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anistarrose · 4 years

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Fear The Reaper A Lot, Actually (TAZ Balance AU)

AO3

Summary: In the aftermath of the catastrophe at the Miller Lab, Kravitz strikes a deal with his bounties. Their crimes against death will be forgiven if they can bring in two specific liches for arrest…

But unfortunately, those liches are named Lup and Barry J. Bluejeans.

Characters: Kravitz, Taako, Barry Bluejeans, Angus McDonald, Magnus Burnsides, Merle Highchurch, Noelle | No-3113, The Raven Queen, misc. BoB cameos

Relationships: Taakitz, Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans & Kravitz

I posted the second of three scenes in this chapter on Tumblr in January, not really expecting to continue it at the time, but it was well-received there, and I realized that I actually have a lot more ideas for this AU than I expected! This fic has been in the works for months, and I’m simultaneously so excited, nervous, and relieved to get it out of my mind and into the world.

That said, there is one other person who’s read this fic before, and that’s @fexiled! They’ve been an awesome (and patient) beta reader, and I’m incredibly grateful to them for all their advice, typo-catching, and encouragement!

***

Kravitz couldn’t even begin to fathom what kind of sinister agenda would possibly bring a lich to a train station, but he’d intercepted Barry J. Bluejeans in stranger places than Rockport. If he was after any other bounty, he’d be worried about the nearby masses of civilians on holiday getting caught in the crossfire, or worse, being used as hostages — but with Barry, he never knew what to worry about.

Barry, for his part, didn’t seem fazed by the prospect of facing down the Grim Reaper in a transportation hub staffed entirely by identical clones of Tom Bodett, and he addressed Kravitz calmly and amiably:

“Ah, there you are. Hope you didn’t have a ticket for the Rockport Limited, ‘cause it left a couple minutes ago.”

“I have a magical sapphire scythe that lets me teleport anywhere on the Material or Astral Planes,” Kravitz replied. “Why would I need train tickets?”

Barry chuckled — nervously? Awkwardly? Without a visible face beneath his hood, he was difficult to read. “I dunno, leisure? In case I got on a train and you wanted to follow me, but legally?”

Kravitz narrowed his eyes. Barry was normally talkative for a lich, but today, he seemed especially affable… not to mention unsurprised by Kravitz’s appearance. “Were you expecting me to follow you here?”

“You’ve followed me stranger places,” Barry reminded him. “Graveyards for dragons, necromancy conventions, the actual moon that isn’t just a secret society’s headquarters… point is, I kinda figured the ticket counter at a train station wouldn’t stop you.”

Kravitz adjusted his grip on his scythe, channelling a spark of the Raven Queen’s power to scan the area for magical traps. There were none.

“I don’t have any tricks this time,” Barry promised him, his hooded void of a face still frustratingly impossible to read. “No sabotage, no moon ogres. I just want to talk.”

A pigeon landed on the ground between them, pecking at a dropped sandwich without any acknowledgement of the two undead entities that could each obliterate it in a second.

“Let’s say I humor you, in the interest of not catching an innocent bird in the crossfire,” Kravitz replied. “What would you want to talk about?”

“I’m realizing this isn’t gonna sound that sincere, but… an apology. And a warning.”

“What world do you come from, where it’s appropriate to follow an apology with a threat? Are you going to, I don’t know, imprison my soul if I don’t forgive you?”

“The world I come from has nothing to do with it.” The lights beneath Barry’s hood flickered erratically, but he kept his composure. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for wasting so much of your time. You could be out there stopping evil necromancers, but I’ve been leading you on a wild goose chase for a decade, and I’m genuinely sorry about that. I’m sorry that I can’t do the things I need to do or save the things I need to save without being undead, and making what I can only assume is a gigantic bureaucratic mess for the Astral Plane.”

Kravitz sighed. “Are you hinting that I should just give up forever on chasing you, because you’re not evil? Do you really expect me to believe that, coming from a lich?”

“Well, I wasn’t counting on it, but that would be nice,” Barry admitted. “The thing is, whether you believe me isn’t going to matter a whole lot in… let’s see, at the rate we’re going, I doubt it’ll take much more than a year. You’re gonna have a bigger problem on your hands — and if you want even a slim chance of surviving it, you and your goddess and every plane in this system will need to be prepared.”

Kravitz eyed a clock on the station wall. “Keep making threats like that, and you’ll have thirty seconds to explain yourself before I end this conversation.”

Barry held up his hands. “Wait, wait, let me clarify — that wasn’t me threatening you! That’s me knowing what’s coming, and not wanting to see it obliterate this entire universe! I — I see, now, how that could get misinterpreted — but I promise, I’m not making this up just to mess with you! You have the ability to warn the Astral Plane, to warn the Raven Queen and by extension all the gods in the Celestial Plane, so that they can prepare for this and stand a fighting chance —”

“Excuse me, gentlemen? Is there anything I can help you with?”

A Tom Bodett approached them, completely unfazed by the lich and the reaper staring each other down of the Rockport Limited boarding platform, and Kravitz couldn’t help but wonder how frequently the humble employees of the train station had to deal with the undead making a scene.

“Stay back, mortal!” he shouted, twirling his scythe and jumping between the Barry and the poor, almost certainly underpaid Tom. “This is an arrest of one of the most dangerous death criminals in Faerun —”

But Barry had already vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the faintest wisp of red smoke, and Kravitz held back a curse.

This always happened one way or another, every damn time Kravitz had encountered Barry in the past decade. Barry had been right about one thing — he’d wasted an astronomical amount of Kravitz’s time over the years.

“Well, I guess that takes care of that,” Tom declared brightly, as if he caused distractions that allowed ultrapowerful death criminals to escape justice every day. “He was making quite a scene — any idea what his deal was?”

Kravitz shook his head. “Just a lich playing mind games. As liches are wont to do, you know.”

At least, I hope that’s all Barry is, he thought with a shiver. But if he wants to give me a reason to believe him, then… well, he can do it from a cell in the Eternal Stockade.

***

“Hey, Reaper Man! I’ve got an idea for you!” Taako called out. Something about the gleam in his eye piqued Kravitz’s curiosity, even though hearing out ideas from death criminals was an objectively unwise idea.

“Do tell, then,” Kravitz replied, and the mischievous smile on Taako’s face expanded into a toothy grin.

“You hunt down a lot of different bounties, right? And Lucas and Maureen and Noelle, they can’t possibly be the worst criminals on your naughty list, can they?”

“Naughty list? What is he, Santa?” Magnus snickered. “I guess it is technically still Candlenights…”

“Today has been a Day with a capital D,” Kravitz warned Taako, “and I’m not in the mood to hear an argument about why I should let them go because morality is relative —”

“Cool your collarbones, Skeletor, I may have come here to get the Philosopher’s Stone, but I’m no philosopher. I was just thinking: what if we tracked down one of your bigger bounties for you? You let some harmless death criminals go, we bring you a really evil one in return, you collect a big old bounty and also get to see my charming face again! Doesn’t that deal sound like a winner?”

“In practice, it just sounds like a good way to get double-crossed — but in theory, it would be quite a bargain, I’ll grant you that.” Kravitz mentally ran through his list of bounties, almost immediately focusing on one particular lich that had vexed him for years. “And I have to admit, I’d love nothing more than seeing you three take a crack at bringing in Barry J. Bluejeans —”

The second Barry’s name was uttered, Taako let out a wheezy laugh like a congested elephant, and Magnus and Merle weren’t far behind, guffawing so heartily that they fogged up the insides of their null suit helmets.

“I laughed at that name once just like you, but when you’ve been hunting him for years to no avail, it won’t seem so funny anymore!” Kravitz warned them. “He’s easily in the top five most dangerous liches in Faerun, not to mention the number one most elusive!”

“Barry’s a LICH?!” Magnus chortled, as Merle doubled over clutching his stomach and Taako rolled around on the floor in hysterics.

“All that time in Phandalin, we were at the mercy of an evil undead overlord and we didn’t even know it!” Taako cackled, evidently not too troubled by the revelation. “Fuck, we’re lucky to even be alive!”

That caught Kravitz off guard. “Wait, you’ve met Barry Bluejeans?”

“And lived to tell the tale!” Merle boasted. “We could totally do it again, by the way!”

“Hang on, Merle,” Noelle interrupted. “Was this what you meant earlier? When you said you were friends with a couple of liches?”

Merle blinked. “When did I say that?”

“Never mind.” Noelle sighed, then turned to Kravitz. “There’s gotta be some mistake. Some kinda identity confusion. The Bluejeans I met in Phandalin, he — he was a good man. He tried to keep us hidden while he fought off that awful dwarf, that dwarf that was setting everything on fire as far as the eye could see. Mister Bluejeans was so reassuring, and so brave — if anything, I’d call him a hero, not some horrible undead monster.”

“That doesn’t really sound like our Barry,” Merle said. “He was kind of an ass. Told me to stab myself with a rusty fork.”

As his bounties squabbled among themselves over the true nature of Barry Bluejeans, Kravitz took the opportunity to pray to the Raven Queen.

Your Majesty, if these criminals think they can really track down such a dangerous lich… would taking their offer be the right choice? Or am I about to be scammed?

The reply was immediate, as if the Raven Queen had already been observing the Miller Lab intently and contemplating the situation for herself. I cannot make this decision for you, Kravitz. But I trust your judgement.

Thank you, milady. Kravitz collected himself, and announced his terms.

“I’ll tell you what. One lich isn’t quite enough to sell me on this deal… but two liches would be, especially if the latter of the two hasn’t been detected in over a decade. If you bring me the both of them in the next two months, everyone involved in this whole Miller debacle goes free — but if you fail, I come to collect all your souls. You still up for this deal?”

Magnus looked like he wants to ask for clarification, but before he could get a word out, Taako casually declared:

“Sure, dude, we’re up for it. Who’s the second lich, other than Barry?”

“Her name is Lup, and she was last sensed in the general vicinity of Wave Echo Cave ten years ago,” Kravitz replied with a smile. “That’s all I know about her, so that’s all the information you get, too. Good luck!”

***

“You’ve got two months to capture a couple of liches? And if you don’t, the Grim Reaper will take your souls?!”

“Shh, not so loud!” Magnus hissed, pressing a finger to Angus’s mouth. “Do you want everyone on the moon to hear?”

Angus glanced around the cafeteria. Exempting him and the three Reclaimers, it was completely empty aside from a few discarded, tattered Candlenights decorations. “Have you at least told the Director about this?”

Magnus smiled sheepishly. “Uh, it never seemed like the right time to bring it up.”

“Carey knew because she was there, but she didn’t seem too keen on being the one to break the news,” Taako elaborated. “Can’t say I blame her.”

Angus sighed. “And your new robot friend, Noelle. Is her soul a part of this bargain, too?”

Magnus nodded. “Yeah. We promised her we’d take care of it, so she’s hanging with the Regulators now —”

“And I bet Lucas Miller isn’t even dead after all, is he?”

“Perceptive as ever, Agnes,” Taako confirmed. “Maureen really did die, though. She went back to the Astral Plane.”

Angus took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a gesture that made him look far older than ten. “No offense, sirs, but why didn’t just gamble with the Grim Reaper for your souls like normal people? You might’ve actually had a chance at succeeding, that way!”

“Huh,” muttered Magnus. “Good question…”

“Yeah, Taako, why didn’t we just gamble for our souls like normal people?” Merle echoed.

Taako shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I just thought that Kravitz guy sounded pretty okay, like he’d give us a reasonable bargain…”

“Reasonable? He made Magnus chop my damn arm off!”

“Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere, sirs,” Angus spoke up. He hoped he was putting on a calm facade, even though his feet were trembling in his shoes. “Did Kravitz tell you anything about these liches? Names? Locations of recent sightings?”

“Already jotted down all the details for you, my little man,” Taako answered, handing Angus a single sheet of paper. “Didn’t want to forget anything that would help you work your boy detective magic.”

“As if you could ever forget Barry Bluejeans!” Magnus scoffed.

“A lich named Barry Bluejeans? That can’t be right…” Angus took a look at the sheet, titled “Case File” in loopy cursive letters and broken up into two subsections:

Lich #1

Name: Barry Bluejeans

Last seen: The circular glass mistake formerly known as Phandalin, a couple months ago

Weaknesses: Gerblins (unless that was a cunning play so we’d let our guard down), pants that aren’t made of denim, the temptation to party and drink while other people do his job for him

Other information: Used to be Gundren’s bodyguard, and didn’t do a very good job — but who could blame him? That dwarf was an even bigger asshole than he was.

Lich #2

Name: Lup

Last seen: Wave Echo Cave, 10 years ago

Weaknesses: I don’t know, probably holy water or something

Other information: Zilch

Each section was accompanied by an illustration. Barry’s was a cartoonish drawing of a skeleton with jeans, glasses, and a mullet, while Lup’s was simply a series of question marks. At the bottom of the page, Taako had written: Now have at it, Caleb Cleveland Junior!

“…You really have a lot of faith in me, don’t you, sirs?” Angus asked quietly.

Taako shrugged awkwardly, as Magnus replied:

“Well, we know you’re way better at this than us. And you know that’s not exactly a high bar to clear, but you’re obviously our best shot.”

Angus took a deep breath. “Do you remember the reaper’s exact terms? Were there any loopholes we could exploit?”

“Were there?” Magnus mused, tugging at one of his sideburns. “Does anyone remember what he said?”

“Why are you looking at me?” Merle asked, prompting a laugh from Taako.

“Well, in that case…” Angus took a deep breath. “I guess I’ll interview Carey and Noelle to make sure we’re not missing anything, but we shouldn’t count on being able to cheat the deal. Do you think we could book a transport sphere down to Wave Echo Cave tomorrow morning, to go search for leads?”

“Should be no problem,” Taako told him. “Back to our old stomping grounds! I can hardly wait!”

“Reliving our old mistakes! Hooray!” Merle cheered sarcastically, and with that, the Reclaimers all sauntered back to their dorms with easygoing attitudes that Angus could hardly believe.

How are you all so cavalier about dying? he thought. How can you bear to joke about this situation?

And what will I do, if I can’t help you find these liches?

***

Notes:

I really appreciate people commenting on/reblogging this fic, especially for this first chapter! There's absolutely no obligation to do so, of course, but it would mean a lot <3

For what might be the first time in my life, I already have a surplus of chapters written, so the update schedule should remain consistent for at least a month or two (fingers crossed). Since this chapter was on the shorter side and included a scene I posted months ago, I think I’ll post Chapter 2 in a week, then switch to updating every other week from Chapter 3 onwards. (Probably still on Tuesday evenings, plus or minus 24 hours.)

Also, I’d just like to give a shoutout to Angus McDonald for always, always ending up with a bigger role in my fics than I expect when I start writing! But I’m glad he managed to sneak his way into this one, because there’s a bunch more Angus scenes coming up that I can’t imagine this fic without!

#taz #taz balance #taakitz #taako taaco #kravitz taz #barry bluejeans #magnus burnsides #merle highchurch #no-3113 #lup taaco #the raven queen #taz balance spoilers #rosalia writes fic #fic: FTRALA

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fgodestinyawakenings · 6 years

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EOR Shinjuku Singularity: Section 17~END

And... I’m fucking done!!!! I’m FUCKING DONE FROM THIS TUTORIAL STAGE OF HP BAR! But most importantly, I’m done with Shinjuku story!! Emiya Alter now unlocked and can be spooked anytime... I’m... Going back to grind for QP OTL

Section 17

Greeted by Other James upon entering... Though there’s not much difference between the two, Other James commented he’s surprised that he even had a good side that opposed him. While Guda commented our James is a good friend, Other James doesn’t care as it was meant to be thrown away.

His focus was onto the Gudas, who got captured yet rescued with Holmes help. And now, returned back here to face him for the final fight. Wait? 3000 years? We only just met like now? Why would you have a 3000 grudge against us?

Either way, the meteor is definitely on its way into the gun barrel. A strange thing he chanted that he doesn’t want to die but yet values his plan more than his own life... Regardless, our first round of fight with Moriarty is here!!

Merlin definitely died at some point... But Leonidas’s taunt been keep both Vlad and Merlin alive for a long while! The RNG for skill and np seal, is not as headache as compared to JP. However... The Buff Removal RNG can still be shitty when it landed on the wrong person OTL

The defeat of the Evil Moriarty... Now the meteor shouldn’t be coming any closer to Earth! Huh? What do you mean it’s not over?! That’s right... There’s no Holy Grail around powering the meteor to come... What the... Da Vinci? What’s going--?!

A laughter from an unknown being appeared before them. And he knows the Gudas?! Goetia!!!?!?!! No, that’s not him, he’s definitely defeated... A DEMON GOD PILLAR?!?!?!!?!?!?! Yeah, I thought those were gone when we defeat Goeta!!

The Demon God Pillar before them confirmed they were indeed wiped out. So, the reason it came back was because... It hated us, a normal human like Gudas, destroyed all their plans. A normal human Guda that chanced upon joining Chaldea and eventually saved Humanity. Because of that, it wanted to destroy the whole world to kill us...

Apparently, Charles Babbage of this world was supposed to be one of the Demon God vessel! From there he calculated the knowledge he received of when the incineration of humanity will take place.

With its hatred, Demon God Bael planned and gained powers from 3000 years so this would happen. And for James... What...? James...? What are you...? He shot Holmes and...

Everything from this from the start... All of this... Even his splitting himself into two... Was to... HOLMES!!! He was shot right into his spirit Origin... HOLMES!!! What? His Spirit Origin isn’t gone? Moriarty took his Spirit Origin... And now he’s more complete than ever

Betraying us until this point... From the start with Shinjuku being told like out of a storybook, cutting off from the world and humanity. A fictional city when anything impossible can happened and exist... From there, both met and forged alliance in making their respective goals to get what they want.

Using the logic behind the 21 game, Holmes win by going second that’s how in their story James always lose. A story in their world, good always win and evil always lose. Because of their story that restricted them, that’s when James created the plan in joining us so he could win from there

As Artoria Alter vexed at not seeing sooner, something that no one could see. He erased his memory, hence resetting his own existence. Creating two version of himself, or using Bael was the evil one, they both played their role. Well, thanks for the help as always, Jerk!

Emiya Alter arrived and shot at Bael! Which... That was his goal all along?! Among the league that was summoned, he was without a doubt still on his role as the counter guardian to defeat the evil in this Singularity! With Emiya Alter joining us... He handle Bael, while we, got a round 2 to settle a score with Moriarty!

While I’m lucky most NP of them both hits either on Invincibility or Taunted target... The longest and worst is still fighting Bael himself. AOE Berserker could’ve been preferred... But I’m not risking it with James and Bael gimmicks in this

The defeat of the Demon God Pillar Bael is done! As Moriarty bid farewell to Bael... Bael too lament in regret and furious that he can’t killed the Gudas, yet laugh...? What do you mean the fate is sealed?!

It disappeared now leaving James who’s still on his plan for the meteor. It’s here right at the sky!! And we’ve moved?!!

Section 18

As James comments about this Singularity being a story... He mentions again about Der Freischutz being able to hit his target with six out of seven bullets. The seventh bullet was the grim reaper that killed the one he loved, one bullet that he was forced to shoot even he doesn’t want to.

The meteor confirmed being the seventh bullet and James with his Phantom Spirit... So the bullet.... IT WILL HIT THE GUDAS?! From his plan that involve Bael needing to kill him seriously... That way he earned Guda’s trust, and considered Gudas to be someone very precious to protect... AND THE SEVENTH BULLET WILL HIT THEM NO MATTER WHAT!

Now that it’s really coming towards Gudas, and Holmes is still being inside James... Both Emiya Alter and Artoria Alter left to intercept the bullet. The latter consoling they did nothing wrong, while Emiya Alter complimented at their calm determination despite what they learned

Chaldea is now able to force rayshift onto the Gudas now that the Shinjuku has a locked on their existence with the incoming bullet. Gudas asked if Moriarty regret this, both having no regrets to everything that come so far... A breeze... And blue-black flame with a well known laughter.... It’s the real Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond!!

And Jeanne Alter too! Thanks to Holmes’s advice in watching her feet, she saved herself by diving into the manhole to escape from Lobo! Not only that, Shakespeare is rescued! Hans is also here!! And something for us?

Confirming from James that Sherlock’s power is still within him, both William and Hans uses their Noble Phantasm to summon all the Detective spirits they could summoned to help us! Wait us? Sherlock planned for you guys in aiding us one way or another to defeat Moriarty?!

... Understood. As James finally took out the Holy Grail of this Singularity, the final battle of this Singularity began... James Moriarty, this is the end, it’s time to face your defeat! Your giant ghost of riddles vs our phantom ghost of detective to solve this mystery!!

Thank god for Xuangzang’s NP twice in killing Enigma first! That thing is a pain in the ass after my lesson learned in JP... But the real MVP of this fight, Leonidas. Cu helped in being the DPS later... But Leonidas is the real man, tanking and criting James until his death!

Compared to the fight Bael... Yeah, this one is more easier compared to Bael. Though near end... Merlin died since I ran out of options to stall James from his NP.

Overpowering him, we can defeat him this time! But, he uses the Holy Grail one last time to give him more strength... Not like we’re going to let it happen! By the power of the detective given to us as a borrowed Noble Phantasm... James Moriarty....

THE CULPRIT BEHIND THIS WHOLE FICTIONAL SINGULARITY IS YOU! Now that he’s been forced to admit he’s the culprit... The magical energy is now leaving him! James knows that even with all the detective on Gudas’s side, he could’ve win. Yet... Because he pretended to be a good guy, he acted so deeply into it... Without realizing, he became the mask of a good guy and had fun from it

The memories of their shenanigans from James, made him attached the feeling what was it like on the side of Justice.

And at Artoria’s and Emiya’s end, both are now able to destroy the meteor coming to them. Chaldea’s end, they still can’t get the Gudas out from the Singularity. A single shot imbued with his Noble Phantasm, Emiya’s bullet fired and destroyed the large meteor into smaller ones! Artoria Alter’s Excalibur Morgan blasted away the remaining pieces into nothingness! They saved the whole world!

Now at the League, James chuckled at even if they’re able to reach their goal. They were still content at what was the end result. James is about to return to the Throne of Heroes, apologizing for his action and admitting he really does enjoy their time together in his anmesia self. He also cursed at the Detective Spirits for causing his downfall

The detective spirits also took their leave too. James wondered if one of them meant sarcasm on finding happiness in the future. Though, that’ll mean you coming home to people’s chaldea despite being a fucking limited Servant here! YEah, we’ll entertain you big time so do come home then, James!

Now that he left, both Shakespeare and Hans left with their work overdue again. As for Edmond... He returned back to his tower, assuring if we need his help, he’ll come down again.

Leaving Jeanne Alter now... Well, you can be summoned anytime if you also don’t make yourself limited to. But oh well... Emiya Alter returned with giving message Artoria already riding off to somewhere once their mission completed. Emiya Alter bid us farewell not without saying we’ll need to pay him a fee if we needs his help once he’s summoned

On purpose without attempting to be honest herself... She’s finally honest in getting a dance with the Guda. Don’t even try to lie you want to get back at Artoria Alter. She’s doing a favor of trying to get what she wanted.

With a dance entertained, we rayshifted back home at last... Guda left off without telling Mash what happened, so she chase after them. Da Vinci orders the staff to analyze the Singularity now that it’s cleared... HUH?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE, HOLMES?!

Wait... Okay while he gets to stay... There’s still other pillars out there?! Three or rather four with an event counted as the main story.. They survived and escaped after the last Singularity. Even with Incineration of Humanity and this solved... is this foreshadowing of Part 2?!

Oh well, at least you can go do a favor in falsifying data to keep the Gudas safe. Even the staff agree on having genius will be a handful here...

Now in Shinjuku street, Artoria feeds Cavall II one last time before leaving. Here’s hoping a new owner or a free life will give him happiness! After than a narration about Shinjuku and the world ordeal itself... It’s over, Shinjuku Phantom case is finally solved!

Thoughts & Observation

Aniplex, couldn’t you just fucking give us this Singularity first instead of that fucking spartan lesson?!

Expected of tutorial stage, if you got majority of your Servants level at a decent one, it shouldn’t be that hard to fight against the gimmicks for this Singularity

The second round of Singularity with the use of Avenger Servants as enemy before a certain class kicks in. By the time with practice against Kingu and Gorgon... There should be ideas for team composition to deal neutral damage

Phantom & Christine

Apparently HP break for Christine doesn’t really equivalent she’s changing her class to shorten NP gauge

But dealing with both Berserker is hell regardless what version you’re in

Amusing that Phantom’s charm keep landing on the male support instead of Ishtar right there

Servants wise:

Your best AOE NP Servant from either Welfare or 3* should suffice to wipe them one shot

Healers definitely needed or support that buff defense because the moment Christine turned into a giant ghost, it’s when things start going shit when she fucking crits

CEs:

Kiyohime CE: I equipped this on Ishtar, so it helps a lot in killing Phantom once Christine is down

Charm resist CE: I don’t use it but well either skill of debuff resist or anything should suffice if Phantom’s charm does land on your Female Servant

Yan Qing

My only problem with him is his sudden NP tick. The front mobs weren’t an issue with Leonidas killing them asap

Gimmick on draining wasn’t also that much of a problem... Well except I need to start afresh because of needing Leonidas NP taunt to do so

Crit damage still a little painful... But whole problem is his NP charge giving either less time to get taunter ready or Merlin to pull up his AOE invincibility because no one where he’s going to hit

Servants wise:

If you don’t have Xuangzang, your best Servant in this is Medea. With the right team, you can get her to spam her NP often to remove his crit buffs. Her first skill also gave instant full NP charge when Yan Qing activated his gimmick upon entering his wave

For the front mobs, AOE Lancer or so should do the trick in wiping them out

AOE Caster can still work though their damage wise may not be as effective ST Caster

Taunters are definitely preferred in this fight, more or less to avoid Yan Qing’s NP to hit on your support & DPS

Support wise... I’d say 1 staller if you have, more or less to either stun or drain his NP if your taunter or AOE defense Servant isn’t ready

CEs:

Kiyohime CE: Practically this CE is mostly needed for this Singuarity

NP Seal: Works well for me, especially stalling wise on his NP

Taunts CE: In the case if you want him to focus on your taunters longer

Lobo

For his first round, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE AND BRING A FULL TEAM FOR BOSS FIGHTING OTL

Even if his gimmick on defese down debuff failed, his normal attack let alone his crit hurts like a fucking bitch for an Avenger

Second round thank god being Rider still... Jeanne is my savior to protect from his NP + healing from Jeanne Alter’s burning field

Third round and fourth round... Taunters are really your best friend

This is definitely one of the most difficult fight thanks to his Avenger class and gimmicks

Servants wise:

Rider version: Shiki or your best ST NP Assassin to do the job in killing him. But taunters is needed still, because majority Assassin evasion isn’t effective with his NP effect.

Jeanne is viable for only Rider version with her NP to keep your team alive + healing together

Avenger version:

Euryale: Your best bet by far with Charm + NP staller, she can helped in delaying from his NP activated. But with her low HP on the problem, a good Caster support and Taunter can keep her alive

Proto Cu: My own Cu isn’t that good and needs more work... But effectively with his skills at the decent level + stats maxed out, he should be your best DPS against him

ST Berserker: At your own risk as the moment an Avenger crits.. It can be insta-death on them

CEs:

Kiyohime CE

NP Seal CE

Taunt CE: Because sometimes a normal attack will kill your support Caster in a blink of an eye

Insta-death resist CE: This is mostly if your RNG screw you badly on the final round... But otherwise if you’re lucky, it’ll always be a miss.

Emiya Alter

A one-time boss fight but... Don’t waste your time kill ALL 200 Hornets

Unlike a certain event coming, he doesn’t have any gimmicks. The battle ends with his HP bar break

Servants wise:

AOE/ST Lancer: Take your pick as your main target is to clear off his first HP layer

AOE/ST Berserker: Same as the reason above... Though the Hornets with Emiya Alter will kill them quickly before they can kill him

Taunters: With his NP being an ST type, bring one in to keep your DPS alive for this whole fight

CEs:

Kiyohime CE

Taunts CE

Defensive CE: If needed against the Hornets together

James Moriarty & Bael

NA feels easier... But among the 3 round, the worst one is still the one with Bael

Enigma was actually better this time unlike NA, but the party cost gave me limited setup choices for this fights

Bael:

The first unique Demon God Pillar that becomes the Avenger class in this EOR Singularity

His AOE normal attack helps a lot in buffing your team’s NP quickly, along with his crits too

I don’t remember him charging his NP by 1 tick... But at least thank god his NP has always landed on the taunted targets before the effect runs out

Servants wise:

AOE Lancer/Berserker: Being the second round fight with James, your AOE Lancer is preferred to fight with Bael and James. Unlike Berserker, if you picked Lancer for DPS, put your focus onto Bael since AOE NP from your Servant will hit James at the same time. But also unlike Berserker, they aren’t prone to dying faster from the class affinty

Taunters: His NP is immediate insta-death unless you got permanent Guts buff on your Servant. Use them as suicide scapegoat to avoid your support and DPS dying

CE:

Taunt CE

Attack Boost CE: This is before a certain class arrival, basic damage increase is welcome to deal against him

Defensive CE: For your AOE Berserker in this fight

Enigma:

I got no comments since I immediately two-shotted this giant ghost before anything can happened

Though thanks to this ghost, it’s the reason the final fight my party is having limited choice for Lancer DPS

Other than its AOE attack, it acts as Moriarty support for this whole fight. From draining your party’s NP, sealing them and their skill to charging James’s NP full when needed... Your main priority is to get rid it first before going after James

Servants:

Medea if you don’t have Xuangzang. Xuanzang is more of together with borrowed support Merlin + Shakespeare to 2 shot it gone

But Medea wise, can either double Tamamo (if you do have your own), or borrowed Waver to support her attack damage to kill it

AOE Caster also works... But not that recommended as preferred most damage will hit on Enigma to kill it quickly

AOE Berserker: If you’re using them, you’ll definitely want Enigma dead immediately or ASAP because class affinity

Martha Ruler & Scathach: For the Undead Trait it has for stronger Neutral damage

CE:

Starting NP CE: With the gimmick buff of charging your NP by 20% every turn + borrowed Support’s NP charging... It helps to use

James:

After JP’s lesson learned... He isn’t that difficult once you can keep your whole team alive against him

The first round is really RNG that’s thankfully kind to me... Skill and NP seal on random front-line Servant is tricky if you don’t where it lands.

But the main thing you want to spam often is your support’s NP rather than your DPS’s NP in all three round

Of course there’s buff removal by RNG luck.. Yeah, even Leonidas/George’s taunt are removable at that point

Second round, other than draining your stars, he isn’t much of a threat except acting like a support to Bael. With a good AOE DPS, you can focus on killing Bael first while the NP will then deal the damage on him

Third round with him being the DPS, he’s still a threat but as said above, your main focus is the massive ghost before going after him.

His HP Break will give him two times unexpected NP charge by 1 tick, so prepare your defense once he’s close

Servants wise:

Cu Chulainn: Everyone’s favorite doggo! Though I didn’t use him for this whole fight against James. I have Vlad that hit harder, but Cu is definitely the budget choice... Except be careful of his one turn that spams his ignore invincibility

Leonidas: My MVP for the whole fight with him. His own taunt NP and generating stars... He’s the real DPS before Cu kicks in the final round with his nice crit dealing damage at James

Other ST Lancers: Benkei (budget staller) & Diarmund (buff remover ST DPS, his second skill against female will definitely not work on him)

ST Berserker: First round should be fine.. But it’s still at your own risk, especially the second round onwards he has an ally with him on the field

Other Taunters: You definitely need them especially from his NP

CEs:

Kiyohime CE

His Rightful place/starting CE: This is mainly for Leonidas if you do plan to bring him on the field. He was initially a support just to get his NP start while generating stars... But become a DPS once Xuangzang died in the final round, with Merlin + Waver 2030 CE generating hell lots of stars for crit fest

NP Seal: For second round especially, if you can land it on James to delay his NP while killing Bael

And... I need QP because CBC is going to be very expensive or not if anyone is coming home. Or using that for Nobunaga event rerun because I got Waver and Dantes to raise!

#fgo #fate grand order #the shit I shit myself into #Shinjuku Singularity #shinjuku NA #yeah! no command seal used for this whole singularity!#time to go back grinding until CBC and Nobunaga event kicks in #and i need to go back to JP hell

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hippychick006 · 6 years

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4.17 - It’s a terrible life

or the one where sexy times wincest almost becomes canon (though technically it would be sexy times Swesson). Yet another episode I love. Kripke, I miss you. Yet again so much happens in 40 minutes so under the cut we go.

We know something is up from the get go in this one, Dean is wearing a business suit and hair slicked back. As an aside, his apartment view is almost the same as mine so I know which building this is filmed in. We could assume he’s just working a case if not for the fact he gets into a prius and switches off the rock music. This is not our Dean. As an another aside, Prius are nippy little cars until you try to get them to go up a hill.

Dean enters a sky scraper for the Sandover Bridge & Iron company. His office tells us he’s Dean Smith - Director, Sales & Marketing. Montage follows of Dean working through the day, typing, putting on his little office golf set, bemoaning there aren’t more shows like Project Runway, eating salad and we get this gem from Dean’s own mouth: “Net profitability aside, it’s the client-retention rate that concerns me vis-a-vis maximising returns on sales...” And I’m having flash backs to my former working life.

We meet his boss, Mr Adler, (who we’ll find out later is actually the angel Zachariah). Back to Dean and he’s now bemoaning the sedentary lifestyle of office work and notes down a juice plan to try later - lemon, ceyenne and maple syrup. I think this is or was a real diet.

We finally see Sam in the elevator when Dean finishes work for the day. Sam is wearing a yellow polo top so obviously not doing the same type of work as Dean. Dean thinks Sam is hitting on him and tells him to “save it for the health club, pal.” Sam looks confused - possibly wondering where Dean’s health club is so he can hit on him there.

Shot of pages being printed and pencil being sharpened, and we see that Sam works in a cubicle, and I feel claustrophobic just looking at it. Sam Wesson, as we find out, works Tech Support at Sandover. He has an adorable dracula bobble head that he taps while giving out the sage advice of “Have you tried turning it off and then on.” The caller is obviously a newbie because the rest of us know to do this before we even call Tech Support. The only unrealistic thing in the episode so far is that Tech Support appear to have windows. Not in my experience, they are always hidden in the basement somewhere.

Sam has a friend in tech support which is cute. The guy appears to be a rebel and not wearing the uniform. They go for a coffee break and try to get their third friend, Paul, to join them. Paul has no time and appears stressed, which seems to not be his usual behaviour if the look on Sam’s face is anything to go by. His friend explains that Paul got busted the day before for surfing for porn and was sent up to HR.

We find out Sam’s new buddy is called Ian, when Sam catches him raiding the stationery cupboard. And I don’t want to tell the company how to do things, but having the stationery cupboard in the employee room, probably isn’t the best way to avoid stationery getting nicked. My suggestion is to put it behind the desk of that one PA everyone is terrified of. Moving on, Sam’s been telling Ian that he has dreams like saving a grim reaper named Tessa from demons. Ian laughs and Sam calls him a dick.

Shot of pages being printed and pencil being sharpened again, and Sam’s still in the cubicle. He’s tired and falls asleep and we see a montage of him and Dean killing things. He wakes up abruptly.

Sam gets in the elevator, Dean’s in there again but they are not alone this time. I’m remembering the gag reel where Jared keeps screwing this scene up because he’s confused that the button he wants is already pressed. Dean and Sam give each other glances which only gets more awkward when everyone else leaves on the same floor, and Sam and Dean are the only ones left. There follows this conversation - which given they are in an elevator and Dean can’t escape - is awkward to say the least:

SAM: Can I ask you a question?

DEAN: Look, man, I told you, I'm not into the, uh...

SAM: Oh dude, come on, I'm not either. I just wanna ask you one question.

DEAN (reluctantly and looking for an escape route): Sure.

SAM: What do you think about ghosts?

I think Dean would have preferred being flirted with. Seriously Sam?

Sam then asks about vampires (since the last part of his dream was Dean using a saw to cut the head off one). He tells Dean he’s been having some weird dreams recently, and asks Dean if he knows what he means. Dean answers, “no, not really.” Sam persists and ask, “So... you’ve never had any... weird dreams.” Dean is visibly uncomfortable now and starts jamming the elevator buttons desperately and tells Sam that he overshares.

Printer/pencil being sharpened. Sam’s back in his cubicle, he searches the web for vampires while saying into his headset “Did you turn it off, then on...”

Ian asks him if he got an email from HR. Sam says no. Ian says it’s just him then and heads off hoping to be spanked. I’m hoping Ian doesn’t meet Dean in the elevator and tell him this same thing because if he thinks Sam overshares, then he’s going to have serious problems with Ian. Meanwhile Paul has a melt down because he’s just lost a full days work. Sam tries to calm him down, but we see Paul working really late trying to get the file back. He fails and kills himself via microwave.

The whole office watch the next morning as Paul is body bagged out. I’m not saying Sam and Dean have a moment as they glance at each other... but they have a moment as they glance at each other. Can I also just say, Dean looks stunning as a businessman and I’ve just realised that hot on the heels of giving us mob!boss Dean last week, the show have gifted us rich businessman!Dean this week. The only thing that would have made this episode better would have been PersonalAssistant!Sam, but we can’t have everything we want and I feel greedy just thinking of it.

Dean’s back in his office, and looks up Paul’s file to see that he was 2 weeks from retirement. Sam’s obviously done the same thing as we see him wheel himself over to Ian’s cubicle to ask Ian why Paul would off himself with only 2 weeks to go to freedom.

Ian - who is now wearing the yellow uniform - does not have time for this Sam, he’s working! Sam asks what’s going on, but Ian’s called up to a manager’s office and doesn’t answer any of Sam’s questions. The manager turns out to be Dean and needs Ian to fix a 445T form he filled out the day before that has some errors in it. Ian melts down that he’s wasted company profits and runs away. Dean gives chase and finds him in the executive bathroom where strange things start happening and Ian stabs himself in the neck with one of the pencils he stole the day before. Dean goes to help and sees an old man’s face in the mirror.

Sam and Dean share another moment as Ian is body bagged away, though Sam’s is slightly more bitchface this time.

Printer/pencil being sharpened. Sam’s back in his cubicle and receives a phone call. I’m bolding this next important piece of dialogue:

Dean: I need to see you in my office. Now!

The next shot is of Dean doing his shirt up and I can’t even...

Sadly though, we discover that Sam has only just arrived so no sexy times were had on Dean’s desk. Oh show. Stop with the teasing. Anyway, they talk (while Dean drinks that lemon juice/ceyenne/maple syrup concoction. They have a long conversation about Sam dreaming about ghosts and them being real.

Dean: So you’re telling me that your dreams are special visions and you’re some kind of psychic?

Sam: No, I mean... that would be nuts.

Heh.

Sam then brings out research he’s been doing on what connects the victims. Dean realises Sam must have broken into their email accounts to get this information. Sam says, “I used some skills that I happen to have to satisfy my curiosity.” I love pre Charlie days, when Sam had the skills to hack into systems and didn’t have to rely on the smartest person in the room..

Sam explains that the emails said to report to HR, room 1444. Dean responds, HR’s on 7. They both go to check it out and arrive in time to rescue yet another yellow shirted employee who’s been summoned to that room. Sam kicks the locked door down and Dean tries not to whimper. They see the ghost attacking the worker who is pinned under a shelf. Dean grabs a wrench and swings it and the old man disappears.

Back at Dean’s apartment, and as yet another unwanted aside, but I’m giving them to you anyway, those twinkling lights in the background are Grouse Mountain. That is one very nice apartment, but not sure I’d have put the fireplace right in front of floor to ceiling windows. Anyway, both are hyped up from their run in with the ghost. Sam asks, “Hey, How the hell did you know that ghosts are scared of wrenches?” Heh! Dean compliments Sam on kicking down the door. He seems fixated on that detail.

Sam starts saying he doesn’t believe they belong there. He should be doing something more than sit in a cubicle. Dean responds, “I think most people who work in a cubicle feel that same way.”

Sam persists that he feels he was destined for something different. Dean says he doesn’t believe in destiny, but in dealing with what’s right in front of them. Sam asks what they should do now and Dean answers “We do what I do best, Sammy, research.”

Sam: Did you just call me Sammy?”

Dean: Did I?”

Sam: I think you did... yeah... don’t.

I can’t believe we’re only half way through the episode at this point! What?!

They both do research, but it’s Dean that hits the jackpot when he comes across Ghostfacers website. Yes, Ed and Harry are back, who Dean declares to be genius. They’ve produced instructional videos, which Sam and Dean use to figure out what they are dealing with and how to get rid of it. You either like the ghostfacers or don’t, but the clips were funny and here has the extended version of them in all their glory: https://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/tag/ghost-facers/

So many good moments going between the videos and Sam and Dean preparing, but my favourites are that they discover the wrench worked, not because ghosts are afraid of them, but because it was made out of iron. They have no idea where to get guns from. Also this bit;

Harry: Okay, this next part gets a little gross. Sometimes you might have to dig up the body... Sorry.

Ed: It’s illegal in some states.

Harry: All states

Ed: Possibly all states.

I’m laughing.

Armed with condiments and fire pokers, they had back to the office. Dean suggests they set their phones to walkie talkie and... wait, you can do this? How?

They search Sandovers office (room 1444) for some remains to burn (since the man was cremated). Sam gets caught by security and dragged out. They go into the elevator which starts acting strangely stopping suddenly. The security guard opens the door and finds they are between floors. This is not going to end well.

The guard awkwardly climbs out and... oh, thankfully he’s fine. False alarm.

Back to Dean who finds the clue about what they need to burn.

Back to the security guard who reaches back in to the elevator to get Sam and the elevator drops decapitating him, and spraying Sam with blood. (Jared getting sprayed is a running prank on the set, I’m telling you).

Sam and Dean work together to kill the ghost and we get some winsync moments as they look like they’ve been working together for years.

Sam suggests they quit their jobs and hit the road. Dean wants to know how they would live. “with stolen credit cards? Eating diner food drenched in saturated fats? Sharing a crap motel room every night?” Sam says those are just details. Dean responds “Details are everything! You don’t want to be fighting ghosts without any health insurance.”

Sam confesses that he thinks this is not who they are. He thinks his dreams are their real life, that they are hunters, friends, brothers even.

Dean responds that he knows who he is, his father’s name is Bob, mother Ellen and sister is called Jo.

Sam asks when the last time Dean talked to them, because he just broke up with his fiancee Madison and when he called her number, he got an animal hospital. Heh.

SAM: All I know is, I got this feeling in my gut. And I know—I know that deep down, you gotta be feeling it too. We're supposed to be something else. You're not just some corporate douchebag. This isn't you. I know you.

DEAN: Know me? You don't know me, pal. You should go.

Printer/pencil being sharpened and Sam’s back in his cubicle and in a scene that I’m sure everyone who has ever worked in a cubicle wishes they could do, he takes a poker to his ringing phone and smashes it to pieces. Sam: “I quit.”

Entire office stands up and claps, crying “Way to go, Sammy, way to go!”

Not really. That was just me.

Switch back to Dean’s office. Mr Adler is back. He’s pleased with Dean’s work and writes down a figure on a piece of paper, I think it’s $50,000 which he tells Dean is a bonus to make sure he’s not going anywhere. Mr Adler sees big things in Dean’s future, “Maybe even senior VP, Eastern Great Lakes Division”

In a much less dramatic way than Sammy, Dean quietly says he’s giving his notice. “It’s not who I’m supposed to be.”

Much to Dean’s surprise, Mr Adler grins and says “Finally.” He reaches over and zaps Dean and the bright colours vanish. Dean looks around wondering why he’s in an office, wearing a tie and he’s starving.

Zachariah explains who he is - Castiel’s boss - and that after the situation with Uriel, felt it was necessary to visit to get all of his ducks in a row. Dean: “I am not one of your ducks!” Zachariah explains that he wanted to show Dean that hunting is what he was born to do. That it was nothing to do with John. That he’d find his way to it, even in the dark.

Zachariah:“...Save people, maybe even the world. All the while you drive a classic car and fornicate with women. This isn't a curse. It's a gift. So for God's sakes, Dean, quit whining about it. Look around. There are plenty of fates worse than yours. So are you with me? You wanna go steam yourself another latte? Or are you ready to stand up and be who you really are?”

An important episode to get Dean out of his funk of the previous week and realising that hunting is what he was born to do. Nice continuity between episodes here.

Up next The Monster at the end of This book. Damn it, another favourite!

#supernatural #season 4 #rewatch #4.17 #it's a terrible life

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the-elemental-sides · 6 years

Text

You Can’t Stay (Sanders Sides Spirit AU)

A/N: This fic is heavily inspired by Patton and the Lonely Ghost by @princelogical, particularly the ending. I’m also reusing the concept of Grim Reaper Virgil from my own fic of the distant past.

I’ve seen plenty of the “ghost haunts lonely roommate” style of fic for Sanders Sides, but it’s usually from the POV of the human. What if it was from the POV of the ghost? And what if the ghost himself was haunted by the Grim Reaper?

Warnings: Lots of discussion of death and depression, and brief mentions of existential horror, pain, and violence. Implied suicide reference (open to interpretation). Not a romantic fic, but you could read Royality, Prinxiety, or Logicality if you wanted.

Characterizing Virgil in this fic was really interesting. The whole thing was so much fun to write and I hope you like it. I just *clenches fist* frickin love Sanders Sides and ghosts. Thanks to @rubyredsparks for betaing!

Taglist: @alix-the-skeleton, @generalfandomfabulousness

Word count: 2,060

***

The Grim Reaper was omnipresent: a shadowy, looming force, a constant warning, and a bleak reminder of his fate. Yet somehow, it was comforting that he always checked up on Roman like a doting parent. In the Reaper’s own words, he was only trying to protect him.

“Look at you,” the Reaper scoffed, meeting Roman in one of the shadowy corners of the apartment. “You’re fading away. This is no place for a spirit.”

“If you’ve told me once, Verge,” Roman said, crossing his ghostly arms, which were in fact getting more translucent by the day, “you’ve told me a thousand times. I am not going with you.”

The Reaper scowled deeply, black lines etched into his face beneath his hood. “I regret telling you my name.”

“You’ve said that before too.”

But Virgil, the Grim Reaper, for all his pessimistic predictions of Roman’s imminent destruction, wasn’t one to give up on a lost spirit. At least once a week he would appear in the apartment that Roman housed to make his plea.

“Come with me to the afterlife.”

“No.”

And Roman stayed.

He stayed for him, the man occupying the apartment. The one who had no idea that Roman had died here; he only knew the rent was cheap. Beneath his kind, radiant exterior, this man, Patton, was in deep distress. And nobody knew but Roman.

After death, Roman’s view of the world took on a tinge like watercolor, alive and shifting, and there were times when sadness bled out of Patton like black paint. It made him determined to stick around and try to patch up that feeling of emptiness. The sadness was achingly familiar to Roman from when he was alive—he was literally a kindred spirit, a pun he thought Patton would appreciate—and he made it his ghostly mission to bring Patton joy.

He sang in the early mornings and harmonized with the birds. He chased away spiders who dared to breach Patton’s home. He drew murals in the shower steam on the mirror. He’d even tried to write his name once, but Virgil had forbidden it. According to him, Roman was pushing it as it was.

His ways of interacting with the world were limited, but Roman was nothing if not creative. Sometimes, it worked. Patton would stop and smile, admire the mirror, maybe remember to take his medicine for once, the scatterbrain, and both of their worlds would be brighter for that one day.

What frustrated Roman most was that he couldn’t leave the apartment. He could hardly get ten feet down the hallway. Once, Roman made it all the way to the elevator, but as he was propelled further and further down he realized he’d made a horrible mistake. Nausea boiled inside him like hot oil. He attempted to phase into the elevator shaft to escape, but he was consumed by dizzying pain before blacking out completely.

He woke up hours later, back in the apartment, with Virgil’s concerned face hovering over him. His hood was down. “That was stupid,” he scolded as Roman sat up in a daze.

“I was only trying...I only wanted to—“

“Don’t you get it, you moron? It’s this apartment, the place that you died, that’s sustaining your life source now. Not Patton. If you run out of energy, you’re gone, poof. That’s why you should let me—“

“Just stop,” Roman snapped. “...Please? I appreciate the help and all, Creeper, but I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know how I can make that any more clear.”

Virgil looked at him fiercely, concern and anger and resignation battling in his eyes. When the door unlatched and Roman immediately turned all his attention to Patton’s entry, Virgil gave up and melted away into black smoke. “...This isn’t ending here.”

Weeks passed.

Little things, like how Roman used to leave a cupboard open to remind Patton to eat, now required intense concentration. Moving anything heavy left him dizzy for hours.

It broke his heart to see how steadily Patton’s mood could deteriorate. He’d be full of giddiness and delight one minute when he came home from work, and then, like clockwork, he’d sink down, down over the hours into a funk that left him falling asleep with his glasses still on and his laptop still running at four in the morning. The next morning, he’d wake up (always so close to being late) and start the cycle over. Roman feared one day Patton wouldn’t get out of bed.

There was still hope. From extensive snooping, Roman learned that Patton had a close friend named Logan, a high school teacher. He liked ties and a certain kind of jam. That was all Roman needed to know about him. He didn’t care who it was as long as someone was there for his Patton.

Logan’s phone number was stuck on a whiteboard on the fridge amidst a cacophony of other sticky notes. In Roman’s opinion, this number was the most important of all. If Roman knew anything from his own experiences, being alone for long stretches of time was what was exacerbating Patton’s mental health to the breaking point. If he’d only get together with his friend, just once a week, just for coffee, he could reconnect with the world. He’d have someone to talk to. He’d have something to look forward to on bad days. Above all, Roman saw Logan as a way to keep Patton grounded.

There was no need for Patton to feel so lifeless and alone when Roman was the one who was already dead.

And, oh, he tried to get his plan in motion. He’d ruffle the notes when Patton walked by, sing the numbers at the top of his voice (individual words were too hard, but Patton had always been able to hear the faint warbling of a song), and try with all his might to communicate.

By now it was easier for Roman to see the floor through him than his own arm, and he had to grasp for things without knowing where his fingers were. Even then, pens and pencils slipped through his hands. He tried to type on Patton’s laptop, so carefully, one key at a time, but Patton hadn’t plugged it in, and Roman spent a night watching with horror as the battery ticked down and the screen shut off, erasing his message permanently an hour before Patton woke up.

Virgil came back. Patton had fallen asleep on the couch one night, and Roman curled up gloomily in the armchair next to him. Both were exhausted from the day’s work, though for different reasons.

A freezing force rushed over him, and suddenly Roman had been thrown through the couch and against the wall, pinned by a scythe at his throat.

“That is enough,” the Grim Reaper growled with a layer of darkness coating his voice, and Roman hadn’t been scared of him for a long time, not since Virgil had grudgingly revealed his name and Roman laughed at him, but he was terrified now. “Like it or not, you’re coming with me.”

“You can’t—“ Roman gasped.

“Can’t I? Do you think I’ve never broken a few rules? Do you know what’s waiting for you if I don’t save your spirit, Roman? Nothing. Can you imagine that, an eternity of nothing? I’ve seen it.” Virgil’s eyes were wide and dark, and piercing violet flashed within them. “We’ve all seen it, we’ve all feared it, and that’s why we try so hard to keep stubborn, lost, stupid souls like you safe. Why won’t you let me take you home? Why is one mortal worth an eternity of nothing?”

“Because,” Roman choked, and he noticed that in the pitch-black light emanating from Virgil’s robes, he could see bits and pieces of his own form breaking off and dissolving. “He’s not lost yet, Virgil. I am. It’s too late for me, but there’s still hope for Patton. He can—he can still be saved. I’m not letting this apartment claim another victim.”

He clawed at the sharp steel of the scythe, and Virgil noticed and slightly loosened his grip.

“You tried to save him,” he told Roman with a quiet, exhausted gentleness, like a parent who’s had the same argument one too many times. “You tried. You failed. It’s time to go to sleep.”

“Not while he’s still here,” Roman rasped with a fierceness that didn’t match his frame, which had faded to a bare outline against the wall. “Not when there’s a chance.”

Virgil seemed to be considering his next words carefully. “...Then.” He released Roman fully and stood up. He pulled up his hood and gripped his scythe in one hand.

“Wait...” Roman struggled to stand, but now each movement sent a wave of dizziness through him, leaving him paralyzed.

Like a living shadow, Virgil glided over the ground and toward Patton’s sleeping form. “Then I’m ending this, Roman.”

“What are you doing? Virgil! No! NO!”

Ignoring Roman’s shriek of horror, Virgil swung his scythe through Patton like a bat...and Patton’s own ghostly form, flickering with pale blue light, sat up inside his body and gasped. Virgil cast his scythe aside and grew until he was ten feet tall, looming over Patton at an unnatural angle.

“Your friend is going to die,” he boomed in that dark, double-edged voice. “He’s going to die someday and so are you.”

Patton’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“Do you know who I am? I’m Death. I am the Grim Reaper. And I’m getting real sick of this.”

“I…”

“Take my advice, now. Contact him. Call him. Let him know how much you care. Because I’m coming for you. And you’re not gonna know what day will be your last.” He pointed at Patton, and a crackling, dark purple portal, radiating cold, rent the air behind him.

Patton nearly fell off the couch, but his spirit was still connected to his body by the legs. He moved what he could, twisting his torso and raising his hands placatingly. “I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand! I promise!”

“Promises don’t mean much to corpses.”

Virgil’s scythe reappeared in his hand, and with a tap on his forehead, Patton’s spirit’s eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed.

Virgil dropped his arms, and the stifling energy faded from the room. He shrank several feet and pulled off his hood. As he rubbed his temples, he looked almost human.

“There. I hope you appreciate the favor. I’ll never hear the end of it for showing myself to a mortal.”

Roman shivered like he had a fever. “You...scared him pretty badly. I mean, not that I’m not grateful. But that was a little extreme.”

“Hey, it’s what I do.” He gave Roman a crooked smile. “Keeping up a dark persona is the best way to get someone’s guard up.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“There’s power in a little fear. Call it motivation. When you’re running on fumes, a little goes a long way.”

He clasped Roman’s hand and helped the intangible spirit to his feet. “Now, are you ready to go, buddy? Seriously...all he needed was a wake-up call. He has strength. You should trust in that.”

Roman cast his eyes at Patton. In the real world, he had woken up, and he was blinking at the ceiling with fear and confusion. It was as if it’d only been a nightmare.

“Good,” Roman breathed. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Arm in arm, Roman as unsteady as a child, the Grim Reaper led him to the portal still swirling in the center of the room. The demonic purple light had faded from it, and now it was a clear, soft gold. Suddenly, in the light of the portal, Roman gasped. “He’s looking at us! Virgil! He sees me!”

It was true; Patton had his eyes fixed unmistakably on Roman. And then he smiled. “It’s you…” he croaked. “The drawings, the voice...it’s you, isn’t it?”

Faced with him, Roman suddenly had stagefright. But he grinned back. “It’s me, all right. Your specter in shining armor.”

Roman’s voice warped toward the end of his sentence, and Virgil quickly guided him into the portal. But even in the void of shimmering light, Roman could hear the faded echo of Patton’s voice.

It sounded like he was saying “...thank you.”

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #my writing #grim reaper virgil #angst #tw death #tw depression #100 plus #oh my gosh thank you guys I was hoping this story would get there

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aequalitenore-blog · 6 years

Text

Well, it’s time to hunt yourself down.

It still hurt, knowing there was another version of Minato out there, trying to live the best life he could. From his fragmented memories, Minato could gather that their stories were still similar. The boy had still lost his family in an accident at a very young age. But this world’s Minato... No, the false Minato. The false Minato was not passed from home to home. He never made any friends in this world, and suffered from a loneliness that the true Minato could sympathize with. They had both known their own lonely paths, but the true Minato was able to overcome his struggles and become someone greater.

Minato didn’t know if his false self was able to become stronger. He had never accepted a fate worse than death, or had his friends die while knowing he could have saved them. And that was what made them so different. Minato intended to chase down this orphaned version of himself, and he already had an idea of where to find the boy. It was a hunch, but Minato could typically trust his gut. He could trust that he would make the right decision.

***

The high school.

Of course. In every world, Minato was attached to school life. However in his own world, Gekkoukan High was significantly more than a school. It was Tartarus, the mighty tower that manifested with the Dark Hour. Even with the defeat of Nyx, Minato could never forget the tower. Truthfully, it still haunted his dreams some nights. As did the visions of Ryoji and Thanatos. But that was no a problem he was willing to deal with. Instead, Minato began to look around the schoolyard. He had neglected to attend school today, but it was late enough for Minato to know that he was supposed to be off school grounds.

Minato’s headphones hung at his side, making small clacking noises as he moved. He considered wearing them, but the situation was much too hectic for the boy to consider adding music. Plus, what if added music only scared his false self away? There was no Lotus Juice in this world, so perhaps the new sound would only annoy this other Minato.

Minato was beginning to consider his options. Was it a fair guess to go to the school? He had already searched inside most of the building, but there was no sigh of another person. He was expecting a teacher at least, but no one appeared. The blue haired boy sighed. He would try one last spot, and hope for the best.

The utility closet.

All of the equipment that every sports club required must have been stored in this room. Minato opened the door, glancing inside. It was as if every ball in the world was stored in this room, each one for a game Minato had never cared for. He was about to give up, until a flash of blue passed by his eyes.

That had to be the false self.

Minato placed his hand on his Evoker. All he had available was Orpheus at this time, but that would be more than enough for him to deal with his other self. Besides, the other boy was no Shadow. He was nothing to fear. Minato turned a corner, his eyes locking onto a sight he wasn’t prepared for.

Tears. He was crying. Minato couldn’t remember the last time he had cried. He couldn’t cry for Shinji, or for Ryoji, or even for himself. Did he cry for his parents? It had been so long, and truthfully Minato didn’t know. But this version of himself, this fake, was crying. It felt almost out of character to see his own face, one that was always so calm and serene, now coated with tears. A part of himself envied the fake self. He wished he could still tap into his emotions the same way, but that was not easy.

The true Minato coughed, letting the other know he was there. The other continued to cry for a moment, before picking his head up. The bags under his eyes were heavy. He was clearly traumatized, but there was little Minato could do to ease his mind. He may have been a voice of reason, but not for himself.

“Why are you here? How are you still alive!?” The other lashed out. “Your memories... Those monsters... Everything hurts. How have you not run away?” He sniffled for a moment, brushing away his tears. “How can you just die for all these people when you don’t even know them?”

The boy should have expected this. He had long since come to terms with the person he had to be, but this version of himself was different. Minato sighed, setting himself down on the ground in front of the other self. He placed his phone in front of the other, opening the app. The other watched him, a mix of caution and anger on his face.

“I don’t know. I died, and that’s that.” He shrugged. “Even if I went back in time, I don’t think I would change what I did. I would still give up being me for the world.” Minato’s arms crossed in front of him. “People suck, but it’s not like all of them are trying to kill me, right? I know your story is different, but if you’re me, you should understand that.” He paused, the app still buffering.

“This is Spirale GO. If you want to escape my memories, this is how you do it.” He held the phone out in front of the other self. The other said nothing, just watching the screen. “Did... Did you really fight the Grim Reaper?” Was that really the best question he had?

Minato nodded. “We just call them the Reaper, but I think it’s kinda similar. We fought a lot of cool things like that. I would show you some of my abilities, but they’re locked away.” He glanced at his Evoker. Maybe someday. “I’ll answer two of your questions, and then I’m going to need you to go in the phone. It’s for both our safety.” This was a lot of talking for our hero. He usually got about half this many words in a day before his mouth just gave up. But this was important.

The other crossed his arms as he unknowingly mirrored Minato, his face a bit calmer. He clearly had questions. “Why do I have to be the one to go? I’m the real one here, not you. I may not have weird powers like you, but I lived my own life. I’m even more real than you could ever be.” He looked exhausted, about to collapse. Minato was worried this wouldn’t last.

“Dunno. Maybe all my memories are fake. Maybe you are the real one made for this city. But if I don’t do this, we both die. And I don’t really want to go through that again.” He imagined it would hurt a lot more this time. Not nearly as peaceful. Plus there was no robot’s lap to rest on, so there was no point. “So I’m choosing to believe I’m real, and the pain I’ve felt is real too. All the people I’ve lost are real, and they will always be with me. You can deny that if you want, but I’m not wrong.”

The other seemed satisfied with that answer, at least slightly. He picked up Minato’s phone, studying the app. It was genuine, or whatever you could call an app designed by the weirdos in this city. His finger hovered over SEAL icon, before handing the phone back instead. “Fine.” He stood up, Minato moving soon after. “Then...” His voice was quieter. “Do you still miss them?”

“Every day of my life.” Of course he was talking about his family. “I wish they were still alive, but I can’t change that. So I just hope that they’re proud of what I did.” Minato smiled. “And they’re proud of you too for making it this far. Your life was interesting enough, even if you didn’t have to fight Shadows.” He shifted in place, his phone in hand again. “But now you have to let me live, so we can lead our own happy lives.”

Minato watched the app open once more. “And who knows, maybe you can find your own group of people to love. I’m sure they’re out there, waiting for you to connect with them.” The other nodded, latching onto everything Minato said. Minato knew he was always ease to sway, so of course his other would be the same way. “But for now, this is goodbye.” He tapped the SEAL icon, before a blinding light surrounded the room.

And, he was gone. The other Minato was sealed away without even getting to say goodbye. Minato did feel bad for this action, but he knew that the longer they talked, the less likely he was to actually go into the app.

“At least that’s over.”

More importantly, Minato knew he needed a nap after all that talking.

#isola event subversion part 2 #bold+italics= double minato for those unaware #this took me like two hours and im sorry if it got lame towards the end

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thereluctantinquisitor · 7 years

Note

“You–uh–spooked…my heart.” for Dorlen because honestly I can actually SEE Varlen saying that line xD

Pfff this is PERFECT VARLEN DIALOGUE indeed! Many thanks, friend!

Pavellan. Dorian Pavus x Varlen Lavellan (approx 1500 words)

“Come on, Varlen –dance, yeah? Get out there! Shake your butt or something!”

The sound Varlen madein response to Sera’s urging was akin to a wounded animal begging for the sweetrelease of death. He shook his head, a tall drink of something in one hand, the other fighting for freedom as Seratugged it insistently towards the dance floor. “I don’t want to,” hecomplained, attempting the subtle art of wriggling free without spilling hisdrink. “I just want to drink and go home, Sera. You’re the one who wanted toparty.”

Fixing him with a flatgaze, Sera heaved a sigh and released him dramatically, the way one drops asoggy sock. “What, so you got all dressed up and stuff just to decorate thewall?” She gestured to Varlen’s costume, one brow arched so high it nearlyvanished beneath her fringe. “Can’t have been easy wriggling your way into that.”

In a sense, she wasn’twrong, but it really hadn’t been Varlen’s fault. At the last minute, he hadordered a batman suit online, but when it finally arrived… well…

Let’s just say he hada whole new appreciation for catwoman.

“I can’t dance in this,” he protested, gesturing at theoutfit. “I can barely breathe in this!” He groped around behind him, then brandisheda long, thin strip of black fabric. “I have a tail.”

“Pshh.” Sera justrolled her eyes. “Be grateful you’re not in heels or nothing! Now go on. Tenminutes.” She nudged him in the ribs playfully, swapping to a sing-song voice.“Dance for just ten minutes and I’llstop bugging you…”

Some battles were notdesigned to be won. Varlen let out a tight breath – mostly courtesy of the suit– and took a long, deep, steadying drink. “Fine,” he gasped once he had drainedalmost half the glass, swiping his mouth with the back of his hand and slappingit down on a nearby table. “Ten minutes. Then I’m going home and peeling myselflike a banana.”

Sera snorted at that,giving him a push in the direction of the dancefloor with the heel of her palm.“Go get ‘em, tiger.”

“No stripes. Not funny.”

“Sourpuss.”

The dancefloor was asmuch of a nightmare as Varlen had anticipated. He winced, music throbbing loudas a heartbeat on a silent night, and he swore his own was breaking its properrhythm to match that of the bass. It was always an uncomfortable sensation, particularlythe more he thought about it, but he reasoned he only had to put up with it forten minutes.

What could possiblyhappen in ten minutes?

He started to move;small, awkward steps at first, not entirely sure how to dance to thatparticular style of music. It was so fast that he doubted it had been designedfor human beings. But he gave it his best, certain that Sera was lurkingsomewhere just outside the dancefloor, watching, making sure he upheld his endof the bargain. More people joined in the fray, and soon there were bodiespressed tight against Varlen, blocking his view of pretty much everything butsweaty skin and the alarming amount of fake blood. Always with the fake blood. Monsters and ghouls and sexypretty-much-everything jumped, bounced, raised their arms and shook their hair aroundhim. Varlen tried to share their enthusiasm – to lose himself in the cacophonyof noise and sweat - but fell so far short of the mark that he wasn’t even sureit existed.

It was all too much.The heat, the bodies, the loud, thumping, angry music. The catsuit. Varlen was pretty sure he might sweat himself into a stateof dehydration if he didn’t extract himself from the makeshift mosh-pit soon,so he started wriggling, trying to push his way through an imaginary gap. Hewasn’t short by any means, but the press was a difficult thing to fight. Justas he was considering dropping to the ground and waiting for some burly mandressed as the Hulk to notice and carry him to safety, someone grabbed him bythe shoulder and pulled sharply backwards.

Yelping, Varlentipped, throwing his arms out but meeting little more than the forearms andwaists of the other dancers. Just as he began picturing his fate, trampled to deathby Sexy Spongebob, he was caught beneath the arms and extracted from the thronglike a child from a pool, and probably twice as soaked. Gasping, Varlen pulledout of the person’s grasp and whirled, ready to give whoever had manhandled hima piece of his mind. But the angry tirade lived a short and futile life at theback of his throat, dying before it even reached his lips.

Standing before him,tall and dark and dazzling, was the most beautiful Grim Reaper Varlen had everseen.

Death – because Varlendid not know his name – flashed him a smile, raising his hands in a placatinggesture. “Apologies. You seemed a mite distressed. I thought I might lend ahand.” To emphasise the point, he turned one gloved hand, revealing theembellishment that gave it the appearance of something skeletal. Varlen wasstill reeling from the shock of being faced with quite possibly the mosthandsome man in existence, but Death clearly took his silence as a bad sign.“I… hope I did not frighten you, snatching you like that. Small window ofopportunity, you see. It was then or never, lest you succumb to the undulatingmasses.”

Blinking, Varlenregained a modicum of composure and shook his head, a blush crawling up hisneck. Or perhaps it was heat stroke. Hard to tell in a catsuit. “N-No! No,that’s not… I wasn’t—”

Say something charming, the voice in Varlen’s head screamed as hestammered through the sentence. Look himin those gorgeous grey eyes and be witty you lycra-swathed muppet!

“— You–uh–spooked…myheart.”

Sometimes, Varlentruly wondered why he ever left the house. The blush that had been lingering onhis neck boiled up to the tip of his ears and Varlen winced, reaching to hidehis face in his hands. Oh god. What wasthat? Spooked my heart?!?

Then… laughter. Lowand amused and almost… fond. In sheerdisbelief, Varlen lowered his hands and fixed Death with a hesitant look, apart of him certain the man was about to mock him and stride away. It would bewell-deserved, all things considered, so he braced himself for it.

But instead,quartz-grey eyes caught Varlen’s, and a smile spread across that handsome face.“Well… that is undeniably a new one,I will give you that,” he said, echoes of laughter chasing the words from hislips. “I have always found myself rather drawn to originality.” His gazeflicked down, a brow rising in what was either approval or horror. Or both. “My.That is an… interesting choice incostume. Bold, if I do say so myself.”

Varlen felt the urgeto wrap himself in a towel or something. At that point, being naked wouldprobably be preferably – at least he wouldn’t be so damn hot. But considering he did not have a towel or enough time to freehimself from his lycra prison, he did the next best thing.

He planted his handson his hips, struck a pose, and owned it.

“You like it, huh?” heasked, the redness of his face doing its best to betray his attempt at bravado.“Figured I’d try something a little different, y’know? Shake it up a bit. Rockthe catsuit.”

Death arched his brow,but the smile never left his face, even as his gaze drifted back up from itsappreciative lingering to rest on Varlen’s face. “Oh, I do,” he replied simply, in a voice smooth as velvet. “I imaginethat was quite the task to slip into. And out of.” He blinked, as thoughremembering himself, and held out one skeletal hand. “Where are my manners; DorianPavus.” He smirked. “I would have you know the name of your mysterious rescuer.After all, I intend to take full, unashamed credit.”

Varlen grinned, takinghis hand. “Not so mysterious, now that I know who you are,” he remarkedplayfully. “I’m Varlen. Thanks for the save back there. It was getting a littleclose for comfort.”

They smiled at eachother. Shook. Stopped shaking. But for whatever reason, neither man let go. Amoment passed, then two, the pair of them just standing there, staring at theirclasped hands, the music thumping, the dancers cheering and jumping andspinning, the lights blazing past to the rhythm of the DJs booth. Yet, even asthe ‘shake’ stretched well beyond the point of traditional comfort, neitherseemed even slightly willing to break contact.

“Do—” Dorian began.

“— you want to get outof here?” Varlen finished hurriedly. Both men broke into matching chuckles, andDorian nodded, a glittering sharpness to his gaze that made Varlen’s knees goweak.

“Excellent.” Heturned, throwing back his cloak, gesturing gracefully towards the door with thehand not currently holding Varlen’s. “Now… care for a date with Death?”

Varlen’s grin justgrew wider. “Hell yes.”

#dragon age fanfiction #pavellan #dorian pavus #varlen lavellan #dorian x lavellan #dorlen #sera #modern au #halloween prompts #it has been a while since I wrote about these two #it seems in any universe they are destined to meet #even with Varlen's unfortunate costume mix-up #;D #<3 #thank you for the prompt!#reluctant replies #reluctant writes #kurosmind

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soybeantree · 7 years

Text

a grim moment - pt. 2

pairing: hyungwon x reader genre/warning: angst, mentions of death/dying word count: 7.2k+ parts: o1 | o2 description: Straddling the line between the world of the living and the world of the dead means you’re the only person who can help a devastatingly handsome reaper with an impossible task.

After one final read through of your short answers, you put your pen down and start to pack up. Three finals down and two more to go. Your brain is fried, your body is exhausted, and your emotions are a jumbled mess, but you’re still alive. Handing in the final to the TA, you take a deep breath. While you’d like to spend the remainder of the day resting, the library calls to you. “Y/N!” You spin at your name to find Minhyuk racing down the hallway after you. He’s a gangly mess as he runs, and his face is lit with a smile. It’s infectious, and you find yourself returning it. “Hey.” He’s breathless when he reaches you. “What did you think of the final?” “Definitely as hard as Professor Min said it would be. But it’s over now, and if I work my schedule just right, I won’t have to take another one of his classes.” You start walking again, and Minhyuk falls into step with you, chuckling. “If I ask really nicely, will you let me copy your schedule. I don’t think I’ll survive a class with him on my own.” You chuckle yourself, as you pull your hair up into a bun. Minhyuk stops, his eyes fixed on your hands. “Is something wrong?” “Sorry.” He blushes. “I was just looking at your watch.” He continues on his way, but your body remains frozen while your consciousness hurtles back to that day beside the reaper. You watch the car pass by and can see the six passengers through the windows. One turns revealing a glimpse of his face, his smile. You watch the car crash and feel the moment when Minhyuk leaves this world. You’re back in the present. Minhyuk stands a few feet in front of you alive and well. He has stopped and is staring back at you. “Y/N?”

“Sorry. I, um, I was lost in thought for a minute. What did you say?” You force your voice to be calm, even as your body quakes with the knowledge that the boy in front of you will die in three days. “I asked if you wanted to grab lunch with me, and my friends before you lock yourself in the library. I don’t think you’ve met them yet.” “Maybe next time.” You attempt a smile and manage a grimace. Though if they’re who you think they are there might not be a chance for a next time. Like Minhyuk, they may all be dead in three days. The thought hits hard, but you force yourself to remain standing. “I should get going.” Without giving him a chance to respond, you spin on your heel rushing down the hallway. The minute you pass through the main doors, you take off. You’re feet pound across pavement as your body threatens to collapse. Not Minhyuk. Not the boy who smiles everyday and does everything to bring a smile to those who need one. Not the boy who saves you a seat whenever you’re running late. Not the boy who brings coffee to class because he knows you spent the whole night studying. Not him and his friends. You run until you reach the park where you’d stood with the reaper three days before. Rasps of breath fill the air as you recover from your dash and the shock of everything. Tears well in your eyes, blurring the world around you and reminding you of the world of the dead, the world Minhyuk will soon enter. You want to scream and kick and hit, but there is nothing to hit or kick and your voice won’t make a sound. Instead, you stand and as silent tears stream down your cheeks. Your life or theirs. Your life or theirs. The words have been your constant companion for the past two days. Even as you study and sit for your finals, the words whisper through your mind. The words change now. Your life or Minyuk’s. Your life or his friends. Your death is not an absolute certainty. The reaper said you were in danger of dying, but Minhyuk and his friends, their death is certain. You watched it, felt it. It is a re-occurring nightmare that replays in your mind whenever there is a lull. The watch weighs heavy on your hand. You raise it to eye level, and for the first time can see the names on each hand. Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, Hoseok, Kihyun, Jooheon, Changkyun. Turning your wrist over, you undo the strap and hold the face in your hand. “You’ve made your choice.” His deep voice fills your mind, chasing away the lingering doubts. “I know Minhyuk. He’s in two of my classes.” You begin as you replace the watch on your wrist. “I’ve never met the other five. He asked me to grab food with them today. I couldn’t do it.” Your voice warbles, and you breath deeply to steady it. “I couldn’t sit across from them, knowing they would die soon. I won’t let them die.” You turn to face him. He’s as elegant as ever in his three piece suit, not a wrinkle in sight. But, there’s something different about him today, a lightness in the way he stands, an ease in his face. “What’s our first step? I’m assuming it’s not as easy as telling them they’re going to die in three days if they get in that car.” He shakes his head. “It wouldn’t change anything. Death would still find a way to take their lives. Death always claims what belongs to it.” “Then what do we do? If Death always gets its way then how are we supposed to save them?” Frustration laces your words. When he came to you for help, he made it seem like he had some grand plan in place and all you had to do was play your part. “I was hoping you would know.” You snort in disbelief. ‘Me.’ You mouth pointing at yourself. “How the hell am I supposed to know? You’re the damn reaper. Didn’t you go to reaper school or something.” “As a reaper, you are taught how to keep order not break it. And you, you’ve cheated Death before and lived.” He pauses, his eyes gaze off and his shoulders fall, and you remember the look on his face when he watched his friends die. As imposing and fierce as he appears, he is just a boy trying to save his friends. Clearing your throat, you break the silence and draw his attention back to you. “You mentioned that before, but I don’t remember ever doing that.” “It was when you were little. You went on a hike with your parents. You were playing to close to the edge of the cliff-” “I fell.” You remember the day. Your mom had scolded you not to play too close to the edge, but seven year old you thought you were invincible. It had rained that morning and the stone was slick. You’d slipped and fell backwards. “You should have died.” “There was a man at the base of the cliff. He saw me falling and caught me. We were both in the hospital for a week. I broke my arm and my leg and cracked his ribs and skull, but we both lived. Was he supposed to die that day too?” He shakes his head. “His time hasn’t come yet.” The knowledge brings a smile. After you two were discharged, you never saw the man again. You’re glad to know that he’s still alive. “I lived because someone who wasn’t supposed to die interfered at the moment of my death.” You whisper as your mind mulls over the information. “Put like that I guess it’s pretty simple what I have to do.” “They die in a car accident. How are you going to interfere at the moment of their death?” That part wasn’t as simple. Coming between a little girl and the ground was less dangerous than coming between two speeding cars. “I just figured out what I have to do. Can you give me a minute to figure out how?” The words bite as fiercely as the wind, and you regret their harshness as he retreats into himself. You huddle deeper into your jacket and clear your throat. “I doubt I’ll figure it out standing here freezing to death. There’s a little hole in the wall place near here that makes great soup - not that you eat - but I do and food always helps me think better.” “Are you asking me out on a date?” “What? No! I-” And that’s when you catch him smirking. “I didn’t realize reapers could joke.” “The longer you’re a reaper, the less human you become which only makes sense. Why does a reaper need to have human tendencies? They only get in the way of doing your job.” “And sometimes those tendencies keep you from doing your job.” You two have started walking, but he stops a moment before smiling and shaking his head. His smile is a small thing, but it transforms his face completely. “How long have you been a reaper?” The question has nagged at you since you found out what he is. “A years.” “Does that mean you died a year ago?” He shakes his head, and you fall silent. “It’s not painful to talk about. I’ve accepted I’m dead, and being a reaper isn’t bad. People misunderstand reapers and our job. We don’t kill people. We’re there to help them when they die. Without us, they would endlessly wander the world of the dead and never find peace.” You’ve seen the world of the dead, a dark empty place filled with the blurs of the living. Wandering it for eternity would be the worst kind of hell. “Did you choose to be a reaper?” He nods. “I want to be there for my friends when their time comes. I just don’t want it to be now.” “And it won’t.” You promise if only to bring back his little smile. “I won’t let it be now.” “Don’t say anything more.” You start to turn. “Don’t look at me. Keep walking. Don’t turn to the left or the right. Just continue forward.” His words quicken your heart and release a burst of adrenaline, but you force yourself to remain calm and continue walking. Rounding the corner, a woman stands in your path. She wears a perfectly tailored three piece suit, her face is smooth as glass, and her hair is coiffured in a severe bun. While she lacks the elegance of your reaper, she is a reaper just the same. Squaring your shoulders, you continue forward and straight through her without flinching. You force your gaze forward as you head towards the soup shop. A warm blast of air hits you as you enter, and your shoulders fall as you sigh. The owner greets you with a smile and tells you to take your usually table in the back while she gets your soup. Unwinding your scarf, you drape it on the back of your chair before plopping onto it. You rub at your face and take a series of deep breaths. “Are you okay?” Your head whips up. “What just happened? Why was she there?” “I told you Death likes order. I thought I was being careful, but it seems I’ve drawn their attention to you. If you see another reaper, will you know?” You shake your head. “Good. Just pretend you don’t see them. No matter what they do, just pretend they’re not there. If they find out you know about us, you’ll be in danger. You also shouldn’t wear that anymore.” He indicates the watch, and you instinctively pull your wrist against your chest. “I thought you said that there wasn’t any danger in me wearing it.” “There is no danger in wearing it, but if a reaper sees you wearing it, you will be in danger.” You pull your wrist away and glance at the face. The names on the hands glare back at you. Without a word, you undo the latch and hand the watch over. “How will I contact you without it?” “I’ll come when it’s safe.” “What if it’s never safe? I can’t do this alone.” “You won’t I promise.” His eyes hold yours, and instead of pulling you into the dark void, they anchor you. Before you can respond, he’s gone. The owner comes with your soup, fussing over how skinny you are and how tired you look. You smile at her and thank her for her concern, but your mind is elsewhere as you contemplate how to trick Death.

Finals come to an end, leaving you with one day left before Death claims Minhyuk and his friends. The reaper has yet to return, but his brethren are everywhere. They haunt your paths, and while you do your best to ignore them, it’s no easy task, especially when they pop in out of nowhere. The worst moment had been while you were in the library studying. You’d glanced over at your computer to find a reaper standing in it. By some miracle, you had kept yourself from screaming. But, you’d had to move your computer to use it. Their constant presence has made devising a plan difficult that and the fact that you have no idea what you’re doing. You have a plethora of questions for the reaper, but with no way to ask them, you fester over the problem. Minhyuk has texted you several times, asking to get drinks to celebrate the end of finals, and each time you come up with an excuse why you can’t. You’re running out of excuses and time. If you could just lock them all up until the end of tomorrow, you would, but you know it would be useless. The reapers who surround you would interfere, and all of your lives would be forfeit. You have to trick Death at the moment of their deaths. Not knowing what else to do, you return to your coffee shop. Your favorite spot affords a perfect view of where everything will happen as well as the spot you stood with the reaper when he showed you. Your eyes travel to that spot wondering if he’ll be there, if he watches this spot like you. But all you see are the living. “I knew you’d be here!” Minhyuk’s voice breaks through your revere and sends your heart racing. “Minhyuk. Hey.” Your greeting is flat, and the way his face falls let’s you know that you’re not the only one who thinks so. He pouts and doesn’t take the seat across from you despite his hand resting on the back of it. “Sit.” You gesture to the seat, but he remains standing. “Please.” You add with a forced smile. He finally does and places a coffee on the table for you. The gesture twists your heart. “Thank you.” You whisper as you pull the cup closer to you. Your eyes drift back to the window and to the spot where Minhyuk will die in less than a day. Tears well in your eyes, so you close them before they can fall. “What’s wrong?” His voice is soft and sweet, and you can hear his little lisp as he speaks. “I’m just-“ “If that sentences ends with tired just stop right now. You’re not just tired. Even when you’re tired, you still talk to me, and you’ve been avoiding me.” “Tell me about your friends.” The spot on the street still holds your gaze, but out of the corner of your eye, you catch him shifting in his seat. “Why do you want to know about them?” “I saw you with them the other day, and you all seem so close. I was just wondering how long you’ve known them and why you haven’t mentioned them before.” The lie comes easily. “Ah...” he pauses for a minute. “We’ve known each other since middle school. We’ve always been close, but a year ago...” he pauses again, his voice thick, and your eyes leave their spot on the road to watch him. “Something happened, and we all lost touch for a bit. But, we’re better now and going forward we’ll be by each other’s sides no matter what.” His smile returns, but its light is dimmer now. “I’m sorry. Whatever you went through must have been hard. I’m glad to know you’re better now.” He nods pulling at the straw in his drink. You want to ask him more to know if the event he refers to is the reaper’s death. You want to know who the reaper was, what his name was, and why his death tore them apart instead of bringing them together. But you don’t. You don’t want that smile to dim further. Not today, when today may be his last day. “We should celebrate the end of finals.” You announce breaking Minhyuk out of his gloom. Minhyuk huffs and shakes his head at you. You blush and clear your throat. “I know, I know. I have no right to suggest a celebration after I’ve ignored all of your attempts, but can’t you just accept my apology and we celebrate together?” “You haven’t apologized.” He points out. “I’m sorry.” You add extra cheese to your smile, and he laughs, nodding his head in acceptance. “Fine. But I already have plans to celebrate with my friends tonight. But, I don’t think they’d mind if you tag along.” Your smile falters, but as it does, a determination solidifies in your gut. Tomorrow will come, and it’s outcome may be inevitable, but tonight you can change. “I’m in. When are you meeting up with them?” He checks his imaginary watch, his face twisting in thought. “Now.” He chuckles. You blink at him as he stands up and comes around to your side of the table. “Come on. You said you’d come.” He pulls on your arm, jumping and pouting. The other patrons eyes him, but his antics bring you laughter. Standing, you barely have time to slip on your jacket before he is dragging you out of the coffee shop. You glance once more down the road and make a silent promise. Down the street from your coffee shop is a pub much frequented by college students. The door sticks whenever you try to open it, and you often have to shove it open with a shoulder. But the extra work is worth it when the first whiff of food reaches your nose. The pub has the best local brews on tap, but what it’s truly famous for is its kitchen and the little old lady who works in it. She’s the owners wife, though everyone calls her ma, and she has fed generations of college kids. She calls them her children and never lets any of them leave hungry. It’s here that Minyuk’s friends have gathered. They sit in the booth at the far back corner of the pub, but their presence is palpable from the moment you enter. You hear their laughter first before they come into view. They’re an eclectic group. The two biggest sit at the end, a wall between their friends and the rest of the pub’s patrons. However, despite how muscular the two are, they aren’t intimidating. One looks like a giant teddy bear and the other has a smile nearly as infectious as Minhyuk’s. Two others sit nursing their beers while the third tells a story, his face morphing to match the ridiculous voices of his characters. Minhyuk clears his throat as he approaches, drawing their attention to the two of you. He introduces you first and then his friends. You know their names. They are etched into your memory as clearly as they are on the clock hands. Hyunwoo is the teddy bear, Wonho, the one with the smile. Jooheon is the one making faces. Kihyun smiles at you politely, and Changkyun stands up and bows formally. Minhyuk explains that he’s just weird. The five make room for the two of you and order another round of drinks. Two drinks in, and you feel like you have been friends with these boys all your life. They tell you stories of their high school days, and you nearly choke on your beer. They were reckless, and you wonder how they lived to college. Sitting with them, your mind refuses to believe what tomorrow will bring. Nothing could remove the brightness of these boys’ souls from this world. They belong here with their laughter and their zest for life. After the third drink, your bladder prompts you to stand from the table. The boys are quick to move out of your way. Changkyun even takes your hand to lead you around the booth until you stand on the outside. You chuckle at his antics and promise you’ll be back soon. Halfway to the bathroom, you trip on your own feet and fly face first towards the floor. Someone catches you before impact and places you back on your feet. “Thank you.” You smile as your eyes focus on your savior. “Reaper!” You gasp as you recognize the smooth features and three piece suit. “What are you doing here? What if the other reapers see? Wait. How did you catch me?” “Do you really think this is a good idea?” He hisses. “You answer my questions first.” You wag your finger in his face as you sway from side to side. “You’re drunk.” “Damn right I am. Do you know what I’ve been dealing with the past three days? And where have you been while I’ve been trying to figure out a way to save your friends? Hmmm?” He hushes you and pulls you through the wall and into the bathroom. That sobers you, and you step back as your stomach roils. “What just happened? How did you do that?” “Drinking loosens your grip on the world of the living, just like when you’re exhausted.” “Okay, but never do that again.” You threaten as you crouch down and lower your head between your legs. “Are you okay?” “I’m drunk and was just pulled through a wall. What do you think?” “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, but people were coming.” He looks away from you, but your eyes stay on him. The world whirls around you, but he stands still in the center of it all. Breathing deeply, you sit back and examine your reaper. No longer does he wear his impassive mask. Worry creases his brow while a frown pulls down the bow of his lips. Your hand itches to smooth the wrinkles and curve the bow into a smile. But the watch hanging on his wrist stills all thoughts. Its tick, tick, tick chases away the last of your buzz, leaving you tired. You meet his eyes and in a whisper say, “I know what tomorrow is. I know what will happen. But I don’t know how to stop it.” A sob chokes you as you admit the truth. You bury your face in your knees, letting your hair form a curtain around you. You can’t look at him. You don’t want to see his face. “If tonight is their last night, I want it to be a celebration.” Tears gurgle your words, but the gentle hand on your shoulder let’s you know he heard. Peaking through your hair, you glimpse his face. Gone is the worry, replaced with defeat. You can see it in the way his shoulders slump and the way his chest rises and falls. The movements are slow and shallow as if he no longer has the strength to breath. “I’m sorry.” The words are his. Pushing back your curtain of hair, you stare at him more fully. He takes a seat next to you, mirroring your posture. His long legs stick out at awkward angles as he pulls them to his chest. For a moment, you glimpse the man he was. You can imagine him as a gangly teen hanging out with Minhyuk and the others ready to get into mischief. “I shouldn’t have come to you. I knew it was a long shot. I was selfish and didn’t care how much it could hurt you.” His voice is a deep whisper, soothing your frazzled mind. You reach over and lace your fingers through his. His hand dwarfs yours, and the feeling eases the weight on your shoulders, reminding you that your hands aren’t the only ones carrying this burden. “Even if you shouldn’t have told me, I don’t regret that you did and I don’t blame you for how I feel. Minhyuk is my friend too, and now the rest of them are. Even if I can’t save them at least I know I tried.” A tear slips down your cheek. His finger is light against your skin as he brushes it away. You smile at him before leaning your head against his shoulder. The stress of the week and all your worries mix with the alcohol to lull you into a half sleep. Your hand remains in your reaper’s as he rubs small circles on the back of it. “You don’t need to worry anymore.” He whispers, brushing your hair off your face. “When my friends go, I’ll go with them, and I’ll take your memories with me, so don’t worry anymore okay?” “Mm.” You mumble snuggling against his neck. A pounding wakes you, and you find yourself alone in the bathroom, propped up against the wall. Minhyuk’s shouts can be heard through the door, threatening to come into the bathroom if you don’t come out. Pushing yourself to your feet, you pull open the door to stop your friend from getting himself in trouble. With a start, you realize he’s not alone. Hyunwoo stands behind him, and the look on his face lets you know that Minhyuk wouldn’t have charged into the bathroom alone. You apologize profusely, telling them you fell asleep. They decide that means it’s time to call it a night. You argue against the decision, but it’s six against one. They walk you back to your apartment and wish you goodnight while promising to get home safely. Watching them walk away, you almost wish they wouldn’t. If something happened to them tonight would that mean that they wouldn’t die tomorrow? Entering your apartment, you throw your purse on the floor and trudge to your bed collapsing on it. You stare at the ceiling as tears race down the sides of your face. Your mind is full of their smiles and laughter and the crazy stories they have, but overlaying each happy memory is the image of their car tumbling over and over and the feeling as each of their souls leaves this world. All you have to do is interfere at the moment of death, but how do you interfere in a car accident? The thought chases itself through your mind, lulling you into oblivion. Music blares from your phone, pulling you out of sleep. Sunlight fills your room, and you wonder when the sun rose. Your phone continues to sing to you, so you slide your finger across it and bring it to your ear. “Hello?” “Wow, you sound horrible. Did you sleep at all last night?” Minhyuk chirps at you, and his voice is so bright and cheerful it makes your insides twist. “I can’t remember.” You croak. “I was calling to see if you wanted to get breakfast with us where going to that dinner down the street from the coffee shop you like, but I think you should just go back to sleep.” “By the coffee shop? Are you driving there?” Your voice quavers with panic, and your hand shakes so much that you can barely keep the phone against your face. Silence fills your ear. “Minhyuk!” “Calm down.” He chuckles. “Hoseok was talking to me. I’ve got to go. Hyunwoo just pulled the car around. Get some sleep. I’ll talk to you later.” “No! Minhyuk! No!” But the line is dead. “Minhyuk. Minhyuk.” You fumble with your phone as you call him back. Your call goes straight to voice mail as does your second and third. “No. No. No.” You whisper as your clock flashes the time at you. How could you have fallen asleep? How could you have wasted so much time? You try to call again as you throw on shoes and a jacket but still no answer. You have to get to the coffee shop. You have to stop this from happening. Hyolyn is coming out of her apartment as you race down the stairs. In your mad dash, you plow right into her. Both of you go flying as do your purses and everything in them. You stutter out an apology as you shove everything back in your purse. Her keys sit next to your foot, and as you reach for them your mind starts turning over an idea. Hyolyn hasn’t noticed the keys yet. She’s still busy collecting everything else. Your hand closes over the keys, pulling them to your chest. With a final apology, you race past her. What your about to do is illegal and crazy and stupid, but with any luck it’ll work. Hyolyn’s car is older than both of you and wears its years without grace, making it easy to spot parked on the curb of your building. You hurry to it and start it up before Hyolyn makes it out of the building to find you stealing her car. You make a silent promise to pay her back and speed away towards the coffee shop. Your eyes shift between the road and the clock, and you push the gas a little harder, zooming between the cars around you. “Stop the car.” The words jolt you and nearly send you swerving into the car on your left. “What the fuck?” You screech at your reaper who now sits in the passenger seat. “Can’t you see I’m driving?” “Stop the car now!” You remain silent as you continue to switch between lanes. “What the hell are you thinking?” “You asked for my help, and I’m helping.” “I also told you not to worry, but you’re choosing to ignore that.” “I can’t let them die.” “So you’re going to die instead?” His voice is a slap to your conscious, and your foot eases off the gas. Taking a deep breath, you swallow the lump in your throat and continue. “I might not die. The man who saved me didn’t die. We both survived that. All seven of us might survive this.” “You were a little girl who fell on him. These are cars colliding. You really think you’ll survive this?” “If I stop now, they die.” “And if you continue, you die.” “You warned me helping them could lead to death.” You reason with him and yourself. “I knew the consequences when I agreed.” “This isn’t what I was talking about. There was the possibility that Death would learn what we planned and send the reapers for you. You’ve escaped the reapers’ notice. You’re in no danger now, so stop the car.” He lungs across the car to pull your hands off the wheel, but his hands pass straight through you. “I’m fully in the world of the living. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.” The coffee shop looms before you, and the clock ticks away. “Y/N, look at me.” The way he says your name breaks your heart, but you refuse his request. “I won’t let you take my memories.” He growls, and you know if he could he would pound the dash. “What do I look like to you?” The question is pointless, but you need a distraction. “What? What does that matter? Stop the car!” “Everything looks blurry in the world of the dead. Do I look blurry to you?” “You’re vibrant.” His voice pulls your eyes to him and nearly robs you of your resolve.

“Y/N, please.” He pleads. Closing your eyes, you push on the accelerator. Tears stream down your face as the car lurches forward coming abreast with the boys’ car. The moment of death, you can’t interfere until the moment of death or your sacrifice will be useless. “Stop the car!” He screams as the car in front of you runs the red light. You thrust your foot against the accelerator, peeling out in front of the boys. You hear their tires squeal then the ear shattering screech of metal pushed beyond its limit then nothing. The world goes silent around you.

The void surrounds you, and this time your reaper is not there to center you. You are alone surrounded by black nothingness, but the fear you had before no longer exists. You exist in this void free from all emotion. You’re waiting. For what, you don’t know, but you know you must wait.

Steps sound behind you and beside you and all around. Whirling, you search for their source, but nothing disrupts the blackness. It continues in an unbroken ribbon around you. The foot steps stop. You are not alone. A woman stands before you hunched over a cane, but when you blink, you realize you were wrong. She is a young man with an inquisitive brow. You blink again and he is both man and woman. You blink again and they are neither. “You’re Death.” Your voice echos through the void, and the being in front of you smiles and nods. “So I died.”

The beings shakes its head. “So I’m alive.” The being shakes its head again.

“The void exists between life and death.” It’s voice is deep and soft but loud and forceful. It surrounds you and resounds inside of you. “You Are neither alive nor dead, so you exist within the void.”

“Will I die?” It tilts its head and fixes you with a cursory gaze.

“Do you want to die?” The question is simple curiosity, and you find you don’t know how to answer. “I wouldn’t mind if you did. Twice you have eluded me. Once happens. I’m quite busy. The dead far out weight the living after all. But twice.” Death tsks at you, and the emotions you thought you were free of return. Worry creeps through your veins. Death likes order. Your Reaper had reminded you many times.

“Will I die?” You ask again. Dying doesn’t worry you, but Death does. The look in its ever shifting eyes leaves you with a sense of unease. Your Reaper said that without guidance souls would wander the world of the dead forever. Would Death leave you to wander as penance for your defiance? “Can I become a reaper?”

A slow smile splits Death’s face. “You wish to join my reaper.” Death waves a hand, and your Reaper is before you. He stands still in his three piece suit, his face masked once more. You call to him, but he doesn’t hear you. You take a step towards him but find yourself no closer to him. Death waves a hand again, and he’s gone. You stand, staring at the empty spot.

“I can make you a reaper.” His offer is a choice.

“I don’t have to die.” You meet Death’s gaze, “I’ve asked you twice if I will die and twice you have avoided the question. You offer me the chance to be a reaper, but I don’t have to take it. I don’t have to die. I can live.”

Death nods. “Order sits upon a fulcrum. As you were not supposed to die this time, you won’t have to die, but as you were supposed to die before, you should die. Order would accept either.”

“And my friends?”

Death shrugs. “They didn’t die. I have no right to them.”

“So I can live?”

Death nods. “But order must be restored.” You blink at that. “The living have no part in the world of the dead. If you choose to live, you will be fully in the world of the living with no memory of my world and only death will bring you back to it. Your clock will start again.”

Life is the obvious choice. Life with your family and your friends and all the possibilities that lay before you. It’s what you would have had if your reaper hadn’t come to you. But despite the obviousness of the choice, you don’t make it. Not yet. You pause and think of your reaper. He would want you to choose life. He had begged you to choose life, but still you hesitate. For the rest of your life, you will never see him again. You will never remember him. He stole your memories once, and their absence had gnawed at you, robbing you of sleep and leaving you a shadow of yourself. Could you live that way the rest of your life, knowing you are missing something, feeling half-formed?

“Will my reaper always be a reaper?”

“No.” Death shrugs. “No reapers remain for all eternity. All who were once living must pass on eventually.”

“When would he?”

“Whenever he chooses.” His words from the bar come back to you. He’ll go when his friends come. You stopped their deaths. As long as they live, he will remain a reaper, alone watching over them.

“Can I speak with him?” You want to tell him not to wait that you’ll watch over them for him, and when the time comes, you’ll all join him.

“He has no place here.”

“But you-he-” You point to the space he had occupied.

“An image pulled from your conscious.”

“So I can’t say goodbye?” The words are a whisper.

“You’ve made your choice then.”

You nod. “I want to live.

Voices sound around you. They speak in soft whispers, their words indiscernible, and below the voices is a steady beep, beep, beep. This sound above all others keeps you from slipping back to sleep. Sleep grows further and further from you, and in its place, it leaves pain. Your chest burns with each breath and a dull pain throbs through your right arm. You try to move and adjust yourself, but your body refuses to respond. “I think she’s awake.” A sob warps the whisper, but the words reach you. You are awake, though your eyes won’t open. “Sweetie, can you hear me?” A hand grasp your left hand. “If you can hear me, just squeeze my hand.” The task should be easy, but it takes ever ounce of your strength to curl your fingers around the hand. A sob sounds, and the hand in yours begins to shake. The other voices grow louder and closer, but you’ve used the last of your energy. The next time you wake, you are able to open your eyes. Your mother sleeps in a chair to your left. You call to her, but your voice is a croak in the silence. She still hears it and is up and at your side in an instant. Over the next few days, consciousness returns in greater lengths. You learn you were in an accident, and that you nearly died. Minhyuk comes to see you the day after you opened your eyes. He cries when he sees you awake and runs from the room. Your mother brings him back, and he apologizes saying that it’s all his fault. He forgot his phone after he hung up with you, and he should have just told Hyunwoo to come pick you up. Hyunwoo and the others come later that day. They bring you flowers and balloons, and all of them bare the same face as Minhyuk. They blame themselves for what happened. The crash is a blur in your memory, but you assure them it wasn’t their fault. You had been driving recklessly. If anyone is to blame, it is you. None of them accept that, and they proceed to dote on you during your stay in the Hospital. When the doctor clears you to leave, you cry in relief. Your apartment is blessedly empty, and you tell the boys that if they come over you will personally unman them. The silence in your room is a comfort, but even still it weighs heavy on your shoulders. The silence holds something a question? A memory? Whatever it is, it remains just out of your reach. When the boys invite you to their Christmas party, you gladly accept. Getting ready is difficult. A cast still wraps itself around your right arm, and you struggle to zip up your dress. The boys said it is an informal party, but you’ve been wearing nothing but hospital gowns for the past week. You want to feel pretty tonight. Checking yourself out in the mirror, you catch a glimpse of something in the corner of your room, but when you look, you find the spot empty. Shaking your head, you slip on your jacket. You’ve had several similar instances since returning to your apartment. Walking down the stairs, you smile at Hyolyn as she exits her apartment. Your near death experience had deflated any anger she had about you totaling her car. Plus, she had been planning on scrapping it any way. The two of you walk down the stairs together, chatting about your holiday plans and predicting what the coming semester will bring. When you walk out into the chill winter night, you find Hyunwoo waiting for you with his car. The sight sends a chill down your spine, unrelated to the winter wind, but you swallow your trepidation and smile as Hyunwoo holds the door open for you. The party is at Hyunwoo and Kihyun’s apartment. There are more people than the seven of you. The boys have quite a collection of friends. And you find yourself keeping to the fringes of the party, exploring the boys’ apartment rather than interacting with the unfamiliar faces. As look through their bookshelves, your eye catches on a photo. Judging by the boys’ faces, it must be from their high school days. You smile as you pick out baby Changkyun and Hoseok before he started working out. Your smile falters as you notice a seventh member in the group. He’s sitting next to Minhyuk with his long legs pulled up to his chest. A lazy smile graces his face. As you stare, tears fill yours eyes. “That’s Hyungwon.” Minhyuk’s words jolt you back to the present. You clear your throat and wipe at your eyes before he can see your tears. You don’t even know why you were crying.

“You guys seem really close with him. Why haven’t I met him yet?”

“He died a year ago.” The knowledge tugs at a memory, but when you try to grasp it, it flies away. You’re left staring at Minhyuk flapping your mouth as you try to formulate a response. Minhyuk throws an arm around your shoulder and guides you away from the picture. “We should be celebrating. You’re alive and well, and Christmas is around the corner.” You nod and let Minhyuk pull you back into the party. Neither of you notice the man standing by the bookshelf. He stands, elegant in his three piece suit. His face, smooth and crisp in its shape, holds no emotion. His arms hang languidly at his side, the thumb of his left hand loops lazily in his pocket, pushing up his sleeve and revealing the edge of a worn watch, the first of seven he will wear.

#hmw #monsta x dramarama #monsta x drabbles #hyungwon #chae hyungwon #hyungwon drabbles #monsta x scenarios #hyungwon scenarios

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giraffles · 7 years

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Stay The Night

forgot to post this one here, whoops! some post-canon sweet taakitz for y’all, because I’m weak for these boys.

Stay The Night (Taako/Kravitz)

His solution, brilliantly, is to not sleep. Not until he falls over from exhaustion or passes out while cooking. He's even got everyone fooled that he's a-okay. At least he thinks he does. No one says otherwise, and that suits him just fine.

you can also read it on AO3 here!

The world doesn't end. And that's a good thing, because they didn't have a backup plan. There was no second chance, no desperate bid for freedom, no tedious reset. It was all or nothing. And they came out on top with all the sweet victory they could ever want. Against all odds, they won. They won, and it's a flood of joy and relief and tinged with a little disbelief. And it's absolutely exhausting. Taako isn't sure if it's physical or mental or just an ungodly combination of both. Maybe it's the weight of over one hundred years of memories finally catching up to him. It's a lot to have lived through, and then to have lived through again, much less cobble back together a coherent understanding of his place in the world. Like, holy fuck. That's a lot to wade through. Sometimes it gives him such a bad headache that it's easier not to think about it, and focus on the here and now. On rebuilding. On reconnecting with those he'd lost but some how found again against all odds. Lup has taken to finding new ways to scare the living hell out of everyone, from floating through the bureau at night to phasing through walls. She even startled him and wasted a whole pot of soup when she popped her lich head up through it. (He had chased her, for all the good it wouldn't do, while she cackled and made full use of her incorporeal form. It had been equal parts nostalgic and aggravating.) Magnus carves ducks in between rebuilding jobs, even though Fisher has long since departed their universe. Merle is trying, and mostly succeeding, to boost morale as they shift through the wreckage, finding what can be saved and mourning what cannot. Everyone is there. Everyone is safe. And yet there's this looming feeling of impending doom that just won't quit. It's as though that through the act remembering, Taako has forgotten what it's like to feel safe. Ignorance really was a sort of bliss, as much as the fuzzed out edges of his life had caused a constant turmoil, because now it's a struggle to stay on top of everything. So much is the same and yet so much can never be the same again. You can't go through something like the apocalypse and not be changed. Sure, at his core he's still Taako, from TV, a living brand name, a hero to be sung about down the ages; but now he's a different kind of Taako. Literally. It still takes a lot to convince himself he doesn't need the illusion spell every morning, and sometimes he does it anyway. Just a little. Nothing too noticeable, but enough to make him feel better, especially on the very likely chance that he hasn't slept much. Sleep is hard now. Meditation is straight out the fuckin' window. Nights and days get stretched together when he's plagued with either insomnia, or worse, the dreams. No, not dreams, because that would imply fantastical but harmless mind adventures. These are memories. Always back to the goddamn memories. The worst ones, the times they almost didn't make it, when he had to watch friends die or feel the cold sting of death himself. Or memories that his brain decided to make up new, more grim endings; his sister, turned to ash, his boy, bleeding out on the floor. Endless rounds of games in a horror carnival that leaves everyone he ever cared about in pieces. Things that leave him awake and gasping and on the edge of tears. Things like that. His solution, brilliantly, is to not sleep. Not until he falls over from exhaustion or passes out while cooking. He's even got everyone fooled that he's a-okay. At least he thinks he does. No one says otherwise, and that suits him just fine.

Date night rolls around. Taako has been looking forward to it all month, a distraction and an excuse to monopolize Death's free time. No business talk. No family. No not-actually-family-but-kinda-sorta-maybe-adopted family. Just the two of them, together, for a nice evening. And god, did he need a break. There's still so many loose ends to tie up, so many things that still need to be sorted out. Not to mention the new void of what the hell he was going to do with his life now. Kravitz stops when he sees him. He squints at Taako, and frowns. "Are you okay?" "Just fine, babe," as fine as he could be, really, "Why, didja forget how gross I looked now?" When all else fails, self-deprecating humor is where it's at. He can preen and put himself down at the same time. Win-win. Kravitz pauses, brows knitted and looking at him intently, seemingly gathering up the right words. "Taako," he begins carefully, "When was the last time you slept?" "Dunno. What's today?" The reaper sighs. He rubs his forehead. Taako drapes himself lovingly in his arms. He's dizzy on an endorphin high and ready for a night out on the town with his most beloved bae. Even if said bae keeps looking at him with such a sour face, and-- "You're going to bed. Right now." "Oh no--" Taako attempts to bolt, but has already made the fatal mistake of allowing Kravitz so close. He might not technically be alive, but he has all the strength of a man his size, and Kravitz has him in a vice grip. He struggles. Any other day of the week and he'd be admiring those guns, but today they're helping commit a great betrayal. Taako whines. "Babe! C'mon!" "No," Kravitz picks him up and starts carrying him inside, "You look like I should be collecting your soul soon, and frankly, that's a little alarming." Taako does his best to wriggle out of his grasp, but it's fruitless. Kravitz can be just as stubborn as he is. Taako resorts to flailing and complaining. However, neither of those slow down the reaper, who's drawing ever closer to his dormitory door. "I don't need sleep! It's for the weak!" "Yes, you do," Somehow Kravitz manages to keep a hold of him even as Taako flips himself upside down, which is both impressive and infuriating, "We can go out another time." Taako huffs and crosses his arms, braid swinging freely and dragging on the floor. This sucks. He can't even get one lousy night to not think about how overwhelming everything is. Kravitz is the worst and he hates him. (He doesn't, of course, he adores his hot boyfriend who's sometimes a skeleton, who's both a badass and a giant dork. He's just mad at him at the moment.) Taako gives him the silent treatment. It's harder to do than it looks, because he'd much rather be vocal about the injustice that's happening to him. Kravitz sighs again. "Taako--" "I'm not talking to you." "Love, please," the pet names have come out, and he resolves to not let it affect him, "You know I care, right?" "I guess," Taako pouts as he's gently set on a couch, "But I wanted to spend time with you." Kravitz looks conflicted. Taako sulks and makes a point to avoid eye contact. So maybe he's a little cranky for only sleeping three hours out of as many days. It's still not fair. "I could stay." Kravitz says. He blinks dumbly up at him. "Do what now?" "Stay with you. While you get some rest. That's a lot creepier out loud than it was in my head." "Do you even need to sleep?" "No," Kravitz admits, "But I wouldn't mind. I mean, if you wanted me to. I don't have to. But I could, I have the whole night off, not that I expected to... do anything. For the whole night. I should stop taking now? I'm stopping now. Sorry." He can't believe he's in love with such a ridiculous, stupid, wonderful, and kind person. Entity? The definition was kind of up in the air for that one. Taako doesn't have to look to know that Kravitz is blushing, probably all the way up to his ears, off-kilter and rambling. He's still wrapping his head around the idea that there are persons out there who, honest to gods, want to put Taako first. Taako doesn't even think Taako deserved that. Sure, that's not what he tells people-- because no one needs to know how bad the inner battle gets. In some ways remembering has made it easier. In others, it's that much harder now. He thinks, that maybe, it would be nice to have someone at his side. Someone who liked him before his life's story got broadcast through reality. Taako considers the proposal for a moment. "Okay." "Okay?" "Okay as in, you best be ready to get super snuggled. I'm clingy as hell." Kravitz gives him a shy smile. "I think I can handle that."

Kravitz has a bigger frame than he does-- nothing like Magnus or Killian who are built like brick shit houses, but he's not as slight as Taako is. Even as a flipwizard, there's not much he can do about genetics and non-athletic career choices. It takes him a minute to fish out some of his more drapey clothes that have half a chance of fitting Kravitz. As much as he enjoys the suit and cloak ensemble, it's not exactly practical sleepwear. And it would be a shame to excessively wrinkle it. Unless it was gonna be in a sexy way, but that should probably wait until another time, when he's fully present for all the fun. Taako's fanciest skirt goes flying across the room, landing on a bookshelf that has less books than colorful knick-knacks and choice pieces of junk. The first time Kravtiz had come over, in a panic he had tried to cover everything in sheets instead of cleaning up, but somehow managed to trip and pull them all down at once. It had been equal parts hysterical and mortifying. Kravitz said that his collection of garbage was 'charming'. Taako still isn't sure he believes that, but it's still sweet. What's also sweet is the way that Kravitz pointedly looks away, trying to be respectful or something-- as though they haven't fucked wildly on various flat (and not so flat) surfaces around his room. He's flustered and it's still as cute as the first time it happened. And nothing would top that first morning, that so called walk of shame where Merle gave them a knowing wink when they came down for breakfast, and Taako had 'accidentally' burned his pancakes in return. At least everyone else had a little more tact and kept their opinions and eyes to themselves. None of them also wanted burned pancakes. But he sets aside those more recent and pleasant memories for pajamas instead, wiggling into them and undoing his complicated orante braids as Kravitz dons his spare clothes. They're still a little tight on him. Taako is very okay with this. "Just sleeping." Kravitz says firmly, catching his gaze. He pouts back. "Not even a little smooching?" The reaper pauses and seems to think on it a moment, though he knows what the answer will probably be. Taako makes his eyes extra big and disarming anyway, having perfected the cute puppy look years ago. You could never be too sure. "Fine, a little smooching," Kravitz yields, "But you have to get some rest." Taako dramatically falls forward into those strong arms again, knowing he'll be easily caught and securely held. "Then take me to bed, big guy." He doesn't miss that breathless laugh, and revels in the way his heart lifts as he's easily swung up and onto his unmade bed. There's no illusions here that if Taako really wanted to he could have a dozen different spells incapacitating his lover, leaving escape for him wide open. Power acquired over decades of study and practice and mad dashes across planes has given him abilities previously only talked about in legends. And so maybe he is a legend, something that should be mysterious and untouchable, always sought but never found. Just like a light they'd once chased through realities. A story to be sung, a name to be called in hushed tones, an abstract ideal to be strived towards. So it's nice, he thinks, when Kravitz looks at him like a person. When Kravitz gets frustrated with him, exasperated, or even bemused. When he looks at Taako like he's the whole world and then kisses him like it's ending all over again. It's nice to have that grounding force to remind him that he's not entirely a fuck up and that he's also not just a product of good marketing. He never thought it would matter to him so much. But it does, and every action is an affirmation, from the way Kravitz smiles at him to the way he runs fingers so gently through his hair. It's wonderful and it hurts and it's so good. He's drunk on the feeling of being wanted. "It's... not too cold, is it?" Kravitz asks him nervously as he curls up on that broad chest, nestling into the crook between neck and shoulder. Yes, he's cool to the touch-- he's never been anything approaching warm since Taako met him. But he's gotten used to it, adapted even, because Kravitz doesn't feel icy and doesn't leave him with a chill. It's almost pleasant in weird way. "S' fine," he mumbles back sleepily, "Kinda nice, actually." Already something is different from all the other times he'd recently crawled into bed or dozed off in the foyer. Something shifts, puts a damper on the rolling anxiety and dread. It takes him another few long moments to realize it's an aura of safety that he's been missing. A bit of calm in a turbulent sea that's been threatening to sink him for weeks. There's no heartbeat beneath his ear, and he's sure the breathing part is either habit or for his own benefit, but it's a piece of normalcy that soothes beyond a doubt. It's something he hadn't realized he even needed. Something solid. Something real. He wraps his arm around Kravitz and holds tight. Taako hadn't been kidding about the clinging part, knowing full well from his days of youth he had a tendency to latch onto things (or someones) in his sleep. This is still different, a conscious effort not to let go of a tie keeping him close to home. Because petty fears and insecurities only seemed to grow as time went on, feeding on each other and plaguing every thought both conscious and not, bringing him to the vicious cycle he was now caught in. And while usually the words would flow so easily, he now found them strangled in his throat. They died before Taako can give them a voice. Kravitz must have felt the tension reverberating through his body, because a hand comes up to push circles into his back. Yes, they've banged countless times, but this is a different intimacy. A different context for something slow and sweet. And he suddenly feels bad for being so needy and high maintenance, but can't summon the energy to do anything about it. "I'm right here," Kravitz murmurs into the darkness, "I'm not going anywhere." And really, that's all he needs to know. That there's someone there. That it's safe to let go.

#the adventure zone #taz #taz fanfic #taakitz #fanfiction #ao3fic #they do the cuddle #I have so many taako feelings how do I hold them all #taz spoilers #giraffles

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tren-fraszka · 4 years

Text

Yuletide Letter 2020

Dear creator,

Thank you for taking your time to check my requests. I know my requests can sound a bit tricky, but please don’t be discouraged. I wish you will have good time writing first and foremost!

My AO3 is Tren, if you wish to check it out.

Likes: comedy, casefics, canon compliants, AUs, time loops, bodyswaps, roleswaps, fantasy AU, urban fantasy AU, “being hoisted by your own petard” plotlines, snark, pettiness, rivals, enemies to friends to lovers, complicated relationship, violence, friendships, character bonding.

DNW: explicit sex (makeouts and fade to black is okay), A/B/O, mpreg, rape depicted as positive (so no “it’s okay, because the other person enjoyed it/it was what they truly wanted”), trans headcanons, soulmate AUs, stories ending with surrender to fate/destiny, fourth wall breaking in canons where that doesn’t occur, character has cancer or other real-life terminal disease AU, word “queerplatonic”.

Also, I included what ships I’m okay with in each fandom. Please do not include any ships that aren’t canon and I have not allowed in those sections (if you feel really strongly about a ship I haven’t mentioned, you can always ask through mods just in case).

Additionally, while I almost never request fanart as possible medium, because I prefer my main gift to be fic, I would be very okay with receiving fanart treats. On another note, feel free to use my old letters if you get your hands on them. I never stop being interested in fandoms, and if I requested something once I will still want it in the future.

REQUESTS

GREAT PRETENDER (ANIME)

Edamura Makoto Laurent Thierry Abigail Jones (Great Pretender) Cynthia Moore (Great Pretender)

You don’t have to include all the requested characters. I love all of the main four characters and will gladly take story focusing on any of them.

I love the idea of swindlers who go after terrible people and would just like more of the same. Maybe it’s just a small con one of the characters does to kill the time. Or maybe it’s another large scale operation against a wealthy prick. Or maybe Edamura made bet with someone that he can take down an exploitative cult so he joins and tries to become one of its heads just so he can make it implode from inside. Or maybe Abby joins some martial arts tournament for real to prove her prowes. Or Cynthia is off to do some more mischief for the benefit of people important to her. Or Laurent is just Laurent, going through life by flirting and teasing.

For some more prompts. It would be fun to get some insight into Edamura’s days in prison. He probably had more free time than he knew what to do with back then and he’s not one to just sit without doing nothing. Was he trying to improve his english only to angrily chuck the book after he remembered he’s not going to work with Lauren’t crew anymore? Did he get along with other prisoners? I would also love to get insight into what made Cynthia give up on trying to become an actress and become a confidence woman instead. How did her ex-boyfriend factor into her change of heart? I would love to see that explored. For Abby I would love to see something connected more to her future. She’s a character that’s trapped by their past probably the most, so I would love to see her finding some happiness in the life she’s leading right now. Laurent always feels so elusive, I would love to see a fic that gives more insight into his actions.

AUs and ships

Setting changes are okay, but I want the characters to still be conmans at the end of the day and swindle those who abuse their power/money. Any other AUs are also fine. Maybe a roleswap where Edamura is the head of a conman group and Laurent is a newbie in over his head. Or ones where characters have different skillsets (they are still conmen, just with different specializations).

I’m fine with Laurent/Edamura, but I’m not big on romantic relationships in this anime. Mentions of any past relationships are fine.

Great Pretender is available on Netflix.

天晴爛漫! | APPARE-RANMAN! (ANIME)

Sorano Appare

I find it amusing that Appare is set up as this genius who doesn’t human emotion and it feels like this series will teach him kindness and empathy, but then it turns out he already has all of that and the lesson he needs to learn is about admitting those feelings to himself. Appare despite his standoffishness deeply treasures people and I love that he always puts them first, even if he uses excuses for that reason.

I would love any introspective piece about the journey he takes during the race or something set in the future. Maybe he needs money for his flying machine project, so he ends up goining another race. Or maybe he pairs with Xialian as the driver and him as a mechanic so they can split the prize money. I know everyone went their separate ways, but I would love to see him reuniting with some of the cast in the future.

AUs and ships

I don’t want any setting AUs for this, because the anachronistic wild west setting of this series is just too cool. Any other AUs are fine, though. Maybe Kosame really died after being shot and Appare needs to find strength to go on without him? Or an AU where Appare for all his talent with machinery can’t drive to save his life, so Xialian joins their team as a driver.

I ship Appare and Xialian, but I will be very happy with them as friends too.

Appare-Ranman! is available on Funimation.

I’M THE GRIM REAPER (WEBCOMIC)

I’m caught up with the newest chapters. You are free to incorporate any new developments into the story.

Chase Carter Scarlet | Grim Reaper

I love the relationship between Chase and Scarlet. Chase is discount Light Yagami who instead of god complex got an ugly cat and a nerd status. Scarlet is a grim reaper with amnesia, who is trying to figure out what kind of sins she committed to land her in the lowest circle of hell. Together they kill sinners, while also being stupidly sweet to each other.

I would love to see more of their misadventures, whether serious or more on the lighter side. I would love some MMO shenanigans. Maybe someone in Red Spades introduces Brook to Fatecraft and Scarlet together with Chase coach him through the early stages of it without realizing who he is. Or Scarlet learns that Chase’s birthday is coming soon, so she tries to secretly organize something for him. Or Chase and Scarlet are investigating a sinner, but something goes wrong and Chase is in danger.

AUs and ships

I’m okay with AUs and canon divergences. MMO-focused fic would be absolutely great for this fandom. Maybe the main characters are a part of the same guild that’s currently in feud with Red Spades guild. Satan is the chaotic guild leader who annoys everyone whenever he does log in. Or a role swap where Chase is the amnesiac grim reaper and Scarlet is the detective with far too strong sense of justice.

It’s probably obvious from the intro, but I ship Chase and Scarlet.

I’m a Grim Reaper is available on webtoon.

THE VILLAINESS REVERSES THE HOURGLASS (MANHWA)

I’m caught up with the newest english translated chapters of the manhwa, you are free to incorporate any new developments. However, DON’T include anything that hadn’t happened in webcomic yet. I’m not interested in the original light novel and I don’t want to get spoiled about future happenings.

Aria Roscent

I love fictional stories about terrible people getting a second chance at life and not afraid of dirtying their hands to achieve their goals and I love stories that incorporate economies. Needlessly to say I love this story. Aria is absolutely terrible person, but there’s a reason for her terribleness and at the same time she is enough of an underdog that you can root for her. She needs to fight for her future happiness and she will do it and make life of

I love the petty wars between Aria and Mielle and would love to see more of them using the ettiquete to make jabs at each other. Also Aria using her economical and business knowledge is always so great. I would love to see more of her learning and understanding economy than we were shown in the story (where she just read a few books). Outsider POV of prince’s allies watching Aria attend the secret meetings would also be interesting.

AUs and ships

I would prefer no setting changes for this story. Other AUs are fine, though. Maybe there are some other side-effects to using hourglass than simply growing up quicker. What if Aria’s stepfather didn’t try to steal the credit for the ideas and actually worked with her to strengthen their family’s business?

I ship Aria and prince like burning and would love any moment of them totally not flirting while discussing economical and political situation of the country.

ANIME CRIMES DIVISION (WEB SERIES)

Detective Diesel (Anime Crimes Division) Joe Furuya (Anime Crimes Division)

I loved this affectionate parody of anime culture. A hardboiled cop show about detectives solving anime crimes was just incredible and I would love to see more of that ridiculousness. I also loved how well Detective Diesel and Joe Furuya worked together as cops complimenting each other strengths.

I would love for them to explore some more unique places in Neo Otaku City. Maybe there is a kabedon valley where everyone feels compulsion to kabedon someone. Or fanfic district where everything is fanfic tropes and eyes become orbs in the descriptions once characters enter that part of the city. There are just so many interesting things you can do with that setting.

For some suggestions of potential cases, maybe there is a new “isekai drug” in the city that makes you believe that you’ve been transported into a fantasy world with cool powers and it’s up to Diesel and Furuya to find out who is manufacturing it. Or the two of them get a tip that one of the gatcha games is hypnotizing its users which leads them down a path of gatcha hell to try to figure out which one is actually using hypnotism rather than good old gatcha games manipulation techniques. I would love any and all cases, those are just some suggestions.

AUs and ships

No setting chages for this canon, please. I’m fine with divergent AUs or just a general madness that comes from a city where anime tropes work.

I would prefer no romance between Diesel and Furuya (unless it’s a situation similar to that time in S2 where they went to the city where everything played by the rules of western TV shows and they had to have romantic tension). I want them as buddies more than anything.

Anime Crimes Division is available on youtube: Season 1, Season 2

TALES OF CRESTORIA

Vicious (Tales of Crestoria)

This gatcha game had no right to have such a good main story, but here I am loving the hell out of it. I would love to see more misadventures of Vicious whether it be before he meet Kanata and the rest of the team or after.

I would love to see more of Vicious absolute lack of morality contrast with other characters. Vicious works best when he has someone to bounce off. I absolutely love the weird dynamic between Vicious, Kanata and Misella. For some prompts, maybe Vicious attempt to obtain booze results in some trouble for the team. Or he ends up separated from the team after they are attacked and now has to work with someone to rejoin them.

Feel free to throw any characters from other Tales games. I played Symphonia, Graces f, Vesperia, both Xillias, Zestiria and Berseria (and Links and Rays before english versions got closed), but I’m fine with characters from games I haven’t played as long as you give me an idea of their personality and who they are. Don’t be afraid to throw in your favourites!

AUs and ships

No setting chages for this canon, please. Feel free to use any other AUs. This story is pretty much an AU for all other Tales characters that get transplanted into this story, and I love how they get integrated into the setting of Crestoria.

I’m not really big on any ships for the main Crestoria team, please just preserve their usual dynamics.

Tales of Crestoria is a mobile game available for free on IOS and Android.

#exchange letters

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foreignseongms-blog · 7 years

Text

Timeless : Chapter Three

What if you fall in love with your first love’s murderer?

Characters: Seul, Soo-hyuk, Taehyung

Genre: Love, Angst, Fantasy, Revenge, Historical, Violence, Modern Day

Inspired by : Scholar Who Walks The Night / Hwarang / Goblin

Chapter Three : Memories

“Come on!” A sweet female voice urged as she pulled on his hand.

The young boy’s eyes fluttered open to see a gorgeous meadow full of blossoming flowers. “Isn’t it beautiful?” The young girl sung while struggling to run in her hanbok ahead of him.

He nodded. “It’s beautiful.” The sun shined bright while the flowers glistened in the light from the April showers.

“There is even a river, come!” She urged taking his hand leading the way through. “This should be our secret place. Where only you and I can be together.” She smiled at him.

Throughout the day he would at times be chasing her down while she ran around. Sometimes their bodies collided in the flowers. “Aish!” He grunted while she fell on top of him.

“This time I got you.” She laughed tapping his nose with her index finger. They both stared deeply into each other's eyes. “I love you.” Her sweet timbre whispered. “I won’t ever leave you.”

“Yah, earth to hyung!” A chubby male grim reaper waved his hand in front of the lean tall man sitting on a chair.

“Hmm?” He raised a bro without even bothering to open his eyes.

The man decided to sit next to him and continue to eat a hot dog he got recently. “Man what is with you? Why have you been zoning out often? Come on we have a job to do hyung.”

He opened his eyes sniffing the aroma of the hot dog and turned to his chubby dongsaeng. “Didn’t we just eat like half an hour ago and you’re eating again?” He scoffed.

“Hey don’t judge! I don’t judge you for being a walking stick!” He took another bite while the lean reaper only rolled his eyes crossing his leg over the other.

“How much longer?”

“Hm?” His chubby partner looked at him confused.

“Time of Death.”

“Oh right,” He nodded finishing and throwing away the wrapper, “We have…” He eyed his wrist watch. “Twelve minutes until show time.”

Both men sat patiently in the airport without speaking a word to each other.

“Hey hyung,” He began, “Why don’t we have names?”

“Because we are not human.”

“Why did they give us number names?” The chubby reaper reached in his suit’s inner pocket taking out an identification card. “My number name is 243. I forgot I never asked you, what’s yours hyung?” He turned to his senior curiously.

“666.” The lean man stood up eyeing a particular old man in a business suit with only one suitcase behind him. “He’s early.” He revealed his pocket watch and began to turn time forward 8 minutes while his cold stare was fixed on the old man.

The smile the old man had almost disappeared in an instant as a sharp pain surged through his heart. “Ah!” He clenched his chest with one hand while he fell to his knees as nearby spectators began to stare in worry.

The tall reaper grabbed his black hat from the chair and began to put it on.

The other reaper looked up at him. “I hope mine isn’t early. I hate using the watch for that.” He laughed nervously.

The reaper ignored his friend, he began to search in one of his pockets taking out a card. It revealed all simple information of the old man’s identity.

The old man kept opening and closing his eyes until a pale young man in a dark suit appeared in his vision. His hand reached up to him. “S-save me.” The reaper cruelly nodded his head.

“It’s your time now, let go.” The old man’s eyes struggled to keep themselves open but it was all in vain. His hand lifelessly fell to his side.

Many people in the crowd were speaking at once.

“Someone call the ambulance!”

“Oh my god I think he’s dead!”

To them a reaper was invisible when he wears his hat as if he was never there. Only his pale hand closed the eyes of the departed and as soon as he stood up and walked far from the chaos people created around the lifeless body was when he spotted the old man looking around lost in confusion.

“Where am I? What happened to me?” The reaper walked up to him.

“You’re dead.” He said it as if it was the simplest thing in the world to accept.

The old man furrowed his brows in disbelief. “That cannot possibly be true!” The reaper turned away from his sight of vision and pointed to the man’s body on the floor. “No!” The man frantically touched parts of his body. “But I’m here. I-” He turned to the reaper with wide eyes in fear. “What are you?”

The grim reaper chuckled. “What people fear the most.” He held out his arm for the old man to take. “Let’s go have some tea.” His voice somewhat soothing.

The old man took another good look as the ambulance take his body away from the scene. “Yes.” He nodded hesitantly taking the reaper’s arm as they begin to walk through the airports exit.

In a shining lights instant both men stood inside a traditional Hanok adorned with several tea cups in several shelves. “Where-” The old man paused to look around, “That’s a lot of tea.”

The reaper sat on his designated chair. “That’s not tea. They are the memories of all the souls I have taken.” The man stared back at him in horror. “What? You asked.” The reaper defended himself with a small pout. “Take a seat Mr. Kim.” He carefully sits down in the other chair in front of the reaper.

“Wh-where am I going?” The reaper served the man warm tea from a kettle that already sat on the table.

“Where do you think?”

The old man gulped taking another good look at the creepy reaper and how cold he acts with his deep voice. “H-hell?”

The reaper smiled. “Am I that scary?” He knew what the man thought of him.

“Aren’t all of you?” Whatever they are. The man thought.

The reaper nodded amused. “No, that is just me.” He placed the filled tea cup in front of the old man.

“What happens if I drink this?”

“You will lose all of the memories you have accumulated throughout this lifetime. Then you can move on.” The reaper crossed his arms.

“I am going to hell?!” The man looked alarmed.

The reaper sighed annoyed. “If you were to be going to hell then the way I would have taken your soul would be a lot worse.” He snapped. “Drink up my dead gentleman.” The reaper raised a cup of tea himself and drank it. He has done it before and according to him it is proven ineffective to a grim reaper in any way.

The old man took the tea in one big gulp. “Even if my memories are gone, my heart will still miss my family.”

“Just ascend the staircase once you open the door.” The old man walked towards the door and opened it to find a large staircase instead of the street like the Hanok windows have deceived. He turned back to take another good look of the handsome cold reaper. “What?” He asked annoyed.

“You know what Mr. Grim Reaper,” Mr. Kim began, “You are an unrealistically handsome jerk.” He closed the door behind him.

The reaper smirked standing up and took Mr. Kim’s empty cup in his hand and placed it on one of the millions of rows that filled the place. As soon as the cup of tea touched the smooth wood of the shelf it was in an instant that it was filled again with a clear colorful substance-Mr. Kim’s memories in liquid form, it was strange yet very pretty to look at.

Before the reaper walked back to the table his head came to ache as a white noise began to fill his ears.

A woman’s set of beautiful doe eyes looked deep into his. They glistened in the moonlight while her tears flowed down her cheeks like rivers. “Why?” She coughed up blood from her mouth. “Why did you become a monster?” Her body fell backwards onto the river that now runs red with her blood.

The young man looked down at his hand covered in blood. Tears formed in his eyes while the flowers with blood stains shined in the moonlight.

“I’m not a monster!” The reaper gasped opening his eyes noticing his hands were clenched deeply onto the tables wood. He weakly straightened his tall form and felt beads of sweat on his forehead.

Why do I keep having these visions? What could they possibly mean? Did I have a past life? Who was I?...What was I?

#lee soo hyuk #kim taehyung #hwarang #kpop fanfiction #gwi #hansung #scholar who walks the night #goblin #grim reaper #romance #angst #witch #fanfic #fantasy #kpop fanfic

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overdrivels · 7 years

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Art of Living (Plot)

I’m going to probably revisit this one day as a real fic, but right now, I don’t believe in myself at all to get this thing done. I really liked this idea and didn’t want it to die, so here is the plot in its entirety with snippets of writing that just couldn’t come together. Hold onto your pants, this is going to get long.

Basically, it’s a Soulmate!AU where injuries can get shuffled off to your soulmate. A Reaper x Reader.

Chapter one is here: Link

Several months passed since you’ve last seen Angela. You’re still getting injuries transferred to you because your soulmate doesn’t know how to control themselves and is hell-bent on ruining your life (or so you think). But over time, they seem to get less and less for some reason. In the meantime, you’re just sitting around, suffering, doing some research papers because that’s kind of all you can do now.

Angela FINALLY comes to visit you, but she has a guest (guess who), and you’re like:

You took in the guest’s appearance with little more than a bemused hum.“Is it Halloween already?” you asked with a yawn, wincing slightly when it aggravates the fading bruise on your face. “Didn’t prepare any candy.”

“It’s the medicine,” Angela quickly offered to the other.

“It isn’t,” you pouted. How dare she insinuate that you were not in control of your facilities? You were perfectly…not awake yet.

She leaves you and Reaper alone so that you both can hash out the situation. Just you and him, and she’s right outside, ready to subdue him if necessary. Ana may or may not also be out there with a sleeping dart in case things get messy.

You think you’re nervous? Reaper’s even more so. This guy, when he was Gabriel Reyes, used to think about this stuff all the time. He used to think about his soulmate and who it was, and whether they were really out there. Seeing you like this now, he’s not sure what to do.

“…hey.”

The gravelly, tepid greeting was accompanied by an awkward wave (were those claws?) and the body language of a person who hasn’t tried to be friendly to anyone in ages. You stared, and he stared back.

Probably.

It was difficult to tell underneath the bone white mask that was full of cracks where his cheek would be and some adhesive residue. It looked like he got hit with a wrecking ball. You stay frozen to the spot as he lumbered over, heavy footsteps and breathing reverberating in the room.

You watched him with bated breath, heart hammering away, anxious.

He knelt before you. With a gentle touch that belied his appearance, he ghosted over the fading bruise on your cheek. Time froze, and your heart, previously in a panic, now calmed considerably. Warm, even. You barely even caught yourself leaning into this stranger’s touch.

...stranger. No.

Cold realization hit you like lighting. A flash of white hot anger overtakes you. With more strength than you’ve had in years, you reared up and swung your fist at his face.

Or you would have, if he didn’t catch it.

“Can you at least let me get a hit in? It’s only fair,” you grounded out, arm shaking from the effort to connect with his already ruined mask. He stared back impassively. He looked like he didn’t even care. You struck out your other arm. He caught that one, too.

“Feisty.”

You have spent years fantasizing about what you’d do to your soulmate for putting you through this living hell. But now that you have him at arm’s length, you don’t know what to do. Hundreds of scenarios that you’ve spent time mulling over, entire dialogues that you planned to spit at him, even those fancy one-liners that you recite to yourself even in your sleep–gone.

You chase him out, chuck your tub of scar gel at the door. This wasn’t happening. Your soulmate was some edgy asshole. What the fFUCK. Angela comes in, knows that you’re in a bad mood and tries to explain that that person was Gabriel Reyes but he goes by ‘Reaper’ now. You don’t fucking care what this asshole calls himself. He’s now named ‘asshole’ because he’s quite literally the asshole who made your life a living hell. Angela just pleas for you to hear him out on this and talk because you’re soulmates.

Reaper knows almost 100% that you’re soulmates. He doesn’t have to even ask. He sees the scars and he knows where they’re from. On top of that, he got punched in the face by Jack when they were dragging him back, and you have the bruise where his should’ve been. So, it clinches it. He really wished you both were able to meet when he was Reyes and not this monster who just forces his pain upon you.

Things get calmer, everyone gives you some space before Reaper comes back, warping in and scaring the living daylights out of you. Again, you throw the nearest thing at him: your coffee cup, spilling it everywhere. He dodges that shit, too. What is up with this guy, why was he so good at dodging things?

You both decide to be big adults and talk. It’s hard because you hate him for receiving all his injuries and he doesn’t know what to say. You ask him about it, and he has no idea. He’s not doing it on purpose, didn’t even know he had a soulmate to transfer this shit to. That just makes the entire situation worse because what does he mean he has no idea? He’s the one giving his injuries to you! He looks like he knows, but doesn’t say it. So now, you’re both in crappy moods.

Reaper comes back another day, this time with coffee. It’s pretty good coffee, but he has a whole tray of things like sugar and different creamers and milk. It’s a peace offering if you’ve ever seen one. So you both have some quiet coffee time even though he never takes off the mask.

He brought in a tray of coffee, a strange and domestic gesture that sharply contradicts his appearance. He said nothing when he set it down, immediately retreating to ‘his’ corner.

You looked at the offering with no small amount of ire.The coffee is black, packets of sugar and little cups of milk off to the side. It was a kind gesture despite the standoffish attitude.

Reaper knows he should take off the mask and let you see his face, but you were scared enough when he decided to fucking teleport, how are you going to react to his not Gabriel-esque face? Yeah, no. He keeps the mask on for now.

He gets used to chilling in your room and just not saying anything, and you just work on your research papers. He has a corner that slowly becomes his corner. It’s for him and him only. Quickly, you’re both used to each other’s presence even in silence, like it was completely natural. But you still tell yourself you hate him. How does one not know they’re transferring their injuries to someone else? Seriously? The nerve of this guy. But life is great. Your soulmate is within your sights, and he’s not running off getting injured (or at least, he’s making a conscious effort not to do so).

Eventually, he goes on a mission with Overwatch because they managed to convince him to join their side and need his support. Great, so he goes on a mission with them, but this time, he’s stressed the fuck out because you’re going to get his injuries whether he likes it or not. He’s painfully aware there’s someone else who is connected to him in a way that other people can’t really imagine. So he tries to be extra careful. But as always, injuries at inevitable in this line of work.

He watched the mist whisk away the bullet wound with a sense of dread he didn’t think he was capable of since he became ‘Reaper’, leaving nothing behind but ashen skin and a dull throbbing reminder that you will pay for his mistakes.

When he gets back, you’re angry again because holy shit you guys just managed to find each other and get by without injuries. Now, you’re bed-ridden again and covered in them! You need a lot more healing serums than usual to get back on your feet. Reaper definitely feels bad about it, but he was injured, too.

On top of that, he’s a mercenary. He’s got no choice. On top of that, things are Overwatch is very uncomfortable because the other agents realize that they’re indirectly hurting an innocent person who just happened to be linked with a living grim reaper hellbent on destroying them. It’s not comfortable for anyone, okay?

So you’re all back to square one. Getting huffy at each other, but the blame really doesn’t lie in either of you.

Speaking of blame, Angela’s busy researching why this is happening. She suspects it’s her fault and so she hasn’t gone to see you often, but she’s working herself to the bone. You’re her friend, Gabriel was her friend, and she’s going to get you both the happy ending you deserve.

She’s managed to at least figure out that your body seems to reject the injuries after you receive a certain amount. Either because Reaper’s body knows that’s all you can handle or because your body is actively rejecting it out of self-preservation. She’s not too sure and doesn’t want to find out.

In the meantime, you are Reaper are trying to work things out. Talk about how he shouldn’t run off, getting hurt because there’s someone else on the line. Reaper tries not to, it’s not like he really does it on purpose to hurt you. Even with all his edginess, Reaper’s a good guy. You start to warm up to him, even though you’re still calling him ‘asshole’. But it’s become almost a term of endearment. You both talk to each other every once in a while. You find out he’s actually pretty funny when he’s not busy brooding or being an edgelord.

He’s pretty considerate, too. He brings coffee, hands you your blankets when you get cold, organizes some papers. He’s...actually not such bad company. Though you never actually stop trying to punch him in the face.

Eventually, you find out that it’s Angela’s fault. Lord help you, it’s your friend’s fault because she botched her resurrection technology trying to save this fucker known as your soulmate. Apparently she spammed her resurrection on this guy and just really messed up. He’s the first one she’s ever tried it on, there were bound to be some kinks.

You are tired, and easily irritable from your constant pain, and just snap at Angela. Reaper is there and you end up snapping at him, too, accusing him for knowing and not saying anything. He snaps at you, you’re all angry at each other and the situation. Look, anyone would be angry if they were suffering for years and it’s because of a good friend with good intentions, but their fuck-up meant your suffering. It’s entirely understandable. Doesn’t mean that this was a good way to handle, though.

For stress-relief, Reaper goes on a mission and is reckless. Getting shot every which way, warping too close to enemies, getting hit in places he could normally avoid. Yes, he’s in a terrible mood. And guess what? He can heal himself with souls. He’s fine. You? You’re fucked.

When he’s done rampaging, he feels fucking bad about it all. What the fuck did he just do to his own SOULMATE? So he tries to go back to apologize. Warps into the room next to your’s, comes in through the front door like he usually does because he’s considerate of spooking you, but you’re not there. Weird. There also seems to be a lot more activity around the hospital. He manages to get someone to spill where you are. You’re in surgery because the healing serums weren’t doing anything. Oh boy. He thinks he may have fucked up big time.

Angela comes out of surgery and has to explain to him and you’ve developed a resistance to the healing serums. You’ve been taking them for so long and at such high doses that they literally don’t do jack squat for you anymore.

Now he’s worried as shit and realizes OH FUCK he might actually care for you a lot more than he realizes. All those times he’s spent in your room, just staying with you and talking about things like your research, he realizes he liked that and he liked your company and oh shit. He’s gone down the slippery slope of FEELS. He tells Angela to do what she can.

When you get out of surgery, you’re just plain exhausted and sleep a lot. Reaper’s by your side the whole time. He gets stuff for you if you need it, makes sure you take your medication, makes sure you take your meals on time, hell, he even helps you put on scar gel and change your bandages, and is just generally good company. You may or may not be delirious enough to just let your defenses down to just let him take care of you.

On the back end, though, Reaper goes to see Angela to subject himself to her experiments because he doesn’t want to see you go through that shit again. They both work on trying to find the thing that makes his body wisp away all injuries to you. This guy is really trying okay? Even though he doesn’t like being subject to Angela’s prodding and testing, he’s doing this for you.

When you’re considerably better, you both end up just going for walks around the compound and things like that to make sure you keep up your exercise. It’s nice. Reaper can even pretend that you’re both normal and that everything’s okay. You try not to admit to yourself that this is nice. That having Reaper with you is nice. You accidentally even called him ‘Reaper’ instead of ‘asshole’.

Reaper would not admit it until many years later, but while it may not have been his actual name, but it’s a huge upgrade from being called ‘asshole’. He could just drop his mask and kiss you at that moment. But he doesn’t.

One day, he comes by with a cup of coffee. Not just ANY cup, though.

He shoved the warm cup into your hand, nearly spilling it all over your lap in the process.

“Drink."

You resisted the urge to splash it back into his face when he refused to back off, looming over you as though threatening you to drink it. One glance at the contents makes you suspicious, but when you taste it, your eyes widen and the cup nearly slipped from your hand.

You had to take hearty sip to be sure, but by the time your mind had caught up to the reality of he knew how you took your coffee, the cup was nearly empty. You drained the cup and licked at the rim when it would not offer more. A warmth from something much more than just the drink swelled against your ribs to your neck then your cheeks, heart pounding.

Even though you couldn’t see his face, you could somehow tell he was pleased with himself.

THIS SMOOTH MOTHERFUCKER has been watching how you take your coffee and made it for you just the way you liked. MAN, if you didn’t like him before, you sure as hell liked him now.

Reaper’s nickname has been upgraded from ‘asshole’ to ‘Reaper’. Congrats, edgelord! You’re one step closer to romancing the reader.

Anyway, it seems that Angela may have found out a way to stop it, and tests it on Reaper.

“Only one way to find out.”

He dug his gauntlet into his arm with little more than a grunt. Both watched the wound with dreaded suspense, waiting for the mist to come and deliver the punctures to you.

Reaper’s heart nearly stopped when the mist came out, ghosting over the injury like it was debating whether it should or not. It dissipates before it does anything further, leaving the wounds gaping and barely bleeding. The rush of relief that Reaper felt at the sight almost made him question whether he was actually a masochist.

LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE CURED AND HE’S CURED. FINALLY. Now he’s 100x squishier because he no longer automatically transfers injuries to you for double HP.

But now, he can go on missions without being worried for you, you’re healing up nicely, hell, you both even have some sort of okay understanding of each other. You’re both pretty stoked, and you actually run around outside for the first time in years without fear of randomly dropping dead or getting so badly injured that you can’t find help. Wow, Switzerland is nice, you both deserve this. Good job, you two. Reaper watches you run around, laughing and having fun. This was great, and you make him have fun with you, too.

Most of the time though, you just both sit in the same room, you drink the coffee he makes, he sometimes drinks coffee with his back turned to you, you both talk about stuff and just generally enjoy each other’s company. You’re sarcastic and have interesting stories, and he also has his share, and everything’s hunky dory.

NOPE

Remember that water filtration system from Chapter 1? Yeah, Talon’s using one of the components to create a weapon. They’re targeting the hospital you’re in because they know that Reaper’s there a lot. Too bad, Reaper’s off on a mission. Their main goal though is the healing serums and healing technology they have at that hospital. That shit is useful and expensive.

BATTLE STATIONS, EVERYONE. You wake up to the sounds of the battlefield and you look and are like, ‘aw, fuck no’. People are screaming, there is general chaos, and the hospital seems to be on lockdown. There are security bots everywhere and people who are trying to fight. But sadly, they’re no match for Talon’s agents.

You bust into an area in the hospital where they kept prototype valkyrie suits (separate from the labs that develop the serums), and done that shit like a boss. Surprise, you didn’t just write papers for a living. You were one of the medical personnel who used the valkyrie suits, but for obvious reasons, had to retire early.

So you run around, trying to heal people and avoid getting killed. But you’re out of practice, and just really unprepared for this shit. But if you had to go down, you’d rather go down fighting.

“It’s high noon.” This is the sound that marks the beginning of the turning of tides. Every Talon agent near you gets shot, and holy fuck, some cowboy drops in in front of you and gives you a hat tip. Who???

He introduces himself as McCree, and just basically tells you he won’t let anything happen to you, calls you lovely, and says that you don’t need to dirty your hands or worry your pretty head over anything. Whatever, he’s just smooth as all fuck, and shuffles you away to keep you safe.

Some lady named Sombra comes by also, telling you that ‘Gabe’ is on the way. Apparently, she managed to get contact him about this attack before he got too far. He may be able to teleport, but it’s not going to be fast enough. Even Widowmaker’s in on this, just sniping down people as they come near you while Sombra renders their exquipment ineffective, and Jesse’s barrelling through everyone and putting bullets in their heads.

Shit, though, Talon gets the jump on you at some point while you’re trying to help heal Jesse because that guy is just taking a ton of damage. You go down, injured badly, but you’re trucking along like, “This ain’t shit! I’ve gotten worse from Reaper.” Yeah, it ain’t anything to joke about, you’re seriously hurt and no amount of serums are going to help because you’re resistant.

Reaper makes it eventually, and DEATH BLOSSOMS everyone in the vicinity. He gets to you, bundled up in Jesse’s serape because no one can heal and even healing is useless on you at this point. The only solution is to transfer your wounds to Reaper.

You fucking laugh at the idea, even though it hurts. You refuse and say that you don’t want him to go through this crap. It sucks. He’s angry because if you don’t do it, he’s going to lose his soulmate and a friend.

Angela comes running out also with the rest of the Overwatch squad because Sombra had the foresight to contact them as well. She knew this shit was going down. Talon should’ve changed their passwords (not that that could’ve helped). Overwatch literally mows them down, and forces Talon to retreat.

Eventually, you relent and share your wounds with Reaper. He’s able to heal them instantly by eating up souls. This is just unfair. But before you can give up the rest of your injuries, you just knock out. It’s been a stressful day. You deserve it.

A lot of time passes, you’re fine, Reaper’s fine, everyone’s happy. and you’re living with Reaper, or rather, he’s living with you. He’s making you coffee from scratch (roasts the beans and everything), and you’re writing your research papers. He even has his mask off, comfortable enough to not feel self-conscious in front of you, and you’re not frightened with his appearance. It’s actually pretty intact contrary to what he thinks. You both just have coffee and talk, leaning against each other on the couch. It’s rather domestic, and Reaper thinks he can get used to this. This was nice. You even call him ‘Gabriel’ now with the voice of someone who actually cares for him. (He’ll never admit it, but he’s absolutely smitten to hear you finally call him by his name.)

You find out that Angela personally hunted down Reaper to tell him about you. She had to go one-on-one with him to get him to listen.

The bruise you got when he met you? It was because of Jack. He punched Reaper in the face for being an idiot. They had a fist fight.

He still feels a little bad about it.

You punch him in the face with your mouth. Because you’ve been wanting to just punch him in the face since day one.

He just leans in and gives you a gentle kiss on the corner of your lips, and you’re flustered because neither of you have been very intimate like that, and you just bury your face in his shoulder, laughing.

You both eventually have a proper kiss. It’s quick, but warm.

One kiss leads into another, and you’re both just kissing each other on the face, hands, neck (you almost drop your coffee), nose. It’s cute.

Sombra has a picture of this and sends it to fucking EVERYONE.

Parties are thrown, money is passed around, people’s hopes are regained. Angela finally gets more than three hours of sleep.

#plot #whew my ideas get out of hand a lot #sorry about that #but just let reaper have a nice life #reaper x reader #reader #my writing

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onelastfic · 8 years

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Halloween Fun (Hamilsquad x Reader)

Prompt: “May I request poly!hamilsquad x reader, Halloween addition? (like their costumes and if they’re going to a haunted house or maze or something like that) Thanks so much, love your blog!!”

A/N: My first requested fic! Hope you enjoy~

“C'mon, (Y/N)! We’re going to be late for the Halloween Harvest Carnival! I wanna get a caramel apple before they sell out!” pleaded John from behind the door.

You knew that your boyfriends were waiting for you in the hallway, already in their costumes. You stared at yourself in the mirror, already feeling self-conscious about your costume.

“How did I end up with this costume again?” You yelled to your boyfriends.

“You got outvoted remember.” stated Alex. “Besides with these costumes we’re sure to win the costume contest! I can’t wait to rub it in Jefferson’s pompous face—”

“Enough, Alex. We’ve heard this already.” interjected Hercules.

“Oui, everyday for the past mois.” added Laf, a hint of annoyance in his voice. All of you loved Alex to bits, but sometimes his constant feuding with Jefferson got old. “Please come out already, mon ange. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yeah, I worked hard to make these costumes for us. Do you not like yours?” You could feel Herc’s sad expression through the door, you couldn’t disappoint your big teddy bear.

“Fine, but if any of you laugh I’m going to punch you.” You sighed before straightening the tiara on your head.

Opening the door to be greeted by your costumed boyfriends. You had to admit they looked good. They were all dressed up as members of the Justice League 2017 version.

Alex was Batman, Laf was Superman, Hercules was Cyborg, and John decided to be the Flash, which left you to fill the role of the sole female of the group. Wonder Woman.

You played with the short blue skirt, feeling embarrassed about the length. “How do I look?”

John gave you a tight hug. “You look absolutely Wonder-ful!”

You and the others groaned at the horrible pun. “I’m going to be hearing those jokes all night, aren’t I?”

“Yep~” John smiled. “Now lets go already! I want my caramel apple!” ———— “Did I have to come?” You whined to your boyfriends as all of you made your through annual Halloween Carnival. You were freezing in your costume and your feet hurt from the shoes.

“It’s Halloween, babe. Lighten up.” John says playfully, nudging your arm as he chews on his third candy apple.

“Easy for you to say. Your not it heels…”

“C'mon this is fun. Did you see Jefferson’s face when we won!” Alex said, showing off the blue ribbon we’d won. “Besides all that’s left to do is the haunted house.”

“Hmmm… You’re right. But can we go home after this? I can’t walk in these boots for much longer.”

So you made your way to the haunted house line, and they hear screams inside.

“All of you coming to the haunted house?” Peggy asks as she lets them in. Yes, the sweetest girl you know worked the haunted house.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Herc says resulting in Laf and you grabbing his hands in comfort. Hercules didn’t do so well with horror.

“Then I’m required to warn you. This haunted house is known to cause fainting and traumatic experiences. Enjoy the attraction~” Peggy says with a smile.

“I won’t.” Herc said back.

The five of you made your way inside the haunted house, and they approach a long hallway with blood slowly dripping down the weathered walls.

“I hate Haunted Houses.” Herc says nervously.

“It’s okay, mon beau. We’ll protect you.”

“What’s happening?” Alex asks as the five of you make your way down the hall. At the end of the hall, it reveals an madman with a chainsaw.

“WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY HOME!?” he roars. John and Herc scream, as Alex just looks at the madman’s outfit.

“That outfit makes you look fat.” He says.

“GET OUT!” the madman shouts.

“But we just got here.” You say and everybody laughs. But then you see that the chainsaw works.

“GET OUT!” the madman roars once again chasing them into another part of the attraction.

“It sort of looks like a living room, but…” You say looking around. “A really weird one.”

A little girl is handcuffed to a dead little boy. Of course, all of you know that he’s just acting, but it’s still terrifying and horrific. The girl is pleading and crying as you approach her.

“Save yourselves!” the little girl pleads. “I couldn’t save my brother, but you all have to get out of here!”

“W-Why?” Alex asks frightened.

“She’s coming soon!” the little girls says terrified.

“Who’s coming soon?” You ask.

And all of a sudden, the lights go out. A scream fills the room instantly, and the lights go back on again revealing that a few people are missing.

“Where’d the petite fille and garçon go?” Laf asks.

“JOHN!? HE’S GONE!” Herc yells dramatically as he falls onto his knees and roars.

“Calm down, Herc. This is a Haunted House remember. We’ll probably see him at the end munching on another caramel apple.” You say nonchalantly.

Another scream erupts from a door in the corner. Blood drips on the floor, and Alex examines it closely.

“I can’t tell if this is jam or tomato juice.” Alex says as the door slams open.

“Not another room.”

The room inside appears to have nothing inside, except a bed. They looks inside to see a girl sobbing under the covers.

The group of friends approach the girl, and notice that it’s Angelica who’s acting tonight. She looks like a cross between a zombie and a beautiful princess.

“Angelica? What’s wrong?” You asked.

“My name isn’t Angelica. I’m Sleeping Beauty.” she says as she wipes her eyes… Only to cry harder.

You don’t get how this is supposed to be scary, but something was bound to happen.

“What’s wrong?” Laf asks.

“My prince never came to rescue me, so I died waiting for him.” she cried.

“Then why are you awake?” Alex asks, paying attention to logic.

“My prince never came to free me out of my slumber, so death came for me,” she stated, and then her attention focuses on Alex.

“You!” she says angrily.

“What did I do?” Alex asks, not understanding why.

“You left me to die! Because of you I’ll never be satisfied!” she shouts and a flash of thunder gives her a creepy look. She almost looks… Scary. Crazy, even.

“I’m sorry?” he says wondering what was going on.

“I died because of you! Now, it’s time for revenge! You’re gonna pay! Your little friends too!” she yells and then she does an evil laugh creepy enough to send chills up your spine.

“Little? We’re all taller than you.” Alex protests. Only he could focus on height in this situation.

“Quiet! You’ll all pay! You’ll see!” she says maniacally.

And then the lights go out, and a scream erupts through the air once again.

The lights go back on and Herc and you see that Laf and Alex are missing, along with Angelica. All that’s left are blood stains on the bed and the faint cackling of Angelica left behind.

“S–So we’re the only ones left, huh?” Herc asks, clutching your hand.

“Yup. Let’s get out of here.” You say, opening a nearby door, which revealed a small cemetery.

“What now?” Herc asks, squeezing you tighter.

“I don’t know. Zombies, probably?” You replied calmly. “It’s a basic horror theme.”

All of a sudden, everything gets quiet. The scary music stops. And then…

“Yep. Zombies.” You says as the zombies rise from the graves. As Hercules grabs you in fright.

“You guys are great actors.” You say, as Herc picks you up and runs away.

The zombies chase Herc and you into a room. It’s a small room. It doesn’t have anything in it. Just a mirror.

“You know this costume is really well made, Herc. Didn’t move out of place at all.” You checked yourself mirror.

“This is it. We’re going to die. Game over.” Herc muttered, obviously scared out his wits. You quickly silenced him with a kiss.

“Calm down, honey.” You cooed, pulling away. You were about to comfort him so more.

When all of a sudden, the lights go off again.

And there was a loud scream.

You heard a thud and the lights came on. Lying on the floor was an unconscious Hercules and the Grim Reaper was standing in front of them wielding a scythe.

“YOU ALL SHALL DIE- Oh my god! Is your friend okay? Did I scare him that badly?” the reaper said.

“Umm… Is there an exit around here?” You asked awkwardly, trying to lift up your unconscious boyfriend. “Can I get some help carrying him?”

So the Reaper showed you to the exit as he helped you carry Herc out by his shoulders. Once you exited the attraction, you saw the rest of your boyfriends waiting near the exit, eating cotton candy and candy apples.

“How was the house?” You asked, as Laf slung Herc’s arm over shoulder. Thanking the helpful worker.

“I had a good time.” John says with a childish smile, his mouth filled with cotton candy.

“Of course you did.” You snicker.

“The little girl, boy, and I ended up in some cage hanging over cauldron. The kids were supposed to be demented version of Hansel and Gretel. Then I saw the madman chasing Alex and Laf. Turns out it was Eliza in the costume. She was super pissed at Alex for calling her fat. You should have seen Alex. He was—” John reported.

“We aren’t speaking of it, John!” shouted Alex. “What about you two do? Why did the Herc faint?”

“I think our Cyborg overloaded his system.” You joked, looking at your big teddy bear. You gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Next year let’s skip the haunted house.”

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