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thefanficmonster · 3 years

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The Five Scares (and one revenge)

Corpse Husband x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having a tendency to scare people, Corpse has gotten used to his friends being jumpy whenever he appears from the void into a Discord call with them. However, the one who has it the roughest with the spooks has to be his partner Y/N. Basically: The five times Corpse scared Y/N and the one time they scared him

Requested by Anon. Hi darling! Thank you so much for your lovely request it was a real joy to write and I had a ton of fun doing so! Hope you have equally as wonderful of a time if you happen to come across it and give it a read despite the long wait you’ve had to endure which I apologize for. Love, Vy ❤

Having had to go home for the night to keep an eye on their roommate’s dog, Y/N and Corpse agreed to have a video call before they fell asleep. They didn’t want to appear like that typical clingy and cheesy couple but after spending almost a whole week curled up in Corpse’s apartment, the two would feel each other’s absence to a very saddening degree to the point where they’d even forget the other isn’t around and would call out to them.

Letting the call ring, Y/N’s hand comes up to smooth out their hair. However, the touch reveals to them that their hair needs a bit more than a simple tap or a pat to be tamed so while they wait for Corpse to answer the call, they quickly head to their bathroom. Flicking the light on, their reflection greets them with the underwhelming news of the actual state of their hair at the moment: an absolute mess. They proceed to do their best with the single hair-tie they have handy. A bobby pin or two would be neat but they have no time to go and grab one right now, seeing as how they can’t recall if they even brought them back from Corpse’s apartment. If they didn’t, they would have to search their roommate’s room for some which would take an even longer amount of time.

Eventually, they manage to tame it in something closely resembling a presentable ponytail and exit the bathroom feeling more exhausted than before. With a loud sigh, they crash onto their bed, face-first into the sea of pillows, groaning at the slight sting of their muscles relaxing at last.

“Y/N?“ The decently loud mention of their name by a deep, familiar yet sudden and unexpected voice startles them to the point of squealing and jumping an entire inch away from where they were positioned.

They look around their room in a frenzy, wondering where on Earth that voice came from and how it could be here with them right now.

“Y/N, you there?”, before they could locate it, it emerges once again, helping Y/N get an ide of where it’s coming from - somewhere in the messed up bed sheets.

“Corpse?“ They finally find their voice, “Y-yeah I’m here. Question is: how are you...“ and then it all clicks, causing them to twist their face in an expression of utter disappointment and bury it in the palms of their hands, groaning.

“You forgot about the video chat, didn’t you?“ Corpse asks, amusement not even attempted to be hidden in his voice.

“Yup.“

It’s been one hell of a day. Y/N’s college lectures exhausted them to a max and their six hour job following their classes did nothing to help them AT ALL. Quite the opposite actually. Makes sense why they look, move and talk the way they’re doing right now: like a ghost, zombie and an elder combined in one. To add to their misfortunes for the day, they were met with the mocking ‘OUT OF ORDER’ sign taped to the doors of the elevator, laughing in their face with the information that their hellish experience for the day is far from over.

Just the thought of having to climb to the fifth floor made their stomach turn in the most unpleasant way possible, but the though of how long that would take made matters even worse. Arriving at their designated apartment, they have every right to be pissed, cussing their heart out.

However, then comes a new problem: the inability to pinpoint the correct key. They proceed to curse themselves, the keys, the door handle and the door itself before punching the poor wood that did no wrong and just stands here, serving its purpose of keeping unwanted people out of the apartment it’s guarding.

Following their anger outburst and front-door-abuse, they proceed to try finding the correct key once again, this time slightly more calmly as to not accidentally miss it in their frantic rifling.

Right as they’re about to try the third key, however, the door opens. Well, it’s opened by someone on the other side, that someone being none other than their boyfriend Corpse who’s currently staring at them wide-eyed, one eyebrow raised, the word ‘confused’ basically written across his face.

While he’s processing the sight in front of him, Y/N lets out a little scream, jumping back and away from the door, a hand placed over their chest as their wide eyes scan their boyfriend who now seems equally terrified as a result of their reaction.

“Corpse?!“ They manage to gasp, barely hearing their own voice over the loud thumping of their heart and the rush of blood in their ears, “What the hell are you doing here?!“

The confusion on Corpse’s face deepens, reaching whole new levels as his eyes gaze deeper into theirs, searching for the meaning behind their bizarre question. “You mean...at my own apartment? What am I doing, at home?“

For a few seconds, the two just stare blankly at one another, processing everything that’s just happened. Suddenly, it all just kinda caves for Y/N and they burst out laughing, doubling over, their arms clutching at their stomach as they do so. Their laughter is contagious, so Corpse can’t help but let out a few chuckles himself.

“Alright, you’ve been driven to insanity, I can tell.“ He mumbles at his reckless partner, coming up behind them and wraps his arms around them, lifting them up and carrying their laughing ass inside.

III

Finally deciding to sit down and get this damn project started, Y/N already feels like they’ve had enough of it, burnout already creeping in and threatening to ruin their work and trip them up every step of the way. It wouldn’t have been so bad had the subject not been one they absolutely despise and wish they could get out of studying but alas they’re stuck with it.

They equip their headphones as soon as they plant their butt on the desk chair in their tiny room in their tiny roommate-shared apartment, putting their Spotify playlist on shuffle as they open a blank Power Point document. They work better with music blasting in their ears since the silence tends to be too loud and distracting when they’re trying to focus. So, that way they can also sing their heart out in peace and not get disturbed by the sound of their own off-key singing. Win-win, basically.

Singing ‘Never Forget You’ by Zara Larsson and MNEK, they get a little carried away, ditching the project to enter a full-blown music video they can imagine down to the detail in their mind.

However, there’s a surprise awaiting them.

As soon as MNEK’s part of the song begins, another voice apart from his echoes through their headphones, singing along to the song. Freaking the fuck out, they let out a loud scream, smacking the headset off them, sending the object falling and landing on their laptop keyboard with a crash that only serves to further startle their roommate’s dog which comes to check if they are being attacked or something only to be disappointed by the lack of action.

When pushing the headphones off, they did so with a force strong enough to snap the cable out of the laptop entirely so now the room is filled with the sound of that same foreign voice laughing his ass off.

A voice that belongs to no other than Corpse Husband himself.

“You gotta learn to disconnect from Discord calls, Y/N.“ The fucker says, still cackling wholeheartedly at his partner’s misery.

Pissed off or not, Y/N would have to admit he’s got a point. But they’d also rather never speak again than admit it so...

“Fuck you!“ is what they say instead, seconds before disconnecting.

Making breakfast is not something either Corpse or Y/N are used to, mostly cause they both either wake up late or skip the meal entirely. Regardless, having been given a day off from work and having no classes since it’s Saturday, Y/N saw no better way to start their day off than to prepare a nice breakfast for them and their boyfriend to enjoy. Problem is: they aren’t the most skilled in the kitchen. Sure they can scramble an egg or make mac and cheese, but in order to do it correctly they are not allowed to have distractions of any kind. Not even music, that’s how you know it’s serious.

Seeing as how Corpse has never seen them cook, he’s obviously unaware of theirs. The dummy straight up waltzes into the kitchen, unintentionally remaining unspotted and unheard by Y/N because he’s barefoot and because they have their back turned to him.

“Whatya cooking over there babe?“

Y/N’s focus bubble, being as thin as it is and considering they initially thought Corpse was still asleep, they have every right to let out the yelp they just did, dropping the egg they were gonna crack over the pan in said pan in its entirety - yes, shell and all.

A moment of silence commences: regretful on Corpse’s end and frustrated on theirs. Neither of them dares to say anything to avoid triggering the other. Well, that’s the case until Y/N decides enough’s enough and they turn to look at him, a wide, obviously fake smile plastered onto their face.

“Scrambled eggs, following a secret recipe, property of the L/N family.“

Seems like your pre-breakfast snack is an extra large dose of sarcasm, huh?

“So, how was your day? You sound pretty chipper so I take it wasn’t a nightmare like a few days ago.“ Corpse comments over the phone, listening to shuffling and shifting as Y/N moves around the apartment, getting ready to head out.

“It was great actually. Got some important results back and, not to brag or anything, but they were higher than I expected.“ They reply, a genuine wide grin refusing to leave their face as they silently count the amount of money they’ve got in their wallet. “I’m gonna go buy a cake so we can celebrate it. It’s no small deal, trust me, especially not when I initially thought I’d fail both these exams to the point of being pitied.“

“Wait...-“ Corpse attempts, his voice suddenly sounding strained and urgent but that’s the very reason he cannot seem to find or get the right words out of his system. Not that Y/N gives him any time to figure it out.

“No Corpse, you cannot change my mind. Cake and beers, we’re celebrating toni- SHIT!“ They scream as they throw open the front door, bumping square into someone standing on the other side, almost dropping their phone.

Taken aback by embarrassment and fear, they leap back, their eyes searching for the ones of the person whose personal space they just invaded. Well, to be fair, he was the one invading their personal space by standing right outside the door to their - well, to Corpse’s apartment.

The fear and irritation die down almost instantly when Y/N recognizes the person standing opposite them.

“Mind telling me why we’re talking on the phone when you could’ve come in and we could’ve had a normal person conversation?!“ They snap, ironically enough - they’re still holding the phone to their ear.

So is Corpse whos is smiling guiltily, “That’s why I called, I forgot my keys, but I got...carried...sorry.”

Well, at least this serves as proof Y/N’s not the only forgetful one.

~ ~ ~

Corpse has been stuck in his recording room for four hours now, never stopping his stream to take care of his basic human needs such as eating or going to the bathroom. This behavior of his has Y/N worried sick and unable to focus on the task at hand - an assignment they’ve been trying to finish for two hours now, sitting with their computer on their lap and looking hopelessly at the blank Word document waiting for them to fill it up while they are waiting for it to start writing itself.

Seeing as how neither are gonna happen, not until Y/N puts their mind at ease, they slowly put the laptop aside, standing up to carefully skip on over to Corpse’s recording room to check on him, stopping by the kitchen to grab him a snack and a bottle of water along the way.

The door to the darkened room is open a crack, as usual, suggesting they can enter without knocking - this also means he’ll probably not hear them even if they knock so the whole gesture would be pointless. Not that Y/N has a tendency to knock or anything... Waltzing in, they find that the only light in the room is the very faint and dark glow of the computer screen which is displaying a dark and dingy room from a first-person view of the protagonist of whatever game Corpse’s currently playing.

“Corpse?!“ They whisper-yell/hiss at him, trying their best to grasp his attention without startling him - they don’t need to be told that the game is of the horror genre and the last thing they need is for their boyfriend to flip backwards and fall out of his chair because they scared the shit out of him. “Hey?!“

Neither attempts prove futile so, despite their best instincts telling them differently, they walk over to him and tap him on the shoulder. The reaction, while within the realm of expectancy, is a lot more startled than they expected, accompanied by a scream on top of all. They’d never heard him scream in fear before, it’s quite amusing if they’re being honest.

They suppress a snicker as Corpse’s wide open eyes meet their squinting ones in the darkness, “Y/N...babe...what is it? Is everything ok?”

Y/N rolls their eyes, “No, everything isn’t ok. Your unhealthy habit of forgetting to take care of yourself, for example.” They put the snack and the bottle on the his desk, giving him their best disappointed-parent look before turning on their heel to strut their way out of the room. However, just as they are about to make their exit, they stop right at the doorframe, giving their stunned one final glance over their shoulder with a smug smirk playing across their face, “Oh and by the way, that’s what I like to call revenge.” Just like that, they leave, pushing the door back into its previous position.

And boy, is it some sweet, sweet revenge.

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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I feel another fanon debunk session coming over me, and this one’s a BIG one.

Let’s talk about the DickKory breakup, and why it happened.

Yup, we’re going there.

Before we get going though, I want to make one thing abundantly clear: this is NOT an invitation to bash on Kory. There will be no bashing of Kory on this post if I have anything to say about it, and its my post, so I do. So nyah nyah. But seriously like, don’t get my reasons for making this post wrong. I LOVE Kory. I SHIP Dick/Kory. And I don’t actually blame Kory for any of this, no matter how the page I’m about to show makes it appear, for reasons that I will get into later in this post, but like. I really truly don’t. I don’t think the Dick/Kory breakup ultimately was either of their fault. I think it was the painful end result of them both hitting rock bottom due to endless external fuckery with their lives and their minds during the tail end of their relationship, making it all but impossible for them to be there for each other the way they truly needed and WANTED to be....ultimately forcing them to break off and BOTH try and reorder their lives on their own. But IMO, this NEVER actually marked a dissolution of their feelings for each other, no matter what either (particularly Dick) eventually claimed in order to rationalize things to themselves.

I do however think some of the other Titans bear some culpability for not seeing things as they truly were here. I can understand given what they all went through during this time period like, how maybe it became easier to just blame Dick especially as he has a tendency to be so willing to accept blame? And so I think a lot of conclusions were jumped to that at other times they WOULD have spent more time thinking through. But here and now they didn’t simply because they were so relieved to HAVE an easy, simple explanation for things going wrong and someone to blame, someone who ACCEPTED blame. And thus more easily allowing them to speed through to the portion of events where they worked on ‘forgiving him’ for what he’d done so they could all move past it.

Okay, so let me stop talking in code for those of you who have only the faintest idea of what I’m talking about.

Traditional fanon states - and most wiki summaries I’ve seen actually CORROBORATE this, which drives me COMPLETELY up the wall because I would like to have WORDS with whomever wrote each of these wiki summaries - that ultimately, Dick and Kory broke up because they rushed into things with the wedding and both realized they weren’t actually ready to get married.

Let me be clear: this is totally and completely 100% true.

Fanon and wikis go ON however, to conclude that the ‘fault’ lies with Dick, because he was the one who jumped the gun in proposing, and that he only DID so, because he thought getting married would ‘help him finally grow up’ and ‘hit one of the milestones he thought he was missing while everyone else his age that he’d known in high school and stuff were graduating college and getting married and having kids right about now.’ And also that he eventually concluded that he didn’t actually love Kory the way he thought he did and needed to let her go for her sake.

Now let me also be clear: this is also MOSTLY true in the sense that he did eventually THINK these thoughts, some ten or fifteen issues after their crashed wedding, when he was off on his own and thinking through everything that was going on in his life and trying to make sense of the decisions he’d been making lately, most of which he was unhappy with.

The one part that ISN’T true is that last bit, which a lot of people extrapolate from and use as their basis for saying Dick ‘fell out of love with Kory’ and ‘realized that he no longer loved her the way he once had,’ with this leading into why they never got back together after Kory returned to Earth in the Titans revival series in the late 90s.

HOWEVER.

There’s a tiiiiiiiiiny little correction I must make to that last part, which might seem insignificant, but becomes ABUNDANTLY important when added to some other much needed - and much ignored overlooked - context:

Dick never ACTUALLY said or thought that he didn’t love Kory anymore, full stop. What he actually said, in its entirety, was that he realized “he never really loved Kory the way she deserved to be loved.”

Why is this distinction so important? Hang on just a sec, we’re almost there.

Now I would like to share with you, for those who have never seen this page or those who perhaps have forgotten it or its significance, the EXACT page where Dick proposes to Kory, from The New Titans #99, one issue before their wedding special in issue #100. (What’s that? You’re surprised that they got married the very issue after the proposal? You thought that they were engaged for a lengthier period of time? Ohhhh don’t worry, fair readers. We’ll get there. Ohhhh we’ll get there).

But first, those of you who have never actually read this page before, I would like you to take a look at it, and see if you can Where’s Waldo what it is about this page that makes my blood reach a boiling point in excess of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit every time someone utters the words “Dick rushed into marriage because he thought it would make him grow up or hit some important life milestone.”

Take a gander, what do you see:

See it? Get what I’m talking about?

Any talk of Dick and Kory breaking up because they weren’t ready to get married, and Dick having been the one to rush them into it before they were ready, COMPLETELY fails at accurately representing the events of that time if it fails to mention the fact that:

DICK ONLY PROPOSED WHEN HE DID BECAUSE HE WAS DESPERATE TO CONVINCE KORY, HIMSELF AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT HE LOVED HER AND ONLY HER AND SLEEPING WITH MIRAGE HAD MEANT NOTHING!

(Since, y’know, he didn’t actually sleep with her so much as he was raped by her).

I mean, your mileage may vary, but me, I happen to think that bit there is pretty CRITICAL FUCKING INTEL when it comes to this whole matter.

Claiming Dick is to blame because he rushed into marriage because he was looking to grow up or hit some milestone utterly FAILS as an analytical conclusion in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY....

When there is both ZERO indication from him BEFORE the proposal, that those are reasons or thoughts he has that has him leaning towards proposing.....

As well as ZERO reflection AFTER the failed wedding, that being desperate to convince everyone who thought he’d cheated on Kory that he really did love her, was at all a key motivating factor in him proposing when and how he did.

Like it or not, Mirage and the storyline surrounding that is utterly CRUCIAL to the DickKory breakup, because EVERY mention of that describes the cause of that breakup being rushing into marriage, and if you take away that storyline - and every character’s reaction to it - there is absolutely NO reason to even THINK Dick would still have proposed when he did.

And thus, leaving the Mirage story ENTIRELY out of all talk of the end of Dick and Kory’s relationship, is just....blatantly not indicative of what the story actually was.

Now, in addition, I know we tend to talk about this story as though DC sucks for never calling the rape what it was, and say that if DC’s not willing to treat these things as what they really are, they shouldn’t be using them as story points. First order of business: Yes DC sucks a lot and their handling of all this sucked.

BUT.

It is also not entirely accurate to say that they never TREATED this story as what it was.

Because while everyone else may have been fixated on it as Dick cheating on Kory....initially, at pretty much every point UNTIL the wedding....Dick at least was STEADFAST in not considering HIMSELF having cheated. I mean, look at his language in just the page above. He talks about being “repulsed” by what Mirage did. The writers might have never actually called what happened to Dick ‘rape,’ but initially they were VERY consistent in nevertheless writing him as someone who at least to some degree felt victimized by what happened, rather than culpable. He was trying to convince everyone ELSE to see it that way - until eventually he kinda gave up, and started to see it THEIR way.

You can literally see him already starting to make the pivot towards rationalizing that POV to himself in the above page....he talks about ‘thinking with his hormones’ and that leading him to make a mistake, even though his hormones had nothing to do with whether what happened was wrong or not.....it was always entirely about: would he have consented to sex with Mirage IF he knew she wasn’t really Kory. Thinking with his hormones in no way addresses the fact that its completely unreasonable to expect anyone to be so on guard 24/7, even in the privacy of their own bedroom with their own girlfriend, that they have their eyes peeled for an impostor even there.

In fact, imagine what the others would have all said if Dick hadn’t slept with Mirage that night, or else had confided in them later that it felt not right, that something was wrong, at some point BEFORE Mirage entered and told Dick in front of everyone that it had actually been her. How likely do you think it would have been that instead of taking Dick at face value, many of them would have instead viewed this as just another time Dick was exercising “Bat-paranoia” rather than allowing himself to be intimate with a loved one the way normal, non-Batfolk do, y’know? Do you think they would have automatically agreed with him that there was something up and he had reason to feel that ‘something wasn’t right about Kory’ when Dick probably still would have had no idea what for sure he felt was off, let alone that it wasn’t ACTUALLY her? Or would they have gotten on his case about how this is just him self-sabotaging again and letting his issues come between him and someone he cared about?

Tbh, one of the things that was greatest about Dick and Kory’s relationship IMO was that she was one of the best at getting him out of his own head. With Kory, when they weren’t both being jerked around by brainwashing plots and the like, Dick was better at just....letting go and just being himself around her. He didn’t feel like he had to constantly be on his guard or waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ironically, IMO, Dick DOES have a tendency to self-sabotage at times and let paranoia or other issues keep him from totally dropping his defenses and letting himself be vulnerable with other people.....meaning he probably would have been MORE likely to cue into something being off, if it had been anyone BUT Kory he’d been dating when Mirage replaced them.

So bottom line is, you can’t actually fully blame the writing for the others’ reactions to this story. Because whether they ever actually acknowledged it or not, for a good ten to fifteen issues up to the wedding, the writers pretty consistently depicted Dick as someone who was and felt victimized, even if he didn’t consciously realize it yet himself, let alone why. There were repeated moments between Kory initially breaking up with him after it happened through this proposal above, where it basically reads like Dick yelling “Ask me how violated I feel! Go on, ask me!” Except he never really got the chance because he was too busy replying to everyone around him that he hadn’t cheated on Kory, he thought he was WITH Kory, and that was the ONLY reason he had sex that night.

Slight tangent - this btw, is why I can never even get worked up enough about Nightwing Annual #2 to be like, defensive about it. That was the flashback issue written YEARS after all these events, where retroactively Andreyko inserted at some point between this proposal and the wedding - without changing anything else or the events he wrote ever being brought up or acknowledged again - a story where Dick went to visit Babs to personally deliver her wedding invitation....but only AFTER they slept together. And then when he gave her the invitation and she got furious about what had just happened, he just blithely said oh Kory won’t mind, and Babs was like yeah well I MIND!

Which was a totally valid reaction for Babs to have to those events as depicted, its just....I can’t remotely take them seriously, not when I’ve actually READ the events that by Andreyko’s own admission are meant to bookend that story. So you’re telling me, that right after Dick proposes to his longtime girlfriend SPECIFICALLY because he’s desperate to convince her he loves only her and would never willingly sleep with anyone else......he would go and sleep with someone else between then and the wedding? And then just without a hint of remorse say oh what’s the problem, Kory would be fine with it - when literally everything else about the wedding even HAPPENING was based on the fact that he knew for a fact that Kory would NOT in fact, be fine with that? Umm, make it make sense, except you can’t, because that story and the point where it makes sense are in two entirely different galactic quadrants. Green Lanterns couldn’t make it from Point A to Point B. So lol, sorry not sorry, I’m gonna stay not taking that story or claims that Dick is ACTUALLY a cheater, like, remotely seriously. I mean, your mileage may vary, but I especially don’t think anyone who can make excuses for Bruce’s many transgressions being OOC like, has any business trying to pass this particular story off as in character, but WHATEVS. Like, you CAN do it if you really want to, but I mean, I’m just gonna think that’s silly. I’ll be like OMG you’re so silly. Why are you so silly, can we just stop with all the silliness. And then like, I’ll go do something else or whatever.

(Oh and for the record, the wedding was the issue after Dick proposed, but it wasn’t meant to be like, the day after or anything. BUT we do know it was still pretty damn soon after, like at most a week or two....because the concurrent storyline was Roy being upset because the government was trying to shut down the Titans and said they would unless Roy took leadership from Dick and ousted him, which Roy understandably was NOT keen to do, even and especially with everything going on as the Titans were a family first and foremost and he was stuck between trying to preserve them and keep them going and betraying everything they stood for by basically instigating a vote of no confidence in Dick’s leadership.....but point being, Roy kept stalling the government agent asking for his answer......when said agent was very impatient, and asked repeatedly both in issue #99 AND issue #100. So you’re never going to convince me Roy managed to stall said agent for months or whatever, or any longer than a couple weeks at most, to allow for Dick and everyone else to put together a shotgun wedding for him and Kory. Which just further adds to the make it make sense aspect of the above mentioned Annual, but I absofuckinglutely digress).

Anyway.

NOW, let’s bring it back around to when I said like, don’t do the thing, don’t actually blame Kory for any of this, don’t you do it? /paraphrase

Yeah. So we’re there at that point now, and I reiterate once more for the court, like, hey, what if you just don’t? Y’know? Even if you’re looking at her dialogue in the above page I posted and are like, I’m feeling the urge, the urge to.....idk something that rhymes with urge but is bad I guess? Whatever. Just like. Don’t do it. Say nasty things about Kory because of this story three times in front of your computer and I will totally like, be conjured by that and crawl out of your screen all creepy girl from The Ring style. It will NOT be pretty. I am NOT meant to fit through there. I can NOT make it look good. You have been warned.

Okay so like, the reason I say none of this is on Kory even though I don’t make the same distinctions for the other Titans is threefold. No, lbr, its probably more on account of I can’t count and I’m always wrong about this shit. But let’s start with three.

1) The first thing we need to address is the fact that Dick WAS acting erratically and out of character through all of this time, even before what happened with Mirage. This was still in the near aftermath of Titans Hunt, and he was still reeling from that, and holding himself totally accountable. People who’ve followed me for awhile have probably seen me fixate on Titans Hunt before, but I honestly don’t think anyone who hasn’t read the full extent of comics from that storyline all the way through like....The New Titans #115 or so, like.....truly grasps the extent of just HOW much that single storyline affected Dick. He was at rock bottom because of it in a way that is probably only truly comparable with the Blockbuster storyline, but for even LONGER. Like the span of comics I referenced just now covers probably like....almost fifty issues.

That’s fifty issues where Dick consistently brings up his failure to stop that and how much Joey and Charlie and Arella and everyone else’s deaths during that like, just weighs on him, and fucks with his confidence and just.....his overall sense of purpose and self. He WAS lost and aimless for a lot of that time. And he DID absolutely even recognize HIMSELF that it was affecting him. Like ten issues or so after the crashed wedding, when he’s on his own journey of self-discovery while looking for Kory in the Amazon (uh yeah, that’s a thing. I’ll get to that)....like, he acknowledges to himself that ever since the Titans Hunt he’s been getting crazier and more demanding (his words) and he doesn’t even recognize himself anymore...and he attributes all of that to not having come to terms with their deaths and his inability to prevent them.

Now, notably, he DOESN’T ever at this time acknowledge that his behavior took an INCREASINGLY downward spiral ever since Mirage and specifically due to everyone blaming him for what he deep down felt wasn’t actually his fault but was losing conviction in. And quite frankly, even though he SAYS at this point he’s ready to move on from their losses, I don’t think that actually happened, but I’ll get back to both those things. First, the important point here, in terms of Kory, is that from her perspective, Dick had been increasingly unpredictable and not himself ever since the losses during Titans Hunt. Actually, given that she was the one who went with him to the Manor after Jason’s death and the only one who saw him come in and out and who thus knows the full extent of what transpired there - with this all happening not long before Titans Hunt - you could additionally say her awareness of that also has her almost prepared to expect the totally unexpected from Dick at this point.

Does that mean its right? No. But it does mean that its there.

2) Next. Kory was not actually offered the chance by the storyline to internalize what happened between Mirage and Dick from a stable, grounded headspace. Mirage KIDNAPPED Kory and replaced her before she slept with Dick. In the grand scheme of things, what happened to Kory specifically here is probably far from the worst thing that’s ever happened to her, but it couldn’t have been pleasant and I’m the first to yell NO TRAUMA OLYMPICS so in that spirit, fuck whether it was as bad as it COULD have been, and again, just acknowledge that it happened, and its reasonable and expected that it would have a negative effect on Kory. She was targeted and victimized by Mirage too. Not in the same way as Dick, but add that to the fact that unlike the other Titans, she was the one IN the relationship with Dick and thus the only one besides him that had a stake in what Mirage’s actions served as a catalyst for in that regard, like....she was not an impartial bystander to all this, and that needs to be considered. She was PART of it. It was her life that was hijacked by all this too.

3) Third.....it is extremely extremely EXTREMELY important here to acknowledge that Kory is herself a rape survivor. She has extensive trauma from her childhood in the Citadel, and that is bound to color her perceptions of what happened here, at least initially. I am 174% soooooo not here for vilifying another rape survivor in defense of a different rape survivor. Like, I’m just saying.....do not throw Kory under the bus for not acknowledging Dick’s trauma and trauma responses as a rape survivor in this story if you’re not also YOURSELF acknowledging Kory’s OWN trauma as a rape survivor.

This is key not because it says any opinions she had at this time don’t count, but rather that they simply don’t come from the same place as the VICTIM-BLAMING that is the central issue with others holding Dick accountable for his own rape. In Kory’s case, we have to consider the issue of projection. The ways in which her own experiences and how they’ve informed her DEFAULT perception of something that deeply affected her, might skew her initial reaction to experiences which share a LABEL, but not specific ELEMENTS.

What I mean here is both Kory and Dick, as of this point in time, are rape survivors. But they survived very very VERY different kinds of rape. Both were abundantly clear that they DID NOT WANT what happened to them, that they were not willing parties to what actually transpired....but what springs to Kory’s mind when someone says “I didn’t want the sex that happened” is understandably going to look VERY different from what Dick was describing when he said “I didn’t want the sex that happened.” So its not really all that unreasonable for Kory to hold those two things up in her head and say these are not the same, and from there jump to the unfortunate conclusion that Dick HAD wanted it on some level, else it would have looked more like her own experiences...especially because others around them were already voicing and affirming this opinion in various ways.

Again, is this fair, or deserved? No. But I talk all the time with other characters and with Dick himself about how its just not reasonable to expect characters - especially ones with highly CHARGED emotions related to their own parallel experiences - to act from an unbiased state or POV and thus leap to the most ideal conclusion without at least first stumbling through some other ones. So with Kory, her own context with rape simply CAN NOT be divorced from the fact that recognizing the central issue of this later moment in time was that it was a rape. Her own experiences and the likely projection of them onto the moment at hand add a degree of context to conclusions she arrived at that other characters simply do not have....and thus, again, its not okay to paint her with the same brush as all those characters. And unless you’re already somehow making a distinction as to why her reaction is different from others despite superficially appearing the same......then like. You need to be. LOL.

4) The other factor that’s important to consider here is that just like Kory was never offered the chance to RECEIVE information of what happened from a relatively grounded place and headspace....the stories never gave her any real time to think things through, process over time, and arrive at different conclusions from her earlier ones. Again, I talk all the time about how Dick’s experiences with the Titans pre-his time in Bludhaven were colored by multiple instances of brainwashing and his head being fucked with and being personally targeted and jerked around in a ton of ways? The same is true of Kory, and it needs to be given equal weight.

Their wedding was crashed by ‘the dark soul self’ of Raven - who they thought was dead - as she infected Kory with what she called a demon seed that was going to grow a new demon inside of her. Due to her possession, Kory spent weeks in a mental institutition, trying to overcome the entity inside her (with Dick sitting by her side and holding her hand through all of it, just FYI). When she finally did purge the entity from her, Kory took off and ended up in a village in the Amazon, with the ordeal having given her amnesia. Dick went after her, but he’d only just tracked her down when she took off again to foil an alien invasion using radio waves that she was uniquely suited to recognize due to being familiar with their tactics, but which pitted her against most of the rest of the world in like, the Ultimate Gaslighting Showdown as everyone kept telling her she was crazy (she was wearing a tinfoil hat to protect herself from the transmissions, the writers were deliberately not doing her any favors).

Only after that was foiled did she regain her memories, and while off the page she agreed to meet with Dick to talk about their failed wedding and everything that happened afterward, as he’d returned from the Amazon by now, where he’d ultimately come to his own self-realizations about everything (or what we were told to accept were his realizations)....in the end she took off for Tamaran without meeting him, leaving him waiting where they’d agreed to rendezvous. Again, I say this not to vilify Kory, because I absolutely think she made the best choice for herself at the time, and should have, and I don’t think Dick has ever blamed her for that and tbh they both separately came to the same decisions about needing to be apart to recollect themselves and figure out who they were and where to go from here, like, without having to actually talk it out to arrive at the same point. I DO raise this point simply to put out there that in contrast to many other things I’ve seen said about the break up......they....never technically broke up?

Like I mean, don’t get me wrong. They DID. They both considered themselves broken up and eventually moved on with other people, Dick with Babs, and Kory with a general who she married back on New Tamaran before it was destroyed by the Sun Eater (again, Kory went through some SHIT after their break up. Dick wasn’t the only one.) But I just mean like.....it was LITERALLY the most mutual break-up that is possible for a break-up to be, because neither one of them ever actually communicated their intent to the other in order for them to both CLEARLY be on the same page. There was no “Dick called off the wedding” - that never actually happened, it was just....never revisited. There was no “Dick told her he no longer had feelings for her” - that was something that happened later, and yes, I’ll get to that too. OMG shut up me. But also shh I’m talking.

But yeah like.....their break-up, despite being almost universally claimed as Dick’s choice and responsibility, with zero mention of Mirage’s role in it in any official accounting of it I’VE ever seen, and with Kory painted as being the victim of Dick’s wandering ways and not knowing what he wanted in the distant aftermath of their break-up, as it was said that due to being Tamaranean, she loved for life and thus would always be in love with Dick even though he after her return claimed he no longer loved her (like, I don’t blame Kory but I also don’t like takes that act like Dick DID all this to Kory somehow. Like that’s literally the entire point here, neither of them needs to be to blame or each other’s victim according to how the story ACTUALLY went).....

But yeah, despite all that.....it really was the most mutually arrived at decision ever, because neither one of them actually EVER EVEN SAID ‘WE NEED TO BREAK UP’ to the other. They both just....ended up there on their own.

(And also because DC wanted them there in order to secure the rest of their push to put Nightwing solely back in the Batbooks for the next several years. With, don’t forget, this all coinciding with the government forcing him out of the Titans and putting Roy in charge and with this all culminating in Dick having his initial adventure in Bludhaven at Bruce’s ask, and then deciding to make that his new base of operations and kinda reinvent himself there, at the start of his solo title. Again, shout out to the myth of “Dick Grayson always runs from things because commitment issues” - not only did he NOT flee to Bludhaven because he just changed his mind about the wedding and said whoops sorry Kory, it wasn’t even his CHOICE to leave the Titans, even if eventually he agreed it was for the best right now. His ex went back to her home planet and he was asked to leave his team. Why the fuck WOULDN’T he go somewhere else?)

NEXT. (jfc he mumbled to himself under his breath. what the fuck did I start here).

Circling back around AGAIN, this time back to Dick’s STATED reasons for deciding things were over.

Two...umm, fuck it, ‘a number that is more than one’ things that need to be kept in mind HERE:

1) The most crucial bit of context when examining Dick’s journey of self-exploration in the Amazon while searching for Kory and what he comes to say and think about everything that’s happened and his own behavior....

Is that he is an EXTREMELY unreliable narrator at this point in time. Y’know how we talk about Dick having that tendency to take on more accountability than is actually earned and is way quicker to view himself as in need of apologizing than he is to view others needing to do that for him?

Yeah I mean, that’s a thing, I definitely have like a billion citations ready to go on a moment’s notice, but point is, being aware of that tendency means absolutely nothing if you don’t actively APPLY that awareness to Dick’s periods of self-reflection and like....compare and contrast what he THINKS about things he’s said or done with like....what he’s ACTUALLY said or done.

For instance, on the way to his so-called epiphanies about all this, he makes the claim that the entire time Kory was dealing with the demon entity inside of her, he was being so selfish because all he was doing was wishing she would wake up or be free of it so that she could help him with his problems instead. (And just for the record, I can provide actual panels for everything I reference in this post, I’m just limiting myself to a couple because I’m just trying to NOT beat War and Peace’s pagecount as it is. Will I succeed? No. Did I try? Yes.)

Now, Dick spending his time at his possessed fianceé’s side doing nothing but wishing she would snap out of it and focus on his problems instead.....is that selfish of him?

Well, yeah.

But is it TRUE?

I mean, you tell me:

This is right smack dab in the middle of that whole storyline, set only a few issues after the crashed wedding, and before Kory successfully evicts the demon entity and loses her memories. This is literally what Dick was ACTUALLY like the entire time. At the TIME, every single thing he said and did was focused on her.....the CLOSEST he came even in his internal monologue, to making it all about him, was him thinking about how this has shown him just how much he needs her.

Do people helping a loved one through something traumatic occasionally have selfish thoughts where their awareness of their own troubles momentarily supersedes their focus on their loved one? Yeah. Does this actually make them selfish if their ACTUAL focus and actions and words are aimed entirely at their loved ones the whole time, with no single actual detour to “hey, while you’re up, can we talk about me for a sec”?

Mmmmm....I feel like no, but I am open to you drawing other conclusions as long as you are aware that they are wrong and mine is right, kay. I mean okay, fine. You can disagree with me here but I’m still gonna disagree about your disagreement there and its just gonna be this whole big thing and its like, ugh, whatever, y’know?

But hey, you do you.

ANYWAY, point is, unless you draw the wrong conclusion here in which case PTTTHB!, like, I think its safe to say Dick thinking in the midst of his self-awareness deep dive that he was being nothing but selfish during that whole story and thus didn’t deserve Kory, like....whether or not the writers are actually AWARE of it or not, I mean......that’s still a pretty good context clue that his internal monologues at this point in time are maybe a little bit skewed towards being more about accepting blame than reflecting reality, right? Yes, no, maybe so?

Well then again, if you agree with me, then add to that awareness the added bit of trivia that every single other one of Dick’s ‘ultimate realizations’ (he just wanted to get married because he thought it would bring stability to his life, it would help him grow up, hit one of those aforementioned milestones, etc)....like every single one of them.....was an opinion that was FIRST offered by one of the other Titans.

Every. Single. One.

(Wanted to get married for the stability was something Donna said she thought was his reasoning, to the other original Titans. The bit about thinking it would help him grow up was unfortunately ALSO Donna, but said to Kory before the wedding when Kory asked if she thought this was a mistake and if she thought Dick had proposed for the right reasons. The milestones thing was said by either Roy, Garth or Wally, I honestly forget which, but it was when the three of them went out to discuss the pending government takeover of the team and how to break this to Dick with everything else going on).

And with not a SINGLE one of these opinions present in ANY of Dick’s internal monologues BEFORE the proposal, hinting that they were anywhere near being on his radar at THAT point.

So....which makes more narrative sense? That Dick ultimately just realized that everything he THOUGHT was motivating him when he proposed was NOT true and that it was only his friends that clued into his actual reasons, which he must have overheard at some point and internalized in order to have replicated said opinions in his thoughts so exactly? Again with ZERO mention alongside any of this, that peoples’ views of what happened with Mirage was at ALL a factor in his thinking?

Or.....does it maybe better track, that over the course of Dick repeatedly expressing that he didn’t know it wasn’t Kory, that he never wanted to cheat on her, that he loved her and only her and would never knowingly do that....with NO ONE budging and everyone from Kory to all of his best friends acting like his adulterous guilt was an over and done with conclusion and they’d already long since moved on to the point of how willing or not they were to forgive him, based on everything else he’d been going through.....and with Dick thinking that how remorseful he appeared to be and how willing to ACCEPT accountability was likely to play a part in how much people were willing to look past all his recent fuck-ups here.......

Does it maaaaaaaybe actually make a little bit more sense that Dick’s total 180 into taking full responsibility and coming up with all these rationalizations for his actions that essentially just mimic theories everyone else had for his behavior has more to do with his deeply internalized acceptance that nobody was listening to his side of the story or what he was actually trying to say (without even real SELF awareness at the time that what he was feeling wasn’t just ‘I’m innocent of what you’re accusing me of’ but ‘I was violated and used’)?

That it was more about him finding ways to justify to himself getting on the same page everyone else ALREADY seemed to be on in regards to him and his recent behavior, as that seemed to be the only way to move forward, that he was tired of fighting everybody and feeling like he was in the wrong for it so honestly, maybe they were right?

Because from there.....

Its only a veeeeeery short hop, skip and a jump from “well I guess I DID do what they say and I SHOULD have known it wasn’t Kory”.....to.....”since the only thing I kept clinging to for how I couldn’t know was my insistence that I truly loved Kory, and it turns out that I still SHOULD have known anyway......doesn’t that mean that I didn’t really love Kory the way I thought I did? Or as much as I thought I did?”

“Did I never really love Kory as much as she deserved?”

Cuz uh, remember earlier when I talked about it being significant that Dick never ACTUALLY claimed during this time that he didn’t love Kory anymore or fell out of love with her or anything like that, but rather that his precise claim was “I didn’t love her AS MUCH AS SHE DESERVED”?

Aka.....”enough that I would have known it wasn’t actually Kory that I was with?”

Yeah. Uh, that. That’s the significance there. Yeah. So....

2) Now as to something else to keep in mind in regards to Dick’s eventual ‘self-realizations’ - this calls back to when I said earlier that Dick WAS acting erratically during this time, stemming all the way back to the Titans Hunt aftermath. He was overly aggressive, he was ready to fight anyone at a moment’s notice, he was tunnel-visioned.....in short, he was actually quite a lot how the fanon interpretations of his temper I rage about usually depict him. But the key thing here, and the reason why I wouldn’t have a problem with people drawing references from THIS time when talking about him behaving this way.....

Is that much like when Dick was behaving erratically during the Brother Blood storyline, it was with NARRATIVE INTENT.

There, Dick’s behavior led to the reveal that he was lashing out because he was fighting the Church of Blood’s mental conditioning. Here, Dick’s behavior is directly tied to his downward spiral resulting from the trauma of Titans Hunt and his guilt from that.

In both cases, I’d have zero issue with people referencing specific instances of this behavior....

As long as they ALSO reference and acknowledge the specific narrative context that was directly CONNECTED to that behavior. Its not about whether or not it excuses any specific thing he does, its about the fact that while these behaviors did happen, they shouldn’t be depicted as indicative of his OVERALL characterization, because they were specifically and deliberately written into his actions WITH INTENT by the writers, who were trying to use his DELIBERATELY out of the ordinary behavior to arrive at some narrative point or conclusion.

And here, for Dick, that was the eventual realization that he’d never fully dealt with his feelings about the losses during the Titans Hunt.

I don’t like how he acts in a lot of the issues around this time. Its ugly. But its MEANT to be ugly. I don’t like Dick’s fight with Roy when he tells him about taking over leadership because of the government’s interference. I don’t like it AT ALL.

But what I DO like is how the very next page after the fight, after Donna follows Dick out of the room, Dick turns around and acknowledges how out of control he’d just been and said he felt it proved that everyone was right, things HAD gotten to him more than he’d realized or admitted to himself, and it probably was a sign he needed to take a step back, and besides, Kory needed him more than the team did right now anyway.

THAT’S one of the core things I like about Dick Grayson, that almost without exception, his worst actions or behaviors are almost immediately followed by his realization of this and a tangible action or change in his actions to address it. That’s not something every character can claim - in fact, its unfortunately pretty damn rare.

But here’s the problem with that, in this specific scenario:

Dick WAS spiraling, he DID act out in ways he was right to be called out on and to feel guilt about, and there WAS basis for him acknowledging that there was stuff he needed to address in his life and his head, and to take responsibility for.

Thing is though, nobody else at any point ever stood up to point to where in his willingness to hold himself accountable for his mistakes and try and do better in regards to his friends and teammates and overall relationships....

He additionally took on guilt that WASN’T deserved. Because the other Titans were the ones who in their overall rush to judgment about his behavior and the reasons why.....still erroneously lumped in with the rest, their conclusion as to how the situation with Mirage should be viewed.

And frankly, though this doesn’t make them look good, there’s plenty of places you can go with that which don’t make them heartless monsters either. They were wrong, not to listen to him about Mirage, and I maintain that this tangibly WORSENED his already existing downward spiral from Titans Hunt, because that was already stuff he really could have benefited from support for the others from....and then this other thing happened that he additionally really needed support about, rather than blame.

Problem is, the overall impression given off by the other Titans was that they thought they already WERE doing their best to be supportive, by being so willing to look PAST ‘what Dick had done with Mirage’ and FORGIVE Dick for that, make allowances for why it and other decisions they didn’t agree with, like his rush to marriage, might make sense based on what they were attributing as the reason for his out of character behavior....the fallout from Titans Hunt...but ONLY that.

Like to be clear, I’m aware that there is a flip side of things in fanon, where some stans overcorrect on Dick’s behalf and act like the Titans all universally slut-shamed Dick and were terrible to him. No. That’s not what happened either. There was ONE slut-shaming Titan and ONLY one....and that was Pantha, who to be frank, like.....she was literally written to be the button pusher in regards to everyone. She likely would have said the same thing no matter who was in that situation, because she honestly didn’t care, she was just interested in making the cheap jokes at their expense.

The other Titans though did not adopt a slut-shaming stance against Dick...just a victim-blaming one. Which makes some things better, but some things worse IMO.

Its easier to understand how they could have all fallen into this trap despite all being seasoned heroes who should have known better than to view these specific events the way they did....if you consider that their fatal flaw here was ironically that they were SO quick to try and find a reason that Dick might have done this that they felt they could forgive....that they never actually thought things through long enough to recognize how quick on the draw they’d been in their reactions. And then they failed to listen to Dick’s side of things because they’d kinda convinced themselves that they were ALREADY doing him a favor and hearing him out by having decided to look past what he’d done and make allowances for it....and so they kinda filtered everything he was saying through a lens of like...waiting for him to catch up to what they’d already decided had happened and onto the part where he did the Dick Grayson thing and apologized and accepted responsibility for it....at which point they, as his friends, would be honestly able to say “already forgiven, dude.”

You could additionally factor in the idea that their very respect for his capabilities and high opinion of his overall ‘on the ball-ness’ made what had happened easy to view as something that’d just slipped past his radar, a rare oversight that again, he could be forgiven for, rather than what it was....again, something that he should never have been expected to ‘catch’ in the first place, any more than they would have been.

Either way, the real problem was always just that they failed to support him in the ways he actually needed, because they were already busy forgiving him for things he didn’t actually need forgiveness for because they were never his to accept blame for in the first place. But then BECAUSE Dick was already primed to accept the blame for what he WAS right to accept responsibility for, he overextended and took on everything that was held against him, rather than first differentiating between where a mea culpa both was and WAS NOT due.

No matter how you slice it, the Titans WERE wrong on this front, and Dick absolutely DOES have canon grounds to nurse some bitterness and resentment about, towards them. Again, with a lot of ways that can be approached. Personally, when I think about fics tackling this subject, my big want is always gonna be like.....confrontation fics? Like that’s what I’ve always really wanted to see here....like there’s a lot of obviously valid catharsis to be had in fics that have someone walk Dick through what a more objective view of what happened back then and let him finally unburden himself of all that unearned guilt there...BUT all the focus there is typically on that realization of the truth for DICK, that like....there’s almost never any follow-up where that realization is further pursued and extended to the relevant Titans? And tbh, I’ve always viewed that as the far greater ‘crime’ this story executed in regards to Dick’s character....not an overall obliviousness to his own victimization, period, but the fact that he was basically pushed into ACCEPTING a culpable view of events when actually, he’d always KNOWN on some level that it wasn’t really his fault and he had every reason to feel repulsed and angry and violated.

Like, I do obviously view Dick as someone with a large degree of self-awareness, in no small part due to how often he DOES do these introspective deep dives and reflect on events and actions and behaviors, and even though I understand the viewpoint that things look different when applied to yourself than to others, I do think its perfectly likely that Dick would at some point come to his own realization about what had actually happened with Mirage and why he’d initially felt the way he did about it. Maybe not before the events with Tarantula, but in the aftermath? I think he absolutely would connect certain things then, even if just because of how FAMILIAR everything felt to that earlier time post-Titans Hunt. The Blockbuster arc was like, the most rock bottom Dick had ever been SINCE that point, and various similarities could have definitely been pinging all over for him....the losses he suffered reminding him of his guilt for the fallen Titans, the end of Dick and Babs’ relationship, while based on more reasons than just Tarantula kissing Dick, like, still including that as a reason and so thus bearing an uncomfortable similarity to the last time he was held accountable for his rapist and now eventual rapist’s actions, etc.

And I do think that Dick having some realizations of his own post-Blockbuster could explain a LOT about his later interactions with the Titans, who I honestly don’t think he was ever quite as close to again?

Which makes a ton of sense if you view the 1999 series, and how difficult it was for them to get Dick to join up, and how he was plenty ready to leave at any point...like, that makes a TON of sense if you consider that Dick might have at this point been quietly nursing hurt of his own that everyone was so eager and willing to let bygones be bygones and ‘forgive’ his mistakes of the past, that nobody still had ever realized what he’d had to realize all on his own....that THEY all had a perception of events and like, their friendships, that included forgiving Dick for a betrayal that Dick NEVER ACTUALLY ENACTED. Where its like, thanks, but I didn’t actually need that, what I needed was someone to listen to me. But at the same time its totally understandable why he wouldn’t ever want to bring that up himself....because he’d already TRIED expressing himself on this matter years before, and been shot down, and its totally reasonable that he worried history would just repeat there rather than bring him the closure he WANTED on that front. But again....the distance he keeps a lot of the Titans at after his return to the team pairs pretty damn well with him being both quietly resentful of forgiveness he never needed and wondering when it was everyone else’s turn to accept the accountability for wrongs done that everyone was always so quick to demand from him....as well as why the last thing in the world he’d want to do is bring this all up again himself.

Similarly, this is why I think he always expressed to Kory, ever since her return to Earth, that he wasn’t in love with her anymore.....I don’t think its necessarily true that his feelings ever fully went away, and I also don’t think he’d bear the same resentments towards her that he did the others, even though Kory too ‘forgave’ him for something he never needed absolution for. Because I think at the same time, he’s more aware than most of Kory’s own history, and he has too much empathy for what all that likely stirred up for her at the time as well as his awareness that she really did love him and always had and that she’d mourned their relationship just as much as he had.

So I truly don’t think Dick blames her, in ways that can’t be said of the others, and I don’t think it was truly that he didn’t love her anymore, or that there was no longer anything there....I think he always just said that in order to protect himself, because he was still hurting from everything that had happened back then and how everyone had always painted it as his fault ever since, and his own traumas had only compounded those very specific feelings with later events like Tarantula and her impact on his life, and its just like......I think if it ever came out via someone else re-raising the issue, Dick would be like okay, yes, absolutely let’s finally talk about this....but I totally understand why Dick would never want to re-raise it himself because....he definitely did TRY to express his violation way back when. Why should he be the one to have to essentially.....retry his own case with his friends in order to finally get the verdict he should have had all along, y’know?

Its one thing to get that its probably never going to happen without initiating it himself, but its another thing for that to get you past the hump of just not wanting to relive some of your worst moments when your best friends not believing in you or being so willing to believe something about you in some ways did just as much damage to you as the actual initial violation.

But again, all that said, I would absolutely like, rob the Louvre (Okay I’d also rob the Louvre just for money but like. You get it) for stories where one of the Titans has an ‘oh shit’ realization about everything with Mirage years later. And they tentatively try and bring it up with Dick in the hopes of ‘fixing things’ by correcting the damage they’d done when making him feel it was his to accept blame on.....and for Dick to just be like. “Yeah, uh, I was there. I figured all that out a long time ago, I just didn’t see the point in trying to convince everybody twice.” And them like....being like oh crap we have to figure out a way to make things right, like all this time we’ve thought things were kinda broken between us because of what Dick did but actually it was the other way around and about Dick’s feelings about what WE did.

Okay now like....don’t laugh but I’m literally still not done, because I had this whole other thing about how now we needed to finally talk about the Zitka in the room, which is that IMO its always been kinda backwards to view Tarantula as the focal point of Dick’s traumas here and what happened with Mirage as some kind of footnote kinda....personally I think it should be the other way around. That its Mirage that weighs on Dick the most because what she did was premeditated where with Catalina it was a crime of opportunity. With Miriam though, it was always going to happen no matter what, because it only happened because she MADE it happen. She like....stalked Dick pretty much from the time of her arrival in this timeline (or at least how that initially was viewed - the timeline thing, not the stalking thing. Forget it. Weird story is weird. Doesn’t matter). But like....Mirage went after Dick with intent. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she was willing to do whatever to make it happen, up to and including kidnapping Dick’s actual girlfriend and taking her place.

With Tarantula, like, she was more than quick to seize on the first opportunity to make it happen, but like...that’s still a different thing IMO from like...KNOWING that someone literally plotted out and premeditated one of the most disruptive traumas of your life without any care for what it would DO to your life, and you later carrying all the blame for that in everyone else’s eyes without anyone ever acknowledging what it did to YOU....even though MULTIPLE people know and its even affected your overall reputation. With Tarantula....I think that trauma absolutely compounded everything else that happened with Blockbuster but it was hardly limited to just that, but again with Mirage....that one specific act pretty much derailed the entire course of Dick’s life at the time. Because again....while you could absolutely claim that there are other issues Dick and Kory might have broken up because of later, even without Mirage’s actions, like....you have to MAKE the case for those reasons. You can’t just attribute their breakup to rushing into marriage, when again....Mirage was the literal catalyst for Dick proposing when he did.

Which again, to bring it all back to the start.....that’s why it will forever make me channel Gar Logan and turn into a green-hued screeching howler monkey every time people are like I absolutely agree that its not okay to blame Dick for his own rape at Mirage’s hands....but then turn around and be like okay, but Dick and Kory did break up because Dick rushed them into marriage before they were ready.

Cuz.

Like.

THEY’RE THE EXACT SAME THING!

The one is just the other but described from a different vantage point.

faslkfhaklfhaklfhkalfha

I get if people didn’t know that before now, but please please please can we like....push back against the misinformation on this particular topic because omggggg is it unpleasant to repeatedly hear people contradict themselves in the same paragraphs half the time because they literally don’t know that they’re talking about the same events in both cases.

Believe it or not, I actually had a lot more about Mirage and about other ways things could have gone differently for Dick and Kory if he’d had even just a little more support from someone else at the time, whether from Bruce or even just one of the Titans, like all it would have taken was just ONE person to try and view things from Dick’s perspective and be like okay everyone hold up, some bad fucking conclusions have been arrived at here.

BUT I am tired and this is long and literally just...whatever. I’ll do that some other time. LOL. And I bounce.

#first person to try and tell me the wordcount of this is getting blocked I swear to fucking god

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forever-rogue · 3 years

Note

hey, you're incredible and amazing and I hope you're taking care of yourself 🥺💖 if you are still taking request, can you write something for Frankie o Marcus Pike? from promt list 1, number 1 "a wedding?" and number 65 "hold my hand dammit, we gotta make this look convincing!"

love you 💖

I went with Frankie and I hope you enjoy 💕🥺

Frankie x Fem!Reader ; warnings: slight language

Frankie Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

You almost bowled Frankie over as you threw open the door and welcomed yourself into his house. You had knocked and at the loud pounding he had almost dropped what he was doing in order to come and answer. Instead of waiting, you'd used your spare key to his house and let yourself in.

"Oh, hello there," he said as he closed the door behind you with an amused grin on his face. As soon as he saw the distressed look on your face, his own faltered, "what's wrong, Bee?"

"Everything, Francisco!" you groaned as you opened the fridge to grab out a beer. You made quick work of opening it and taking a large swig before sitting down at the counter, "I have once again single handedly fucked myself over!"

"You want to elaborate a little more on that?" he asked as he helped himself to a drink and joined you. He'd been busy preparing everything for your weekly movie night, hadn't been expecting you for a little while - not that he ever minded you being around. Sighing heavily, you rested your head on his shoulder, "what could possibly be so bad?"

"You remember my ex - Brad?" Frankie immediately groaned - for reasons both the same and different to yours. You nodded in acknowledgment.

"Ew, Brad."

"Yup," you laid your head on the table before letting out a long sigh, "well Brad is getting married. And guess who is invited? Me - and my boyfriend."

"You don't...have a boyfriend," he reminded you as you just threw up your hands in exasperation, “so…”

“I know, I know, I know,” you groaned as you took another drink, “it just came out - here he is all fancy and getting married and I’m just...not. I didn’t want to look like a total idiot and be all oh yes, of course I’m still single but would love to come to your wedding alone. So...apparently I have a boyfriend. I need to find a fake boyfriend or find a damn good excuse for why my boyfriend couldn’t make it at the last minute.”

“Shit,” Frankie couldn’t help but laugh at your little dilemma as you groaned at yourself. You just couldn’t keep your big mouth shut it appeared. When had it ever done you any good? Never. You should have learned by now. A few beats of silence fell over the two of you before he suddenly made a small sound, “I’ll do it.”

“Do what?” you raised your eyebrows as your heart started to beat wildly in your chest. Sure, you might have been in love with your best friend and have been for some time, but you’d never ask him to do such a thing. You’d purposely pushed that thought to the back of your mind as quickly as it had bubbled up. It would make things infinitely more complicated - and what if something happened and you slipped up and confessed your love for him? That was a situation you’d rather avoid all together if possible.

“Come with you,” he grinned, clearly proud of his brilliant idea. He wondered if you could hear the loud pounding of his own heart; as soon as you’d mentioned the idea of a fake boyfriend he’d grown excited. Was this his opportunity to finally come clean and tell all the ways in which he loved you? Maybe, maybe not. But if he didn’t try, he’d never know, “I’ll be your boyfriend - fake boyfriend.”

“Oh Frankie,” you couldn’t help but smile at the sweet look on his face. Gods, how could anyone not fall in love with him? But reason quickly took over you and you weakly shook your head, “no, it’s okay. I couldn’t ask you to do something like that.”

“I want to,” he insisted with a soft ruffle to your hair before he could stop himself, “come on - what are best friends for, Bee? Besides its just a wedding...”

“I don’t know...I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want to..”

“I want to,” he promised softly, “come on, it’ll be fine - you might even have fun! Besides - I want to see you break out some more of those amazing dance moves!”

“Frankie…”

“What could go wrong, Honey Bee? It’s the perfect solution!

I could fall harder in love with you. I could confess my love to you. I could make a huge fool out of myself. I might never get over you.

“Okay,” you agreed before you could stop yourself. The excited look on his face was enough to make you melt as he just grinned from ear to ear, “let’s do it.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Wow,” Frankie’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw you, his megawatt grin enough to make you melt. He held his hand out to you, ever the gentleman, which you took as he pulled you in for a hug. You’d agreed to meet at the venue, and go from there; it probably would have looked more convincing if you’d arrived together, but you weren’t sure if you could handle anything more than what was needed. As soon as you spotted him, your heart started doing flips in your stomach, “you look absolutely beautiful.”

“What about you, handsome?” you ran a hand through his dark locks, unsure if you were doing it out of your own volition or you were playing the part of doting girlfriend, “you clean up pretty well yourself.”

“Thanks,” he whispered softly as a tinge of pink flushed up into his cheeks. He politely greeted a few passersby. You repeated the action, remembering a few faces from when you had dated Brad a few years earlier, “hold my hand Bee - we have to make this look convincing!”

Something came over you and you were quite sure what possessed you, but you took his hand in yours, lacing your fingers together, before leaning over and offering him a kiss. He hesitated for a mere fraction of a second, unsure of how to respond, but then offered a simple, saccharine little kiss.

And it was electric - sending shivers down your spine as your whole body warmed up. People always spoke about seeing those proverbial sparks when they kissed the one. And this...this had to be it.

Opening your eyes, you found Frankie looking back at you in awe and momentarily wondered if he had felt the same thing. A gentle expression softened his features as he looked at you in wonder. Maybe...maybe you’d both felt it...but no. Surely not. You wouldn’t flatter yourself with the idea that Francisco Morales fancied you like you did him.

“Gotta act the part, right?” you teased nervously as you started pulling himself in the venue, “come on, boyfriend!”

»»————-　♡　————-««

The rest of the ceremony was spent in comfortable silence as the two of you sat close to each other, but still leaving a small distance between your bodies. It was almost like the two of you could feel that something had shifted, even with the smallest of kisses. You were hyper-aware of his closeness to you the entire time, feeling his body heat radiate onto you, your entire being humming with excited, yet nervous energy. Little did you know that Frankie was feeling the exact same thing, all the while trying to figure out how to finally (finally!) tell you about his true feelings.

His hand was resting on the wood of the aging bench, next to yours, but not touching. Both of you consciously, or subconsciously, kept inching your hands closer and closer until eventually they were touching. Frankie seemed to overcome his nerves and put his hand on top of yours before gently squeezing it as a sign of ressaurance, before lacing your fingers together. The smell gesture was enough to kickstart your heart and you were unable, or unwilling, to keep the smile off of your face.

What was suddenly happening?

»»————-　♡　————-««

After the ceremony, a beautiful affair - even you had to admit - the two of you went to the reception, still buzzing happily, but unable to quite form the right words. Whatever was happening, it was coming fast, and honestly...it had been a long time coming for the both of you. Neither of you tried to fight it anymore, deciding to let whatever happened, happen.

“Listen, Bee,” after you’d gotten to the reception and the bride and groom had cut the cake and had their first dance, Frankie finally gathered up the courage to speak. He reached for your hand and held it tightly, “there’s something I need to tell you -"

“Hey! You made it!” Brad wore a beaming grin he came over and still managed to steal Frankie's thunder; he tried not to let his expression falter too much, "you look great!"

"Wouldn't miss it," you said - only a small lie - before reaching down and grabbing Frankie's hand. Despite your initial hesitations, you were glad you came, and honestly happy for him, "and two make a lovely couple. I'm so happy for you both - really. You deserve it."

"As do the two of you," he grinned, grabbing Frankie's shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "the two of you! Can't say I'm surprised though...always thought the two of you had a little something going on. How long has it been official?"

"Oh umm…" you gave Frankie a look of surprise as you tried to think on your feet. He looked just as thrown off as you did, "a-a couple of years. We've been together for a...bit."

"Time to make an honest woman out of her, Morales!" Frankie's expression paled as your eyes widened in surprise. But he was quick on his feet and chuckled lightly, "I'm happy for you guys too. Who would have thought? I guess most of us did...anyway! Thank you both for coming and have fun - open bar!"

"Thanks," you both managed to weakly say as the groom bounced away to greet other guests. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you turned to Frankie and offered him a meager smile.

"Yeah...so I guess the whole fake boyfriend thing worked!" you cheered lightly, trying to keep the situation from turning any more awkward than it was, "we could...probably just leave honestly. Maybe grab a pizza and drinks and watch a movie?"

"Do you want to dance?" he completely changed course with his question, his voice nervous and almost cracking in anticipation. You paused for a moment before deciding that yes...you really, really wanted to slow dance with Frankie.

"I'd love you to," you whispered gently as he took your hand and led you to the lightly illuminated dance floor.

And it was so easy - so effortless. His arms wrapped around you and yours around him as you melted into his body. He was so soft and warm and smelled heavenly; why hadn't you ever done this before? It felt so...right. As you swayed to the music, everything seemed frozen in time and nothing mattered but this moment - him. This was where you were supposed to be the entire time. Home was in his arms, home was Frankie.

After what seemed like a small eternity, you pulled back and looked at him, his eyes searching yours as well. He stopped and his hands found your face as he gently traced over your features, a smile gracing his own. You put your hands on his wrists, trying to control your breathing as you stared at each other, lost in your little world.

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you leaned up and kissed him. And this time it wasn't some quick or rushed brush of lips - no this was slow and meaningful, every feeling and emotion poured it. It just felt so perfect, so right, like the two of you had been doing this for ages and ages, not the first time. You wished it would never end, that you could spend an eternity wrapped up in his arms.

"I am so in love with you," he whispered against your lips when you finally pulled apart for a breath of air, "and I've been trying to figure out how to tell you for years."

"I...I love you, Frankie," you grinned at him, "its always been you...I just never knew how to say it. I was scared...nervous."

"Sweet Honey Bee," he stole another kiss, this one sweet and saccharine, "how could it be anyone but you?"

"Frankie…" his name was a soft, reverent whisper as you melted into his touch, "I don't even know what to say…"

"I'm hoping you'll say yes to getting out of here and getting a pizza and some beers and relaxing back at mine? Just like usual," he suggested as you nodded eagerly, "there's one more thing."

"Anything."

"I want to kiss you," he grinned, "like a lot more. I feel like an idiot for not doing that sooner.

"That's a guarantee, love," you promised him, "kisses and a lot more than that."

"God, you're amazing," he grinned as you started to pull him away and to the exit, "I wish I would have told you years ago."

"We were both fools," you admitted, "but think of all the time we have to make up for! And besides - you're always worth waiting for, Francisco!"

He was awestruck as he just stared at you before running after you and scooping you up in his arms and carrying you bridal style. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you grinned at him like a lovestruck fool - which, you supposed, you were.

"I love you, Honey Bee."

"I love you, Francisco."

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#Frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x fem!reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #forever-rogue's follower celebration #triple frontier #will my Frankie ever not call his love honey bee? no 😌

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headaching · 3 years

Note

🎨

🎨 - show us a w.i.p of yours!

:-) this is from a college roommate au where zuko and sokka are sitting on the floor of their dorm after a night of drinking.

How the topic of their taste in men came up, Sokka couldn’t remember. Suddenly it seemed, Zuko was casually asking, “What kind of guys are you into?” Sokka stopped chewing mid-bite and set the upper half of the dinosaur-shaped nugget on the plate. He swallowed and avoided Zuko’s unbridled gaze.

“Um…” Sokka hummed as he crossed his legs and propped his elbows on them.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Zuko mumbled, then took a swig from the flask. He offered it to Sokka, who gratefully accepted.

“It’s okay,” Sokka replied before taking a long drink. He grimaced at the sensation of warm, shitty vodka burning its way along his esophagus. The immediate warmth flooded first Sokka’s stomach, then his cheeks, which only grew rosier as he considered a response. A stolen glance at Zuko revealed his knees had fallen to the floor, his hands braced beside him on the carpet.

“I don’t know,” Sokka admitted with a shrug, his eyes glued to the floor. “I’ve never dated a man before.” Sokka decided on another quick swig for his bravery, and passed it to Zuko, whose eyes hadn’t left Sokka’s face.

“Really?” he asked, sounding astonished.

Sokka nodded sheepishly and hiccuped. “Does that surprise you?” he asked softly, and Zuko tilted his head in thought.

“Kind of. You’re always talking about guys you think are hot,” Zuko observed, and Sokka’s blush crept to his ears.

“Take another drink,” Sokka instructed, afraid to be the drunkest one in the room. Zuko obliged, but his eyes didn’t leave Sokka even as the flask touched his lips. “Yeah, I think a lot of guys are hot,” Sokka continued, the scrutiny of Zuko’s stare a microscope, “but that doesn’t mean I want to date them.”

“Fair enough,” Zuko agreed, the words slurred. Zuko’s eyes narrowed in front of him, focused on nothing in particular as he tipped the flask back once more. When he was finished, Zuko shook the flask, the empty space accentuated. He held it out to Sokka and offered, “Want the last drink?”

Sokka grimaced. “I guess so,” he replied.

He almost spit out the vodka when Zuko nonchalantly implored, “So does that mean you’ve never kissed a guy?”

The alcohol effectively incinerated Sokka’s throat, so his confession was raspy, “No, I haven’t.”

“Do you want to?” Though Zuko’s words ran together, they were confident. The combination of Zuko and the alcohol had the room reeling, or maybe it was just Sokka. He could barely feel his legs as they pulled into his chest, or his hands grazing his shins.

“I do,” Sokka affirmed. His heart hammered like the beat of a drum and Zuko was holding the sticks. “I never really had the opportunity, and…” Words and complex thought alluded him, each blink slowed with drunken stupor. “What if I’m not good at it?”

The question suspended in the air. Zuko shifted so his entire body was directed at Sokka with his knees crossed. “Bet you are,” Zuko argued knowingly, his eyebrow raised. Sokka huffed a short laugh of disbelief.

“Yeah? You think so?” Sure, Sokka had conversed with Zuko on more than one occasion in a way that could be interpreted as flirting, but it was always for the purpose of lighthearted teasing. Sokka clung to the safety of claiming satire, but Zuko never seriously complained. Now, initiated by Zuko, it felt more substantial, somehow.

Zuko nodded, his assurance a simple, “Yup.”

“And why’s that?” Sokka prodded, and relaxed his position to mirror Zuko’s, unafraid now to focus his attention on him.

Sokka was bewildered for a moment when Zuko’s thumb drug across Sokka's lower lip. “That stupid mouth,” Zuko laughed, and Sokka’s jaw fell in mock betrayal. “It’s gotta be good for something.”

Sokka moved the plate to his other side so he could kick Zuko’s leg and slap his hand away at the same time. “Asshole,” he muttered, but Zuko’s giggle was relentless. He slumped over and rested his forehead against his arms as his shoulders shook with laughter. “Ya done?” Sokka asked sarcastically.

When Zuko craned his neck upward, he was no longer laughing, but a dreamy grin encapsulated his face. In one fast motion, Zuko’s fingers smoothed across Sokka’s exposed bicep and caressed the muscles lightly. “What if…” Zuko slurred as his fingers worked their way to Sokka’s chin. “What if I’m the first guy you kiss, for practice?”

Sokka let out a tortured breath as his hand closed around Zuko’s wrist, but he didn’t remove Zuko’s fingers. “Zuko,” Sokka breathed, his voice gentle, “you’re really drunk.” It sounded hypocritical out of his mouth, warped and garbled.

“So’re you,” Zuko countered defiantly. He even glared in the cutest way possible, and Sokka was sure his bones liquified. His thoughts jumbled all around his head, and logic was indiscernible amongst the whirlwind of excitement. Zuko bit his lip as his hand fell to Sokka’s shoulder. “Do you want to?” he asked hesitantly, and Sokka hadn’t the willpower to lie.

“Yes,” he replied instantly, and Zuko’s eyes fluttered closed.

Sokka resigned to his erratic breathing and focused on his fingers, testing a featherlight touch against either side of Zuko’s jaw. He unfolded his legs to rest his weight on his knees, and with him he brought Zuko’s head tilted upward. Sokka’s eyes closed and he leaned forward until their lips made contact.

#thank you so much for sending this!#i hope yall like it <3 #the concept is that sokka is an engineering major/dance minor and zuko is an architecture major because ozai is an architect ceo and wants #zuko to work for him but zuko doesnt like architecture and really likes fashion design #sokka and zuko are best friends/roommates but maybe definitely more and sokka has a plan to get zuko out of his head using the dance studio #anyway none of that is relevant to this excerpt really but im excited for the fic :^)#wip #my work #asks #mutuals #also i love your blog and your art 💖

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cherryblossomstars · 4 years

Text

III. Midnight (W. Ushijima)

Taken from my AO3 series of one-shots & reposted here

Pairing: Ushijima x F!Reader

Word count: 2,051

Genre: fluff/slight crack bc seijoh

Summary: Aoba Johsai's volleyball team has never been able to defeat the Great Ushiwaka of Shiratorizawa. Their manager, however? She can bring him to his knees in mere seconds.

Or, Ushijima Wakatoshi is helplessly in love with Seijoh's Ace's twin sister, and the Aoba Johsai VBC is not appreciative of it.

Previous | Next

"Go fish." Oikawa says with a straight face.

Matsukawa huffs and picks up a white card from the middle of the table, "just when I had Uno."

"Suck it up." Hanamaki smirks, "Eevee uses quick draw. Draw a card, Iwaizumi."

"No, because you activated my trap card." Hajime flips over a card that was on the table.

"That doesn't count!" Oikawa yells.

"Yes it does." Matsukawa defends.

"No, it doesn't." Hanamaki cuts in, trying to avoid losing.

"What does the card czar say?" Oikawa turns to look at you.

You hold cards from Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Uno, Cards Against Humanity and a regular deck of playing cards. You're not sure what you're playing right now, but the upcoming third years seem to have played this before, seeing as they don't have a lick of confusion written on their faces. Next to the large deck in the middle of the table sits a cup of dice. "Er... Makki and Hajime roll a, um, D6 for initiative. Highest number goes first, so, um, their card will be the affective one."

The group around you nods. Makki rolls a 3, then Hajime follows up with a 6. Makki groans in defeat.

You nearly sigh in relief, you weren't sure if what you said was even close to what you were supposed to do.

The summer break of your second year in highschool, all the second years had decided to go together on a volleyball summer camp in Tokyo. Naturally, they convinced you to tag along as well. The camp was split between age groups, middle school and highschool were grouped together and being taught by adults, while elementary was being taught by adults as well as teenagers. The camp had no need of volleyball managers, so you had submitted an application to be part of the staff supervising and teaching the elementary kids.

Because of your decision to be part of staff, you were required to go to the camp at least a week early to get the basics of both teaching and safety for the camp. There, you found out that because the amount of people coming to this summer's volleyball camp was much more than they normally had, middle school and highschool would be separated this year and they needed extra hands for the middle school division. You had volunteered, meaning you would be supervising both middle school and elementary.

Later, you found out they were getting an extra influx of campers because they had decided to make the camp co-ed. You grumbled about it when you found out the camp was co-ed. You must not have seen the option when you signed up online, likely because Oikawa had been pestering you to bump a ball around with him while you applied. Stupid Oikawa.

It was only the third day of camp (and your tenth day of being there), but you were already so very tired and excited to leave. The camp itself would last three full weeks. Afterwards, you would be forced to stay behind an extra few hours to help clean the school that had allowed the camp to use their campus. Luckily, you managed to rope your fellow second years into staying behind with you to help clean up as well. Matsukawa owed you one for spraining your wrist the month before (even though it was an accident, you still successfully guilt tripped him), Matsukawa had asked Hanamaki to stay behind as well, Hajime had given you a shrug and simply stated "wherever you go, I go", and Oikawa had given into peer pressure.

You rarely got breaks during the day and practically only saw your classmates at night after the elementary and middle school's curfew. Highschool did not have an assigned curfew, which is why you were sat on the floor in front of a coffee table in the common room of some other school's dormitory with your classmates playing an abomination of a card game while three of your underclassmen (which surprisingly included Kyotani) sat on the couches around you.

It was already surprising to see Oikawa up late since he was so strict with himself when it came to his schedule (with the exception of studying other teams' past games before tournaments), but what was really shocking to you was seeing your boyfriend and his best friend come down the stairs at 12am.

It seems your classmates already knew he was here, judging by the lack of shock from everyone around you. The saltiness that immediately began to radiate from your friends and fill the atmosphere, however, was practically tangible.

"Wakatoshi! What are you doing here?" You jumped from your position on the floor to walk alongside him and Tendou, heading for the kitchen.

"Tendou wanted a snack." He shrugs.

"A little birdie told me that the kitchens stock midnight snacks after the middle and lower school's curfew!" Tendou practically bounced into the kitchen, opening up all of the cabinets and digging through the pantry to find a snack suitable to his taste.

Your boyfriend and you stood next to the kitchen island, waiting for him. "No, Toshi, I meant here. At camp. I didn't know you were coming."

"I tried to call you to tell you, but you never answered so I left a text."

"You did?" You tilted your head.

"He did!" Tendou chirped, his head poking around in the fridge, "he was even complaining about how you weren't answering. He got all worried cause his precious little girlfriend wasn't answering her phone~"

"When?" You asked.

He is quiet in thought for a moment. "Last week."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to tell you I was coming here. The club kinda convinced me to come with them last minute, right before the application deadline." You explained.

"It's pretty cool you're here with us, though." Tendou began to empty out the freezer, looking for something. "Oh! You know what, Iwa-chan?"

You hum, "what?"

"I don't think you've met little Kenjiro yet, right?" Tendou asks, tossing a bag of frozen vegetables onto the countertop.

"Kenjiro...?" You think for a moment.

Ushijima slips an arm around your waist. "His last name is Shirabu."

"Hmm... Nope. Never met him." You confirm.

"He's our brand new up and coming setter. He'll be a second year when the school year starts, but he's already pretty good, right Wakatoshi?"

The man next to you nods, "he's very competent. He's here at the camp, too."

Tendou grumbles, "there's no ice cream sandwiches." He turns to you, "Iwa-chan! How come the guys upstairs had ice cream sandwiches? I can't find them anywhere!"

You let out a light laugh, "that's what you were looking for, Satori?" You remove yourself from your boyfriend's side and begin to head towards a freezer with a lock on it.

Tendou nods eagerly, "yep. Why's that got a lock on it?"

You fish out your lanyard from your pajama's pocket and attempt to find the right key out of all the keys you were given. "Because there are certain snacks only meant for the staff. The camp wants you guys eating as healthy as possible while you're here, even when it comes to snacks. It's why there's pretty much only protein bars in the pantry and fruits in the fridge."

"You have a key?" Ushijima asks from behind you.

You finally find the right key and pop open the fridge, "chocolate?" You ask. When you hear Tendou confirm it, you toss an ice cream sandwich his way. "Want a popsicle, Toshi?" You close and lock the freezer when he shakes his head no. "Yeah, I've got a key. I'm part of the staff. I gave my Seijoh boys some ice cream and popsicles earlier too. Oh, but make sure no one knows I gave you guys these."

"Oh, you're part of staff, huh." Tendou nods in understanding.

"That must be why I haven't seen you around the campus." Ushijima adds.

"Yup. I'm part of the middle school and elementary staff, so I don't see highschool a lot except for after curfew. And since I'm so busy with them, I pretty much never check my phone. Sorry about that, honey." You take your spot next to Ushijima's side once again and get onto your tippy toes press a kiss to his cheek.

Tendou almost visibly cringes, "I'm gonna go upstairs before I get any more uncomfortable. See you in our room, Wakatoshi-kun!" And with that, he leaves the kitchen happily munching on his ice cream, leaving you and your boyfriend alone.

Almost immediately, Ushijima's arms snake around your waist and he rests his forehead against yours. "You worried me."

"I'm sorry." You press another kiss onto his cheek and wrap your arms loosely around his neck.

He hums, "what are you doing after camp ends? My family wants to see you again."

"Sorry, my love. After camp I'm going to Sapporo with Oikawa."

He freezes, "just Oikawa?"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have phrased it like that." You bite back the urge to laugh at his reaction, "I'm going to Sapporo with my family and Oikawa's family. We go every Summer, it's tradition. My uncle and my aunt live up in Sapporo, so we usually stay until the last week of vacation. Nowadays, though, the adults and Takeru usually leave early for work, so me, Hajime, and Oikawa get left alone, anyway."

"I see. That sounds fun."

"Yeah. It is. I look forward to it every year. I'm sorry I won't get to visit your family, though."

"They will understand. It's nothing to worry about."

"Can I postpone the visit until the last week of summer? We can all go to the festival together." You hop onto sit on the island's countertop and pull Ushijima to stand between your legs.

He tucks his head into the crook of your neck, his hair lightly scratching you. "Yes, that sounds like fun. My cousins missed you."

"Pfft. Which ones? You have so, so, so many." And he did. His extended family may as well have extended to the entire country of Japan. When you had gone to visit his family during the holidays, there were so many people at his house it was hard to move around. And even then, he had told you that that was only a few of his relatives.

"Hayato missed you very much." He huffed.

Despite trying not to laugh out loud, your body betrayed you when you began to shake from your attempts at stopping yourself. Hayato, who was four when you last saw him, had claimed that he would steal you away from Ushijima and be the one to marry you. Immediately following that, another one of Ushijima's younger cousins had said she had already claimed you to be her playmate for life, so you would be unable to marry either little Hayato or Ushijima. "Your family is certainly a fun one."

"I'm glad you get along with them, but I won't be able to have you to myself at any point during the Summer."

"My first day back. I'll be all yours. I promise."

"You promise?"

"All yours, my darling love." You lean your head against his.

This feeling, being wrapped in the arms of the love of your life in the middle of the night, was pure bliss. The only accompanying noises were the muffled shouts of your best friends from the other room, and the thrumming of the kitchen appliances around you. And still, despite the incredibly unromantic environment, you couldn't help but feel yourself fall for the man in your arms even more. Yes, perhaps you were too young to be in love. Sure, highschool relationships won't always last. But this feeling was one you wanted to savor, and you were not planning on letting him go any time soon.

This is not a fairytale life. Ushijima certainly had the grace and looks of a Prince Charming, but, unlike in the storybooks, whether or not the clock strikes twelve would not matter. You would not run away and you would not be leaving a shoe at the steps. Instead, you would continue to rest in the arms of the man you love. And sure, there would be no huge, elaborate castle or jewels tossed your way, but this was more than enough.

Fin.

#Ushijima x Reader #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima wakatoshi #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #shiratorizawa x reader #aoba johsai x reader

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spooks-and-tea · 4 years

Text

Entangled (Spencer Reid x femReader) [Ch.11] The Final Chapter.

Summary: You don’t know how it happened. One moment you were watching Criminal Minds, and the next moment you were literally in the show. Can Spencer be the key to helping you find your way back home?

Warnings: minor character death, mentions of su*cide, bad explanations of quantum mechanics, bad words, sexual situations (some non-con), the usual criminal minds-type content

A/N: Some big bad interrogation Spencer vibes. Thanks for reading. This chapter was short, so I just decided 2 chapter posts in one day. Let me know what you thought of the story~Pleeeeease no one repost on other sites without my permission.

Word Count: 2,015

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10. Chapter 11.

************************************************************************After Spencer had disappeared, JJ was surprised, to say the least.

She held the unsub by the cuffs as he angrily spoke about Spencer's big genius brain solving an equation in 2 minutes which had taken himself a lifetime of work to figure out. She asked him where the machine had taken Spencer and he replied with all of this talk about quantum mechanics, particle waves, split dimensions, and voids. Stuff that Spencer had been info-dumping about for months, regarding the case.

All JJ cared to know about was if Spencer was safe, and to that the unsub just shrugged.

The first thing the team did when you all returned to the BAU was throw the unsub into an interrogation room.

Spencer was quick to volunteer as the only interrogator in the room, he argued this unsub would react the strongest to him.

The rest of the team were still flustered from all of this inter-dimensional information that Spencer had gone on about on the ride back. You had backed him up wholeheartedly and you were seemingly in great health after being gone for 5 months.

"Alright Reid, you seem to be the only one of us that has a good idea of what's going on. We'll watch from here, and if he gets too aggressive, we'll send someone else in," Hotch agreed.

You watched from the double sided mirror, the unsub was looking at it as if he could see you. You clenched your fists. He was the reason you'd nearly lost Spencer. He was the reason that Spencer looked sick from overworking and you had nightmares for 5 months straight.

"Hey, will you be okay in here?" Spencer lowered his voice to ask you. You had refused to stop holding his hand since you got here. He noticed your fist clenching tighter.

"I don't want him to take you away from me again," you replied.

"He's in handcuffs, and his machine is being collected for evidence. He isn't a wizard, he needs that machine like Nikola Tesla needs an inductor. He can't hurt us anymore," Spencer tried to comfort you, using the soft tone he knew you loved.

"Just don't take too long in there, and give him hell for me, alright?" You stood on your toes and kissed him.

He gave you a small smile and nodded.

You slowly slid your hand from his as he turned to walk out.

When he entered the interrogation room, he was no longer soft-Spencer.

The unsub didn't even turn to look at him, he was fixated on the double mirror. His eyes unnerved you.

You crossed your hands over your chest and leaned against the wall, deciding to keep your eyes steadily on Spencer.

"We know who you are." Spencer spoke. You smiled, recognizing that Spencer was turning the unsub's words to you against him.

Was Spencer purposefully trying to make you happy while he was in the middle of an interrogation?

"I know who you are as well, Dr. Reid," his gritty voice made your skin crawl.

"Good, then you should know that I understand the significance of the science experiments you've been conducting, Dr. Arnold Lynch. You've been labeled as a dangerous person to the entire world; a mad scientist." Spencer sat in a chair, his arms crossed.

"Now they listen." Lynch, rolled his eyes, finally looking at Spencer. His unimpressed gaze trailed up and down, sizing him up.

"I was like you once. Young, an impressive mind; maybe if I had found her sooner she would have loved me." Lynch added. He looked back to the mirror, you tasted bile at the back of your throat.

Spencer leaned forward in his chair, putting his elbows on the table.

"You're trying to change the subject." Spencer pointed out. "Tell me how all of this started. Tell me where your partner, Dr. Deborah Tryst, is hiding and how she helped you."

Lynch's eyes widened. "We were colleagues. She helped me build the machine, and I wrote the equations that made it work. We went in together, the first time."

"She tested the machine with you?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, we experimented. We tried to study the void space for years. Then, one day, a crack formed. Through that crack I saw her." The unsub looked towards you, seemingly locking eyes with you through the one-way glass.

"Y/N?" Spencer clarified.

"Correct. She was spectacular, the girl from a parallel dimension. We didn't know why the crack revealed her at first, but then we saw the string. It was barely noticeable, like a fishing line. It led from her dimensional crack to ours. All it took was a tug on that wire to know who the other end of that line connected to."

He was watching me? What a sick creep!

"Who?"

"Don't play stupid with me Doctor, I know you feel it."

Spencer swallowed, his eyes flicking to you for a moment.

"I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance. My colleague thought differently. Now that the cracks were open, she observed you both, she knew you both would feel-" he sighed, "-incomplete until you were in the same space. She decided to play matchmaker and ruin everything. I loved Y/N first. Y/N was mine and she was a beacon, a magnificent anomaly! I took her back so she could be my pet; so she would never be yours!" He angrily spat, slamming his fists onto the table. Spencer stood, seething. You felt similarly.

"You had no right!" Spencer's voice was deep and angry. You'd never heard him so angry, other than in the show.

"No, Tryst had no right bringing her to you in the first place!"

"Y/N wants to be here. This is her decision. If you're so convinced you love her, you would want what is best for her."

"What's best for her Dr. Reid, or what's best for you? Is she any better off fighting criminals for the BAU? A job she isn't trained for." He cruelly laughed. "Is putting her in danger just so you can fuck her every once in a while off-duty not selfish? You think I'm the selfish one, look at yourself. You're just expecting her to be the lawful Bonnie to your Clyde, how long until you drive her into a hail of bullets?" Lynch smirked.

Spencer's eyes widened and he gripped the table.

No Spence, don't let him get to you.

"That's it, I'm going in there." Morgan spoke up next to you.

Hotch held his hand up to block him; his eyes on Spencer. "Wait, let Spencer speak. He's getting the unsub to talk, and that's good."

Spencer quickly collected himself, his expression going blank.

"Where is Dr. Deborah Tryst?" Spencer asked.

"Ooh, did I strike a chord, Doctor?" Lynch chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"Where is Dr. Deborah Tryst?" Spencer repeated, angrier.

"Probably playing matchmaker. There are an infinite amount of dimensions for her to play with." Lynch shrugged.

"She's still in the void?"

"Yup, she's the reason the crack sealed when you two went through. She trapped herself in there and made sure I could never go back. Whatever she's doing, we'll never know for sure because it is impossible to recreate the initial crack. You should know just how improbable it was to create one in the first place, Dr. Reid."

"So there is no further possibility of danger?"

"Not cosmically, but, for our impossible girl over there, who knows what kind of dangerous situations you will put her in." Lynch nodded to the double mirror.

"She is not yours and she will never be yours. We're putting you in a maximum security prison where you will never see her again. So you can sit in your cell for the rest of your life and remember that she's with me, not you." Spencer's eyes darkened. You wanted to end this fight and get him out of there. He was only getting angrier.

Hotch walked through the interrogation room door, holding it open. "Reid," was all he said.

That was it, Spencer had gotten a lengthy confession from the unsub. The details would come up during his trial.

Spencer stood up, not caring about the wobbling chair as he did so. He walked out of the room and you went to the hallway to meet him. You met him as he was stomping down the hall away from you. "Spencer!" You called, hurrying to follow him.

He made his way inside an empty meeting space and you quickly slipped in behind him; closing the door.

He loosened his tie and ran his hands through his hair. You let him cool off for a few moments.

"He's right. I am selfish." He sounded beyond angry, even guilty.

He leaned forward on the meeting table, clenching his fists against the wood.

"He was just trying to get the last word in. Don't pay his words any more attention." You spoke, softly; placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't work here. You're not properly trained for the high-intensity, high-risk situations."

"Then I can train. Anyways, I doubt Hotch is going to let me work here now that he knows," you said, sadly. You loved working here. You loved helping people and being with your BAU family. You loved Spencer's daily teasing.

"Being with me puts you in enough danger. I couldn't protect you. What's stopping something from happening to you again?" He looked up at you, though he was still hunched over the table.

"All the other times you protected me." You gave him a small smile. "When Chris threatened me, you confronted him. When I jumped into the lake, you stopped me from drowning. When I was stuck in my dimension, you rescued me from a life of being absolutely miserable without you. When the unsub first encountered us, you stood in front of me even though you couldn't see him. You've protected me far more times than you are choosing to acknowledge. I trust you with my life, Spence."

Spencer's shoulders fell as his breath evened out.

"I love you Y/N, I just don't want you to get hurt." Spencer whispered, his grip on the table loosening. He slowly stood up straight to look at you.

"We aren't some alternate justice-duo, Bonnie and Clyde. We're perfectly capable of protecting each other, and we aren't some crazy serial-killing, bank-robbing couple. We're Spencer and Y/N, the BAU's hottest couple." You spoke with exaggeration and winked.

Spencer gave you a small smile. His hair was a mess, his clothing was wrinkled, and his tie was undone.

"It's been a long day. Take me home?" You asked, giving him your best doe-eyes as you reached up to fix his tie.

"Oh. About that- you're apartment and all your money and assets are sorta gone now. You were presumed dead."

"I'm not talking about that place." You rolled your eyes; unaffected by the news.

You were used to being dirt poor anyways and that house was nothing but an empty shell.

"Home, with you," you explained.

"Oh."

Spencer broke out into a large grin. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into a kiss. His coffee and woodsy-vanilla scent enveloped you like a warm hug. When he pulled away, he held his hand out to you.

"Come on then, I'll take you home."

Home, it was a strange concept. Your now-empty apartment in your dimension was once your home. You'd once almost drowned yourself to try to get back to that place.

Then you fell in love with Spencer, and living with him made you discover what a home truly was. It wasn't where you were from, it was the place you loved to be; the place you felt most comfortable, the most yourself.

Your home was in Spencer's dimension, Spencer's apartment, Spencer's arms, Spencer's everyday gestures, Spencer's smile, Spencer's late night chess games, Spencer's "I love you's," Spencer's raspy morning voice, Spencer's unruly hair, Spencer's hand kisses, Spencer's scrunched nose ticks, Spencer's info-dumps, Spencer's everything.

It was the most improbable circumstance and the one thing you were most thankful for. You got to spend your new life with Spencer.

In the end, Spencer Reid kept his promise; he did help you find your way home. Your way home to him.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fic #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fic #cm #drama #fanfiction #romance

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meltingheartsandcores · 4 years

Text

This is a wangxian Yoi au, or it was going to be, I wrote the first chapter. Then realized I don’t know how to write skating, I don’t know anything about figure skating, and I feel like I should not be flying blind in this. Also, creativity got fried. Which sucks.

But, I figured you might enjoy reading the first chapter, and idk if it's because i wrote it but I find it's fine to read on it's own.

Story under the cut, I do hope you enjoy.

“Huaisang, why are you calling me at midnight?”

“Excuse you, it’s one am. And you didn’t respond to my text. Check your messages and watch the link I sent you.”

“Fuck no.” Despite Wei Wuxian’s words, he grabs his computer off his bedside table and sits up, “What’s the video called?” Wei Wuxian asks as he pulls up youtube.

”Uhhh,” there was some tapping, ”okay, english is Lan Wangji attempts Wei Wuxian’s Confusion.”

The name made Wei Wuxian perk up as he quickly types and searchs for the video. “Why didn’t you just tell me it was Lan Zhan?” He wouldn’t have grumbled.

”Just watch!” Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes at Nie Huaisang’s excitement but plays the video, muted because Jiang Cheng will kill him for waking him up at midnight. Wei Wei Wuxian was pleasantly surprised throughout the whole video, and also curious as to when Lan Zhan learnt it so completely. It had been his freestyle at Worlds two nights before, the one that earned him gold, again. He had changed it to work with his current condition and still earn him gold, but that just meant it was more complicated stepping he had perfected and a bunch of quads- not nearly as much as he normally did but, enough. Lan Zhan had changed his quads to triples.

Wei Wuxian could only point out one mistake. He rewatches it to see if there are any others. They’re aren’t.

“He fucked up one of the salchows.” Wei Wuxian states, watching the video for a third time. That was generous, he wobbled a bit too much on the landing. Madam Yu would’ve called it a complete fuckup and made him redo the entire program. For a practice it wasn’t bad, especially since Lan Zhan seemed distracted still.

Nie Huaisang groans on the phone, ”That’s all you have to say?”

“Hey. He’s the one who didn’t call me.”

”And now he’s dancing your stupid love letter!”

“It was not-“ Wei Wuxian is stopped by a pillow hitting his face, falling back onto his bed. “I have to go, I woke Jiang Cheng.”

Nie Huaisang giggles and hangs up with a singsong, “Good Luck!”

Wei Wuxian sits back up, chucking the pillow back onto Jiang Cheng’s bed. The lump that is his brother doesn’t move. Just an angry grumbled, “Get the fuck out of the room if you’re going to be awake.”

Wei Wuxian could go back to sleep, but he’s more interested in Lan Zhan right now. So he shuts his laptop, pulls on a jacket, and leaves the room with his phone in his pocket and his laptop under his arm in his fluffy bunny slippers. He goes down to the airport and sits at his gate, opening hs laptop back up to watch the video again. They were flying out to Italy in five hours. Well. wei Wuxian and Uncle Jiang were, Jiejie and Jiang Cheng were flying back to Canada in ten. Jiang Cheng had made their room decisions because if Wei Wuxian and Uncle Jiang shared they would’ve left without saying goodbye. In Wei Wuxian’s opinion, it’d be better to say goodbye before they went to sleep instead of waking everyone up at six in the morning, but he was promptly told to shut up.

Wei Wuxian calls Nie Huaisang back as the video plays, it’s impressive. And Wei Wuxian has always loved Lan Zhan’s skating. It made the Grand Prix all the more odd.

”It’s a love letter.” Nie Huaisang says in lieu of a greeting.

“It was not a love letter.” Nie Huaisang made a doubtful sound. “It was a letter of why the fuck did you never call me? I gave you my personal number and whitelisted you. Why did you never contact me?”

“So… an unrequited loveletter.”

“Why am I friends with you?”

”Because I helped you shave off Lan Qiren’s awful goatee.”

Wei Wuxian chuckles at the memory, Teacher Lan had been so pissed. “Hey… do you think he has any relation to Lan Zhan?”

”I do blackmail, not familial relations. If I did, you wouldn’t have spent five years calling Xiao Xingchen Jiujiu as a joke only to find out it was very appropriate.”

Ah, yes, the most awkward celebratory dinner in Wei Wuxian’s life with his uncle and grandmother.

“You and I both know I called him Jiujiu because I forgot his name and it was the first thing that came to mind.” Nie Huaisang cackles, fully aware that when Wei Wuxian forgot peoples names, if he didn’t hate them, he immediately went to familial relations.

It’s how Nie Huaisang’s older brother is forever Da-ge to Wei Wuxian. And how half his competitors are variations of cousin and uncle. Those that don’t speak chinese are typically confused but assume it’s a nickname until someone (Jiang Cheng typically) tells them they are now the son of Wei Wuxian’s father’s brother. Or something of the like. Those that speak chinese typically return the favour. For example, Xingchen called him Wai Sheng as often as Wei Wuxian would call him Jiujiu.

”Yup. And then you finally met your grandmother. Hands down, best World Champions I’ve ever been to.”

“Oh fuck you. Are you going to Italy?”

”Already here. I convinced Da Ge to fly me out right after the World Champs. I have been shopping for days. I love Italy.”

“You love that you can logic your way into drinking wine with every meal.”

”Mmhmm. You don’t normally participate in the Egna Spring Trophy. Why are you coming this year?”

“I like to shock people.” ’I don’t want my season to be over just yet. I don’t want to stop skating.’ “Can you keep a secret?”

”Of course. Did you put shaving cream in Jiang Cheng’s suitcase again?”

“No. He doesn’t let me anywhere near it anymore. I…”Wei Wuxian chickens out. He can’t say it. Not now. “Actually it might be better to say in person. Do you think the video’s a message?”

”What? Oh! Lan Wangji’s? Maybe? What message might he be sending?”

“That he still wants me to coach him next season?”

”You can’t coach someone and participate.” Nie Huaisang remarks. Wei Wuxian stays silent, normally his response would be ‘watch me’, but he can’t. Nie Huaisang gasps at Wei Wuxian’s extended silence. ”You can’t”.

“I’ll talk to you about it in Italy.”

”Have you told Coach Jiang?”

“No. Not Jiang Cheng or Shijie either. Don’t say anything. I’m still…”

”Yup. Got it. Lips are sealed.” Wei Wuxian sighs in relief, he’s not sure what he was worried about, but he’s grateful Nie Huaisang isn’t telling anyone. Not until Wei Wuxian says it himself. ”And, I guess the video could be a message. Maybe he lost your number? And it’s not like you told him you whitelisted him. Maybe he thought you were joking and didn’t want to risk rejection? I’ve asked Da ge but he told me to shut up and not bother him so…”

Oh right. Wei Wuxian forgot Da Ge was friends with Lan Zhan’s brother. “Meanie. But you know where he is right?”

“Yup. But Da Ge told me not to tell you. Didn’t want you bothering the Lan brothers or something.”

Wei Wuxian hums, “What a shame.” Nie Huaisang couldn’t tell him where Lan Zhan was. But, he could tell Wei Wuxian about Lan Zhan’s home.

”Mmhmm. There’s a wonderful hot spring in Gusu. As well as a cold spring that’s supposed to promote healing. I always find that afterwards, I’m too busy warming up to really care about any injuries.”

Wei Wuxian chuckles, Gusu huh? “Never heard of it.”

“No? It’s a rather small city. Not very well known. The hot spring I go to is called Hanshi.”

“...Frost Room?” Odd name for a hot spring.

”Mmhmm. I think it’s ironic or something? You know, a hot spring frost room? Who knows? We both know I didn’t ask.”

Wei Wuxian nods, “Mm. Maybe after Triglav I’ll pop over.”

”Making this season count I see.”

“I just want as many gold medals as possible. I’ll let you get some sleep. I am going to get started on coaching notes.”

”I’ll send you whatever videos I have of Lan Wangji. See you soon.”

“Mm.” Wei Wuxian hangs up and pulls up his note-app to start taking notes as he watches Lan Zhan’s video again. Noting places where Lan Zhan could do with improvement. There weren’t many, but Lan Zhan hadn’t focused his training in the same areas Wei Wuxian did. In some areas he was actually better at Wei Wuxian’s program than he was. Particularly with the stepping. More precise and fine-tuned than Wei Wuxian’s own. If Wei Wuxian had given Confusion to Lan Zhan he probably would’ve netted a higher score than Wei Wuxian. If he could land the quads at least.

_-3 weeks later-_

“Gusu is so nice. So warm. So not Canada.” Wuxan says to Nie Huaisang over the phone as he waits for the cab he arranged to pick him up from the airport.

Nie Huaisang’s laugh titters over the phone, “You’re not in Gusu yet. Gusu is a mountain city.”

“Ah, so the temperature will be back to normal. Good.”

”Tell Xichen-ge hi. I did not warn them you were coming, so, have a fun surprise!”

Wei Wuxian laughs, “I will. How’s Da ge?”

”Very annoyed that I told you where they live. And not accepting the fact that I didn’t tell you where they lived. I told you of a wonderful hot spring in Gusu and upon research you found it was owned by Lan Wangji’s brother. How can I be blamed?” Nie Huaisang actually seemed offended.

Wei Wuxian laughs at his friend. “Well, at least he’s not making you do hockey.” Nie Huaisang screeches, making Wei Wuxian laugh harder.

”He would never.”

“Didn’t he initially put you in hockey? Who’s to say he won’t put you back in?” It’s a joke, but Nie Huaisang is silent on the other end. And then Wei Wuxian can hear him running through his house.

”DAGE!” Wei Wuxian pulls his phone away at the yell, but puts it back once the yell is over to hear whatever else Nie Huaisang says. There’s some muttering that Wei Wuxian assumes belongs to Da ge.”You wouldn’t put me in hockey, right? Even if I fail Ice Dance?” There’s complete silence on the other end. But Da ge must’ve said something, or made a certain expression because Nie Huaisang screeches, offended and scared, “Da Ge!” Wei Wuxian laughs at his friends' misery and offence. He always feels a little bad for Da ge at events since he’s typically the only hockey player there and very few figure skaters bother to hide their dislike of hockey players. Typically it’s vice versa too, but when Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang go to Da ge’s games they tend to keep away from that subject. As much as possible. Except that one year one of Da ge’s teammates called Figure Skater’s prissy princesses and Wei Wuxian attacked him and had to be pulled off by Da ge.

He was fourteen. Nie Huaisang took a video.

Wei Wuxian stops laughing enough to notice his cab and met the driver, putting his phone in his pocket to drown out Nie Huaisang’s crying. After a quick chat, his luggage was put in the trunk and got in. He pulls out his phone and puts it back to his ear just as Nie Huaisang starts calling Da ge mean.

”How could you scare me like that?” Da ge was laughing in the background.

“Older brothers. It’s what we do best.”

”Meanie.” Was hissed at Wei Wuxian. More mumbling Wei Wuxian couldn’t make heads or tails of before Nie Huaisang speaks again, ” Da Ge wants to talk to you.”

“He’s not putting me in hockey is he?”

”Uhhh, da ge? Are you putting Wei-xiong in hockey?”

Da Ge was close enough to the phone Wei Wuxian could hear his reply, “Can I? He’d do damn good.”

“Don’t joke! I’m too fragile for hockey!” Wei Wuxian protests with a pout. “What did Da ge want to talk about?”

”Don’t harass Xichen and Wangji. If they tell you to go. Go. I don’t care what Wangji said at the Prix banquet, leave him alone if he wants to be left alone.” Da ge orders.

“Roger roger.”

“Wuxian.”

“I got it. I won’t bother them if they don’t want to be bothered. If he says no I’ll book a flight tomorrow and head home. Or to your place. Or to Xingchen’s. Bottom line I’ll leave if they want me to.” He won’t overstay his welcome.

”Good. Good luck.” With that, Da ge hangs up.

_-Gusu-_

“How was lessons?” Lan Xichen asks as Lan Wangji returns from the rink with Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi in tow. The five year olds loved skating. So when Lan Wangji returned from his complete failure at the Grand Prix, he had taken over their skating lessons at Cloud Recess at their insistence.

“They improved. How was business?” Lan Wangji asks as both kids run upstairs.

“Adequate. We have one guest currently. Actually, he asked for you by name.”

Oh. Great. “Did he say why?”

Lan Xichen shakes his head, he probably didn’t ask. “Just said to tell you. He also said if you don’t want to talk to him he’ll leave.”

Lan Wangji shakes his head, “No. I’ll talk to him.” He hopes it’s not a fan. Or one of Coach Zhong’s students come to ask him back in place of Coach. Lan Wangji just wanted to take care of his rabbits and ignore the world until his failure is forgotten. Lan Xichen smiles, probably remembering that just last month Lan Wangji told him he didn’t want to talk to anyone.

“Good. I’m going to make sure the tykes are not causing havoc upstairs, watch the front for me?” Lan Wangji nods at Lan Xichen’s request, allowing his brother to rush up the stairs.

Lan Wangji had just sat down at one of the tables, intent to get some work done. He was working with the library in Cloud Recess with translations, it didn’t pay well, but he enjoyed it and could do it in between helping Lan Xichen out at the Hanshi.

But before he could pull his laptop out, a guest came into the main room. Lan Wangji looks up to greet them but the words die on his tongue, eyes widening a fraction as he took in Wei Wuxian, half naked, with his hair in a towel. Well, he had a jacket on that wasn’t shut, so he wasn’t technically breaking the rule about being undressed outside the springs, but his incredibly toned chest was still on full display. Lan Wangji could feel his ears burning, and was very thankful he rarely blushes on his face.

A smile split across Wei Wuxian’s lips, “Lan Zhan.” ’What?’ “I wanted to talk to you.” Wei Wuxian falls to his knees on the opposite side of the table than Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji nods, although he was still stuck on ’Why is Wei Wuxian calling me by my given name? How does he even know it?’ Somehow Wei Wuxian’s smile got brighter. Which Lan Wangji felt was just unfair and rude. He’s trying not to panic here. “I want to coach you for next season.”

What.

Fuck trying not to panic.

What?

“Why?”

“I saw your video. Your stepping is very impressive. But you need to work on your jumps. Although you seem to learn quickly since you were able to learn Confusion in just a few days.” Lan Wangji would like this conversation to stop and rewind. What video?! He only danced Confusion once! And- oh fuck. Lan Jingyi is corrupting his perfect child. Wei Wuxian was still talking. Lan Wangji missed a portion. “-so I figured I’d come down to offer my services as coach.”

“Are you not competing next season?”

Wei Wuxian looks surprised, “Ah, I guess you don’t get much news out here.” Lan Wangji has been avoiding most skating news. He only watched the Worlds because Lan Jingyi and Lan Sizhui demanded it. “I’m taking a break. I’m twenty-three and have won every single competition I’ve been in for five years, got bored. And then I saw your video and decided I wanted to help you win the Grand Prix.”

What.

“What’s your current work out regime? I have some ideas but I don’t want to overwork you. Also, where’s the rink and can we schedule private time to practice?”

“Wei Wuxian-“

He cuts Lan Wangji off, waving his hand, “Call me Wei Ying.”

Okay.

“Wei Ying. You cannot take a break just to coach me.”

“Yes I can. But I didn’t. I was going to be taking a break this season anyways. If I hadn’t seen your video I might’ve let Da ge talk me into hockey.” Wei Ying shudders theatrically, “I’m too delicate for hockey.” Lan Wangji would disagree. Lan Xichen showed him the video of Wei Ying beating up a hockey player nearly twice his size. “If you don’t want me to coach you, I’ll leave. But if you do… I already have plans for your programs. And areas to improve.”

It was tempting. To accept the offer. Last year's Grand Prix had been Lan Wangji’s first venture into international competitions. He was used to national and local competitions. But after the complete failure of last years Grand Prix he wasn’t sure about returning to the international stage. However, Wei Ying had a lot of experience in the international stage. He’d been competing in International Competitions since he was thirteen. An entire decade.

Lan Wangji nods, “I accept.”

Wei Ying’s smile gets impossible bright. “Perfect.”

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shesawriter39049 · 4 years

Text

|ROLL DEEP|M| P.1

*Yoongi centered fic with a shared OT7 plot*

CH.1.1 CH. 1.2

**Operation: What’s eating blue!?***

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“Stop, this stopped being a you, thing and became a us thing the minute we chose to show up here tonight! You gave us an out and we stayed...we will always stay...”

1.2 K Sneak Peek

Pairing: Yoongi x OC

Genre: Sugar baby AU/Suspense/Smut/Angst/Roomate AU/FWB AU

WC: 7K

Nonsexual Warnings: Mentions of drug use (Molly/weed/)Strong language/ Alcohol addictions/ brief mentions/ speculations of domestic violence/abuse

Sexual Warnings: Oral (M & F receiving) power bottom Min Yoongi, cum play, breath play, spanking, dirty talk, Slight overestimation, sex toys (Cock rings....) Semi-public sex (A chill little blow job in the car) The sexual warnings are for both parts of CH.1 so the smut is split in half!

NOTE: Just to clarify the dynamic Yoongi and the OC are roommates who hookup on the side, they are BOTH sugar babies to two separate people! So yes, that would imply that Yoongi and some of the other boys who are also sugar babies are Bi. There is no MxM but there is mentions of it occasionally….as well as some harmless ot7 flirting! Also all of the boys are introed, Tae and Joon just play a lager part here!

_______________________________________________

I guess, fuck where do we even start? Maybe, will go back to where it all technically started, which was the last time things felt...somewhat normal yeah?

So, that would be...hmm...about 2 weeks shy of you heading into Junior year at USC right? The day your boys picked you up at the airport, and the three of your treated Blue, aka TaeTae to brunch!?

Well, wait let’s back track a little it all started much eariler than that, because you weren’t even aware of your brunch plans until later in the day. So Initially the day in question kicks of with you, in oversized blacked out CHLOE shades, hungover as fuck, sat in at the airport one Sunday afternoon. Smack dab in the middle of Terminal 6, in a bar called Blu2o sipping on a Bloody Mary, scrolling aimlessly through Snapchat. While simotaniously being told for the very first time ...that you’ll be attending a “Haute Couture” themed charity auction...on Tuesday! Yup, the day after tomorrow! Thank god he can’t see your damn face right now, biting down on your straw to muzzle yourself!

“No, babe it’s fine, I’ll just hit Rodeo tomorrow morning, and I’m sure my nail and lash girl can fit me-Oh you...haven’t gotten... what ...your wearing either?” Parroting the words back In slow motion as if it would make the words sound better or something!

Oh for fucks sake! Bringing your forehead flush to the marble bartop already feeling a full blown migraine brewing at the nape of your neck. Giving yourself a couple moments to self compose, this man is so damn unorganized it’s unfucking real. His personal assistant better be the 2nd highest paid person within his entire company because…..This is far from new, I don’t even know why your suprised and I’d say you don’t get paid enough for this....but ya do! So you suck it up, lose the attitude and slip right into your “Yes sir” or maybe I should say ‘Yes daddy” voice.

“Don’t worry about it, I know your busy. I totally get it, your a 28 waist right? Of course, I remember...I remember everything you tell me….Ohhh your gonna let me put you in color too???” Eyes flickering up to the notification from your bank, noting a cute little 12k wire pending.

“Yeah, no, I see it, that should be good. I was thinking Versace or Cavili for you anyway...they have good prints to fit the theme, and if all else fails I have my card too…yup..just landed about..hmm... 30 minutes ago actually. Of course, stop apologizing, Sunday's are always your golf days, I get it, hey, tell the guys I said hi and enjoy your day. Text me later if you feel up to it..k....bye..”

Were you actually getting a little flustered there towards the end? It's the slight accent, isn't it? Honestly, it didn't take much for you to slip into “character” with him, even after barely being together a full month. For one he wasn’t an asshole, had a decent sense of humor, and he’s really fuckin hot...however there was one, little, well shit, not so little issue...you noticed while with him recently. Which, then sparked quite a few questions while also answering some that had been rattling through your head since the day you met. But will circle back to the fact that you spent a week on vacation with a man, while dressed in some of the sexiest pieces of 2019 couture! Yet..you barely got touched once outside of a couple chaste kisses and hand-holding while at the two fashion shows you attended together… so, yeah, yeah!

A low groan in frustration rattled from your throat as you continued scrolling through Snapchat, trying to come up with some possible outfit scenarios in your head! It’s kinda funny, how mynute all of that seems now though, how your definition of “Stress” that day was you trying to decide if your sugar daddy was gay, while also finding time to fit in a self-care day, shopping, and getting your books for school!! The fact that, that was what you considered migraine worthy, fuck, what you wouldn’t give to consider multitasking your only maltitude of “stress” again …..

Just in your own little world, mind swirling with a couple of stylists you’ve met along the way, considering the idea of them pulling some vintage pieces for you instead! What you should be doing, is scrolling through your contact list and texting said stylists, instead you find yourself more and more distracted. Getting lost in the mounds of snap updates from Jimin as he “modestly” sunbathed in a private villa in Italy. Then later sharing a glimpse into his shopping spree from Versace, no doubt a good 20k worth of Italian luxury spread out along the plush white sheets. Sending him a cheeky little “That’s my boy” with a couple of smug winky faces in response!

It’s still kinda crazy to think, things like that are considered normal within your world now, the fact that you aren’t even surprised at the number of gifts. Or, simply the fact that your barley 21-year-old best friend is sunbathing in Italy on someone else’s dime. Then again, you just got sent 12 thousand dollars to spend on an event that would last maybe all of 5 hours, while sitting next to a stack of Louis Vuittion luggage from your first class flight in from Vegas, technically. Opting to land there first after a long 15-hour flight, checking in at The Four Seasons for not even a solid 24 hours before coming home! Honestly?There was no real reason for the pit stop except it gave you an excuse to see a friend while also allowing you to unwind in one of your favorite hotels!

That sentence alone is actually absurd when you really think about it, the idea of you casually booking flights and suites in 5-star hotels as if you’re ordering off the damn dollar menu at Mcdonalds! You, the girl that was working two jobs at the Groove and mourning a piece of shit cheating ex boyfriend her freshman year of college.....is now reminiscing about catching flights to chill with friends and last minute finding dresses for Couture themed galas.Like, what the actual fuck is life.... Oh my bad, life at the moment is constantly being paranoid that you and your friends will get arrested! Life in this moment however...was a fucking perfect!

The friend you where meeting in Vegas was Hoseok by the way, the redhead was currently vacationing in Sin City for the next couple of days, typically residing in LA as well. Just Chillin’ before the semester starts, living his best life, which revolves around “OFF-WHITE'' shopping sprees, private dance lessons, and constantly taking thirst trap pics for his 10’s of thousands of followers online. He randomly texts you saying “I miss your face” you text him saying “I land at 8 tonight bring a bottle and sushi to room 605 at The Four Seasons hotel '' Simple!

Your initial flight, the one that was 15 hours, was originally from Paris, where you spent the last week or so with Jeong-su, being arm candy, sipping wine, sightseeing and of course shopping!. Barley 32 hours ago your Snapchat looked pretty damn similar, if not worse in comparison to Jimin’s but what can I say, you can’t be in the home of Givenchy and Gaulthier and not go to Givenchy and Gaultier!

What your life is, what you and your friends do, I mean, I think it’s safe to say it’s pretty self-explanatory yeah? The average 20 something-year-old in college isn't flying themselves out of the country or going luxury shopping without a little help. In your case, it’s typically thanks to a person you commonly refer to as “Daddy” now, the context behind the word however….is where you and your friends may differ from others…..

But that’s your business, your concern and more importantly your choice, and honestly for a while life seemed too damn good to be true...I guess looking back on it now, I guess that’s because it kinda was!

Sat at the predominantly empty bar alone, more than content by the silence, twirling your straw between your lips, as you scanned back over the shit show that was your schedule for the semester! Getting more of a migraine from that, then shopping or even the fact that you're still hungover and drinking on an empty stomach at half-past 12. Shooting a quick text to your redheaded best friend cursing him out for getting you drunk off your ass on a bottle of Yamazaki 12.

“Can I get anything else for you beautiful? Another drink or maybe an appetizer? We have damn good loaded queso fries if I do say so myself!” Waving the menu in your face playfully, the warm, inviting voice in front of you was the bartender, who’s had his eye on you since you swayed in. Even if you looked like crap for your standards you knew to most you were the farthest thing from it as you swayed into the bar like you owned the place. In your heels, and tiny little black dress, while an airport assistant trolied in your luggage behind you! Ohhh Blair Waldorf would without a doubt be proud!

“Mmmm…” Lips pursed in a slight pout as you raked over the menu, honestly, you were hungry and they have bomb ass fried pickles…..”Actually, yeah, I’ll get-”

“ 3 tall shots of whatever top-shelf Tequila you have, also add whatever she’s been drinking to my tab, along with an order of fried pickles with extra ranch…please and thank you!” Smoothly sliding his black card, and ID across the marble bartop for review.

Oh.

The look on the bartender’s face was fucking priceless, torn between shitting himself and maybe….nah, just straight shitting himself! Skin flushed, the sense of panic was clear as day, wondering if he’d overstepped that fine line between customer service and filtration. Considering whoever the person behind you is, clearly knows you well enough to know your food order. A forced bashful smile playing along his lips as he bowed out in acknowledgment, sliding the gentelmen back is ID and whispering out a faint “Yes sir, coming right up…”

The base vibrating through your ears instantly had you readjusting your posture, a strong tingle running down your spine, back arching ever so slightly. A playful smirk playing along your lips as you slowly laced your tongue back around your staw, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“You sure you wanna do that? My tastes are pretty expensive..” Tone blatantly flirtatious, yet you still hadn’t bothered to even turn around, that’s when suddenly you hear a deep arrogant chuckle rumbling low in his chest. Only...this sounds a little brighter? And like it’s coming from your left instead of behind you…

“Mmm, I’m sure we can handle it baby….”

You could feel the air shift behind you, it felt warmer, and there was a strong mix of scents flooding through your nose. Leaning back in your seat, pleasantly finding your shoulders, the back of your neck, and your head, cradled against a lean wall of silk. Sighing contently, naturally letting your body melt into his frame, nose running into your face as you smiled so hard your cheeks hurt. That’s when a gangle of veiny, porcelain limbs wrapped around your shoulders pulling you even tighter against him, only to find brown, sharp, cat-like eyes staring down at you, though a pair of translucent designer shades. Seemingly a little bit amused at how excited you are to see him. Long dark wavy locks falling messily into his face, a tiny silver hoop dawning his button nose. Tongue playing at the corner of his mouth, letting the tiny silver ball slip between his lips. This angle lets you really appreciate how sharp, yet soft his features were, an oxymoron that honestly makes no damn sense unless you see him in person….jawline sharp enough to cut glass yet he has the cutest cheeks ever when he smiles. It honestly makes no sense whatsoever and he’s one of the many reasons you have trust issues. Well, that and your line of work, considering the number of men you find out are married and still try and sneak around with you.

Then, as if to just make his presence known, there’s another pair of hands making their home along your body, gently squeezing your thigh. Except, he’s polar opposite to the person I just described, the man behind you is your roommate Yoongi, the man who just took a seat to your left, is your other roommate Namjoon! First off, he’s tall as all hell, and an offensively perfect shade of brown, he can’t even go into the burbs without being asked what self-tanner he uses. In which he smugly replies “Genetics” letting them sit there and try and google said company that makes that brand of self-tan. Streams of meticulously placed colored neo-traditional tattoos paint his skin, accompanied by deep dimples, and bleach blonde hair styled into an undercut, sides buzzed into the perfect fade.

“So you gonna get up and give me a real hug or what???” Placing a kiss in your hair as he pulled back, giving you room to hop out of your seat and right into his arms.

The Full thing is coming soon, this is from summer 2019, I just have to edit, and reread the full thing again! I also wrote the first 3 parts all at once..sooo if your exicted show this some love anddddddddd come let me know!

Love you as always,

Rocki

#Yoongi #yoongi smut #yoongi au #yoongi x reader #namjoon #namjoon au #taehyung #taehyung au #bts au fic #bts au #bts smut #kpop smut kpop au #kpop au #min yoongi

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baretklap · 4 years

Text

Hypnotic Short #3: Cocktail Party

Having experienced the surreal journey of going from being a lovable but underachieving underdog to quite possibly the biggest star in professional wrestling industry in span of just 3 years, Becky Lynch knew she had every right to enjoy her life now that all of her hard work had paid off in a massive way. Her newly-found success was so big that it even surpassed the realm of professional wrestling, landing the gorgeous Irish women some very distinguished roles in Hollywood movies. Her latest role was her biggest one to date, so was the latest movie she was a part of, where Becky had the opportunity to work with one of the fastest rising, young directors in the entire film industry. The movie was considered both a commercial and a critical success, just like her own performance. And after everything would be set and done, she would be going back to her cute little fiancé and to the world of professional wresting in general to continue where she had left off: At the top. So, yeah, being Becky Lynch pretty much equaled winning at life, it felt good to be her. And it certainly felt good to be a guest at the cocktail party that the director of her last movie had thrown because of the success of their last movie, partially because it was a damn good party with some absolutely delicious cocktails and partially because she wanted to celebrate her success, knowing she deserved to spoil herself between putting every bit of acting skill she had possessed into this movie and having to put every bit of her wrestling skills into WWE. Being ‘The Man’ didn’t come easy, after all. With a glass of cocktail already in her hand, her sight turned to the director who seemed to have a fun conversation with two women who she recognized from the make-up team. Looking at him reminded her that she could thank him for putting this party together…and she supposed she could thank him for being a good director too. Becky definitely knew how much bad directing could take away from good performances and the director being a man who always knew what he wanted definitely helped get the best performance out of her. So, Becky slowly got closer to them without them being aware of her presence, waiting for him to finish whatever he was telling to the girls. “…and then, the man admits that he had been having an affair with his secretary and they were at her house but the wife looks at his shoes and says ‘Liar, you’ve been playing golf!’.’’ The joke seemed to generate some small chuckles amongst the three and that’s when Becky stepped in after taking another sip from her delicious cocktail, swiftly entering the conversation with her speciality: a pun. “Ah, yes, my favourite type of golf course…the Inter Course!” Her own joke successfully extended the duration of collective laughter for a few seconds before everyone was ready to let the conversation continue. “Hey, Becky.” The director greeted her casually, which caused the wrestling star to tap his shoulder with a fist in a playful manner. “Hey.” “How have you been?” “Meh. Nothing special. Just enjoying the party like everyone else.” “Good to hear that.” The director said with a smile as Becky took another sip which caused a slight sense of warmth before the director took a glare at the two women and turning back to the redhead again. “So, you remember Marie and Michelle, right? From the make-up department.” Becky shook her head as a ‘yes’ before reaching to the make-up specialists with her hand, which they shook without any hesitation while holding a glass of half-drunk cocktail themselves with their other hands. “Hello, I’m Marie.” “Michelle.” Becky slightly eyed the two artists as they introduced themselves. Marie was the blonde one with short blonde hair while Michelle wore glasses and had her black hair in a tight bun. After having learned their names and which one is which, Becky once again turned to the director. “Well, you seemed to have a conversation before my arrival.” The director just raises one hand and jokingly dismisses it. “It was nothing. Marie and Michelle were just about to leave anyway.” Becky did not see the initial surprised expression on the make-up artist’ faces which obviously meant that the prospect of them leaving was news to them. That definitely helped the former wrestling champion to believe that they were actually leaving. The two women then spoke simultaneously before taking their leave. “Yes, director.” Becky looked a little puzzled about that phrase which the director took awareness of and reacted in a pretty dismissive tone as well. “Yeah, it’s a thing for some reason. Maybe they get off on that, who knows?” The director shrugged and Becky shrugged too, clearly not the type to judge people for their fetishes. The wrestling star then broke the awkward silence, with the intention to drag the conversation away from the fetish talk. “So, cool party, huh?” That once again put a smile on his face. “Yeah.” Becky took another sip as she came to the end of her glass. She then put the glass down on the nearest table before taking yet another. She could not get enough of those cocktails, she would admit to herself. “Someone likes the cocktails too much, I see.” The director now said in a playful tone, clearly seeing how quick she grabbed another glass after finishing one. “Yup, definitely cannot lie about that. They’re delicious.” Becky pretty much admitted defeat on that front as she continued to drink and feel good. Hands down the best cocktail she had ever tasted. “Glad to hear that…because I’ll give you a secret. It’s actually my recipe.” What? Becky definitely did not believe her ears at first. And after coming terms with the fact that she had really heard what she had heard, her brain did not believe the revelation. “You gotta be bullshitting me, surely?” The smug smile on his face did not give away if what he said was true or not. “I organized this party, that means I should know what cocktails to use in a cocktail party, right? I’m not bullshitting you. And don’t call me Shirley.” It only gained him another pseudo-punch in the shoulder as Becky could not contain a little laughter of her own as well. She then raised her glass slowly to hold it close to his face. “Okay, if this goodness is your invention, then you will have no problem telling me what did you put inside of this to make this so good.” The response coming from the director was just him raising his hands and slightly tilting his head. “Let it be my secret.” “A decent director. And a damn good cocktail maker too. Consider me impressed.” The director comically puts his hand on his chest to fake take offence to that. “Decent? You really know how to compliment a man, do you?” The two then shared a lengthy laugh amongst themselves before the director asked a question that would turn this conversation to a more serious tone from all this friendly banter. “So, what’s next for Becky Lynch? Are you willing to take another movie project? I mean, you’ve been climbing the stairs pretty fast and that’s damn impressive, trust me.” Becky very much knew a thing or two about climbing the stairs fast. It had been the same way in wrestling too after she clearly found the perfect character to play and started to impress enough people and right people too to finally give her the opportunities she felt she truly deserved. And once she had gotten them, she grabbed them by the balls and never let go, not just becoming the biggest female wrestler in WWE, but becoming the biggest wrestler in WWE period. Her ability to climb the stairs pretty fast after getting the right opportunities definitely helped her career in Hollywood, leading her to here and having this conversation with the director that helped her a lot, if Becky had to be honest and not just give herself all the credit. But, even though Becky knew she also had a bright future in Hollywood, her heart was in another place, the place that made her the woman she was today, the place her fiancé also worked, the place she never imagined leaving at all. Taking yet another sip from her new glass of cocktail and letting it make her feel comfortable enough to give an answer, she finally said so. “I’m thinking about returning to WWE, so no definite movie projects in the future for me.” The director did not seem very happy to hear that, but he hid it well even though Becky knew her answer didn’t make him the happiest person in the world. She wanted to see the director happy, so that was a shame. After a few seconds of another silence, the director broke it this time. “To be honest, I never quite got ‘professional wrestling’. I always thought WWE or places like that only consisted of athletic and muscular people with minimal talent at acting at best. That’s why working with you definitely surprised me, no offence.” “None taken.” The Irish woman replied pretty quickly before continuing to talk. “Those criticisms…well, they aren’t entirely wrong. But, they are kinda like my family. Even my fiancé works there, so it’s not that bad. It’s something that I enjoy a lot. I could not have become myself without WWE. And I hope you understand that, understand how important it is for me.” The expression on his face gave away that he understood, he even backed down a little. “If you say so, then I have no choice but to trust your judgement, Becky.” Becky was glad that he understood, the director was definitely an understanding man, which he proved yet again after proving it time after time during the filming process. “By the way, Becky, I was hoping to ask you something. Can we get to somewhere more private?” Becky raised an eyebrow at that, being confused but after taking another gulp, she complied with less but still remaining confusion on her mind as the director lead her to the terrace of the building they were holding the party. While following him, Becky’s eyes remained only on the director. Come to think of it, she was really feeling comfortable and warm enough to freely think about how attractive he was without her thoughts shifting once more to her fiancé and leaving her in a moral dilemma about what would be considered a betrayal to their love. The director-actress(wrestler) duo finally reached to their destination. The terrace wasn’t very crowded but it did not seem like the private place where the director could ask whatever he was going to ask to her. At least two people were near a cocktail table and drinking. After paying close attention to them, Becky realized that they were Marie and Michelle. Before she could interact with them, the director addresses them. “Hey, ladies. We meet again. I need a private place to speak with Miss Lynch, so can you leave at least until our conversation is over?” Becky watches as the make-up artists once again speak at the same time like the time they were inside. “Yes, director.” The two ladies then left again, leaving enough space for Becky and the director to have their private chat without anyone else hearing. But her mind was partially on the ‘yes, director’ thing and how Marie and Michelle did not hesitate to do what the director demanded from them even for a single moment. The director had quite the dominant personality in the set too, Becky now remembered. But she didn’t remember seeing his dominance made her felt something before. But this time, watching him order Marie and Michelle enough definitely made her feel weird…but in a good way…did she have the same fetish? Becky didn’t know and thankfully she didn’t need to think much further about it as the director interrupted her thoughts. “The night sky definitely looks beautiful.” Becky could not help but agree, but her admiration for the night sky is short-lived as she cannot help herself but to ask. “So, what were you going to ask me?” “Oh, right. So, I was going to ask you to consider making the shift to Hollywood full-time. I can help you with that, hell, I will gladly help you with that. Just…Becky, just know that you are too good for WWE.” There was that topic again. She was definitely uncomfortable with any thoughts of leaving WWE completely in behind of her. Why didn’t he just let it go? She knew that he held her in very high regard and there was no doubt that he wanted at least what he thought was best for her, but Becky wasn’t so sure she could agree with him despite how compelling of a person the director might be. “Look, I appreciate your offer and I’m definitely flattered by how highly you think of me. But deep down, at my core, at my heart, I’m a wrestler. The whole cinema thing, working with you, they’ve all been wonderful experiences for me, but I…I don’t know if I can just let my old life go like that at all. I just don’t want to forget where I came from…I just…can’t.” Becky sounded gradually more sadder as she rejected his offer, the reason being just that. Rejecting an offer from the director, going against his wishes like that…just made her feel sad. But it was a sadness she felt she deserved to feel by just rejecting something the director wanted. She…really wasn’t sure at all. “I…understand, Becky. Look, it was just a suggestion, alright? No need to get so tense about it. I’m sorry for making you feel like this.” Becky now felt even more sad that he felt sorry because of her. He was such an indulgent man. She wasn’t even sure if she had met a more indulgent man in her entire life. Her thoughs were once again interrupted as the director pointed to the table near them, which had more glasses of cocktails. Becky then realized that her glass was empty as well. She chuckled to herself, she guessed she loved the cocktails so much that she subconsciously made herself finish it without realizing she did that. “Looks like Marie and Michelle had left some more for us. Why don’t you drink some more, it’ll help you relax.” The director was right. She needed to drink some more of his amazing cocktails so she could relax. So she did. With each sip, she felt warmer, more relaxed. With each glass, she felt…more aroused. The cocktails were just…that good. So…heavenly. Heavenly cocktails made by a heavenly man… Becky just loved it. Utterly and throughoughly. Becky just drank…and watched the director as the moonlight exposed his good looks even more. He looked so dashing, even more so than… “So, tell me about wrestling then, Becky. Tell me about what about it that you love so much and maybe I’ll understand too.” Another wave of warmth washed through the Irish woman’s body as the man she was passionate about asked her about her job which she was also passionate about. She was quick to start talking after that. “I like…being an inspiration for millions, having a massive fanbase that will always have my back. I also li-“ Becky was caught unprepared and was taken aback when the director cuts her in the middle of her sentence. Did she say something wrong? “You can have all of that in Hollywood too. Well, Becky, I think even you can admit that wrestling fans in general are…kind of shitty. And there’s no guarantee that they won’t turn their back on you, now, is there?” The woman that once oozed confidence from her every fibre of being was reduced to an uncertain and weak mess and she didn’t even know why, she didn’t even think about why. She was just dominated in the conversation by the director…which definitely didn’t help her arousal problem. God yes, she definitely loved being dominated by him like that. Her reply came as uncertain as weak as she was. “B-but they didn’t before…” “Before.” The director had said that with so much confidence that Becky felt something inside her twitch. “You don’t know that, Becky. Look, I’m not even a wrestling fan but even I know that one day, they will just throw you aside like a strawberry bubblegum that had been chewed too much and left without any taste. Are you a strawberry bubblegum?” “I-It’s not like t-“ “Do you want to be a strawberry bubblegum?” She didn’t. She didn’t want to be thrown aside. She didn’t want to left without any taste and flavour. “No, I don’t want to be a strawberry bubblegum.” The director was smiling at both hearing that and hearing her say that with such confidence that definitely triumphed her earlier lack of confidence while she tried to resist his words, his ideas. And now that she was coming along to his way of thinking, it felt more right so she could tell it with that amount of confidence. “Then all you need to do is to quit WWE, quit wrestling and use your talents in a field that isn’t several levels below your talent.” With his each suggestion, the prospect of leaving wrestling completely behind her seemed more and more appealing and Becky both loved and hated it. Her lips formed the proper shape, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth to properly make the ‘y’ sound that would soon turn into a ‘yes’, but suddenly, the thought of her fiancé managed to delay the inevitable by just a little. “I…have a fiancé. I don’t know if I can leave him behind. I’m so sorry.” Becky didn’t even want to look at the director’s face, having convinced herself that the director will be definitely displeased by her answer. But when she very meekly took the slightest glance at him, she realized that he was actually smirking. “You don’t have to leave him behind, Bex. He’s your fiancé, afterall, it’s not like you’re going to split up just because you changed careers.” That made perfect sense to Becky, it wasn’t like she was going to stop seeing him completely. It wasn’t like she was going to betray him like that. It wasn’t like she was going to betray their love, was it? Was it? Could she really give a clear answer to that question? God, Becky really didn’t know, and the unanswered question just felt her more uncomfortable with herself. “Just like I said, Becky, quit WWE and start working for me. You’ll get a part in every movie that I will make from now on. One day, you’ll even be cast as my main character. And even maybe, you can even work in much bigger movies with me.” At that point, what made sense to Becky was what came out of the director’s mouth. She also realized that she had emptied all the glasses in the table subconsciously. She also realized that she was dripping wet, staring at the perfect man, the director, her director… “Accept my offer, Becky and I’ll make you even a bigger star then you already are.” Becky didn’t need to do much thinking at this point, not that thinking came easy to her now, having drunk so many of that wonderful cocktails. Just repeating what the director said was easier, and more preferable. “…a bigger star…yeah..” She said, no, she repeated like a parrot, and it felt so good, letting his words become hers like that. The director seemed very pleased with her too, so she must’ve been doing something right. “What do you say now? How do you feel about my offer?” How did she feel? As Becky felt her body burning with warmth and pleasure, there wasn’t a variety of answers she could give but to state the obvious truth to him. “I feel…hot.” “I know.” He said with that same smug smile. That sexy smile. “I feel…horny.” “I know. Do you want me to take care of that?” Becky nodded with longing and desire, truly wanting the director to fuck her senseless and not hiding that anymore. “How about your fiancé? What would he think?” Becky didn’t know. She only knew that she wanted the director, she needed the director, her body craved his touch right now. She didn’t answer, instead, her hands started to wander all over her body, now flat-out rubbing herself through her clothes. That’s how out of her mind she was with horniness. Watching all of these events unfold made the director even chuckle. That was good. If he was laughing, that meant she had pleased him somehow, if only he would please her like that. “You don’t care about him anymore.” It wasn’t a question. It was a sentence, no, more than a sentence, a fact that had been her new reality. “I don’t care about him anymore.” “You want me so bad.” “I want you so bad.” “But you have to accept my offer if you want to have me, Becky.” She would do anything. “Then I’ll accept. I’ll accept anything you want.” “Are you going to quit WWE and work for me from now on?” Anything. “Yessss….” “Will you be my cute little actress?” Of course. “I’ll be your cute little actress!” “Will you leave your fiancé?” Obviously. She would gladly dump him if it was what it would take for him to lay her down and fuck her like no tomorrow. “Yess…I don’t care about him anymore.” Another chuckle escaped his lips. Another moan escaped her lips. “You know, working for me won’t be easy, do you?” It meant that she would be working for him nonetheless. “I don’t care.” “You will have to do everything I ‘direct’ you to do.” Was that supposed to be a drawback to the job or something? “That’s even better.” “Do you want to be directed by me all the time?” Becky didn’t even know how bigger of a ‘yes’ she could give him, so she just resorted to her words. “I want you to direct me all the time.” “Are you an obedient little girl for your director?” Was there any doubt? “Yes, oh god, I’m an obedient little girl for my director.” “A slutty pet for your director.” “Yes, everything you say.” “While knowing I made those cocktails with special chemicals that would make you my helpless little puppet.” So, that was his secret. He drugged her and messed with her mind to make her feel like this. Becky could not think of something that’s at least as half as hot as this.

“I don’t care, I want to be your helpless little puppet.” “Knowing those cocktails effectively melted your mind and will so I could easily manipulate you like this?” Especially knowing all those things. “I love it.” “You love what?” “You melting my mind and manipulating me like this. Turns me on…so much.” “So, do you accept my offer?” “Yes.” “Yes, what?” Oh, she knew the answer to that! She had heard it from Marie and Michelle! “Yes…director.” The smile on his face upon hearing her say those words was priceless and Becky would always keep that picture in her mind and would love and cherish it forever. “Very good, now get on your knees Becky…and close your eyes.” “Yes, director.”

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aquilamage · 4 years

Text

I have been wanting to do a baby Kay + the aa detectives (aka the rfta crew, basically) fic for so long, but I keep jumping around between things and it’s just. But anyway I realized I do like what I have so even though it’s a wip I’m still sharing because hopefully someone else finds it interesting. (and maybe it’ll motivate me to work on it more)

The first time they see the kid, none of them particularly think much of it.

“What are you staring at, Jake?”

He turns in time to see Angel lean against the end of his desk. With a casual gesture, he indicates a door on the far side of the room. “Thought I saw Detective Badd walk by with a kid. That’s mighty strange, don’t you think?”

Her gaze is now focused in that direction. “Are you sure about that?”

“I saw her too.” Detective Goodman wheels his desk chair back to join the group. “Well, I passed them in a hallway earlier. Little girl, about this tall, chin length black hair, big puffy coat?”

”Yup.”

There’s a moment of silence as the three of them consider this information. “Do you think she’s a witness, then?” Angel leans over to talk in a more hushed tone. Smart, considering that there’s quite a few other people in the room.

Bruce sighs. “That seems the most likely, although for her sake I hope not.”

“Yeah, she was a real lil’un. Can’t be more than a few years old.” Even with the milder cases he’s worked, that’s not something he would want a kid to have to get mixed up in. Jake sinks back in his chair.

Angel’s still watching the door. “I’m surprised they gave the case to Detective Badd, though.” Her sharp analytical gaze is a tiny bit softer than usual, although maybe it’s just the angle she’s at from them. “I mean, he’s a decent guy, but he’s not exactly the type you’d think of as ‘good with kids’.”

A slight pause before Goodman says, softly, “Well, you never know.” It’s pretty clear the other two had been silently agreeing with her. They had only ever seen Badd as quiet, serious, and generally not very emotive, and couldn’t really picture him acting otherwise, so…

Not that it’s in any part in their hands anyway. They drift back to their own work after a few more minutes, and after not having another sighting, eventually put the incident out of their minds.

---

Until a couple weeks later, when Angel furtively pulls them into the breakroom.

“What was that for?” Jake fixes his bandana from being yanked by it.

She just shushes him, making a ‘get down’ gesture before moving to the window facing the larger office.

Goodman shrugs. They copy her, trying to keep an angle so they won’t be seen.

And there’s Detective Badd, with the same kid.

“Well…” Jake drawls, “I think we can rule out her being part of a case then, huh?”

The other two nod silently, still watching. Because now, of course, the question is: how is this girl connected to Badd?

He’s talking to one of the other detectives, with her standing at his side. Watching them very intently, head tilted way back, she nods emphatically with that expression you only get with small children trying very hard to be serious. (its cute) After a while though, her attention wavers.

She’s just about to scurry off behind someone when Badd puts a hand on her. He says something, very briefly, then goes right back to the conversation.

She seems to consider something. Then, carefully, she grabs the edge of his coat in one tiny hand, trailing it behind her as she walks a couple feet to the side. And within the little circle of space that affords her, she starts investigating everything.

As the silence in the breakroom has stretched on, it’s also become loaded as the three of them slowly came to the same tentative conclusion. But it’s another few moments before Jake swears softly. “You don’t think that’s his kid, do ya?”

The other two laugh, almost nervously.

“If someone just told me about this I’d tell them to come back with a more reasonable lie,” Angel says, tapping her fingers on the sill. No one has to say anything to agree with that. Badd’s been her longer than any of them. They’ve never heard even secondhand of anything that might so much as suggest him being in a relationship, much less a family. It’s…a weird thought; trying to fit the image of the detective they know into any concept of that is…it doesn’t really work.

And yet. She sighs. “But given the information we have right now, it’s also the most reasonable conclusion.”

---

So thus commences operation Find Out What’s Up With Badd’s Kid(???). They were all detectives; they just have to investigate some more.

It’s readily agreed to be done quietly, though. If Badd has never been open about his personal life before, it doesn’t seem like directly prying will be fruitful, besides perhaps in upsetting him. Even if he is nicer than one would initially assume, that doesn’t stop Badd from being pretty intimidating. (And, in a contradictory but weirdly strong feeling none of them quite know how to voice, they can’t help but feel like this whole thing was something Badd had mentioned and they’d all somehow managed to miss, given how casual he seems about bringing her around). So, they observe at a distance.

---

Angel is at the courthouse, sorting through some files during a recess when she spots the pair. Badd walks through the hall, the girl following behind. But where he’s able to cut a path through the small foot traffic through sheer size and demeanor, her shorter steps put her at a few feet of distance, forcing her to move around people.

Not that she minds. She ducks back and forth with a grin, the extra little twirls and hops making it clear she’s turned it into a game. It’s impossible to tell at this distance, but it seems like she might be singing.

Badd notices her lagging, and after waiting for her to catch up, resumes at a slower pace.

It’s easy for her to just keep in line with him now. As she does, she sticks her hands in the pockets of her overalls, walking with a little bit of a crouch. It’s a very good impression of Detective Badd (even if the expression is a little over the top serious), and it takes Angel all of her professional composure not to smile and laugh at the sight.

---

Jake heads home just a little late one evening. On his way out, his path crosses with Badd as two hallways converge.

The kid is curled up in his arms, asleep and clutching the front of his shirt.

Maybe if he wasn’t quite so tired and taken by surprise, he could’ve come up with something to say without specifically commenting on her presence, an invitation to talk without making it a demand. But instead he walks with them in silence. There’s an awkwardness on his side as he debates with himself, wanting to watch Badd but nervous about being noticed at that, given how physically close they are.

He holds the door out to the parking lot for them. And before his brain really has time to consider it, he says “you two get home safe.”

For a fraction of a second, it seems like Badd’s giving him a look. Then, he simply nods. “You too,” he replies, a little stiff, before leaving.

---

Shortly after the incident in the breakroom, Bruce starts taking notice of Detective Badd’s desk. Because it’s then that he starts seeing the drawings. Usually tucked in with other papers (although there’s the occasional one stuck to the file cabinet), they’re a colorful collection. He never gets close enough to have a really good look at them, but they’re obviously a child’s drawings. (It’s entirely possible they’d been there earlier as well, and he was only now noticing them because he’s looking for them – it does make him wonder what else he might have missed, though.)

And another thing: every so often Bruce notices that the pictures have changed. It’s a little thing, but along with everything else a clear suggestion that he’s spending a lot of time around this kid.

---

But despite all the little glimpses they’ve been getting, several months pass without getting anything closer to a definitive answer. It’s frustrating, but they don’t know what else to do at this point besides wait and hope for something that will give them answers.

---

Late one Tuesday morning, Jake walks into the office after finishing an assignment. On his way in, Goodman waves him over.

“Marshall!” he says, fidgeting with the edge of his sleeve. “I’m really glad to see you. Do you have time to talk?”

“Yeah. Actually, that reminds me. Payne was sayin something about an investigation report he needs from you by tomorrow.” That had not been the ideal morning experience, listening to the prosecutor’s screechy tones about something that wasn’t even under his control. It certainly makes Bruce’s calm, plain voice all the more soothing to listen to.

Even if right now it’s a little off from usual. “Oh! Oh right, yes, of course.” He looks around before leaning in. “But first, there’s something slightly more pressing.” Then, as if he’s remembering something, a glance over Jake’s shoulder. “Where’s Detective Starr?”

“Out. You remember that warehouse of stolen goods? She’s out there investigating today.” Scratching his chin, he studies his coworker. “Somethin bothering you? You seem mighty jumpy.”

He deflates a little at the news. Then, he ducks his head again. “Nothing wrong, it’s simply unexpected, and I was hoping we could all-“

As he’s listening Jake feels a creeping sensation at the back of his neck. He frowns, trying to figure out the source. His gaze sweeps down toward Bruce’s desk. And then further down.

Staring at him from over the top of the desk, big wide eyes and little hands grasping the edge of the table surface, is the girl.

“What in tarnation…” he breathes out slowly. Turning, “Bruce, what on earth are you doing with Badd’s kid?”

#rambles #my writing #fanfiction #wip #listen I've said it before but Kay deserves to hang out with the detectives they're all cool and I think it's fun

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blackrosemii · 5 years

Note

hi!! this is for the fic prompt, if you don't mind: how about flynn and yuri doing the fake married thing but then it turns out to become real? please? :'D

I’m not used to the Faked Marriage thing, so I’m not sure if this is what you had in mind.^^° Still, it was fun to write it^^

—————————————

Just for thisevening

Don’tworry,he said. It’sjust for one evening,he said.

Well, it wasn’t a lie, but still. When Flynn asked him for „alittle favor“ this wasn’t what Yuri had in mind. But how could hehave said no? His friend had this nasty ability to talk people intowhatever he wanted. It was one reason how he became commandant in thefirst place. Sure, he had all the skills necessary, no doubt aboutit. But due to his background as a streetrat from the lower quarterand the pressure of succeeding his fathers reputation, he had a roughstart, to say the least. So he added his charms and conversationskills to get on peoples good sides. Or to silence the ones whowanted him to fail.But not with Yuri! He knew Flynn well enough. He was able to seethrough his every attempt. He would never have caved into his littlegame.That is…until he whipped out his ultimate skill. One that Yuri wasweak for, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. Puppy-dog eyes.

And so here he was, all dressed up and still sticking out like a sorethumb. He never thought he of all people would attend some fancy-assnobles party. It was a formal event, one Flynn had to attend to. ButYuri? He had no place there. No reason to stay. He just wished forthis evening to be over as soon as possible.Sipping his wine – which was definitely better than whatever he wasable to get in the lower quarter – he watched as glittering dressesand stiff suits passed him without paying attention to him. Thank godfor Judiths talent in making him look like a noble. He wondered whereshe got the suit though. It seemed pretty expensive.

Flynn was on the other end of the ballroom. It seemed like he washaving a leisurely conversation with some other knight. Most likelysome hot-shot who wanted to climb the heirachry ladder by being allfriendly. He must have told some joke, because Flynn was laughing. Itwasn’t an honest one, Yuri could clearly see that. But seeing himlaugh with someone else kinda made him tense.The knight in question must have noticed him staring and came over tohim after a polite goodbye.

„So, are you enjoying yourself?“„Do I look like it?“The blonde chuckled at his answer.„I’m sorry to drag you into this, but I had no other choice.“„Seriously? There were plenty of other choices. You could haveasked Estelle or Judith. Hell, even your subordinate could have beena better escort.“„I doubt Sodia could keep up the act. And I couldn’t possibly askthe princess. Judith might have been an option, but to be honest…“„She scares you?“„You just never know what she’s thinking. She might have been moretrouble than saving.“

Yuri nodded silently. She would have taken this chance for some kindof prank, that’s for sure. Flynn could easily be flustered if caughtoff-guard. And somehow, the image of Flynn with another girlwas…irritating.

„Whydid you bring me here anyway? What did you mean with saving?“

The knight stayed silent while he was looking over the guests. Heseemed to search for something.

„Do you see this woman over there?“

He gestured towards a particular beautiful woman. Not Yuris type, butmany must have proposed to her already. She was at least surroundedby quite a few people.

„Yeah, so?“„She’s a duchess and her family has a long history in the knights.She has also made several advances at me.“

He didn’t want to ask, slightly afraid of what Flynn might say, buthe did anyway.

„Where’s the problem? She’s pretty and nobility. Perfect to be acommandants wife.“„The problem is I barely know her. And I’m not interested in her.“„Then tell her off.“„I did, but she’s relentless. She doesn’t give up.“

A short silence and Flynn straightend himself, now looking at Yuridirectly, with a grin that didn’t accept no as an answer. He was veryworried.

„And that’s where you come in. You’ll pretend to be my husband.“

Yuri almost spit out the wine he just sipped a second ago.

„H-hus-?!“ he squeaked a little too loud. Flynn quickly hushedhim by putting his hand over his mouth.„It’s just for one evening. You won’t even need to do anything.Just be there and play along, okay?“

He wasn’t sure what to think about that. Flynn having a stalker-likeadmirer wasn’t that surprising. He most likely had several of those.But Yuri, being his husband? Even if it’s just an act, that was justridiculous. It showed just how desperately Flynn was in getting awayfrom unwanted advances. And since he was already here anyway, hecouldn’t possibly back down now.

„Okay, okay. But you better make up for this afterwards.“„Of course“, the blonde said a little too cheerfully.

Just a few moments after that, the woman in question spotted her preyand walked towards him.

They exchanged a few formalities, something Yuri wasn’t interested inenough to actually listen to, but the way she looked at him made hisblood boil. She was as fake as he imagined her to be. Being all niceand ladylike, acting like she was some maiden. In the end, she wasprobably only interested in Flynns fame. He could see why the knightwanted to make sure she stopped.Especially after their conversation became a little less formal andtheir proximity too close for Flynns comfort. He was clearlyuncomfortable and was about to back away, but that was the bestchance for Yuri to play his part. And so he went over to the pair,put an arm around Flynns shoulders and pulled him closer towards him.The knight was a little surprised when he felt his friends headresting on his shoulder, but relaxed almost immediately.

„Sorry to interrupt your lovely little conversation, but I thinkthe commandant has some other business to attend to.“„And who might you be?“, the woman asked after a short silenceand poison in her tone.„His husband.“

It took the woman a few seconds to let that information sink in.Blood rushed into her cheeks with every second that passed. Whetherit was because of anger or of shame, he wasn’t sure. But shedefinitely took the bait. After clearing her throat, she was able toform a comprehensive sentence again.

„I-I didn’t knew. Forgive me commandant, but had I known you hadmarried, I would have gladly accepted an invitation to the wedding-.“„There is no need to apologize. It was a small wedding, nothing toofancy.“„Yup, just us and a couple of friends.“

The woman clearly didn’t like hearing Yuris input. She was staringdaggers at him, making sure he knew her opinion of their (acted)marriage. He didn’t let himself be provoked though and only met herwith a grin that said too late, he’s mine now.Their little exchange didn’t go unnoticed by the blonde, who quicklyexcused himself and dragged Yuri away with him before things couldget ugly.

The rest of the evening was largely uneventfull. He heard somewhispering here and there, some looks into their direction, but noone had tried to confront the two of them. Somehow Yuri enjoyed it.Seeing the jealous looks of some guests, while he was able to touchFlynn as casually as he always did. A feeling he never thought heneeded.

„I guess the rumor got spread pretty fast.“„Hopefully this will put an end to her flirting. You saw how sheis.“„Yeah, I did.“ He chuckled slightly at the memory of her faceafter she got the news. Truly priceless.

They were standing alone on a balcony, away from all the chatting andfaked friendliness. It wouldn’t be too long until Yuri was finallyable to get out of that stuffy suit and back in his small bed in thelower quarter. Although he would miss this feeling of superiorityover the nobles. He loved showing off who Flynn belonged to. Even ifit was just for the evening.

„Though, people will keep talking. What will you tell them whenthey ask about us now?“

Just this evening.

The blonde thought about it a bit before answering in amatter-of-fact tone.

„The same we said today.“„What? That we’re married? They won’t buy it. Or are you gonna showthem the ring that doesn’t exist?“„That would be a start.“

Just this…

„A start?“„Yes. And when they keep asking, Imight also show them the certificate.“

Something wasn’t right about this.Why was Flynn so happy all of a sudden? Was that supposed to be aprank? Was he messing with him? They couldn’t possibly…

„Are you saying we should marryfor real?“„Yes.“

Flynn was now directly looking athim, determination in his eyes and a smile as gentle as can be. Itmade Yuris face flare up when he realized what his friend just said.He wasn’t able to sort out his thoughts or find the right words. Hedidn’t even have time to, since his lips met Flynns.

Who initiated it? He didn’t know.Did he want to know? Probably not. All that mattered right now wasbeing in Flynns arms and truly enjoying the feeling he tried to avoidthe entire evening.

The thought of actually marrying hischildhood friend didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.

#tales of vesperia #fluri #fic prompt

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simon-newman · 5 years

Text

Full Update

Hello there again all those fascinated by arthropods or animals in general.

It’s been a while since I made a larger update regarding all of my animals and TBH I was feeling kinda down since Athena’s untimely death as she was the first animal I’ve got in two years (that is after my Red-eared slider turtle passed away at an age of about 25 years).

Something I failed to mention before in those posts - I’ve been keeping animals pretty much my entire life as I received the turtle from my parents when I was just a toddler and...

Well.. The last 2 years after it passed away made me realize that animal keeping really puts me at ease and without an animal to look after I am really feeling bad.

So I decided to stop putting everything “for a better time” and got a few arthropods to keep (they require far less effort than a reptile so I can keep more of them at once).

Here’s the (I think) complete list of animal posts so far:

1. Athena

2. Ants I want to keep

3. First molt

4. Lvl 5

5. Princesses Acquired

6. Tarantulas I want to keep at some point

7. Praying Mantis Additions

8. Ants video

9. Expo report

10. Big (late) update

11. Sad update - Athena’s passing

(Now I can limit the number of links in the followup posts)

Now. WIthout further delay I’ll cover all animals in order - Praying Mantises first, Ants second - according to numbers I gave them (most of them don’t have names as I don’t know if they are male or female yet).

I’ll finish with a new addition.

1. M002 - Hierodula Venosa “Golden” (!!??)

Ok. I’ve ordered this Mantis in the online shop so that I could compare it to Athena.

In the end the specimen that arrived was younger than desired and... Well... See for yourselves:

It doesn’t look like Hierodula “Golden” AT ALL.

She molted 3 times so far and is now older than Athena was when I received her so... Yup - it is not the species I ordered.

Perhaps it’s the same species as...

2. M003 - Hierodula Sp.

I didn’t receive any answer from the shop when I asked them to clarify which species it is. So I still have no idea.

This one didn’t want to pose at all - even within the cup that already causes the camera to lose focus.

I did however manage to take a photo of it eating a roach there.

She/He is doing well - just like M002.

They look similar but this specimen has a slightly blue hue of it’s abdomen.

I guess it MIGHT be Hierodula Sp. “Blue” just like the nymphs I got as a bonus from the same shop...

3. The Blue Gang - hierodula Sp. “Blue”

Ok - I’ll cover all 3 of them in one post.

All of them molted 3 times and I am expecting them to molt again soon.

I numbered them as well mostly for safety measures as now I know what to expect from each of them.

M004:

The most hyperactive, bolty Praying Mantis in my collection.

It refused to eat on camera and jumped out of the container after I took this picture - it turned into another chase on my floor...

I only saw him/her eating the roaches I left in her cup a few hours later.

M005:

As you can see this one is far more cooperative - it stood still while I took the picture and then ate without causing any trouble.

M006:

The most docile of the three - was not interested in posing for me and just waited for food.

I didn’t let him down.

And I say “him” because looking at the pictures above I think I can risk saying that it’s a male.

4. M007 - Hierodula Sp. “Golden” (Atum)

The intended mate for Athena - now a lonely older Praying Mantis in my collection.

He’s eating well but I try not to overfeed him.

He was on the same diet as Athena before so if she really got poisoned by something he could also be affected. So far he seems to be doing just fine - blissfully unaware of his future wife/executioner’s untimely passing.

I think I’ll follow the advice of the keepers at the expo and when he matures I’ll post a request on the forums to find a mate for him anyway.

Apparently mature males are quite in demand in the Mantis-keeping community.

We’ll see in the future. As of now it’s been almost a month since his last molt and he’s still accepting food.

I expect the next molt to be the semi-final one...

Which means that bast case scenario Atum has some 4-5 months to live.

Ok. Time to update on my Ant “colonies”.

5. A001 - Manica Rubida

Behold the stunning beauty of Her Royal Highness!

She made a pose like a JoJo character. Isn’t she fabulous?

Well - as you can see SHE is doing fine, but WAIT!

Do you see that thing among the larvae? (just under the queen’s abdomen)

No?

Here’s another photo:

Do you see those weird thingies now? There are at least four of them!

Those are pupae.

Yes - we have our first worker ants preparing to mature.

I guess it’s going to take about 2 weeks and we’ll finally be able to call this “a colony”.

So... How’s the other queen doing?

6. A002 - Manica Rubida

She’s doing fantastic but she’s not willing to pose for me.

As you can see she also has some pupae in there.

In fact the last time I counted she had 7 of them... Not sure where she stuffed the remaining 5 but she’s a crafty one - I guess she could even hide them under the cotton (I wouldn’t want to disturb her too much so turning the test tube to see is out of question).

Anyway - I’d love to provide more pictures of her but the sun started to do some weird shit and messing with my camera’s ability to focus.

I’ll just put this picture here:

Do you see this pupae? She has those cute, tiny eyes!

It’s hard to believe she’ll become one of the most hated ants in my country...

And with this we covered all the animals you knew I had.

But I did tell you that I’ll be visiting an expo last week.

I did.

I mostly intended to try and get some orchid Mantises (Hymenopus Coronatus) but...

Well - with Athena’s death I started doubting my ability to care for a more fragile species.

I am putting those on hold for now.

I went to ask about the possible reason of Athena’s death and three different keepers all had the same theory.

Pesticides.

She was kept the same as other Mantises in my care and fed the same food items.

She was the only specimen I kept on my window for display purposes.

All it took was for someone to spray their garden in the area and she might have gotten poisoned as well...

How... unfortunate.

Still - just to be sure I didn’t buy any new mantises.

The thing is - I convinced a family member who lives with me to go as well.

I was kinda surprised when she suggested I get something else instead.

Something to put on a display where my empty fish tank stands now (I’ll wait for 2 more years before re-establishing it).

Something... Different from the animals I am keeping now. Different and longer-living but still fairly easy to care for.

I am proud to introduce:

7. T001 - Brachypelma Vagans

Hard to see it down there but there’s a tiny little spider hiding in the burrow.

How tiny? Well - it was the size of my smallest fingernail.

It molted already a few days ago and now is the size of my index finger nail.

“I never saw it leave the burrow and it’s really hard to take a picture of it as it sits down there - this is the best I could do” - was the thing I intended to write here as I started this post yesterday.

Lo and behold.

As if it knew and wanted to become famous - in the evening it left the burrow to hunt down the roach I left in there during the initial photo session.

The last roach roommate stayed alive for two days and disappeared overnight.

I guess this one refused to share expenses and had to go.

Yup I got my first tarantula.

Umm... Well...

8. T002 - Chromatopelma Cyaneopubescens

I got two actually.

This one is far more active as it’s idea of a burrow is a trench around the center of the cup.

It also actively responds to feeding roaches and takes them down instantly.

I guess it doesn’t want a roommate

Or she doesn’t want a roommate...

Most people don’t even attempt to determine if a small sling is male or female (that’s why they are quite cheap) but I am me and I have this Pocket Microscope I bought for $2 which can magnify stuff 60 times...

The problem here is that I am a complete amateur and the microscope can’t take pictures so despite getting quite a clear view I can’t tell for sure myself.

I give it 75% chance it’s a female tho.

We’ll see how good I am at it.

So yeah...

I have tarantulas now.

Two so far.

From what I’‘ve learned there are two types of Tarantula Keepers out there.

First type - the ones who keep 1-5 tarantulas.

Second type - the ones that own more than 100.

There’s no in-between.

For now I’ll stay at 2 - I’ll think about more when I am able to have a proper animal room... Perhaps in a few years...

Anyway - this post grew quite long, didn’t it?

Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

I’ll keep updating - preferably every 2 weeks. I might also make more videos.

See you.

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self-indulgence-with-tea · 5 years

Text

#SSVDay19 Prompt 3 - Soulmate AU (feat. Elizabeth Comstock)

{For @jocelynships prompt list, I decided to go with an F/O that’s a little more in my age group. The AU? Soulmates can write, draw, or do anything to their skin and it’ll appear on the other. Enjoy!}

In the quiet of morning, Elizabeth Comstock couldn’t help but feel, of all things, lonely. Of course, she’s felt this way before. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize all her pleading with Songbird only granted her warning stares in return. Of course, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t long for a life outside her tower. The books were a nice escape, but there were only so many books in her library and only so long she could spend reading.

Elizabeth sighed, staring out her window at the cityscape below her, watching the morning bustle along the streets. So many people she had never met and would never know her. The young girl stood, smoothing out her dress and descending the stairs to the main library. Just as there was only so long she could read, there was also only so long she could sit, staring out windows, before it grew tiring.

Perusing the shelves, she found a book of poetry she hadn’t yet read. It looked to be good for a bit of light idling before studies for the day. Perhaps a poem or two would help her take her mind off things.

She flipped to a random page and started to read.

The house was still – the room was still

‘Twas eventide in June

A caged canary to the sun

Then setting – trilled a tune

A free bird on that lilac bush

Outside the lattice heard

He listened long – there came a hush

He dropped an answering word –

The prisoner to the free replied

Elizabeth smiled, raising an eyebrow. What was the reply, she thought. Taking a pen, she noted the poem’s name and author on her arm, having no free paper on which to write. Just a little note, barely noticeable. At the very least, she hoped Madame Lutece wouldn’t notice it when she came in for tutoring. She shut the book and tucked it away, leaving to the dressing room to prepare for studies.

~~~

An hour later found Elizabeth nodding off while Madame Lutece went on about geometry and pythagorean theorem. Her tutor was like this often, barely noticing when her ward wasn’t paying attention as she continued the lecture.

She looked down at the note scrawled on her arm and was shocked to find another bit of writing underneath. Even more shocking; the note wasn’t in her handwriting.

Looking up to ensure Madame Lutece still wasn’t aware she wasn’t listening, Elizabeth pulled back her sleeve and read the note. It was a question she, herself, had asked.

*How did the prisoner reply?*

Elizabeth glanced up before taking her pen and writing her own answer.

~Who are you?~

Throughout the lesson, she kept glancing down to her arm, trying to see if the mysterious writer would return. Eventually, she got a response.

*Nobody. You?*

She had to stifle a giggle before writing again.

~Apparently, a cyclops, Mr. Odysseus.~

Elizabeth could barely sit still, anticipating the next reply. This time, it came far faster.

*You must be well read. None of my friends know Homer.*

~I was led to believe Homer was very common?~

*Not among my peers, it would seem.*

“Miss Comstock.” The accented voice cut through her reverie like sheers through paper. “I would find it surprising, if you found the area of a circle so enjoyable.”

“My apologies, Madame Lutece. I was just writing…”

Elizabeth’s tutor raised an eyebrow, her eyes seeming to catch sight of her arm and the ink scrawled across it. A moment’s hesitation made Elizabeth curious.

“Madame Lutece?”

Rosalind seemed to shake herself of the moment. “We must be on with our lesson plan. You may resume the conversation at a later time.”

Elizabeth nodded, but hummed in confusion. Conversation? Did she know? Or was she simply referring to their conversation? And just who was this person? How were they writing on her skin like that? So many questions and every attempt to answer them just brought up more.

~~~

Emily Tomlinson looked over her arm with trepidation. The penmanship was very definitely unfamiliar and very neat, formal, even. Was it a ghost writing to her? Was she haunted?

She suddenly felt a presence over her shoulder and jumped back when it spoke.

“Woah, Emi, you got your soulmate already?”

She blinked, her friend looking very enthusiastic.

“Soulmate?”

“Yup! Your soulmate! Or, at least, that’s the legend. That the person on the other side of the writing is the person you’re destined to be with. Your perfect match.”

Emily looked down at the writing again, biting her lip. Soulmates… “It’s a pretty tale, but I don’t much buy into folklore. Most people never meet the person on the other side, right?”

Her friend nodded. “Yup. It’s pretty sad, to know and talk with someone your whole life and never meet them.”

Emily just shrugged and carried on. But now the thought couldn’t escape her head. What if this person was her soulmate? And what if they never met? Could she really maintain contact with someone so far?

She looked down at the writing just in time to see a new line appear.

~My name is Elizabeth. What is yours?~

She bit her lip and wrote back.

*Emily. It is very nice to meet you, Elizabeth.*

She smiled and covered the letterings again. Elizabeth, huh? Even if she wasn’t her soulmate, Emily had a feeling this would become a beautiful friendship.

~~~

A few years had passed since their initial correspondence and the two girls had become fast friends. They told each other everything, from happenings at home to facts they learned to literature they shared. Currently, though, Emily’s friend was taking up her arm with doodling while she read.

Lately, she’d found interest in the Bronte sisters, particularly the works of Anne Bronte. At least she had some taste in men.

“So, has your soulmate written you lately?”

Emily didn’t look up. “Firstly, we’re not soulmates. Simply friends. Secondly, yes, in fact. Though, I had warned her you would be watching for some time.”

Her friend groaned. “Not fair! I had wanted to meet her!”

Emily laughed. “Perhaps you will, one day.”

A silence settled into the air, tense and palpable. “Have you told her?”

“No. Not yet. But I will.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

Her friend hummed, then stood from her seat. “I best be going. So long, Emi!”

Emily smiled and waved her off. “So long.”

“And don’t forget to write!”

“I won’t!”

Emily looked down at her arm, seemingly random lines connecting her freckles. She giggled and turned it over to write.

*She’s away.*

The reply didn’t take long at all.

~What constellation is that? I can’t find it on my star maps.~

*The freckle constellation. She was connecting the dots.*

~I see! So, you have freckles?~

*I do! My whole family has them. Do you have freckles?*

~No, sadly, but my tutors do. It always made me wonder how I would look.~

Emily sighed, her friend’s words echoing in her head. She had to tell Elizabeth about it. Why was she having such trouble doing so? It wasn’t as if they would cease contact. Elizabeth wouldn’t even know unless Emily told her.

*I have news.*

~Is it good news?~

*Neutral, at most. My father is moving us to a new city.*

~Oh, that sounds wonderful! Perhaps you would be closer?~

*Perhaps. But this city is very difficult to move from. I’m afraid the possibility of our meeting would dwindle.*

And there it was. The kicker. Emily braced herself to face Elizabeth’s reaction.

~That’s quite alright. To where will you be moving?~

That was… relatively painless. Honestly, the fear had been warping Emily’s perception a tad, but the calm reaction was still a shock.

*To Columbia.*

~~~

Columbia. Emily was moving to Columbia. That fact alone was startling, in and of itself. Elizabeth wrote quickly.

~When will you be moving?~

Her leg bounced, waiting with baited breath for the answer.

*Within a fortnight.*

Two weeks. She was moving even closer in two weeks!? Should she tell her? But if they don’t meet, she’ll start asking questions and there was no way Elizabeth could tell her how she couldn’t go anywhere or that her guardian was large and made of leather and Heaven knows she couldn’t tell her about tears! None of the girls in her books lived like that, so it couldn’t be normal at all. Oh, this was a disaster… What could she possibly say?

*Are you okay, Elizabeth? You’ve gone silent.*

~Yes, I’m just fine. I simply have news of my own I wish to share.~

Please let this be the right choice. Of course, she wouldn’t tell her everything. Just of a strict parent? Songbird could be overprotective and governing at times, Elizabeth could make it believable.

*Go ahead, Lizbet. I’m all ears.*

~I live in Columbia currently.~

The reply came instantly.

*Spectacular! We can finally meet!*

~Not exactly, Emily.~

*Whyever not?*

~It’s my guardian. He’s very strict. He doesn’t let me leave my home. Perhaps, someday…~

*I understand entirely. But at least we know we’re closer and that’s well enough for me.*

Elizabeth felt she could almost cry from both frustration and happiness. Just one step closer. A step closer to a real, true friendship with another person. Songbird and her tutors were well enough, but she still felt lonely at times. But Emily… she seemed to drive it all away. She didn’t feel lonely, writing to her. It just felt like having a real connection with someone for once.

~Thank you. You’re a true friend.~

*I can only hope that, one day, we’ll finally get the chance.*

~I agree. Yet still, I do hope you enjoy Columbia! Tell me all about it once you move, will you?~

*Of course! I wouldn’t dream of anything else!*

Elizabeth smiled and moved her sleeve to cover her arm again. One step closer.

~~~

The years passed by and both young girls grew up. Elizabeth whiled the days away, reading and listening to the phonograph and dreaming of Paris. Em experimented, made friends, dated, questioned the nature of humanity, and came to some very interesting conclusions about themselves. Neither met and both were fine with waiting, with spending their lives as they were, with very little change.

One day, without warning, Elizabeth’s tutors stopped showing up. That was just how things were.

One day, Emily tried on trousers and chopped off their hair and got rid of the “ily”, never going back. That was just how things were.

One day, Elizabeth and Em both tried and failed to write “I love you.” That was just how things were.

One day, Elizabeth drew a flower on her hand and Em filled it in with colored ink. That was just how things were.

One day, Em’s mom left and they struggled to make ends meet in Finkton for a year and a half before finally making it back to live on the mainland. That was just how things were.

One day, Em saw a man eating garbage, much to the disgust of a couple of oddly familiar gingers nearby, and laughed about it with Elizabeth. That was just how things were.

One day, Elizabeth stopped writing. That was not how things were.

One day, Em stopped writing. That was not how things were.

One day, Elizabeth said she was being taken somewhere and disappeared. That was not how things were.

One day, Em witnessed the razing of Finkton and disappeared. That was not how things were.

One day, neither felt like they were allowed to die, despite feeling the pain of the other dying. That was not how things were.

One day, Elizabeth wrote that she felt she was being watched. Thus began a new day.

~~~

An electric storm circled Emporia like an omen, bombs and gunfire ringing in the distance. Em looked upon the carnage surrounding the floating island. Red banners waved in the distance, a symbol of a righteous rebellion turned bloodthirsty. Something had happened. Something awful. Something that would drive the usually patient and willing Vox Populi to become vicious.

Was it just? Was it righteous? Was it necessary? Em wasn’t sure, but they were scared. If something had happened, it likely wouldn’t be long before the Vox gave into mob mentality. Had the innocent blood anything to say about it, they already had. But it wasn’t Em Tomlinson’s war, they knew that much. They understood where they lied on the rank of humanity. They were poor and a confirmed bachelor, but that didn’t change that their white skin got them a free pass out of Finkton and all the privilege another man of a darker tone or different accent couldn’t afford. This was not their war to fight, however much they wanted to help.

Em checked their arm, looking at the conversation written in long dried ink along the length.

~The Vox Populi are razing Finkton.~

*I can hear the gunfire. Are you okay?*

~I’ve done something awful.~

*It’ll be okay. We can fix this.*

~You don’t understand. I have to go.~

*Go? Go where? I know you’re scared, but can’t we make it together?*

~I’m sorry.~

*Wait. I have to tell you something. Before you go.*

~I’m so, so sorry.~

*I love you.*

Since then, it’s been blank. The ink would get smudged or chipped every now and again, but what ink didn’t? Em couldn’t stop reading it, over and over, questions churning in their mind. What had Elizabeth done? Why was she sorry? Where was she going? Was she okay?

They shoved their sleeve back over the writing, forcing themselves not to read it any longer. It would only cause doubts. Instead, they looked to the freight craft. It was taking Emporia refugees. With some stolen clothes, Em was trying to pose as one of Columbia’s elite.

“Sir, we have to depart!”

“Please, just one more minute. I’m certain she’s coming.”

“We don’t have much time!”

Other, similar pleas rang out around them, begging for more time or for the craft to go on without those who couldn’t or wouldn’t climb aboard.

Em turned back to face the stairs. Just one more minute.

“Please, Elizabeth. I know you’re out there. Come find me…”

The pilot spoke with booming voice, “Last call to board! Leave all possessions behind!”

Em stiffened and turned, preparing to climb aboard, when they heard a voice.

“Booker, we should help them.”

“We don’t have time to spread pity. Let’s move on.”

“Booker, please.”

They turned to spy two people. The first noticeable was a grizzled man, about middle aged, with the overall aura of an alcoholic who hadn’t had a proper drink in days. He was relatively stylish, but not in any conventional way. Probably a confirmed bachelor. The second, however, caught Em’s eye. Following him was a beautiful young woman with raven hair and brilliantly blue eyes, made only brighter by the deep navy dress she wore. She looked kind, if not tired and aged far beyond her years. In that aspect, the man and the woman resembled each other quite a bit.

Em screwed their courage to the sticking place and approached. Maybe one of them had seen Elizabeth. “Excuse me!”

Both looked to them, the man with a tired groan and the woman with a sympathetic expression. She must have seen the blood on their stolen clothes.

“Please, can you help me? It won’t take but a moment, I promise.”

The woman seemed to give the man a pointed look and he sighed, backing off. “What is it you need help with?”

“I’m looking for someone,” Em explained. “A young woman with dark hair past her shoulders, blue eyes, fair complexion. You probably haven’t seen her, but she means everything to me and I just want to make sure she’s alright.”

The woman nodded in understanding. “Do you know her name at all?”

They sighed, shaking their head. “Just her first, but it’s a very common name. Elizabeth? Does that ring any bells?”

As soon as Em said the name, the woman’s face fell. “That’s… my name.”

“As I said, common name. Now, have you- ...What are you doing?”

The woman was rolling up her left sleeve quickly, as fast as she could without completely tearing it. When she turned it over, though, Em immediately recognized the penmanship scrawled on her arm. With far less care, they ripped their own sleeve up to show a matching set of ink marks.

“Elizabeth…?” Em breathed out, tears pricking at the corners of their eyes.

Elizabeth slowly smiled, looking so tired. “I love you, too.”

They immediately tackled her into a hug, both parties laughing and crying simultaneously.

“You’re alive! You’re okay! Oh, Lizbet, I was so worried!”

“You were worried!? I was traversing Hell itself and I couldn’t stop thinking about you!”

The man from before cleared his throat behind Elizabeth. “Are ya done now? Can we get a move on? We got a schedule to keep.”

“Oh, right. Really quick, Booker? This is Em Tomlinson. They’re the one from the writing I showed you. Em, this is Booker DeWitt. He’s the one that helped me escape my tower.”

Em looked between them. “Oh, your dad?”

“Wha--”

“Nevermind. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. DeWitt.” They stuck out their hand in greeting and Booker shook it firmly.

“Charmed and it’s just Booker. Now, if we’re done here…”

“What are you both doing? If you’re headed to Emporia, it’s already been ransacked by the Vox.”

Booker groaned at the delay while Elizabeth answered. “We know. We’re going to put a stop to it, one way or another.”

“Only if that’s what it takes to get the Hell out of dodge, to Paris or New York or literally anywhere but here,” Booker clarified.

Em nodded. “Then I want to help.”

Elizabeth inhaled sharply. “But you were just about to--”

“That was before I knew you were definitely alive and doing what I didn’t have the courage to do alone. But if you’re wanting to end all of this, I’m willing to help.��

Elizabeth took their hands. “I won’t put you in harm’s way,” she said firmly.

Em looked to Booker. “Do you have a gun?”

“If you can fire one, I’m sure we can pick up something on our way through Emporia. If you plan on doing any fighting, you’ll need vigors.”

“Like you said, plenty in Emporia. I refuse to lose you again, Lizbet. I promise, we’ll make it through together.” Em lifted a hand to cup Elizabeth’s cheek and she leaned into the touch.

“Then that’s also a promise you’ll be safe?”

“Of course.”

Elizabeth nodded and pulled back, a stoney determination setting into her very being. “Then let’s find Comstock.”

#ssvday19 #elizabeth comstock #f/o #self ship #self insert

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trashy-fujoshi-blog · 7 years

Text

ライアーダンス CHAPTER 3

V3 Spoilers as always.

POST-NDRV3 Virtual Reality AU Fanfic.

CHAPTER ONE HERE

CHAPTER TWO HERE

Kaede Akamatsu could tell there was something between the two boys. She wasn’t sure what exactly yet, but there was something… And whatever that something was, Saihara seemed to gain more confidence everyday, and Kaede was grateful for whatever Ouma was doing for her friend.

She knew Amami was pretty grateful too, because the two spoke often, being on the same floor and what not. Kaede was pretty certain Amami had noticed something too, because sometimes she’d catch him talking to Saihara, and she was 100% sure Amami was teasing him, but in a way that would help him clear his thoughts and confusion.

Obviously she shouldn’t condemn such antics, but thankfully, whatever Amami said to the detective that meal time, it’d helped knock Saihara out of whatever thoughts he’d been stuck in for days. Kaede knew, knew that the detective was probably over thinking something, and Amami had probably helped out, because that’s the kind of person he was, he was like a big brother to the two boys… That’s how Kaede saw it anyway.

Amami… was still quite a mystery to her though. She knew a little more about him now, after their time spent together, but she still couldn’t understand him entirely. But he was nice, he was nice even to her, even when she’d tried to kill him, despite everything… and he was too pure for any of them.

Kaede Akamatsu felt 100% certain she didn’t deserve the kindness of Amami Rantaro.

///

Maki Harukawa was lost.

Not physically, of course, but mentally.

There’d been so much confusion when she had awoken, and she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

The feelings she had, feelings she thought she’d never feel, feelings she was told were fake… what were they really? Were they really fake, simply spurred on but the events in the simulation, or, despite everything, did Maki genuinely like the idiot Kaito Momota?

She had no idea.

It took a bit of coxing from her carer, the young photographer Mahiru, before Maki finally took the initiative to leave her room.

It only happened once though, and Maki found herself in the presence of Kaede Akamatsu that gentle April afternoon, early on when they’d awoken.

It was… okay, it was fairly nice, because Kaede could relate to her, to an extent, and her presence alone seemed quite calming, like it came naturally to the pianist, to soothe those she was around.

It was only a brief exchange, and after that Maki retreated to the confines of her room, with Mahiru and Mikan being her only visitors, the photographer bringing her food when needed, and trying to act as some form of support, but with little success.

It took quite a bit of time with her thoughts before Maki could firmly say she had a clear grasp on what thoughts and feelings were real and what wasn’t. She couldn’t be indecisive with her thoughts, based on her talent, there was no room for unsurities. She could conclude, yes, she did like that space idiot, and no, she didn’t entirely blame the shorter brat that had used him in the simulation, in his crazy scheme to end everything.

Maki Harukawa could firmly say, she was ready to face everyone, face Kaito, face Saihara, face Yumeno, face Ouma… and Tsumugi.

Her appearance in the dining hall that morning sparked shock, from the six occupants, two of which were maybe just possibly fighting over a slice of toast like petty children.

“Harukawa!” Saihara spoke in surprise, and Maki gave a curt nod in greeting to the detective.

“Eh… Little Miss Assassin makes her appearance, at last~!” Ouma taunted, returning to moving his hand in all sorts of crazy uncoordinated directions, clutching a slice of toast Kiibo tried desperately to grasp, but unable to due to Ouma’s constant uncoordinated movement.

“Ouma! Gimme it back!”

“Nahhh~ c’mon Kiibo surely you’re not completely useless even as a human?”

“That’s rude! I’ll have you know-”

“Ehhh excuses!” Ouma butted in.

“Hello Harukawa.” Amami waved a hand, having not know the girl entirely well during the sim, and not having clear memories of any of their exchanges from before said time.

The final two occupants in the room, besides Saihara, Amami, Ouma and Kiibo, were Iruma and Korekiyo. Korekiyo seemed content to sit at the side and observe everyone silently, and Iruma seemed too busy fiddling with some odd device to notice anything around her, including Kiibo and Ouma’s squabble or Maki’s entrance.

“Hello Amami.” Maki replied, taking a seat at the table, feeling slightly uncomfortable being opposite the supreme leader, who’d finally given up, tossing the toast back to Kiibo, instead taking to leaning on Saihara, sipping silently at a carton of juice, eyes baring deep into her soul. Finally he stopped, tore his gaze away, and up to Saihara.

“”Shuuichi-chan I’m boreddddd.” Ouma pouted, and Saihara just sighed. Maki raised an eyebrow, since when did Ouma refer to anyone by their first names?

“Is that your way of telling me you’d like to leave, Ouma?”

Oh so it was just Ouma, Saihara wasn’t in on it? Maki just shook it off, it was probably Ouma just being weird.

“Yup~ Ah Shuuichi-chan knows me so well~” Ouma beamed and Saihara just shook his head. He couldn’t figure the boy out, but it’d been four days now, since the boy's memory returned, and he realised his gay ass feelings for the boy. Ouma had also insisted on calling him Shuuichi now, which made Saihara’s heart flutter when he heard it, but he’d not let him know that obviously… Not to say Ouma hadn’t worked it out, but Saihara wasn’t sure.

“If you say so, Ouma.” Saihara mumbled, standing up, to help the shorter boy up. It turned out that Ouma’s trip down to the dining hall a few days ago, wasn’t actually a wise choice on Komaeda’s part, as his legs still weren’t 100%. It didn’t do any damage per say, but Ouma had felt a bit of pain the day after, and could barely stand because of it. So he still needed support to walk, and he was only allowed down to the dining hall twice a day, nothing else, the rest of the time, Hajime had told him he had to remain in his room to rest his legs. If by the weekend check up, he’d showed signs of improvements, then he’d have free reign.

Ouma used this time for breakfast, and mostly closer to night-time, because he liked that it was quieter at that time.

Ouma just gave a simple nishishi, grabbing the crutch he still had to use, other arm slung around Saihara’s neck (which was slightly awkward considering Saihara was taller than him.)

“Bye bye Little Miss Assassin~ try not to miss me too much?” Ouma gleefully spoke, missing Maki’s brief concerned look, as he departed with a small limp, Saihara holding him on his feet as he did.

Amami noticed this look though.

“He can’t walk properly, that’s why Saihara helps him out, apparently he underwent too much physical stress.”

Maki frowned. That was probably her fault wasn’t it?

“He didn’t even get his memory back till about four days ago.”

“Memory..back?”

“Oh you don’t know?” Amami asked in surprise, and Kiibo used this time to butt in.

“Ah Amami it might be best if you don-”

But Amami continued, unaware of the whole Kaito and Maki thing, including her talent to which he’d never actually been told.

“Some people don’t actually have any memories other than like… fake ones made in the Sim? Like.. Pre-Killing Game? I think that’s what Saihara called it. Anyway, Ouma didn’t know anything true except his own name till Saihara worked his magic.”

“Who.. Who else?”

“I believe Shirogane, on the 6th floor, and Tojo and Momota? They’re on the 12th floor. Ouma was the only one who didn’t react violently due to the memories. Apparently he was quite the opposite, he was really reserved and when me and Saihara tried to see him, he was really upset at being in the same place as us.”

“The other three are under constant supervision, and react violently when they can. Apparently Momota actually managed to injure one of the staff members recently, by faking an improvement in his condition, to be trusted enough with cutlery. Stabbed one of the female staff members in the leg with a fork.” Kiyo mumbled from the side, and Maki’s eyes widened. Kaito.. Had done that?

“Oh where’d you hear that?” Amami asked curiously.

“The girl who checks up on me. She’s quite detestable, and she lets infomation slip too easily.” Kiyo replied, and Kiibo let out a splutter.

“Th-That’s rude!”

“It’s true though.”

“Momota… doesn’t remember?”

“No, I’m sorry Harukawa. Myself and Iruma are helping out the best we can too!” Kiibo admitted, with a faint blush, because goddamnit that girl was distracting more than helpful, and she was also still completely engrossed in the device in her hands to listen to her being spoken about.

“Do.. do you think I could see him? I might be able to help like Saihara did? I.. can handle myself.”

Amami just gave a quizzical look which Kiyo cleared up.

“Ah. You don’t know because it was revealed after you died. Harukawa is the Ultimate Assassin.”

Amami just blinked once, twice.

“Oh.”

And then he gave a nervous chuckle, because what Ouma called her as he left made sense now.

“Well I’m sure you could handle yourself then.”

“You reacted quite well.” Maki commented and Amami just shrugged.

“What can I say, I hang around enough abnormal people to just not get surprised anymore.”

Iruma finally paused enough to notice Maki.

“Eh. I haven’t seen you around. Where have you been hiding Harukawa?”

“...”

“Suit yourself. If you’re wanting to see that idiot though, I know just the person to ask.” Iruma added, and Maki narrowed her eyes with interest.

“Ir-Iruma are you suggesting-?” Kiibo spluttered and Iruma smirked, giving a nod.

“Exactly.”

///

And that was how Maki Harukawa met Komaeda Nagito, a.k.a The Original Little Shit

Apparently Komaeda wasn’t actually staff of either Hope’s Peak or the Remnants of Future Foundation, he was just here because of Hinata Hajime, and just seemed to be breaking rules left right and center because he apparently didn’t give a shit for order? That’s the impression most of them had of him by now. Komaeda did hang around Hope’s Peak quite a bit, but he just got away with a lot of things and Maki had no idea what to think of the guy.

“Harukawa is it?” Komaeda asked, and Maki nodded.

“You’re wanting to see Momota… Even after I told poor Saihara no, twice.”

Maki blinked. Saihara had tried to see him too? It made her feel a bit better knowing the detective hadn’t lost that courage the astronaut had helped bloom.

“Yes.”

“Okay~”

Maki just blinked.

“That easy?”

“Yup. You see, I just have an inkling that these guys that don’t remember, just need someone to kickstart their memories. Worked for Kokichi, so…”

And apparently Komaeda was on first name basis with Little Shit 2.0

Made sense.

“So you’re thinking I’m that someone for Momota?”

Komaeda just nodded.

“I watched most of the game, since it broadcast back to the monitors. I even have an inkling for the other two.” Komaeda gave a sly smile and Maki had to stop herself from shuddering at the sight of it. This guy was.. Not normal, he made her feel on edge, and he seemed quite capable of pulling off some dangerous and insane shit.

How was there someone worse that Ouma in this world?

“Yet you’ve not said anything?”

“Of course not. Everyone’s hopeful enough without my ideas. It’s nicer to see you guys form your own hope, than have it forced upon you by me.”

Maki just frowned.

“But luckily, I happen to have been classmates with the two with Momota, and I’m sure I could convince them, so just give me a bit of time.. Say..2 hours?”

Maki just blinked. Did this guy have that much faith in himself? Or was his faith placed in something else?

///

As it turned out, Komaeda convinced Pekoyama Peko, and Nidai Nekomaru, that Maki could see Kaito, if she didn’t get to close, and the two of them, and Hajime Hinata had to be present. Mako wondered what Hinata could do, considering she’d seen him and he looked pretty weak to her?

She’d been informed, however, that he had a large array of talents, due to some messed up project from a few years ago, before everything fell to shit… which was partly his fault.

So, accompanied by a swordswoman, a huge ass guy who looked capable of killing someone with his pinkie, and the scrawny form of Hajime Hinata, Maki finally got in to see Kaito Momota.

////

“Shuuichi-chan~”

Saihara just looked at the boy in question, eyebrow raised, as they exited the dining room.

“Harukawa stayed in a room with me for more than 5 minutes without a threat on my life!” Ouma said, eyes sparkling in fake excitement that had Saihara roll his eyes at the boys antics. He suspected the boy had wanted to leave before Maki found out about Kaito’s condition, since Saihara was certain the girl would find some way to pin it on Ouma, and well... They didn’t need that in their lives at the moment, they already had enough burdens.

“I’m worried about her though.” Saihara admitted and Ouma sighed, as they reached the elevator, which had finally been fixed.

“Shuuuuichi-chan.” Ouma extended the ‘u’ vowel as he spoke, stopping for a moment before continuing to speak.

“You can’t help everybody y’know. Sometimes you have to look after yourself too!” Ouma commented and Saihara’s face went blank.

“Don’t try and hide it from me. You can’t hide that sort of thing from a Liar like me, y’know?” Ouma continued, as the number above the life slowly traveled downwards.

12, 11, 10, 9…

“I.. I-” Saihara didn’t have any excuses. It was just how he felt. He’d no issues with helping others, while staying silent about his own problems, because that’s the kind of person he was. Saihara Shuuichi was too considerate of everyone else and it was slowly killing him.

8...7...6...5

“Look after yourself more.”

4...3...2..

“I’ll try.”

..1

Saihara didn’t hear Ouma’s muffled thank you, as the doors dinged open for them, but that’s okay, because Ouma didn’t want him to hear anyway.

///

Despite everything, the Detective and the Supreme Leader still both slept in Ouma’s room, it was just one of those things they didn’t want to stop, mostly because it was comforting to have someone there, to tell them everything was okay, and that they weren’t in that horrible school, every time they awoke disoriented and scared.

It was usually Ouma that struggled with the nights to be fair though, it wasn’t often he did wake up, but Saihara was there regardless, he was a light sleeper so 9 times out of 10 he awoke to Ouma’s distressed noises, ready to assist in anyway he could. Maybe it was Maki’s appearance that brought the weight of everything back to Saihara, that even if it wasn’t reality, he failed to protect anyone, everyone had died before him, after he’d promised to continue Kaede’s wish, and even now he felt pretty helpless. Kaito couldn’t remember a thing about him… or anything for that matter. Saihara was finally starting to feel the pressure, because he felt the need to help everyone out, to aid in anyway he could, because it was the least he could do.

What kind of detective was he, letting everyone die before him? Letting himself be deceived and lied to without realising? Why didn’t he have the answers he needed? Why had he given up so easily?

On top of that, how could he even call himself the Ultimate Detective if he had to wait for someone else to tell him what he’d been feeling for Ouma? How did he not even realise his own feelings?

Saihara didn’t sleep much that night.

Ouma fell asleep pretty quickly, loosely wrapping himself around Saihara, because for some reason the Supreme Leader was a clingy sleeper. Saihara did eventually drift off, sometime in the early hours of the morning, but the only thing that greeted him was horrific nightmares.

It had started out quite nice, the 16 of them in Hope’s Peak, quite cheerful and happy if anything. And then Tenko had turned to face in, neck dripping in blood, eyes drawn in accusation at him. Saihara whipped around in desperation, only to come face to face with Angie, her too dripping in blood, finger pointed at him, besides Amami, who held a hand to his head, blood trickling through his fingertips. Slowly but surely everyone around him began to point or glare at him accusingly, the friends he’d tried so hard to help all glared at him like it was his fault, bodies reflecting the injuries they’d sustained before their deaths.

There was too much blood, and Saihara couldn’t escape, no matter how far he ran, they were always right behind him. Somehow, in his endless running, Saihara began to recognize his surroundings as the dreaded Prison school, and he could tell from the dark colours and whirring of machinery where he had wound up, from the press that lurked in the corner, two of his friends stood beside it, feral expressions littering the faces he knew would never look like that. Even as Saihara struggled, there was no way to resist the 13 students who shoved him forward, and the two who lurked beside the press, one grabbing each arm, hoisting him forward towards the metal he never wanted to go near again. Resisting did nothing though, and sure enough, Ouma was hoisted onto the slab, still trying to break free from the arms that held him into place. It was in the briefest of moments, that Saihara wondered if Ouma had been just as terrified, laying here, knowing what was to come, before the fear and panic overtook him once more. He knew this wasn’t real so why couldn’t he wake up? Why couldn’t he alter it? Why? When the heavy metal of the press finally dropped down, towards his struggling form, it ended.

Saihara bolted up from the bed, muffled scream from his lips, breathing uneven, hand shakily reaching instantly to clasp at his chest, as he tried to take in the oxygen he so badly needed. He could hardly breath, and the darkness of the room had him hyperventilate further, he was okay but his brain couldn’t accept that, it was still driven by fear and panic, and Saihara couldn’t function, he couldn’t move, all he could do was sit there, tucking his knees up, willing away the tears that made him have to choke back sobs, still unable to calm his breathing.

Why couldn’t he escape?

Why would it always be there in his mind?

Why couldn’t he just forget?

Saihara shuddered, breath hitching as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He managed to pick out the blurry form of Ouma, himself slightly disorientated, awoken by the noise Saihara made. The shorter boy had placed a hand on his shoulder, as to not spook him, there was silence between the two, as the supreme leader finally moved forward more, wrapping both his arms around Saihara, tugging him forward and into the smaller boy’s chest.

“Shuuichi it’s okay. Breathe for me, yeah?”

Saihara could only shake his head. He couldn’t- He couldn’t do it. Ouma didn’t give up though, one hand moved to calmly run his fingers through Saihara’s hair, combing it softly, the other to the stark pale face of horror and fear that was pressed against his chest, small fingers moving to wipe away the tears on the detectives cheeks.

“Shuuichi please.” Ouma asked again, and Saihara tried to take a shuddery breath, his shoulder jittered, and all he could do was make a feeble noise as he tried to inhale before exhaling sharply.

“There we go. Keep that up, breathe in.” Ouma mumbled, and Saihara followed in suit, finding it a tiny bit easier to gulp down the air he needed so desperately.

“And breathe out.” Saihara exhaled, calmer this time, but still unable to stop himself from letting out a sob, one he’d tried to contain.

“Shh, it’s okay Shuuichi, I’m here, okay? You’re safe.”

Saihara nodded, letting the boy know he’d heard, opening his mouth to try and speak, but only managing to let out another choked noise, hands moving up to clamp over his mouth, shaking his head wildly against Ouma who simply sat holding him.

“Don’t worry. You don’t need to rush. I’m not going anywhere, take your time, Shuuichi.”

Eventually, Ouma’s words and actions helped Saihara calm down, relaxing slowly but surely, in Ouma’s hold, his breathing evening out to a normal rate. Then the silence came.

That was the first time Ouma had ever woken up because of Saihara. Usually the detective could keep himself quiet and under control, but it’s likely the constant stress the Detective was silently enduring had finally caught up, and it had become too much to contain. Saihara was more than willing to care for Ouma when he awoke in a state, but it was the first time Saihara had ever disturbed the Supreme Leader. He felt like shit for disturbing the boy who already didn’t get enough sleep, and now he had just disrupted him with his pathetic panic. Ouma said nothing, and didn’t let go of Saihara either, even after he’d calmed down enough to breathe properly.

“You think too loud, Shuuichi-chan, I can hear you from here.” Ouma mumbled, the typical chan returning down the boy had calmed down considerably. Saihara didn’t notice the lack of honorific in his panic. Saihara just looked up, and Ouma sighed at the obvious guilt the detective was reflecting in his eyes.

“It’s not your fault Shuuichi-chan. I promise.” Ouma mumbled, trying to get the Detective to stop looking so guilty.

“B-But I woke you up- and-”

“So? You never complain when I wake you up. You’re allowed to be selfish sometimes y’know? If you feel lost, remember everyone in this building is here for you, okay?”

Saihara could tell Ouma was acting quite different than normal, and his voice slightly reflected that of the boy he’d been before his memories returned… Was it possibly the two personalities had merged?

“Bu-But-”

“No but’s. You’re allowed to put yourself first.”

Saihara just gave a weak nod. He didn’t want to, not when people were relying on him, or when people had bigger issues than him, but Ouma’s demanding tone made him consider trying at least.

“Now, you’re going to lay back down, and sleep, and if you wake up again, I am going to be right here for you, okay?” Ouma asked, one hand moving down to clasp at Saihara’s, squeezing reassuringly. Saihara just nodded quietly, complying with Ouma’s orders. As the detective slowly fell back asleep, he said nothing, reassured by the silent yet ever present squeeze of Ouma’s hand.

The boy didn’t have anymore nightmares that night, and by the time morning rolled around, Saihara woke up, and actually felt pretty rested, hand still held loosely by Ouma’s. The boy was already awake, staring at him curiously.

“You okay Shuuichi-chan?”

Saihara nodded, faintly embarrassed at the events of last night. He’d been so close to Ouma, and he’d looked so weak, after he promised he’d be strong for everyone.

“Good. Now let’s get you some food, that’s the best cure for feeling uneasy, don’t you know?” Ouma asked and Saihara furrowed his brow. It was?

“What time is it?”

“Like.. 3pm.” Ouma mumbling and Saihara never bolted out of bed as fast as he did that day.

“Ho- What the hell, why didn’t you get me up sooner?”

“Silly Shuuichi-chan. You needed sleep. Who cares what time you wake up? It’s not like we actually have anything to get up for at the moment, we’re stuck here till they sort out the others guys memories.”

“Bu-But-”

“You can’t risk your own safety to help others. Kiiboy and Iruma are doing what they can already, and you helped a lot, don’t you remember? You helped me, and you helped Kayaday and Amami too. You help us all without even knowing.”

“I- I do?”

“You do.”

“If you say so.” Saihara wasn’t overly sure he’d done anything to help, he didn’t feel like he had anyway but Ouma didn’t appear to be lying.

“Now, shall we get some food or not?”

Saihara nodded. He felt pretty hungry even though he’d only just woke up, and it did sound like a nice idea to head down to the dining hall at this time, since it’d probably be empty.

///

It wasn’t actually empty, but it was near enough. The only person in the room other than the two of them was Angie, who greeted them cheerfully but paid little other attention to them, too busy sketching with one hand, and nibbling on a sandwich in the other.

“Now, let’s find something for you to eat?”

Saihara just gave a nod. Did the Supreme Leader even know how to cook?

Apparently he did, and Saihara couldn’t help but be a tiny bit impressed at the boy, a small smile making his way onto his face, at the sloppily presented but rather tasty omelette the shorter boy cooked up for him.

“It’s probably not as good as what Tojo could make..” Ouma trailed, he kind of missed the maid, since she was pretty convenient to have around, and she did kind of feel like the mother he should have had but never did.

“It’s perfect Kokichi.” Saihara muttered, quickly shoveling it down, not even noticing his slip up with Ouma’s name. Ouma noticed though, and even if he was a master at deceiving people, he couldn’t deceive himself, tips of his ears turning red in embarrassment, because goddamn it he wanted Saihara to call him that all the time if that’s how the word sounded from the detective's mouth.

“No problem Shuuichi-chan.” Ouma smiled, a genuine smile that had both of them feel just a tiny bit happier in their rather complicated lives.

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