#if you wanna know who i am do the detective work yourself

[stinkyme]

Hello! This is the version with Atsushi! I hope you like it and enjoy it! :D <3

CW/TW: NSFW, fem!reader, usage of they/them & partner, one usage of Y/N by Kenji, jealousy, reader is assigned mission with Dazai where they have to be pretend couple, Dazai as a tw of his own*, members place bets and tease Atsushi, a bit possessive Atsushi, sex in a hotel room (with Atsushi), against the wall, in the bathroom/in front of a mirror, rougher sex, marking (no mentions of marks left behind), reassurance (reader), creampie, if I forgot anything please let me know! :)

* thank you spenny for reminding me of this important tw with that one fic of yours :3

I apologize for any mistakes in advance! :)

Jealousy sex || Atsushi Nakajima x Reader

This was the worst.

"Is the plan clear?" Ranpo asks, his head directed towards you and Dazai.

"Cleaaaar!~" Dazai says happily as he wraps his arm around you.

"Hold on a second, why is he the one who gets to go as their partner when I am right here?" Atsushi asks, a bit confused.

"This is no time to get jealous wits, Atsushi!" Dazai says playfully as he squeezes you closer to him.

He was the worst. Ugh.

"I am not jealous, I simply don't understand." he says with wide eyes, voice calm.

"Because Dazai is more experienced with these types of missions, nothing personal." Ranpo explains calmly before he continues eating his candy.

"More experienced, do you hear that?" Dazai leans his face close to yours, shamelessly winking.

"Yosano, can't you go instead of me? Please?" you give her pleading eyes, voice desperate.

"Absolutely not, plus...I think this will be fun." she says teasingly and you sigh out.

"There is no time for having fun, we have a mission to accomplish here. I understand your struggle, but if you can't do it due to personal dislikes, then you are not cut to work in the Detective Agency." Kunikida says sternly, his demeanor serious and professional.

Atsushi and you look at each other, smiling nervously as you nod.

"Fine. I will do it." you finally say it, feeling defeated.

"Yaaaay! We will have so much fun together, won't we?" Dazai asks happily as he squishes your cheeks. Atsushi coughs politely, making his presence known.

"Ah, don't worry Atsushi, I will take really good care of them for you." Dazai says in a lower, challenging tone, giving Atsushi a teasing gaze.

"Please don't. Knowing how most of your work partners end up being, I would rather you not." you say in almost inaudible tone as you finally free yourself from his grip. Dazai puts his hands on his hips, pouting as if he was really offended. 

"Well anyways, wear something pretty tonight. Gotta look elegant." he says in a regular tone and you nod.

As if he can look elegant. This will be a disaster.

~ Later at the party

Well, Dazai could look decently elegant, oddly enough. He was really good at talking, unsurprisingly, and the two of you landed as a real couple, getting all the information you needed.

Everything was going smoothly so far, besides Dazai being overly touchy. He wasn't inappropriate by any means, but you wish this could be toned down a bit for Atsushi's sake.

On the other hand, poor Atsushi was receiving blows left and right by his coworkers.

"I would never let somebody cling onto my sweet Tanizaki like that, no matter what!" Naomi yelled at him, while clinging on Tanizaki's arm.

Why was she even here again?

"Wow they would make a really good couple actually. It's okay to get jealous, you know?" Yosano teased him while sipping on her red wine.

"It seems like you got a competition. Mentor versus his accomplice, who will win? Want me to tell you? I already know." Ranpo teased in a regular tone, even though he was highly amused.

"Come on, be serious." Kunikida scolded them.

"We can make them fight later, wanna place bets? Mine is on Dazai." said Tanizaki while Kyouka nodded, giving him some money for Dazai's side.

"Kyouka! Really?!" Atsushi asked her, obviously nervous and hurt by her little betrayal.

"Guys, I am sure Y/N loves Atsushi deeply, they would never leave him for Dazai!" Kenji reassured softly, regardless of giving money on Dazai's side.

"Pay me with candy!" Ranpo says loudly as he points his lollypop at Tanizaki.

"Cut it out already!" Kunikida yells at them before he gets twenty bucks out of his pocket.

"Anyone got fives?" he asks regardless, wanting to participate in a bet.

"I have ten, I will place it for both of us." Yosano says happily as she gives Tanizaki the money.

Atsushi lets out an exhausted sigh, observing how Dazai's hand was resting around your waist. He definitely didn't like that, but for the sake of this mission - he remains silent.

However, the way he watches you kiss Dazai's cheek while laughing wholeheartedly makes his blood boil, just a little bit.

~ In the hotel room

"That went well, surprisingly." you sigh out as you lock the door. The room is semi-dark, and Atsushi immediately clings on you, hands squeezing your waist. He rests his head on your chest, pulling you as close as possible.

"What's all of this about?" you ask with a soft smile as he looks up, leaning his head closer to yours.

"I missed you." he whispers, swiftly placing his lips on yours, kissing you greedily and messily. Your eyebrows twitch from suddenness as you close your eyes, returning the kiss. He sucks your lip between his teeth a bit roughly, while his tongue brushes over it in a softer manner.

You gasp in a little as he pushes you against the wall, his body pressing onto yours as his hands greedily squeeze and caress your body. He swiftly cuts through your clothes with his claws, letting it fall off your body, leaving you in nothing but your underwear.

"Atsushi!" you say a bit louder as you break the kiss.

"We will take care of it later." he says a bit breathlessly as he immediately puts his lips back on yours, parting them as your tongues brush over each other in a passionate, messy manner. Atsushi's hands squeeze your waist tightly, his fingernails digging into a soft skin. You let out a muffled whimper in his mouth as he slowly moves his hands down, sliding your underwear off of your hips and letting it fall on your ankles.

You swiftly unbuckle his belt and undo his pants as he unbuttons his shirt, lips not parting away from yours. He clumsily drops his pants to the side as he takes them off himself and you slide his shirt down his arms, letting it fall behind him. Your hands squeeze his shoulders as he pushes his body into yours, his hard, clothed cock pressing on your lower tummy.

The cold wall sends shivers down your spine as your hands fall on his waist, dropping lower to his hips as you pull his boxers down. Your kiss grows even more passionate, breathless even as he kicks his boxers to the side, his hands pushing you further into the wall by your hips. You caress his scar very gently and he lets out a muffled whimper of his own, that gets drowned by your kiss.

He messily pulls away, breaking the kiss as he pants heavily, gulping for air. You try to take deeper breaths in as your own breathing is incoherent and quick. Atsushi sneaks his hands between your legs, using his palm to push you into the wall by your lower tummy as his finger steadily and gently circles on your clit. You let out a soft whimper as his skin feels cold, but it sends sweet sensations through your body.

He leans in, placing quick and starved kisses all over your neck as his other hand holds you by your hip. He slowly moves down, roughly kissing and as gently as possible biting into your chest area. You let out a louder whimper as he keeps drawing circles on your clit, your pussy leaking more and more precum.

He swiftly moves his fingers to your inner lips, wetting his fingertips and brings them back to your clit. You let out a shaky moan as it feels even better now, especially as he starts sucking on one of your nipples, sliding his tongue over it. You cup his face with your hands, feeling his jaw move and flex as his sucking on your nipple becomes a bit rougher.

Atsushi moves his hand away from your waist, placing it on your inner thigh and sliding it to the backside of it. He slowly lifts it up, letting it rest on the area between his biceps and forearm. He moves his attention to your other nipple in the meantime, sucking on it in a less rough manner than previously.

He moves his fingertips away from your clit and pumps his cock couple of times as you angle your hips a bit forward, giving him easier access. Atsushi aligns his cock with your entrance, slowly sliding it inside as he gasps, letting go of your nipple. You let out a mellow gasp of your own as he begins thrusting slowly, his cock almost immediately twitching inside of you. You wrap your arms around his neck as he places his lips on yours again; your kiss heavy and hard to keep up as little moans escape both of your throats. 

"I am so glad this is finally over." he whispers, voice slightly shaking.

"We still have a mission tomorrow." you say a bit breathless as you place a quick kiss on his lips, a soft whimper escaping your lips. Atsushi tenses up, squeezing the underside of your thigh he was holding as his thrusts become quick and rougher. The sudden change as his cock keeps pressuring and sliding over your sweet spot makes you choke out a few louder moans. Atsushi leans his lips closer to your neck, gently sucking in the portion of your skin between his teeth. The way he is sucking on your flesh becomes rougher, as his little fangs dig into your skin. You clench around his cock, making him let out an open-mouth whimper, his teeth still holding your soft flesh between them.

He moves his other hand between your bodies, placing two of his fingertips on your clit, again drawing little circles over it. Your hips twitch forward as a louder moan escapes you, but the rough pace of his hips slams yours against the wall, over and over again.

He moves his bites to your collarbone and chest area, his own filthy, shaky whimpers vibrating inside his throat as he sucks on your skin. His cock keeps on stimulating your g-spot perfectly, the position of your hips making you even more sensitive than usual. His fingers move in medium, a bit slower pace on your clit, creating a perfect balance with sensations.

Atsushi bites rougher into the skin of your chest, greedily sucking on it and earning a few sharp gasps from you. It feels as if your skin was bruising, a tingling sensation spreading in all areas he was biting and sucking on. He finally lets go of your skin, gulping for air as little whines squeeze out of his throat.

You feel the swirl of heat forming inside your lower tummy and it spreads everywhere beneath your skin, coming and going in teasing waves. Your hands fall on his shoulders, barely holding on. Your head drops between Atsushi's shoulder and neck as the pace of his hips speeds up, producing loud, wet sounds each time the base of his cock kisses your pussy.

You weakly lift your head, biting into the area where it was previously resting on and Atsushi lets out a shaky moan as yours gets muffled by his skin. His pace on your clit slows down even more, teasing you. Your eyes feel heavy and tired as you feel a knot of heat unraveling inside your tummy, making your whole body weak. Your hips try to follow his as the stimulation on your clit makes it hard to hold still.

"I really hate this whole thing." Atsushi chokes his words out, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration as his hips speed up even more, slamming your ass into the wall behind you. Your pussy clenches around him tightly, earning a long, sharp whine of his. 

"Me too." you let out weakly, finally letting go of his poor flesh. More heat spreads inside your body as you feel quick waves of orgasm approaching. His cock keeps stimulating all of your sweet spots inside as his fingertips circle on your clit. You choke out moans and whimpers, body sore. Atsushi gives you an irritated look, lips a bit parted as his sounds subside for a moment.

"You didn't seem to when you were laughing and kissing him." he says bitterly, giving you one sharp, deeper thrust that makes you gasp loudly as your orgasm slowly begins to unravel inside your lower tummy. You try to speak up, but all that comes out are loud, shaky moans as your legs tremble, the warmth overwhelming you. Your pussy clenches and relaxes around Atsushi's cock in fast intervals, making him choke out a few breathy, guttural whimpers.

Your orgasm reaches its peak and your head falls on Atsushi's chest as you breathe quickly, the knot in your tummy unraveling and turning in heavy waves. He moves his fingertips away from your clit as your climax slowly melts away, your breathing calming down as well. His thrusts become slower as you lift your head, finally speaking to him.

"That didn't mean anything. It was a mission and truthfully, I was thinking of you and our moments the whole time so I could land it to be realistic." you speak up softly as Atsushi looks away, his thrusts gentle, but still make your hips twitch from time to time.

"Don't tell me that you really think I like Dazai.." you almost gasp, your expression molding into slight disgust. He keeps looking away, his hips still. You cup his cheeks as you make him look at you.

"Absolutely not! That's ridiculous to even think about. I am sorry if it came off that way, but I promise you that you're the only one for me." you speak softly, delicately stroking his cheeks with your fingertips. Atsushi gives you a small smile and nods. You gently push him away, his cock sliding out of your pussy as you do.

"I have an idea." you say with a little smile as you take his hand, making him follow you to the bathroom. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him in, placing a passionate, needy kiss on his lips. He returns the passion and neediness, his hands squeezing your waist tightly. You end up in front of a mirror as you pull away, turning around and arching your back for him while resting your hands on the sink. 

"You should watch me." you whisper, voice low and alluring.

"Watch..you?" he tilts his head a bit, voice soft.

"Yeah. Watch how good you make me feel." you smile at him and he gulps, a bit hesitant. He slowly comes closer to you, aligning his cock with your inner lips, a dim whimper slipping past his lips. He slowly slides his cock inside, both of you letting out sweet gasps. He puts his hands on your waist as he begins thrusting, pulling your body towards him to meet his hips.

You keep watching him in the mirror, his pretty face revealing pleasure while whimpers and little whines escape his throat. His grip on your waist tightens, almost as if he wants to burn his own touch into your skin, getting rid of Dazai's. His thrusts become faster, his pelvic area slapping your ass, producing loud sounds. His eyes are fixated on your face as he watches the pleasure on your face.

His cock keeps pressuring your sweet spots inside, your moans echoing through the whole bathroom. He leans his face closer, his thrust becoming short and quick as he does. He places soft kisses all over your back, giving you a few bites in between. His eyes don't leave your face in the mirror, fixated on you as his kisses and bites send goosebumps through your whole body.

He slides one of his hands between your legs, gently spreading them a bit more before his fingertips find your clit once more. You let out a sharp gasp out as he begins circling his fingers on your clit, his thrusts deeper and more demanding now. Atsushi keeps on kissing your back, his warm breath sending shivers down your spine. Your legs become shaky as you try your hardest to keep a good grip on the sink. More precum leaks down your pussy, sending a ticklish sensation to your lower tummy.

Atsushi lets out a high-pitched whine before biting into your shoulder blade, his eyes half-lidded, but still fixated on you. He kisses your burning shoulder blade before he continues painting your skin in his bites and kisses, whispering "mine" in between each of those.

"Mine." soft kiss.

"Mine." a little bite.

"Mine." a quick lick with his tongue.

"Mine." rougher bite.

"Mine." shaky kiss.

"Mine." kitten lick.

"Mine." a delicate sucking on your skin.

"Mine." another trembling kiss.

"All mine."

Your pussy keeps clenching around him, almost waking him up from his trance as he gives you a needy look in the mirror.

"See, you are the only one who can make me feel this good." you say with a weak smile, voice quieter as pleasure overwhelms you. Atsushi kisses your back one last time before he lifts himself a bit, his fingers still stimulating your clit perfectly. His thrusts become a bit longer, but equally deep and quick. 

Your legs feel weaker as tingling heat keeps on swirling inside your lower tummy. You arch your back a bit more, pushing your ass into his pelvic area and make his thrusts deeper, even more stimulating. Heavy moans escape your throat as you feel your orgasm approaching, your eyes rolling to the back of your head as it feels intense. Atsushi keeps up his movement on your clit as well as with his thrusts, panting heavily as dry, broken whimpers escape his throat.

Your pussy keeps on tightening and relaxing around him, as you are on the edge of your orgasm. You can barely keep yourself up, your head falling down. Atsushi slides his other hand to your jaw, holding it up for you as his lickerish eyes need to see more. You keep a breath in, almost unconsciously as your climax finally crosses the edge, making your lower tummy twist in strong, hot waves. You let a breath out, your moans picking up quickly as your release feels intense, your knees becoming weak.

Atsushi lets out sharp whines of his own, his cock twitching inside of you, prolonging your orgasm as it keeps pressuring your g-spot. He lets go of your clit and you gasp out as your climax slowly melts away, your body sore and shaky. Atsushi slows down his thrusts just for a moment, only to give an open-mouth lick that turns into a bite and ends up with a kiss to each of your waistlines. He straightens himself, sliding his hands on your hips as he speeds up his movement, panting deeply and heavily as his own orgasm approaches.

His cock keeps on twitching inside of you, and you can feel a little amount of precum sliding down your pussy. Atsushi digs his fingernails into your hips, pulling them towards him as he makes a couple more fast, needy thrusts. The blissful look on your pretty face accompanied with your sweet sounds sends him over the edge.

A sharp whine echoes through the bathroom as his hips become unsteady, a whip of cum filling your sensitive cunt. You let out a breathy and shaky moan as Atsushi's thrusts slow down as he rides out his own release. His breathing is heavy as he slides his cock in and out of you a few more times, slowly pulling out. You slowly straighten up, your legs feeling weak and shaky. Atsushi immediately hugs you, caressing your sore back. He gently directs you to the bathtub, helping you sit down.

"I am sorry, I was a bit rough." he says quietly, a nervous smile appearing on his face.

"I don't mind. I am sorry for giving you the wrong impression." you reply softly, smiling warmly at him.

You set up the water to a temperature both of you enjoyed while adding all the nice, bubbly things for a lovely bath. Atsushi slowly sits down, his eyes widening for a moment as he feels the water covering his body. He looks at you, eyes softening as he sighs out.

"No..it's me. I just...I got...it's just…I was..." he nervously tries to explain.

"Jealous?" you smile cheekily at him. He lets out a little panicky, almost defeated noise.

"I guess I was. I am sorry, that was immature." he sighs out, his tone a bit embarrassed as he gives you an apologetic look.

"That's okay, but I assure you that I love you and only you." you say in a gentle tone as you cup his face, planting it in countless kisses to make up for lack of affection. You spend the next few hours bathing and giving each other very needed love and affection.

The End :) <3

I hope you liked it and enjoyed it! :) <3

Thank you so much for all the love and support, it truly means a lot to me! :D <3

Forehead kisses for everyone :3

[seungsuki]

surprise detective - boarding a train and solving a case with your professor? (f!reader)

warning: murder of a person (if that counts)

note: part three coming soon <33

“holmes, who are these people?”, the man questioned

“the moriarty family’s second son, william, and his adoptive younger brother louis. you can just ignore the lady over there- ow!”, you kicked sherlock under the table when he said that

“fine, fine! she’s [name]. a student of william” sherlock rolled his eyes, almost making you kick him again had your professor not been beside you 

“please excuse my interruption. lestrade of scotland yard, at your service”, the man introduced 

“you are? i have heard so much about you-”

your professor was cut off by an ugly scream of a woman. alerted, you quickly looked back and got up on your feet and sprinted towards the sound. as you reached, a brown haired woman look like she had seen a ghost 

“what’s wrong?’, you asked examining her pale face 

the pale woman explained about hearing a loud sound from the neighbouring compartment ago. she came to see what the matter was before she cut herself off and pointed to the door window. you took it upon yourself and peeked through the window. a dead man with blood splattered everywhere making you want to gag in disgust. 

“oh god you guys do not wanna see the drama behind this door”, you were grossed out, stepping back for sherlock to have a look too 

“it’s locked”, the man from before exclaimed 

“no shit sherlock- no wait that sounded bad”, you realised, choosing to keep quiet 

 “yeah, he’s dead. have a look”, sherlock gestured to your professor who confirmed it to be a murder 

“so, liam, you have nothing to do before we reach london, do you? shall we have a contest to see who can find the culprit first?”, sherlock challenged the blonde man 

“very well. this might be interesting”, william cut off lestrade 

as your professor continued by talking about how complicated the case was, a man appeared behind sherlock with a face of pure shock. his coat was stained with blood and he clenched his right hand to the spot. before any questioning, the transport police arrive at the scene and you soon learnt that he was dr john h. watson. 

you felt a tug on your sleeve that took you a few steps backwards to stand behind louis despite being so invested in the drama. you looked over to see that your professor had pulled you back. of course he did, he always did care about his students wellbeing and this was something that flared your heart even more. you could hear louis whisper to his brother to not interfere with the incident to which william reassured as an innocent life was being tainted with a murder title. 

“i will give it my all to ensure that the moriarty name is not put to shame”, william said 

“then it’s a contest to see who can deliver the culprit first!”, sherlock cheered 

‘this isn’t a game’ the sane people in the room shared the same thought 

“wow this sounds fun! well professor moriarty, i shall not ruin your fun. it was lovely talking to you and i can’t wait to see you again in class!”, you bid trying to leave the stuffy environment 

“woah woah not so fast. you’re in this game too! you think i don't know you? your brother and i are old buddies so i gotta see if his smartness also applies to you. not that it actually did- owh again?!”, sherlock groaned as you elbowed his stomach 

“no thank you! i am not a detective!”, you stated almost taking your leave 

“i think it would be a great learning experience miss [name]. outside of classroom learning can benefit a lot”, william spoke 

“right… like i’m gonna find the theta of the dead body”, you muttered to which louis let out a small chuckle 

“let’s get to work”, sherlock said as he picked the lock to enter the cabin 

“is this the moment where we have to look smart?”, you whispered to no one as you watched the two men stare without moving 

sherlock began his investigation. he concluded that the dead man was a jeweller from london. you didn’t quite give a lot of attention to what he was saying as you were too busy staring at the whisky bottle discarded. where have you seen that?

“a drugged-robbery? then this is not just an ordinary murder??”, lestrade exclaimed 

“unmistakably”, william resting his left hand on his chin 

“isn’t that obvious?”, sherlock added 

“clearer that my future if you ask me”, you commented to the man 

sherlock went on to explain about the shoe prints. to which lestrade raised the question as to how he knew which print belonged to who? sherlock swiftly replied and pointed at william and your shoes 

“look at the shoes of the maths professor and student from durham university”, sherlock pointed out 

“yes. it was raining in durham”, william referred to the mud on both pairs of shoes 

your professor continued talking about how the weather cleared at their stop in yolk. he then picked up the same whisky bottle you were staring at. he continued explaining things you simply tuned out and got up from the scene. quietly you walked out and louis looked at you in confusion 

“figured it out miss [name]?”, louis asked 

“something like that”, you lied and flashed a small smile before leaving 

but you didn’t leave the scene. you stood not too far from the cabin talking to one of the crew members. simple conversations and handshakes now and then taught you many things. you were standing because of your professor. 

© seungsuki 2024-25 -- do not repost, translate, alter, etc on any platform without permission. Any characters used in my work do not belong to me, they are created by their original creator

[sanscat0414]

I’ll be Here with You, Always.

Hawks x Reader

Scenario: The first time you opened up to hawks about your feelings of unhappiness. Hawks being there to comfort you.

Warning: one mention of thoughts of unliving oneself.

————————————————————————

There are times your are down but hawks will always be their at your fall. He will always be there for you. Loving and comforting you in your time of need just as you done for him.

Today was one of those days that you weren’t feeling the best. You’re always insecure, constantly worrying, constantly trying so hard to be a people pleaser. You want validation and you want to be needed. You were always known as the happiest person, you were who they came for when they need to cheer up. You had everything you wanted and needed. But why? Why do you feel so empty? As if you were not deserving of what you have? You always thought “no I should be happy. I have a good life and a good standing I shouldn’t complain. I shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t be ungrateful. So why am I sad? Why am I like this.”

When you met Hawks, he saw right through you. You were at the roof top of your apartment building staring at the lovely night sky contemplating. You would never do it, never jump but it’s not like you haven’t thought about it. Ut was one of those days. Hawks saw you looking so empty he naturally as a hero kept and eye for people like you in case you ever do jump. He flew towards you and landed behind you.

“Hey.”

You startled and immediately turned to see the #2 infront of you.

“Hi, uhh Mr. Hawks how can I help you?” You said with a smile.

“It’s just a bit windy your standarding a little to close to the edge~ you might wanna step back less you fall. But even if you do I’ll catch you.” Something about your smile has him worried for you.

You chuckled and said “thank you for the warning Mr. Hawks. But I am fine truly.”

“Something on your mind? If you like you can talk to me.”

“Don’t you have better things to do than have idol chitchat with me Mr. Big hero.”

“Even Hero’s need a little break form the chaos, beside its a great view here. So talk to me a little~” he said winking at you and walked next to you.

“Well I guess I was having a mediocre day. It just feels a bit… I don’t know meh. It nice to take a breath and just take in the view sometimes to organize your thoughts.” You said as with every word became quieter.

“I get it, the view is one of those things that just makes you happy, it’s beautiful and I’m lucky to have a great view always, in the sky.”

Oh how they were great memories, Hawks gave you his number after saying it be nice to have a buddy to hangout with without all the obligations of being a hero and who enjoys the peaceful skyline. Then about a year in to your unlikely friendship he asked you out. Of course you said yes. Eventually bit by bit he opened up to you, his childhood, everything and got to know him as Keigo Takami not just Hawks . But you, you hide your feelings, ‘happy’ as ever. Being trained to detect discrepancies in people Hawks picked up your not as much as a ‘happy go lucky’ type that most people saw you as but he never pushed you to tell him why. Hawks was patient, he wanted you to open up to him just as you had done with him.

Today it finally happened. You broke, your bottles up feeling started to get the better of you. Hawks was at work and you hid yourself under the blanket holding on to one of hawks spare jackets crying to yourself. You didn’t want to bother Hawks, after all the world needs him and it be selfish to take him away.

Meanwhile, Hawks was at meetings and he suddenly hears crying. He thought it was strange until he remembered some of his feathers was at home with you. He’d always kept a few lying around the house when he knows you’re there to keep you safe. He started to get restless as the meeting continued and his only thought was going back home to you. He used his feathers that was with you to scoop out the house just in case of a break it. Thankfully there wasn’t, but this meeting was with the commission so he had to be present. He wanted so desperately to just run to you at the moment. As soon as he was done he rushed out the door to your shared home.

“Babybird? You okay?” You heard.

You quickly whipped your tears and stayed in the blanket. You tried your best to act normal “yeah I’m fine, how come your home so early?”

“I was worried about you, I heard your crying wit. My feathers. Babybird you know you can talk to me okay? No matter what it is.” He said as he sat down on the bed with you facing away from him.

You were silent, you didn’t want him to know, you didn’t need him to know.

“Baby~” he said in the sweetest tone full of worry.

“… I’m fine, you should go back to work, people need you.” You said not daring to turn and look at him.

“You need me right now, love. Talke to me, I know something is bothering you. You know I’m literally trained to pick these things up right? It’s hard turning it off besides I like observing you and be dumbfounded by your cuteness and beauty.”

“It’s nothing. I don’t have any thing that bothers me. Life it great especially when I get to be with you.”

“Butt?”

You stayed silent as Hawks forcefully but gently make you turn to look at him. It broke his heart seeing you with fury puffy eyes and tear dripping down your face. You didn’t dare to stared back into his golden eyes. Golden eyes that always stared at you with nothing but love, shrinking and glistening like the stars. You alway loved looking at time.

“Y/n, whatever it is you don’t need to tell me. Just know when you need it I will always be there to hear you to listen. It don’t matter what it is, if it’s your day or just something small that made you upset. I’ll be here with you, always.”

‘I’ll be here with you, always.’ That last thing he said repeated in your mind. Keigo always had a way with words. You sat up had laid you head on to his chest as he gently wrapped his armes around you.

“Sometimes it’s just too much you know? I’m supposed to be happy, I’m supposed to be the one that had everything together, I’m suppose to be the care free one. I had great parents and friends to cherish me. I have you to love me. I have so much. People have it so much worse than me. Sometime I just feel I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve to be happy… I don’t deserve to live. Everything just seem to bleek. So empty, so alone when I’m not. I know I’m loved so why don’t I feel it? Why am I like this. Why do I feel like I have everything but nothing. Why are you with me…. When I shown you nothing…. What do you love me…. Why!.”

“Sometimes it’s just like that, you think you done nothing but you do so much. So so much, sometimes you just don’t see it. As for why I love you, it’s because your loving, caring, you like dorky things that don’t make sense, you out up with my bird instincts and you always saw me as me, not some hero. You saw me as Keigo. Most of all you are you and nothing, NOTHING is more special than that. It’s perfectly fine to be sad, you don’t need to be what you think you’re supposed to be, you just need to be you. It’s okay, to not be okay. And when you are sad I’ll be here to help you through it, to be there with no matter how big or small. “

You cried holding him for along time. He held you close whispered sweet nothings to let you work through your feelings. He knows sometimes it better to just let it out, you taught him that. It’s something you never saw for yourself, so Keigo will be there to show you your own lesson. After a while you let go.

“I’m okay now thank you. You should probably go back to work. We can cuddle when you get home. Sorry for ruining your uniform with met tears. You said with a small smile.

A smile Keigo will never forget, as for the first time there was no sadness no emptiness in that smile just pure love.

“Never apologize for something like that, I can always just wash it. It’s worth it to see that smile.” He said kissing your forehead.

After changed he was ready to head out again. He holds you in his arms and said “You are worthy of love. I love you more than you will ever know. Don’t forget that”

It was then after almost two years of being together, you know he was the one you love most. He saw through you and brought the best in you. Keigo Takami, the man who never gave up on you, the man who shined like no other. He was your light, you star in your empty space, the one who gave you the courage to believe in yourself that you, Y/n L/n are capable to love and be worth of everything you have.

a/n: this was a self indulgent post, there will be days when you don’t feel good even if you don’t have a reason to. And sometimes it’s okay to be sad but remember that there is always light. It’s a reminder to all and myself sometimes it’s okay to let it out.

[starsomens]

I wanna chip in for the enemies to lovers smut so here’s my idea: set in the Concrete Jungle world or Mafia au except Reader is a cop (a rookie, detective, whatever) the government and police force are corrupt but whether she knows or not, she still want to serve and protect.

She’s supposed to take in Bad Omens, especially Noah. Don’t know how to lead to it but somehow smexy stuff happens, maybe some tension and teasing here and there

I watched Brothers Sun and there was some romance between the Son of the Triads boss and a detective girl, so I based the idea on that

:0!!!! Girrrrlllll inggggggg

Like imagine you trying to interrogate him of course he impressed the boys are willing to cooperate. Knowing that there are some corrupt cops, they could still get away with it and if anything this would work in their favor. your face was new meat and was a starving dog, who had his eyes on the prize.

Every time you’d ask him a question or try to interrogate him which he’s been through countless times, all he do is, give you smirk, and just lean into you while you spoke

“ OK what’s going on? Can you not hear me properly?” You asked him why he was getting so close to you.

“ I can hear your voice just fine, but I am wondering what a pretty little thing such as you still is doing the place on this” his voice was smooth, but rough. Playful, but mischievous you raise, and I brought him and answer his question.

“ I’m working and specifically I’m working with you which means I need you to answer my questions. That way we can both leave as soon as possible.”

“Awh we were just getting to know each other. Do you want to leave me so soon?” He pouts at you. You don’t give him an answer, and just roll your eyes and look back down to your clipboard and write down a few things. He ends up cooperating and just telling you what you want to know. Sprinkling in a couple of lies. He, of course can give away all his secrets now can he

As you’re leaving, you go to unlock the door for you both to exit, but before you do, this man was able to pin you against the wall, even if he was in handcuffs. He chapped his arms and he leans close to his body mirror inches from yours.

“ did anyone tell you how pretty you look when you’re all flustered?” he was first to you coming down close to your ear his breath sending goosebumps through your body. You knew this was wrong, you knew the type of crimes he committed, the type of information she’s probably still withholding from you. You took up this job because you wanted to do the right thing. But damn that smile. Those eyes. And his tattoos that would peak through his clothing when he’d rule his sleeves up to his elbows. They made you absolutely weak in the means, and the way he whisper lonely into your ear like this making sure no one else would hear, but you something about it was so forbidden, but so damn hypnotic you fucking hated him for it.

Hated he didn’t do anything to open the door stating that you both didn’t have all day and you have things to get to. Help yourself badly you wanted being so teasing and sly. especially the way he left with a huge smirk on his face and called you princess on his way out.

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

'Who am I to Complain?'

As part of my own contribution to this year's first day of Spring 2024, aka the in universe birthday of one Richard John Grayson-Wayne, the First Robin and the crime fighter known as Nightwing, I would like this opportunity finally....FINALLY...posting up for you all a fic that's been in my drafts for pretty much the better part of any entire year. Originally meant on being released last Christmas, various forms of delay, writer's block and other general distractions have prevented me from finally finishing such a project. Well finally after such anticipation at least on my end, I have managed creating a final form for this story I think can satisfy.

For very quick context, this story is a component of my long running idea proposing and lore building of my own version of the DC Comics Universe. In particular, it takes within the long storyline both @thattimdrakeguy and I have crafted for the better part of two years, the first part being involved within the hypothetical Nightwing solo book, 'Clipped Wings' and its follow up crossover with Detective Comics proper, "Blue Hawk Down'. For more information regarding the general summaries of events, check out the links here and here.

I shall like to dedicate this story to my mutuals and friends @adalineozie @meara-eldestofthemall @nightglider124 @faesystem @confusedhummingbird @spider-jaysart @mothnem @lightdusk96 @camo-wolf @sbd-laytall @theredheaded-stuff @celaenaeiln @starlightbelle @shootingstarssel @avaraydrake @pin-crusher2000 @sillymanwithocs @batboyblog @bluegarners @tarisilmarwen @orange-s-mario @altinyns-multimedia-museblog @katmaatui and so many others

Constructive Criticisms are Generally Welcome; Replies and Especially Reblogs are greatly appreciated

The Following May Contain Graphic Scenes of Violence, References to Sexual Assault and other themes not suitable for a Young Audience. Viewer Discretion is Heavily Advised

As per usual, All Rights and Copyrights to Characters and Concepts seen in this work are owned by DC Comics, Inc, a subsidiary of DC Entertaiment and Warner Bros. Discovery

With all that....Happy Birthday Dick Grayson....Here's my gift of Grade A angst for you

Sigh. Cough Cough

Look at yourself. Just Honest to God, Dick, just look at yourself.

Take a good look at those cuts, that blood all over your ugly as hell face, that blood pouring out of your stupid, big fat hole you call a mouth. You wanna know who’s Goddamn fault it was for all this? You wanna know who's responsible for you being more pathetic and a freak than you already are? Cough Cough

You.

Don’t try to deny it. Why should you? 

After all, you allowed this to happen to you, right? Not just with what happened tonight but over these last few weeks. You know what I’m talking about. Losing your home and failing to find out how despite insisting you paid for it. What will Kory Cough say now when she comes back and sees that home you wanted to allow her into isn’t even yours anymore? What kind of fiance are you to allow that? 

  Why stop there? Here you are, without any place to call a house, your face gushing and oozing red as it had been lately, broke, nobody likes you, not a single damn soul cares about you. You wanna know who’s fault it is? Yours. In fact, as you right now are flinging that bottle of peroxide into your ugly face and stinging from it as you deserve, how about we explore what even happened tonight that led to this, shall we? 

  I think I should…Cough

 Three Hours Earlier….

 BAM 

“Ack!” 

“Tell Us Goddamnit, You Blue Wearing Cunt!!” 

As if I would. How do I tell these bastards where the hell Bruce is if I wasn’t even able to speak to him for weeks by now? 

I know what you’re thinking, ‘but are you his…’

Stop right there right now. If you’re gonna pull that whole ‘you’re his son’  bullshit on me, for one thing, at the very most I was adopted, I ain’t his real kid. I never deserved being his real kid at all given who we are. Another thing too; if he were to come to my help, he would’ve done so about…God knows how many times by now lately. I would handle it anyways, what kind of person needs any sort of father or even friends when it was their own damn fault they wound up taking two  bullets to the hamstrings? 

Why yes, that’s what I’m going through and yes it was my Goddamn fault being this utterly stupid and an utter embarrassment with my training for getting caught by those sickos like I was. Now you are thinking, everyone has an off day and…

BAM BAM BAM BAM 

Crap! Two on the calves and two more on my hamstrings, I can tell. 

“Motherfucker….” Damn it all they weren’t supposed to hear that. Great, now they laugh at it. 

The hell’s wrong with me? There’s no time to let them know what’s going with my nerves acting up. 

“You know, guys” (Cough) Keep it in, Grayson! You got something to say these assholes need to hear Damnit! “ You’re getting absolutely nowhere right now. If I knew where Batman was, I still wouldn’t tell you. So what the hell makes you think I do then after an hour and…” 

“Shut the fuck up, Birdfreak!” 

BAM

A kick right to my face? Yeah, another in my long line of failures and that one was justified; I should’ve seen that one coming. Hey, compared to the bullet holes though, it’s nothing really. Besides why even be hurt by that when I have this lowlife staring directly at my ugly mug of a face right now? 

“You know him, more than us here! You have to know where he went! We got a sweet little gig here and I ain’t rushing to see that pointy eared son of a dick trying to ruin it! ‘Sides, you’re in our hands now, so you see; once we’re all done here one way or another, we can get that dough from the cops since they’re looking for you more than us! Now you tell us if he knows about this place and if he’s coming, will ya?! We ain’t got all night and I’m missing my game!” 

Sweet little gig? As in the child trafficking operation they got here right now? Some of those children right behind me behind a cage like animals, forced to see me pinned on my torso and face, taking crap in many ways from them? They call that ‘sweet’ in mine and their faces?! 

“You calling that a game? Selling kids to sexual slavery? I really hate to see what’ll be your idea for a movie if that’s what you.re saying” That quip, I couldn’t help, it was damn true and these creeps needed to hear that. It was about as much a fact as Bruce hates me right now and rightfully so. 

Yet all they do is laugh even harder than before. They’re really….really starting to get on my nerves. 

Their ringleader grins ever so much in my face. His disgusting and unbearable cigarette smoke billows in my face. “So what?”  

So what? So what?? Is that really your best retort to me? It’s unbelievable, just what kind of devils and evils dwell in this city. But it’s evil I hunt for every single night. No one around me sees what I have to or does what I do around these parts. Not Bruce, not Tim, not Kory, no Donna….no one. On that note,  no one should have to. Maybe it’s my failure to stop evil like this and everything I do, everything so wrong and never good enough, that’s why I’m certain Bruce decided just to cut me off. 

No job, no place I can call a house or a home to stay in, no money, no spare clothes, no answering my calls, nothing. It’s been about three months of this so far, a three month test to see if I break if I had nothing, only for the big bad bat wanting me to literally cry my way back home to him. You know what? Screw you too, Bruce. Or whoever was doing all this. I know that, even for you Bruce, ins outs of everything, even you normally won’t stoop this low. It’s not just nothing I’ve been trying to figure out suggests otherwise. Maybe it’s just this….paranoia….no I can’t be paranoid. What’s happening is real and I need to deal with it and…

“Hey Cockscuker, you listening to me??” 

Oh right, this asshole. 

Looking at him, I can’t help myself but make my eyes go towards his own. What does he think would work now to make me talk? 

In his hands was some sort of object. It looks bladed, I can tell based on the glistening of the steel coming from the moonlight coming in through the window. Once he gets a bit closer, I see it now….oh of course….a damn pizza cutter. Oh and just my luck too, in his other hand is a goddamn cheese grater. I guess either this warehouse is for kitchen  tools or just my karma telling me how much I fucking suck and rightfully so again. Maybe the latter. 

The asshole only grins at me. “Okay then, maybe some…slices can get ya to talk. What do you say?” 

I take a deep breath and brace my teeth within my mouth. No use crying out, screaming or any of that weakness than I already showed earlier . This frankly I deserve, and come on. 

I’ve taken a few swings from a baseball bat from Two Face, got injected with Slade’s nanoscopic probes that were shredding my cells inside and out, got blasted by an alternate Luthor, forcibly swallowed a heart paralyzing pill by Slade and the actual Luthor (that bald cunt)….and now just a circular blade and a metal sheet with blades on it on my forehead and face?

Seems fitting enough to take; whatever I’ve done and didn’t do in my vow to protect the innocent and never strive off the path of justice, being a terrible friend, never good enough for Batman as I had always been, letting the only two people that actually had any right to care for me fall to the sandy and hard floor, shattering almost every bone in their bodies when I had only one job to do which was catch them….yeah this is appropriate. This is exactly what I deserve after all of that. Losing my home, my job, and my means to do basically anything for myself, I deserve that.

Who am I to complain, really? 

  Back at the Present Day….

   Sssszzzz….

“Ah Fuck!” 

Peroxide…it never fails to emit any sort of sting on any sort of cut, don’t it, Dick? 

Oh but you gonna start cussing and feeling it now? What the hell’s wrong with you? You can’t handle just a tiny sting of this shit without any yells? 

Suck it up, will ya? You’re acting like a spoiled brat. 

Who are you to complain about really?

Oh and by the way, there goes the last of our Peroxide, just circling down this old bathroom sink drain into God knows sewer pipes along with the blood it splashed off. You're gonna have to fetch some more, Dick. It’s not like Bruce is gonna get us anymore. 

Fuck Him. 

We’ve been putting up with his shit every since we lost are damn place to stay in, then our jobs all over this city, villain after villain breaking out, us being blamed for the Mayor, his wife and girl getting ripped to shreds and blood all over one day with one of your Wingdings, making you hunted down from pretty much everyone (for what only $1.5 Billion Alive? Oh c’mon that's too generous of a bounty for you. I’d put myself at about only 25 cents given your piss poor track record); You know for sure Bruce did all this, all behind the scenes, pulling every string he can to get us like this. 

 And why? Letting him know that you can take care of ourselves that one time and him being this offended by it? Well, fuck it, You’ve been showing him alright! Things are shittybut maybe that’s just how he likes it for you. Nothing gonna change that anytime soon; might as well make it the best for you, because it’s all you can do by now. 

  So now, no shoes, no fucking good socks at all, only one pair of torn sweats, that black tee, suit and toothbrush in your bag, here in this damn blizzard….every breathe getting…heavier….kinda….getting hard to stay awa…Cough Cough Cough

  Hey! Cut it out, Dickface! Cough Keep going at least somewhere! Anywhere out of this snow…so much of it….Wait, that spot there, in this alley. That’ll work for now. 

You hear that, laying on this backpack now….yeah this’ll work….at least not being out in that wind, though…..so much snow….it’s everywhere. It’s been everywhere these last few days. Fitting really, since well you do hear that right?

  C’mon pick it up, Dick, your ears can’t be that piss poor 

Cough

  “May I, as your new Mayor, wish us all in this dear Bludhaven…..”

   Yeah, there it is…..old Mafia boss now politician giving his speech for what today is. 

    “A Good…Merry ... .Christmas…!” 

   Okay, you get the idea. At least that’s one thing you got right….

   Getting sleepy now….

…...pretty cold…..tomorrow might be better….

But at least that’s one thing, Dick….

…this damn city….all of its people….they got a good Christmas….

Gotta close your eyes now…..

Wait….that the Redbird….isn't that….can’t be Timmy…..

Cough Cough

 Heh…looks like he tripped…Not real though….can’t be…..Bruce doesn’t care….you don’t need him…..but yeah….need rest…..you gave them a good Christmas 

Who…am….I….to….Cough…..Complain?

[importantchaosgiver]

The Mystery Thickens

Summary: Whilst having her day off after an interesting night, (Y/N) bumps into an all too familiar face...

Warnings: None?

******

No one's POV

'Should I get the whole wheat or white?', (Y/N) pondered, looking at the loaves of bread along the isle. It was her day off, and god knows she needed it. After the previous night, she had went back to the station and asked them to test the blood. She would get the results later, hopefully. But what got her the most was the animatronics. They didn't speak, yet Abby could communicate with them? On top of all that, they moved in ways normal robots couldn't. How? (Y/N) pushed it into the back corner of her mind and focused on grocery shopping. As she put the white bread into her basket, she felt something collide with her back, making her yelp. She fell forward, but before she could hit the floor, an arm wrapped around her waist and caught her.

"I am very sorry, miss. I should've watched where I was walking," a man's voice said, helping her get back to her feet. "It's alright. It's a minor mis-" (Y/N)'s voice trailed off when she turned to see who had knocked her over and caught her. It was the man! Older mind you, but she recognized those blue eyes anywhere.

He smiled at her. "It's you," she muttered. "It is. Hello," he chuckled. (Y/N) snapped out of her surprise. "Sorry, what's your name?" she queried. "Steve Raglan. I remember you. Officer (L/N), I believe," he said with an almost charming smile. "It's detective now. But yeah. You can call me (Y/N). I'm off duty," she said with a smile also. "Don't mind if I do. So, (Y/N). My daughter said you went to Fazbear's last night about the break in," he said. "Yeah, I did. Simple procedure," she said with a shrug. Steve nodded, looking at her carefully. She had grown out her hair a little, looked a bit older compared to the twenty year old he saw back when the children went missing.

"You don't look half bad," he said. (Y/N) blinked, not used to getting compliments. "Uh, thanks? You don't look bad yourself," she said, trying to repay the kindness. Steve just smiled at her. He had to find a way to get her off his case, but it wasn't going to be easy. He'd deal with Mike at a later date. But this was a trained detective who already found something suspicious at the pizzeria. He couldn't risk killing her, a detective. "Wanna grab a coffee?" he suggested. He had to be careful with this one. "Uh, sure," (Y/N) said with a shrug. After she paid for her groceries and put them in her car, they went to a nearby coffee shop. They happily talked together, talking about their hobbies and lives. After almost an hour, (Y/N)'s phone buzzed. She glanced down. Results of the blood. "Oh, I'm sorry. Work," she said, putting her finished coffee cup in a recycling bin. "No worries. Well, catch you on the flip side," Steve said with a smile. "Sure," (Y/N) said with a smile and jogged off. Once her back was turned, Steve's smile dropped. She was a tricky one....

Some hours later....

(Y/N) was beyond confused. She had gotten blood results of a man and went to ask his family. But no one had seen nor heard from him. She sat in her car, letting out a sigh. She had hit a dead end. But she wasn't going to give up easily. Something wasn't right about that pizzeria. The case with the break in had grown cold. But those animatronics unnerved her. Something was terribly wrong. She could almost sense it. So, she drove the pizzeria.

When (Y/N) arrived and got let in by Mike, she saw him, Vanessa and Abby making a..... fort? "Hey, miss!" Abby greeted with an enthusiastic grin, waving happily. Vanessa waved back albiet a little weary. Why was the detective back? (Y/N) waved a little back. "Mr Schmidt, can I ask you a few questions concerning something?" she asked. "Yeah. And please, call me Mike," he said and lead her into other room. "What's your take on the animatronics?" (Y/N) queried once they were alone. Mike thought carefully. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to sound crazy when talking to this woman either.

"There's definitely something going on with them. I keep having strange dreams about five kids. I know this may sound mad, but I think those kids-" "May have been the ones that disappeared," (Y/N) finished for him. "Yeah, basically," Mike said, nodding and putting his hands inside his pockets. (Y/N)'s brow furrowed even more. This wasn't leading to answers, only more questions. "This doesn't make sense, yet...... it is all connected," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "I take it you were one of the cops involved with the investigation about those kids," Mike said. She nodded. "Yeah, I was. But this is all so confusing," (Y/N) sighed. Mike nodded, half understanding what she meant. "I best go think on this. See you around," she said, going to leave the pizzeria. As she walked out, Vanessa's and the animatronics eyes all followed as she left. She was one step closer. If only she noticed the drawing......

[nyctophiliq]

OK ok idea for once. Kiriko and/or widow dragging their hands through an s/o's short hair bc aaahshdhdhdhrhdhhejdjd I melt when people do it. Like an s/o who can't help it at all. Maybe the S/o is annoyed at them and kiriko or who ever you choose just runs her hands through the S/Os hair and their mood immediately changes as they visibly relax, idk I'm sudjdnjduchdhfhcjfnffjfnfndndj fluffy please touch my fluffy hair imckjdnxjdnjennshdjjc

✮ — 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 ; kiriko kamori, amélie 'widowmaker' lacroix, elizabeth caledonia 'ashe', brigitte lindholm

content warning. afab! reader, sfw ! — lowercase writing intended, mention of blood and injuries, nothing but fluffy things

moss' notes; here you go magie mage, sorry this took forever :/ added ashe because moss' wife is ashe <3

— KIRIKO...

you were used to kiriko getting home late, like around midnight, and at first, you were all angry and red about it but got used to it since she always came home by twelve am, without a scratch on her. but tonight she didn't even make it to twelve, better yet, she came home in the morning, wrapped in bandages here and there and with a few cuts on her face!

x "what were you thinking, kiriko! if your mother gets a wind of this i will never ever see you again! hell, you might not even be allowed to see the light of day until you turn old and wrinkly." you went on and on about how reckless she was, acting as her mother instead of her mother.

kiriko just sighed, starring blankly at you, barely listening into whatever you were saying. she understand that you were worried, she thought about calling you to let you know she will be coming home later but things got so heated she lost her phone. so she beared your loud words, a little bored of it as she sat next to you on the couch. but she did nothing your looking kinda wrong, as if you haven't brushed it or had a hat on. she reached out to fix it, ran her fingers through your hair like a brush. you looked at her like she was crazy, your mouth still moving with concern but as soon as her fingertips reached your scalp, pushing on it you shut up, leaning into her touch like a pet would.

x "why so silent now? i wanted to hear the end."

— WIDOWMAKER...

it was unlike amélie to let herself be wounded, she always choose to fight from a distance and there was little to no chance of anyone detecting her from the heights she climbed up to.

x "both you and your agents made a stupid plan, especially you! the one who was leading the mission, what were yo thinking going in with this kind of plan?"

there was hardly any more way to express how stupid her plan was and most would have stopped at half of the rambling your were still going at. amélie just sat there, enduring your harsh words thrown at her that she knew were just a sign that you were worried sick when she came home with a bleeding bandage on her arm.

she herself has no idea what made her reach out with her bad arm, try to caress your face and anger you even more, but all your words seemed to choke into a sigh as her finger dig through your locks, massaging your scalp the slightest.

x "cheriè you are always so easy to calm, always surprises me."

— BRIGITTE...

you always told her to never try and lift the heavier pieces along, that she should either call reinhart or use one of those machines in her workshop to lift them up! but of course, she has to show off how strong she is, call it 'a little more workout'.

x "if you wanna work out you go to the gym, not lift those giant pieces of metal all by yourself! you wanna hurt yourself worse than this, is that what you are going for?"

brigitte just chuckled at your distressed words, letting you bandage up the cut on her arm while she iced the bruise on her other hand’s knuckles. you were going on and on about how dangerous lifting those things are, and that if it happens again you surely won’t let angela patch her all the while leaning closer and closer, trying to see better.

the taller girl smiled at your efforts, trying to blow your hair out of the way and when you finally had enough, dipping your head back to hopefully get rid of the strand making your life miserable brigitte cupped your cheek, caressing the skin under your eye for a second before sneaking her fingers along the roots of your hair.

x "you are always right my heart, won’t happen again.

— ASHE...

elizabeth loved going out to the local bar with some of her gang members to drink, and ruff some people up before getting home but tonight she picked a bigger fish than she could fry and bob wasn't there to help her out. so she came home with a few bruises

x "could you be more reckless? i get you don't like people messing with you but you are smarter than this!" you fumed as you cleaned the blood from under her nose with a towel wet with warm water.

ashe just rolled her eyes at your comments, having an internal monologue of speaking back to you, trying to defend herself but even if she tried to speak you wouldn't even notice because of how angry you were. she just gazed at your face, following the way your lips moved with every word, how the skin on the corner of your eyes creased when you took a second to look at her face rather than her nose then turn your body to re-wet the cloth.

your hair seemed to bother you, as you kept fixing it, pushing it to the side, then to the other side in between words, trying to get it to stop bothering you. ashe noticed, much rather focus on you struggling with your hair than your words. she reached her hand out, pushing the hair out of your face the way you liked it before raking her finger in your hair, dragging her fingertips across your head with some pressure.

x "ain't that good my darling? consider it my sorry for worryin' ya pretty self."

tag list; @darlingmisa @soffisalive @sevikasangel @pixiegirlz @gonegonethankyouuu

[snippychicke]

I have a question!

You can answer this if you want if you don't than that fines but! I really really wanna know

.....how would balam be like when he's jealous?

Maybe specifically if he was jealous cause of reader smelt different than usual(before they were courting)

And other demons assume that they were courting another demon?!

When in reality reader has picked up making perfumes from plants after reading about it. (Surprisingly smelling like a powerful demon and having a resting bitch face when annoyed can make netherworld plants very obedient)

Please i would very much like your thoughts on this idea if you can't again thats fine. I am a really big fan of for the sake of a smile you are doing an amazing job on it. Please drink water, sleep well and always have a balanced meal.

Thank you and good night/day

Heya Anon! Thank you so much for your prompt! And for your flattery! As you know it will get you anywhere. 

Or at least a little side drabble. I'm not a hundred percent sure it was what you were aiming for, but it's what came out of my head. So enjoy!

Opera's words had rang in your ear from Walter park, and despite Balam's assurance that you didn't smell bad,  the thought of having a scent so powerful it could be detected across the sprawling amusement park did not sit well with you. 

So, during the next semester while everyone else was focused on the Harvest festival and then the Music Festival, and your mana was worn from trying out Runes, you researched something different. 

Perfume. 

Unlike Runes, there was a plethora of texts on perfumes and scent-based magic. A lot had to deal with seduction, but it was more the deception aspect that had your interest. 

After all, you wanted to deceive the whole Netherworld into believing you were a demon, and not a delicious human. 

The endeavor had you visiting Raim between her classes.

"You want to smell different?" The demon asked, looking rather perplexed before smiling. "Oh, I see. Trying to catch a certain Gargoyle's attention, are we?"

"No," You grounded out. "I… I don't know how to explain it other than I don't want to be so noticeable." 

Her fingertips caressed your cheek before settling beneath your chin, encouraging you to look at her eyes. "Darling, who ever told you being noticed was a bad thing? It is a natural power that we hold over those who feel even the slightest hint of attraction. What you want is that they are so awed by your beauty they fail to see the knife you wield." 

Which might work for seductive demons, but was definitely not what you were looking for. But she did point you in the right direction. 

And also towards Suzy. 

"Interesting combination," The small demon hummed as you followed her into the greenhouse.  "And you said you wanted to make a perfume?"

"Yeah. It's, uh, a long story." 

Suzy chuckled. "Believe me dear, I've heard it all. But to be the most potent for your scent, you'll want to harvest these yourself. If I harvest them for you, my mana would taint whatever magical properties you intend for it to have."

Every time you thought you understood the Netherworld, it revealed yet another layer. Perfume here wasn't just something that smelled pretty. It could be laced with magical properties, pheromones, and whatever else. A person's scent was as identifying as their appearance and sometimes more.  

It was a gamble, you realized - but one you were willing to take. Especially after facing down a flower that was a monstrous version of a dandelion and a man eating venus flytrap with nothing but a harsh glare and a set of pruning shears. 

--+--

You were fairly certain you messed up. You had decided to create your perfume in the Library's office, which felt more like brewing a potion. To you it smelt light, pleasant, and far different then Sullivan's cologne. 

But the looks you were getting made you wonder if you were missing something. Some looked rather surprised, others were giving you knowing grins and thumbs up. 

But it was Balam's reaction that made you doubt the most. As soon as he saw you in the hall, his dark eyes widened, his muscles tensing so much you could easily notice. He crossed the distance between you in a near instant, and you braced yourself, expecting him to pick you up into a hug as usual.

Except he paused just a few feet from you, looking very uncomfortable and confused. 

"Uh, is everything… okay?" You asked softly as he continued to stand there, studying you as if you had grown a second head or something. 

"Fine," He answered, sounding as if things were not fine. "Are you… is everything okay with you? Anything… new?" 

"N-not really?" You answered, anxiety bubbling in your gut. Why was he acting so odd? Surely it wasn't just because you switched scents. 

His eyes narrowed, and before you could probe to find out what was bothering him, he grabbed your hand and pulled you to a nearby empty classroom, making sure you were alone. "Balam…"

"Do you know how dangerous this could be?" He interrupted as he knelt before you. "I mean, what-what if they discover you're human? What if they hurt you? Or Iruma? I mean, caring for children from other relationships isn't typical for demons. How did this even happen? Did-did they force you? I promise, I can protect you. Both you and Iruma. Or… Or if you don't want me, Lord Sullivan…" 

You cupped his cheeks, unable to press your finger to his lips to silence him considering his mask. Still, the gesture achieved silence as he froze, his cheeks slowly turning pink. 

"Balam. I have no idea what you are talking about," You said slowly and clearly, hoping it would help him calm down from the panic he had worked himself into. 

"Your scent," He explained after a moment, his cheeks turning an even darker shade "It-it smells like you mated with another demon." 

It was your turn to blush, "W-what?! That-that is not at all what I wanted!" Oh god. All those looks in the hall. It was a walk of shame and you could never show your face again. 

You groaned as you covered your face. "No no no! I double checked the ingredients! To ward off interest, to hide another scent, it was supposed to be a replacement for Sullivan's cologne!" 

"It's… it's fake?" There was a hint of relief in his voice. He pulled you into his arms, and you found yourself nestled in his lap as he sat on the floor. His mask was pressed to join between your neck and shoulder, the cold metal contrasting with the hot breath escaping through the vents. The knot in your stomach shifted into something else as his hands wrapped around your waist, holding you still. You unconsciously held your breath, well aware of how red your face had to be from how hot you felt.

Your hands rested on his chest to support your balance, though it felt risqué in your position. Though, it meant you could feel him relax after a moment. But if you thought he would pull away, you were sorely mistaken. If anything, he pulled you closer until your chest was flush with his arms wrapping around you as he pressed his face against the crook of your neck. 

"Balam?" You whispered and received no response after a moment of silence. "...Shichiro?" 

It was the first time you said his given name, which felt taboo. Yes, you were friends, but not that close… right? 

He continued to be silent, but squeezed you a little tighter. As if… as if he was afraid you'd run away, or disappear. You sighed softly at the realization, and started to run your fingers down the back of his neck and shoulders in a hopefully soothing manner. You were still confused as to why he was acting like this, but no matter what the cause was, you felt compelled to comfort him. 

"It's okay," You soothed, allowing yourself to rest against him. "I'm sorry, it's just Opera's words from Walter park just… kinda stuck in my head. Humans have a thing against being… stinky. I just wanted to smell… nicer. I mean, I did my research and everything, so I don't understand…"

"You said humans can't smell pheromones, right?" He mumbled against you, his breath causing shivers to run down your spine and heat to bloom in your loins. All you could do was nod, untrusting of your voice at the moment. "Whatever you used mimicked the pheromones of a demon who had a… a mate."

"I get that," You confirmed, embarrassment threatening to overwhelm you. "I just…" Why was he so bothered?  

"I was worried someone took advantage of you," He answered after a moment. "That, for whatever reason, you… you…"

Oh

Oh.

You laughed through your nerves. "Oh Devi, no! I know having an…intimate relationship with anyone is off the table. I resigned myself to that fact a while ago." Not that thoughts still didn't haunt you, dreams full of desire and passion. 

Starring a certain demon in particular

There was another long moment of silence, his hands slowly rubbing your back and sides in the way he was prone to do. Despite knowing he didn't mean anything by it, the action didn't help the situation any as you resisted the urge to arch into him. Your gutter mind was happy to imagine those large hands grazing bare skin. His warm breath was replaced by soft lips and grazing fangs, making you clench your jaw.

Damn overactive imagination.

"If… if you need anything, please," He finally spoke. "I'd be happy to assist you." 

You tried to beat your gutter mind back, insisting that he didn't mean it like that. He meant making a new perfume, likely. Or just a blanket statement. It was not at all related to your previous discussion. 

"You're the sweetest," You whispered before pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I couldn't ask for a better friend."

[welcometololaland]

Round Up - Part 1

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. The theme was: rec a feel-good fanwork (a fanwork that gives you the warm fuzzies). If I've missed any, please let me know.

Disclaimer: This is a compilation of works i've been tagged in or which appear in the #fic rec friday tag relevant to the weekly theme. The recommendations below do not represent a personal curation of works. Please read at your own discretion. Heed tags and ratings on each individual work. Keep yourself safe, friends!

911

Leading with the Left by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

911 Lone Star

Fan art

"Hi. You're TK, I'm Carlos, and we're soulmates" by @ambiguouspenny

"Sure, ma'am, but just so you know, I am a homosexual" by @thisbuildinghasfeelings

"Wanna race?" by @heartstringsduet

2.12 (part 1) by @reyeslonestar

2.12 (part 2) by @reyeslonestar

3.08 by @reyeslonestar

and they were soulmates fanart by @birdclowns

Barbie inspired tarlos mugshots by @qtepasacalabaza

Being Alive by @ambiguouspenny

Bitchy TK With a Popsicle by @fitzherbertssmolder

brian michael smith/paul strickland by @mahanonu

coffee meet cute by @fitzherbertssmolder

Grace Ryder by @yorit1

Happy Pride(Wedding Tarlos) by @t-mato

Marjan & TK Disco Roller Skating by @fitzherbertssmolder

Nancy Gillian MVP by @heartstringsduet

nancymarjan art by @iinryer

points of contact by @reyeslonestar

Since The First Night I Took You Home by @a-kinkajou 

softball TK by @dannylarryson

tarlos drawn animation by @reyeslonestar

tarlos “soon” by @birdclowns

tarlos instagram au set by @revengeofthesiths

tarlos proposal by @alwaysablossom

tarlos wedding art by @alwaysablossom

TK and Carlos + Love in Art Pt. 1 by @thevenstar

TK and Carlos + Love in Art Pt. 2 by @thevenstar

tk and marjan art (plus marjan fic) by @iinryer

tk and nancy by @birdclowns

TK sleeping by @heartstringsduet

TNT Bachelor Party by @asktarlos

we make a pretty good team by @herosiris

You're My Hot Mess by @fitzherbertssmolder

Fics (Part 1)

16 weeks by paperstorm

A Love Like Theirs by @noxsoulmate

A Rainy Day in Austin by @carlos-in-glasses

a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss by @strandnreyes

And We'll Only Be Making It Right & Now my heart is in your hands by @noxsoulmate

But most of it was beautiful by @heartstringsduet

dream this night away by @reyesstrand

Four Suits by @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut

i only want to be with you by @ladytessa74

Just A Little Longer by @bonheur-cafe

la puta by rakketyrivertam

Light comes flooding in by paperstorm

Mr. July by @goodways

Of little girls and their cats by @bellakitse

Protect Me by @karaxuno

Pure devotion by @mi1kc0ffee

Only For Tonight by @detective-giggles

Seven Ways Back to You (series) by Lolaland (me)

Show Me What I'm Looking For by Mari_Marie

Showing You my Love by @ramblingdisaster73

Soon by @rmd-writes

Sunshine On My Body, Rainbows Bloomin' In My Skies by @lemonlyman-dotcom

[arcanemoxhi]

HEY!!

you wanna know what I got in the works?? It's some spicy Vi smut 👀 here's some snippets. Hehehe >:]

👇🏽

Enemy Romance 💞

Villain/Criminal!Vi x Hero/Detective!FemReader:

The clock reads, 1:25 am. You take a deep breath and go over to your door. You kick away your job bags as you unlock your dark oak door. You open the door to someone who you would never guess to be there. Though, it fits on schedule what this criminal is doing at this time. You stare into her eyes, staring right back at you. Her body rigid as you watch her battered body take sharp exhales. "What- Are you this dumb?? Don't you know who I am?! I will have you arrested!" You ignore how her eyes are making you feel. The criminal begins to take steps forward leaving you to step back. Her breaths are heavy and you can feel her. She slams the door shut behind her, causing you to flinch. You have no idea why she has this effect on you but you stare back hoping it to end. You can't go back any further once your lower back hits the corner of the couch. "What do you want?" You state sternly to her. Your words caused her to stop, but to smile at you. "What do I want...?" She finally speaks to you. She drops to her knees in front of you, letting you gasp out a little. Her eyes trail up your body, visually undressing you. "I want to hear you say my name, as I take your virginity, detective."

Horny Urges 💕🔞

Gf!Vi x Fem!Reader:

"Babe, can you come here for a second before you do that??" Vi sounds a little annoyed so you shrug and walk over. "What's the matter?" You look down at her on the couch. She's laid back as one of her legs are elevated as the other hangs off the couch. "Baaabbe," Vi grabs your wrists and pulls u closer to her. She looks up at you a little irritated and whiny. "What's the matter?" You repeat yourself to her.

Late Night Desperate Calls 📞🔞

Modern Ex!Vi x Fem!Reader:

You hang up after a few words. You hide your toy not that well and immediately put on your favorite shorts. You stand up and sprint over to your living room. You can't believe you took this leap and now your walking back and forth. The fact that you got her to come is a lot already, but you're getting all you want tonight. You convinced yourself this will be a one time thing so you can move on. As accurate can be, after 15 minutes, you hear knocking at your door. You rush to answer the door. Vi greets you by leaning forward against the door frame. Immediately, you smell her good body mist and you see her favorite red flannel and black shirt underneath. She just had to make you fall in love with her all over again.

Hehe, that's what's in the works heheheh >:] bye bye, muah muah love you 💕

[liliallowed]

crimson but it's dustbelife

dust belief papy: I'm going to kill yo-

crimson: okay okay wait stop. let me process this. did you catch the crazies pap?

papyrus: huh?

crimson: Asriel died to the humans up there, I caught the crazies from flowey sans caught it from me and now you're here. did you catch the crazy pap? *sandwiching his face*

papyrus: what? NO! I accidentally killed sans! I WON'T LET HIS EXP GO TO WA-

crimson: go to waste blah blah blah, sacrifice your loved ones, yeah yeah I know. what I'm more interested in *wears detective hat* IS THE PLOT HOLE! YOU CAN'T EVEN KILL ME ON ACCIDENT! your control over your magic is so good that you won't even kill ME in the normal runs!

papyrus: uhhhhh

crimson: who is it? is it gaster? I SEE YOU, YOU SONAVA BITCH! JUST CUZ I LIKED SANS GOING CRAZY DOESN'T MEAN I'LL LIKE IT IF THE WHOLE FUCKING UNDERGROUND LOSES THEIR SHIT! undo this shit to papy he doesn't deserve to be the executioner or the angel of death you keep trying to replace!

Papyrus: who are you talking to-

crimson: shush. the cosmic horrors are talking.

papyrus: sans should I kill them-

crimson: buddy. buddy. pal. let me reset. bring your brother back, and we can all fucking fix this before this glitch friking drives the temmies crazy.

papyrus: the... temmies?

crimson: oh yeah. those lil shits remember EVERYTHING. I do NOT wanna see what they'll turn into if the catch the crazies.

papyrus: so you're... NOT loading? you're just gonna reset? sans will be back?

crimson: DUH! I'm not a fucking sadist! I miss him too you know!

papyrus: you literally saw him last reset.

crimson: it's been 15 years.

[after reset]

papyrus: human uhhh I don't think the reset worked?

sans: god fucking dammit, I LITERALLY DID ALL THAT SHIT SO YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO DEAL WITH... crimson I'm going to rip you to shreds UNDO this from my brother.

papyrus: HELL NO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU DEAL WITH THE PURGATORY BY YOURSELF.

crimson: see that's just wholesome. but uhhh we're ignoring the fact that even I don't know wtf is going on...

sans and pap: you don't???

crimson: NOPE! believe me I didn't expect this to happen but for this to happen twice means it's spreading. uhhhh so like... stop killing me? till I figure things out, them we can go back to the murder spree.

sans: haha. no.

papyrus: wait so you're just gonna spare everyone?

crimson: you know undyne? I'm basically her but murder is included in my fight. I'm not evil. I just want a good fight! and like... I DON'T want to torture people??? well, maybe if they'll fight me harder or kill me more but... COME ON. I DON'T WANT GOAT MOM TO TURN PSYCHO! that's just sad. it's not exciting. it's just depressing.

sans: you broke the world, it's all your fault.

papyrus: wait WHY ARE WE FIGHTING then?

crimson: I dunno. wanna continue? I'm still down to fight if you want but like, can we think outside of the box for a sec? I think this world is trying to kill itself.

sans: and who's fault is that.

crimson: see this shit paps, your lazy ass brother is blaming me instead of trying to fix it.

papyrus: both of you are unbelievable...

crimson: THE WORLD LITERALLY SABOTAGED YOU TO KILL SANS PAP. IT'S ALL CONNECTED YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT, SABS WOULDN'T DO THIS. THE SCRIPT US BENDING OVER BACKWARDS JUST TO DESTROY ITSELF.

sans: you sound like a mad scientist.

crimson: DAMN RIGHT I AM. WHERE IS MY LAB COAT

papyrus: sans why did you resort to LV.

sans: skeedoodle skedaddle their choice of fate is now a noodle.

papyrus: god dammit STOP JOKING ABOUT LITERAL GENOCIDE SANS.

[shimmerbeasts]

A Miscommunication Issue

"You know you don't have to go down there by yourself."

Vi forced her gaze away from the snapshot photograph, she had been staring at for the last couple of minutes. It did not seem to be anything special; just a picture of graffiti on a wall. Yet where most people would merely see the child-like and crude drawings of a tiger and a cheetah, pulling at the ears and legs of a stuffed bunny with bloodied muzzles, Vi saw a secret message. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, even as 'Jinx', Vi understood her sister Powder better than most.

Folding up the photograph, Vi slotted it into her striped pants pocket and finally looked at Caitlyn before she spoke: "I know, Caitlyn, but I really do not think that this would facilitate much. If anything, Powder would only grow more suspicious if you were present, and well, the only other person who knows what this could mean is currently in Zaun ... I think."

As Vi looked away briefly upon her voiced doubts, Caitlyn pressured softly: "Am I reading this right, and you have not even spoken to Ran? Vi, she has been in my house for several months now. She is my sister, and you cannot keep avoiding her." The detective stepped closer and took Vi's hands in her own. Her gaze was caring and loving, but also stern with worry. "Tiger, what are you not telling me?"

Vi sighed and confessed: "The last time, Ran and I met, we tried to kill each other. I, ehm, I punched them off a bridge. They worked for Silco when we returned to the Lanes. I doubt they wanna see me, much less help me." She tapped her fingers against her thighs. "But I need them to understand why Powder drew them on the wall. Ran's a cheetah. I remember their smell."

Caitlyn stepped closer and placed a hand on Vi's shoulder as she asked: "Were you two... mates?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, we fooled around once or twice, but no, I do not think that makes us mates."

Vi peered back down into the labyrinth of streets and darkened houses. She hated having to go back down there! She hated it because it reminded her of everything, she had tried to escape from so much. She hated it because instead of being Vi, Zaun almost always facilitated her slipping into Pink or Nemisis as this was just the safer bargain. And it got her results. Vi hated that it got her results faster than just being her true self ever could!

Caitlyn tugged some of her dark hair behind her ear. She implored once more: "Are you sure you do not want me to come along as at least backup? You loathe going down to Zaun, and you know I never mind covering for you."

"I know." Vi boxed Caitlyn in the side teasingly, who smiled back. "And I really appreciate you for it." Her expression turned serious again. "But I am afraid, I have to do this alone. I cannot afford to wait for Ran to come back from her trip. I have to find her and I can do this more efficiently if I travel alone. Do you think you could keep the Enforcers off my back until I have a clearer understanding of that picture?"

"Of course, Vi." A bemused twinkle entered Caitlyn's crystal blue eyes. "The officers will have the longest and most pointless interrogation in history. So you are gonna be fine. But be careful too, alright? I don't need you coming home with the other half of your face slashed to pieces."

Vi made a show of rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Yes, Mum!", she jested back. She then crossed the distance one last time and gave Caitlyn an affectionate kiss on the cheek, face softening in earnest. "You are the best. I owe you one, Cupcake." And with these words, Vi pulled up her hood and leapt off the wall down into the labyrinth of misery and decay.

It was eerie how quickly Vi could adjust her behaviour, the moment she set foot into the streets of the Lanes. Zaun had always been an unforgiven environment, even for those living in its carnivorous belly, however, it was extra ruthless towards any outsiders. While Vi was not a de facto outsider, as she was a Zaunite like anybody else, she still knew that her moving to Piltover, would not be welcomed with open arms. Furthermore, the Lanes were now Sevika's territory and judging by how the older woman had treated her the last time, she had tried to invade, Vi better make this trip as short and efficient as possible.

This also meant Vi could not really go around looking for Ran the normal way. No, she had to use another pair of eyes to find her. And luckily, Vi knew exactly where to hire an additional pair of eyes and a set of quick legs. The market street in the Lanes was not just full of stands, offering their goods and services, but children flitted between the adults, going about their day. Shop owners roared in anger whenever one of these urchins knacked a slice of meat or some sardine from a hook. However, few men actually bothered running after the children. They had their uses as any filthy scavenger did. After all, as frustrating as ravens were, they still could fly.

Her shoulders rocked in the sway of her steps. Vi marched through the market street, each footfall carrying the weight of intimidation and power behind it. While her hood covered most of her face, Vi refused to look up, forcing the cluster of people to part and give her way. A few angry drunkards whistled abrasively after her, however, most fell back into an alcohol-fuelled stupor. The children scampered away from her, eyes locked onto her in awe and fear. Some whispered behind held-up hands into their compatriots' ears.

"Is that Nemesis or one of her informants?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

"Keep an eye on the roofs. Headhunter could be lurking by."

Vi paid them no mind and instead slipped onto a stool at a familiar stall. The smell of roasting fishes and tentacles in boiling pots tickled her nose. Before Vi stood a large, broad Vastaya, covered from head to toe in the scales of a fish. His teeth were pointy and greying. Fins flicked upon his cheeks and wiggled where his ears would be. Yellow eyes glared at the hooded figure and Jericho spoke something in his Vastayan accent.

"Not tonight, Jericho", Vi told him, "Just make me a bowl of whatever broth, you currently have. Fish broth!" She warningly raised a finger and glared at him from underneath her hood. "Keep that other house meat far away from me."

Jericho shrugged, grunted offhandedly and waved a meaty paw. He busied himself with pouring Vi a stew of trout and gravy into a bowl. Vi meanwhile looked around the street before she whistled at one of the urchins: "Hey, you! Get over here!"

Once the boy stopped before her and asked what she wanted, Vi reached into her pocket and pulled out a gold coin. Caitlyn was already swimming in money and Nemesis was too cut-throat to not make use of that fact. Vi offered the coin to the street urchin and said: "I need you to find someone for me. Tall, pale skin, dark hair, preferably dressed in white leather. Should be part of this territory. Goes by Ran. Tell them that an old friend needs to speak with them and it is urgent. Can you do that?"

The urchin nodded; and Vi dropped the coin into his hand and said: "Off you pop." The boy admired the gold coin in awe before he looked at her with a shudder of fear. Only very powerful Zaunites carried gold in their pockets. The boy whispered: "Nemesis" under his breath, gulped in terror and shoved the coin in his pocket. He booked it in search of Ran. Vi turned towards the bowl of food.

Now, all she had to do, was wait.

@playgroundmonsters

[takaraphoenix]

20 Questions Game for Fic Writers

Tagged by @blairwaldcrf ! Thank you, dear! <3

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

As of right now, 1214 works! Damn, I've been busy :D"

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

Currently at 9,167,371 words, slowly inching toward the 10 million mark!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Oh gosh, the total list is so long at this point, with various one-off kind of deals, or fandoms I've moved on from.

I am currently considering myself an active writer in these fandoms though: Shadowhunters, Percy Jackson, Detective Conan/Magic Kaito, DC Comics.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sorted by kudos, my top 5 fics are:

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Marvel, Loki/Tony), with 7,945

My College Boyfriend (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 6,353

The Lion's Pride (Voltron, Shiro/Keith/Lance), with 6,163

The Ghost King of Summers High (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 5,600

Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 4,985

Which actually looked really fucked up because yeah sure there's four super popular multi-chapter fics of mine. And then there is My College Boyfriend, which isn't just a oneshot, it is a oneshot with under 3k words. What. What.

And the, quite frankly frustrating, part here is that this oneshot only has 24 comments. Not even every 100th reader felt the need to leave a comment. That's just... so sad. Like. Genuinely, I think the kudos system broke commenting because the convenience of pressing a button beat actually expressing yourself genuinely through words and from the bottom of my heart, I find that depressing as fuck.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always. Every single one of them. Because comments mean something. Someone took the time to tell you, with words, that they liked your work and maybe even what they liked about it.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooof, multiple contestants from back in my day when I wrote German fics for the Beyblade fandom and wrote about... darker themes. Not all fics used to have happy endings. I wrote some fics that ended in a suicide, so I guess those.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Impossible to answer, because for as long as I've been active in English writing, all my fics have had happy endings. The guy gets the guy, the girl gets the girl, and they live happily ever after. The world is saved or the evil defeated, maybe there's even an epilogue of a next gen in there. That's my standard, it ends happily. So that makes it impossible to pick one that somehow ends happier than the rest. xD

8. Do you get hate on fics?

loool

Right. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Funnily enough, never on the things you would assume attract hatred - the incest, the explicitly non-con stuff.

Nah, I got death threats and words that were somehow worse than death threats on my Oliver/Felicity fics in the DC fandom... a... straight canon ship... but not the canon ship from the multiverse that these vile assholes liked, so, ya know. Threaten the fans who love a ship you hate.

Also over the years, lotta nasty general homophobia for Nico/Percy in the PJO fandom - I have been writing in this fandom since 2010, and yes, there were really a lot of people especially in the earlier years who just hated the idea of making either Percy or Nico gay.

And the dumbasses who declare Jace/Alec incest and thus hate and threaten this ships fans in the Shadowhunters fandom. But still, inexplicably, like Alec. Even though, in canon, he's the one who was in love with Jace. I don't know, but if you claim the nasty, nasty incest is The Bad Thing, I think you should hate the character with the nasty, nasty incestuous feelings, instead of the fans who write perfectly tagged and filterable fics. But that's just me, I guess.

So yeah, top three of hatred I got over the years - but if you wanna read a highlight reel of bullshit hate mail I got, feel free to go and check out my Dear Anonymous Shitheads tag!

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

All kinds of smut? I don't know how to answer this question, to be honest. xD

I've written oral, anal, vaginal, mlm, wlw, m/m/f, rare m/f ships but usually either she pegs or it's ABOverse and she's an alpha, I generally pepper in some flavors of BDSM into it, I've written dub-con and non-con before, bestiality, double penetrations. I have written a lot.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Oh, that is absolutely going to my first ever crossover. Because my usual crossovers are, ya know, that Big Four animated movie crossover verse (Tangled/Brave/HTTYD/RotG), or "I like these two fandoms, how would A's characters fit into B's world/how would B's characters fit into A's world?" for... essentially all my fandoms, and I wouldn't call any of these crazy - because the Big Four crossover is a beast of an own fandom so it's not really "original" or far out there to write for it, and in all my other crossovers, I do pride myself on making it work, like, not just throwing characters together but fitting their backstories and special powers into how the other world works.

So the craziest one is absolutely A Hundred Times Over, which is a oneshot sequel to my first-ever English-written fic and was written as a celebration because it was my 100th fic back then.

The original fic was already a crossover between Detective Conan and PJO, so for the celebration I thought "okay so what if I throw in my current obsession - Doctor Who - and my first ever ship - Shere Khan/Bagheera?". So, yeah, this crossover between Detective Conan, Percy Jackson, Doctor Who and Jungle Book has to be my craziest so far.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

So often. So, so, so, so often.

If you see my fics on watpad or any other platform that isn't AO3 or Fanfiction.net - and if you see them on those two but posted by an author that ISN'T Takara Phoenix - then please, let me know. Drop me a link wherever you can, I always greatly appreciate being told that my fics have been stolen so I can report that person and have it taken down.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. All of the stealing of my fics has made me incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of my fics flowing around on other people's accounts or other websites, especially since the first like four or so stolen fics I had were translated.

Someone took my fics, translated them into Spanish and Russian, and posted them on other platforms, without ever asking my permission.

I don't want thieves to more easily slip through the cracks in between authorized repostings of my stories, so I have the blanket policy to not allow translations.

If you see my fics in other languages, tell me.

(There is one story that has been translated, but I'm not sure how far it counts, because I did the translating myself, and that's Lass Uns Etwas Dummes Tun/Looking For Something Dumb to Do. It is a PJO fic about Nico/Percy that I wrote in celebration for Germany legalizing gay marriage in 2017; I wrote it in German first, due to that, and then decided to translate it into English since I know my core-audience are English-speakers and not German-speakers.)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yeees!!! With my wonderful, amazing, lovely @kimmycup!!! ^-^

We've written a total of five fics together so far.

Three Shadowhunters fics: Hurting and Healing, a Magnus/Jace oneshot, Three Times the Boys Felt Left Out, a Jordan/Simon/Jace oneshot, A King By Any Other Name, a Alec/Jace oneshot.

A Vampire Academy oneshot about Mason/Christian: The Chance at a Happily Ever After.

And, our pride and joy, our 51k multichapter Shadowhunters/Vampire Academy crossover fic about Mason/Christian and Simon/Jace: Double Puppy Dare.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

That's such a hard question to answer for me as a multishipper.

But to be quite honest, I think I would have to go with Kaito/Shinichi from Detective Conan/Magic Kaito?

It's the ship I've been the most consistently been faithful to and that, whenever I see it, sparks joy. That has proven that even when the fandom's gone dormant for me for months or years, it can reignite into a wildfire, where other fandoms just fizzle out and disappear from my interests then.

These two get me, they've been getting me for one and a half decades now and I doubt they'll stop any time soon.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

All of my unfinished German fics over on Animexx. When the German Beyblade fandom started to die, I tried to cling on, but at one point... when all your favorite writers, all your friends, have moved on? And then I started reading fics in English and soon after, also writing them in English. I feel bad about it, but it's just been far too long now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Personally, I'd say world building. That's also my passion. I love creating elaborate worlds for my stories to take place in - I mean, damn, for the book series I'm writing, I developed my own language, religion and drew a map of the city it takes place in, among other things. A well-developed world is so important.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, fight scenes and action and other things that...

When a character is good at a thing that I am not good in or know a lot about?

Like, when a character is super quippy and funny, but I am not really a one-liners-person so now I have to come up with quippy one-liners to capture his personality?

Or fighting or science, when a character is an expert in a field that I know nothing about and would not understand jackshit about even if I tried because it's not my wheelhouse? Those things, I really struggle with.

Also, I hate action and fight scenes. Like. That's the parts when I check my phone usually to avoid that my eyes glaze over from boredom. So, naturally, writing these things? Not fun. Not good at it either, imo. But certain fics - or rather, certain characters too - require action and fight scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Painful if you have to use Google Translate. If you know the language? Yeah, go for it! If you have to resort to Google Translate? Maybe just write it in italics and note that it's in x language. It spares both, the native speakers who will die from second hand embarrassment, and the non-speakers who... won't understand it anyway.

But in the cases that I use foreign languages (and usually when I do, it's just... pet-names. Things you can't really fuck up that much and things that people would say in another language even in English-main-dialogues), I always put the translation right behind the sentence, because it's a special brand of obnoxious when you have to scroll ALL the way to the end of a chapter or fic to see what tf you just read, and then scroll back up again.

Hate doing that, so I won't do that to my readers.

19. First fandom you ever wrote for?

Oh, that's Yu-Gi-Oh!, with a hurt/comfort Kaiba/Joey fic.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Can't answer that, it always depends on my current mood which of my babies I love the most ;P

Tagging @kimmycup and @justonemorechapternicercy and @fallenqueen2 for this fun! And anyone else who wants to do it! <3

[casspurrjoybell-17]

Heart’s Choice - Chapter 6

*Warning Adult Content*

- Carlos -  

Clutching the plastic evidence bag containing my belongings, I shake my head.

"I'm not working with him."

We stand under the harsh fluorescent lights in the station's lobby, which except for a few dusty fake plants and a row of plastic chairs along the wall, is empty. 

It's nearly midnight.

The chief of police angles a hawkish gray brow at me. 

"Standard consultation fee."

"I think you have me confused with someone else," I say.

"I don't consult with the police. You should contact Julian Hart if you want a psychic."

She puts her hands on her hips, reminding me of how Aunt Toni used to look when she wanted me to do something and there was absolutely no way I was getting out of it.

"First thing I did when I saw those symbols at the crime scene," she says. "He's busy. Out of town with Hunter on some thing."

"Hunter, as in the former detective?"

This comes from John Turner, who hasn't stopped scowling since his boss rescued me.

"One and the same."

"He works with a psychic now?" 

The tiny lift at the corner of his lip reveals his disdain for the idea.

"Well, he married one, anyway. Speaking of, don't you go stealing this one on me, Martinez," she nods at Turner. "I can't afford to keep replacing them."

The flush and look of horror on the detective's face tells me there's a better chance of a snowstorm in Hell.

"Don't worry," I say. "I'll tell you what I know but that's it. I was just tryna help Kyle, not play cop."

The chief eyes me critically. 

"All right. Answer two questions for me, Martinez. Is this some warlock wannabe who found those symbols on the internet somewhere or is this the real deal?"

I swallow. 

I'd rinsed my mouth out in the bathroom but the taste of vomit lingers, stirring my nausea anew. 

"It's the real deal," I say and she nods. "And is this the end of it? Or should we be worried?"

"It's just the beginning," I whisper.

She releases a heavy breath and smooths a hand over her gray hair, which is bound in a neat, single braid. 

"Listen, Martinez. There are indications that Kyle knew his killer. I can't reveal more details until you're onboarded as a consultant but it might shed light on things. Meanwhile, you've got expertise my team needs. You wanna help Kyle, don't you?"

"Yes but..."

"Think about it. Call me when you change your mind." 

She turns to the detective and nods. 

"Take him home."

Turner blinks, taken aback. 

"What?"

"Do you need your hearing checked? I said take him home."

Turner bristles. 

"With all due respect, Chief, I've got a long report to write up and I don't have time to play taxi driver."

Chief Coleridge is a good twelve inches shorter than Turner but as she draws herself up, she seems to grow taller while he shrinks. 

"With all due respect, detective Turner, tell me if I've got the facts straight. According to the statement that you yourself took, Martinez left his vehicle on the other side of town. His phone is dead. The buses stop running at eight and it's past midnight. The man has no shoes, his clothes are wet and it's forty-eight degrees outside. Am I wrong?"

No, but..."

"So, take him home."

Without waiting for a reply, she turns and marches up the stairs to the second floor offices.

Turner mutters a word under his breath. 

"Bitch."

I shift awkwardly from side to side. 

"It's okay, really. It's not that far. I can walk."

The detective looks at me and rubs the back of his head, making me accidentally appreciate the sculpted bulk of his shoulder and biceps. 

His expression softens a little, as if he's seeing me for the first time without his cop glasses on.

"Nah. I fucked up big time tonight and the Chief's got both our balls in a vice. Least I can do is give you a ride. Come on."

He leads the way outside and I follow, wincing as my sore feet encounter freezing concrete. 

I got scraped up pretty bad when Prince Charming here hauled me out of the stream. 

He glances over his shoulder at me and frowns, probably annoyed that I'm not keeping up.

"Wait here," he says. "I'll bring my car around."

He strides off at triple speed and I sigh. 

Yep, he's annoyed.

A moment later, a black, unmarked sedan pulls around the side of the building and comes to a stop. 

The passenger side door pops open and I see Turner at the wheel. 

I get in, shut the door and shiver with relief as I feel warm air blasting from the vents on the dash.

I reach for one, intending to angle it more towards myself and for some reason Turner reaches for the same vent at the same time. 

His hand brushes mine and he snatches it back as if burned.

"It's not contagious," I say, rolling my eyes and hunching in my seat.

"What?"

"The Gay or whatever it is you're afraid of. You're not my type." 

The only lie I've told so far. 

"Besides, you're married, aren’t you?"

He clears his throat. 

"Divorced."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He turns his attention to the road and I figure the conversation is over. 

He startles me when he speaks again.

"I'm sorry, too. I crossed a line, showing you those photos. I'll be lucky if the chief doesn't write me up for it."

I shake my head. 

"You were just doing your job."

"Not very well, it seems," he sighs. "So, what's the deal, anyway? What did you mean when you told the chief this was 'just the beginning?'"

I glance at him but he's facing forward, eyes on the road. 

He's got a sharp jaw and a strong chin and his nose looks like it's been broken at least once. 

A thin scar bisects one brow and a shadow darkens his hazel eyes, as if he's seen too many things he can't un-see.

"I don't know. I'll have to verify some things with my aunt."

"Your aunt? What, is she a ghostbuster, too or whatever you are?"

"Asesina. My family are 'asesinos.'"

"I thought you said you weren't a murderer?"

I glance at him again in surprise. 

"You speak Spanish?"

"Just a few words. I know that one."

"Oh. Well, yeah, it means killer or murderer. In this case it's 'slayer.' Asesinos de espíritus malos, killers or slayers of evil spirits. That was the, er... the 'family business,' traditionally. My aunt's the last one and she's given it up. She still knows all the shit, though."

"And?"

"And..." I take a breath. 

I recognized the symbols and given what happened to Kyle, there's almost no doubt in my mind as to what they are and yet it still feels like a dream and like saying it aloud will make the nightmare real. 

"It's part of a ritual," I say. "A ritual to summon a powerful demon and gain it's favor."

"A real demon?"

 "No, an imaginary demon."

He glances over and narrows his eyes at me. 

"Fine. Let's say I believe in demons. You said 'part of a ritual.' What's the rest of it?"

A traffic light changes and he comes to a stop, engine idling. 

I stare at the bright red signal, as if it can burn the memories of what I'd seen in those photos from my mind.

"There are three parts," I say. "Three 'feasts' or offerings held at specific times. That was the Feast of Pain. Next is the Feast of Blood. Finally, the Feast of Betrayal, in which the demon possesses and takes the life of a human host."

I shiver so violently i bite my tongue. 

Turner notices and turns up the heat.

"Okay. So what I'm hearing is this killer isn't done."

I shake my head.

"What's he get out of it, anyway? I mean, assuming this 'demon' is real."

I shrug.

"Power, youth, longevity, wealth. Something along those lines, usually."

Turner grunts, but says nothing more.

 The light changes and he drives on, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

A few minutes later, we arrive at the garage. 

He pulls around the back, close to the stairs that lead up to my apartment and parks.

"Thanks for the ride," I say, opening the door. "And don't worry. I'll let you know if I have any helpful information to share but otherwise I want nothing to do with this. In fact, I want to stay as far away from it as possible."

He nods. 

"Good. I respect the chief but I've already got a partner and no desire to run around playing Scooby Do."

I get out, wincing as my bare feet encounter cold, sharp gravel. 

Turner reaches over and opens his glove box, rummages within and extracts a business card.

"Call me if you've got something real for me."

I resist the urge the flip him off 'barely' and take the card, slamming the door shut with a little more force than needed. 

He drives away.

Wearily, I climb the stairs, unlock my door and let myself in. 

Then I toss his card in the trash, take a shower and fall into bed.

I wake, early the next morning, to something tickling my face. 

I brush it away. 

I'm tickled again. 

I brush it off again and roll over.

Spiders don't bother me, little eight-legged freak can go fuck itself.

Meanwhile, my alarm hasn't even gone off yet and I had a late, traumatic night.

A sharp slap has me wide awake and bolt upright in bed.

"What the fuck?"

I peel something off my forehead. 

It's Detective Turner's card. 

Meanwhile, my phone, which I didn't take the time to plug in the night before, is fully charged and placed helpfully beside my bed.

"Are you fucking with me, Kyle? You want me to work with the cops? Is that why you led me under the bridge?"

The temperature in the room drops a good ten degrees and the light in my closet flicks on.

"Are you kidding me?"

The light fizzles and pops and I raise my hands in surrender.

"All right, all right. Don't burn the house down. I'll call him. You happy now?"

The light flicks back on.

Great.

I make a mental note to pick up some warding supplies in town, set some basic roommate bounds. 

I don't mind Kyle sticking around but I don't want him watching me sleep.

In the meantime, I study the name on the card.

"Well, Mr. John M. Turner," I sigh. "Looks like you and I get a second date. Set up by a ghost. Too bad you don't bat for my team."

The light in the closet goes out.

I admit defeat and reach for my phone.

[takingback-thepenguin]

Starkid’s Nightmare Time Sentence Starters: The Witch in the Web

I’m not quite sure if anyone else has done this yet, but here is a list of sentence starters taken from Starkid’s Nightmare Time season 1 episode 3, part 2: The Witch in the Web. Some of the lines have been edited to fit as sentence starters, and feel free to change pronouns/add names/etc as you see fit. Tw: alcohol, implied murder, implied choking, possession, mind control, knives.

“No need to run away.”

“No need to contemplate how deeply that you’re afraid.”

“Your life is a waning moon.”

“It’s a matter of time.”

“Don’t need to look far to find it.”

“Look behind you!”

“Hey what was that?”

“Boo!”

“Take every precaution, babe.”

“The timer is ticking down.”

“D’you even understand the danger that you are in?”

“You’re standing on shaky ground.”

“I’m in your head and you know it.”

“It’s all by design.”

“Where’d he/she/they go?”

“Just run away if you want.”

“The witch in the web wants power.”

“I can hold her/him/them just for so long.”

“A witch is a witch if you allow her/him/them, to have power over you.”

“The witch in the web is scary.”

“Their memories are mine.”

“I tell you this for a reason.”

“Just you and your guitar.”

“A witch becomes a coward when you remember who you are.”

“The witch in the web is ancient.”

“I know her/him/them well.”

“She/He/They certainly test(s) my patience.”

“I could throw away the keys now.”

“That’s not me, oh no.”

“A witch is a witch for a reason, until you let her/him/them go.”

“You got any idea what time it is?”

“It’s 3am!”

“I got a date bright and early with my future husband/wife/partner.”

“I have to keep singing, or I’ll forget the songs.”

“Hello again, _____.”

“Miss me?”

“I’m gonna marry you one of these days.”

“That’s amazing, _____!”

“You’re amazing.”

“Go play outside.”

“Where are we going today?”

“So...what’s your name?”

“That’s pretty.”

“Huh? Can’t hold who?”

“Hiya, _____.”

“Heya, darling.”

“Just came to check.”

“Whatcha got there?”

“Where’d you get that?”

“She/He/They inside?”

“She/He/They tell you to say that?”

“Let’s go have a word with her/him/them.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I taught you better than that.”

“If you’re gonna drink someone’s beers, you gotta throw in a few bucks.”

“There just seems to be a pattern here.”

“Oh, don’t get my hopes up.”

“This is no joke, _____.”

“I found her/him/them talking to a tree.”

“She/He/They need(s) to be mentally engaged with something.”

“Where’s her/his/their ukulele?”

“I was just cleaning it for her/him/them.”

“Here you go, _____.”

“Tattle-tale.”

“That’s not mine.”

“It’s wrong.”

“You think I got money for two of these?”

“This thing keeps me up all night.”

“She/He/They won’t stop playing.”

“How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?”

“Don’t play past nine.”

“It’s the wrong color. Mine’s white.”

“Is this Nightmare Time too?”

“Pick up those knees! That’s it!”

“I see you’ve taken your first tenuous steps into the twenty first century.”

“You knew it was me.”

“Finally cave and get yourself a caller id?”

“That’s some fancy detective work there.”

“So, you busy tonight?”

“_____, are you asking me out?”

“It’s a school night.”

“I gotta wash my hair.”

“This isn’t about us.”

“I think she/he/they might be in need of your...expertise.”

“She’s/He’s/They’re the specialist I told you about.”

“What did I say?”

“You’re up.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I do know you haven’t been sleeping very well.”

“It must be a battle just keep your eyes open right now.”

“You wanna sleep, don’t you, _____?”

“You can rest. Deeply. Peacefully. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Why don’t you let us in so I can help.”

“Go sleep on the couch.”

“I think I’m in love with you. You know that?”

“Wouldn’t blame you.”

“I’m a friend of his/hers/theirs.”

“I work with children. I help them with problems that adults might not understand...or believe.”

“So he/she/they tell(s) me that your sister gave you this.”

“I used to play music too, a long time ago.”

“That’s not mine. She/He/They switched ‘em.”

“Can you tell me about ‘Nightmare Time?’”

“When did it start?”

“She/He/They used to sing to me.”

“I have to play her/his/their songs every night or I’ll forget them. I’ll forget her/him/them.”

“She/He/They want(s) to get rid of her/him/ them. Then she/he/they can get me.”

“What witch?”

“Three months. I bet that’s when he/she/they went away.”

“I bet that’s when the nightmares started.”

“She/he/they and her/his/their sibling were close.”

“I think she/he/they was/were afraid of leaving their sibling with no one.”

“Maybe it’s some kind of trauma that’s keeping her/him/them up at night.”

“I don’t think this is like the others.”

“I think she/he/they may be in some very bad trouble.”

“Can you help?”

“I’m gonna try.”

“So, _____, you say there’s a witch in Nightmare Time. She’s/He’s/They’re the one who wants to get you.”

“If you can promise to keep a secret, I’ll tell you something.”

“I’m a witch too.”

“Are you a good witch?”

“Have you ever seen this?”

“Why do you have that?”

“It’s okay.”

“I keep it safe.”

“It’s called the Black Book.”

“It’s bad.”

“Do you know who the Lords In Black are?”

“They’re her/his/their brothers.”

“They have followers.”

“I think one of them is in your mind.”

“We’re going to get her/him/them out.”

“No! There’s nothing good in there.”

“Sometimes things aren’t black and white.”

“Sometimes we have to use something bad to do something good.”

“It all has a price.”

“I can pay it.”

“I have very good credit.”

“You have to go into Nightmare Time.”

“Don’t worry...I’m going with you.”

“Relax. Focus on the sound of my voice.”

“Drift down. Deep down.”

“Good. Very good.”

“See? I told you I’d be with you.”

“You have to remember...this is your mind.”

“No matter what anyone here tries to tell you, you are in control.”

“Do you understand?”

“All the power here comes from you.”

“You are very powerful.”

“Where’s the witch?”

“That way.”

“Stay away, _____.”

“We can’t hold her/him/them anymore.”

“Who are they?”

“The men with hatchets put them here.”

“They all had a touch of the gift.”

“Some of them didn’t want to be planted.”

“The witch was stuck...but now she’s/he’s/they’re not.”

“Stay out, _____. She’ll/He’ll/They’ll get you.”

“_____, don’t stop.”

“Her/His/Their clothes are...old.”

“They get older the deeper you go.”

“Can I have your autograph?”

“We have to go back further. Much further.”

“This is as far as I’ve come.”

“I don’t know their names.”

“They’re so old, they forgot how to tell me.”

“We’re near the center.”

“The witch is close.”

“Let’s keep going.”

“I can’t do this.”

“Don’t let go.”

“Don’t lose me.”

“Lemme go!”

“You vile creature!”

“No! Please!”

“Kill her/him/them!”

“Her/His/Their immortal soul shall rot here.”

“The roots of the wood we plant shall ensnare her/him/them.”

“You have to take control!”

“You’re giving them the power!”

“They can kill you!”

“She’s/He’s/They’ve put you in her/his/their place!”

“The guilty must be punished.”

“You’re not the witch!”

“You must taste blood.”

“Are you alright?”

“I got scared.”

“I know you’re afraid of the witch.”

“She/He/They want(s) to trick you.”

“She/He/They want(s) to hide, and make a big loud noice.”

“She/He’s/They’re afraid of you too.”

“She’s/He’s/They’re dead.”

“You’re alive.”

“You’re much more powerful than she/he/they is/are.”

“She/He/They want(s) that power.”

“Don’t give it to her/him/them.”

“I don’t want to go back.”

“It’s not safe here.”

“Where are we?”

“I had to get you out of there.”

“I did the only thing I could.”

“I pulled you into my mind.”

“This is my Nightmare Time.”

“Be careful.”

“Look. There’s the exit.”

“Hold my hand. There are bad things in here.”

“Over here, my little star.”

“What’s shaking, _____?”

“Banana split. Banana pudding. There’s a thousand ways to eat a banana!”

“Why are they calling to me?”

“I don’t listen to them.”

“We just keep running into each other. Don’t we, _____?”

“How you doing there, _____?”

“Who are you? How do I know you?”

“Don’t you worry about that.”

“Are you hungry?”

“You’re one slippery little banana peel, you know that?”

“I got you now.”

“It’s a shame. So much power in that noggin going right to waste.”

“Let’s crack it open, see what’s inside!”

“You can’t hurt her/him/them. You’re dead.”

“I killed you.”

“You only killed me about half the time. The other half, I mopped the floor with that head of yours.”

“I ate your heart.”

“I took your jacket!”

“Your jacket fits me better anyway!”

“What are you talking about?”

“You thought you stopped it.”

“She/He/They see(s) it all. Every possibility.”

“That kid’s a battery.”

“She’s/He’s/They’re a nuclear power plant.”

“She/He/They brought me back with nothing more than a toot.”

“You’re a nightmare. That’s all.”

“That one’s a live wire.”

“For two hundred years, the ghost of that old witch couldn’t do much more than spook a few trick-or-treaters on Halloween.”

“She/He/They is/are a very busy woman/man/person.”

“Pretty soon, _____ body will be her/his/their new permanent residence.”

“That sounds like fun. Slipping into someone else’s skin.”

“Maybe I should give it a try.”

“Think about it. A real witch.”

“That’s a match made in...well, I don’t wanna say ‘Heaven.’”

“We’re out of time.”

“You have to get to the exit.”

“They’re not gonna let me go with you.”

“Go now, _____. Go.”

“Well, well. Together again. Just you and me.”

“It’s a grudge match.”

“Back off! I got a knife.”

“You mean this knife?”

“You come back just to talk?”

“You think I’m gonna fight you head-on? On your turf?”

“I don’t wanna get my ass kicked.”

“Hey, ladies.”

“I’m gonna cheat!”

“Hey, you got a frog in your throat?”

“What’re you waiting for? Go get her/him/them.”

“What about _____?”

“It’s up to her/him/them now.”

“Either she’s/he’s/they’re gonna wake up, or the witch will.”

“How will we know?”

“If the witch kills us, that’ll be a big hint.”

“I’m back! They let me go.”

“It’s over, _____.”

“Now we can stay here, together. Forever.”

“Look at all this stuff I brought you!”

“What’s this? A puppy! I’m gonna call you Spot.”

“Didn’t you give me something else?”

“This isn’t enough for you?”

“I used to play it.”

“It helped me remember...a friend.”

“What was her/his/their name?”

“You want some friends?”

“Check out these guys! I got the whole set!”

“Those are...her/his/their brothers. They’re bad.”

“Who told you that?”

“The world is theirs.”

“All worlds are theirs.”

“This can be ours. All you gotta do is agree to stay here...deep down in Drowsy Town.”

“I’m not a monster, like they all said.”

“You’re my own blood.”

“It’s you.”

“I gave you the choice.”

“You could’ve had your sister. Now you will have nothing!”

“Your bones will be mine!”

“Your blood will be mine!”

“You took it from me!”

“You hid it in Nightmare Time!”

“It’s mine! Not yours!

“I have the power!”

“You’ve been hanging around my brothers.”

“My Lords. My King. Your King, bitch!”

“Close your eyes, _____.”

“You were gonna hurt my friend.”

“I’m going to destroy you now.”

“A ghost no more.”

“Just...be gone.”

“Wake up, _____.”

“She’s/He’s/They’re going to confess to something that’s been weighing on her/his/their conscience.”

“She/He/They might go away for a while, _____.”

“What if, somehow, your sibling came home?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“You know, I help a lot of kids, and I always give them something when I go.”

“It’s imbued with the power of Greyskull.”

“As long as it’s on your head, nothing can harm you.”

“Take it back.”

“Why do you haunt me like a ghost?”

“You’re supposed to love me the most.”

“Got me in the spell you cast.”

“The iris of your eye is black.”

“Weren’t you the one to watch my back?”

“Have you noticed that my trust has turned?”

“You may have taught me but now I’ve learned.”

“Gotta catch you before I’m burned.”

“You used to keep me at your side.”

“Have you given that up?”

“I suppose you’d have me empathize?”

“You have a tendency to stab my back.”

“I’ll enjoy it as I watch you squirm.”

“What’s the point of giving love and trust?”

“I thought it was something that was worth the fight for.”

“Now I wonder what I worked so hard for.”

“I even thought that I could give my life for you.”

“I was the only one that loved and cared for you.”

“Have you noticed that I have it in for you?”

“As I grow older I have no need for you.”

“Got you in the spell I cast.”

“The iris of my eye is black.”

“If I’ma trust I’m gonna trust in me.”

“You may have taught me but I’m now learning.”

“All this time I’ve been untangling the web I spin for you.”

“I got to buy more time if I’m to run away.”

“You see I can unwind.”

“You got me inside my head.”

“With no way out, I’m caught.”

[spirit-small]

Edgeworth didn't like taking Phoenix to work with him. He tended to find him more distracting than helpful, and more often than not they would wind up arguing over something trivial and it simply was not a pleasant experience for him, no matter how much Phoenix missed being in the courtroom.

It was hardly a substitute, but to at least break up the monotony of being stuck at home, he would sometimes accompany Trucy on her daily activities. Now, a middle school classroom isn't the most exciting place for a borrower in his 30s. But it's a change, at least. Even if he is just kinda sitting in a bag. The real excitement comes when Trucy does her magic act.

Being a magician is, in many ways, he thinks, similar to being a lawyer, weirdly enough. The way the lawyer captivates the crowd, making them believe whatever unbelievable thing you're selling them. It's about not only convincing them, but even believing in yourself that what you claim is true. That you can truly perform miracles. The magic stage or the courtroom, the game is the same. And the name of that game is deception.

Now, sure, being a borrower ratatouilling a bean in order to practice law is a couple more layers of deception than most lawyers would have, but the principle here is the same.

Or was.

He misses it. The thrill of it all. Cracking the case and solving a crime is a feeling unlike any other, and one he'd gotten hooked on in his brief career as a lawyer.

So when he spots a crime scene from the safety of his daughter's pocket, he can't help but get a look.

"Hey, Truce... Can you see what's going on over there?" Phoenix calls up to her.

"Hmm... Looks like a murder. Wanna go see a dead body?" Trucy holds up her fists and looks down at Phoenix in her pocket, excitement in her eyes.

"Oh, you know I- actually. Wait. Wait. Am I a bad father if I take my daughter to crime scenes...? I mean, murder and death and crime doesn't exactly... Seem like the kind of thing I should be exposing you to? Hmm..." Phoenix thinks back to his days as a lawyer with Maya, and how Pearl would often accompany them to the site of crimes much worse than this, at an even younger age, and she turned out... Fffffffine? Relatively speaking.

"Oh, come on, Daddy, what's the worst that could happen?" Trucy rolls her eyes and waves her hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright, let's go look at a dead body."

Trucy does an excited little hop and bounces toward the police line - do not cross. She hides Phoenix in her cape on her shoulder, for ease of talking without suspicion. Just as she tries to duck under the police tape, she's stopped by an officer.

"WooOOOOoooOOOOooOOOOOOAH there, kiddo!" An ear-piercing screech. "Y-Y-You can't go in there!" He gets on his loudspeaker. "THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA, SIR!!!"

"Listen, Truce, this was a bad idea, maybe we'd better-"

"No way, Daddy, I got this. Watch!" Trucy winks and sticks her tongue out. She turns her attention to the officer.

"I'm here on behalf of Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. And I don't think the man in line to be the next Chief Prosecutor would take all too kindly to you holding me up like this. Hrmph!" She crosses her arms and pouts at him.

"Prosecutor... E-edgeworth? But this is... Prosecutor Gavin's..."

"grrmbl more like prosecutor FOP... grmmbrgrl..." A detective in a lab coat pushes past them, shoveling snacks in her mouth.

"Ema Skye...?" Phoenix whispers.

"Ema Skye?" Trucy repeats aloud.

"Hm?" Ema turns and looks Trucy over, up and down. "Am I supposed to know who you are?"

"Well... No, but, I think... You know my Daddy?"

"Mmhmm." Phoenix nods.

"Your Daddy."

"Phoenix Wright!"

"Phoenix... Wait, for real? I didn't even know that was scientifically possible! I mean, science is still totally unaware of the mere existence of b- Ahem. You have to tell me everything. Is he nearby? Is he..." Ema gets in close to Trucy and whispers. "Is he here with us right now?"

Trucy nods.

"Perfect. Let's go somewhere private, I'd like to catch up." Ema grabs Trucy’s arm and starts dragging her away from the crime scene.

"But don't you have an investigation to do?" Trucy asks.

Ema shrugs. "Dude's dead. He ain't going nowhere. I'll get on it in a bit. Meekins, hold my calls."

"I-I-I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT, SIIIIIIRRRRRR!" Meekins yells into his loudspeaker.

Trucy takes Ema back to the Wright Talent Agency, formerly the Fey & Co Law Offices. She takes Phoenix off her shoulder, placing him on a cluttered table after clearing off a space for him (just kinda shoving some junk onto the floor).

Ema gets in close to Phoenix, violating his personal space just a little bit. She hasn't seen him, nor any other borrower, in years. They're elusive creatures, and any sort of scientific research into them is almost non-existent. She has, since they first met, had a desire to thoroughly study his biology and put together a full paper on borrowers, but he and Maya said something about "potentially catastrophic consequences" and "putting millions of borrowers at risk" so even her offers to only publish it posthumously, either after her passing or Phoenix's, were shut down.

Her curiosity had never quite been sated on that front. Though she didn't want Phoenix to feel uncomfortable around her or like he was nothing but an experiment, so she tries to keep the scientific angle to a minimum. Which is hard, since science is one of the few things she has left that bring her joy. Science, and snackoos. She can't resist asking at least one question.

"Soooo... How did this... Y'know... Happen?" She gestures to Phoenix and Trucy.

Phoenix looks up at her and closes his eyes, putting his fingers together and kind of making a triangle around his nose. He inhales deeply.

"That... is a long story."

-----

"...huh. So it's true, then? Maya's no longer practicing... But like, for real this time. Because, remember, when we first met she said she was retired-"

"Yes. Yes I remember, Ema. I was there too."

"Right. Well, anyway, that's too bad. I was really hoping I'd get to work on some cases with her. This prosecutor I'm working with, ugh, don't get me started. He's both glimmerous, AND a fop! It's like the worst two in one! I was planning to help her out just to spite him..." Ema leans back and munches on a few snackoos, a kind of annoyed look on her face.

"Well... You know... If he's that bad... I do have an in at the prosecutor's office... Maybe I could make things... A little difficult for him? Eh?"

"Would Mr. Edgeworth really do something like that?” Ema perks up.

“Well... maybe not. He’s been on a real ‘morals’ and ‘ethics’ kick the last couple years, he’d probably say it’s some sort of ‘abuse of the power and respect his position affords’. Like the square he is.” Phoenix crosses his arms and pouts.

“Damn.” Ema follows suit.

"...so, detective, huh?"

"Ugh, yeah. They wouldn't put me on the forensics team. Can you believe it? They expect me to actually investigate without the latest in scientific investigative technology? Do they think I'm some sort of barbarian? Or cro-magnon? Or maybe like a wild west samurai, or-"

"I get the picture, Ema."

"R-right. I just... Urggh!" Ema looks away and shoves a handful of snackoos in her mouth. "I jussh don shee ow zhey shink-" she swallows. "-I can actually solve any crimes if they don't even give me the basics. Like, CSI Miami circa 2004 at LEAST. I'm flopping here, Wright. FLOPPING!"

"Well... Y'know... If you ever need some help investigating... I was pretty good at figuring out the real culprit in court." Phoenix smirks at her. Ema's eyes go wide.

"You wanna... Ratatouille me?"

“Well, no- Maya knew absolutely nothing about the law, but you became a detective all on your own. I don’t think ‘ratatouille’ is the right word here. I just wanna lend a helping hand, if you want it.”

“You really trust me to keep you safe? To keep you a secret?”

Phoenix chuckles. “I trust Edgeworth to, don’t I?”

“Ha! Well, alright, Wright- What do you say we head down to the crime scene?” Ema puts her hand down palm-up next to him. Phoenix steps on and she lifts him up to her shoulder.

“Ummm, Daddy?” Trucy looks at Phoenix and makes a face.

“Riiiight, Truce. I forgot you were here for a minute. Just, uh... head on home, don’t tell Edgey about any of this.”

“Well of course not! He’d be sooooo mad at you.” Trucy winks and sticks her tongue out. “I’m just wondering how you’re gonna get home.”

“...hm. Ema, you can drop me off later, right? If not, Trucy should be fine walking across town in the middle of the night, won’t you, Truce?”

“You know I love the smell of a seedy alleyway after dark, Daddy!”

“That’s a good girl.”

“...no, uh, no, I think I’ll drop you off. It’s fine. I feel like as an officer of the law I’m supposed to discourage teenage girls from going out alone at night.” Ema makes a moderately concerned face but pretty quickly wipes it away when she realizes she doesn’t actually care that much. 

“Come on, Wright.” Ema adjusts her hair to hide Phoenix on her shoulder. “Let’s go solve a murder.”