi felt frozen, debating on whether he should slip out to help or stay putt but once again Mammon comes down the stairs like it's his calling. "Lucifer? Let me help you!" Denial was the first given reaction, the eldest's heart too hard and stubborn to ask for help before collapsing into Mammon's arms.

Levi followed with anxiety brewing in his chest, now wanting to just hide away in his room since plans were clearly on hold and he could do nothing to help the pair. Not like they would want his help, a shitty pathetic otaku wasn't much good at bandaging wounds, not like he was able to get much practice like Mammon did. Jealousy seethed, it made his heart race as he hid to the side of the door at the mention of his name.

"We have to tell him, Mams."

"We don't have to tell him shit! It's fine like this...Levi doesn't have to be involved."

It was confusing to be thrown out of the loop, but it hurt to hear Mammon so effortlessly fight to not include him. Maybe the second-born felt that Levi wasn't worth it? Too weak and unable to do..whatever it is they are arguing about, even so, it was odd-looking into Lucifer's room. Mammon unafraid of the eldest's temper and even being so bold as to glare at him while cleaning his cuts, Lucifer had an expression of utter fondness that was intertwined with an unlabeled fear, one that only he seemed to see.

"Mammon, you know it takes a lot out of me to..admit this. I'm almost jealous that you're able to view me so..."

Shit shit shit, he had been so entrapped in their conversation and his own envy he hadn't realized that it was emitting throughout the hall. He stiffens when Lucifer calls his name, slipping out from where he was hiding and now embarrassed. "Levi..come here please." He notes that Mammon refuses to look at him, biting his bottom lip hard as he sits next to his brother, so not used to this soft tone from him. He really must have stepped into a completely different world, one where Lucifer is willing to fight tooth and nail with his own pride in order to tell them the truth. And what a horrid truth it must be.

"Lucifer what's going on? Why is Mammon..." He trails off, feeling Lucifer's hand skim through his hair, and despite his own embarrassment leaned into the comforting touch and suddenly the bottle of Demonus was looking very tempting. "Levi...I would like to involve you in something very important, in order to protect the others." Lucifer's words were slow, each one taking some kind of will to overcome his pride, his wings twitching in what Levi could easily place as anxiety and one he knew way too well. "I'm not allowed to say anything about the threat outside of the Devildom but it puts us at risk and I...There may be a chance I won't come back."

His stomach drops, he doesn't realize that he's shaking until he feels Mammon's arms wrapping around his shoulder, shaking his head in pure denial. Not Lucifer, the most powerful one of them all, their eldest brother not coming back. Such thoughts were unfathomable to even believe, much less considered as a probability to the point that they had to talk about it. Acknowledge it and take action, Lucifer keeps talking and Mammon presses Levi closer to his chest, "I talked this with Mammon since the beginning but now we believe it's time to tell you in case something were ever to happen to the both of us and you would decide when to tell Satan..."

The prospect of such responsibility makes Levi feel like a fish out of water as he gulps for air yet in that same breath go on a rampage of self-deprecation and drowning doubt. How he's not ready, he's a good-for-nothing shitty pathetic otaku, he can't protect his brothers, he's weak, he's nothing, if Lucifer and Mammon are gone then there would be no fucking hope for them. The two oldest look at each other, small bits of regret building up from the pressure and burden they had put on him, Mammon gently rubbing his back and Lucifer cupping his face. "Leviathan please breathe."

His body does it automatically before he can think about it, the air in his lungs felt like boiling water as the panic slowly dissipates in his chest. All that was left was his own soft mutterings, so sure that Lucifer was probably disappointed that he has to trust in Levi of all people to protect them, he leans against Mammon who nudges him affectionately before resting his head on his shoulder. "I...I haven't really done anything good since...I was General...how can you be so sure in me?" He asks but squirms unready for whatever the answer might be, though he's unable to mistake Lucifer's radiating pride that he feels.

"Who's the one who came up with the plan on where to steal the weapons in the Celestial Realm?"

"M-Me but I-"

"And who helped convince the others to lay low while we defended the base?"

"I did but Luci-"

"Who's the one who took an arrow for Mammon while he was trying to protect me?"

"Lucifer-!"

He gets cut off with a flick on his forehead, his lips set in a pout but meeting the Morningstar's expression that made butterflies bloom in his stomach from overwhelming pride had him turn away and looking down at the floor. "Levi, get out of your head for one second and look at how smart and tactical you are. When it matters...when there is no time to panic. You're the third strongest family for a fucking reason, you should start believing it." The unusual confidence makes him flush but it's really Lucifer's words that bring the tears, no longer from fear but slowly coming to the realization that Lucifer and Mammon too had faith in him...they always did.

"Do ya still wanna join the pact? If ya wanna think about it, ya still can Levi." He blinks at the fact that Mammon had really been silent this whole time and just hugging him, the second born now getting up to tighten the remaining bandages. "Did you think about it, Mammon?" Levi knew the answer in his gut, only the blind would question the unwavering devotion that Mammon and Lucifer had for each other, only further cemented as the Avatar of greed simply shakes his head. He feels a small smile form on his face, "Then I don't need to think about it...I want to do this."

By the next few hours, any of the remaining tension and somber feelings had slipped away, replaced by a calm atmosphere that usually would not last long in the House of Lamentation. The melody of the cursed record floated and hung in the air as Levi rested on the floor in his demon form, the pact officially made and learning about the secret doorway by Lucifer's bookcase, definitely locking that information into memory. He sees Mammon grinning above him, curiosity embedded in his features, "So where'd ya decide to put the pact mark?" Levi lifts his sweater, the symbol of the three still glow fresh on the side by his ribs, and Mammon hissing with empathy.

He wanted it to hurt weirdly enough, to serve as a forever reminder that this pain was temporary but the pain of losing his brothers would surely last till the end of time. Mammon shows the mark on his hand, Lucifer clicks his tongue in disapproval as someone might ask about the pact but the second brother waves his concern away. He enjoys looking at the pact, the constant reassurance that they would be okay when the word goes to absolute shit, and Lucifer couldn't find any argument against that. They both look at the eldest who crosses his arms with a sharp, "No-" before puppy eyes come into play and Lucifer's pride can not save him from that.

What they both don't expect is for Lucifer to turn around and spread his wings out as if to show off, but then they see it. The markings trailing up his spine and next to the scars of where his two wings used to be, Levi is the first to reach up and touch it, internally blaming the remnants of Lucifer's pride that is making him so bold. He sees his hand tremble but luckily he is able to hold his voice steady, "Just because we made this pact..doesn't mean you both get to just fuck up. Y-You both should always come home." Lucifer nods, Mammon kisses his cheek and Levi struggles to hide his tears.

When Levithan leaves the room while closing the door behind him, reality, as he knew it just a few hours ago, wasn't all that different and he can hear Asmo drunkenly cheering as Satan carries him through the door. "Hey, Levi! Don't hide in your room- you better come join us." He doesn't give his thoughts a chance, heading down the stairs with a small smile. The world hadn't changed, but Levi would be forever.

----------

AHHH THIS HAS BEEN SITTING THE DRAFTS FOREVER I'M SO GLAD I FINISHED IT. Please please let me know if I should make an explanation post of how the pacts would work (it will most likely be headcanons cause I don't know how they work in canon 😪😪)

either way, I really hope you enjoyed the fic as I did writing it! I'm still working on the next part for the Armageddon AU so bear with me 😭

[fkevin073]

okay for that mega list of writing asks ♡

I, P, Q, T and BF

thanks for the ask ♥️

I. Are there any stories you have been brainstorming but haven’t written yet?

omg well I have a few (lol what else is new am I right?) but these are the main ones for the nickxziggy little corner of our fandom:

the hades and persephone AU one shot, tentatively titled "you believe god is a woman"

I believe I talked to you about this one but I wanna write a one shot where nick visits ziggy right after killing Ryan and he's just searching for sympathy. (potential titles include did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? or I had a dream that you were mine)

part 3 of my priest nick universe. also the final part in that universe. (stuck between take me to church or I worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies for a title)

off in the very far horizon I do want to take a crack at one of the time loop AU's. preferably Nick in 1978, the one we talked about a while ago but idk (also if that's okay with you) (potential title includes you will find me, time after time - cheesy I know but it fits)

and also - and this is a very random thought I had recently - I was thinking of writing a brief flash forward/one shot/sequel to "this love is treacherous" from Rory's pov. idk about that one though. (tentatively titled (in my brain) on this harvest moon)

(edited) oh and another one shot for my five moments series where ziggy almost cracks and calls/contacts nick in the intervening 16 years. tentatively titled every time I don’t, I almost do

I plan on writing part 3 of priest nick and the hades&persephone au before catching up on my two wips for nick and ziggy bc I haven't updated them in so long and then maybe, maybe, I can work on the other ones. maybe. we shall see. I'm working a lot nowadays.

P: What draws you to a story idea? (Example: themes, a fun character, Aesthetic, etc.)

Good question! usually I'm really drawn to the idea of character arcs. like with 'this love is treacherous" or "and satan said". I just really like starting a character off somewhere and having them end in a really different spot. also themes too. aesthetic for the priest nick one lmao

Q: Do you write ideas down by hand, have computer/phone notes, or just hope you remember ideas? 

eh, mostly I just keep them in my brain. sometimes I discuss them with someone and that usually imprints them in my mind. often times I'll open a document and make a title and then write a little bit because usually I think of a scene/piece of dialogue or description first.

T: Have you done/would you do NaNoWriMo?

I haven't done NaNoWriMo. Idk if I could bc November tends to be a busy month for me with school. if it was a summer month, maybe? idk.

BF: What is one question you have always wished someone would ask about your story/writing/character? Answer that.

okay so a question that's been on my mind recently is if I regret any choice I made while writing and ngl, for a while I regretted Ziggy having a kid at the end of "this love is treacherous". Tbh I'm still a bit ambivalent about that decision now mainly because a) I don't want to make it seem like a woman has to have a kid in order to get themselves in line or something (kids shouldn't be used to fix ur problems or prevent addiction/depression) and b) Ziggy was in a really broken place after the end of the story. She's very strong don't get me wrong, but there's a part of me that wasn't entirely convinced she was ready to become a mom after losing Nick and his betrayal. And also I like the symbolism of her deciding to move on for herself/on her own and just kind of learn who she is again?

Lol I'm making it seem like I really hate the choice I made - I don't for the record, I've just dabbled a lot in unexpected pregnancies for nick x ziggy and in every one she's decided to keep it (which is a valid choice of course) but I think thematically for that story either one suited her.

thanks again for the ask!

[heybeybey]

Kismet

Braindumped this yesterday so now you have this fic.

Thanks to @sleeperswakewriting and @anya-grace. They didn't really push me to write this. It's more like 2 people liked the idea and I'm weak for Rivetra so here you go.

Still dedicating this to the two of you for supporting my need for lolo (grandpa) levi + roller skating petra!! 🖤🧡

Pairing: Rivetra | Levi x Petra

Genre: Fluffy romance!!! Tooth-rotting fluff so sweet that I'm gonna write heartbreaking angst next to balance things out.

Summary: The ginger-haired waitress skates over to him, her pink skirt a flurry behind her. She stops beside his table and gives him a disarming smile. "Welcome to Kismet Diner! What will you be having today, sir?"

Okay, so this diner wasn't a shitty choice after all.

Or: 50s Diner Waitress! Petra x Retired Soldier! Levi Modern AU

[Also, if you wanna listen to the songs Levi was forced to listen to in this fic, here's the playlist.]

--

Sweeter than candy on a stick Huckleberry, cherry or lime If you had a choice he'd be your pick But lollipop is mine

If he's going to listen to another most-likely-already-dead-woman belt out a cheery love song, Levi's sure he's going to finally pop a vein. He grumbles as the next track plays, grateful that this one is more on the mellow side so he can actually focus on his work.

Old school music on loop aside, Kismet Diner is actually pretty decent. They serve good food for an establishment that he thinks is trying way too hard to be a blast-from-the-past monstrosity.

Levi found the place by accident when he was out trying to find a place to work. He didn't feel like spending another evening inside his apartment and thought a change in scenery might help him decompress his mind.

Fucking codes just won't write itself, he thinks.

After wheeling himself around his new neighbourhood for a while, he found that this diner was the only thing open. Having no other choice, he found a spot for himself and settled in with his laptop.

He didn't expect that he'll be returning every night though.

(And that he'd be willing to listen to these cheesy retro love songs every time.)

From behind his laptop, he sneaks another glance at the bubbly server.

He distinctly remembers his first night here. A ginger-haired waitress skated over to him, her pink skirt a flurry behind her, as he settles in his chosen seat. She stopped beside his table and gave him a disarming smile. "Welcome to Kismet Diner! What will you be having today, sir?"

Okay, so this diner wasn't a shitty choice after all, he recalls thinking at that time.

It took him a moment or two to finally answer her and she diligently noted down his order. She flashed him one last smile after she promised that she'll bring his food over in five minutes.

He spent those five minutes feeling like a real creep because his eyes never left her.

It's been a few days since then and he watches her now as she picks up the leftovers from the table in front of his. She wishes a customer goodbye, and skates back to the counter.

"Petra! Think you can extend your shift a little bit? Rico called in sick," a voice from the counter calls out.

"Sure! Her shift's until 1 am right?" The ginger, Petra, replies.

And that's how Levi found himself staying at Kismet Diner until 1 am.

- - -

I laughed at love 'cause I thought it was funny You came along and you moved me honey I've changed my mind, this love is fine

"I think the customers like this song but I can't seem to place what the title is..." The rush hour has since lulled when Petra wonders out loud to the other waitress who's still in the kitchen.

He remembers this one. The older guys back in the military would belt it out when they're drunk as fuck on days when they're allowed to have a break. Frankly, it gave him a headache every time and he doesn't know how Erwin and all the other soldiers were able to take Pyxis seriously after his one-man concert.

He speaks up without thinking.

"Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis."

"Yes, that's the title!" Her eyes light up and she fully spins to face him. "You're into oldies music?"

Levi blinks, and for the first time in his life, he found his throat dry because she's finally talking to him fuck fuck fuck what will he say what was the question again.

"Uh... yeah, I guess?"

Wait, what?

She skates over to his table, a wide smile on her face. "That's so cool! I don't meet a lot of people my age who's still into the oldies. Even my dad teases me about it."

"Oh..."

"What's your name? I'm Petra, by the way. But I think you already know that," she grins sheepishly, pointing to her name plate. "I know I shouldn't really be talking to you but you're here every night so I thought it might be great to get to know our regular customers more."

He blinks up to her, trying to get a hold of himself before he fucks this up even more.

"Levi."

"Nice to meet you, Levi." She looks at her wristwatch and her surroundings, probably checking if there are more tables to cater to, before turning back to him. "My shift's over but I think you stay up late here, right? Mind if I sit with you? I haven't eaten dinner yet and I'd appreciate the company."

He gives her a shrug as his approval and she beams another smile before disappearing back to the kitchen. Petra comes back after a few minutes, still in her pink waitress uniform but without the cap and she also changed her skates to normal cream flats. She brought along a small bag and she unpacks it after sitting down at the chair in front of him.

What the hell is happening?

"Don't get me wrong. I love the food here but it's a bit overpriced if you ask me," she says as brings out her lunchbox. "Don't tell Nanaba that though."

"Wouldn't your boss fire you for randomly inviting yourself at a customer's table?"

"Nanaba? We go way back high school. She's the one who's pushing me to take breaks actually."

They sit in silence for awhile after that. Levi watches as she munches on her sandwich while he takes another sip of his coffee. Not knowing what to say, he just turns back to his laptop to type away. Petra, on the other hand, seems like a great conversationalist.

"So... what's your favorite?" She speaks up after having few bites into her dinner.

"Favorite?"

"Song? There's a lot of classics that deserve attention but I'm curious which one caught your attention."

Fuck.

His mind comes up blank until the image of his blonde best friend came to mind. Erwin knows about this old school shit. Not surprising because he's more ancient than Levi is.

What was that song Eyebrows belted out again when they went on that dreaded karaoke night? He recalls Erwin singing something after his cheating long-distance girlfriend finally broke up with him when they were allowed to call their loved ones.

"Mr. Lonely by Bobby Vinton stuck with me." He replies, again without thinking. She laughs out loud the moment the words were out his mouth and Levi frowns in indignation. "Oi, if you're going to laugh at my shitty taste in music then you can get your ass off my table."

"No, no." Petra wipes away a tear from her laughing. "I think it fits your grumpy 'get-off-my-lawn' grandpa vibe. What, someone broke your heart recently?"

"Grumpy grandpa?" Pretty smile and bubbly personality aside, he's starting to think this woman's a bit rude.

- - -

He's still back the next day though.

"Good evening, sir! Will you be having the usual?" Petra greets. He gives her a slight nod before wheeling himself to his spot. He watches as she flurries around during the dinner rush hour, skating from one table to another. She never loses her smile, even when one lady was being a bitch after Petra delivers the wrong milkshake.

Unlike the previous nights where he's content with just sneaking glances at the gorgeous waitress, Levi spends the next few hours gathering the courage to make a move.

Petra stayed in his table until closing time last night and he listened as she babbled on about all their menu offerings and how she likes creating the milkshakes and the coffee the best.

He'd like to think that they're somehow acquainted enough for him to maybe ask her out.

A look a-there, here she comes There comes that girl again Wanted to date her since I don't know when But she don't notice me when I pass

The booming music is only making him nervous, the cheesy lyrics is pissing him off and fuck, he really wants to punch the music player off right now.

Once Petra finally skates over to him though, setting down his usual black coffee and clubhouse sandwich, he takes his chance.

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Sir?" She blinks at him and he almost melts as he stares at her huge amber eyes.

"Uhm... you mentioned that you have Fridays off," he starts. "There's this fair that will be opening tomorrow night and I thought you might be into that. First day's the best time to go too while the crowd hasn't shit on the place yet."

The more he hears his words, the more he wants to kick himself with his still working leg.

He notices that a faint blush started to color her cheeks, eyes shifting down before she gives him a shy smile.

"I'd love to go with you, Levi."

- - -

"Wow, you..."

"Were able to hit them all?" He gears up to shoot the last can. "I was in the military."

"No wonder you have that cool scar!"

His eyes darkens a little bit at that, mind taking him back to the career-ending moment that led to where he is now.

Petra seems to notice his reaction. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine. It's been almost a year." He cuts her off. This day's supposed to be fun and he's not allowing his PTSD to take over his chances of charming a girl (which was already low at his current state, he thinks).

"That's amazing, son!" The guy manning the booth approaches him. "Feel free to pick any prize for the lady."

Petra looks down to him for approval, asking if she can pick a prize or if he'd rather pick one since it was him who won after all. He gives her a small smile, gesturing towards the display of prizes.

He watches as Petra buzzes around in excitement, deciding on whether she should get the elephant plushie or this creepy clown plushie that caught her attention for some godforsaken reason. (He pushes her to get the elephant one instead.)

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day When it's cold outside I've got the month of May I guess you'd say What can make me feel this way

"Vanilla is still the best."

"You're boring," she retorts. "How can you only try mint chocolate just once in your life? You get refreshing and sweet dark chocolate at the same time. It's the best combination out there!"

"Yeah, if you like eating your toothpaste," he retorts back.

"Come on, just give it a chance?"

They're settled on a bench right now, his wheelchair parked next to the seat. They take this opportunity to have a conversation while they finish their ice cream.

He learns that she's currently finishing up a nursing degree and that she's working part-time at Kismet Diner to fund her studies. She has an obsession with mint chocolate ice cream, and that she truly loves skating outside of work because she also does roller derby on the weekends (with her boss Nanaba and another girl named Nifa). She's an only child and her dad currently lives in the countryside.

Levi tells her a little bit about himself too and he's glad that she respects his reserved nature. He doesn't tell her about his time in the military, only that he used to be a captain for a few years before he left. He also shared that he used to pursue a degree in Computer Science before dropping out halfway through to join the military. Since he left, his unfinished degree has been useful since he was able to find consistent freelance opportunities as a web developer.

That seems like the perfect job for someone who's anti-social as you, she notes and he gives her an unamused look.

He also finds out that he's actually ten years older than her, and he feels even more like an old man at that moment.

"Hey, I like your grumpy grandpa vibe," she teases him.

"You'd get along with Gabi and Falco."

"Who? Are they your kids?" Her eyes lights up when she takes note of his fond tone before it starts to narrow in suspicion. "You're not married are you?"

"What? Hell no. My hair would probably be gray now if they were." He says. "They're my neighbours. Both... what? 13 I think? They wouldn't stop pestering me since I moved into the complex a few months ago. Those two brats also won't stop calling me grandpa. Do I really look that old?"

"I'd say it's because of the wheelchair but it's actually your scowl that completes the look," she replies with a cheeky smile.

When they're done with their ice cream, Petra rolls him around while he holds on to her big-ass elephant plushie for her. He'd know she's excited about a booth in particular when he feels his wheelchair move faster towards their destination.

Throughout the night, she won them a bag of lollipops once and Petra insists he takes them home to Gabi and Falco. He, on the other hand, was surprised that his military background would be useful for something as useless as carnival games. His fast reflexes and sharp eye bagged them a few more wins, with the last game earning them a free popcorn.

- - -

Before they capped off the night, Petra (the retro lover that she is) led him to a nearby jazz club that she visited once. She insisted that it's on the way home so why not drop by? The atmosphere is more chill than Levi expected so at least he didn't have to listen to another upbeat bubblegum retro track.

"Come dance with me?" She says after a moment of watching the couples on the small dance floor.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a wheelchair for a reason."

"We can work around it." Ever the optimist, she leans down to try and help him stand up. "Lean yourself on me. I'll support you throughout."

Levi obliges, placing all of his weight on his working left leg while trusting the rest to Petra. He has his arms around and he tries to start moving with her.

He almost slips as he takes another step and in frustration, he attempts to sit down instead. "It's no use Petra-"

Petra's hold on him tightened. "Just trust me a little more Levi."

He sighs, attempting to stand again. They do find the right balance and rhythm on the second try and Levi breathes out in relief.

Soon, they're swaying to the music and Levi couldn't remember the last time he was upright like this, except for when he has to drag himself around with his crutch in the mornings.

Put your lips next to mine, dear Won't you kiss me once, baby? Just a kiss goodnight, maybe You and I will fall in love

"Petra?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not really into oldies music."

"I know. I realized that when you only kept mentioning the famous hits."

"Huh."

"I actually cringed when you said you liked Mr. Lonely."

"Shut up." She giggles at that and they finally sway in companionable silence, taking in the slow beat.

When the music stops, Petra reaches up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. He feels his face warm up, throat bobbing as he stares dumbly at her.

"Thanks for tonight, Levi." - - -

Levi goes back to Kismet Diner the next day, and the day after that. He's there every night and she's always the one who takes and serves his order.

He'd accompany her as she eats her late-night dinner on his table and he sometimes brings her some cookies he baked that morning. Nanaba would throw Petra a smirk here and there whenever she serves his table or when Petra clocks off to have dinner with him.

"Your captain's here," he once heard the taller woman whisper to Petra once the door closes to signal his entrance.

Levi would order the same black coffee and clubhouse combination that Petra eventually offered him to try other things on the menu. "Come on, it's on the house! Why can't you just try other options?"

Love me tender, love me sweet Never let me go You have made my life complete And I love you so

One morning three months into getting to know each other, Levi wakes up feeling contentment wash over him when he smells that she's brewing his usual order from his own apartment kitchen.

Petra enters his room beaming a few minutes later, black coffee and a plate of pancakes in each hand. He distinctly notes that she's playing her retro love songs on loud speaker again and he's long since given up on stopping her.

She leans down to place his breakfast on the side table and she starts peppering kisses from his scarred cheek up to the affected blind eye.

"Good morning Levi!" He wholeheartedly accepts both the breakfast and the kisses, hooking his arm around her waist and cuddling closer to her as he sits up in bed.

He takes her in and finds that he slightly misses the pink uniform and roller skates she dons while she serves him at the diner... but he won't deny that he definitely prefers seeing her draped in nothing but his slightly oversized white shirt instead. "Morning."

🧡🧡🧡🧡 ehehe send fic requests here if you'd like

[jaembby]

Lesson learned

pairing: nct dream x f reader

genre: fluff, angst (kinda but not really- its basically y/n having a breakdown that’s it), somewhat a roommates au

word count: 1.8k

requested: yes! request:  scenario where they try to prank you ignoring you like they're upset, but you had a really bad day and just breaks down in front of them (nct dream)

warnings: there’s really none unless you count possible grammar mistakes and shitty writing. also I only got to proof reading the first part so the second half probably has some mistakes but let’s just ignore them for now :)

a/n: thank you again for the request @nctvroomts! if anyone wants to request anything, send it in!

also, I hit 60 followers while writing this!! (i’m at 63 now) Thank you all so much!! I can’t believe there are actually over 60 people who read my writing y’all i- <3 <3 <3

preview:

You couldn’t take it anymore and let a small salty tear slide down your cheek as you turned and ran to your room.

Sneaky smiles quickly turned to looks of instant regret as the boys realized; they’d messed up.

-----

The second you entered into your shared flat, you knew something wasn’t right.

There are four of you who live in the flat but it feels more like eight. Jaemin, Jeno and Renjun lived with you but their friend group - who you had now become a part of - called “the dreamies” were always over. Your home was like a second home to Mark, Haechan, Chenle and Jisung aka the other half of the dreamies.

Every single day, without fail, you would come home to the group of overly affectionate boys bombarding you with hugs and questions about your day and stories about theirs. Today, however, was different.

You walked into the door only to be greeted with silence. Most of the boys were sitting and playing video games on the couches of your shared living room while Jaemin and Jeno were taking fresh muffins out of the oven for everyone. Not a single head had turned your way upon your arrival. Not a single greeting of “hi” or “how was your day?”. Not one person moved from where they were stationed nor paid any attention to you whatsoever. Did you do something? Do they suddenly not like you?

“Hello? Are any of you alive?” you called out but didn’t get a response.

You weren’t in the mood for this shit today. You’d had an argument with a co-worker which ended up with nearly everyone in the workplace turning against you for absolutely no reason then received hateful messages because of false rumours spread about you. Because of this, your boss had even threatened that “you’ll be fired if this rubbish continues” and “we can’t have someone like you causing trouble among our staff and bringing the company’s reputation down”! It wasn’t even your fault! But of course, no one listened to you.

“Did I do something? Am I a ghost?” you asked the boys but, once again, received no response. You looked over to where the dreamies sat on the couches eating their muffins which just so happened to be your favourite flavour. It also just so happened that there were none made for you.

“Hello? Please don’t ignore me, guys,” you said as you set your things down on a table, trying not to let them get the better of you.

You looked forward to coming home to the dreamies because they’re your best friends! They always managed to make you feel better and today, you really needed it.

“Did you guys hear anything?” Haechan asked the rest of the group. They all responded with a chorus of no’s and nope’s and that’s when you let go.

Well done. Whatever you boys hoped to achieve, I hope you’re happy, you thought as you felt isolated and alone. The day that you thought couldn’t have gotten any worse just did and it was too much for you.

You couldn’t take it anymore and let a small salty tear slide down your cheek as you turned and ran to your room.

Sneaky smiles quickly turned to looks of instant regret as the boys realized; they’d messed up.

You didn’t spare a glance back at the group of 7 boys downstairs as you slammed the door and flopped onto your bed before letting the tears fall. All of the pent-up anger, frustration and sadness from today’s events came crashing down like a tidal wave as you struggled to control your breathing.

Downstairs, the guys had started to panic.

“Haechan, this is all your fault for suggesting to prank y/n!” Renjun shouted.

“Me? You all agreed to it!” Haechan replied.

Soon enough, almost all of the dreamies were arguing over whose fault it was, a series of “you did this” and “you said that” was all that could be heard with each boy trying to get his say.

“Shut up! All of you!” Mark yelled, bringing an abrupt halt to the arguments.

“Thank you. Now, stop blaming each other. We all agreed to prank y/n and all came up with the plan together. Obviously, we’ve upset her because we’re all stupid and selfish so now we’ve got to work out how to fix this mess.”

“This is why Mark is our unofficial leader,” Haechan stated as Mark blushed. “now does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this mess that we all made?” He continued.

“Jeno and I made extra muffins that we were going to give to y/n after,” Jaemin said in a small voice.

“I feel so bad,” Jisung said as he suddenly found the ground very interesting.

“Me too”

“Me three”

“Same”

“I think we all do”

“Yeah”

“Yep”

“Alright, here’s the plan...” Mark said as he revealed what the group of boys were to do in order to apologize and fix their mistakes.

7 out of the 8 dreamies (you being the odd one out) were sitting in a circle and thinking of ways to make you feel better.

“I can go talk to her... see how she is?” Jisung suggested.

“That’s probably a good idea, ‘sungie, seeing as she doesn’t often get mad at you. While Jisung’s up there, Jaemin and Jeno, I want you guys to get the rest of the muffins out and put them on a plate and 9 glasses and a bottle of y/n’s favourite juice. Renjun and Haechan, help me set up a pillow fort and Chenle, pick out a few movies that y/n might like. Is everyone okay with that?” Mark said, his authoritative side showing once again. When everyone nodded in response, it was time to start.

Jisung walked quietly up the stairs towards your room but stopped a few feet away when he heard your uneven breathing and quiet sniffles being muffled by pillows. He quickly made a detour to the bathroom where he got a glass of water for you and a box of tissues and set out for your room once more.

“y/n?” Jisung asked hesitantly.

“what do you want?” You questioned, angry that the dreamies were ignoring you up until now.

“It’s Jisung, can I come in?”

“Oh, come in ‘sung.”

Jisung made his way into your room and sat down at the edge of your bed before pulling you into a gentle hug. For a while, it was just the two of you in comfortable silence. No words needing to be shared as Jisung let you cry onto his shoulder as he gently stroked your hair. When your breathing had returned to a somewhat normal pace with only small hiccups here and there, Jisung passed you a tissue.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, the gentle sound muffled by his face in your hair.

“Not only me... the rest of us. Y/n, we’re really sorry,” He said as he tightened his grip on you before pulling away to help you wipe some of the tears from your cheeks.

“I’m sorry too. I guess I overreacted. It’s not all your fault... I’ve just had a pretty rough day with work and coming home to my best friends acting like I wasn’t there was not the best end to it” you smiled slightly as you reached a hand up to play with Jisung’s hair. He always managed to calm you down. No matter what happened between you and the others, Jisung was always the one to not get involved.

“Y/n I’m so sorry, we didn’t know. It was just meant to be a prank but we took it too far.”

“It’s okay, ‘sungie. I’m fine now.” You gave him a reassuring smile as you pulled your hands away from his hair which was now slightly messier than it had been before.

“Do you wanna go downstairs? Let’s get you cleaned up a bit and head down because the others want to apologise, too.” Jisung said as he led you to your ensuite bathroom and gently took your hair out of it’s ponytail as you washed off your (now messed up) makeup. Soon enough, you had washed off the makeup, the red stains in your eyes from crying had reduced and you’d changed into comfier clothes as you headed downstairs with Jisung to meet the remaining 6 boys.

As soon as you’d got downstairs, Mark smothered you in a too-tight hug.

“Jisung probably already told you this but we’re so sorry. We really are, y/n. It was meant to be a stupid prank but we never intended to hurt your feelings. We’re really sorry.” He said as he pulled back and grabbed your hand, leading you towards the mess of pillows and blankets that the boys had turned into a fort big enough to comfortably fit all 8 of you.

You’d just sat down on one of the pillows when suddenly a tray of muffins was placed in front of you by a pouty Jaemin and Jeno.

“Sorry.” they both said as they took turns in giving you hugs.

Renjun, Haechan and Chenle followed after Jaemin and Jeno, apologizing and giving you tight comforting hugs.

After hugs and muffins being shared amongst you all, everyone had gotten into more comfortable positions in the pillow fort, ready to watch movies.

“Y/n, pick a movie,” Chenle said as he passed the remote in your direction from where he was seated next to Jisung. Haechan, who was to the left of you, grabbed it and gave it to you before resting his head gently on your shoulder and snuggling closer to you.

“Hyuck, stop moving. You nearly kicked over our cups.” Mark said as he reached down to move the half-empty cups away from the potentially dangerous area.

“Noo- the cups will be fine, Mark.” Haechan retorted tiredly and you laughed quietly at their banter.

The movie began and Jaemin, who was to your right, looped his arm with yours as he rested his head on your free shoulder.

Renjun leaned on Jeno, who leaned on Jaemin, who cuddled your right side while Mark was resting the weight of his head on Haechan’s lap and Chenle and Jisung were sat in front of the rest of you, side by side, leaning on each other and occasionally commenting on the movie to one another which would earn a playful slap from the other.

Things were peaceful (well, as peaceful as you can get with the dreamies) and all was well. You’d forgiven the boys and they’d learned not to pull dumb pranks in the future. Now here you all sat, the eight of you content and comfortable.

It was quiet apart from the movie playing in the background...too quiet.

Suddenly, the blanket that acted as the roof of the den fell down, along with two of the chairs holding them up, causing you all to laugh as Jaemin and Jisung screamed quietly, having been woken from their half-asleep state.

“Maybe someone else can be in charge of building the den next time,” Jisung mumbled grumpily as he lay on Chenle in an attempt to get comfortable once again.

“Hey!” Chenle said in an offended tone (though you all knew he was faking) and lightly hit Jisung in the arm which caused the rest of you to go into another laughing fit.

The group of overly affectionate boys had once again managed to make you smile and laugh again, despite everything that happened today.

Lesson learned: don’t prank y/n like that! 

-----

a/n: thank you for reading! I know this was very basic and boring with the shittiest plot but writer’s block doesn’t help when you’re trying to write a request nshdkj anyways not @ me trying to subtly put chenji markhyuck and norenmin in there i’m sorry if there’s mistakes I literally wrote majority of this at like 2am on multiple days so yeah. anyways i’m going to shut up now- thanks for reading and please continue sending in requests!! i’m so sorry @nctvrooms that this took so long to write I kinda forgot about it for like two weeks oops.

[spaceskam]

for @maltrie21 who asked for 21 for tarlos

tags: high school au, underage drinking

21. close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams [ao3]

Carlos was wasted.

TK laughed and kept him steady as he led him out the front door of the party and very slowly to his car. Carlos stumbled and giggled and made sure to tell TK he was pretty at least twice one the walk there. For Carlos’ sake, TK would keep all that to himself, though he would enjoy every moment of it.

“Hold on,” TK said, holding him by the belt loop as he opened the passenger side door and carefully pushed his head down so he wouldn’t hit it as he climbed in. He took a breather once Carlos was safely in the seat.

For all intents and purposes, TK was still the new kid. He’d only been in Austin for two months and he still had yet to make friends. Not for lack of anyone trying, but he had made sure to make a bad impression. He was stubborn and a little annoying and loud. 

But then there was Carlos.

He was quite sure Carlos hated his guts at one point. He was loud and brash and Carlos was quiet and smart‒there was an obvious clash of personalities there. But TK couldn’t let it go, couldn’t stop staring, couldn’t stop wanting him to just look at him. It was so stupid but TK had seen him smile once and that was it for him.

Carlos had been a bit tougher to crack.

After a solid month of slowly pestering him in any way he knew how to just get him to pay attention, TK actually got him to be his partner for a stupid science project. Something about studying mold on different types of bread. TK very pointedly offered to write the essay so Carlos would lean over his shoulder when he typed.

That has made it grow from a little casual infatuation into a full blown crush. He liked the way Carlos smiled, the way he was driven, the way he had ambitions, the way he laughed, the way he looked at TK like he hated him and yet couldn’t look away all at once. It was intoxicating and TK hardly knew what to do with himself.

After their project was done, TK needed an excuse to hang out with him again and it just so happened to be the weekend of some party who talked to TK during math occasionally. He’d invited Carlos and he’d said yes and it sounded like a good idea. That being said, Carlos had very clearly not enjoyed the experience. Well, he hadn’t enjoyed it up to the point he got his hand on alcohol so that he could enjoy it. Carlos had the unforeseen consequence of being a total fucking lightweight, however, and now TK was thankful he hadn’t drank too much.

“TK,” Carlos said as he climbed into the driver’s side.

“Yes, your highness?” TK teased. Carlos smiled that pretty smile, the one that made it impossible to believe that the guy didn’t have a billion guys and girls alike fawning over him. How did they not swoon in the hallways?

“Are you taking me home now?” he asked.

“Yeah, that was the plan.”

“Can we… not take me home?” Carlos wondered. TK’s eyebrows pulled together and he couldn’t help but smile at this very, very light mischievous streak.

“Depends. Where would you like to go?” TK wondered, leaning into the center console. Carlos was already leaning in and it brought them nearly nose to nose. It was much closer than when he’d looked over his shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Carlos said, “Somewhere not home. I wanna hang out with you.”

“We’ve hung out all night, you’re not tired?” TK laughed. Truly, he would’ve loved to hang out with him longer. However, it did objectively sound like a bad idea while he was drunk. He should just take him home.

“Nooo, I’m definitely not tired, I’m fine,” Carlos insisted. TK huffed a laugh and scanned his eyes over him. He was gorgeous. It was extremely unfair.

“Okay. I know a place.”

“Cool. Let’s go.”

TK didn’t actually know a definitive place, but he figured if he drove around long enough, Carlos would start to tire out and want to go home. As much as he wanted to be around him he didn’t feel like pushing too many boundaries by being too close while he was drunk. He still wasn’t entirely sure on how Carlos felt about him. As much as he wanted it to be a romantic thing, he wasn’t sure yet.

“TK, can you drive with one hand?” Carlos asked. TK peaked over at him, smiling softly. He was so ridiculously adorable. 

“Yeah. Why? You want my hand for something?” TK wondered, teasing just enough to get out a soft hum of amusement. He heard Carlos shifting and that was when he decided maybe he should park. You know, just to see how cute he looked.

“Maybe,” Carlos said, “Can I see it?”

“Yeah, just be careful. Don’t want it flying out the window or anything, you’ll have to be the one to go and find it,” TK said, holding out his right hand. He didn’t have to be looking at him to know he rolled his eyes.

“You’re so…” Carlos said, trailing off as he slowly traced over TK’s fingers. He slotted his fingers in with his after a moment. TK took a deep breath and tried to have completely normal feelings about that.

His new persona at school was that he was a bad boy. That was the goal he set when he moved here, that’s who he decided he was going to be. Bad boys don’t get flustered when someone holds their hand.

But Carlos’ hand was so warm.

“I’m so what?” TK asked.

Carlos took a deep breath. “You’re so much. ”

And that was very much not what TK wanted to hear. Still, he managed not to pull his hand away and waited for some sort of elaboration.

“You just come to my school and mess everything up. I’m not supposed to date anyone until I graduate. That’s the plan. That’s seven months away. But, here you are, loud and cute and flirtatious and,” Carlos paused, circling his fingertips around TK’s knuckles, “And I kinda wanna risk it all.”

“Would it really be a risk?” TK asked, keeping his voice slow and controlled. He never wanted to be the reason anyone felt the need to go out of their comfort zone. He didn’t want to actually mess anything up for him.

“No. Maybe. I don’t know,” Carlos said, “I don’t know. I’m hoping it won't be, but I don’t know.”

“I mean, you don’t have to come out to anyone really. I’m interested in you regardless and it’s no one’s business what we do,” TK said, admitting it out loud because apparently they were talking about that.

He pulled into the parking lot of a playground, parking his car and looking at Carlos. He was looking at the moon.

“You’re interested in me?” Carlos asked, slowly looking at him. His eyes were tired and unfocused and they really should be having this conversation when he was sober.

“I’m very, very interested in you,” TK smiled, reaching out with his free hand to poke his cheek. Carlos rolled his eyes but his smile took over his face. It was such a good smile. “What’s not to like?”

“A lot, probably. You’re cool,” Carlos said, pouting slightly. TK was absolutely endeared.

“I’m really not that cool,” he insisted. Carlos scrunched up his nose and shook his head.

“I don’t even care about coming out, I just need to focus on school. I-I need to go to college and do things. Important things,” Carlos said, insistent and vague and fumbling a little over his words. TK took a deep breath.

“What if… we talked about this when you’re not drunk?” TK suggested.

“I’m not drunk!”

“Mhm, okay.”

“Ugh,” Carlos sighed, sinking into his seat and looking back towards the moon. He was pouting and adorable and TK was infatuated even more. “Okay, fine, we’ll talk when you’re not drunk.”

TK laughed, “I’m not drunk.”

“That’s what they all say,” Carlos insisted. TK grinned so wide it almost hurt and he wanted to kiss him more than he had anyone probably ever. But he was drunk and that wasn’t how he wanted his first kiss with him to go. He wanted sparks and he wanted Carlos to remember.

“Let’s take you home, okay?”

“Okay.”

TK let him keep his hand as he backed up and headed towards the exit. He was more than a little excited about this whole thing and he most likely wasn’t going to get any sleep, but that was fine. Carlos liked him. Liked him enough to want to break the dumb rules he set for himself.

The ride to Carlos’ house was short, but he stopped on the way to get him some water and urged him to drink it before he went inside. TK still got out and helped him to the door just in case.

“Are your parents going to be pissed?” TK asked. Carlos took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes with his fists because he was adorable like that.

“I think it’ll be okay. They should be asleep,” Carlos said, “And maybe they’ll be happy that I actually did something for once.”’

“Okay,” TK laughed, still keeping his hand on his waist to steady him as Carlos reached into his pocket for his keys. He moved slow to keep his hand steady, though he still missed the lock about five times before he actually got it. “Are you gonna be able to make it to your room?”

“Yeah. Thank you,” Carlos said, twisting the doorknob

“Thank you for coming out with me.”

Carlos smiled sweetly at him before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

“I wanted to. Goodnight, TK.”

“Goodnight.”

TK stood on the front porch for a long time just smiling dumbstruck before he was able to convince himself to go to his car.

[ziracona]

It’s my Birthday today and I wanted to start it off with updating a fic I’m enjoying writing. Hope you enjoy the read. : )

[Fate Grand Order AU fic] The Kid (pt: 1, ... 8, 9, 10, 11, ?)

----

“Okay so, sorry, I’m still doing a little catch-up,” mutters Robin as we reach another corner and pause. Ahead, Emiya holds up a hand for us to halt and we do.

“Robin, do you have the mana for May King?” I hear Emiya’s voice in my head. Which, I appreciate being looped in on. Kind of thought he was going to be more of a pain to work with just because he could be, but he’s surprisingly practical and easy to work with for the uncooperative introduction we have. He seems real familiar with Robin’s abilities; gotta wonder where and when exactly they did meet—'specially since Robin barely seems to remember him at all.

Unlike me, poor Ritsuka looks like the frequent mental chatter is still something she’s trying to get used to; zones out a little every time someone communicates this way. I get it—took me a while to not be weirded out myself my first time summoned, and that was with the ability coming naturally, since I was a spirit.

“Hold that thought,” whispers Robin to me, then mentally to us all, “Yeah, a few times if it’s short. This important?”

“It’s not a difficult hall,” replies Emiya mentally, “But there’s too many people interacting with their security measures, and we haven’t gotten enough of us free yet. If we can’t disarm the magecraft security system and their personnel at once, someone might stay up just long enough to hit an alarm, and I’d prefer we free as many of us as possible before they figure out what we’re up to, since-“ He almost hesitates, glancing at Ritsuka for a split second, but he doesn’t. “-they might just start to kill them.”

Makes sense. I know it. They have catalysts to get us all back, and we have no idea where those are. I hate it, but he’s right—they’d definitely do it. Pretty sure I see Ritsuka connecting the same dots.

“Roger. I’ll move ahead into position,” says Robin mentally, cracking his neck as he moves up, “Give me about six seconds to find a good vantage point, then I’ll go as soon as I sense mana from you going after the security system.”

“Can we help?” asks Ritsuka worriedly in my head.

“If something goes wrong,” replies Robin telepathically, “Hopefully we won’t need it.” He stands then. “Sorry Mast—Ritsuka. I’m going to take a little bit out of you with this, but it’s only a skill, utilized this way, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” At my side, Robin glances down and gives a nod, then vanishes—not to spirit form, just flat out invisible. God it’s so cool! It always has been. Wish I could vanish like that; be useful as hell when dodging pursuers or trying to get an edge! Wish it was a thing he could teach me, but it don’t work like that—it’s a skill earned in life, and it’s all the thief of the forest’s.

Ahead, Ritsuka’s eyes widen as she watches him vanish, but she follows where I think he might be—she’s connected more than we are to each other, so she probably has a better idea than I do. Honest, it’s weird to have a guess where he is at all; I...don’t think I’ve ever been co-servant to someone before. It’s different, but, I like it. I like having a team. I mean, I’ve had allies before, but this ain’t the same. I can sense Robin a little myself like this, but I gotta wonder just how different it feels to be a master.

Emiya places his hand against the wall and whispers somethin’, and I feel a pulse of mana from him and hear the sudden ‘flishk’ of drawn bow strings releasing and movement, plus one choked, barely audible cry, then several quiet thuds all in rapid succession.

“Clear,” comes Robin’s voice in our heads.

Emiya smiles and steps out, Ritsuka and me behind him, and Robin materializes ahead of us between five guards sprawled unconscious along the ground. Kinda amazed how well we’re doing so far—damn it I’m gonna jinx us, but still! Non-lethal is way harder, and we’re still doing ok.

Looking amazed by the scene, Ritsuka rushes up to Robin. “Wow, that was incredible!” she whispers excitedly, “How do you do that?  —How did you know he could do that?” she adds, turning big eyed to Emiya.

Robin and Emiya share a glance, slightly awkward. Huh, don’t seem like Emiya knows him too well, from the way he’s lookin’ at him; which makes it weirder he knows so much about his skills. Maybe…they fought? They don’t seem hostile to each other at all, but somethin’ like a Holy Grail War, where mages force you to kill each other, God knows I’ve fought my share of people I had no desire to kill and who really had no desire to kill me either. I could see it bein’ somethin’ like that. …Maybe?

“It’s uh, an inherited custom from the Celts,” says Robin, “I picked up some tricks, when I was on the run so much, and I guess it was pretty good, because as a servant, it lets me do that.”

Ritsuka looks at Emiya for his half of an answer.

“...We’ve met,” offers Emiya vaguely.

“Oh,” says Ritsuka in surprise, “So. You and Billy and Robin-?”

“—No, we never met,” I interject, gesturing between me and Emiya.

“Okay, so, different times?” checks Ritsuka, “When-”

“-I don’t mean to be rude,” says Emiya gently, “But we don’t really have time to discuss this.” He gestures to the waiting door and Ritsuka flushes.

“R-right—I’m sorry—it’s just interesting how you all meet and I want to know more—“

“-Hey, don’t worry kid,” says Robin, clapping her on the back, “I’ll tell you anything you want to know later. To answer your question,” he adds casually, moving to the door and drawing back a leg to kick, “I’m not sure about him, but I don’t remember.” With one solid slam from his foot, Robin snaps through the remaining physical lock on the door so it slides open, and in the one second before I’m distracted by what’s inside, I notice Emiya raise an eyebrow. Huh. So you do remember.

I get a glimpse into the room ahead then, and every thought goes out of my head. Except ‘The...hell?’

It’s different. It’s so different. I know it’s only been me and Robin so far, but it’s not the death bed with a withered corpse I expected at all. The spirit in this room is very much alive, and it is furious.

The cell is circular, with more seals carved into and drawn on the floor and walls and ceiling than I can process, and the spirit is dead center of them all, with heavy, bulky, painful looking restraints locked around his feet and forearms, another thick band around his waist and more on his thighs, his neck, his upper arms, each attached to a different heavy chain drawn taut, tugging in opposite directions of each other and making it as close as it can to impossible for him to move at all. He’s got a blindfold on too, also metal and painful looking, and a gag, but he’s not kneeling under the weight of it all like I was, or immobile and weak like Robin; he’s thrashing madly with the tiny, limited movement he has. His head snaps in our direction when we enter, and I hear his muffled, angry shouts even from here. He’s choking himself and ripping at the skin on his arms and legs and neck, but still, he’s fighting—and wildly. In fact, I’m pretty sure the seals around the room are the only thing keeping him captive at all.

It hurts to watch, seeing one of us rip blindly at his restraints, trying to break free like a dog being forced into in a fighting ring. But, I’m also impressed. Astounded. He doesn’t seem scared at all, just angry, and there’s something reassuring about it. ‘Specially since he’s short too.

“Huh,” says Emiya, the same look on his face I figure is on mine, and is definitely on Ritsuka. She snaps out of it first though, and starts to rush toward the blinded spirit, then hesitates because we’ve all balked too.

“...Can’t one of you break the locks? Like for Robin?” asks Ritsuka worriedly, half-turning to face us.

“Probably, but we don’t know what happens if we step in the circle,” explains Emiya, indicating the etchings above, below, and all around us.

“Yeah, I don’t speak mage runes, but I’m pretty sure that says some version of ‘if you’re a heroic spirit, get fucked,‘ ’cause I can feel that from here. —I got you though,” I add quickly, “move a little left and I’ll shoot one from here.” Thank God for long ranged skills! Both of the others seem chagrined I’m the first to think of this; can’t decide if I should be proud, or insulted by that.

Ritsuka hops to the side, and I aim, but I hesitate again with my gun drawn. The man in front of me is blinded and I don’t think he can hear well, because he ain’t reacted to anything we’ve said—only our presence—and he’s flipped out. If I free him, he might lash out, and Ritsuka is closer than we are. I’d rush in, of course, but I have no idea if stepping in that circle would paralyze me.

“Hey Boss—Partner?” I correct, lowering my gun just a little, “I don’t think he can hear well with that thing on his head. He’s panicked and angry—might be a bad idea to cut him loose without explaining who we are. Even if he don’t attack us, he’s probably gonna make a lot of noise, and we don’t need that.”

“Oh,” says Ritsuka, looking from him to me. Ahead, the spirit lunges in our direction with a fury I understand and makes me pretty sure I’m right that he has no idea who we are.

“Think you can calm him down? I could shout from here, but we don’t wanna he heard, and you probably got a better shot anyway. Not sure how much he can hear, but he’s gotta be able to hear a little, since he seems to know where we are without his eyes. Try talking to him—let him know we’re here to help ‘fore I break him free?” I suggest.

“Uhm,” she says, looking from him to me, “I’ll try.”

I feel bad immediately, seeing the moment of fear in her before she moves forward, so I take another step, close as I can get without hitting the circle, and call after her, “Don’t worry! Promise; he makes a move to hurt you, I’ll stop him before he even gets close; easy shot from here, ‘n I’m a crack shot—I won’t miss. ‘N don’t worry—won’t hurt him too much, either,” I add with a wink.

She glances back and smiles at me, worry mostly evaporated, and I grin back.

“Okay,” she whispers to herself, and then she turns to the bound figure up ahead.

He hears her coming, and there’s a muffled scream of rage from him as he tears at the chains holding him back. We’re not any of us an easy thing to contain, and I can sense how much he knows it, how furious and how ready to make whoever did this pay.

Beside me, I sense movement and out of the corner of my eyes, and I make out Robin and Emiya both moving, Emiya first, materializing a bow and readying a shot like I am, Robin doing the same with an arrow on his crossbow, but pivoting to keep an eye behind us, on the hall. Bases covered.

Carefully, Ritsuka takes another step, edging closer. About fifteen feet from him now in the big room. He definitely knows where she is—even blindfolded, his head moves with her and he thrashes in her direction as threateningly as he can like he is. The restraints on his legs and arms are bulky, so I can’t see his hands or feet, but the places they end on his forearms and calves are bleeding from his attempts to rip free.

“I-it’s okay,” says Ritsuka, taking another careful step over one of the taut chains, and putting her hands up calming and nonthreateningly as she proceeds moving closer. He can’t see her, but of course she still is. “It’s alright. We a-”

The spirit uses his neck to rip the chain around it back with all his might, and I realize almost too late it’s the one she’s just now carefully stepping over.

I can’t think of a way to stop it long-distance, so I bolt. The second my foot goes over the first seal though, I feel an intense amount of mana hit me, and I knew it was coming, but it’s SO much worse than I expect, and I can’t move. It’s so much. It’s agonizing, like being hit with a bolt of lightning! The hell kind of seal-! Fuck! I—can move, damn it! I will!

I can! I can. I just... It takes immense effort, but I feel my muscles starting to move. I’m gonna be way too late—I should— 

Arm throbbing with pain, I drag my hand up to level a shot as the chain snaps into her leg and she yelps and pivots forward. If he has a real plan and some way to grab her, least I can shoot him first, but something closes around the back of my vest and I’m flung backwards with force onto the safe ground outside.

“Idiot!” calls Emiya irritated over his shoulder, “You don’t have the magic resistance of an Archer! Stay out there!”

He’s...right, but. Even Robin and he shouldn’t...?

How is he doing that?

It’s been less than two seconds and he’s already there. He barely even lost steam throwing me. I-I am watching him shoot to her side with such speed I could almost swear he teleported, through a bounded field. He catches Ritsuka like it’s nothing while she’s still in the air, and rights her as she yelps in surprise, then jumps and flings himself back out of range of the circle, landing just outside it far on the right side with a little wince and a grimace. I gape at him from on the ground. It did hurt then, doing that. The field—It did hit him. He just...got through? The hell kind of magic resistance you got? I know Archer’s a knight class and that gets you some, but...

This is something else. I don’t know what. I-I didn’t think any of us could move in there, once I felt it; that can’t just be magic resistance can it? But it’s something. I want to ask, but I know it’s not the time. He glances at me though, after making sure Ritsuka is fine and giving her a nod when she checks over his should to see if everything is okay and she should keep going, and I realize to my surprise I’m pretty sure he’s doing the same with me—checking in to see I’m okay. I manage a nod as well.

“You okay?” asks Robin from behind me.

“Yeah,” I answer. My gun’s been leveled the whole time, but I’m only now remembering to get to my feet again, and do, eyes on the chained spirit the whole time, “Those things always sting, but it ain’t as bad as some other recent memories.”

I kind of expect Robin to say something back, but he doesn’t, so I turn 100% of my attention to the people in the middle of the room.

“It’s okay!” tries Ritsuka again, facing the bound spirit but hesitating to move forward out there now, “Please stop fighting us! I’m not an enemy; we’re trying to help you, I swear!”

I don’t feel a change in the atmosphere at all—the spirit is still radiating anger—but he stops tearing at his bindings for a moment when she speaks and just stands there breathing hard, blindfolded eyes turned towards her and blood running down his neck and limbs.

“Thank you,” says Ritsuka, smiling and holding up a hand in thanks with the word even though he can’t see it, before moving forward again, “If you just listen, I-I can explain—I promise, we’re not here to hurt you. We aren’t with the people who locked you up. We broke in here to try and help. Everyone but me in here is another heroic spirit, and we’re all trying to help you—help all the spirits trapped in here!”

The man stays still and tilts his head slowly, considering her. Mistrustful, I think, like I was. But he’s hopeful, or desperate, too—not sure why they’d send her to lie, which is enough to make you hope.

“I-I’m gonna get a little closer now, okay?” says Ritsuka, edging towards him again, “And see if I can get any of those chains off you. The others can probably do it if I can’t, but they’re all spirits so they’re having a hard time getting past the uh—the seals.”

He tilts his head back upright and then the other way, and tracks her movement by sound as she gets closer. The guy is still breathing heavy and clearly on edge, but he lets her get close this time. 

When she reaches him, Ritsuka holds her hand up. I don’t think he’s going to lash out, but I don’t trust like that—‘specially knowing the pressure he’s under firsthand—and so I keep my gun trained on his shoulder.

“I’m gonna touch you, okay? To see if I can figure out how this is fastened. P-Please don’t hit me.”

She stutters nervously on that last line, and I see just a little of the tension in the man’s shoulders loosen. Interesting. I guess that means whoever he is, he ain’t the most hardened sort, if he’s feelin’ empathy for a stranger while trapped like that.

Ritsuka moves a little to the side for a better look and touches the back of the shackle blinding him, and he flinches and pulls away a half-inch on impulse, breathing quickening for a second, then goes still again. This must be agonizing for him.

“Really is okay!” I call out in a hushed voice, even though like that he probably can’t hear me. I can’t risk drawing security, but-

Emiya side-eyes me for a second. I can’t tell if the look is annoyed or amused. Guess it don’t matter.

“Okay—it’s pretty simple. Just a little bolt again,” says Ritsuka in relief. I hear a metallic ‘click’ and then she’s pulling the metal blindfold off him, and there’s a fairly young man—maybe early 30s at a guess—looking back at her then. He’s not very bulky, and taller than me, but not tall, kinda long and shaggy green hair, and a face I don’t recognize at all with red marks all over it where the metal bit in, a few little trickles of blood runnin’ down his forehead and cheekbones from it. The most notable thing though is the expression on his face. He registers Ritsuka’s form as she lowers the blindfold and his eyes go wide. The man blinks at her a few times, then quickly looks up, clocks me and Robin and Emiya, seems relieved, and looks back questioningly at Ritsuka. Almost all of his readiness to lash out has vanished in an instant.

“Hi,” says Ritsuka, smiling at him, “I’m Ritsuka Fujimaru. Nice to meet you. Thank you for not hitting me.”

The man blinks again, and gives her a little nod. I see more of his tension ease. 

“I’m really sorry this happened to you. We’re here to help—those two were stuck here too.” She pauses to point to me and Robin, and I give him a little hat tip, Robin a two-fingered wave in acknowledgement.

Our Master—I mean partner—friend? —Ritsuka, she looks down at some of the other oddly bulky shackles, and then back up at the now much more calmly waiting man. I’m trying to guess who he could be. We had letter, earring, kunai, and a pot, according to her, ‘long with my and Robin’s catalysts. He’s definitely not Asian—looks maybe...middle eastern, Semitic? Not sure though. Either way, I’m willing to bet he’s not the kunai, so that leaves broken pot, earring, and letter. None of which help much. I don’t have a good guess, and that’s only if they haven’t gotten more since Ritsuka saw catalysts anyway, but, whoever he is, he seems level-headed and decent at least, so I’m takin’ this all so far as a good sign.

“The ones on your arms and legs have real locks, so I’m not sure I can get them—I’ll have to have one of the guys shoot them off from outside the circle,” says Ritsuka, looking sorry. 

I look at Robin and Emiya, because what I got’s loud; the two of them exchange looks, and Emiya sighs and turns to study the chains for a second, then summons a long, thin…arrow? and draws.

“But let me get the gag first—I think I can get that too,” says Ritsuka smiling at the man as she reaches up to do it. Much less on his guard now, he stoops for her to make it easier to reach, still watching her carefully though. Or, actually, interested more than careful, maybe, at second glance. Huh. Very level-headed man.

The gag makes a snap sound, and Ritsuka pulls it off. Relieved, the man opens his mouth and kind of rolls his jaw, trying to get the taste of it out, then straightens back up and smiles at Ritsuka. “Well thank you very much, for that and the rescue.”

Unbelievably calm. But I don’t think he’s being fake—he’s just got some kinda personality.

“Where did you come from, Miss...Fujimaru, yes?” he asks, and she nods, “How did someone as young as you end up-” he tries to gesture, immediately hits already taut chain, and winces, “-here?”

“Wrong, or, right, depending on how you look at it, place at the right time,” answers Ritsuka.

He’s definitely curious, but he just gives a nod of acknowledgement.

“Oh—before you do that,” she says to Emiya, then turns back to the man, “Uhm, you’re probably connected to the building somehow, and if we break those, you’ll run out of mana. Or. You aren’t actually that hurt,” she adds like she’s only just now really thinking about it, “But you’ll still vanish pretty fast if we sever your connection to mana, won’t you?”

“Yes and no,” says the man, clearly surprised by how much she has figured out, “You’re right they somehow altered the contracts to let the technology itself provide us with mana, and we can break the contracts physically, like you would killing a Master, by breaking the machine.”

“Why?” she asks, lost.

“They want to sell us. This makes us easily transportable, and it’s not like a mage could support one of us alone outside a ritual easily anyway,” says the man, a bit of that earlier rage and spite sinking back into his tone. He refocuses on Ritsuka and smiles again. “But I’m an Archer, so I can survive for a little bit on my own—week or two—without an anchor, since I’m not in terrible shape.”

“Another fucking Archer?” asks Robin without thinking, almost affronted disbelief in his voice and his face when I turn to look and see him gaping.

Wait.

“Oh shit, he’s right! Did they only take Archers? Why??” I ask.

“That is almost upsetting somehow,” says Emiya thoughtfully, “They didn’t summon me, but two and a half out of six of you so far is still super weird.”

“You’d think we’d be less good picks, since we can survive so long on our own. They should be grabin’ Casters or somethin’,” I agree in confusion.

“Wait, all three of you are Archers?” asks the man.

“I’m a gunner,” I say like ‘kind of’ while Robin says “Yeah,” with irritation and Emiya says, “I guess.”

“That is weird,” says the man to Ritsuka, “but I don’t think we have time to discuss it. Their security might not be perfect, but they aren’t idiots.”

She nods. “Uhm, okay. Well, in that case, I guess you don’t need to contract right now to be okay, but if you’d like to—to help you fight better or without worrying about disappearing, you can contract with me—if you want.”

His expression is one of a man hearing something that made complete sense until suddenly it made absolutely none at all. “...C. ...You? But.” He looks over at the rest of us, then back at her, “are none of the others...? -You know, outside a ritual, even a strong mage will be exhausted by that?”

“Oh, I know,” says Ritsuka quickly, nodding, “I’m not good at magic yet, and can’t do almost any spells, but my circuits are weird and apparently I have such a massive pool of mana I can support multiple heroic spirits on my own without a grail or anything!”

He stares at her like that straight up can’t compute. Blinks slowly. Looks at us.

“Yeah,” I say. She looks so proud of herself. It makes me happy! And weirdly proud too.

“It’s true,” agrees Robin, “Got no idea how many she can carry, but we’re three so far, and she hasn’t slowed down a bit.”

“Wow,” says the man, looking back at her with big eyes, “That’s quite a skill.” He considers for a moment and then smiles to himself. “Todah,” he says quietly, almost fondly, and then, “What a blessing; God never ceases to surprise. I will happily take you up on your offer Ba’al, I accept.” He gives a little, awkward and slightly painful looking bow as best he can still bound. “My true name is David, and I am an Archer. Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh,” says Ritsuka, surprised and flattered. She flushes and holds out a hand, then realizes he can’t take one the way it is. He smiles at her and bows his head forward instead, resting it against her outstretched fingers. “Uhm.” She takes a second to find her footing. “My soul becomes your will, your spirit becomes my destiny. If you hear me and agree, accept me and join, Archer.”

It’s softer than I’ve heard her say it before. Funny how many ways I’ve heard it now. Desperate, to me, afraid of losing me. Intense and pleading, to Emiya, begging for help. Kind and intent and sincere to Robin. And now here, soft and happy. I got no idea why that’s all so significant to me, but it is. I feel like I’m gonna remember it. I hope I will.

…I…

….Haven’t thought about that for a while, but now that the thought’s there, my gut sinks and my heart with it.

I might not. …So often, the Throne won’t let us remember anything from a summon once we die and get dragged back to it. God only knows how many Ritsukas I didn’t want to forget as bad as I don’t wanna forget this now, and don’t even get to know to be sad I can’t remember.

I hate that thought. ...

In the center of the room, a light flashes from Ritsuka’s hand at the point of connection, and I can feel a faint attachment of my own to David now. Try to focus on that instead. On how odd it feels to be under the same master as someone else, but not bad—just so different, in a way it’s hard to really get over.

David, he said? Right—which David? WAIT.

“David?” I ask way too fast, interrupting this beautiful moment without thinking, my mind completely blank outside of one sudden fear, “Wait, which David who’s an Archer—you’re not-?”

He looks over surprised and then gives me a kind of sheepish smile. “King David of Israel. Son of Jesse and Nitzevet, father of Solomon, my successor.”

Oh my God. Oh God; fuck—I’m so glad I didn’t shoot him.

Emiya is taking this in stride, but Robin looks at least a little something, and Ritsuka’s eyes have gone huge. “You’re a king? Wait. You’re from. -” She’s floundering, so I step in to save her.

“-King David? I—Hi, Billy the Kid; I’m so honored to meet you! I never met a Biblical-uhh-T-Torah-ical,” shit now I’m floundering worse god damn it; I was trying I—I just never seen someone from the...th-the actual religion that—I practice, before—I.

Totally nonplussed, King David shakes his head dismissively with a smile. “I know what you mean; pleased to meet you all. Please though, just call me David. My days as a King are long past, and on the Throne, I have been called to serve others again. I was a shepherd before I was a king, and I have always been the both. Think of me as just another companion, because right now, it’s who I am.”

“Whoa,” says Ritsuka, still a little pale and in awe, “Th-thank you. Okay, David. I-It’s great to meet you too. —I’m so sorry! What am I doing?! -Emiya, can you?” She glances over and sees his bow drawn, nods, and hops out of his way. 

King David glances at Emiya, then holds perfectly still, and the archer draws a quick series of shots that tear through the restraints nearly simultaneously in a little shower of sparks and screeching metal. Some kinda style; don’t think I’ve ever seen someone shoot what was clearly swords just now off a bow string before. Huh. Who are you?

The chains fall away, and King David raises his arms and looks at his hands, flexes them, and takes in the bruising and lacerations on his body from trying to get free.

“I’ll try to heal you,” offers Ritsuka, stepping up to him. He glances over at her. “I’m still learning, so I’m not sure I can fix it all, but I’m sure I can help!”

He smiles and gives a nod, stoops a little and offers her his arms. She takes them in her hands, scrunches her face up and shuts her eyes, and I sense a quick, small pulse of mana. It’s amazing how much she picked up in one night. I’m kinda in awe, watchin’ the worst bruises fade, and the cuts that are still bleeding close up and start to heal. It ain’t perfect, like me, like Robin, but it’s a hell of a lot, and King David looks pleased and maybe a little impressed himself.

“Thank you, Ba’al,” says King David, “I’m good to go now.”

Ritsuka opens her eyes and beams at him. She’s sweating a little again from the effort, but it ain’t bad. She’s holdin’ up like a champ so far. “Great!” she says, “Let’s get moving, then!” She takes a step and spins right back around back to face King David. “—Oh. Can you walk out okay? Do I need to carry you?”

Kind David looks incredibly tickled by that offer, but he shakes his head. “I’ve got extremely good magic resistance, even for an Archer—I’d love to get out of this seal now though—it’s quite agonizing.” Without extra comment, he slides his hands under her armpits and lifts her up, then speed single-hops right out of the seal, like Emiya did, and sets her down gently. 

“Oh—uh—thanks,” says Ritsuka, surprised but not bothered, “okay—sorry for taking so long,” she adds to us three, “Let’s get to the next one!”

Emiya gives a nod and moves to take point again, motioning us after.

“Question,” says Robin quietly as we slide out into the hall, watching King David’s surprised and little else expression as he takes in the unconscious guards, “I’m uh, really glad for you that you weren’t on death’s door like us—don’t get me wrong—but I thought that was their whole thing. Why were you just kind of...imprisoned? It’s a weird break of form. Might be significant.”

“Oh, that,” says David, “it is a break of form, but it’s not very significant, except I guess as proof they’re not exactly the most seasoned of field mages, no matter how much money, staff, and technical skill they have. They didn’t know which King they were going to get, summoning me. Just the general power of the catalyst—guess they got it not very legally, even for a catalyst. And unfortunately for them, I’m not a great candidate for death-battery-whatever they’re doing, because I died peacefully in my sleep as an old man.”

“The dream,” I say just loud enough for only Robin next to me to hear, and he shoots me a barely restrained smile.

“So then,” continues Robin, “Why keep you? Dangerous to leave one of us alive and motivated to rip shit apart.”

“Mmm,” agrees King David with a nod, “But they weren’t going to keep me. They were going to sell me, contract and all, to the highest bidder. Contacted a lot of mage groups.”

Ritsuka looks so horrified hearing that. It’s sweet, and a little sad, because Robin and I aren’t even surprised by it. It’s not really even odd; it makes sense. That’s how mages act, and that’s how we get treated.

“Any idea who or what for?” asks Robin.

“Hey,” comes Emiya’s voice in our heads, “Uh ahead. Sensing a containment field like the rest, but no guards at all this time.”

“That’s...weird,” says Ritsuka back mentally. She keeps closing her eyes to talk in her head when she starts, and it’s endearingly funny to watch. “I mean...I don’t want to jinx us, but hasn’t this all been...too easy? When I got Billy out, I had a huge explosion and the element of surprise, and no tripped alarms and a working pass, and I still barely got out. Here they’re already on high alert, and we’ve freed three heroic spirits now, and they’re not guarding the rest or checking their rooms?”

Huh. I mean, I’m not as familiar as she is with building security, but she’s right that they’ve been...weirdly placed.

“Yes,” agrees Emiya, tone firm, “it is strange. There are a lot of armed people here, and security, but even with all the luck in the world, it’s almost unbelievable they haven’t pinpointed us yet, and we haven’t hit more security. It’s like...”

“...A trap?” I ask nervously.

“...No,” says Emiya out loud as we all reach a corner and pause together, “It’s like someone’s helping us.”

“What?” says Ritsuka, taken aback.

“There’s too many people weirdly scattered for it to feel like a trap,” says Emiya, “It’s more like watching moves on a shogi board where someone is trying very hard to make sure they lose. The pieces are all here, they just keep...being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or, sure not being in the right one anyway.”

“Nobody helped you before, right?” I ask.

Ritsuka shakes her head.

Considering, King David tilts his head and lets out low ‘hmmmm,’ then says, “…There are people here right now, for me.”

“Hm?” says Robin.

“Other mage groups—their representatives. Rivals, some of them. To bid. It’s possible, not sure, but, someone might be grabbing this opportunity for a little self-serving corporate espionage.”

“God willing,” says Robin, cracking his neck again, “Love it if some selfish spineless little prick picked now to do something that helps us. Enemy of my enemy, and all.”

“That seems plausible, but since we can’t be sure, I know there’s no point saying ‘stay alert’ when we all already are, but, be ready for something to go wrong. It might,” says Emiya, and then he grimaces like ‘maybe shouldn’t have said that,’ looks at Ritsuka, and says, “it also might not. Just pays to prepare.”

She nods, and we all turn to face the hall. Emiya places his hand on the wall again and I feel a faint pulse of mana from him.

“Yup, definitely a servant up ahead. One floor up, almost directly above us. ‘Bout one room further,” says Emiya, pointing, “We can take the elevator shaft—probably less likely to draw attention than destroying the floor, and if we do have someone helping us with some corporate espionage or just a really incompetent new security staff, let’s not make it hard on them to keep going.”

[powerosewaterpuff]

YO ITS ME AGAIN , so um , some fear gas content in your au please , like fear gased dick and big bro jason comfort him

i genuinely have no excuse as to why this is so late, but oh my god school has been up my ass lately and i haven’t been able to get back into the groove of writing so I took this as an opportunity to build on that a bit. so tysm for the prompt! i rlly rly appreciate it hehe and again this had no excuse to be as late as it was ngl. but again this is my robin reversal au with jason being the oldest (i cant think of a good early hero name though ugh!) and dick being younger than him so enjoy! also so dick isn’t officially robin (he only does that when jason dies), but the persona still exists and he will join on major missions but bruce still has him in training so casual patrols are a no unless they have no other option for back up yk?

tw// there’s a slight mention of needles! it’s super short but i wanna be on the safe side as well as mild mention of cuts and scratches!

it took prodding. begging. and absolutely pleading to get bruce to agree to let jason and dick patrol together on their own. dick and or robin was not a constant on patrols with jason and bruce, as bruce wanted to ensure dick was fully equppied and trained before rushing into the field. it didn’t matter how much dick whined, or complained, or did as twice as many flipping kicks in training, the answer was always a solid no unless supervised or it was necessary. so it was a massive stretch to assume that bruce would agree to let them patrol together. they were practically in shock as bruce gave a nod after a few moments of silence. he even surprised himself. maybe it was the puppy eyed stare (mostly dick), or the reassurances that alfred would be on their comms the entire time, or even the full promise by jason that everything would be alright, but something made bruce say yes. more field training would be more than beneficial for dick anyways, (and that bright smile his youngest gave him and tight squeeze of a hug from his eldest didn’t hurt either).

the only promise jason was going to be able to fulfil was that scarecrow was going to rue the fucking day he decided to rear his ugly face out of arkham. it didn’t matter that bruce was beating the living shit out of him, holding no punches. jason was still brimming with rage. he hopped rooftop to rooftop, whipping his head around wildly as he searched for a fear gassed blur of neon colours. he wished he had been fucking a nanosecond faster, to reach out and pull dick from the blast of fear gas that swam through his nose and induced him in this fucking crazed frenzy. dick had just taken off his mask, right as jason was telling him to wait before bruce gave them the signal, and now jason was scouring the streets of gotham trying to find his brother. (he was going to fucking break scarecrow’s face, if bruce hadn’t already)

jason’s life was never one attributed with luck, it seemed like every possible slot in his pile was stacked firmly against him. except for when out of the corner of his vision he saw a stumbling mesh of a yellow cape climb onto a roof to his left. jason, took this as his initiative to attempt to stealthily sneak up next to dick, using his dark costume as an advantage.

he crept gently over to the building as he saw dick stumble onto his knees and he winced a bit as blood began to trickle down dick’s leg from the gashes beginning to form. dick was looking around wildly, almost in a desperate search for something. now, jason would’ve waited. he should’ve waited. bruce has drilled into his mind that dealing with victims of fear gas had to be done as meticulously and carefully as possible. dick shouldn’t have been any different, jason was able to hold to hold himself back. or he should’ve been able to.

it wasn’t until he saw dick scream out for his mother in a guttural rasp and leap towards the railings of the rooftop, did jason feel his legs take off as he stretched out, and managed to secure an arm around dick firmly. dick screeched even louder, wailing for his mother as he dug his nails into jason’s arms. jason gritted his teeth tightly but held on, because fuck that hurt. dick struggled and pushed, stamping his foot against jason’s leg and attempting to squirm out of his hold. but jason held on.

jason began attempting to reason with dick, he leaned his head down and gently placed it against dick’s. he murmured a bunch of fucking nothing as dick sobbed his throat raw. jason leaned closer to dick’s ear as dick began to shake in fear rather than anger and shut his eyes tight.

“dick? it’s jason, it’s just me. we’re on some fucking rooftop somewhere, and you are safe. okay? i’m holding you, and you’re safe, nothing is going to happen. bruce is gonna be here soon, and everything is going to be okay. i know you’re seeing god knows what, but i’m gonna get you out of this alright? i-i promise.”

jason couldn’t say he wasn’t dumbfounded when dick stopped angrily squirming around and began pressing his face into jason’s chest, with fat tears streaming down his face as he let out a wet sob. jason hesitantly wrapped his slightly bleeding arms around dick even tighter, curling up around him as he tried to push out the sound of dick’s sobs. he was never exactly good at dealing with dicks tears, he hated them so fucking much.

it didn’t take long for batman to arrive on the scene, but it was a scene he didn’t exactly like. his oldest son was cradling his youngest son as he heaved and sobbed. bruce silently stalked over, tapping jason on the shoulder as he waved his hands quietly, indicating that he could take dick off of his hands. jason was, not surprisingly, hesitant. (that untrustful hesitance was something, no matter how far jason did with his recovery, would always exist. that need to protect himself, or anyone he could care about no matter who it was against. that deeply rooted and innate need for self preservation, it marred jason’s soul with broad brush strokes. fading, but never leaving. )

jason almost shook himself into realization, realizing it was batman who was standing in front of him, and not someone of possible harm. he slowly unfurled his arms around dick, but was once again left dumbfounded when dick gripped onto the back of his uniform even tighter. the once muffled sobs got louder as dick desperately tried to hold onto jason. jason felt bruce’s stare, fucking digging into him, but he found himself not caring as he quickly curled back around dick. rocking back and forth, not bothering with the useless platitudes but keeping a firm lock on the back of dick’s neck and his waist. he peered up at batman and caught his gaze, and with a hushed agreement, they nodded at each other.

jason looped his arms around dick’s legs, his face twisting into a deeply set frown as dick’s sobs began morphing into hacking coughs, harsh and volatile. he managed to get himself standing upright as he pressed a kiss onto dick’s tear stained check, whilst still rubbing his back. the pain of others always had physically manifestions on jason. he fucking hated it. his mother would be splayed out on the couch, muttering incoherent fucking nonsense and jason would feel bile sting at the back of his throat, almost tempting him to kneel over and lurch as his body shook violently. and now, hearing dick’s fragmented breaths and shaky sobs, he felt like doing just that.

it had taken an effort, to get jason and dick safely off of the roof, and at the end bruce opted into scooping jason up who had dick clinging onto him like a koala, and simply carrying them both into the batmobile. alfred has already been long informed of the situation and had been able to promptly prepare an antidote that would be ready for their arrival. that did not mean, of course, that dick was compliant in taking the antidote. it took shushing and holding and soft whispers to get him to stop squirming enough for the needle to safely prick through his skin. alfred had opted to use little superman stickers afterwards, they were always dick’s favourite.

it had taken a while for dick to become conscious again, as alfred had added just a touch of sedatives to the antidote. just to help dick relax. when he did wake up, the world around him looking slightly fuzzy around the corners, he found himself encased in two sets of arms. was he in bruce’s bed? dick attempted to sit up but was met with a hand in his face pushing him back down, he turned his head to the side to be met with hazy lime green eyes and a lazy smile.

“dickie, sleep. now. you’ll wake up bruce— dont look at me like that he’s a light sleeper and you fucking know it. now go back to sleep, we’ll talk in the morning.”

“I just woke up though, why am I going back to slee-.”

“sh. your voice is too loud this early in the morning.”

“you’re so annoyin—and get your hand off of me!”

“make me—slapping my hand isn’t doing anything, bud.”

“shut up. i didn’t ask.”

“you’re still not making me”

“i’ll kick you.”

“do it. c’mon. do it right now.”

“fine—stop pinching my cheeks, jay! ow, ow, ow.”

“stop kicking me, then i’ll stop pinching.”

“that’s not fair! who made you the king of rules, assh-.”

“boys.”

“sorry bruce.”

“i’m sorry, B.”

“i’ll whoop your ass tomorrow.”

“I’d like to see you try, you old sack of bones.”

and with a roll of the eyes, a feathery soft kiss was pressed into dick’s forehead. a soft smile curled at dicks lips afterwards, a warm fire nestling in his heart drove the lingering hazy darkness away. dick nuzzled closer into the bed sheets as the two sets of arms encasing him only held on tighter. all curled under the fluffy bedsheets as the morning sun began to rise on the horizon, seeping through the cracks of the dark curtains as a kaleidoscope of colours painted the early morning sky.

fin.

i rlly should’ve made this longer with a little more detail but i haven’t gotten back into the groove of creative writing yet so take this with a grain of salt lmao. but anywho tysm for reading and tysm for the prompt! again i rlly wanna get back into creative writing so hopefully i’ll written sm shit? hopefully? maybe? idk? but again tysm for reading and i am so so sorry for how long this took :]!!

[genderbinaryisforlosers]

everyone on the carte blanche for the ask meme

everyone? oh boy this is gonna get long ajfhdsf

JUNO

First impression: i, like a lot of people who get into the podcast without knowing a great deal about it, was expecting at most an ambiguously bisexual angst machine with a closely-guarded heart of gold. juno being an explicitly bisexual genderqueer angst machine is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of my life. the angst machine heart of gold characters were kind of my type at the time, so i loved him right away

Impression now: every time i think about juno’s arc from depressed mess held together by bad coping mechanisms, safety pins, and a few good strong puns into someone who can talk about his feelings, feel comfortable about being happy, and recognise when he needs to change, i want to cry about it a little bit. the depth of my love for juno steel has only grown along with him

Favourite moment: juno has a lot of great one-liners and i’m still a big fan of the “on the other hand i wasn’t wearing a watch” bit and who can forget such classics as juno finally deciding to stop moping over nureyev and move on only for him to open the door to his apartment and find nureyev sitting in the dark dramatically, but honestly nothing will ever hit me harder than his sudden, pissed-off declaration of “i can’t die yet, i still have shit to do!” in promised land. god.

Idea for a story: oh i have so many and i want to write most of them so no spoilers, but juno accidentally kidnaps a baby during a carte blanche heist and shenanigans ensue

Unpopular opinion: obviously we all know he’s dummy thicc but i feel like a lot of people forget he’s an actual genius, like the stuff he notices and how he strings it together is sometimes so obscure and he’s almost always right. oh, also juno is not skinny and i will not be taking criticism on that

Favourite relationship: this is so tough because every dynamic is so good, but i think it has to be juno and rita. those two are so good! the best best friends in the world!! i’m really a sucker for any dynamic that’s ridiculously in-sync so i loved these two as soon as juno saw rita’s notes in prince of mars and went “makes perfect sense to me” (which it probably didn’t, because rita, but he trusted that she knew what she was doing which is the important part)

Favourite headcanon: this isn’t really a headcanon but i still think about how juno is (was?) deathly afraid of heights but when he heard rex glass coming he still attempted to climb out of the window. either his aversion to working with dark matters/other people in general was so strong is overrided his fear, or his office was actually on the ground floor. not sure which of these is funnier.

NUREYEV

First impression: we’ve all seen the memes about nureyev knowing juno steel for one (1) day and deciding to Risk It All by leaving him with his name, look at this Hopeless Romantic, this utter DISASTER of a homosexual. the fact the very next time we hear from nureyev (at least directly) he’s patiently waiting in juno’s dark apartment to surprise him with a heist definitely supports this image.

Impression now: even after literally being inside peter’s head, i feel like we didn’t get a real sense of who he is until man in glass, where we find out he aggressively compartmentalises everything that causes him stress. he’s also distinctly someone who’s had his heart broken before, i think, which makes those first appearances of his very strange. but it does remind me of what juno says about diamond, and how he decided to provide the trust first and wait for the trustworthiness to grow in (only to get severely hurt), and i think that’s exactly what nureyev did. i am also... very uneasy with how suspicious he’s behaving this season because obviously i want to believe he’ll sort it all out and not betray the crew but... oof

Favourite moment: the beginning of what lies beyond pt1 where he’s affectionately bullying juno into taking care of himself? cleared my crops watered my skin etc etc etc

Idea for a story: i’d love to hear more about his past as a young thief idolising buddy and vespa (i can’t actually remember if that’s canon or fanon but anyway i wanna read it!)

Unpopular opinion: i think people often cling to an image of him that more resembles his first impressions in season 1 instead of seeing the depth that we’ve been given about his character in season 3

Favourite relationship: him and juno but honestly it’s a close call between them and his budding friendship with rita. even though she learned it by accident, his name is still a point of intimacy and it’s one less secret to keep around her which has to be a weight off his shoulders, at least a little? they seem like they could be really good friends once ultrabots is out of the way. juno steel love (and also bullying) zone activates whenever they’re together

Favourite headcanon: i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again - nureyev has never done a household chore in his goddamn life. he doesn’t know the water needs to be hot when you wash dishes.

RITA

First impression: honestly i’m not sure? i don’t remember having a big awareness of her in murderous mask but i remember loving her “note-taking” in prince of mars, i thought she sounded really fun and cute

Impression now: rita is really fun and cute, she’s also an extremely hardworking and dedicated woman who had the guts to throw in with a detective fired from the force and then invest all of her time and money into helping him help people.

Favourite moment: Rita Gets A Knife. enough said

Idea for a story: i don’t know honestly! i really struggle to write rita because her thought processes are so wild and i don’t think any story i could come up with would match mega ultrabots of cyberjustice.

Unpopular opinion: this shouldn’t be unpopular because juno steel himself shares this opinion but all future-jupeter headcanons are incomplete without rita also being a huge part of their lives

Favourite relationship: rita + franny 4ever obviously.. jk it’s juno & rita have you heard rita minute 3 they’re too adorable for this world. im still Soft over their conversation at the end of soul of the people when he said he couldn’t stay in hyperion anymore but he wouldn’t leave with the carte blanche if rita wasn’t coming because he was done leaving her behind, and she threw out all her hesitations on the spot and said call the big guy. speaking of, rita & jet are a close second. instant best friends i love them.

Favourite headcanon: i think this is basically canon now but rita being literally half the height of jet is so good

JET

First impression: “haha lorge funny man puts juno in the trash”

Impression now: jet sikuliaq is one of the dearest characters to me out of anything ever. he is a huge, menacing, polite, kind, sincere man who i would very much like to give me a hug. he’s the best aro ace in outer space and while being generally very levelheaded and straightforward, also takes every opportunity to fuck with juno because it’s very easy and very hilarious to him personally. he is everything my autistic acearo ass needed and i’m so glad to have him

Favourite moment: all of them every single one. him putting juno in the trash is of course a classic and every moment jet chooses to be funny makes my heart happy, but also every piece of genuine advice he gives. i’m a particular fan though of buddy recounting her years in the lighthouse and him saying he became concerned when she didn’t come downstairs at the usual time. “you took the door off its hinges.” “i was deeply concerned.” king of understatement

Idea for a story: again no spoilers for you but..... tools of rust time loop au

Unpopular opinion: this isn’t “unpopular” as much as it is unknown but jet is buddy’s queerplatonic partner and i will keep saying it until everyone believes it

Favourite relationship: jet and buddy,,, just everything about them. the way he suspects when she’s lying, the way she makes tea for him when she expects him to drop by. the fact he comes to check on her when she is 41 seconds late to the family meeting because it’s unlike her to be late and the last time she was late for something her brain was turning to radiation soup. but most especially the way she snaps at him to stay out of her business and he said he could not because he made her promise eight years ago to never stay out of the business of her health, no matter how many times she asked. they r literally in a qpr

Favourite headcanon: i don’t think this is true but i still think it would be funny if the ruby-7 used to be painted red but when jet got it he had it painted green because he Just Really Likes Green (as evidenced by his hovercycle). it’s very funny to me.

BUDDY

First impression: it’s been a minute since i relistened to time gone by but i’m pretty sure the first thing she ever says in the podcast is sliding up to depressed accidental whiskey thief juno and say “that’ll be ten million creds,” scaring the shit out of him, so needless to say i was in love instantly.

Impression now: my love for buddy aurinko has only grown and if it sounds like i already said that in this post it’s because i did about juno and it’s appropriate because the parallels are astounding. the heart of it all gave us such depth to buddy’s internal monologue and why she always sounds like she knows exactly what to say and what that’s like and honestly will i ever be over the heart of it all as an episode? unlikely. i think i’m gonna have a little piece of it in MY heart forever.

Favourite moment: everything she’s ever said is iconic as hell i especially like “in an impressive fit of hubris i’ve decided not to prepare my words for this vow” which made me laugh out loud but once again i must give it up for her iconic “I WANT TO LIVE” moment. honourable mentions to her taking rita out for ice cream and giving juno shooting lessons while she’s in her actual wedding gown. i love her

Idea for a story: buddy and vespa as sun/moon dieties.... that’s all

Unpopular opinion: stop drawing her with a fancy high-tech eye like the theia!! it canonically looks like garbage and it’s described in detail, please, i’m dying, also don’t minimise her scars you bastards

Favourite relationship: buddy and vespa invented romantic love and the entire carte blanche crew’s relationship to her is great but you know by now i’m a slut for buddy & jet out-of-this-world queerplatonic partners. the way she checks in on him during tools of rust to make sure he’s not relapsing and he comes to find her when she is 41 seconds late in the heart of it all to make sure she’s not having a heart problem!! it’s the trust,, the devotion,, the mortifying ordeal of being known

Favourite headcanon: she can sing. absolutely tears it up at karaoke. i’m right

VESPA

First impression: knife lesbian goes STAB. she will heal your wounds but she will be threatening to give you more the whole time

Impression now: she is extremely strong, heart-rendingly tender, and despite being in the older half of the carte blanche crew somehow has unmistakable little sister energy which makes her downright hilarious. i’m so glad she got to marry buddy and they’re official space wives now they’re so good for each other

Favourite moment: both from shadows in the ship, either “GUN!!” “KNIFE?!” (iconic) or when she clocks the dark matters drone pretending to be juno because it called her crazy and juno wouldn’t call her crazy. i’m always a sucker for “shapeshifter fails to fool mark because they Know Each Other Too Well” and it was just *chefs kiss* so good

Idea for a story: i really want to write something about when she was first staying at the lighthouse with buddy post-reunion, and getting to know jet and stuff. i think it would be cute

Unpopular opinion: i know vespa doesn’t canonically have lots of scarring but people who don’t draw her with scarring? cowards.

Favourite relationship: once again, although buddy and vespa invented romantic love, i just love the dynamic between vespa and juno so much. they’ve come so far with each other and their weird sibling dynamic gives me life. at the end of what lies beyond when juno says “we’re not gonna kill her, vespa” and instead of sounding full of Rage and Suspicion she’s like “whyyy notttt?” and he’s like “because i said so!” and that’s just good enough for her even if she’s a bit grumpy about it. i love it.

this took.. a hot minute to do! jshkfjsdgsa thank you dyl ily <3

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 5

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Summary:

Emily surprises JJ at her soccer game.

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr: Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

Emily walked out of her Philosophy class, waving goodbye to Spencer Reid, who had back-to-back classes that afternoon. He walked away, dodging the crowds of students milling about on his way to his Physics class.

Things had calmed down in the weeks after midterm season, giving Emily a bit more free time to relax into a rhythm during her second year at college.

In her bag was a small bag of cookies that she had baked last night, wrapped up in carefully and tucked away. She was making her way through the quad, setting her sights on the soccer field. Emily checked her phone for the time: it was 2:25 PM and JJ’s soccer game should be almost done. She knew she was going to miss most of the game, but if she hurried she would catch the tail end.

That morning, Emily had looked up the games time on the varsity sports website, and triple checked that she’d be able to make it.

Dodging an enthusiastic skateboarder who was using the ramp down to the field as his own personal skate park, Emily hurried towards the bleachers, climbing onto the second row near the away team’s goal.

Emily squinted towards the field, setting down onto the ice cold metal bleacher seat and regretting her choice of a plaid skirt and fishnet stockings. A familiar blonde ponytail caught her eye and her heart jumped at the sight of her tackling another girl, freeing the ball and turning Emily’s way, barrelling down the field.

She had the ball! JJ pulled ahead, dodging the advances of the other team before kicking it to her teammate, who confidently circled around past the defence.

Emily’s heart was in her throat. She had never particularly cared about sports, but with her time in Italy, football (or soccer as she reminded herself to refer to it as) was something Emily could confidently say she understood enough to have a conversation about. She thanked her lucky stars that the first jock Emily had a crush on played a sport she at least knew the rules of.

JJ ran into centre field, and her teammate passed the ball to her, JJ kicked it right into the net, sneaking right past the goalie’s outstretched fingertips.

Goal!

The crowd cheered, Emily joined in and clapped as JJ’s teammates swarmed her, jumping and hugging her in a mess of celebratory bodies.

Emily looked around, while the crowd was spotty, there was still a fairly good turn out. Most of them seemed to be family members, though there were certainly groups of students, wearing their school colours and the logo emblazoned across their chests.

Emily peered at the scoreboard, it was 4–2, as JJ just scored a tie breaking goal with ten minutes left in the second half. They reset, and JJ switched out with another, taller girl who high fived her as she walked onto the pitch.

JJ sat on the bench with elbows on her knees and her feet planted firmly on the ground in her running shoes. She gulped some water as her eyes remained fixed on the action as the ref blew the whistle, and the game continued.

Without JJ to watch, Emily’s eyes roamed across the field, taking in the action without that much interest. She hoped that their team won, obviously, because that would make JJ happy, but she had no personal investment into their college’s athletic standing.

Emily knew that while her class had cut into most of the game, she would be able to linger around and hopefully walk back to residence with JJ. She had cookies to give her.

Now, the cookies were just an excuse to hang out with her. Or a bribe. Probably a bribe. Well, JJ had said, back when they studied together almost two weeks ago, that she wanted more cookies. As she had enough free time to walk to the nearby grocery store to pick up the dough, Emily was furiously trying to bake the best cookies she’d ever made. She had briefly considered making them from scratch, but the pressure of it all made her choose the prepackaged dough.

Emily actually didn’t spend more time eating the dough than baking, this time, because she wanted them to be perfect for JJ.

She had been tempted to invite her to bake with her, but despite JJ’s initial request for Emily to tutor her, JJ had not really followed up. In fact, Emily hadn’t seen much of the girl at all. The anxious part of her brain told her that JJ was avoiding her, but Emily, for the life of her, could not figure out why. Every time that she ran into JJ, the blonde seemed anxious to leave.

The clock counted down, five, four, three, two, one. The buzzer sounded. The other team hadn’t managed to score another goal, so their team had won!

The crowd cheered in delight at the victory. JJ and her team jumped together, piling on top of one another in a group hug.

While the other audience members packed up their bags and blankets, chatting as they filed out of the bleachers, Emily remained, waiting for JJ.

She watched as JJ removed her cleats, shin pads and long socks, swapping them instead for a pair of boots. She zipped up her windbreaker on top of her shirt and followed her teammates as they grabbed their bags and made their move to go home.

It was now or never.

“JJ, hi!” Emily called out, waving at her from the side of the bleachers.

JJ caught her eye, then said something to her teammates, who waited for her on the edge of the field.

“Great game!” Emily said, “at least what I saw of it.”

“Emily!” JJ said, smiling at her.

“I, uh-” Emily rifled through her bag. “The cookies you liked. I made some last night and thought that you may want some.”

JJ’s eyes widened as she took them.

“Thank you, Emily,” she stated, smiling quickly. “That’s very nice of you, I hope you didn’t go out of your way for me.”

“Oh it was no problem,” Emily said, trying to keep her voice calm, “Derek practically begs me to and well, you know, it’s nice to do something relaxing during midterms.”

JJ nodded, then turned to look at her teammates, who were beckoning for her.

“I haven’t seen you in awhile,” Emily said, “Did you need any more help with your French?”

Something strange passed across JJ’s face, first she looked happy, excited, but then nervous she looked away from Emily.  

JJ hadn’t texted her. Emily had given her number to her last Wednesday, and had received radio silence ever since.

“Uh, maybe. I’ll text you if I need any help,” JJ said, “I’m actually having a bit of trouble writing a presentation.”

A spark of hope ignited in Emily’s chest. Just as she was going to reply, she heard someone approaching them from the bleachers, clamouring down the steps from behind.

“JJ!” Penelope Penelope exclaimed, “And Emily! I didn’t know you were here! You could have sat with me!”

She was dressed in a long purple peacoat and had her bright blonde hair tied up in space buns. She had a small blanket folded up in her arms that she was likely using to sit on the cold bleachers.

“I didn’t see you,” Emily says honestly.

“Hey Pen,” JJ said, turning to her roommate, “No Spence today?”

“He has physics,” Penelope and Emily responded in unison, before laughing.

“We just had Philosophy together,” Emily explained. “He had to run to his next class.”

“Wait that reminds me,” Penelope exclaims, “Emily you must come with us to trivia tonight! We need six people for our team and I don’t wanna get stuck with some randos like last time.”

Emily looked over at JJ quickly to gauge her reaction. Trivia sounded really fun, and the excuse for spending time with JJ sounded even better.

“You could bring your friend Derek,” JJ replied, not balking at the idea of Emily’s presence. “Spence hasn’t stopped talking about him since the party.”

Emily felt herself breathe an internal sigh of relief. JJ wasn’t avoiding her after all. And maybe even wanted to spend time with her.

“Oh he really is a beautiful sight, that Derek Morgan,” Penelope just about purrs in response.

Emily can not help but laugh.

“That makes, what, five?” Penelope counted on her fingers, “Jennifer, do we have another friend?”

JJ frowned, shook her head, which made Penelope laugh.

Emily thought for a second, thinking about who in her circle would enjoy trivia. Aaron. Of course.

“I think I could talk someone into it,” she said.

“It’s a date!” Penelope exclaimed. “Now off to the locker room with you Jennifer! You stink!”

She gently pushed JJ towards her teammates and JJ laughed before waving goodbye and heading towards the gym. Penelope looped her arm through Emily’s and had already begun to explain the details of the trivia night.

From what Emily gathered, it was at the bar right off campus, and luckily for them, allows underage students in on Monday nights to play trivia, and the bartenders didn’t really check IDs at the bar so they could usually get served if they didn’t get too wild. There were prizes and Penelope was convinced that with Reid, they had a good shot at winning, depending on the topics of course.

Emily and Penelope walked back to their building, finally exchanging numbers and the promise to meet in the hall no later than seven that night.

As soon as Emily was in her room she found herself grinning. She did a small dance in her room in excitement for the evening before pulling out her phone to tell Derek and Aaron that they had plans for the evening.

[voorbeees]

Hello, I have finished the 3rd chapter of dad jesse au. you can read it here or here

Jesse is...put straightforward, fucking exhausted. He knows he's not getting any younger but fuck. Time can allow him one small morsel of relaxation. The separation of work and hobby has always been exceptionally easy for him to manage. During the day he's able to keep composure and do things that furthers his company's success. Meanwhile at night he's always able to release that built up pressure. That second part has been just a teeny bit harder for him to accomplish lately. Especially when Tilly will just not go the fuck to sleep.

Lately it seems she's made a conscious effort to avoid bedtime at any cost. Tonight it seems the urge is even stronger. Jesse can't talk, which is probably for the best. If he could he would be shouting swears and yelling and he really doesn't like the mental image of the young girl cowering from him. Unfortunately that means he also can't read bedtime stories, something that seemed to crush Tilly when she learned of it. Jesse had felt so bad about the whole thing that he'd had Spann record herself reading a child's book just so he could play it at night for her. It isn't the same but she seems to accept it.

Tonight they both sit on the couch. Jesse in black sweats and a black tank top, a far cry from his typical blue-collar fashion. Tilly wears the new pajamas she got recently. They're red and have teeny horses on them (one of her most recent obsessions). Jesse can't even remember what movie they're watching. He thinks it's about cats, but it's hard to tell when all the colors from the animation keep blending the fuck together every time his eye starts to cross from exhaustion.

Tilly sits beside him, seemingly content to ignore the movie altogether. (So why the fuck is he trying to make the conscious effort to watch it.) She hums as she trades out her red marker for her green one. Another of her new hobbies seems to be coloring in Jesse's blank tattoos anytime she gets the chance. So much for just enjoying the black ink. Thank God his suit conceals it until all of the marker wears off.

Jesse let's out a deep sigh just as he's about to finally fall sleep when he realizes Tilly has put down her marker. He hopes to God this means she's ready to go to bed but a quick glance proves wrong. Her eyes are glued to the screen where she watches one of the cats playing the piano. (Honestly who made this movie? Cats playing pianos, ha! And why the hell is that what he's concerned with right now.)

He tilts his head ever so slightly to the left. There's a brief hesitation to his movement but he works against it. Jesse taps her on the shoulder and the small girl looks up at him with those big eyes. He's still trying to keep signing as simple as possible but he also doesn't want to rely on the phone for communication. He mimicks playing a piano like on the TV and then points at her.

Tilly's tiny face scrunches up in confusion. Of course nothing could be that simple. Jesse repeats the action, this time slower. It takes her a minute but he thinks she's finally got it.

"I can't play the piano." Her tiny voice squeaks out and no it seems she still doesn't understand.

He repeats the action again. Piano and then pointing to her. Jesse gives her a minute and watches as she pieces it together. Tilly's face lights up with a massive smile as she looks up at him. She jumps up, grabbing his arm and shaking it. "I wanna learn to play it! I wanna learn to play it!" Almost immediately after though her face falls and she stops jumping. "But we don't have a piano ."

Jesse shakes his head and stands, motioning for her to follow. "But we don't have one...do we?" Tilly trails along beside him expecting an answer but receiving none, at least until he opens the door to a room she's never really paid attention to before. Her face lights up and she darts inside but Jesse stays at the threshold. He feels his chest start to constrict. The room itself is unexceptional save for the marble that decorates the floor and its white walls. Well that and the piano that sits inside. It's entirely unspectacular but the sentimental value it caries feels like its strangling him.

Back in Jacksonville he had bought the piano and fixed up one of the rooms in his mansion there. Sure he knows how to play it but it was mainly purchased for his wife. Jesse can only remember her playing it a handful of times though. More often than not she coerced him into playing it while she either sat beside him or danced lazily with a glass of wine in her hand. It was a dead memory now and he couldn't help the way it made him feel nauseous. (Would she still want him to play for her now? His facial features altered from all the reconstructive surgeries.)

When he'd moved to LA, Jesse had packed the piano and had it transported to the new mansion. His wife was never in this room or this house, but he'd made an effort to replicate the room the piano once occupied. The only thing that remained of his wife's attachment to the object was a framed photograph of her he'd placed on one of the small side tables in the room. Other than that she was entirely gone, out of his grasp.

The sound of piano keys smashing has Jesse's memories crashing and burning. He's abruptly brought back to reality. His good eye sees Tilly's tiny hands dragging across the instrument but her attention is short lived. She let's out a gasp. "Who's this!" The little girl rushes toward the photo of his wife and pulls it off the table to inspect it. There's no ill intent behind her movement but Jesse's moving before he can ground himself. He marches in and yanks the picture frame from her hands, his good eye boring a hole into her very form. A silent: don't fucking do that again, hangs in the air.

"I -I'm sorry." Tilly shrinks in on herself. She clutches her hands near her chest, almost like she's afraid they'll get her into trouble. Her bottom lip quivers and Jesse catches sight of the tears threatening to spill from her green eyes.

Jesus what the fuck is wrong with him. Here he is clutching to the photo and offering more protection to it than he actually did his wife when she needed him. Jesse takes a breath and exhales shakily before he hands the frame to her.

Tilly watches him for a moment before she snatches the item almost how a wild dog would snatch food from a hand. The woman in it is smiling and it's a headshot. It almost makes her wonder if it were for the lady's job. Her blonde hair is cut to just above her shoulders and diamond earrings decorate her earlobes. The matching necklace lays against her clavicle. "Who is she?" She looks back to Jesse.

He really needed to teach her more sign. It would be easier than his current plan, which is to retrieve a pad and pen from the corner desk and write. When he does turn the paper to her, his scribbly cursive has written one word. Wife.

"You're married?!" Her tiny head wipes back and forth as if she's trying to decipher where the woman is hiding at in the room. "Why didn't you tell me?" Her brows knit as her lip pouts. This whole time she could have had a mother figure but he chose not to tell her. "Where is she?!" Tilly almost regrets that question instantly when she sees the way Jesse flinches ever so slightly. Oh no. That's not good. Did she upset him? Is he going to be mad at her? He's never punished her (unless you count not being able to watch a movie as punishment) but that doesn't mean that he won't or couldn't do it, right? Tilly blinks with a tiny furrowed brow as she looks up at him. "She isn't here, is she?" Her voice is probably the lowest Jesse has ever heard it but judging by the way he looks at her, Tilly knows the answer. Now she desperately wants to ask what happened. Did she leave? Did he leave her? No, that didn't seem right judging by his posture. Her little eyes go wide at the prospect that something else could have happened. Oh no. That would explain the sadness. She's stuck in that loop of thought until she sees the note pad in front of her again.

Do you still want to play the piano? Jesse feels like he already knows the answer to this question. His main goal is to change the subject, and just as he thought, he's met with an aggressive head nod. He grins (if it can even be described as that on his disfigured face) and his shoulders jump with a silent laugh. He makes his way over to the instrument and motions for Tilly to follow.

Jesse lifts her with no issue and places her on the small bench sitting in front of the piano and then sits beside her. Already he can practically feel her vibrating with excitement. It makes him vaguely think about how he can't remember the last time he felt like that. The thought is cut abruptly short as a loud THWANK echoes in the empty room. He makes a face and jabs a pinky in his ear, almost like he's testing to make sure his hearing is still working. Jesus Christ he needs to put more things in here so it isn't so loud.

A nervous smile decorates the girl's face. "Sorry." It's followed by a nervous laugh. Somehow Jesse can't help thinking he's going to regret showing and teaching her the piano. Goodbye peace and quiet.

He exhales and intertwines his fingers before popping them. From the corner of his good eye he sees Tilly doing the same and matching his expression. God, at this moment she could ask him to burn the mansion down and he would. Oh no, that wasn't good, was it? Fuck. She really did have him wrapped around her finger.

Jesse takes precise care when he starts showing her where to place her hands. This is another time being mute has fucked him over. It's kind of hard to teach someone to play the piano when you can't explain the sound or which key makes it. He makes a mental note. If Tilly ends up seeming to have an interest in it, then he'll just get a teacher. It's not really the same, but she'll get the knowledge out of it that she wants.

He focuses back on the currently reality. Tilly watches as his forefinger and thumb press several keys and it makes a melody. She blinks as she watches his other hand and fingers begin to find their rhythm, each seeming to press a different key. She glances down at her own small hand. That may be a little harder for her. Although she was pretty positive that Jesse had the biggest hands she'd ever seen. Maybe that's why he was able to play so well. Tilly continues to watch, her eyes darting between him and his hands. Was it even harder with one eye? She wanted to ask but something told her that probably wasn't the best idea. Instead she settled for listening to the melody and leaning her head against his arm. It had to be the most soothing melody she'd ever heard.

Glancing down, Jesse couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back. A simple lesson seemed to be having a drowsy effect on her. Opposite of what the goal was, but fuck, if she was going to finally go to sleep, he was more than happy with that. A few more moments he played the song until he ended it on a soft key. Another glance proved him right.

Finally.

God, if he had known this would make her sleep, then he'd have done it to begin with. Jesse sits there for a minute. He observes the room. It doesn't feel the way it used to. Maybe actually coming in here had done that. He wasn't sure. Maybe he'd let Tilly decorate it in her odd little way. There's no point in keeping the past alive anymore when it's dead.

He sighs and scoops her into his arms as he stands.

"Can we play the piano again sometime?" He glances down to see her little eyes cracked open. Jesse nods and she sighs happily, returning to sleep. "I like the piano." He can't really say what comes over him, but yea, he thinks he's starting to like the piano again.