#i wanted to keep adding more characters but the file would’ve been too big (‘:

[wasabi-gumdrop]

neon glory squad 💖

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: June 6th, 2021

I’m back with more ask responses! You can also check our Frequently Asked Question sheet if there’s something you’re wondering that’s not answered here.

FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

Thank you for the patience with these questions  ♡

Hey in very beginning of step 3 in the scene where Mr.Holden had a thought dancing on the tip of his tongue but he kept it to himself after MC and Cove were being cute (idk if it makes a difference but this is when they're dating)... Can we know what he was thinking/ wanted to say? It's been bugging me lol 

He would’ve gone into a “look how much you’ve grown”, “your dad is so proud of you”, “I’m so glad things worked out with the MC”, and etc spiel, haha. But he resisted the urge to fawn on his baby boy, at least for that scene.

If we planned to move away for college/future plans in step 3, is it implied that MC and Cove would have a long distance relationship for sure? Could MC have convinced Cove to come with them? How is the dynamic of their relationship going to be addressed in Step 4, if that makes sense? 

Cove is willing to follow the MC where they went after everything is settled for them there, and if they’re sure they want him to come! You’ll get to decide how things shook out during those transitional years just by making choices about it during the opening prologue of Step 4.

Hi! First off, how does it feel to have created one of the best games when it comes to inclusion for lbtq+ peeps? I've never felt as validated with my identity and sexuality when playing a game and I'm seemingly not alone ♥ Second, and this might be a little too specific, but what kinds of drinks does Cove like as well as dislike? Thank you, you're the best ♥

Thank you for very much! It’s really nice to hear the game felt inclusive. Cove likes regular water and fruit juices/smoothies most! He dislikes coffee and cola, and he’s not super into most teas either.

Hi, may i ask what gb patch stands for? Specifically the gb part lol

It stands for my old, silly username I used in places like Neopets as a kid, aha. The company name wasn’t super thought out since it was originally just me making VNs as a hobby. Luckily, “GB Patch” kind of seems like it could mean something reasonable, so I didn’t have to rebrand when it did become a more serious, commercial group.

If we chose to not propose to cove in the step 3 dlc would he propose or would the mc propose in step 4 or the wedding dlc? 

Yeah, you or Cove can propose in Step 4 if you’re not already engaged! The Wedding DLC takes place after the engagement so the proposal scenes aren’t there.

will you guys announce if the early access for the new game is out on patreon ? 

When beta builds of Step 4 or whatever start coming out on the Patreon we will mention it here on social media too.

Heyy I just had a quick question about Baxter if that’s okay :)?

I saw in an ask+answer that it’s possible to casually date Baxter In step 3, but what leads up to that? I have the step 3 dlc and I’ve tried playing them In a different orders and ways but it doesn’t seem to get anywhere ^^;

The Step 3 DLC is Cove-based because he’s the default guy. There’s a separate Baxter romance DLC that’s not out yet. That’s where you can get him to date you. I’m sorry for the confusion!

Will we ever get any LI's or side characters with physical disabilities or deformities? I think your games would be a great place to have them in since they're always so accepting and safe! 

Yeah, we do hope to have representation for that in future projects ^^. Thank you for the confidence in us.

Is it possible to get Cove to take the bed and MC to sleep on the floor? 

Not in Step 3, I’m afraid.

So, I have played the prologue of Our Life countless times and I haven't gotten the [Your Life] achievement, why is that? 

Steam sometimes isn’t connected properly when an achievement unlocks and so it remains locked on your account. If that happens, unfortunately getting the scene again won’t unlock it. The achievement becomes inaccessible because the game thinks you already have it. Playing with the same Steam account on a different device or fully deleting your game data (more than the only the save files) are the only work arounds we’ve found.

Since when you talk with Jeremy in step 3 it's mentioned he goes on dates with someone (which assume is JB because who else would take this boy on dates) that makes him happy, does that sort of make JB and Jeremy the canon relationship in the first game?

The default for XOXO Droplets is that JB casually goes on dates with each of the jerks! Shiloh would’ve been harsher if Jeremy was the only guy getting her attention, haha. But the player can change that default by dating just one person the whole game for their own story and who she ends up with for real has no default.

Hi, hello! Huge OL fan, thank you so much for the wholesome content, it was very much needed during these times. Managed to get several people to join team Cove, so that's very exciting, I always have people to fawn over him with. I have a little question and I'm sorry if it was asked before, but does it ever come up in the game what Cove has told his mom about us? (who knows, with so many options, one can miss it) Or, alternatively, will it come up in the Step 4 DLC? 

Thank you very much for sharing the game with people <3. It’s really great to hear people are liking it. Right now that doesn’t come up in game. Kyra is willing to keep her mouth shut and Cove isn’t gonna have that conversation either. At least not when he’s younger, but yes, perhaps when he’s a fully grown big boy in Step 4 you can ask him about it.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since it has been confirmed that there would be two love interests for OL2, would there be the possibility of forming a polyamorous relationship with both love interests? I’m sorry if you answered this previously, I’m just curious. 

We are considering it, but it’s not a guarantee yet. It’d be really great to have but it’d add so many extra alterations that’d need to made, aha.

Hello! You mentioned how Cove would be uncomfortable with kids at 23, but how old would he be when he’s comfortable with having/adopting kids? (Same goes for the other LI’s.) btw, love your game!! 

He’d want to be at least 25, but even older would be good. Derek would want to have kids when he and his partner could reasonably support them, the age itself wouldn’t matter. If they were doing good at 22 and wanted kids, he’d be up for it. Or they could wait until their 30s or whatever. Baxter is also more of a “when it feels right” guy rather than having a specific age requirement. Cove is just especially wary of being a young parent because of his own parents. I’m happy you like the game!

does step 4 immediately play after you press "end summer" in step 3? or is there another button/transition (like the story text thingy) before the epilogue begins? what happens after the epilogue? roll credits? 😂 

Step 4 will have transition section always and there will be an extra button, if you own the Derek or Baxter DLC. By default the Cove-based version of Step 4 just plays once Step 3 is over. However, having the other guys’ storylines will mean you get to pick which version of Step 4 plays; Cove Step 4 (the basic one), Derek Step 4, or Baxter Step 4.

Happy pride, thank you for all you do for us🥰

I have a quick question though, I recently got a MacBook after my old windows computer broke, and now steam says I cannot download it, but it has no issues with other games, what can I do to download it?? I’m sorry if my English is bad

Happy pride month! Unfortunately, Our Life isn’t available for Mac on Steam right now. To be an approval application Apple requires having special notarization and we as a small group haven’t gotten that. Itch doesn’t care and lets us release the game for Mac there anyway, Steam does care so we’re locked out of putting the Mac build up on their storefront. Feel free to email us and we can try to help the situation out further!

support@gbpatchgames.com

Hello! I was jus wondering if the Baxter and Derek DLCs are still happening? I haven’t heard anything about them on here or patreon in a while so I just wanted to make sure ^^

They’re still coming and we just released a new sprite sketch on the Patreon for the Derek DLC c:. But right now Step 4 is still much more of a priority. Once that’s closer to being done we’ll focus way more on sharing previews for the other guys.

is it possible to tell cove you love him (platonically) at step 3 fondness/selecting him as basically family? i just love the mc and liz sibling interactions and it got me wondering about it (especially if you've selected that option)

You and Cove can be as close as family, but there’s not a specific scene in Step 3 where you say “I love you” in a family context. But there’s always Step 4~

do you intend on ever adding a collectors mode to Our Life? Like a way to collect achievements and CGs for the gallery without it effecting any save files? 

We weren’t considering it before. But if a lot of players would find that helpful, we could start thinking on that!

Sorry if it's a silly question haha, but (in crush/love) is Cove really aware of how cute and cuddly he seems to MC? If so, what does he think or do about it? Or does he just ignore it? 

He isn’t particular aware. Cove never truly stops being surprised that the MC is interested in/attracted to him, haha.

Would you say that the alone ending of xoxo droplets is worth playing again to get? 

Nope, haha. The goal is to make friends/get a boyfriend and so the alone ending is kind of the bad ending for the game. Though there is a consolation prize if you get it by accident.

Is there any possible situation which would ever prompt Pran to bake for his girlfriend? Like I know it's unlikely I mean even if JB broke her leg somehow I'm pretty sure he'd still be like "I considered baking you a cake and doing the frosting the way I think looks interesting but you don't deserve a cake, no one does." right but also ahhh it would be super nice if some day he just surprised her with baked goods one day out of nowhere. JB would be so shocked it would be cute. So is there any possible situation where that could/would be a thing that he would do? 

He might bake out of spite, like if he felt he had to prove her wrong on something. Or if JB used some good reverse psychology on him. Or he might do it in a relatively nice way if he could make his GF so shocked by the kind gesture that his amusement with that overrode his insistence on not being sweet. Pran is very difficult in high school, aha.

Is the "one route (where) it can be seen that Everett will drop his seemingly eternal waging with Jeremy pretty easily and can start getting along without thinking much on it" the Lucas route? I'm curious! 

Yep! Everett will side with Jeremy if it’s between him and Lucas.

Hi I hope you guys are having a great day :) I just had to ask how Cliff would feel about Cove's partner/fiancé Mc calling them dad whether it be accidental or otherwise and secondly I also wanted to ask how he would feel about being asked to be the one to give the mc away at their wedding. 

He would be very touched and excited! I hope you have a good day too :D

Hello! I saw an ask relating to whether Cliff "moves on" after Cove's grown up and stuff (and he stays single), but what about Kyra? Will she be with anyone else or will she stay single? 

She does start dating again, but she takes it slow.

Hi! I absolutely love the art for characters in OL and I wonder is this fine to draw my MC in same drawing style and upload online later? Is this something artists would be okay with? Thank you! 

Yeah, you can certainly do that C:

Hey there!

I wonder if I'm just being stupid here.. Is Step 4 a DLC? And if so, where can I find it? I can't seem to find it on Steam :< Thank you!

Step 4 is a free epilogue! It’s not done yet, but once it is finished you’ll just update your game file and Step 4 will be there after Step 3 ends.

hi! are step 4 and the wedding dlc two different things?

They are. Step 4 is a free epilogue that’ll be a default part of the game once it’s done, the wedding DLC is an optional paid expansion that takes place after Step 4.

Why did Baxter not receive a step 2 sprite seeing how he shows up later

Sprites are time consuming to draw and take money out of the budget that could’ve gone to other things. His tiny appearance in Step 2 wasn’t worth all the effort to make a sprite, aha.

I just realized, what happens if if you get the patreon exclusive moment but at a later date, when you don't have the membership anymore, it's updated (like a bugs fix update for example)? Would you have to get the membership again? 

You would have to get the membership again to redownload the build. But there’s very little chance there’s going to be an update once it’s been out for over a month. If a build gets released with errors, players catch/report them within the first few days. So by the time the first subscription period ends, any problems that were noticeable would already have been fixed. And we’re certainly not gonna be adding new content to it once it’s been released for a long time. There’s no need to worry about missing out on something worthwhile in the future if you cancel your membership. It’s being made with the idea in mind that many players are gonna be getting it and then going.

Hello! Wanted to ask about gaming choice in step 3? Once upon a playthorugh I got the option to buy Cove a bracelet for his graduation present. I played the same basic character again and that option wasn't there anymore. I'm not sure where I went wrong. My Cove wears a bracelet on each hand and my MC is into fashion and jewelry. Do I need to put an earring on him or? Sorry, love your game so much. 

He also needs to have liked bracelets in Step 2 for that to be considered a good gift option for him. Sorry for the confusion! I’m happy you love the game :)

Is Step 4 being released at the same time as the Wedding DLC or will the first come before the latter? Thank you! 

I’m not sure. Ideally they’ll come out at the same time, but the wedding DLC has a lot of art to get done and we may have to release it after Step 4.

Can mc still get confession from Cove at the end of step 3 even if mc casually dates Baxter in step 3? Such as in crush mode? 

I don’t think so. Maybe that’ll change, but generally there’s differences to the Step 3 ending if you were dating Baxter and those differences likely will conflict with getting the Cove confession.

For the patreon moments/dlcs, will it be available for all tiers? 

It’ll be available for tier 2 (Fans) and up!

[holdyourbreathuntilyouseelight]

Hothead

Summary:  Extended station scene from 1x03 between Carlos and TK, from Carlos' POV. A snapshot of how they started to mend things between them after TK had stormed out on the date that Carlos had tried to spring on him.

Rating: General Audiences

A/N: I do not pretend to know anything about the inner workings of a police station, their rules and regulations or what sort of things are contained in their reports. Tried to be as realistic as I could but apologies for any inaccuracies.I also do not claim any ownership of 9-1-1 Lone Star or the associated characters. Pretty sure they own me instead... (:

First foray into the 9-1-1 fandom but hopefully not the last!

Read on AO3 here.

* * *

Carlos was flipping through the files on his desk, making sure he had signed off on the last of them, when a familiar name being spoken caught his attention.

"TK Strand, yeah. He's a firefighter with the 126. Guess he got a little hot-headed."

"You can't keep reusing the same joke every time something involves a firefighter, Ben, seriously."

Carlos looked up from his desk to see two of his colleagues ribbing each other, all talk and no malice.

Jill was right – Ben liked to reuse the same heat-related jokes about firefighters, but his curiosity was peaked over the implication in regards to TK.

"What's that about one of the 126 firefighters? Did they get hostile at a scene we were at or something?"

The two cops looked over at him in surprise. He wasn't normally one to join in on gossip.

"Nah, he was off duty. Started a fight at a bar. Provoked two built men that were drunk off their asses. Bartender called it in after security tried breaking it up."

Carlos felt his worry double. What was TK doing? Why was he picking a fight? He knew he had freaked out on him the other day, making it clear there was a lot more going on internally than he was letting on, but volunteering to get pummeled? That had to be a cry for help.

"EMS clear him?"

"Yeah, he's fine, just some cuts and bruises. He's cooled off now; just gotta process him, give him back his shit, and do the usual stern warning that means bull."

Carlos seized the presented opportunity, hoping Ben would take the bait. "Hey, if it's that easy, why don't I take over? Your shift just ended and I owe you for staying late when I had my abuela's birthday to run to. I've finished the last of my reports from that three car pile-up earlier, so I'm free."

"Well, me and Ella were supposed to do date night tonight… yeah, all right, Reyes. He's all yours. Thanks, man."

"Of course. Have a good time." Carlos said, trying to play it off casual, like it was no big deal, even though he was itching to corner TK and ask what the hell he was thinking. He didn't need his coworkers knowing details about his private life so it was better they didn't know he knew the guy more intimately than professional overlap.

"I think you still owe Spencer, Reyes. Pretty boy is easy on the eyes, even if he is an idiot who started a bar fight." Officer Porter teased.

Carlos didn't bite; the station knew he was out, at least most of them did, so it wasn't that weird of a comment. Reacting would only make it obvious that something had gone on between them and he didn't need a lecture from the sergeant on duty about professional conduct or bias.

Ben passed over the folder on his way to his desk. Carlos immediately sifted through it, scanning the pages quickly to learn the basics of what had gone down.

Caucasian male, mid-to-late twenties, athletic build. 0.0 BAC on breathalyzer test. No abnormalities on basic toxin screen. No prior records with APD. No registered fingerprints in American database. New York driver's license – Tyler Kennedy Strand. Firefighter identification lists station 126. Charges of assault and disturbing the peace dropped by others involved. Release from policy custody with warning.

He read further through the other two men's files, piecing together that the story detailed matched what he had already been told.

Carlos looked up as another one of his colleagues led a handcuffed TK to his work desk and nodded in his direction. He accepted the plastic bag of TK's belongings from Jill and headed over to his… well, he didn't really know what they were.

He watched as TK held an ice pack to his temple, the odd cough wheezing out of him. He probably had a bruised rib or two, if not fractured, and it no doubt left his chest extra tight.

Carlos strode over and dropped the plastic bag of belongings onto the desk without a word.

TK looked up and groaned at the sight of him. "Seriously?"

Carlos grimaced as he sat down. "Austin's a small town, TK. Or should I say, Tyler Kennedy."

"Ugh." TK grumbled, eyes closed as he kept the ice pack against the side of his head.

"Bummer about getting arrested – people might find out your real name. Which marks the first actual thing I've learned about you."

Being good with his mouth, hands, and body notwithstanding…

"Isn't your processing me, like, a conflict of interest?" TK asked, a thin shred of hope clinging to the words.

It wasn't really an issue, given that Carlos hadn't been the deciding officer on charges and, technically, he wasn't even sure what their relationship could be classified as in order to consider it. If anything, it would be their definable working relationship that was the issue, but most officers in the precinct would have the same problem since they all crossed paths at one time or another on the job.

Carlos chose not to answer him, instead changing the subject. "The good news is that neither of your new friends want to talk about that little scuffle tonight…" he explained while unlocking the cuffs around TK's wrists, trying not to react when their hands brushed in the process. "…and since you blew a 0.0, we're not even giving you a drunk and disorderly."

He finally freed TK entirely of the metal, and TK rubbed his wrists, still not looking at him straight on.

Carlos pushed the bag towards him. "You're free to go."

There was a pause as TK digested that.

"And what's the bad news?" he asked as he picked up his stuff.

Carlos inhaled. "The bad news is that means you did this with a clear head." He swallowed before leaning on the desk to bring them closer together, lowering his voice so any nosy coworkers couldn't overhear. "I'm not trying to be your boyfriend, or even your friend if you're not into it, but you should probably talk to someone about why you felt compelled to do something so suicidal."

TK's eyes held so much pain as he looked back at him that Carlos had to look away. Needing something to do with his hands before he grabbed TK and refused to let go, he tossed the tissue box in front of him.

"You've got a little crud there, by the way." he added, gesturing to the side of his mouth.

TK plucked a tissue out and rubbed at the opposite side of his mouth to where the blood had piled up.

"Other side." he said, staring unblinking at the computer screen without taking any of it in. He was way too hyperaware of the man he hadn't been able to get out of his head to concentrate on the words on the screen.

TK wiped closer to the spot but still missed and didn't get the bulk of it, so Carlos sighed and grabbed a tissue of his own.

"Stop. Just… let me."

Deep green eyes bore into his brown ones as Carlos gently wiped the area, managing to get at least the worst of it. Their gaze was locked so intensely, Carlos was half-expecting sparks to explode in the air. God, he wished he could read TK's mind. There was some sort of storm brewing behind his eyes and Carlos had no idea what kind of emotion was rolling in.

He pulled the tissue away, crushing it up in his fist to stop him from saying or doing something stupid. He had already put his heart on the line enough with the man. No need to solidify his humiliation any further.

"Thanks." TK muttered, looking away finally.

Carlos didn't look at him, pretending to be wrapped up with finalizing the paperwork on the computer.

TK leaned over the desk, crossing an arm over the space between them. "Hey. I'm sorry I went crazy on you the other night." he said softly.

Carlos didn't want to reveal all of his cards, but there was no denying the thrill that rolled through him that TK was trying to apologize for what went down between them the other day. It had been eating him up inside since. And if TK was bringing it up unprompted, maybe that meant it had been bothering him too. And that he actually wanted to mend things between them.

Carlos managed to play it cool and indifferent. "I'm a cop. I'm used to crazy."

"Look, I just went through a really bad breakup. Like, nuclear bad. And then I relapsed."

Carlos had turned his body to face him but couldn't look him in the face, instead busying himself with a report on his desk. "You mean with me?"

Great, he was just a mistake. A 'relapse'. Guess that meant TK slept around, or used to, and it really had meant nothing to him.

"No. I mean with substances."

Carlos finally looked up at that. He wasn't expecting the confession, nor the way that TK was exposing himself to him right then. TK had addiction issues? Had given up substances likely due to misuse or overuse and his breakup had been bad enough to trigger using again?

Something clicked in his memory from the other night and he felt shame wash over him. "Right. Which explains your reaction to the champagne."

He had never asked if TK was even a fan of champagne or alcohol in general. He should've been more respectful and anticipated the idea that maybe TK had a poor relationship with it, or a bad experience, or just wasn't interested in it at all. No wonder he got his back up right away – Carlos had been trying to have a proper date with him but he didn't know this important thing about him. And TK was still probably pretty raw after his relapse that even the pressure to be polite would've been enough to set off some ugly emotions. That he'd have to come up with an excuse or lie, because who wanted to reveal their deepest secrets that early on?

"I'm such an idiot. I'm-I'm sorry…"

TK cut off his stammering. "No, it's fine, okay? I just… ever since I got here, it's just… it's just grey. And I just feel numb, all the time. I guess I just… I wanted to feel something."

TK's eyes were wet now, and there was nothing but heartbreaking honesty reflecting out of them.

Carlos felt his own eyes filling with moisture. He didn't know what to say. Hearing that TK had been hurting so badly, that he still was struggling so much… it broke his heart.

TK slipped his wallet and phone out of the clear bag finally and stood up to leave, heading in direction of the exit without another word. It seemed he had said all he needed to say.

Carlos couldn't let him go yet, couldn't let that be the last thing said between them tonight. "Judging by that lip, I'd say mission accomplished."

TK stared at him in irritable disbelief, the barest hint of amusement at the edges. "You really busting my balls right now?"

"Yeah. I suppose I am." Carlos replied.

He couldn't help the way the corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smirk, and he felt his heart pick up its pace when he saw TK's expression break into one of his gorgeous smiles.

TK shook his head at him in mock-disappointment. "And all this time, I thought you were too good for me."

It was clearly meant in jest, but Carlos could detect the hidden truth behind the words. He was a little too stunned to say anything to dispute it, their easy banter normally coming naturally to him but he was drawing a blank.

It wasn't until the door closed behind him that Carlos moved, and then he was crossing the station to chase him outside.

"TK! Wait."

TK turned from where he was walking down the sidewalk, his movements more ginger now than they were in the station. He likely was in a lot more physical pain than he had let on.

Carlos stood in front of him and inhaled a breath in the hopes that it would instill some courage in him.

"Thank you for telling me all of that. I know that couldn't have been easy. But I want you to know, it doesn't change anything for me. I still want to be with you. Whenever you decide you're ready. I…" He exhaled shakily, glancing down at his shoes as he tried to dig for that bravery somewhere deep inside him. "I really like you, TK. Not just because you're the best sex I've ever had. I… there's something here. I feel it when I'm around you. You're… you're special. You make me feel… so many things I don't know how to name yet."

Great, now he was rambling. Even better, making it clear how much of a lovesick fool he was over the guy. That wouldn't freak him out or anything.

He corrected his throat, trying to calm his anxiety. "Look, all I'm saying is that if you feel anything for me, I can be patient. I can wait until you're more ready. I think you're worth the wait."

TK's responding smile could outshine the sun. He wasted no time in coiling his arms around Carlos' waist and burying his face in his shoulder.

"I really like you too. And I do want to give this a shot. Just… when it has a better chance of not blowing up before it gets started."

Carlos pressed a quick kiss to his good temple before pulling back.

"For now, try to stay out of trouble, okay? You won't always be so lucky to get such an understanding cop like me processing you at the station."

TK blew out an exasperated breath that turned into a laugh. "I'll do my best."

Carlos couldn't help grinning at him, a much bigger fan of a laughing and teasing TK than a shattered and beaten one.

"I should get back. You gonna be okay to get home?"

TK nodded. "Yeah I already called a ride."

"Well, see you later then." Carlos said, not really sure how to be less awkward as he headed back up the stairs to return to the station.

"Hey, Carlos?"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Best sex you've ever had, huh?"

TK was sporting his cockiest grin, and Carlos wished he could kiss it off of his stupid smug face.

"You would pick that as the only takeaway from that whole speech…"

TK chuckled. "No, I remember it all. I just latched onto that because it was the same for me too."

Carlos took an extra second to process and then he felt himself flushing in pride.

TK's smile softened, no doubt reading his reaction even from several feet away. "Goodnight, Officer Reyes." he said cheekily as he moved towards the car marked with the Uber sticker that had pulled up.

Carlos could only watch as the car drove off into the night.

He felt a little bereft being apart from TK after all the honesty of the evening. Something about being so vulnerable together gave him the urge to be within close quarters, not wanting to give up the resulting rush that came with exposing your heart and having it be safe with the other person.

But Carlos knew that TK needed time. And he was willing to wait as long as it took.

For now, he returned to his desk, this time with a little more of a spring in his step.

[tetsurouskuro]

Sweet Temptations

pairing: kuroo tetsurou x fem!reader

warnings: alcohol, swearing, violence, mentions of drugs, dom!kuroo, mafia!au haikyuu, smut, sexual tension, orgasm denial, spitting, spanking (with a belt and hand), hair pulling and other stuff i may have forgotten

word count: 9,654

tag list: @iwaqchan @myherowritings (message me if you want to be added)

a/n: forgive me father for i have sinned!! ok, so i saw THIS! picture of kuroo and all i could think about was “i need to write a mafia!au with kuroo” and here i am and oh god i hope it’s good because it sounded so good in my head and to put everything down to words is on another level!! in this story all of the characters (and you) are a bit older, around 25-ish! also, a big thank you to Sof aka @myherowritings for helping me through with this and listening to my ranting and stuff... anyways... feedback is always appreciated and i hope you guys enjoy it! <3

Synopsis: Kuroo is the grandson of Nekomata Yasufumi, from the Nekoma mafia clan. You’re the granddaughter of Ukai Ikkei, from the Karasuno mafia clan. A arranged marriage between the two of you would mean that two big mafia clans would be able to work together and get even bigger and cover more ground in Japan, but there’s only one thing stopping this from happening... Kuroo and you...

MASTERLIST!

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

Scotch whiskey in his hand, two ice cubes in the glass he twirled it around with his wrist while his other hand was pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes shut tightly as he tried to listen to Kenma, his righthand man talk about the current sales going around and how the next shipping was going for the states. Kuroo had one hell of a headache, and not because of the alcohol, no. He was anxious about meeting his boss, his grandfather; Nekomata Yasufumi.

“Kuroo, are you even listening to me?” Kenma sighed at his boss and best friend.

“No.” He answered bluntly, but truthfully. Not looking at the man in front of him.

“What's the matter? We need to get the shipping out soon and there's still a lot of people who haven't paid up our dealers.”

Kuroo opened his eyes, looked at Kenma as he drowned the scotch, the whiskey burning his throat, making his abdomen warm from the liquor. Taking a deep breath, he spoke calmly to Kenma.

“Don't worry about me and send Lev to the dealers. You can always trust a Russian around these kinds of things.” Kuroo stood up from his seat behind the big mahogany desk and walked around it to stand in front of his friend, placing his left hand on Kenma's left shoulder. “Fix it. I have some matters to take care of.”

“Of course, boss.”

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

Knocking on the big wooden door, he heard his grandfather speak, giving him the go to come in. Opening the door, Kuroo walked in, his legs carrying him inside with confident steps. The room was beautifully decorated. On the left wall was a built-in bookshelf. Books recorded back to the early 1700-century. To the right was a wine-red leather sofa, in front of it a rectangular coffee table. In the far corner of the room was a 1600-century Italian old-world globe bar. It stood open and two glasses were missing.

Looking in front of him, his grandfather was sitting behind a similar mahogany desk that he had in his office. Two chairs stood in front of the desk. Walking over Kuroo unbuttoned his suit jacket and took a seat in one of them, sighing in the process. Nekomata watching his only grandson, he could tell that the young man in front of him was stiff.

“Relax, son. What are you so worried about?”

“Ojii-chan,” was all Kuroo spoke. Nekomata placed a tumbler in front of him and Kuroo, each glass was half full.

“I didn't call you to talk business son. I wanted to talk to you about the Ukai's.” This made Kuroo perch up.

“Oh?”

“You know that you're marrying Ukai Ikkei's granddaughter in a couple of weeks, right?”

“Yeah, I know. It's an agreement our parents made before they died.” Both yours and Kuroo's parents had died when both of you were 5 years old, him being 7. Both Nekomata and Ukai did not want their grandchildren to be put in any foster home, so they took you in.

“Correct.” Nekomata pushed one of the half full glasses to Kuroo and both men brought them up to their lips, taking a sip. Kuroo started to think about his fiancée. Did she like whiskey or brandy? Truth to be told, he did not care. It also showed how little he knew about his soon-to-be wife. He did not know anything significant about her, other than her name and birthday. Everything else, Ukai Ikkei had kept buried. There were no pictures of you anywhere. No social media accounts or driver license. Nothing. You were like a ghost to him. If he did not know any better, he would've thought you didn't exist.

But it made sense, though. Kuroo would have done the same if he had a daughter. Family was everything. It was one thing his grandfather had drilled into his and the other members heads since they were children.

“There has been some change of plans. She's on her way here now.”

“What?”

“You heard. Ukai and I talked and come to the agreement that she should come here now and the two of you should get to know each other.” Kuroo didn't want to get married. He didn't want to marry you. He wanted to have the freedom of not being tied down to one woman.

But he also wanted to honor his family. Mostly his grandfather. Nekomata Yasufumi had done everything he could for Kuroo. At the age of 5, he had learned the truth about what his family was doing. At the age of six, he had learned how to fire of a gun, being skilled already at that young age. But most importantly, he had learned that blood is thicker than water. Family was everything. Absolute.

“You need to stop fucking that whore you bring around so much,” this made Kuroo smirk. Natasha, the whore Nekomata was talking about was the girl Kuroo had by his bed to pleasure him. She wasn't good looking, or smart for that matter, but that wasn't why Kuroo kept her. She had a good throat and a nice cunt.

“I'll get rid of her. I know what our agreement says.”

“Infidelity. Keep that snake in your pants.” Kuroo laughed at his grandfather.

“If I have to throw a paper bag over her while I fuck her, then I'll do it, Ojii-chan.”

“End it, now.” Kuroo stands up and throws back the rest of his whiskey.

“I will. When is she here?”

“They're already on the road, so approximately three hours. Don't be late.”

“I won't.” Kuroo stands up and is just about to leave when Nekomata hands him a big file.

“Read it. Yamamoto broke through their firewall and got a hold of their records.” Kuroo smirks at his grandfather and exits the room. The day couldn't get any better now.

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

“Yuu, what are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh! I'm playing a game.”

“Now? You're supposed to read the map!”

“Well, last time I checked it was still 5 miles left until the next exit!”

“Guys. Please I'm trying to read back here...”

“Sorry boss!”

Sighing at the two men in the front seat, you skimmed through the files that your grandfather had handed you (he and his goddamn files). There it was all the information about your future husband and the rest of his family.

“I can't believe Nekoma almost tripled their profits in less than a year,” you spoke loudly. Not really expecting one of the two men in the front seat to answer.

“They've also somehow gotten their drugs into Nohebi territories. Mexico, Russia, and the damn States. They have networks going through most of East Asia, those city boys.” Tanaka states and you laugh at his nickname for the Nekoma.

“Soon it'll be yours too, boss,” Nishinoya turns around in his seat to look at you and gives you reassuring smile.

“That's if he accepts the last-minute change in the contract,” you answer him back.

“You mean, where you demand to be kept informed and in agreement with his future decisions involving the business?” Tanaka laughs. “It'll be interesting to see his reaction.”

“It will be indeed. I allowed them to hack into our records also earlier today.” The men laugh at that. Not because it's funny, no. They laugh because Nekoma thought they had you now. Or so they thought.

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

“I'm telling you boss, they won't dare step another foot in our territory again,” Lev spoke as he took a sip of his can of soda.

“Good. Anything else? I need to get going soon. Kenma you're in charge while I'm gone.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Lev asked while Kenma just nodded as he read through some information Yamamoto had sent him earlier on his phone, his eyes never leaving the screen.

“Family business. If the Nohebi try anything else, you know what to do. No need to hold back.” Kuroo spoke with an even voice as he pulled on his suit jacket.

“By the way, boss. Are you friend with the Fukurodani boss?” Yaku spoke from his spot on the leather sofa.

“Yeah. Grew up with him. Why?” Kuroo quirked an eyebrow at the short savage.

“There's a file he sent us.”

“I'll read through it later,” Kuroo said and walked towards the door and said goodbye to the group that had formed in the basement of the hidden base. He walked to the underground garage and unlocked his jet-black Audi R8, taking a seat and speeding to the exit. Once he had turned and driven for 5 minutes, there was an incoming call, he simply connecter it to the car Bluetooth.

“Ojii-chan, I'm on my way.”

“Hurry. They're already here.”

“I figured. I'm 15 minutes away.” Hanging up, Kuroo let out a big sigh. He was not looking forward to this meeting. He wasn't looking forward to meeting you. He didn't want a wife. Yet, he wanted to know what you looked like. He was a little intrigued. He was about to spend the rest of his life with you.

Pulling up to the private road that led to the Nekoma mansion he parked the car next to a big SUV and got out. Walking towards the stairway that led him inside, he opened the door and walked in, announcing his arrival. He could hear chatter and he followed the sound of the voices, leading him into the dining room. Walking in he is met with his grandfather, a tall muscular man with a buzzcut, a short but also muscular man. The shortest had black hair, ruffled upwards. A tiny tuft of his hair falls over his forehead and is bleached dirty blond. Both men looked dangerous and he knew they were your bodyguards.

His eyes then travel to find yours and his breath hitches. You were the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. From where he stood, he could tell you were perfection. From your wavy, (y/h/c) hair, flawless skin, and deep (y/e/c) eyes, to your perfect hourglass figure. The knee-length black dress hugged each and every one of your curves. But your ass – fuck. It was like your lips were demanded to be kissed, and Kuroo's cock demanded to have his way with you right then and there.

“It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Kuroo Tetsurou,” Kuroo's eyes never leaving you. As if it only were the two of you there.

“Pleasure's all mine. You're taller than I expected.” You laugh. “I'm (y/n) (y/l/n).”

“6'2 to be exact, but who's counting.”

“Tanaka. Nishinoya. Could you leave us alone so we can go over the contract?”

“Ojii-chan?”

“Gentlemen, if you would follow me,” Nekomata speaks and Kuroo watches as the men exit the dining room, watching their backs disappear. Turning his head, he sees that you are watching him. His eyes are cold, his hazel orbs looking into yours. His facial expression is narrow, you can't read this man at all. You just stand there, watch this beautiful man in front of you and wonder what type of person he is. Is he brutal as the words are said about him back in the Miyagi prefecture?

Kuroo turns around and walks to the bar and pours himself a drink. Without turning to look at you he asks, “Would you like a drink?”

“No, thank you.” You answer him back, moving your legs to the windows. Watching and taking in the scenery. Soon this would be your new home, and behind you stood your future husband. Your fiancée, who you didn't know anything about and that was scary for you. It was one thing dealing with weapons and drugs, those were materials that you could handle and knew HOW to handle. This, Kuroo Tetsurou, was different. He had a brain, heart and soul for himself.

“How much are you involved in the business?” Kuroo speaks, turning around you see that he has taken a seat by the bar. Scanning him up and down, the black three-piece Giorgio Armani suit sits tightly around his thick thighs, arms and shoulders. The white button-down shirt is tight against his chest and abdomen, and the dark red tie is completing the look, making him look edible. He is leaning back in his seat; his elbows are bracing his weight as he slowly sips his liquor and watches you as he does it. Your panties are suddenly very, very damp but you would not let him see you this effected by just his looks. Composing yourself you answer his question.

“I oversee the weapons and drugs that come in and out of all of Miyagi. I am also in charge of selling the weapons to potential businesses, but also to send out threats and deal with any problem that may occur. It's also I who holds the annual gala and fundraising events that occur here in Tokyo for my grandfather’s business.”

“Wow. Impressive. For a woman.”

“Excuse me?”

“But you don't go out and handle clients?” Kuroo ignores your little outburst and questions you further.

“Oh. I do that too, Kuroo.”

“Interesting,” his glass is empty, and he sets it down on the bar, stands up and walks over to you. Even with your 5” heels he's still towering over your small frame. “Shall we sign the papers?”

“Have you read through the contract?”

“I've read it so many times I've memorized it now. Just sign the contract.”

“I've made some changes. You should re-read it.” Walking towards the table where the paper was lying, he picked it up and scanned the two lines that had been changed.

“You're kidding,” he snickered. “You're asking to basically babysit how I run my business?”

“Ah-ah. We are not married yet. It will be ours or there's no deal, so Kuroo Tetsurou, sign the paper and rule over both the Karasuno and Nekoma or leave it and there's no deal.” Stunned. His facial expression turns to pure hatred. To think that you were a witch. He was angered, his cock was hard, and he wanted to fuck some sense into you on the dining table.

Picking up the pen, he signed his signature next to yours. Kuroo agreed because of the honor he has for his family and wanted to please his grandfather. Yes, he would have liked you to be a wife that stayed at home, who cooked and cleaned. A wife he could fuck whenever he felt like it. But the mere thought of having you with him. Killing people together and seeing a ruthless side of you made his cock twitch in excitement.

“If you for a second think I'm gonna listen to you. You're wrong. You think you got power, but so do I so all I'm gonna say is game on, Kuroo Tetsurou.”

In mere seconds Kuroo had grabbed you, pushing you against the nearest wall. One hand bracing both of your wrists above your head and his other holding you by the throat – hard enough so you would not escape, but not hard enough so he's choking you.

“First, your joke?” he spoke, panting in your face like some lion who's about to jump his prey. “Not funny.”

“Second,” slowly lifting his hand around your throat so he's holding your cheeks now. His thumb brushed over your lips. “The very moment that ink touched that fucking paper, you were mine. Mine to fuck. Mine to fucking command, and mine to put in your fucking place.”

“And third,” he crashes his lips to yours brutally. Your body loving the sensation, but your brain screaming for you to stop him. He pulls away and continues talking. “You're gonna stop this macho behavior, sit at my side and you stay beautiful, like a lady.”

He crashes his lips against your again – sealing this deal with a kiss. Again, he pulls away and you stared at him wide-eyed. “Are you finished?”

“Not quite. I don't think I'll ever be finished with you, (y/n).” Pulling your head back and smashing it against his so he tumbles back, you gently massage your wrists at the friction, also hating the feeling of missing his body against yours.

“Touch me again and kiss me again without my permission and I'll put a bullet between your eyes when you sleep, got it?”

“Don't boss me around and throw some empty threats at me, kitten. I'll be the one who rules when we're married. You'll obey me and listen to me, got it?”

He leaves the room, slamming the door after him as he leaves. Seconds later Tanaka and Nishinoya rushes in. “What happened?”

“Nothing. I'm fine.” If Kuroo, for one second thought he had won, he was wrong. You were just getting started.

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

A week later you had moved your things from Miyagi all the way to Tokyo, your new home. And of course, you'd moved in into the Nekoma mansion. You had gotten your own room, which you were thankful for.

When you arrived at the mansion after all the moving staff had fixed everything around for you, you didn't expect Kuroo to be waiting for you, in your room and asking how your trip went.

“Good. I thought you only cared about your company?” Closing the door and crossing your arms over your chest you watched as he stood straight, walking with confident towards you.

“I'm not that much of an asshole.”

“You kind of are though.”

“Watch it, or I might lock you up in the basement.” The man was in front of you now, his tall frame confident and a smirk on his face. You wanted to punch it away.

“Is that how you cats treat your woman?”

“No. It's how I treat my woman when she doesn't listen to me.” This sent shivers down your spine and left your panties damp. This ruthless behavior that he had was getting dangerous. It was making your head spin, almost like you were losing consciousness.

“What makes you think I won't be able to get out?”

“Oh, I know you'll be able to get out, kitten. I just don't think you'd appreciate the outcome of it.”

“What do you know? Maybe I like getting spanked and tortured in your chambers,” just as those words left your lips his face is in front of yours.

“Is that something you want to happen?” You looked into his hazel eyes and gulped. “Because I can make it happen kitten. Just say the word.”

“Brush that smirk off of your face before I punch you in the face,” you pull him away, but the man barely moves. Just as he's about to say something there's a knock on the door. The door opens and a tall man with light grey hair walks in.

“Excuse me boss, but they're waiting for you in the basement.”

“Thanks Lev, I'll be right there.”

“Wait, what's going on?” You watched as the man, Lev, leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

“Nothing for you to worry about, kitten. I'll see you tonight,” he leaves a sweet kiss on your cheek as he straightens up, turns around and heads to the door.

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, tonight. Dinner. You and me. 6PM. Don't be late.” He opens and exits the door, without uttering another word. Leaving you standing in the middle of your room, staring at the door and wondering what just happened. You were irritated, but also hot and bothered. How was tonight gonna end?

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

Walking down the stone staircase that would lead you to the patio where Kuroo was waiting for you in high heels was a challenge, but you were no woman that takes them off. You accepted every challenge that came your way.

You decided to wear a off-shoulder floor length black dress with a side slit. Your hair pulled into a tight ponytail and some nude smokey eye makeup, making you look like the boss that you were.

When you reached the patio, Kuroo was sitting by the far end of the table and waiting. His eyes locked on the phone as he kept typing something. The sound of a chair being pulled back made him look up and lock eyes with you. He could feel his cock twitch in his pants at the sight of you.

A young girl, probably working for Kuroo had pulled out the chair for you. You took him in as you sat yourself down. Dress shoes (probably), black pants, a black button-down shirt, the first button undone and a suit jacket. If you thought you were hot and bothered before, your panties said a completely different story now as they were drenched.

“You look beautiful, kitten.”

“Thanks. You look rather dashing yourself, Kuroo.” He smirked at you and lifted two fingers, signaling for the girl to leave you two alone. Once she leaves, Kuroo takes a sip from his glass, his eyes gazing into yours.

“So, Kuroo. Are you gonna tell me where you went earlier?”

“It's nothing for you to worry about. I handled it.”

“It doesn't matter. If we're gonna get married and rule this 'empire' together you need to meet me halfway.”

“I don't have to do a thing. I tell you what I want to tell you and if I want to tell you.” Standing up, he walks towards the other end of the table where you're sat and stops at your side, slowly lowering his head so his lips are brushing against your ear. “And one of these days, you won't be able to say no to me. I'll fuck you so hard that you want me to stop.”

Gulping, squeezing your thighs together and the way his voice and words were making your body shiver of excitement, but also wanting to punch him for thinking he had some kind of mastership of you. Taking a deep breath, you collected yourself to answer him.

“I want in on this too. If someone is messing up with my business, or my stuff I want that sucker to feel pain because no one fucks with me; not even you. So, you're gonna start treating my like your wife and business partner or I'll find that marriage agreement and rip it apart.”

“And what would happen if I don't agree with you?” His breath hits your neck as you can feel his breathing beside you. His lips come down on your neck and you close your eyes for a brief second, loving the sensation, but opening them fast as you can't let him have his way. Not yet anyway. You need to stand your ground and show him that you're just as stubborn as he is.

“If you don't agree. I'll break off this fucking arrangement and then burn you to the ground.” Turning your head to look at him, you see him smile at you. His face mere inches from yours.

“One of Nohebi's men were caught trying to steal some of my cocaine and Lev, the man you saw earlier, caught him and tied him up in the basement. I beat him to the pulp, cut off two of his fingers and then sent him to his boss, with a sweet message.”

“And I couldn't be there because?”

“Because this was my shit to handle and I had something else I wanted to do before I did that.”

“Which was?”

“Gimmie your hand,” reaching out your left hand for him, he pulls on a big fat juicy diamond engagement on your ring finger.

“Buying that. I'm not liking this with letting you in on my business, 'kay? This is all new to me, but I will slowly let you in. Not entirely, but eventually everything that's mine... will be yours. Ours.”

“Kuroo, I-”

“But listen to me carefully. Now that you have that ring it means that you are mine. All mine. You will listen to me and do as I say. When I want to fuck you, you will let me. If you do as I say, I will reward you and... I will also give you what you want. In return.”

He pulls away from you and you watch as he turns around and walks back to his seat.

“Now, (y/n). Are you hungry? 'Cause I am starving.”

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

“I'm going to New York tomorrow to do some business with a friend of mine. I'll be back on Friday.”

“I can't come with you?”

“No. Not this time.”

Sighing at him you nod your head. You accept; for now. “Okay.”

You feel him push your back against the door to your room, both of your hands behind your back, him holding them in place as his lips are just inches from yours. “Good girl. Finally, you listen to me. Why you gotta be so disobedient?”

“'Cause life would be boring for you if I wasn't,” you manage to squeeze those words, just in time for his lips to crash against yours. Your head tilted back as you welcome his tongue into your mouth. Tasting both the liquor and food from him. His body comes closer and you can feel his rock-hard cock press against your lower abdomen.

“I am the only one who gets to touch you and make you come, you got that?” You just nodded your head.

Good. Now you should get some sleep. I'll see you when I get back.” And just like that, he leaves you, leaving one last kiss on your lips. Not wanting to seem totally desperate for him, you open the door to your room, walk in and close it, leaning your back against it. Feeling your own arousal, you decide to do something about it. Walking towards your bedside table, you open your drawer and pull out your purple dildo and climb onto the bed.

If you can't have Kuroo's cock now, at least you could imagine it was him fucking you instead of that dildo of yours.

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

The next morning you get woken up by the birds chirping outside your bedroom window. The sun shines through the curtains and hits you in the face, making you scrunch your face in disgust; you were not a morning person.

Stretching yourself on the big king-size bed you hear some strange sound and look to your left, seeing a white-yellowish envelope. Sitting up, you reach for it and open it, pulling out a paper, a handwritten note and start reading.

Good morning kitten, the fact that you touched yourself yesterday without my permission has my blood boiling. I told you that only I am allowed to touch you and make you come.

So, for being so disobedient, I've taken all of your toys and burned them all up. No need for you to have them when you have me, right?

Be a good girl and listen to your fiancé, if you want to come just call me and I'll fix it for you.

If I find out that you've been touching yourself without my permission again, I'll punish you when I get back. I've got eyes and ears everywhere.

I'll see you on Friday, kitten.

That fucking bastard.

You scrunched the piece of paper and threw it on the ground. Throwing yourself off the bed and pulling on your nightgown you are just about to head to the nearest staff member when your phone rings, knowing full well who it was.

“What do you want?” You answer angrily.

“I take it you've read my letter?”

“Oh, I've read it and I'm just about to burn it.”

“Ouch, kitten. My first love letter for you and you're already breaking my heart,” you could hear his smirking on the line and wanted to punch his pretty face.

“If this is breaking your heart, then you're easily pleased.”

“Oh, kitten. I am no-where pleased. I'll be pleased when I got you on my bed and my cock deep inside that cunt of yours,” you shivered at his words and could feel a tingling sensation in your lower abdomen, knowing full well what he was doing to you. He was gonna be gone for 5 days, meaning he had 5 days to tease you and if he continued like this then these 5 days were gonna be hell, especially if you could not touch yourself.

“You'll have to wait a long while for that to happen, Tetsurou.”

“The way you say my name kitten, next time you'll be screaming it,” a little laugh escapes his lips. “I need to go, just arrived at the jet. Don't miss me too much, when I get back, I'll have my way with you.”

He hangs up and you throw yourself on the bed. If you thought you could deny him much longer, you were dead wrong. You wanted him yesterday. You wanted him today; you wanted him now.

A knock on the door woke you up from your Kuroo thoughts. “Come in.”

The door opened and in walked one of your closest friends.

“Oh my god Daichi,” you jumped out of bed and into his arms. “What are you doing here?”

“Is that how you greet everyone? Just kidding. The old man sent me here to keep an eye on you.”

“Keep an eye on me? Why?”

“To make sure that the wedding happens. We all know how you've treated your other boyfriends.”

“I'm not gonna kill this one, okay?”

“I believe it when I see it,” Daichi laughs and you pout at him. “How's he? Kuroo?”

“Ugh, he's a sexist. A possessive and dominant bastard that looks down on woman.”

“But? I feel like a but is coming.”

“BUT... he's a sexy motherfucker that is teasing me and giving me all of these sexual desires that I haven't felt before and I've never wanted to fuck and kill someone as fast and hard as with him.”

“Seems like you've got it under control then?”

“Yeah. He's on his way to New York and will be back on Friday.”

“And when he gets back? What are you gonna do?”

“Nothing. Or maybe. No, I don't know. These emotions and feelings that are erupting from me is something new. I want him, all the love and hate. But I'm also scared because opening up to someone is dangerous in our business.”

“Oh, I know darling, but he's in this business as well and he's worse than you. I've met Kuroo before with the old man and when he loved and cares for something, he puts all of his heart into it. So, if something were to happen to you, he'd be sure to put a bullet on that bastard.”

“He thinks I'm his property, like I'm not a human being.”

“(y/n), we're the mafia and we protect our own and soon you'll be each other’s. He's gonna be your husband soon. Accept it.”

“What am I gonna do then? When he gets back?”

“You'll have to wait and see.”

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

It had gone two days since you last saw and spoke to Kuroo. You thought of him all the time. You even started to wear a elastic band around your wrist and snapped it every time you thought of him, but you had started to turn red because you were basically snapping your wrist all the time so you gave that up pretty quickly.

Now, you stood in front of your ensuite, brushing your hair and getting ready for bed. It was 1 am in Tokyo. 12 pm in New York. You didn't want to call him. Calling him meant that you thought about him, which you did but, it was different.

The sound of your phone vibrating against the marble counter made you jump as your thoughts had wandered to him once again.

“Hello?”

“Kitten. Why aren't you sleeping?”

“I was just getting ready for bed, but a very disturbing person called me, and I wanted to see what he wanted.”

“Sounds like an interesting man to me.”

“I'm sure he does... what do you want?”

“There should be a package coming for you about... now.” A knock on your bedroom door could be heard and you walked out of the ensuite and opened the door. There on the ground was a white package with a black ribbon around it.

“What's this?”

“Open it.”

“I will. But what is it?”

“Open it. You'll see, kitten.” Rolling your eyes, you closed the door behind you and placed Kuroo on speaker and threw the phone on your bed, the white package beside him. Pulling on the black string, the ribbon came undone and you lifted the lid and gasped.

“Kuroo... this is...”

“Put them on.”

“What? No!”

“Do. It.”

“Kuroo...”

“(y/n)... do as I say.”

You sighed and finally gave in. You pulled your panties down your legs and then put on the new ones. Kuroo had someone deliver a pair of vibrating panties. “Now what?”

“Now. Lay down on the bed. Put me on speaker and then place the phone beside.” You climbed onto the bed and did as he said.

“Done.”

“Good. Now kitten, tell me about your day.”

“My day? I went with Tanaka, Nishinoya and Dai- OH GOD!” Suddenly the panties started to vibrate.

“Hm? What was that?” The vibrating stopped and you gasped. That little fucker.

“I said. I went with Tanaka, Nishinoya and Daichi to the mall and bought some-fuck, Jesus, shit... s-some dresses.” The vibrating started again. The sensation hitting your clit perfectly, making your hips buck at the feeling. But also, wishing it was his fingers instead of some material rubbing against your sensitive bud.

“Some dresses huh? What kind of dresses?”

“Pretty ones.” You answered bluntly. You didn't want to talk. You just wanted to feel. And come.

“Kitten...” Kuroo's voice sounded dark and the vibrations stopped once again. You instantly missed the feeling. “Behave.”

“They're all different. Long, mid-thigh, short and so on. You'll see them when you get back.”

“Oh, will I?” Kuroo started the vibrations again, but this time he had increased the speed, making you moan out.

“Fuck.”

“Does it feel good, kitten. Do you want more?”

“Fuck, yes,” you answered him with a moan. Your hands fisting the duvet cover, eyes closed, mouth open and your head thrown back. Your back slightly bent and your knees pulled up. You weren't near close but as for having been horny for at least a week now, you just wanted to come. The release you got on the night before he decided to burn all your sex toys hadn't satisfied you enough.

“What do you want, kitten? Tell me.”

“Fuck, I want you. I want your cock.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes, really. You dumb fuck. Oh god, Kuroo.” He increased the speed once more and now you felt how your lower abdomen was tightening. “So close.”

“Good kitten. Now you've made me a very happy man. You wanna come?”

“Fuck, yes. Let me fucking come already.” The pressure started to keep getting stronger and stronger.

“I don't think so, kitten.” He turns it off. The pressure in your lower abdomen slowly started to fade but you still wanted to come. You didn't give a fuck anymore.

“What the fuck, Kuroo?”

“I'm the one who decides when and how you come. Don't forget that.”

“I'm not taking orders from you. Stupid sexist of a man. If you're not gonna finish it for me, I'll do it myself.”

“(y/n). Don't. You. Dare.”

“Or what? Are you gonna punish me? When? You're not here. I'll finish myself off without you.” Grabbing your phone, you clicked him. Putting an end to the call.

He had the audacity to boss you around, to think he could decide for you. No. You weren't going to listen to him. You pulled off the panties he gave you and stomped to the bathroom and threw them in the trash-can.

Stomping back to the bed, you pulled away the duvet cover and climbed into bed. Looking at your phone you saw a text message from him, and a picture.

Opening the message, you bit your lower lip, seeing what he sent you.

On the picture was Kuroo. He was stood in front of a mirror in just his briefs. Grabbing his cock through the briefs, seeing as it was hard underneath the material. Just from the picture you could tell that he was big, and that made your mouth water.

Underneath the picture was his message.

I'm so hard for you kitten.

I'M WET FOR YOU. You wanted to reply but didn't. You were still pissed off and you wouldn't let him get away easily. You had a plan how to get back at him. Alas, he was gonna kill you for it.

≫ ----- ≪·•♕•·≫ ----- ≪

It was finally Friday. You had put on one of the new dressed that you'd bought. It was a short golden cocktail dress with a bare back. Your hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. A pair of high heels and a makeup look that suited the outfit made you look fuckable.

You had asked Kiyoko and Hitoka to go clubbing with you, which they didn't say no to.

Also, you knew Kuroo would be home late and when he would find out you were out clubbing and other men being able to see you looking like that, he was going to murder either you, the men, or both.

Besides having the two girls with you, you also had Daichi and Tanaka at your side as bodyguards. One thing your grandfather always told you was to always bring them with you whenever you could. Walking up to the club, the bouncers didn't ask for your name, they just moved aside and let you and your company inside. You could feel the ground shaking from the loud music that was blasting from the speakers. It was crowded, as expected for a Friday night. "Be careful boss," Tanaka spoke to you and you smiled at him.

"I will. I'll kill anyone who tries to lay a hand on me." "We know. But be careful," Daichi spoke next. "(Y/n)? Let's go dance," Kiyoko said and interrupted the conversation between the three of you, grabbed yours and Hitoka's hand and pulled the both of you into the dancefloor. The three of you stood in the middle of the dancefloor and moved your bodies to the music. After about 20 minutes it was time for some drinking. Hitoka went to look for an empty table while Kiyoko went to fetch some drinks. Just as you were about to join Hitoka you felt a tap on your shoulder. Turning around you see a tall man, well-built and quite good looking. But he wasn't Kuroo. "Hi, I promised myself that if you were ever to be alone, I'd come and say hello cause you might be one of the prettiest woman I've ever laid eyes on." "Thank you, that's very... sweet. Of. You." Your voice trailed off as behind the man you could see a face you hadn't seen in a while and that face was staring at yours. Kuroo stood by the exit door, both arms by his side and both of his fists clammed together tight. He was angry. He was fuming. He was seeing red. And, to make matters ever worse. You grabbed the stranger by his neck, pulled him down so you could say into his ear "let's dance". Grabbing the strangers hand you pull him farther into the dancefloor, farther away from Kuroo and on queue the song "Love Sex Magic" by Ciara and Justin Timberlake starts playing and you decide to start dancing sexually with the man. Your ass is rubbing teasingly at the stranger’s crotch as his hands are placed on your hips. But they leave you soon and you know why, because soon the stranger is being pulled away from you and you're being dragged across the dancefloor and to the exit. The cold air hits your body as Kuroo is still dragging you until you reach his car. He opens the passenger seats door. "Get in." "I think not. I'm here with my friends and I wanna party, so thanks but no thanks." "(Y/n). Get. In. The. Fucking. Car. NOW!" You decide to listen because; a) he's really pissed and b) your plan had worked out wonderfully. Taking a seat, you buckle up as Kuroo slams the door shut and walks around to sit in the driver’s seat. Kuroo quickly starts the car and speeds away. He drives in silence. The both of you are keeping your mouths shut and it's for the better. "Kuroo, I-" "Shut up. Keep quiet. Don't fucking talk to me right now," he interrupts you. His knuckles turning white from the hard grip he's having on the steering wheel.

You sat quiet in your seat, looking out as you passed the city. The city lights shining on the road. But it was when Kuroo drove into a underground garage that had you stiff in your seat. Where was he taking you? He parked the car and got out quickly. He walked around to your side and opened the car door for you. "Out." You placed both of your feet on the ground and got up, doing it seductively, almost flashing your panties to him. Once you were stable enough on the ground, he grabbed you hand, hard, and pulled you away with him. He was walking fast, a little too fast for your liking. "Kuroo, slow down I can't walk that fast in these heels." "Oh, I'm sorry," you feel yourself being pushed against the cement wall of the garage, his hand around your throat. "Maybe you should've thought about that before you decided to dress up as a whore and go acting like one in one of my clubs." Even though you should be scared, you're not. You're wet by this action of his. The grip around your throat isn't hard, just firm. Like he's holding you in place. You're breathing heavily, your chest moving up and down. Your hard nipples are pressing against the fabric of your dress. "Your club?" Are the words that escape your lips. "Yes. My club. Do you know the frustration I got when I land and get a phone call from my staff there telling me that my fiancée just walked in wearing nothing but a garment around her," his free hand travel from inside your thighs to your core where you want him to touch you. "Would've you have liked anyone else touching you here, is that it?" His fingers teasing you outside of your panties. "Did you want that man touching you, is that it kitten? Or were you thinking that his hands were mine?" Now his fingers flick slightly at your sensitive bud outside of your panties. "N-No," you moan out. "No?" He withdraws from you and starts walking towards the entrance of the building, his hand in yours. You reach a small elevator, inside there's a keypad, he presses some numbers and the doors starts closing. There's tension in the air that could be cut with a knife. You release his hand and cross your arms over your chest and keep looking at him, taking him in. The suit he's wearing looks so good on him. Your eyes travel down to his crotch. You can see the outline of his hard cock.

"Are you just gonna stand there and watch?" The elevator starts to move up, the numbers getting higher in the small screen both above the doors and on the keypads. You still haven't answered him. You still keep looking at his crotch seductively. Kuroo starts moving towards you. You stand still and watch his feet get closer until they're in front of you. "Do you wanna touch it?" You slowly move your head upwards and look into his eyes. They're very intense and hard. Dark even. If looks could kill... Placing your hands on his hips you move them upwards to his chest, feeling his warm and hard muscles underneath, still not breaking eye contact. You slowly back away, being free from him for a second before he pulls you towards him; chest against chest. "Kitten... when your entire life is based on taking everything by force, it's hard to react in a different way. Especially if someone is taking away a pleasure you really desire..." His breath hits you in the face. "Don't provoke me." "Or what?" He presses you hard against the elevator mirror. Both of your hands above your head, his hand holding them in place while his other hand is grabbing your ass cheek. His tongue is invading yours and you welcome it, letting his tongue dance with yours. Tasting whiskey and mint from him. Suddenly the elevator car stops and the pulls away and sets you free, but only to grab your hand and pull you inside an apartment and slam you onto the wall beside the elevator. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard you won't be able to feel your legs for days." "K-Kuroo," you moan out as he starts kissing your throat. "When I fuck you, I want you to call me by my name." His words send shivers down your spine, making your nipples perk harder than before. Kuroo's hands grabs the hem of your dress and rips it apart and throws it behind him, the golden garment landing on the floor. "Kuroo, what the actual fuck?" "I'll buy you a new one," his lips travel to your naked breasts and he starts sucking on your right nipple, making you moan out and throw your head back against the wall. Suddenly he has you in the air and you wrap your legs around his waist, his arms holding you in place and his mouth back on yours as he walks you towards the living room and then into a kitchen. One of his arms lets you go and he throws something, or some things off the kitchen island, the sound of glass breaking on the floor. "I'll have someone clean that up later," he places you on the island and pushes your chest down so you're lying with your back against it. His arms grab your hips and pulls them towards him, your ass being on the edge of the island. "Now... What should we do with you?" He asks with a smirk on his face, his gaze being planted on your pelvis and going down. His fingers trace the edge of your panties, teasing you. Suddenly there's a a sharp dig in your hips and the sound of your panties being torn apart. "You won't be needing them anyway," his lips starts kissing around your areola. "Stop teasing me and just fuck me already," you moan out. Grabbing a hold of his messy hair in your hands. "You don't deserve being fucked just yet," he answers and grabs your thighs and starts kissing down your abdomen and to your core.

His tongue flick at your sensitive bud, making you jump from the friction; both good and bad. Usually, you didn't let men go down on you, you saw it as a type of weakness. A weakness you didn't want and liked showing. But now, here you were spread out naked on a kitchen island while Kuroo sucked on your clit making you shiver, moan and pull on his hair and wanting more. More than you've ever wanted before in your life. Losing control, a control you wanted back but also didn't. "F-Fuck. Kuroo. I- Stop. Shit," you sounded like a confused mess. A mess that Kuroo loved, but he wanted you messier. "Stop? Why? Because you can't control your own body? Oh, kitten... you lost control over your body the minute you became mine." Kuroo's tongue licks up and down your slit, spreading your juices all over. Tasting every bit of you. He then pulls back, and his thumb start to do slow circular motions on your clit. "What do you want, kitten?" "More. I want more." "More of what?" "More of you." "And who am I, kitten? Tell me," his thumb presses a little harder on your clit. Your back arching as the sudden pressure developing in your lower abdomen. "Fuuuuck. I-. Dammit Kuroo." "Not the answer I'm looking for," he stops paying attention to your clit. He stops paying attention to you at all. He just looks at you, waiting for his answer. "Do you always get what you want?" "Isn't it obvious that I do? Now answer my question. Who am I?" "Well. You're a lot of things. An asshole. A sadist. A sexist. A killer. A murderer. A drug lord. A possessive fucked up douche of a man." He then stands up straight and pulls off his suit jacket and throws it on the ground nearby. Then, his fingers start slowly unbuttoning his dress shirt, your eyes gazing at his fingers as they move down and suddenly, he's half naked as he discards his shirt as well. "Get off the island. Turn around and bend over. Spread your legs. NOW!" You take your time getting down, doing it so seductively as you can. His eyes watch your tits jump when you land on the floor and then quickly travel to your ass when you're bent over. "And now what? You gonna spank me?" You let out a small laugh but silence yourself when you hear him unbuckle his belt and remove it from his belt loops. "Spanking to put it mildly. Now, how many times have you disobeyed me?" "Disobeyed? Who do you think-" the harsh pain of his belt hitting your ass cheek has you both stiff and wanting more. "That's one. I think you at least deserve 5 more, kitten." His belt hits you again. And again. And again, until he's hit you 6 times in total. Your ass cheeks red from the friction of the belt hitting you. Your pussy leaking put juices from being so wet from the action. "Hands behind your back," he commands, and you obey, putting your hands behind your back. Kuroo takes the belt and tightens them around your wrists. Once he's done, he takes a step back to admire you from a distance, taking you in. Completely naked, only in those high heels that he wants you to wear while he fucks you. To stab into his lower back while his cock sinks into your folds. "Fucking perfect," he states and gets behind you again and pushes one finger inside your cunt. Your walls clamping around his finger. Wanting more. Needing more. "Fuck. Kuroo. Please." 

”Please what kitten?”

“Please, fuck me. Just fuck me already.” He adds yet another finger inside your cunt and starts pumping them in and out of you.

“Say my name, kitten. Say it.”

“Kuroo.” A slap on your ass cheek and you let out a loud moan from both his fingers giving you pleasure but also from the slap from his hand.

“Say. My. Name.”

“Fuck. Tetsurou. Fuck me Tetsu-Oh my god!” Another slap and his fingers disappear only to be replaced by his cock filling you up all the way.

“Fuck you’re so tight. I can feel you pulsing around me (y/n).” You try pulling your arms but are stopped by the belt holding them together.

“Kur- Tetsurou. Release me. Fuck you’re huge.”

“No and thank you.” He starts slowly thrusting in and out of you. The head of his cock hitting your g-spot softly, building up a pressure inside of you.

“T-Tetsurou. Shit, your cock. Oh.”

“I love it when you say my name. Say it again.”

“Tetsurou.” You moan out. One of his hands grab your ponytail and the other is placed on the middle of your back, pushing you down on the island. His grip on your ponytail tightens and he pulls on it, your head being pulled up slightly. He then starts to quicken his thrusts.

“Fuck kitten, just like that.” Kuroo’s gaze is locked on where the two of you are connected. Seeing his cock disappearing inside of you, going in and out. His cock being covered in your juices. A squelching sound being made from the friction.

“Tetsu. I’m close. Fuck I’m so close.”

“Yes (y/n). Come for me. Come all over my cock.” This does it for you. After almost a whole week of him teasing you, all the moments of sexual tension and him neglecting to make you come this is one of the biggest orgasms you’ve ever had.

“TETSUROU!” You scream. Your mouth wide open, eyes closed and tears falling from your eyes. The pleasure consumes you and you feel your legs wobble and just as you’re about to fall his arms are being wrapped around you, holding you up. Your breathing is heavy and trying to control it, as you move a little you feel him twitch inside of you.

“I’m not finished with you yet, kitten.” You gulp and release a moan as he removes himself from you. His hands go to unbuckle the belt and once you are free you rub your wrists together and slowly turn around to watch the devil in front of you. He is naked and your eyes falls on his hard member between his legs. Your tongue peeks out from your mouth and wets your lips, licking them seductively.

“C’mere,” he speaks, and you obey, walking so you are stood in front of him. Your heels clicking against the hardwood floor. His slightly bends down and picks you up, your legs wrapping themselves around his waist and your arms around his neck. Your lips connect and he walks the both of you towards his bedroom. He places you on his bed and you lie down.

“You’re fucking beautiful (y/n),” he compliments you and you slightly blush. How could this man’s words affect you this much?

His hands grab your thighs and pulls you to the edge of the bed, your legs in the air. He bends down and his head is between your legs. He spreads them wide open and starts devouring your opening. Your hands go and grab a hold of his black hair and watch as his mouth is covering your most private part, his eyes watching you.

“Tetsurou. Please give me your cock. I need more.” At first you think he doesn’t hear you over your moans but soon he pulls back and to your surprise he looks at your cunt and spits on it.

“You taste fucking delicious,” he doesn’t give it a second chance as he pushed himself inside of you again. You throw your head back against his bed and moan out loudly. He pulls your legs together and press them against his chest, hugging them as he thrusts hard in you, like some wild animal. The pressure in your lower abdomen coming back like a tsunami.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Tetsu, I’m close again. I’m coming. I’m- I- FUCK,” and you come around his cock for a second time in just mere seconds.

“Fuck (y/n). I’m there.”

“Come inside of me.”

“(Y/N)!!” Kuroo releases his load inside of you. Milking his seed inside of you. His head thrown back, a vein of each side of his neck popping out. His mouth is slightly open as he lets out a couple of grunts from his orgasm.

After a minute or two, after the both of you have collected yourself his eyes search for your as he looks at you. Releasing your legs, he throws himself on top of you, one arm going to your lower back and lifting you up so your head is on a pillow. His head lands beside yours. The only sound in the room being the heavy breathing from the two of you. His breath is hitting you in the neck, making you shiver.

“Are you cold?”

“Oh- Um- No. Not really. Are you?”

“Me? I’m fucking sweaty and hot as hell.” You let out a laugh and can’t help but smile. His cock that is still inside of you twitch and you stop laughing.

“Your laugh is beautiful. Don’t stop.”

“Hm, well I stopped because someone twitched inside of me.”

“Oh, really?” He pulls his head up, his hazel eyes watching your (y/e/c) ones. His hips starts to move slightly.

“Mhm, Tetsu.”

“You want more?”

“Mhm, yes.” He places his forearms on each side of your head, his face being inches from yours. His lips crash against yours, him pushing his tongue inside of your mouth and you happily open and let him consume you again. If sex with Kuroo was like this, you never wanted him to stop and he didn’t.

The two of you fucked like two horny teenagers until the sun rose the next morning. After coming for what felt like the 20th time the both of you were both breathless and tired from all the fucking.

“Tetsurou. I want this to work between the two of us so please include me in everything you do, and I mean everything. I don’t want to kill you because this sex got me hooked now.”

Letting out a sigh he watched the ceiling and answers with a simple I’ll try. And that’s enough for you. He pulls you towards him, your back to his front.

“Let’s sleep. You need to recharge the energy you lost.”

“Why? Are we going somewhere?”

“No. But when we wake up, I’m gonna have my way with you again.” You gulp but smile. Closing your eyes and letting sleep consume you.

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 5x04- And the clerk had a firm...

You can tell I’m enjoying this season when episodes air on Thursdays and I’ve written a recap by Friday night. More under the cut, as always. 

I woke up very early on Thursday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I decided to just watch this episode on my phone (I write these on rewatch). I’m sure the show was hoping that the upside-down clips of fake!Love Island would be disorienting, but wow, did this work on me. Between the lack of sleep and how plausible it would’ve been for me to accidentally have my phone upside-down with rotation lock on... I truly thought it was an ad for Love Island and also had to pause the episode to check my phone settings. Good job, show!

It turns out, however, that Carmen is doing a headstand and watching reality TV on her laptop. Very happy to see Carmen at home. It would be easy for the show to have her just be a mysterious presence at the firm, so even seeing her do perfectly normal things is a good reminder that she is a whole person and not just Associate Who Will Defend Anyone.  

(I wouldn’t have expected Carmen to enjoy reality tv, but then again, I love Big Brother so...)

Carmen lives in a studio that doesn’t look like it is brand new!!! I’m ridiculously excited to see an apartment that actually looks like a place someone fresh out of law school might live. I’d believe it if Carmen lived in a studio in a luxury building or a one-bed on the salary she’s surely making at RL, but it’s very refreshing to see a character who isn’t super-wealthy on this show that tends to be about, well, very wealthy people.  

Carmen is smarter than every other character on this show and on most TV shows: instead of opening the door without taking any precautions, she puts the chain on first. Remember how people used to just show up at Alicia’s door when she was the governor’s wife, and she’d always just open the door and look surprised?  

Charles Lester is at Carmen’s door even though it’s nearly midnight. She tries to get him to leave, but he insists on staying. She closes the door to undo the chain, and uses the privacy of the closed door to grab a makeshift weapon, just in case.

Carmen explains her apartment by saying, “student loans.” So she doesn’t come from (excessive) money. (Or she was cut off by her family, but I feel like the early character description of Carmen said something about her family not having money.)  

Lester has something very important to tell Carmen, but all his notes are on different scraps of paper and, even though he says his information is time sensitive, he takes his time looking for the right piece of paper.

He says Carmen can’t say she heard the info from him, blah blah. He’s there to share that in ten minutes, someone at the firm is going to be searched by the FBI. This info comes, of course, from Rivi.  

Do we think Lester has to reference his notes to remember that the FBI is searching a name partner of Carmen’s firm? Or do we think he’s fucking with her? I think the latter.

Carmen was doing exercises to help with migraines, btw.  

Carmen calls Diane to tip her off. Diane and Kurt are already asleep, but luckily, Diane has her phone on full volume and takes the call. She’s not happy about it and asks if it can wait until tomorrow. Asks is the wrong word—she instructs the caller to hang up if it can wait.  

Even though Carmen can’t say where she got the information, Diane knows it must be from Rivi. Seems obvious enough.

Kurt gets out of bed and starts locking up guns and getting to work; Diane calls Liz. Liz is in bed with a guy we’ve never seen before and she does not really want to talk.  

Liz notes that the info also could’ve come from Wolfe-Coleman, since Carmen is “tangled up with some rough characters.”  

I’m sorry, fake Netflix CEO man... WHY ARE YOU STILL TRYING TO KISS AND PLAY WITH LIZ WHEN SHE IS ON THE PHONE TALKING ABOUT PURGING FILES AND THE FBI????  

I don’t even hold this against the character. This is one of those things the writers of this show LOVE doing to heighten tension. They think people behave like this in real life and that it’s funny to have a million competing priorities at once, so they insist on doing things like this. In reality, I would be concerned about any person who did not hear “FBI” and go, “um, what the hell is happening? I should stop trying to fuck rn.”  

Kurt starts burning papers. Is no one going to point out that maybe being on the phone (after you KNOW you’ve had NSA issues) talking about tips from powerful criminals and asking questions that are pretty clearly about document destruction... is a bad strategy?  

Dude, why are you STILL GOING after Liz clearly tells you to stop!? Do you want me to hate you?!  

Liz adds Jay to the call. He is asleep and also his hallucination from the premiere is (sadly) back. I still don’t get what they’re going for with this, so I’ll just be happy that (1) there is only one hallucination this time and (2) it’s only on screen for a minute.  

This dude is really chanting “Let me see ‘em!” at Liz while she is on a frantic work call! This is how we are introduced to him! This is not funny! If this weren’t being played for laughs/to raise the stakes by having a lot going on I would be calling this man misogynistic!

Liz remembers that Diane has full boxes of files! They spill onto the floor as she tries to hide them! Drama!  

And then the FBI arrives, so Diane asks Liz to take her 9 am with Wackner

The FBI enters, accompanied by... Nancy Crozier! Nancy is now an AUSA for some reason!

Nancy has graduated from “just a girl from Michigan” to using her pregnancy for dramatic effect. I guess she’s aged into being Patti Nyholm, or something. (I would LOVE to see Patti Nyholm show up on TGF.)  

I know the client files are top of mind for Diane, but isn’t it kind of obvious that the FBI would be there about Kurt, given that the FBI was talking to Kurt days earlier?  

9 mins in is early for credits!! (This first act flies, too—did not feel like 9 minutes.)  

I say this once an episode, but isn’t it so fun to see all the characters from season one of TGW pop up in season five of TGF?  

Liz sees her new man, Del Cooper, in reception. He’s a client. They try to be professional with each other. Liz remembers Diane’s 9 am with Wackner and asks the receptionist to tell her when he arrives. She dismissively says it’s “Some judge guy.” Wackner is, of course, already there and watching the interaction with interest. He uses this as an opportunity to “look for the restroom,” observe Liz meeting with someone else, and walk down to the associate floor.

He asks associate Leah (we’ve definitely seen her several times before) where he’s supposed to go for the staff meeting. She asks if he means the partner meeting or the associate one—he wants whichever is more interesting. She says she only knows about the associate meeting, and so he tags along.

Leah and Lucy (the associate from last week; Michael Boatman’s daughter) talk and assume that Wackner is from STR Laurie and thus in charge of the fate of their careers.  

The associate meeting is fairly small—Leah refers to it as their “daily” so I wonder if it’s more like a team meeting than a meeting of all the associates.  

The COTW is about a comedian who isn’t always PC. FakeNetflix is getting a lot of Twitter pushback.  

“Ah, so you’re worried about being cancelled,” Liz notes. “Don’t say the ‘C’ word,” Del jokes. Then he asks the firm to do a sensitivity read of the comedian’s act.

Liz asks why them. David doesn’t get why she’s asking, though obviously Liz knows he won’t be offended by her question since they have a relationship outside of work. Del thinks that RL is the right firm for this task because they are a black firm, and also because this can be an audition for the rest of their legal business.  

This seems like it is better for a PR firm or image consultant? Not a law firm? But sure.  

Diane explains the whole January 6th situation to Liz. Liz immediately understands that if Kurt is in trouble, Diane is the one representing him. Because Kurt is Kurt, I’m willing to accept the “spouses-representing-each-other" trope here. But let the record reflect that, as always on this show, it is a TERRIBLE idea to have your spouse represent you! Just pick someone outside of the firm! JUST PICK ELSBETH, KURT.

Diane asks how her 9 am went; David Lee interrupts to ask Liz why she is being so casual with Del. “David, I am on the phone,” Liz responds. I love that she doesn’t really answer him.  

Leah and Lucy try to turn the associate meeting into a showcase of how great they are; the other associates catch on quickly and all are happy to answer Wackner’s questions. He wants to understand jury trials.

Nancy’s pregnancy act does not work on Judge Farley, yet she keeps it up anyway. Court doesn’t go well for Diane, but it also doesn’t go well for Nancy.

Some of these interactions remind me a little too much of Peter’s trial at the end of TGW, like this one where Nancy goes to Diane with information about Kurt.

Leah gets off the elevator as Diane and Nancy talk, and to Diane’s surprise, Wackner is shadowing Leah! She takes a moment to look surprised before we return to the scene with Nancy.

I like all the little interactions within this Wackner plot. Diane asking Liz to meet with Wackner both connects Wackner to Liz AND shows that Diane would turn to Liz for back-up, and having Wackner/Leah run into Diane in court is a good reminder that even though Diane is dealing with a pressing issue, Wackner hasn’t just disappeared.  

Diane encourages Kurt to talk. She wants to know if he’s not telling her something because she’s his wife or because she’s his lawyer. This is maybe why you don’t hire your wife as your lawyer.  

Kurt says it’s because of politics—Diane doesn’t like that, since this is one issue where their politics should be shared.  

“Diane, this works between us because we don’t let our political judgements overwhelm our respect for each other,” Kurt explains. But... is that relevant to this particular issue?  

Diane asks the same question, essentially, noting that January 6th changed “everything” for her and she can’t treat this like a “chess game” anymore. Kurt wants to know what she’s calling a chess game. She says their marriage is the one thing that’s not a game.  

On one level I understand exactly what Diane is saying and on another level I have no clue what this dialogue actually means. She can’t treat things like a game anymore, but also their marriage is the only thing that isn’t a game? So does that mean she can treat everything else like a game, then? I think what she’s trying to say is that the time for seeing political disagreements as a calm and rational game of strategy is over, and that she values her marriage and won’t play around with it.  

Kurt tells her what he burned—a list of people in his little group. He says he’d protect them just like he’d protect Diane’s book group friends. Oh, wow, I was not EVER expecting to hear about that arc again! This is a pretty perfect time to mention it, though, since Kurt DID protect book group for the exact same reason he’s protecting the members of his club.  

Other than “winning over a new client is important,” I have no idea why Liz and David Lee would gather together a group of partners to do the sensitivity read. I don’t know who IS the appropriate person to do the sensitivity read, given that this is a law firm, but I know this is a bad call.

Oh, they are going to go through line by line dissecting each joke in a group. They get through one joke before Madeline notes that the comedian is “objectifying black men.” A black male partner says he doesn’t mind. Madeline says that doesn’t matter because the joke is racially insensitive.  

Overlapping chatter ensues, and the partners try to make changes to the comedian’s jokes, like substituting Norwegian for Nigerian. This... is not what law firms do. The joke isn’t funny with the substitution, but it also wasn’t funny before. It was low hanging fruit and the correct answer is to just cut it entirely. (Also, if you’re a comedian and all your jokes are about common stereotypes of groups to which you do not belong, you are probably not a very funny comedian!)

Diane has Jay do some more investigating. Jay looks up when Diane says, “ringleader of the insurrectionists,” and Diane is just like, “I know.” Then Carmen walks in.

Diane congratulates Carmen on “hitting the ground running” and then asks again how she knew about the warrant. Diane says she’s covered by the same attorney-client privilege, so Carmen should be able to share. Carmen notes the warrant was actually about Kurt, which does not answer Diane’s question. “So this came from Rivi?” Diane asks. Carmen says she can’t confirm.

“Carmen. You have been here three weeks. You have two clients: Wolfe-Coleman and Oscar Rivi. It’s one or the other!” Diane notes. Yep. I love that they didn’t forget that this isn’t much of a mystery. It’s more about principle than anything. If Diane knows it’s one of two sources and needs more information, I’m sure Jay can figure it out.  

Carmen knows she’s stuck, so she asks if she can make a phone call. “I think that would be smart,” Diane says.  

I’ve noticed that Liz and Diane are both being quite firm with others this season—and I like it. They're spending more time with lower-level characters, and both Diane and Liz have reasons to be more curt this year. Diane is under a lot of stress and it’s showing in all of her interactions; Liz is making a point of seeming in control to establish herself as the leader of the firm.  

Then Marissa walks in. “What is going on with your crazy court judge?” Diane asks. “My?” Marissa asks. “Marissa, I am in no mood for defensiveness,” Diane insists. She mentions Wackner missing his meeting and shadowing Leah. That’s news to Marissa.  

Marissa heads to Wackner’s court to figure out what’s going on.

Wackner is now experimenting with juries. This is interesting to me—I'd wondered before how smart it was to just have Wackner make all the rulings, so exploring the idea of having a jury shows he’s thinking about that, too. Also, it’s another sign that Wackner wants his court to have many of the same structures as a real courtroom. There are still judges, juries, witnesses, trials—he's starting something new, but it feels more like he’s testing out improvements for an imperfect system. I wonder if his end goal would be to set up separate courts, or if he’s more interested in shaping laws/reforming the system? Surely Wackner has ambitions of scaling up whatever conclusions he comes to. So what are they?  

The reason for the juries is that the associates told him that juries are racially biased, so he’s trying to correct it. He also explains how he ended up shadowing Leah, and advises Marissa to go exploring whenever she’s kept waiting. (I have a feeling Marissa doesn’t need to be told this, but then, that’s why she’s Wackner’s “muse.”)  

Marissa notes that Wackner’s court is looking nicer—there must be money coming in from somewhere new. Wackner confirms there’s been a sympathetic donor.

Wackner is dealing with a case about NFT fraud. Marissa says she doesn’t know what that is. I’m going to assume that Marissa is using Wackner’s strategies against him (she had just accused him of playing dumb to get others to talk) because I cannot believe that Marissa, who always knows random facts, ESPECIALLY ones that involve weird corners of the internet, would not know what an NFT is.  

Marissa hears the case is about $4 million, and she’s shocked because this raises the stakes a little more than even she is comfortable with. Wackner has a signed and notarized document saying that both sides will honor the verdict. It is, as Marissa points out, notarized in 9 ¾ court by Wackner about a fictional case. “About a fictional crime,” Wackner adds on.  

I’m a little surprised this is all these writers had to say about NFTs! Maybe they knew that by the time this aired, the actual topic would feel dated.  

Mandy Patinkin is just SO GOOD as Wackner! I’m watching a fictional show about a fictional crime in a fictional court and even I am starting to believe in his ludicrous court!  

Wackner’s jury selection process involves catching potential jurors in traps, like pretending to know the national anthem when they don’t. Smart. Probably super problematic if you think about it too hard and put it in the wrong people’s hands and people start to know the system. But smart, for now.  

Diane is now in the sensitivity read meeting, for reasons passing understanding. They are still talking about the first joke. Jay calls Liz out of the meeting and notes that everyone in the room is old and no one is funny. “I’m funny!” Liz argues. Diane tries to leave the meeting, and Liz tells Diane Jay’s idea about needing younger people. “Oh god yes,” Diane agrees. I’m glad she sees it and a little alarmed that Liz doesn’t! I feel like they should’ve sent the tape to everyone interested in participating, then asked them to write up (separately) anything they found questionable or offensive, and gone from there, ending with a close review of anything that wasn’t previously flagged. If you debate every single line for hours you’re going to get nowhere.

I don’t know why Liz is so concerned that Jay thinks she’s not funny? But she is.

Diane asks Liz to join her meeting with Carmen and Lester. This is a scene I’ve been waiting for! Diane and Liz are both there and so the scene FEELS important. The plot advances. And, most importantly, they address why Carmen is staying at RL!

Lester reiterates that Carmen is super important to Rivi, so if Carmen says she can’t share info, then she can’t share info. Liz and Diane do not accept this. “I am a name partner. Carmen is a first-year associate,” Liz says. “Now, Carmen is free to resign and hang her shingle wherever she’d like. She can even go and work for you. That is up to her. But while she is here, she is subject to the rules and the mentoring of this firm.”

Lester tries to take Carmen out of the meeting. Liz and Diane won’t let him: They need to know if Carmen is staying with the firm, now.  

“You have a lot to learn, Carmen. And you can only do that here,” Diane pitches. I don’t think that’s exactly true, but it’s not untrue.

Here is a question I have about Carmen: she is WILLING to represent drug dealers and rapists. Does she WANT to? She chooses RL, so I’m guessing her interests lie in big law and not in aiding criminals.  

Lester leaves, but not before saying Kurt is about to get a grand jury summons. Diane gets one too. It’s not the usual guy! Too bad.

A bigger group is now deciding on if jokes are offensive or not, and they’re doing so with paddles that are red on one side (offensive) and green on the other (funny). I’m sure this is going to go well.

The group sees the replacement jokes and they are confused. Marissa wants to see the original joke. Julius shows the room, and everyone laughs. The joke is funny—and offensive. Someone from the mail room notes that he would be the butt of this joke, but he finds it funny, so he thinks the comedian should be able to continue with her set.  

Here is where I think I fall on this: Get sensitivity reads to get ahead of any huge issues (like, don’t be Pepsi with the ad with whichever Jenner it was who solved racism). Be aware of the potential issues. Let viewers decide what is and isn’t offensive, and make informed decisions rather than arbitrary rules about what content to show. You’ll KNOW if you are indulging the tendencies of someone with a history of making the same type of problematic jokes (for example, maybe if you are reviewing something by Tina Fey and she tries to write another edgy plot where racial stereotypes are the punchline, you advise her to not do that because, I mean, why WERE there so many episodes of 30 Rock that involved blackface??). You’ll KNOW if you are giving a platform to someone who is actively trying to spread misinformation and be cruel to others. Someone’s going to be offended by everything, and it may be a huge deal and it may not be. IMO, it doesn’t really matter that I can’t make an exact set of rules about what is/isn’t smart to air. I don’t think anyone—not networks, not creators, and not audiences—would benefit from that. Lawyers might, though, for all the billable hours...

“You can’t tell a joke without offending someone,” Jay notes. I do not think this is true! Puns don’t offend anyone!  

David Lee’s counter-example to Jay’s point is Gilbert & Sullivan. Of course it is.

As always, the argument devolves into overlapping chatter. These episodes exhaust me. At least this episode has some fun with the topic of the week and seems to have more of a point of view than some of the past episodes where the only conclusion is, “Wow! Controversy is controversial!”

Marissa ends up in the mail room with Jay and one of the mailroom guys (captions say his name is Jimmy). They are mocking the partner’s ideas of comedy. Jay and Jimmy agree that the best comedy is mean. But, Jay says, now it feels like you need “a permission slip to tell a joke.” Is... this true? This feels like one of those things people who would never actually get “cancelled” worry about because their fear overtakes their ability to understand what really gets someone cancelled.  

Then again, this episode was written by professional writers who would absolutely know better than I am if people are really hesitant to tell jokes.  

Jimmy has started making literal permission slips to allow people to tell jokes about specific groups. Jay and Marissa are down.  

Jay asks Jimmy to make a card for something so inappropriate he wouldn’t joke about it... and Jimmy prints a card that says Greta Thunberg. No one wants to joke about that.

And you know why this joke lands well for me? Part of it is that the vibe of this scene is very fun and laid back. But mostly it’s because Younger tried to make a Greta Thunberg joke this season, and it was quite possibly the worst, most embarrassing thing I’ve seen a TV show do in ages. It wasn’t funny, just mean, over the top, lazy, and never-ending. (Poor Younger. That show had an awful final season.)  

Liz is still worried she’s not funny. She asks Del if she’s funny and mentions Jay’s comment. He says she’s funny, but she’s not convinced he’s being honest. He points out this is a discussion no one will win. Del ends up accidentally saying “I love you” to Liz, which is a big deal for a relationship we’ve seen for all of two seconds. Liz says they don’t have to talk about it, but Del insists on explaining that he meant “affection,” not love. I’m glad they’re talking about this.

“Then maybe we should get married,” Liz says as seriously as possible. She stares at Del and smiles. He laughs and admits that was funny. It was VERY funny!  

Grand jury time! Yet Another Ham Sandwich: The Sequel: The Musical: The Series. (Am I funny? Pls tell me I’m funny and hip with the teens!)  

It’s Diane’s turn first. She does well, but there’s not much to say when Nancy plays the recording of Diane phoning the FBI with the rioter’s name. I did not need the clip from last episode in here. Diane is calm in court, but rushes to tell Kurt immediately. Nancy predicted Diane would do that, so she calls in Kurt before Diane has a chance to warn him.

So, wait, Kurt thought all of this was just a COINCIDENCE? Diane didn’t tell him earlier?! I don’t love this choice, but okay.  

Liz finds a joke permission slip on her desk. Julius has one too. “Did you use it?” Liz asks. Julius doesn’t understand what that even means. Then they trade clothes, because Liz does want to tell a joke about white girl clothes.

Julius suspects the cards are a way to make fun of the partners for being unfunny. The associates are also chatting about the cards, having lots of fun, so it’s clearly not about the partners.

I think now is an appropriate time to mention that TGW and TGF have both been consistently hilarious shows and have been on the air for a combined twelve years. Neither rely on the types of jokes that these cards permit. This is a kind of interesting thought experiment, but... doesn’t it say something that the shows never use these jokes as crutches and still manage to be funny? This is what I meant earlier about people being afraid of cancel culture when they’re not actually really at risk of coming under fire. These writers know how to write things that are funny. They know how to make comedy out of absurdity and subverting expectations. And yet they’re worried about how to have jokes that aren’t mean? Really?

The first laugh out loud funny TGW moment that comes to mind right now is the episode that ends with that obnoxious talk show guy trying to out Diane as a lesbian. That joke deals with identity. But it still holds up 12 years later, because the joke isn’t that Diane could be gay... the joke is that Diane DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT what this pest is saying about her on TV, and so she laughs. And because the tension of the talk show guy’s BIG DRAMATIC REVEAL is cut with Diane’s dynamic, loud laugh, we laugh with her! I’m not really sure what I'm trying to illustrate with this example. I’m just noting that you can be topical, funny, and entirely appropriate at the same time... and these writers are great at finding that balance.

HR starts, like, texting (they TEXT Marissa!!!) employees about the joke permission slips? It’s so bizarrely done that I thought this was going to be a prank.  

Jay decides they won’t go to HR, and Jimmy decides they’ll delay. Why wouldn’t HR just come down and take away the cards?

For this week’s dose of Wackner Wackiness, witnesses will be fully costumed, and it goes without saying that the costumes will be as over the top as possible.

David Cord is the mysterious donor. Marissa spots him and instantly puts the pieces together. Cord explains he met Wackner on the elevator. I can’t say enough how much I like that this season has a lot of moving pieces that feel like part of a whole. Cord showed up as part of a case that caused internal debate at the firm and had a thematic parallel to an ongoing plot, then crossed over into Wackner’s plot once he was established as a character!  

Cord says he’s interested in “disrupting things” so he’s interested in Wackner. I did not need the still photo of where they founded HP that’s used to illustrate humble beginnings, I guess.

Nancy mentions Kurt’s unfortunate last name—she so would. Kurt takes the fifth. Was this thing about needing a reason to take the fifth true in the earlier seasons and just not mentioned? Didn’t Kalinda and Will use this strategy?

Nancy, obviously, plays the recording of Diane reporting the rioter. Kurt conceals his reaction for the grand jury, but he’s pissed.  

Diane tries to apologize and Kurt asks for another lawyer. This is the right move. I can’t be all that sad.

The partners have collected all the cards and are trying to do damage control with HR. (Interestingly, there are certain topics the cards we see don’t touch on. Like, where’s the rape joke card? Aren’t rape jokes what we usually talk about when we talk about comedians getting cancelled? And where are the jokes about minority groups (aside from little people, referred to using the PC name instead of the names that would probably be used in most offensive jokes about little people) not represented in the TGF cast? I find this little bit of self-censorship quite notable, especially given that the writers seem to be arguing in favor of not regulating humor. These omissions, which MUST be intentional, tell me the writers do have their own lines they won’t cross...)  

(My larger point there, and where this funny-but-unnecessary subplot fails for me, is that this whole episode feels like a bit of a panic over cancel culture and winds up being a strawman argument. I don’t disagree with the conclusions the writers come to and I do find some of these scenes funny. But at the same time, I don’t think Cancel Culture is actually about coming after every single joke that makes fun of any person or group (if we must do a cancel culture plot, why not do one about someone who is an odious person and yet still has a following even after they’ve been “cancelled”). And I don’t think that showing HR as a very stern, strict, humorless body is helpful. I’m getting ahead of myself, but all that accomplishes is having Liz win on a point that pretty much everyone can agree on, because no one is actually as humorless as STRL’s HR department! Humor has so many gray areas and if you try to make it black and white, obviously the side that’s saying YOU CANNOT MAKE JOKES ABOUT ANYTHING is going to be the one that is wrong.  

I did just remember that all of these writers have probably dealt with unfun and strict standards & practices departments, and I like the way HR is portrayed more if I try to imagine them as Standards & Practices.

Liz decides she is going to see HR so she’s seen as an authority figure, not someone subversive. But first, Liz has to meet with Del and the comedian.

Wackner and Cord are in Diane’s office. Diane’s skeptical of their alliance. She also points out that it is corrupt for Wackner to be financed by Cord and decide on Cord’s cases. This is true. Cord says he has no vested interest in any of the cases. And Wackner says he’s the “most untouchable man on earth” and quotes a song again. Yet another example of how this court only works if Wackner is in charge.

The comedy meeting does not go well. David Lee is already trying to pitch their other servicces. The comedian finds the censored version hilarious in how terrible it is, and then she starts making fun of it, loudly, and for way too long.  

David thinks it went poorly; Liz isn’t concerned. David is all, “you failed” and Liz asks him to cool it and notes that David isn’t the highest-ranking person at STRL, so he should “stop the shit” and work with her. She’s already sounding more like a boss.  

Julius complements her on being “Boseman-like,” which is true (though I wish she didn’t need to be compared to her ex-husband). “I know,” Liz says quietly, likely because she hates that Adrian is still influencing her this much.  

Del joins Wackner and Cord in the elevator, and this isn’t the end of the episode but I’m going to pretend it is so all the episodes can end on elevators this year. It’s close enough.

Kurt’s new lawyer is Julius. Ah, yes, choose the corrupt judge Trump pardoned who works at your wife’s firm to represent you. Seems smart.  

Liz walks past Diane’s office and the camera follows her up to HR. She tries to get HR to understand humor. They do not. And that’s the episode.

So, a few thoughts to conclude. First, I went into this recap thinking I’d have a lot more to say about cancel culture and the way this episode handled the debate. But I ended up liking this plot—and this episode-- more the second time around. I still don’t think this episode said anything groundbreaking about cancel culture, because I don’t think it actually engaged with the topic beyond the surface. As I noted earlier, coming to the conclusion that jokes should be allowed because we’re all human isn’t really a resolution the real topic. What about accountability? What about allowing for some jokes to be too far without taking the teeth out of every joke? What about the way people panic over cancel culture when they’re not being canceled (this episode felt a little bit like a panic over cancel culture, which is why I reacted negatively to it the first time through) or about how cancellation doesn’t always stick or have meaning? There is SOMETHING to explore here, but I don’t think this episode found that something.  

Second, because I didn’t find a way to work it in above... is it me, or is it actually HELPING the show to not have Adrian or Lucca around!? This season feels so much more focused than the past several, and I think it might be because the writers (who are, as always, very good at adapting to curveballs) had to restructure the show. Lucca always had her own subplots that were separate from everything else, and Adrian’s charisma tended to overpower others’ presence (especially Liz’s) whenever he was in the room. It didn’t help that the writers seemed to LOVE writing Adrian plots, even if it meant neglecting others.  

Don’t get me wrong—I love Adrian and Lucca both. But there’s something to be said for a tighter show with three main interconnected pieces (Liz/firm drama, Diane/FBI and Kurt, Marissa/Wackner’s court) that carry over from episode to episode. Like the titles of the season, these episodes build on each other.  

Also, there’s the right amount of every character this season. David Lee is used sparingly; Jay and Julius are supporting players who sometimes get the spotlight; Wackner is a huge presence but his plot feels like part of the show; Carmen feels important but isn’t being given screentime for the sake of screentime; Liz is finally the type of lead she should’ve been from the start; Marissa has nicely grown into a role closer to leading than supporting; Diane remains a clear lead.  

5x05 next week!!! I am expecting some Hitting the Fan level quality and at least one fan-service-y reference. (Not really, but wouldn’t it be fun?)  

[masterthespianduchovny]

Although I get why some fans are frustrated at Scully’s skepticism, it’s boring to pick at, imo.

Like why don’t we examine her skepticism from a different angle?

1. Her adamant skepticism is a trauma response to being abducted. On a few occasions, I’ve pointed out the evolution in Scully’s character. Her iconic characterization doesn’t exist until S5. You guys know what I’m talking about, the arched eyebrow, deadpan expression, rolling her eyes, expressionless stares, no nonsense demeanor, the “Mulder, no...*sighs*, closed off, doesn’t have time for it, “yep, this is my life.” It’s hard to describe, but you get it.

That’s 5th season Scully.

Scully used to be far more open even after he abduction, funnier, less guarded, and...less skeptical. Of course, all of these things diminishes as seasons go on, but what does any of this have to do with her skepticism.

In like EBE or the season finale of the first season, Scully flat out says, “I’m sorry, Mulder, you were right”, not those words exactly, I’m regards to aliens. She was willing to straight up believe. No if, ands, or buts. She was committed to aliens being real.

Then, Scully gets abducted.

And you know what starts to happen, this convoluted back and forth of whether or not she was actually abducted by aliens. Which, doesn’t kind of matter because she was tested on by men for three months who medically raped her.

Scully spends years being told that the same events were aliens, no it was men, no aliens.

Yes, she does know they exist, but not in any way she can prove or feel comfortable talking about and why would she?

Scully’s skepticism is taking back control of her life and controlling the narrative. She refuses to be pulled every which direction and demands undeniable proof from that point forth. As more years pass, she is more demanding because they’d been fucked over and played with too many times.

Scully’s skepticism is not only a tool, it’s become a crutch.

2. “Field trip” shows us Mulder’s perception of Scully’s science. She has taught him to question what he knows or thinks he knows.

This is important because Scully doesn’t blindly accept anything anymore. She would’ve tested that alien. There’s no see an unusual creature that automatically proves aliens exists. No, it’s “if you find evidence, scrutinize, analyze, and test it.”

Scully taught him to think more critically and be more demanding about that sort of thing. As much as Mulder gives her grief at times about her skepticism, he uses it to keep himself honest. He knows Scully will always be honest with him.

3. Scully’s skepticism isn’t malicious, tries to rob mukder of his beliefs, and is used to help Mulder validate his beliefs to their superiors.

I understand why people want Scully to believe, but sxully doesn’t derive any joy when she either proves Mulder’s theories wrong or it turns out to be something else. Like the episode queequeg was killed. Mulder thought big blue wasn’t real and Scully comforter and reassured him. She was supportive of him beliefs, despite her own grief at her dog being eaten.

Whenever Mulder encountered any type of L, esp regarding aliens, Scully served as his rock and let him know that they’d find answers and proof for extraterrestrial life.

There’s been times where Scully’s burned the midnight oil just to find answers for Mulder.

4. I don’t want to center this all around aliens, but as I often say, just because one thing exists doesn’t mean another does. Despite Scully being skeptical about monsters Mulder presented to her, she always investigated the best to her ability and conducted thorough scientific tests and autopsies. Any anomaly, unusual thing, and something noteworthy for the circumstance, she noted and told Mulder about it.

She pushed Mulder and fined tuned working theories.

If Mulder could prove his theories to her, then she could prove it to others.

Scully was on the fence about aliens, but she always defended Mulder to the best of her abilities. Also, if they proved that a monster existed, it existed. Scully didn’t show away from their work, treated it as a badge of honor, and defended the merit of their department existing.

Scully’s skepticism may have been an hindrance to some people’s enjoyment, but it wasn’t to her job. Ironically, although she was assigned to Mulder to debunk him, bar none, she was his biggest cheerleader.

This doesn’t even go into the fact that Scully has canonically spoke wel of and defended Mulder to friends and family. Defended their work. I’m stressing Mulder because his beliefs are often singled out and mocked and ridiculed, but she defends him without reservation. She defends their work and their partnership.

So, personally, that’s why I don’t focus on her skepticism. She’s added so much value to the x files. Her sticking to her morals and ethics and choosing to believe in Mulder is why the x files continued to exist beyond Mulder’s beliefs.

[deascheck]

A Day in the Life of Sam and Dean Winchester

Summary: Sam and Dean end up in a parallel universe; the Trickster is back at it again. The reader is the key to the brothers getting home.

Word Count: 3507

Triggers: none…?? let me know if there’s a trigger I should have included! I’ll change it!

A/N: Any and all feedback is always appreciated!! Comments, likes, or reblogs welcomed! Thank you thank you to the amazing @that-one-gay-girl for beta'ing!!

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CHAPTER ONE

You headed over to the window, wondering what the weather was like. As you pulled the curtains back a few inches, you saw a dark sky that cast gloom over the earth. Great. A perfect day for curling up with my computer and a good book. Thank God it’s my day off. You walked over to your bookshelf and started browsing, already anticipating a wonderful day to yourself.

You’d say it was about time, too. You’d been working crazy hours for about three weeks. You were exhausted, and the sleep-in you’d just had was only the start of what you needed. Pulling a book from the shelf, you headed towards your favorite chair. It was a big, plush chair that had a lever you could pull and it extended into a recliner. It was old and weathered; your grandparents left it to you in their will. You would never get rid of this chair, or get tired of using it.

As you settled in with a fleece blanket and a cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. God bless… Come on people. I just want a quiet day to myself! You could just feel yourself going into grump mode, so you took a sip of coffee and walked over to the door, mentally getting into your small talk mode instead. You pulled open the door and stared.

“Hi, Y/N? My name is Sam, and this is my brother Dean. We were hoping we could take a few minutes to talk with you.”

You couldn’t believe your eyes. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were at your door. And apparently they were in character. You couldn’t decide whether to laugh or run and hide. So you opened the door further and stepped aside to let them in. Oh shit, my apartment is such a mess right now.. Shit. That’s it, I’m always keeping it clean. God knows when I’m going to have visitors, let alone friggin celebrities! As they stepped through the doorway, they both ducked their heads and smiled at you, attempting to make you feel more at ease. Clearly the panic was written all over your face. All their smiles did was raise your heart rate.

Once everyone was all situated in the living, and you’d gotten them coffee, you asked, “So, what’s this all about?”

The brothers looked at each other, doing their silent communication thing, and then Dean or Jensen took the lead. “Here’s the thing Y/N. It’s kind of a long story, but the short of it is that we are not from here… and we need help getting back home. You’re our ticket home.”

You laughed. “I’M your ticket home? Ok, come on. I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard of me until today. And you’re actors… So what're you testing me on? Do you need another cast member?”

Sam, or Jared, sighed. He seemed tired. His shoulders were a little slumped and his movements slower than you would have expected. “I get that you think we’re Jared and Jensen. But we’re not. We’re Sam and Dean. We got transported here, a parallel universe, and you are the way we get home.” He looked at you with his famous puppy eyes. “Please, Y/N. Will you help us?”

You stared, unable to comprehend that Sam and Dean Winchester were in your living room. “Give me a minute,” you managed to sputter out, and receded to your kitchen where you grabbed an oven mitt from the counter and started fanning yourself. What is happening? I’m dreaming.. or they’re really truly playing a prank on me. How the fuck do they know who I am? You weren’t sure what to do. You didn’t feel particularly special, with no great talents or hobbies. You were just a simple person, who lived to go to work, and come home; you had no friends. Honestly, you didn't really fit in with anyone at work. You were quiet, and tended to listen more than participate. You didn’t have any witchy habits or any werewolf or vampire characteristics… that you knew of. But if you had any monster tendencies, you were pretty sure you would have been attacked by Sam and Dean, not having them knock on your door and ask you to send them home.

Squaring your shoulders, you sighed, and walked back out to the living room. Sam and Dean were exactly where you’d left them, Sam sitting awkwardly in your non-favorite armchair, and Dean perched on the edge of the couch. They were talking earnestly but quietly.

Sam noticed that you were coming back in the room first, and broke off from the conversation. “Y/N. How are you doing with all of this?”

“Umm… clearly seeing, but still working on believing,” you answered honestly. You shifted your weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable.

“Hey, sweetheart, I know it’s a lot to take in. But I’m gonna need you to believe it, and work on helpin’ us out,” Dean stated, not unkindly.

You nodded and sat in your armchair, grabbing your coffee from the side table next to you. “Okay.” You said with a deep breath. “What do you need me to do? How am I supposed to get you home?”

Sam explained softly, as if trying not to scare you off. He said, “Well, from what we’ve gathered from this world is that you’re ahead of ours. All the monsters have been eradicated by the hunters. We found a Men of Letters bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, and according to the records, you’re the sole survivor of the Legacies. You alone possess the power to get us home. The records said you are in possession of the inter-dimensional traveling spells, for their protection.” He looked at you with hope on his face.

You laughed. “Men of Letters? Here? Monsters? Yeah, right,” you scoffed.

“I told you she wouldn’t believe you,” interjected Dean, rolling his eyes.

You would’ve been indignant at Dean’s tone, except he was right. You didn’t believe him. It was just too preposterous.

“I know, that’s why I brought these,” stated Sam, matter-of-factly. He reached into his beige denim jacket and pulled out a file full of a small handful of documents. “These are the papers that explain about Y/N.”

Unsure what to believe, you hesitantly reached out and took the file gingerly from Sam’s giant hand. You flipped it open on your lap and started to read the first page. Sure enough, it described how you were a Legacy, and how your lineage meshed with the Men of Letters. My grandfather was a Man of Letters?? What in the hell? How did I never hear stories of monsters then? Or hunters? Your jaw dropped as you continued to read. It described how the spells for inter-dimensional travel were kept in a safe room, and the only key was with you. I don’t have a key! I was never even told about a key, let alone the Men of Letters and inter-dimensional travel. Fuck!

Shutting the file after reading the first couple pages, you looked at them with regret on your face. “I’m sorry to let you guys down, but I don’t have a key. I was never told about a key or spells. I don’t even know where the safe room is!”

Rubbing his face with his hand, Dean groaned. He put his hand up to his temple and started rubbing it with a couple fingers. ‘Alright,” he said. “Do you have a family house that you grew up in? One that held multiple generations?”

“Yeah, I do,” you nodded. “It’s about 10 minutes away, in the suburbs.”

The brothers’ faces lit up as they both had the same thought. The house held a secret room. Looking between the brothers, you smirked. You knew what they were thinking, because, well, you were thinking the same thing. What kind of family history were you about to discover?

You offered to drive, so they wouldn’t have to use a stolen car. However, you made them move the one they’d stolen to get to your apartment. You weren’t gonna have cops knocking on your door about no stolen car. Walking to the passenger side of your Nissan Kicks first, you pushed the seat back as far as it could go. Sam’s legs weren’t going to fit in the backseat. Dean’s would probably barely fit behind your seat.

You saw Sam smirk at Dean from the corner of your eye as you walked around to your door. You smiled to yourself. You knew Dean liked being in the front seat- hell, he preferred to be the one driving. Suck it up buttercup. Getting in, you plugged your phone in for Apple CarPlay to come up and went with your “Oldies” playlist. Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Pat Benatar, etc. You figured that’s what they’d like the most, and to be honest, it had been a while since you listened to it, so you were glad to put it on.

As you drove, you could see Dean’s head bobbing to the music. Night Moves, by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band played through the speakers. You couldn’t help but think of the episode in Supernatural where Sam said, “Don’t ‘Night Moves’ me!” The thought of it made you grin.

When you got to the house, you sat in your car for a minute. You hadn’t been here in about a year. The house was yours, left to you by your parents when they’d died in a car crash two years ago. It was paid off before they died, so it wasn’t like you were paying out the wazoo for it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to sell it. Now you were glad that you hadn’t.

Sam and Dean waited quietly for you to get out of the car. They could tell something was on your mind, but they weren’t going to push it too much since they barely knew you. Sam did ask, “Hey, are you ok?”

It brought you out of your thoughts with a jolt and you forced a smile. “Yeah! Come on, let’s go in. I own it, so there shouldn’t be anyone there. It’s not my housekeeper’s day to clean.” At Sam and Dean’s questioning looks, you added, “I hired a housekeeper to clean every other week. My parents died two years ago, and once I’d finished handling everything, I couldn’t bring myself to stay here. I haven’t been back in about a year. But selling it is not an option in my book either.”

It was a nice house, a two-story brick house with a porch running the entire length of the front of the house. There were four white pillars spaced across the porch. You smiled. You loved that house. There were so many good memories from your childhood. The lawn looked amazing; you paid a company to keep it manicured, as you liked to call it. You were glad, because you would have been embarrassed if it had had two years worth of overgrowth. The roses and peonies that lined the porch were in full bloom, adding a beautiful touch of color to the house and lawn.

You got out of the car and headed for the side door, which was closest to where you were parked in the long driveway. Sam and Dean trailed behind you, admiring the house. You took your key out of your jeans pocket and twisted it in the lock, pushing open the door. It smelled just like it always had. It was a clean linen type of smell, and you would never get tired of it. The housekeeper that cleaned the house clearly had honored your wishes about the scent plug-ins.

The side door opened to a mud room, which was quaint. It had the washer and dryer on one side, as well as racks for coats and shoes on the other. You took your shoes off before pushing through the mud room door. You entered the kitchen. It was a decent sized kitchen, remodeled by your mom, who loved to cook. The kitchen island was spotless and shiny. You smiled. As painful as it was, it was good to be home.

Sam and Dean respectfully took their shoes off and followed you, eager to see the house. You bee-lined for the family room, which had a massive bookshelf that you were going to start looking for research with. Calling over your shoulder to the brothers who were still taking in the kitchen, you said, “Make yourselves at home. Make a cup of coffee, explore the house. Do whatever you want. I’m going to start in the family room and try to find some books on the Men of Letters or something.”

They yelled a thanks back. You heard one of them start messing with the coffee pot. You grinned. Whichever one it was, was a man after your own heart. Dean walked in, clearly looking for something.

“What are you looking for, Dean?” you asked.

“Oh, I’m looking for a blank wall, or a wall with just a picture or two on it. Something that might be a false wall.”

“Hmm,” you said. “The living room has two walls with pictures, and the study has one wall. That’s it for the first floor. Second floor has a lot of walls with pictures- the bedrooms. And the basement has two walls without stuff against them.”

Dean nodded and went in search of the living room. You could hear him knocking on the walls and you grinned. You couldn’t believe this was really happening. Sam and Dean Winchester were in your house, and they were looking for a hidden room that held secrets you hadn’t even fantasized about.

Sam came out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand. “Thank you for the coffee,” he said softly.

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to get some use out of this house.”

Sam looked at the bookshelf. “I’d be surprised if there was anything here. It was a very secretive society; I don’t think they’d leave anything related to it in the open.”

You rolled your eyes at yourself. “You’re right, of course. But, it doesn’t hurt to look. Not a stone unturned, right?”

Sam smiled and nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll go to the basement and start there. Are there any books down there?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a couple bookshelves down there. My dad absolutely loved to read. The basement door is through this room and is the second door on the left down the hallway.”

Sam headed that direction while you scanned the books. You were seeing about every author known to man, with every possible title but nothing that would alert you to the Men of Letters. You remembered the symbol that had been on the papers in the file about you, and decided to re-scan the books to check for that symbol.

Meanwhile, Dean had made it upstairs, still knocking on each wall. He’d taken to knocking on every wall instead of just the bare ones, in case a bookshelf or a desk or dresser was blocking the door to the secret room.

He trampled back downstairs where you were just finishing with your bookcase. You’d even taken some books out and checked them to make sure they weren’t cut out and hiding anything.

Dean came up behind you and said, “No luck on the first or second floor. Where’s Sammy? The basement?”

As he asked, the two of you heard Sam yell, “Hey guys! I found something!”

You led Dean quickly to the hall and down the stairs. The light was on downstairs and Sam was holding a book in his hands next to one of the bookshelves. He held it up with a knowing look on his face. It was the symbol of the Men of Letters. You laughed with glee. “You found it!! Oh thank god!”

Dean immediately strode over to Sam and said, “If that book was in this case, let’s move the shelf and see if there’s a false wall behind here.”

Sam nodded and together they pulled the heavy bookcase away from the wall, grunting with the effort. You were impressed. That was a heavy ass bookshelf. Dean knocked on the wall behind it. It sounded hollow. They exchanged meaningful glances and Sam said, “Y/N, this is probably where we’ll need the key. Do you know where it might be?”

Your heart fell. You’d forgotten about the key. You had no idea where it might be. “Umm there’s a drawer of keys in the kitchen. It’s got keys for everything in the house. Rooms, safes, the house, etc. I guess we could start there?”

Dean stayed behind, running his hands along the fake wall, looking for a way to get through while Sam and you went back upstairs and to the kitchen. You pulled open a small drawer that looked like it was just decorative. “Smart,” Sam said. “I wouldn’t have guessed that that was a drawer.”

You smiled. “Yeah, Dad did that on purpose. It’s the one piece of input he had in this whole kitchen.” You chuckled a little at the memory of when your parents were remodeling it, arguing about the size and placement of various drawers.

Rifling through it, you looked for a key you didn’t recognize. Unfortunately, you didn’t recognize several of them. What kinds of secrets did your dad hide? Your face fell. “I don’t know. There are a lot that I’m not sure of.”

Sam thought for a minute and asked, “Where are your bowls?”

“Next to the fridge,” you answered, confused.

He pulled out a bowl from the cupboard and then grabbed a handful of keys and dropped them in the bowl. “When in doubt, try all of them!” He said with a laugh.

You smirked and grabbed the last couple keys and put them in the bowl. “Alright then,” you said. “Let’s do this!”

Once back downstairs, you noticed a hole where the wall had been. You were glad Sam was carrying the bowl, or you would have dropped it. Your jaw went slack. “What in the world…?” You trailed off, not believing your eyes.

Dean smiled proudly at himself. “The wall had a push spot. I pushed it and it flipped open. But there’s still a door here with a lock, like we predicted. Did you get the key?” His eyes widened slightly at the amount of keys in the bowl when Sam brought it closer, and then laughed. “That’s one way to do it,” he chuckled.

Grabbing the first key, you attempted to get it in the lock. “Oh lord, it’s not even close to a fit. Are there any really small ones? This is a tiny lock!”

Sam fished around and brought out two. “Here, try these,” he offered. You took them from his outstretched hand, ignoring the shock you felt when your fingers brushed his palm.

“No, they don’t fit either. The lock is even smaller than these,” you said in frustration after failing with both keys. You grabbed the locket around your neck for comfort. Your father had given it to you when you graduated college. It was maybe your most prized possession. The only time you took it off was to shower. Whenever you held it, you felt like you could feel his presence.

Dean’s eyes fell on your locket. “Hey, is anything inside that locket?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” you said. “But I’ve never been able to get it open,” you confessed right after. “I’ve also never tried too hard, either. My dad gave it to me when I graduated around seven years ago. It’s very special to me.”

Sam looked softly at you. “May I?” he asked.

Oddly finding yourself trusting him, you looped the locket over your head and handed it to him wordlessly. He inspected the lock on it carefully after attempting to open it himself. His mouth dropped.

“It’s glued shut!” he exclaimed. He took out his knife and very carefully wiggled it to get through the glue. It was rock solid and took him more than a minute to get through it without damaging the locket. It suddenly sprang open; he’d clearly gotten enough off for it to open. A small key fell into his hand.

“Oh my god!” you almost yelled. “I can’t believe it! You got it open!” Sam handed you the key with a broad smile that showed off his dimples. “Give it a try,” he encouraged.

Trembling, you stuck the key in the lock. It clicked. Instinctively, you pushed, and into view came a big room, full of files, books, shelves, a desk and a table. On the wall was a giant Men of Letter symbol. Unable to get any words past your lips, you stepped in, not believing your eyes.

Sam and Dean followed you in, their eyes taking in every inch of the room. They grinned simultaneously and said, “This is how we get home.”

[lucacangettathisass]

JOUST (Chapter One)

SUMMARY: Following a mix up that would only be funny if it were happening to an anime character, my Japanese host family turns out to have only a son, who I will also be rooming with at his school, Shiratorizawa Academy. Christ knows how it could get any worse from here.

CHAPTER WARNINGS: None

TAGLIST:@youidiot91 @meemsx @squishyrobbie @total-insanity @oneshotofvodkaa @moons-and-stars-and-shit

NOTES: I really want to thank everyone who has shown an interest in this fic, it really means a lot! I can’t gaurantee an upload schedule as things are weird rn, but I’ll try to upload as often as possible. So, without further ado, here it is!

And if you want to be added to the taglist just lmk!

CHAPTER ONE

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,

Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,

Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine,

Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,

And recks not his own rede.

-William Shakespeare

And the rest is rust and stardust

-Vladimir Nabokov

The oddness of the situation truly didn’t come to me until after I had landed in Sendai Airport, which of the two airports I have been to, was definitely the bigger and nicer one.

After flying for essentially twenty four hours, I was eager to stretch my legs, and I had to hold back my groans of satisfaction as I was finally able to move my body outside of the confined space of the plane. I navigated myself through the crowd, taking great pains to avoid colliding with anyone, and apologising if I accidentally got too close, until I came across an empty patch of floor beside a wall, where I proceeded to stand. At that moment in time, anything seemed better than sitting.

Alone and away from the crowd, I dug into the Kuromi sports bag on my left shoulder, resting my My Melody carry-on against the wall, pulling out the folder I had made that contained the info on my host family, reading through it for the umpteenth time.

The Goshiki family, consisting of the father, Hideaki, his wife, Mayumi, and their son, Tsutomu.

That was the odd thing that had suddenly struck me. There was no mention of a daughter of any kind, or any other female relative that stayed with them. I had been too full of excitement and nerves to really think about it before, but now that I was, it did seem odd.

‘I wonder why a family with only a son would host someone from an all girls school.’ I tried to think of an explanation, but my brain was so fried from the flight that I could barely muster up anything. So I shrugged, put the file back, and went on to find the luggage check in.

When I arrived at the luggage carousel, I was surprised to see a family of three there, holding up a sign. A sudden, strong feeling came over me, and I looked up at their sign. It read Welcome Cody Smith, in tall, proud kanji. This was them, it had to be. So, seeing little other options, I approached them.

“H-Hello?” My voice cracked a little due to nerves, and I quickly cleared my throat, scrambling to remember the Japanese I had learned. “I’m Cody.” I bowed quickly, and as deeply as I could manage without completely falling over. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

There was a pause, and I felt my face heat up in the heavy silence. I slowly stood back up, looking over their confused faces.

“I-I’m sorry.” A middle aged man, who I assumed to be Mr Goshiki, said, rather awkwardly. “We...well we were expecting a uh…boy.”

I blinked, trying to quickly translate what he had said in my head, and process it. “Oh.” I said, because I really didn’t know what else to say.

“Hideaki!” His wife scolded, clearly unimpressed with her husband’s bluntness. She turned to me and smiled kindly, although even I couldn’t miss her blush. “It isn’t your fault honey.” She assured me. “Tomu, say hello.”

I turned my attention to the son, who struck me as having intense Rock Lee energy, and not just because of the bowl cut. He looked serious and determined, with a furrowed brow, like he was about to go into battle or something. He bowed, just like I had, but with...conviction, somehow, if that were possible. “I am Tsutomu Goshiki!” He declared, so loudly that a few people were staring. “And I am honoured to be your host brother!”

Startled, and even more sure of the Rock Lee comparison, I could only stare down at him, a boy who I knew was the same age as me, yet seemed to want to carry himself with the dignity and seriousness of a man his father’s age. “Oh. Um. Hi.” I only barely managed to get the word out, a little bewildered at what I considered to be an over the top greeting.

He remained in his stance, upper body perfectly parallel to the ground, as I continued to stare. I saw him lift his head a little, and his eyelids flicker. I tilted my head to the side a little so I could actually see him without my chest obstructing my view. We maintained eye contact for a few seconds, before he stood up right again, practically snapping his body into position with such speed and force that I actually felt a slight breeze. “Let me help with your luggage!” He said as a declaration again, as if this was something deadly serious. “Which bags are yours?”

“Uh, they haven’t shown up yet.” I nervously glanced around, noting all the looks from strangers.

“Calm down now Tomu.” Mrs Goshiki said, with a mother’s fondness, clearly used to this. “I’m sure Cody is tired.”

“Coco.”

“Hm?” Mrs Goshiki turned to me.

I started to blush again, and I looked down shyly. “I uh...I would prefer it if you called me Coco.”

“Oh. Alright then honey, sure thing.”

I looked back up at her and smiled gratefully. “Thanks.” I looked back at the luggage carousel, watching as one bag after another made its way around on the conveyor belt, waiting for mine.

“There you are.”

I walked up to the conveyor belt, hand outstretched to grab the bright pink, Hello Kitty suitcase.

“Let me!”

Before I could react, Tsutomu suddenly appeared, yanking the suitcases. “Is the other Hello Kitty one yours too?”

“Uh, yeah, but I can-”

Thunk!

I stood there, somewhat awkwardly, as Tsutomu stood there, one of my suitcases in each hand, looking so serious that it made the situation comical. “Allow me!” He said, already walking on ahead. “As your host brother, it’s my job to help you settle in and make things easier for you.”

Deciding that it would be more trouble than it was really worth to argue, I quietly followed, trying to ignore all the curious eyes. ‘I wonder if he would’ve done that if I was a boy.’

-

During the car ride back to the Goshiki residence, I listened as Tsutomu told me all about Shiratorizawa Academy. Since I was arriving only a month after the beginning of the school year, I hadn’t missed much, but I would still need to work hard to catch up.

(“It’s a really tough school.” He had said. “But you wouldn’t be sent here if you weren’t able to hack it, so I believe in you.”

“Thanks.”)

But he spent most of his time talking about the volleyball team.

Being utterly ignorant to all things volleyball, I had a hard time keeping up. I got that he was an outside hitter-whatever that meant-and that the Shiratorizawa team was considered to be the best in the whole Miyagi Prefecture. And, what’s more, their captain and ace player, Wakatoshi Ushijima, was considered the number one ace among high school volleyball players, and was even selected for Japan’s under 19 Youth World Championship team. Despite my lack of knowledge, even I was able to tell that that was a big deal.

“And this year we’re going to go to nationals and win!” Tsutomu said excitedly, and with such conviction that I wouldn’t be surprised if that alone won them first place. “Hey! You should see us practice!”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know.” I said, honestly surprised by the suggestion. “I don’t really know anything about volleyball so....”

“You can still just watch.” He insisted. “And I can introduce you to the guys so you’ll know more people.”

“Tomu…”

Tsutomu turned to face his mother, who was looking over her shoulder at us. Evidently, the use of the nickname was enough to get her point across.

I looked out the window, resting my forehead against the glass, watching a city I had only seen in pictures and video go by me.

-

I woke with a start, eyes wide, looking around so quickly that I banged my head. “Ow.” I looked up, and saw that I had hit the glass of the car window.

“Good timing.” Mr Goshiki said, the first words I heard him say since the airport. “We’re here.”

I blinked and nodded, stifling a yawn as I got out of the car. I went to the back to get my luggage, but Tsutomu already had it covered, taking my suitcases up to the impressively sized house. While I was reeling from his speed, Mr and Mrs Goshiki took my sports bag and carry-on respectively, leaving me standing in their driveway.

I had no other choice but to quietly follow them, up the path, and to the door, taking my shoes off immediately upon entering.

“You’ll mostly be staying in Shiratorizawa’s dorms.” Mrs Goshiki said. “But during the holidays and, if you like, the weekends, you’ll be here with us.” She went up the stairs, followed by her husband and son so, naturally, I went with them.

“This will be your room when you’re here.” She said, opening the door to a spacious bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, with only a bed, a small bedside table, a bookcase, and a reasonably sized vanity. “You can decorate it however you want.”

“Thank you.” I somehow managed to find my voice again. I turned to face the entire family and bowed again, a little deeper this time, hoping it would be enough. “You’re all very kind.”

Mr Goshiki chuckled. “It’s fine, you don’t need to bow.”

I straightened up, mumbling a small and embarrassed “Sorry.”

“We’ll leave you to get unpacked.” Mrs Goshiki said. “You’ve got your own bathroom through there,” she pointed to a door on the left wall, “and Tomu’s room is right across the hall. Hide and I will be down the hall on the right. You get yourself settled in while I prep dinner.” She gave me one last comforting smile and with that, the family filed out, Tsutomu closing the door behind him.

I let out a deep sigh, looking around the room, and back down at my bags.

‘Better not unpack too much if I’ll be staying in a dorm.’

-

About two hours later, there was a knock at the door, making me pause in my arranging of the closet in my new room. “Yes?”

“It’s Tsutomu.” His voice was a little muffled by the door, but I could definitely tell it was him. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Alright, be right down.” I got up and went over to the door, only to find Tsutomu was still there when I opened it.

“Did you need help with anything?”

“Oh, ah, no. I’m all good.”

Tsutomu looked like he was about to press the issue, but he seemed to think better of it, and simply went on ahead down the stairs. “My mum made ramen, don’t worry it’s vegan like you put on the form.”

“Cool.” I blushed, remembering filling out that field and now wondering why I did so, when I knew that it would no doubt be a hassle.

I followed Tsutomu into the dinning room, and the two of us joined his parents at the table, big bowls of still warm ramen in front of us. After a quick prayer we tucked in. I had no idea if Mrs Goshiki had any experience with vegan food before, but if she hadn’t, that made the ramen all the more impressive.

The noodles weren’t too firm, nor was the broth too rich. The mushrooms were perfectly tender, and there was just the right amount of vegetables and tofu to balance everything out. I already knew that I was going to find out Mrs Goshiki’s recipe and learn how to make it.

“So what made you decide to do this exchange?”

I looked up at Mr Goshiki and shrugged, swallowing down the noodles and mushrooms. “Just felt like something different I guess.” I idly swirled the broth around. “And, I mean, I’m interested in Japan, so I figured I would take my chance.”

“Really? Why Japan?”

‘Don’t say anime and look like a weeb don’t say anime and look like weeb don’t say anime and look like a weeb I swear to fuck if you do that shit I am shutting this whole operation down.’

“Mostly how different it is from New Zealand.” I said. “An entirely different culture in an entirely different continent, I don’t know, just the usual curiosity I guess.”

‘You live another day.’

-

Dinner passed with regular small talk, with the Goshiki family getting to know more about me and vice versa. I offered to help Mrs Goshiki with the dishes, but she insisted I ‘go right to bed and get some much needed rest’.

The only problem was, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night, I was still wide awake.

‘I guess this is jet lag.’

I stared up at the ceiling, waiting for my eyelids to droop, and for sleep to take me, but alas, it proved to be as evasive as ever.

Sighing in defeat, I got out of bed, went over to the bookshelf, and got back under the blankets with My Melody, and began to re-read Hamlet, again.

[b-rainlet]

📓📓📓📓

- the-scarecrxw

(Since you sent 4 of those emojis I'm gonna go off but I'll stick to one in this answer and make seperate posts for the others aksnsns)

I can't give you anything Jonathan centric (that isn't Tommy/Jonathan, one of my fave rarepairs) but Jerome features in lots of my AUs.

This one is one of my faves that's entirely self-indulgent and if it ever gets written it's probably gonna be the longest fic I ever published (Again: If it ever gets written):

I gotta apologize in advance, it's just a fun little AU I haven't put too much thoughts into in terms of plotting so this is gonna be A. Long, B. Messy and C. A little chaotic

- First off, you gotta understand that @nsfwitchy2 Me had some fun with a pretty nonsensical and definitely not canon-compliant AU where Jerome and Jeremiah have three Mums (Tabby, Lee and Barbara, who all date) and live with them and Barbara Lee as their little sister.

- Ecco also lives with them, she sees herself as both the twins' gf more than a genuine part of the family tho (for now)

- (Meanwhile at Wayne Manor Alfred and Jim date and are very tired parents of Bruce and his clone 514A, in this AU - and pretty much every AU - nicknamed Brook)

- (Selina kinda goes back and forth between living at Wayne Manor or at Lee's place)

- Also, everyone dates. The twins. The clones. Eccomiah, Jecco, Batcat, Valeyne, Wayleska, they're all fucking

- Which isn't THAT important for this particular AU but I figured I'd give a warning xD

- This is mostly my attempt to give Tabitha some more backstory? Just...how I personally see her character and how I could see her end up if things would've went differently after S2

- The google docs file is called 'How Tabitha started being a Mum while disregarding canon completely' lmao

- Like her current life involves having 4 kids (if you count Selina) and two wives and that's a hell of an AU and I just like to overthink things and play with the way things would have needed to have gone in canon to have her 'end up' like this

- Also I can see her struggling with having a family all if a sudden (that isn't a manipulative brother or a weird cult)

-Especially if that involves Motherhood

- So on one hand it's a 'S2 until now' fic, explaining what happened to her in my canon

- But also - mostly because I find that easier to organize in my brain - it's interwoven with a 5+1-esque fic of all her children calling her 'Mum' (and her getting emotional over that)

- So it switches back and forth between the past and the present but for rambling's sake, I'll start with the past

- She still leaves Theo behind and flees with Silver but she keeps Silver close instead of immediately sending her away

- And her and Silver get taken in by Fish after they leave Theo because they have nowhere to go and Fish loves taking care of strays

- (Fish, who probably didn't end up in Indian Hill but rather lives in hiding until she is ready to strike against Penguin)

- She refers to herself as Liza's Mother in canon, you can't tell me she wouldn't instantly adopt Tabby and call her 'Honey' and give her motherly advice while Tabby tries to be all bite but actually enjoys somebody taking care of her for once

- Selina🤝Tabby

'Trying so very hard all the time to not show how soft and insecure they are'

- Actually, I'd start diverting from Canon even sooner aksnsjd

- Well not full on changing canon, but I'd...pepper in some stuff

- Like some scenes of her back with Theo and the Maniax

- Mostly her talking to Theo about Jerome's planned murder, which, yeah, she knows it's been set in stone from the beginning but that doesn't mean that she isn't talking about alternatives where he doesn't get killed off

- And Theo's like "Don't tell me you're going soft. No one will miss him. He was just a boy. Not worthy enough to be remembered."

- And later on she betrays him and goes 'I remember him'

- Anyway, they stay with Fish for a while but Tabby doesn't wanna keep Silver in Gotham

- So she sends her back to the school she went to before coming to Gotham with Theo (but makes sure their weird cult can't get their hands on her there)

- And Silver wants her to come with but Tabby says she has some unfinished business

- Aka she just doesn't wanna leave Barbara (who is in a coma atm, if Memory serves right)

- And Tabby's reasoning is that it's not safe in Gotham but really, she thinks she can't be responsible for another person

- "She needs a mother. A Family. I can't give her that." - "You are her family."

- So Silver's out of the picture and Tabby hangs with Fish until Barbara wakes up and they get together again (and never ever seperate)

- Also there's no Butch/Tabby because that was unnecessary as fuck

- And I gotta be honest, I haven't thought more about canon because Butch/Tabby alone makes my head hurt already but somehow they start dating Lee

- Who brings Jerome into the relationship because I sure am fond of Lee being Jerome's Mother (like as in, I have several wips with that concept alone not counting this one)

- Jerome probably came back to life after S3 and Lee fought to have him not be treated like a violent criminal but rather a child who was taken advantage of and after his release from Arkham (where she visited him and made sure he got some proper treatment) it seemed natural to have him live with her

- (But also he's still a criminal aksnsjs, you can see how much I thought about this)

- (Sue me for sticking to the heartfelt scenes and avoiding the mess that is plotting)

- Tabby and Barbara already had Selina and through Jerome, Jeremiah and Ecco were added et voila! Their Family is complete

- (Why exactly Barbara Lee exists if Tabby and Barbara have been non-stop dating since S2 I can't tell you, I simply think she is neat and I like the idea of big brother Jerome)

- (This AU? Self-indulgent? Why would you ever think that?)

- In the present however she is dealing with what is mostly referred to as 'feelings'

- Mostly panic at realizing that the bunch of weird children she's been living with are seeing her as some kind of parental figure

- Because suddenly they all call her 'Mum'

- Unsurprisingly the first one to call her Mum is Jerome at breakfast

- She's reading the newspaper and there's an article about a hostage situation the twins planned and he goes 'Mum, are you done with that? Can we see?'

- And they snatch it from her and argue about how they didn't even make the front page while Tabby nearly chokes on her coffee

- And of course she breaks down talks to her wives about it later while they get ready for bed because no one ever called her 'Mum' before

- Barbara's braiding her hair, while Lee's off to the side, getting ready for bed and it's very domestic and I am very gay

- But neither see it as a big deal because both of them have been called Mum before (by Jerome at least. Like. Immediately upon meeting them)

- So she's trying to be nonchalant about it because it's only a big deal if she makes it one

- While also not being able to deny the warm feeling that spreads throughout her body when Jerome keeps calling her 'Mum'

- Miah and Selina on the other hand are both hesitant to call anyone Mum

- Miah cause of Pride, Selina cause of her Mummy Issues

- But they both do at some point

- I think I have more notes on this SOMEWHERE but I kinda wanna have Miah call her Mum while he's ill (because we all know he'd be super fussy and want attention 24/7)

- So she humours him and while he's close to falling asleep - and she's totally not carding her fingers through his hair because she isn't soft or anything - he mumbles: "Thank you Mum" and she melts

- Selina would be more angsty

- Like, maybe it's her birthday and she disappears for a while (as she tends to do) but Tabby (who's closest to her) knows how hard this day is for her (since again her Mum isn't there with here and looks for her and brings her back home but doesn't make a big fuss out of her birthday

- Just...lets her be, gives her space but also lets her curl up close to her and maybe Selina doesn't call her Mum on that exact day

- But it's the day she realizes she wouldn't mind calling Tabitha her Mother, so she hesitantly tries it out a while later (maybe days, maybe weeks, however long it takes for her to feel comfortable with it) and they share a smile

- Then there's Barbara Lee, but she barely counts because she's a toddler and calls everyone 'Mummy'

- Even her father ajsnsnsn

- The last one would be Ecco because I have a very soft spot for Tabby and Ecco being close

- Ecco's rather formal with them for the longest time (she calls Barbara, Lee and Tabby 'Ma'am' for the most part because she may like them, but she doesn't think they see her as family. She's just the token girlfriend).

- So there's a scene where they connect, possibly over Tabby's hand and Ecco's head since I hc that Ecco gets headaches and migraines a lot (considering that she still gets shot in the head by Miah, like I said, this AU isn't necessarily the most bullet proof in terms of linear timelines)

- But so is Gotham so-

- So there's possibly a scene where Ecco's headache is getting super bad and no one's around (especially not Miah to dote on her) and Tabby awkwardly tries to bond by telling her about her hand and how she can't feel much (is a little clumsy with it) and Ecco immediately imprints on her like a duckling

- Maybe it's even the first time anyone reached out to Ecco in a way that feels genuine, especially without the twins or any of her (various) other partners being present so now she's willing to die for Tabby

- Which ends in her also calling her 'Mum' (while she keeps calling Lee and Barbara 'Ma'am' and Lee's so mad ajsnsjdj she was trying so hard to bond with this kid but couldn't quite get it right and you're telling her her socially pretty clumsy - but still wonderful of course - wife managed with just one conversation?? Slander

- And of course because I can't stop myself, there would be even more tidbits here and there of Tabby overcoming her previous way of living (as in, thinking caring or showing emotions is weakness) by having her reminisce a LOT about Theo

- For example by having Jerome climb into bed with her while Barbara's sleeping and Tabby is waiting for Lee to come home

- Lee works as a doc in the narrows which may be a little illegal, but the people didn't just stop needing help after her Queen of the Narrows arc was over, so I vote she keeps at it (and is held in very high regard for it by pretty much everyone)

- Tabby always stays up until everyone is home because she likes knowing where everyone is and that they're safe while Jerome has frequent nightmares and wanders around the house, so this isn't a rare occurrence

- And sometimes, they talk Theo

- "You miss him?" - "Don't know."

- "I wish he was still alive so I could kill him." - "....Me too." - "Which one?" - "...Both."

- (ajajsbssj this is all just copy pasted and cleaned up a lil', leave me and my pretentious way of writing dialogue alone)

- Tabby also has a lot of interludes where she thinks about what growing up with Theo was like/her childhood in general

- How she always protected him from other children bullying him and how they swore to have each other's back but how in hindsight, she was the one doing all the dirty work for him, helping him fulfill his dream and enact his revenge

- Realizing that he probably never cared for her, not like she cared for him

- There's also allusions to them having sex because you cannot tell me they did NOT have sex

- And it ends with Tabby realizing that she is quite happy with how she ended up, even if it's neither how she thought she would ever live nor what her old self would've even wanted, possibly seeing too many attachments as 'weak' judging by the way she canonly used Butch for convenience sake at first

- And yeah, maybe now she can provide the family - the Mother - somebody else desperately needs

- So she brings Silver home

[best-enemies]

For the fandom ask meme thing can I request the whole damn alphabet or is that not very cash money of me? I’m nosy lmao I wanna know all of them!

AHDKAJSDKJAHSKDA JACK YOU’RE THE BEST

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

I’ve had my current OTP for like almost 8 years and it’s, obviously, Thoschei (Doctor/Master). My other current obsession is the Gallifrey OT4 hehehe

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

It’s funny because I didn’t ship Hannigram at first... I’d thought the idea of a cannibal having a relationship was terrifying because what if they had sex and Hannibal got hungry in the middle of the act? Lmaoooo 

But yeah they’re my endgame now. I watched the show when it first aired and I was about 14/15 years old so now you see why I thought that. Although I’m still afraid I’m gonna be reading a fic and Hannibal will suddendly bite Will’s dick off or smth AKJHSAKJSAHSASKAJ

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

Uhhh Doctor/Clara. Mainly because I don’t like to ship the Doctor with companions (there may be one or two exceptions but I don’t ship them enough to actually say I ship them lol) and I don’t know I just never vibed with it

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t (again: be nice)

Doctor/River. I mean, I did like it for a while years ago but now it’s just... eh. I think she has a waaay better chemistry with the 12th Doctor, but still don’t ship it. I might give it a try once I listen to the River audios but so far meh. I’m not much of a multishipper anyway.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

God. I’ve written a couple of Academy Era (focused on the Deca) crack fanfics and I still have to translate them to English. They’re pure garbage but I love them. I have a lot of fun writing crack fics because they’re easier and I can ignore whatever piece of canon I want just for the laughs

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Guess it’s Doctor Who, been here (in and out of the fandom) for over 8/9 years

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Uhhhh I think it was Han Solo and Leia, since I was a kid really. I wanted to marry both of them lol

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)

I had to google what a source text is and still don’t know

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

I don’t think so, but Twitter definitively has. I remember a couple years ago I was curious to see what voltron was about and watched a few episodes, it was ok, fun and cute but the fandom was so annoying I stopped watching it for good and don’t care about it enough to pick it up again

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

I had definitively forgotten about supernatural until I saw it all over my dashboard in the year of our lord 2020 lmao like in my wholock days I tried to watch the show because everyone on my dash (is it still called dashboard?) was talking about it and I watched about 8 episodes before dropping it. But seeing it again on the dash was actually a happy surprise because the memes are too funny hahaha

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

I’m extremely shy irl and on the internet as well but I wanna say that  @janeturenne is one of the best authors ever and her fanfics are a blessing in my life; also @thebraxiatelcollection who brings awesome content to my dash and is also one of the best authors. And of course, you, Jack, also one of the best authors god I’m so BLESSED

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Uhhh I guess I’m neutral about the current companions. They’re not my favorites but I don’t really dislike them - they had a lot of potential and chibs came up with some good storylines but did not develop them well in my opinion. I think Graham is a fun grandpa whom I’m going to miss when he leaves; Ryan is cool and could’ve done a lot more if the writers had kept a few things, it’d be awesome if he vlogged all of their adventures. He’s like the one I was curious to see more but sadly didn’t feel a connection; and Yaz, I hope she’ll keep growing and that her friendship with the Doctor will finally be developed to a level we can connect to her.

It sounds weird because with the fam it’s always ‘what I wish could have been’ because I never felt really connected to them :(

M - Say something genuinely nice about a ship that you don’t ship (or its shippers, or anything related to you)

Ok... I don’t really ship Rey/Finn but I think it’s one of the sweetest ships ever, and if they ended up together I’d be happy. They love each other and are there for each other always so, yeah :D

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

I don’t know if I got the question right but it’s three things I wish I saw more in my main fandom? Well, if it’s that, then, 3 things about the Doctor Who fandom: 1) people having more civilized or light-hearted discussions about things. Like, I genuinely disliked an 8th doctor audio I listened once that my friends loved, and they made fun of me and we joked about it. Also once we were in a live twitch video playing among us and discussing doctor who, and then we got into a ship “discourse” as a joke and nobody really cared and just laughed because everyone knew it’s fictional shit so why get mad over it? 2) Doctor Who has a titanic amount of content, it’s all canon but at the same time it’s not, so who cares? If you want to listen to Big Finish audios and if you can afford it, then lisiten; if you can’t, it’s okay, no one has the right to tell you you’re less of a fan. Just tell them to fuck off; 3) The best way to keep fandom alive is by creating content. Here in my local fandom we have several podcasts dedicated to all areas of the whoniverse (the show, the expanded universe, the audios, etc), those old fandom websites who do serious work to bring news to the fans, people who make subtitles for the classic series (we don’t have it available here so they do their best to make it accessible to other fans), accounts dedicated to promoting dr who fans who create content, and we even have people making their own audiodramas with dw characters and writing book-lenght fanfiction to help explain the show to people who’ve never watched it, and a great variety of things. I’ve seen a few of these things in the international fandom, mostly by older fans, so I wish younger fans about my age who have the means to make this kind of stuff would make it too. Maybe there’d be less twitter drama out there lol

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

“the killing moon” by echo & the bunnymen reminds me of thoschei. yep it was totally random

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

The fact that we don’t have a pride and prejudice AU for brax/romana yet is driving me insane

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

I’ve mentioned it before but doctor/river, don’t really remember why idk I just don’t vibe with it anymore. But also because thoschei has so many different pairings in 1 ship that I don’t really feel the need to ship them with anyone else lol

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT’S SO SPECIFIC ok fellow academy era stans gather around if you have read Divided Loyalties there’s a scene where it SHOWS that Magnus had a crush on Ushas. And NO ONE HAS EVER TALKED ABOUT THEM and the power couple they would’ve made. I write them into all my fanfics in hopes of making other people ship them but I’ve had no success so far

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

The Master is a big fan of musicals and in the 77 years he spent on earth he watched every single one ever. I’m gonna be bold and say that when he was young, still Koschei, he was an artist, and thought about dropping everything to become an actor on Gallifrey. Time Lords do appreciate art, and have their own plays, but it’s just the same old and boring ones the young people don’t care about. The Master then created a shocking performance that was way ahead of its time and the older Time Lords were so appalled they banned him from writing and presenting plays and that’s his villain origin story

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

1) The Doctor and the Master married on Gallifrey and the entire show is just them having the most litigious divorce in the universe (still isn’t final because the Master has killed all the judges); 2) Ushas/The Rani is ace; 3) The Deca was a 10 people polyamorous relationship; 4) Romana and Livia were girlfriends at the Academy and they hate each other now because the break up was baad; 5) Romana writes fanfiction; 6) Romana/Leela had a thing in Davidia I KNOW it; 7) Leela pegs Narvin; 8) Brax has a life-size painting of Romana at his collection or a statue or smth; 9) Brax’s dream in Reborn is actually REAL and he’s married to Romana, Leela and Narvin all at the same time

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

I don’t even think I’m in 5 fandoms but

Doctor Who: The Master, The Doctor, Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane, Bill (this was the hardest thing ever)

The X-Files: Mulder, Scully, Monica, and can I add The Lone Gunmen too?

Star Wars: Leia, Obi-Wan, Finn, Poe Dameron and honorable mention to Din Djarin and Grogu

Hannibal: Hannibal, Will, Bev, Alana, Chiyoh

V - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

That’s hard

Doctor Who: thoschei ofc, gallifrey ot4.......... uuhh as you can see i don’t ship many pairings in the show

The X-Files: Mulder and Scully. And whatever Scully and Monica had going on because they definitively flirted

Star Wars: Poe/Finn, Han/Leia, whatever Han/Lando had going on too

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships

WHATVASHAJSKAJSA ok this is a little embarassing but I don’t have a lot of kinks for many ships... I guess I have some for thoschei like, choking, whipping, blindfolds/gagging, bondage, begging, biting, sem-public, phone sex, dirty talk, body worship, praise kink, etc. Alright alright I know it’s a lot but in my defense they've shown half of these on the show

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

The Master, Romana, Leela, Brax, Narvin, Bill Potts, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane, Donna Noble, Lucie Miller. No particular order for most of them but the Master is my precious baby and I will die for this mf

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)

Not many, usually the people I follow are in the same fandoms as I am but I’ve seen some mutuals reblog some Hadestown stuff which is a play that I’ve never seen but definitively would because the protagonists look hot 

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

I DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN

it took me three hours to do this but it was fun!! thank you bb <3

[changingourdestiny]

Beyond Light Part 8: Shadebinder

Summary:

With Tif and Marcia fully wielding Stasis, it’s time for Rae to take the first step to wielding it herself, and prepare for the final battle between Fireteam Paralight and Eramis.

Previous Part: Here

Finale: Here

“Helvete!”

Adam slammed his fist on the table, causing his teammates to jump in surprise, “How…how could I have allowed that to happen?!”

“A-Adam?” Rae began but was cut off by Adam’s sigh, “Sorry, I…I remember. How I died. My brother knocked me out and sabotaged one of my inventions to blow up after he left the room. Said something about deserving my position. That son of a…” Adam went to yell again but stopped himself, “Sorry. I’m just trying to take in a lot right now. SIVA…of all the things that I had to work on…I don’t know if I can ever look Saladin in the eye after this…”

“Adam…” Rae placed a hand on the Titan’s shoulder, “No one blames you for what happened. Even if you did have a hand in SIVA’s development, that Adam died a long time ago. You’re a new person now. What happened, happened. Focus on what you can do now.”

“Yeah. Who cares about that smug-looking doc?” Blaze grinned, motioning to Adam’s old picture in the file, “You’ll always be the big ol’, easily flustered grizzly bear that we get to call our teammate and best friend.”

Adam glanced between Rae and Blaze before feeling his eyes begin to water. He quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his gauntlets before smiling, “Thanks guys.”

“C’mon. Bring it in, big guy.” Blaze held out her arms before she and Rae were enveloped in a Titan bear hug.

“Yeah, see? I bet ol’ smug Adam would’ve hated this!” Blaze chuckled.

“Funny, considering six years ago you hated group hugs.” Adam smirked.

“I got character development, c’mon man!”

Rae couldn’t help but laugh at Adam and Blaze’s back-and-forth before pulling away, “Alright. We still have work to do. Marcia still needs to link Praksis’s splinter to the Ziggurat so she can use Stasis…and then it’s my turn.” Rae muttered the last part.

“Nervous?” Blaze asked.

“A little, yeah. I know it’s the best way to stop Eramis but…” Rae stared down at her hands, “I’m a Vanguard. So many Guardians look to me, Cayde, Zavala and Ikora. If they see me wielding Stasis – a power fuelled by Darkness – what will they think? Will they think that the Vanguard have really become so desperate? I just don’t want to drag everyone else through the mud because of a dumb thing I do.”

“Y’know what I think?”

The three Guardian’s attention was drawn to the door where Marcia was leaning against the doorframe, “I think you’re holding yourself back.”

“Huh?” Rae seemed genuinely confused at Marcia’s statement.

“For as long as I’ve known you, your top priority was always other people. Whether it was these two, the Vanguard, me, the freaking system, you always focused on others…but I’ve never seen you focus on you.”

“Now that she mentions it…” Blaze muttered, glancing at Rae as Marcia continued. “You’ve always worried about what others wanted to do or what other people think is right. But what about what YOU want? What do you think is the right call?”

“I…never gave it much thought.” Rae muttered.

“I know I’m not the best person to go to for advice.” Marcia let out a light chuckle, “But I honestly think you need to start thinking about you a bit more. You’re a fireteam leader and a Vanguard. So prove it. Show us that leadership.”

Rae seemed surprised at first before looking down in thought. She remained silent for a moment before looking up at Marcia and nodding. Marcia smirked before motioning for her to follow with her head, “C’mon. Let’s go get our Stasis on!”

 Blaze and Adam stayed by the campfire with Cayde while Rae, Tif, and Marcia walked up to the Stranger. “Darkness is a parasite.” She began, “It burrows its way into your soul and feeds on your most selfish desires. Your every wish, tainted and twisted as you become the very thing Darkness wants you to be. In that world, there is no future for any of us. I…have witnessed this first-hand. I refuse to let it happen again.” The Stranger turned to face Rae, “So know this as you step away from the Light once more: Inside us all is the strength to control Darkness. We need only look inward, and remember why we’re here. We are humanity’s final salvation.”

Rae nodded, “We won’t let you down.” As the trio began to walk away, Rae stopped and turned to the Stanger, “I just realised…I never caught your name.”

The Stranger was silent for a moment before replying, “Elisabeth. But my friends call me Elsie.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Elsie.” Rae smiled before running to catch up with Tif and Marcia.

 “Is it bad that I’m getting used to the whispers?” Tif asked as they made their way up the steps of the Ziggurat. “I don’t even know at this point.” Rae sighed. “Alright.” Marcia breathed as they reached the top, “Time to do this.” Marcia walked to the shard on the right and held her splinter to it. The shard glowed brightly before Marcia felt of surge of energy rush through her as the kama blades appeared in her hands. She did a backflip as she tossed them both into the air before catching them as she landed. She smirked at Tif and Rae, “Now we’re getting places!”

“You feel any pull?” Tif asked Rae. “Yeah, but…” Rae began, “It’s pulling me in the direction of Riis-Reborn.”

“Chances are we’re heading that way to take down Eramis once and for all.” Marcia noted as she dismissed the blades before smiling, “So how ‘bout we get you Stasis-ed up and take down that Kell of House Nothing once and for all?”

Rae smiled and nodded, “Right.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Fireteam Paralight quietly snuck through Riis-Reborn. “It’s quiet in here.” Adam muttered. “Must be out dealing with the Vex-tival outside.” Cayde added. “Hold up.” Ghost piped up, “Eramis is sending another wide-range transmission.”

“Judgement day is upon us, my fellow Eliksni. Another foundational pillar of our beautiful society has been knocked down. Praksis dear friend. Your death at the hands of those puppets will not go unavenged. Soon they will answer for what they’ve done. I will see to it myself. Rise now, my fellow Eliksni. Do not let this scum take more of our sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers. We are the future to our kind, and we will destroy all who threaten us. Leave no pawn alive.”

“Welp. Looks like we know who we’re after next.” Rae sighed, “Or rather who’s after us.”

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Tif reassured, “I was able to take down Phylaks by myself. Then you, me, Marcia and Blaze took down Praksis with nearly no sweat. Now there’s six of us with nearly half of us able to use Stasis. Eramis doesn’t stand a chance and she knows it!”

“Tif’s right.” Blaze grinned, “Eramis has gotten desperate. She knows how strong we’ve gotten and that we have reinforcements now. She’ll try to stop us before we get to her no doubt but when we do get to her, she’s as good as dead.”

“Well, let’s not get too cocky.” Marcia warned, “She’ll still put up a fight. Plus she’s been using Stasis longer and there’s no way she’s stupid enough to fight us one-on-six. We’ll be evenly matched at the least.”

“So let’s keep our guards up and hope for the best.” Rae added, “We should be close to where we saw that shard the first time we snuck in here.”

“Lead the way, Sunrae.” Cayde nodded as the six Guardians continued towards Riis-Reborn.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “I should’ve known it’d be guarded!” Blaze growled as she blasted a shank with her flames. Tif carved through a group of dregs before turning to Rae, “Get to the shard! We’ll cover you!”

“Right!” Rae yelled back before dashing for the shard, narrowly dodging incoming fire. “Please work!” Rae muttered as she leapt for the shard, holding her splinter up to it. With a flash, Rae found herself on the ground as her joints slowly began to freeze up. With a strained yell, she broke out of her frozen state with an icy staff in her hands. She glided straight up into the air as she shot down orbs of Stasis down at the Fallen below, freezing them in place. She then held the staff up high as Stasis energy swirled around the staff and the Fallen below shattered into a million pieces. She tossed an orb at an entrance where the Fallen were flooding in from, forming an icy wall in front of it. “Wow…” Cayde watched as Rae struck down Fallen after Fallen with her new powers. “Cayde, your six!” Adam yelled out. “I know I’m si- woah!” Cayde narrowly dodged the arc blade of a heavy shank who was frozen by Rae not long after. Rae slammed her staff down on the heavy shank, shattering the Fallen into a thousand pieces, finishing off the last of the Fallen as the Stasis energy left her. Rae stumbled a bit, caught off guard by the power leaving her, but was steadied by Cayde, “You alright?”

“Y-yeah.” Rae panted, “Wasn’t expecting that much power at once.”

“Just got a message from Variks.” Tif called out, running up to Rae, “Variks is helping Eliksni who have defected from Eramis get off planet. I’ve contacted Misraaks to help them get safely to our base on Earth so they can join House Light!”

“That’s great news!” Blaze grinned, “Eramis is losing numbers and House Light is gaining them.”

“The more Eliksni that escape, the better I feel.” Ghost added, “They deserve safety, away from Eramis.”

“And when I find them, they’ll all die.”

Everyone jumped as Eramis’s voice came through the comms, “Good riddance to the traitors…unworthy of my empire.”

“Eramis…it was never meant to be an empire.” Variks’s voice began, “It was meant to be home.”

“Home? Our home was taken from us by your once Great Machine. There is no home for us while it still lives.”

“Variks had hoped somewhere within, the friend I knew remained. But after what you did, I knew I was wrong.”

“You think me insane, don’t you pawns?” Eramis turned her attention to the fireteam, “One day you’ll understand – when your City falls, and your people die. When your ‘Traveller’ abandons you.”

Everyone had a grim expression on their face until Rae spoke up, “Believe it or not, Eramis, that has already happened.”

“Oh?”

“A few years ago, the Red Legion caged the Traveller. All Guardians were stripped of their Light and we lost the City. We thought it was the end of everything…” Rae went silent for a moment as memories of her months alone after the City fell, Lightless and alone, before shaking them from her head, “But we didn’t give up. Even Lightless, we still came together and took our home back. Because we still had hope and each other. As long as we have something to fight for; something worth fighting for, we’ll never give in. And I swear on my Light, I won’t let you lay a claw on the Traveller.”

“Then come face me, pawn!” Eramis growled through the comms, “I’ll be waiting.”

“Eramis…is wrong.” Variks began, “About Variks. About Eliksni! Variks came to Europa for a second chance. For the right thing. That is strength, not weakness!”

“Oh please, Variks. You only came here to hide. Like a coward.”

“No!” Variks roared, catching everyone by surprise, “Releasing Vex put Eliksni lives in danger. Many have already perished. Eramis…you are the real coward!”

“You tell her, Variks!” Tif cheered.

“Silence!” Eramis yelled, “I’ve had enough of you, Variks. I will enjoy watching your skull shatter into pieces.”

“Not if we shatter her first!” Blaze grinned. “Hell yeah! Let’s show her who’s the strong ones here!” Marcia smirked as they all rushed into the teleporter.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “I am sick and tired of these FREAKING BRIGS!!!” Marcia roared as she threw kama blade after kama blade at a brig as the others dealt with the surrounding Fallen. “Rae, more reinforcements incoming.” Ghost warned. “Damn it…” Rae cursed under her breath. “Rae!” Cayde called out as he finished off a group of vandals with Golden Gun, “Blaze, Adam and I will handle them. You, Tif and Marcia handle Eramis and we’ll catch up!”

“We got this, Rae-Rae!” Blaze added with a grin as she threw a dagger into a dreg’s head. Rae nodded before turning to Tif and Marcia, “Let’s go!”

The trio ran past the brig and though the doors which lead to an open room. But as Rae entered, she heard Marcia and Tif let out a surprised yelp. She spun around to see that they had been separated from her by a forcefield.

“Welcome back.”

Rae spun around to see Eramis standing at a table.

“It’s time to meet your end.”

 To Be Continued…

[sultrysirens]

Blue Blood [Part 15]

Universe: Detroit: Become Human

Rating: PG-13 (swearing)

Characters: Connor, Evelyn (OC)

Tags: interspecies, romance, fluff, detective, law enforcement, original character, continuation, sex

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“Well, that was...an adventure,” Evelyn noted as they departed. 

“And informative,” Connor added, thoughtful. 

“Yeah? Anything in particular come to light?” she prompted. They pulled out of the estate’s grounds and were back on the main road quickly, the destination: her apartment. They’d done more than enough investigating for one day, a simple arrest leading to looking for a missing person leading to a chat with the matron of a powerful crime family. 

Forbes obviously needed her weekend break by now, he assumed, so he was fine with letting the trail be for now. They could pick it up again tomorrow. 

Glancing at her, he said, “I think Elias and Émelie were lovers.” 

She nodded. “I was getting that impression, too.” 

“Unless Elias crossed her somehow, I don’t see a motive for her being involved in his death,” he went on. 

“Hugo might have,” she suggested. “If they were lovers and he found out...” 

“It’s possible,” he agreed. “But I don’t think Hugo would’ve cared. It seems their marriage is more one of business than romance.” 

She inclined her head. “It’s very common. Especially with that comment Émelie made -- about Hugo being ‘overjoyed’ that a woman is interested in him.” 

“Extra-marital affairs,” he said. 

“Or an open marriage,” Evelyn offered. “Those are pretty common these days, too.” They were both quiet for a moment, then, before she checked, “Find anything of note while you were looking around?” 

He shook his head. “Nothing possibly crime-related. No recent blood stains, footprints out of place, nothing in the air...the house, at least, is crime-free.” 

“Unless everything is digital,” she noted. 

“Likely. I found it odd there wasn’t a computer in the study -- just a TV set.” 

“And how close the desk was to it -- I’m betting there was something behind there, the TV was just a better mask than a painting would be.” 

“Heavier, harder to move, more innocent -- I can see it,” he agreed. 

“I’ll just file that one away for later,” she said, “in case we ever raid the place.” 

Smart. He’d already done so by the time she verbally declared it. There was something intriguing, even comforting, about the knowledge that they followed the same train of thought, he noted. 

Like they really weren’t all that different, androids and humans.

He asked then, “So...you know French?” He was impressed.

She laughed. “Actually, no -- that was a bluff. I know two sentences in French. That was one.”

Amused, he asked, “And what’s the other?”

She grinned and, between chuckles, forced out, “Où sont les toilettes?”

Where is the bathroom?

He laughed. Of course she’d know one profound statement -- and a ridiculous query. “Well, your pronunciation is fairly accurate,” he noted.

She shook her head. “Yeah, I practiced that.”

“Why?” he prompted. “What drove you to learn exactly two phrases, and those two in particular?”

Chuckling again, she answered, “I-I didn’t, really. I picked them up from TV. Films, I think. I do this thing sometimes where I’ll repeat foreign languages, try to work out the pronunciation. And sometimes they stick.”

“And those two stuck?” he checked, doubtful.

“Yeah. The former cause it was difficult so it took a lot of work, the latter cause it was so simple,” she explained.

“Your mind is a curious thing,” he noted.

“From my perspective, my mind is fine. Yours is the curious one,” she countered.

A fair point, he agreed. He doubted humans and androids would ever fully understand each other; as he understood it, the way they thought was entirely different despite the many similarities. His thoughts could be broken down into Binary if he dug deep enough, he was sure, and he was actively recording everything he saw and heard as video and audio files.

Humans often thought either in pictures and sounds or words, some of them hearing their thoughts as verbal communication and others only as abstract intention. Neither aligned very well with how androids thought.

They were so different in their cores, humans and androids, despite how visually similar they were.

That thought managed to loop back around to another from earlier that day, and he asked, “May I ask you a personal question?” 

She smirked, amused. “Let me just answer that indefinitely: yes, you can ask. Whether or not I answer is another matter, but you can always ask.” 

That was good to know. “Your leg,” he began, “you said there were metal pins in the bones?” 

She hesitated, that simple inaction telling him a great deal -- namely that this was a very sensitive subject. He could understand that, he thought; she must’ve faced a great deal of trauma to have received such a wound. Psychological after-effects were common to the point of being expected.

At length, she offered, “Uh...yeah. Old wound, permanent damage,” she hinted. 

He absorbed that, thoughtful, then ventured, “May I ask what happened?” 

She gave a smile, but it was strained -- tense. “Accident involving a tower of weights. They fell over on top of me. My leg got the worst of it. Woke up three days later in a hospital bed.” 

That...definitely sounded traumatic, he admitted. “Where did this happen, Brass Balls?” he asked, concerned. If this happened at that shop...well, he already knew it was barely up to code. This would be the kind of thing to shut it down, and...thinking of Quincy...he really didn’t want to do that.

Nowadays his gym is his family, Evelyn had said.

Connor didn’t want to be the one to take that away.

Shaking her head, she hedged, “No, this was...before I graduated. Had this...injury...my whole adult life.” 

Her pauses, hesitating over certain words, got his attention more than what she was saying. She was implying much deeper psychological damage than she realized, he thought -- possibly more than she was aware of, herself. 

And he found himself both impressed and confused as to how she would’ve ended up an officer with such issues. Officers had to have pristine physical health to get accepted; Evelyn had a bad leg, it seemed. Yet, he’d never seen her limping or displaying such an injury. The only time she favored her leg was when she was sparring, and even then she was just keeping it out of danger. 

He noted, “You don’t seem to be bothered by it.” 

“It doesn’t slow me down, if that’s what you mean,” she returned. “I just try to stay conscious of it.” 

Hesitating, he asked, “Does it hurt?” 

At once, he could feel her tension skyrocket. It was such a bizarre thing -- she barely changed in a physical sense, only her throat giving a strain before relaxing again, yet he was aware of just how much that question had distressed her. 

She answered, subdued, “Sometimes.” 

Sometimes, he repeated. The way she said that made him think that it didn’t hurt often -- but when it did, it was very painful. 

In his mind, he tried to construct how her leg might be functioning based on the information he’d been given, and ultimately he determined that either the pins could fall out of alignment -- or she’d suffered nerve damage and sometimes it acted up. 

Either would account for sudden, unpredictable spikes of pain, he thought. And he made a decision then to keep an eye on her, just in case she fell prey to those surges when he was around. He wasn’t exactly built with physical therapy in mind, so he couldn’t offer a great deal of help, but he’d do whatever she needed.

Then she said, more sharply, “About this...I need you to not talk about it. Don’t bring it up with anyone.”

Surprised, he checked, “At the precinct?”

“In general,” she corrected. “No one knows -- I don’t want anyone to know. Outside of my family, it’s -- it doesn’t exist.”

He could see that, he thought. If it came to light that her leg was permanently damaged, she might lose her job. She’d told him that it was her career that kept her going, kept her from falling into depression. It was clearly vital to her, and more so, she was a fantastic officer.

Her case history was more than enough to prove that, but over the last few days he’d seen some of it in action. Even visibly exhausted and overworked, she’d still managed two-hour drives and active chases and hours of research. Her work ethic was admirable.

She was valuable in this profession.

“Alright,” he agreed easily. “I won’t bring it up. For context, though, may I ask who does know?”

“My parents and my sisters -- sister,” she corrected.

He sidestepped that particular landmine, checking, “Then, your husband...?”

“Doesn’t know,” she confirmed with a nod. “I never told him.”

Curious, he asked, “Why not?”

She hesitated over that question, hedging, and after a few moments of struggling for a response, she said, “Plead the fifth.”

...Noted.

That was highly suspicious, but he supposed everyone had their secrets. It wasn’t his place to pick apart her brain and try to figure out why she chose to keep some things quiet over others. She had her reasons, he was sure -- and those reasons were probably traumatic. Best not to prod at them.

Nodding, he relented, replying, “Then I take it you never wanted me to know, either.”

She inclined her head. “Not really. But there wasn’t anything to be done about it. Metal detectors are my bane.”

His, too. “I wasn’t certain I’d set it off,” he said, thoughtful. “I would’ve thought CyberLife would’ve found a way to prevent that by now -- they already succeeded in protecting us from electricity, so it seemed logical.”

“Well, are you magnetic?” she asked.

“No.”

“That’s probably about as much protection as they felt you needed,” she said. “Unaffected by electricity and magnets -- boom, you’re safe from all the big things. Keeping you from setting off metal detectors was probably determined as being a luxury, and lord knows big companies aren’t keen on providing luxuries.”

He could definitely see that.

“I’m surprised you set off the metal detector, too,” she began. “I thought you were plastic?”

“Externally, yes,” he agreed, “but internally there’s still metal casing and things similar to bones.” Patting his chest, he explained, “Keeps everything sturdy and in place.”

“Makes sense,” she noted, nodding. “So you have, like, a rib cage?”

“Not so much. More of just a spine, shoulders, arms, legs...the frame is simplistic. Its design is more to keep all our biocomponents and parts in place while keeping us light in weight.” 

“Cool.”

He smirked, amused.

They fell into small talk then, mostly Evelyn sharing information about L.A., which he appreciated. He could look up the history of the city from its founding in 1835 or even earlier, but none of that would account for a citizen’s perspective. Her insight was invaluable.

The most important things were obviously how the city functioned currently, but he was curious about everything. Like Detroit, it had a storied past, entire books written about this one city. So old and intrinsic to the U.S. as they both were, they were living monuments of human achievement and persistence.

Evelyn didn’t know much beyond when she’d begun working at the precinct a decade earlier, but it was more than enough to get him up to speed. Combined with his foot tour the day prior and he was compiling a great deal of information about the city as a whole.

It was a contradiction, this city -- simultaneously one of the richest and poorest of U.S. cities. The SubTube had seen to that, he thought, at once both despondent and impressed with the transportation achievement. Its speed and capability were incredible and priceless, but the effects L.A.’s populace were suffering for its release was...painful.

He was worried Evelyn would end up one of those displaced by its appearance. It would be a disaster, both for her and all those she helped on a daily basis. He could only hope that, if it came to that, her husband would be able to keep her off the streets.

Following that thought, he asked, “Detective? What does your husband do? He’s employed, correct?”

She seemed surprised by the question but answered, “Yeah. He’s a manager at a hotel. La Esencia,” she explained.

He ran a quick search on it, concluding it’d been built in 2027. Reviews stated it was smaller but comfortable, four stories tall with ten-to-fourteen rooms on each floor. It was ranked as four-star and just recently began plans to expand out of L.A.

What had begun as one hotel became three in 2033, then six in 2038, and now it’d been announced that they were going to start opening hotels across the country. Construction had yet to begin.

And Richard Sinclair was the manager at one location, it seemed.

“That’s likely lucrative,” he noted.

“It certainly was,” she agreed.

Curious, he checked, “What changed?”

“The revolution,” she answered. “Most of the employees had been androids. Richard said only two came back after everything settled -- cut down from thirty-two,” she hinted. “The workload on all of them has skyrocketed.”

A little shocked, he checked, “Did he not have any human employees?”

“Six, yeah, and they’re still on,” she agreed, “but they’ve all had to take on heavier loads. Granted, tourism plummeted in the last month, too, so they’re not having to wrangle the raw numbers they once had, but still. It’s hard on them.”

And Connor heard the sympathy in her voice as she spoke, the almost reluctant affection. She was concerned, he realized.

“You’re worried about him,” he concluded.

Her shoulders dipped a fraction. “Yeah. I worry. He used to run the front desk, then worked his way up to manager. He knows the ins and outs of every part of the job. But that just means he can -- and will -- do everything.”

Drawing a picture, he suggested, “And you’re concerned he’ll hurt himself doing so.” 

“He’s hurt himself before, doing so,” she answered quietly. Shaking her head, she said, “He works too hard sometimes. He messed up his knee just from how much walking he does around the hotel.”

And now Connor was seeing a parallel between husband and wife. Both of them seemed to be very hard workers, willing to put themselves through Hell for their careers.

With a sigh, she went on, “From a personal standpoint, the revolution happened at a terrible time. It’s bad enough just being separated like this -- and now we’re both bogged down with extra work on top of it. It’s chaos, everywhere, and we can’t even be there for each other...”

Sympathetic but not apologetic, he replied, “I won’t apologize. We needed our freedom. But I feel for your individual situation.”

She gave the barest smile, reaching over to give his shoulder a rub. “I don’t expect apologies. And I agree with you, Connor. None of this is your fault,” she told him, “except all the good parts.”

It was surprising, how much relief he felt from that simple statement. “Thank you,” he said, sincere.

Her smile warmed, then, and she replied, “Thank you, too.”

Touched, he could only respond, “You’re welcome.”

--

The rest of the day passed quietly -- which, after the last few days, was preferred. It was barely four in the afternoon when they made it back to the apartment, and Evelyn was more than ready to get in some relaxation. Connor, on the other hand, never quite stopped thinking about the case. 

She made herself a late lunch, then sat down to catch up on the news. He watched absently, his mind elsewhere, ultimately concluding that nothing worthy of national news had occurred since yesterday evening. He did, however, catch a brief news report about “the first android assault case” in L.A. 

Evelyn glanced over at him with a smirk. “See? Told you there’d be a statement.” 

He couldn’t withhold a grin, pleased. She’d been right. Then, settling on a different thought, he said, “I’m curious about something.”

“Wassat?” she prompted.

“Have you ever...had an android?” he asked her, though he had difficulty with the phrasing. He found he couldn’t ask if she’d owned an android, the very idea scraping at him.

She shook her head. “No, actually, funny though that might sound.”

“Why would that sound funny?” he wondered.

“Cause these days, pretty much every human bought at least one android,” she pointed out.

“Yet there were only 120 million across the planet,” he countered. Now closer to 100 million, he knew, but he opted not to think about that.

“Fair point. The answer is no,” she told him.

“So you’ve never had an android?” he pressed. It wasn’t that he doubted her, he just wanted to be sure. He told himself as much.

“Nope. Never.” Then, waving her hand, she corrected, “Well, Richard did, when I first met him. A secretary,” she explained. “Named her Joanne.” 

“But he didn’t keep her?” Connor checked. 

Shaking her head, Evelyn explained, “I told him I wasn’t comfortable, having an android in the house. So he sold her. No idea what happened to her since,” she said, a note of melancholy to her voice. 

He felt a bit the same, a part of him wondering what happened to Joanne and if she was even still alive after all this time. Generally androids didn’t last that long, either due to being replaced or mistreated until killed. 

A memory rose to the fore: Eden Club, the back room, androids of numerous appearances standing in lines to be diagnosed after sustaining damage. At the time he’d had other focus, had felt indifferent to the sight, but Hank’s horror and the perspective of hindsight painted a different picture. Now he felt...sorrow, a yearning to go back and help those he couldn’t at the time. 

He hoped Joanne had found a better life. 

But, for now, he tried to stay in the present. “You weren’t comfortable?” he echoed, confused to hear Evelyn having that reaction to androids. He pointed out, “You’re fine with me.” 

“You’re my partner,” she told him. “Joanne was a...servant. I don’t like that -- never did. Don’t like being served, like I’m incapable of handling my own affairs. I got why he bought Joanne in the first place, though -- running a hotel isn’t easy. Secretaries help. I told him I’d feel better if he hired a human rather than use an android, he said androids are better with computing -- we argued,” she hinted. “Ultimately I got my way...and I’ve regretted it ever since.” 

Concerned, Connor asked, “Why?” 

Shaking her head, she explained, “I put my comfort over her safety. Richard’s a gentle one,” she told him. “He never mistreated her and I wouldn’t have allowed it anyway. If I hadn’t been so pushy...I could’ve at least watched out for her. But, then,” she added wearily, “I couldn’t have predicted this: the revolution. How would I have known that she might’ve needed me?” 

“Evie…” he murmured, a feeling of sorrow welling up. Her heart was too soft, too kind; she was clearly suffering in guilt for things that might’ve happened, and years after the fact. 

She glanced over, pulled from wherever her mind had traveled, then said, “I guess there’s no point in worrying over it now. Can’t change the past, can’t predict the future...the only thing any of us can really do is try to be better than we were yesterday.” 

Excellent point. “That’s a good philosophy,” he noted. “One everyone -- human and android alike -- would be wise to adopt.” 

She gave a half-smile. “Evelyn Forbes, zen guru, full of pearls of wisdom,” she joked. 

He chuckled. “Well, you are fifty-seven times older than I am,” he hinted. 

“Oh -- oh, ow,” she complained, patting her chest. “Ugh, straight knives, right to the heart! How dare you,” she pouted. 

He shrugged. “It’s the truth,” he tried. Then, as another thought came to him, he asked, “Had you ever thought about...buying an android?” That was difficult to ask, he found. The very implication that Evelyn might have bought an android went against the grain, given what he knew of her. But he admitted that people change, and the way she was now didn’t mean she wasn’t different before his arrival. 

That took her by surprise. She answered, “Well...yeah, the idea crossed my mind. Plenty of times. Case in point, back in ‘35, for a while L.A. was obsessed with personal trainer androids, and I train on weekends, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was a sensible idea,” she explained. 

“But you decided against it,” he concluded. 

She shrugged. “I didn’t really need it. Besides which, my routine is a source of pride for me. If I got help, started depending on an android to keep track of my progress -- well, there goes the whole point.” 

“You have a lot of pride,” he commented. 

“Noticed that, did you?” 

“Day one,” he hinted. 

She laughed. “Well, it’s not like I was keeping it secret.” 

“Out of curiosity,” he said then, “what was it about androids that caused you so much irritation? Most humans seemed perfectly fine with, and even excited by, the prospect of android slaves.” 

She paused, thoughtful, then replied, “The unofficial tagline -- do you know what it was?” He didn’t; he gestured to her to continue, and she answered, “‘You don’t wanna do it, have an android do it.’ At first I’m sure it seemed like a great idea. Hate doing dishes? Have an android do it. Hate washing clothes? Have an android do it. It went on. Hate cooking? Hate cleaning? I certainly do,” she added to herself. “And it spiraled from there.” 

God, if it hadn’t, he agreed. 

“Boring jobs turned into dangerous jobs turned into greed and from there into true, infinite laziness.” She shook her head. “Humans very quickly started using androids for absolutely everything. Housework, heavy labor, secretary work, policework,” she hinted, “and finally to sex. ‘What you don’t want to do’ turned into ‘literally every possible task’.” 

“NASA had planned on sending androids to Jupiter with no return plan,” Connor noted. “They were designed to die, alone and stranded in space.” 

“Were going to be,” she corrected. “Hopefully that plan was shelved.” After a moment’s pause, she added, “Do you know what really got me? Child-rearing androids,” she told him. “How...fucked up is that, that we consider raising our own kids something we don’t want to do?” 

She was tense, he could see. This clearly scratched her deep. He tried, “Humans have had nannies for millennia. Is it really so strange, having someone else raise your children?” 

“Not in that context, I guess,” she allowed, “but there’s still a key difference, Connor: choice. Any human can hire a nanny, pay them for their work -- instead they chose to buy an android and leave it at that.” 

“I don’t expect as many people had that choice available to them as you think,” he argued. “If your choices are to buy an android for $900 or pay a human for the foreseeable future at a fixed rate, and you’re already struggling to hold a job, what choice is there?” 

Shaking her head, she shot back, “You’re assuming anyone struggling to keep a job will just have $900 on hand at any point, and they don’t. The poor couldn’t afford to buy androids -- only the rich. And chances are, they have the time they need to raise their kids, they just find it unpalatable.” 

“Maybe,” he allowed, “or maybe the poor had greater need, so they found a way to afford the costs.” 

She inclined her head. “Cut corners, clipped coupons -- I can see that. But choice goes both ways. Humans can choose to be nannies, to raise children, because they enjoy it. We never gave androids the chance to enjoy anything -- just forced them into the roles we wanted.”

He considered that for a moment, then offered, “I suppose, on the scale of undesirable tasks, child-rearing is easily one of the best. I imagine if you gave every deviant the option to go back to their former lives, the ones most likely to do so would be nannies. There’s an inherent joy to it.”

That seemed to give her pause, and at length, she nodded. “I can see that. Raising children can be incredibly rewarding and even euphoric, depending on the person. Who’s to say androids wouldn’t enjoy it, too? For that matter, who’s to say how many androids had been perfectly happy with their lives before the revolution and would go back if given the chance?”

He couldn’t speak for all androids, but he’d quite enjoyed being a detective -- hence why he’d returned to this profession.

“But you’re still missing the biggest -- and arguably the worst -- android luxury there was,” she went on.

That had him curious. “Which was?” 

Catching his gaze, she answered, “The YK500. Literally children you can program to behave exactly how you want them to. No worrying over hunger or struggling to get them into bed at night. All the love, none of the nasty surprises -- like waking up to hear your kid screaming in pain and finding they fell out of bed and broke their arm, or sudden illnesses cause they ate something they shouldn’t have, or puberty as a whole. No temper tantrums,” she hinted. “All the things that make raising kids actually worth it -- poof, gone.” 

He couldn’t argue that one -- both because he had no idea what raising children entailed or what its rewards were, and because she’d made her point very concisely. 

“That’s when I knew the decline of humanity was imminent,” she said. “It was always inevitable, but now it’s right on the horizon. We’ve reached the point where it was considered okay to have robots raising our kids while we raised robotic kids instead. Taking the easier path in every sense of the term.” 

Something heavy and uncomfortable hit him then, right in the chest. Empathy, he wondered? Was he picking up on Evelyn’s obvious turmoil -- or was this his own? 

“There’s no point, you know,” she told him. “No point to android kids except the phrase ‘I want’. Greed coupled with apathy -- I want kids, but I don’t want real kids with flaws and unpredictability. I want kids I can tell how to behave and they’ll do it. Just sheer obedience. Slave children,” she said, voice hard. 

And he didn’t know how to respond to that. She was right -- at least about there being no point to android children. If the purpose behind androids was usefulness, then the YK500 had none. It certainly lent credence to the theory that there was more to android creation and marketing than what CyberLife claimed.

Most androids had a hypothesis about the truth by now. Among them: androids were meant to replace humanity; androids were meant to be immortal bodies for rich humans, they just needed to be good enough first; androids were meant to lead humans to a utopia of unrivaled bliss; androids were meant to supplant and destroy humans...the list went on.

Then again, maybe it really was all about money. That’s what Amanda had told him: that CyberLife’s goal was just to keep selling androids and making money. But then what? What happens after, when androids outnumber humans? What was the end goal? There was no way CyberLife didn’t have a plan for what comes next -- the question was what that plan was.

They were both quiet for a time, lost in their own thoughts, before Evelyn concluded, “Anyway, that’s why androids make me so uncomfortable. Not for what they are -- for what you are,” she told him, “but for what it represents for humans. The end,” she said, melancholy. 

The end...of humanity? That’s what androids equated for her? 

“Evie,” he murmured, hesitant. The decline of humanity is imminent, she’d said -- and this is what she meant? Not androids destroying humans, but humans allowing their own destruction through androids’ existence? 

The future is going to go one of two ways, she’d said when they met. Either androids are going to grab us by the ears and pull us out of this hole, or they���re going to grab shovels and bury us. 

“What is it you expect to happen?” he asked, cautious. Her signs of depression were stronger than ever before, and he knew how easily it could tip into suicidal thoughts. He needed to proceed carefully, get a feel for her mental state, and hopefully get her on steadier ground. 

She shook her head. “I honestly couldn’t guess. Aside from the total decline of humanity,” she added, “but I expect that’ll occur regardless of android intervention rather than because of it. But for all I know that’ll take millennia yet.” 

Still hesitant, he ventured, “You know most androids don’t want a war, right? Markus, especially -- after everything that’s happened, he truly believes that humans are good, as a whole. The bad ones just stand out more.” 

“Negative affinity,” she mused. “Funny -- it’s one of humanity’s worst traits, and somehow we managed to give it to you, too.” 

Negative affinity, he repeated: the condition of seeing bad things as worse than they are, largely because bad things are more rare than good ones and, thus, are less expected. Getting into a car accident or falling ill were noted because it happened comparatively rarely to successfully driving to your destination or having another perfectly healthy day. 

“Or we developed it on our own,” he pointed out. “It’s useful for reminding ourselves how fragile the good days are -- and how much we should appreciate them.” 

She glanced at him sideways. “Look who’s the zen guru now,” she teased. 

He smiled.

--

[>>>NEXT>>>]

[princessplantasaurus]

Tried my hand at a Quentin Beck x Female OC thing

YES this is a blatant self insert. Not that you can really tell (yet) This is still the first part of the first draft - I guess consider it a sneak peak of a potential “chapter one” ? I mostly wanted feedback on how I’m handling his character (and also validation. of course. let’s be real.) OBVIOUS spoilers for spiderman: far from home This portion takes place sometime after Iron Man 2 but before Age of Ultron, includes Tony Stark and one (1) mention of Pepper Content warning for mild sexuality, very mild language, and potential work place harassment 

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While Veronica remembered the first time she met Quentin, she still doubted he ever did. It wasn’t her first day with Stark Industries, but it was within her first week. Even though Ms. Potts was the CEO, Mr. Stark, the company’s namesake, still seemed to be the bigshot around the office. She’d been grabbing a coffee in the break room when Mr. Stark had appeared, passing something off to another employee. After what seemed like a genuinely pleasant interaction, he nodded at the other employees in the break room “Warner, Nadir, Beck, Weber…” he paused, pointing a finger at her “New girl.” he stated, before questioning “Betty, right?”

Awkwardly lifting up the company ID, she corrected “Veronica, actually.”

“Well, I knew you weren’t Jughead.” he smirked. “Welcome to the team.”

It was a brief but cordial interaction. Raised no red flags to what she’d come to think of Tony in the future. But that was then. That’s when she was young and naive. But not young and naive enough to not notice the piercing blue eyes across the room gazing at her. And not in a romantic, longing way. It felt pointed, and rather than stir the pot, she simply turned her back, and finished pouring the coffee into her mug. It wasn’t until she felt the same presence behind her, then next to her, elbow rubbing against the forearm of her blazer as he added a packet of sugar-free sweetner to his mug. “Not everyone gets to meet Mr. Stark on their first day.” he stated casually, before tilting his head to actually look at her face. “I guess some girls get all the luck.”

“Not my first day.” she corrected quickly. “But first week, so right ballpark.”

“Well then you already know we don’t always have such big wigs in the break room.” he quipped, before turning, offering his hand “Quentin Beck, by the way. Holographic Simulations.”

Reaching to shake his hand, she began to introduce “Veronica-”

“I don’t need to know your last name.” he interrupted. She pouted, mouth open to make some remark about how just because she was an administrative assistant and not in tech didn’t mean he could talk down to her, until, without permission, he used the hand he wasn’t using to shake to grab a hold of her lanyard, reminding her “It’s on your ID. We’re not all Mr. Stark levels of illiterate.” he taunted with a wink. Instead of dropping the laminate card midair, he slowly lifted it back down, knuckles just gently grazing against the satin fabric of her blouse.

To say she was flustered was an understatement, but, of course, she was still new to Stark Industries, so she put on her best face in an effort to remain ‘cool’. “Of course.” she dropped his hand, after realizing just how long she’d spent shaking it. They were soft, but there was a strength and force to his handshake that almost halted her from noticing. Almost. 

As their hands fell apart, he reached back to his coffee mug, sitting on the countertop. “I’ll see you around.” he offered.

But he didn’t.

Sure, there were moments of briefly brushing past each other in the crowded hallways. Corporate events where she’d spot him with other software engineers out of the corner of her eye. The occasional glimpse in the company parking garage of one walking past while the other parked. But they hadn’t spoken. Not until she was well over half a year with the company.

Melanie, another administrative assistant, someone from her own department, had called to her desk, stating “Quentin Beck wants to see you in his office.”

“Melanie, this is Veronica. You have the wrong extension.”

But apparently “No, he called and asked for you, specifically.”

Which, of course, seemed odd. Sure, she spent the odd time and again thinking about him, thinking about those enchantingly blue eyes of his, especially after a couple of cups of wine on a lonely night that almost cumulated in her creeping his facebook page, thrilled to see that there was still ‘no relationship info to show’. But they hadn’t spoken since that day her first week, and their departments had very little to do with each other.

No sooner was she in his office then was the door shut and locked behind her, Quentin caging her in by keeping his hand on the handle and his body facing hers. “I don’t know who you think you are,” he started, his voice hushed “but I do know what you’re up to. And I’m not going to let you get away with it.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked in confusion “You asked me to come-”

Shushing her, placing the hand that wasn’t holding the door shut to her face by holding one finger against her lips, his eyes narrowed “Because I know what you’re up to. But sleeping with Tony Stark isn’t going to get you the promotion you want, when the rest of us have worked our asses off-”

“I’m not sleeping with Tony Stark?” it was muddled, due to his finger still pressing down against her mouth. 

As if she didn't feel trapped enough already, he leaned in closer, enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. As the tantalizing scent of his cologne wafted into her nostrils, she was struck with the sudden fear that he may be able to feel the heat coming off of her body, too. Which was a problem, because she was finding the whole situation VERY hot. “Don’t play dumb with me, Veronica.” he vaguely threatened. “He’s been working on some secret project. Project Veronica?”

“I’ve only talked to him once.” she argued. “In my first week. You were there.”

“Just when we start hearing bits and pieces about this Project Veronica, you start showing up to work in heels instead of flats. In skirts instead of pants. And this blouse?” he let his finger run from her lips down her chin and neck, not stopping until his finger hit the fabric, his nose wrinkling and left eye crinkling as he stated. “Not exactly modest. You know how hard the rest of us have worked to get here, Veronica? We didn’t use shortcuts-”

“I’m not sleeping with Tony Stark.” she stated again, more assuredly this time, but it still was a slight stutter, because while she had no interest in the former CEO, in that moment, she did very much want to be sleeping with the man pinning her to the door. Right there, right then, right against the door. “I don’t know what his new project is. I’m not trying to move up in the company. I don’t know why you’re so set on accusing me.”

Just when she thought he couldn’t be closer, she couldn’t be needier, Quentin Beck pressed his body flush against hers, muttering “Fine. Don’t admit to it.” she didn’t catch him unlocking the door, since she was far too occupied by his lips, warmer than she imagined, against her ear, his beard lightly scratching as he whispered “Get out of my office.”

He opened the door, sending her stumbling backwards, confused, a little disoriented, and more than just a little turned on. 

It did hit her, several days later, that she could probably file a harassment complaint. But it would be his word against hers, and besides that, if she was successful, that would mean he wouldn’t be able to corner her in his office like that again. And as much as she hated to admit it, she did want to have him that close to her again.

The more she thought about it, the more it messed with her head. The action was wrong. The accusation was wrong. That was no way to behave in a professional workspace. She should want him fired. But she found herself thinking about the smell of his cologne more often than she’d ever admit, often replaying the physical contact (horribly inappropriate physical contact) in her mind, especially on those lonely nights following a couple glasses of wine. 

So more often than not, she did her best to pretend it never happened. Pretend her only contact with him was that day in the break room. Which would’ve been made much easier, if he wasn’t suddenly taking all his breaks at the same time she was, eyes always on her, as if studying her every move. In a way, it was degrading, and yet...it was almost exhilarating. Like a game of cat and mouse. And god, did she ever want him to pounce on her already.

[boogiewrites]

Choking On Sapphire 83

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Title & Song: Baby Says

Summary: Alfie and Genevieve face the troubles of her day to day life. Genevieve gets some surprise visitors that help give Alfie some insight into her past and their future.

Warnings/Tags: Mild Language. References to assault and violence. PTSD. Fluff. Reunions. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.) Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

Arm in arm Alfie and Genevieve walk on a Saturday morning in her garden, in full bloom and lush this time of the year. Gen was freshly out of the bath, her hair starting to curl and bounce in the early summer wind. Her face was unbothered, her limp almost entirely gone and the more superficial of the bruises had disappeared. Her ribs only caused her pain when exerting herself at this juncture and when Alfie was around he made sure she did not. He’d fallen into the habit of treating her much like a child, but in his defense, she was acting much like one. Still prone to bouts of crying, sometimes with clear triggers and others not. The ones without were the hardest, she would sob and scrawl down that she didn’t know why she was so upset and Alfie was left to put on his all too frequently worn mask of indifference and guide her through it.

But this particular light and lovely morning was about to take a turn for the emotional for Genevieve. But in a much-welcomed way.

“Mr. Solomons, sir!” a maid that held his favor calls from the edge of the house. “Miss Durand has visitors!” she shouts with a bright smile.

“Don’t know why she’s bloody smilin’. Told her no one was to see you.” he grumbles, bringing Genevieve around slowly as her glazed eyes looked up at him, silhouetted by sunrays. The red in his hair and beard was standing out in the sun, his freckles coming in across his nose and the tight trim on his beard and hair showing off all the handsome planes of his face. She smiles up at him and hums, still medicated and not speaking except for the occasional vocalizations of happiness or upset. “Take her to her room.” he orders gently, a hand rubbing over Gen’s fluffy mane before another maid chirps and takes her arm. “I’ll be with you in a bit, love.” he calls out and she gives him a slow nod before turning back to the maid who says something to make her smile. At least she was doing that again. “Who the fuck is here? I told ya no visitors.” he mutters with a low brow at the young woman.

“I knew you’d want her to see these visitors.” she keeps the same broad grin on her face, practically beaming at him.

“Why are you so fuckin’ happy? Has the savior returned?” he snorts and chuckles.

“They’re waiting for you in your study.”

“Least they got fuckin’ manners. Tells me it’s not the bloody Shelby’s” he grumbles to himself. His footsteps are heavy and none too happy to be making the trip down the hallway. He hated surprises. Someone coming and demanding they see him without prior invitation or forewarning, who did they think they were?

“Fuck me.” he says with a mouth wide open, revealing Altar and Alma standing and chatting in front of his desk. “Forgive the language Miss Lafitte, I am... ya bloody well surprised the old boy.” he laughs with a shake of his head.

“No offense taken. I rather miss the sort of fellow that would curse in front of a lady.” she smiles and reaches out to take his hand and sighs heavily before patting his cheek and kissing it just as lightly and sweetly. She smelled like flowers just like her daughter.

“You’re looking mighty well for what you’ve gone through, lad!” Altar booms with a big hug and pat the back for him that he swears pops a few things.

“Well I’ve got to keep up appearances, innit I?” she shrugs. “What on earth brings you here? Or HOW I should ask in your case, Miss Lafitte.”

“It’s Alma. I’ll be your mother some day. Almost was a lot sooner if the devil hadn’t intervened I hear.”

“Yes, ma’am. She disappeared the night I was set to ask her.”

“Shame, that.” she shakes her head. “But you found her. You brought her home.” she coos and hugs his neck tightly.

“Yes ma’am I did. Just as I promised.”

“He’s a man of his word Alma. No need to worry about Solomons.” Altar gives an approving nod.

“Might I see her? Is she well enough to see me?” Alma's wide eys inquire.

“I wouldn’t keep you from her even if she weren’t.” he replies happily. “She’s going to cry, fair wairing to ya, love, she’s very emotional already, poor little bird. But she’s been doin’ well this mornin’. And she innit speakin’ yet, throat got damaged the doctors say,” he informs with polite and a quick catching up as he walks her to the door.

“I’d like to see her as well, of course.” Altar smiles.

“‘Course. Best one at a time. Let the lady first then you file in once she’s certain she’s real ‘n that.”

“Real?” Alma asks with a high inflection.

“The medicine she’s on can make her hear and see that what aren’t there. None of it this mornin’ so far, it comes and goes.” he waters down the truth and Altar can sense it but Alma is just so excited to see her daughter she overlooks it.

Genevieve sits perched in front of her vanity, a silver brush in her hand, slowly dragging through her hair. The glow of the Morphine causing her to overlook the last of the bruises on her arms, the high neck of the gown covering those left underneath. Her hair now to her waist she watches it bounce with its natural curl as she releases it.

Alma, the giver of that hair stands in the doorway as Alfie files in first, catching her attention with a loud and happy signal of her name. “Genevieve my love you have visitors.” He calls out and she sets the brush down slowly, turning towards him with a small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth and half-lidded eyes of contentment in her druggy fog. “It’s someone you haven’t seen in a very long time.” He warns her and he sees her eyes shift, an inkling of curiosity piqued and he sighs with relief. “Are you listening, love?” He asks just to be sure and she nods slowly. “Genny love... your mum is here.” He states while maintaining eye contact to see it sink in.

Her eyes go wide and she reaches up to grasp his forearms which were holding her shoulders. “Muh?” She manages and he feels her shake.

“Yes, love can ya-?” He begins to make sure she can handle such excitement. But she catches sight of her and much to his surprise stands and shoves him out of the way to get to her. The entire showing was rather impressive.

She can’t speak but she cries, oh does she cry. Until her eyes are as red as the sun and dry as the desert, she cries. She makes an awful sound trying to form words as she rushes towards her mother and collapses into her arms, sobbing and wailing.

“There my beautiful girl, let me look at you! It’s been too long little Lily, yes?” She holds her now red and splotchy face as Genieve blubbers, but Alma pays no mind and kisses every bit of her face, telling her how she was more beautiful now that she was grown than she ever had been before. The I love you's begin, Genevieve a weeping child in the embrace of her mother as she directs her to the couch in front of the fire. She shooshes her and cries herself, whispering only sweetness and praise, kissing her daughters dizzy head as she cries softly in her bosom like a baby.

Altar sneaks in after the initial explosion. Moving over to Alfie who stayed back on the other side of the room at her vanity watching the display. He didn’t think the reunion would’ve gone down much differently if she’d been herself.

“I wanted to thank you, Alfie. For handling all this.” Altar gives him a nod and a pat to the back.

“It’s all part of the life innit?” He responds, keeping an eye on her to make sure she was still okay.

“I hear you’re back at work already?”

“Yeah I had to, ya understand. I was going crazy here, worrying about her constantly. Had to keep fings togetha for both of us now. So I just work until the afternoon hours and come home before tea. Off on Shabbat and that.” He explains with the same low tone Altar speaks.

“So she is well enough to leave?” The concern in his voice evident.

“With the girls here yes. If she were on her own, no. I’ll be honest with ya Altar this is going far better than I thought it would.”

“So she's been worse? And I would appreciate honesty. I need to know what future we’re looking at here.”

“She’s been much worse." a flat delivery that tells altar all he needs to know. "Glad you caught her on an up day. She’s been very emotional, all over the place. Nightmares of course, can’t bring up what happened or she cries. She talks to herself, or rather mouths and chases after children what aren’t there. I’ve been told that most likely the medicine though. Morphine. Nasty stuff, yeah? Still too soon to know the long term effects on her mind. Needs the medicine for the pain, but it keeps us from knowin’ the state of her. It’s frustratin' I’ll admit.”

“And I thank you for not running. To speak candidly. Our lives are hard enough without adding...things like this to them.”

“I innit runnin'.” Alfie swings his head. “As long as I have hope she can be herself again some day I’m stayin’. And she is makin' progress. Small but... it’s there.” He groans.

“And I was told you were known for your lies.” Altar grins.

“Nah mate. I tell the truth. Just people don’t know how to listen to me words yeah? I’ll tell 'em what’s goin' down right? But it’s up to them to interpret it. I never make no promises in business. Only contracts and agreements. None of that whimsical horse shite.”  He mutters,

Altar chuckles. “I do hope she is herself again. And that it finds you in  good time. These things... the mind... all very tricky.”

“That it is.”

“Her brother reacted similarly after the war.”

“George is it? She told me 'bout him.”

“They were close growing up. She helped him, believed in him. Patience was key.”

“It is in most fings.”

“Yes. It is.” He laments, knowing the road was still unclear on the horizon for his niece. “Thank you for your candor Alfie. I only have second-hand information and hearing to from you is more than reassuring for an old man I’ll have you know.”

“So you know what happened?”

“I know she was taken from her home and held captive for almost 4 days by Horne. That he was killed in a shoot out and now she’s at home.”

“I can tell ya more.” He offers with a frown.

“Do I want to know?” Altars broad mouth forms a tight line.

“Would you rather know the truth or hear people talk like I have? Because I’ve been well miffed 'bout what I’ve been hearin’.” He replies with clear anger on his voice.

“Then yes, please tell me.”

—-

“Your house is so lovely Genevieve. Just like the drawings you used to keep as a girl, yes?” Her mother coos, Gen now only having the hiccups that sent pain in her chest every time as she recovered from the tears. “...and your hair has gotten so long.” She strokes it back. “And the man you have chosen is a proud Jewish one. One that sought me out after you were taken. He speaks of you with such passion, cheri. I am so proud of your choice. And you were working towards your bat mitzvah I heard as well? You are becoming everything I could’ve dreamed for you, my darling girl. Your mum is so proud. You’ve come so far haven’t you?” She continues her string of praise, Gen now nuzzling into her mother lap and feeling rather sleepy. Alma strokes the hair back from her daughters face just as she had as a child, the other hand gentle on her back where she rubs small circles just like she used to, to calm her. She could sense her spirit was a bit lost and desperately needed the comfort.

When she was young and took to her fits of crying she would throw herself around dramatically, making grand sweeping statements of woe and agony. There were no words this time, but she felt the same raw wildness when she looked into her wounded daughter's eyes. She had never been a stranger to the dramatic, but Alma hadn’t minded. It reminded her of her mother, of that power in getting swept away by her emotions. She felt so deeply and completely she could live no other way, and those around her would either be drowned in love or burned by hate depending on her mood, It seems Genevieve was just as sensitive a soul as her bubbie had been. For the line of work her daughter had chosen to go in, the true line of work and not Abeille, she wondered how she managed. Perhaps much like Alma, she locked parts of herself away to cope. That’s what she’d done being with George. But at least her daughter had a man with a sound mind of her choosing, a rare and heartwarming thing for a mother to know.

“I haven’t seen her so quiet and still in weeks.” Alfie states, walking over to Alma who was looking down at her contently.

“Sometimes a girl needs her mother,” she answers softly, leaning to look upon her face. “I see she has finally fallen asleep.” she lets out a huff of a laugh. “Just like when she was a child.” she sighs happily. “Circles on her back, gently stroke her face and hair, tell her all the praise she deserves. She’ll always come back to you.” she looks up at Alfie with pinked eyes from the shared tears.

“Good to know.” he thanks with a nod. “Would you like anythin'? We can move her to the bed if you need.”

“No, no. I’m staying close the whole time I’m here. Some tea by the fire sounds lovely though.” she announces reaching out and patting his hand that rests on the couch arm. “Bring us all some, would you? We need to discuss some things.” she speaks with a still kind face but a more purposeful tone.

“‘Course Miss.” he nods and gives Altar one as well as he heads over to the couch and Alfie goes to fetch tea.

-----

With the Aggie reunion with Alma already passed before Alfie even saw her into Gens room, the older woman kisses her head as she hands her her tea she still takes the same way after all these years. Alfie settles in with Gen’s mother and uncle in the set of chairs in front of the fire. Gen was laid out with her legs in Altars lap, her head in her mothers as Alfie takes the armchair to the matching pink hued set.

“I suppose the best place to start would be why we arrived together.”

“I was more than curious, yeah?” He responds with a smirk.

“I’ve moved out of George’s house.” She speaks with the same decisiveness that he misses from the childlike woman in her arms.

The surprise on Alfies face is clear.

“Yes, I made the same expression when she showed up at my door.” Altar snorts.

“After you came by, I had to reevaluate some things. Perhaps I’d been in denial about how one-day things would work out. But time kept passing, my children kept growing and changing and I was not around to see it as I would like. I had to do something. Seeing the poor condition of George in the face of real danger, his own most trusted servant betraying him and the watching and infiltrating of our estate, I saw the end was closer than I anticipated.” She delivers plainly and without drama, her hands still loving on her daughter. “I’m at the point now where I knew what I could lose or what could happen to me was lesser than what I’d suffer if I went on without my most wild daughter. Knowing she was fighting to become everything I always wanted for her… I would be damned if I’d miss her wedding, the birth of a child, being able to be at her side during something like this.” She sighs deeply. “My little wildflower.” She strokes her face lovingly and Altar gives a soft smile, reaching out and patting his sister's arm. “She was always so rebellious. I see that was not passing phase for her now. It is who she is and I could not be more proud of her for sticking to her true self.”

“It’s something you never got a chance to do, little one.” Altar says with an affectionate and soft tone he reserved for speaking to the women in his life. “There is so much more Lafitte in her than any of your other children. She’s so much of you sister, she had no choice but to follow her heart did she?” He smirks and gives her cheek and soft pinch and she smiles in return. “This one was just as wild in her youth. Don’t let that Christian repression they beat into her fool you.” Altar chuckles after wagging a finger Alfie's way.

“I cannot and will not make an argument I cannot win.” She grins to herself, another forlorn sigh as she dotes on the sleeping woman in her arms.

“Wish Genevieve had taken after you on ‘at.” Alfie jokes and it makes Altar laugh out loud.

“She is more rebellious for the sake of drama. She is a theatre in and of herself that Lily. I knew it the moment I first held her.” Altar reminisces.

“She always had a taste for it.” Alma murmurs with fond memories playing behind her soft eyes.

“Hasn’t changed a bit.” Alfie reaches over and gives Gens chin a squeeze. “Will you be living with Altar now? If you mind my asking.”

“Not at all, cheri, yes I will. He has plenty of room, and dare I say he could use the feminine influence.”

“They say a man is not complete without one.” He teases. “And what of you Solomons?” He turns a strong face his way. “Do you still have the same intentions with our Genevieve? Even now?”

“Same as ever.” Alfie announces with confidence. “Only in ritual is she not mine, she is in ‘ere ‘n ‘ere.” He points to his temple and chest. “I almost went bloody' mad when she first got home. Watchin' over her. I was bloody scared is what I was. I don’t wanna lose that one.”  He points and sighs. “I love that hellion. That little Lily of yours. And once she’s better. Once this awful process is behind us I will make her my wife. Same intention as ever. I’m here for her now and always. As I said, only in formality is she not mine. In my eyes.”

“That is a relief to hear.” Alma admits. “I admittedly was concerned when I heard about the state of her. Most men would leave.”

“I am no coward to a challenge. And ‘ats what ‘is is. I like to think she would do the same for me. Fuckin' ‘ell she has to a degree if you must know. Gettin’ shot, negotiations behind me back to keep me alive. She’s a proper little nurse, that one.” He looks at her with fondness, perhaps needing to be reminded of all she had done for him after such a rough spell as they were in.

“She never did shy from the blood and violence as a child. Never phased her. Just fetching boiling water and flannels when the boys would come in hurt.” Alma shares with a gentle expression.

“Always been fearless, that one. Suspect that’s how she came to be here. Like this. But it’s also what kept her alive. I have no doubt.” Altar gives her small ankles a pat.

“A lesser man would’ve caved and perished.” Alfie agrees with a hard expression.

“Little fighter.” Alma whispers, leaning down to give her a kiss to her fluffy head of curls. “Perhaps everything will turn for the better. One can only hope and pray. She’s never given up before, let’s hope that holds up this time around.” she looks to Alfie with sad eyes. “But I did want to thank you, for getting her back. For taking such severe and swift action against the person who did this.”

“As I told her, I would burn down the whole fuckin’ country for her. No one messes wif a Solomons. And she is. If ‘ats how they want to treat her then she is to me.”

“I approve of your retaliation.” Altar lets him know. “Not only from an uncle’s standpoint. But from a man who has had to make many of the same decisions. If they come for your heart, you go for their head. Take them out and leave him no choice. Can’t show weakness in this sort of life.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Alfie nods solemnly. “I went for his livelihood. All the businesses and properties in his name. Gone. But this one here...she’s the one what killed him.”

Altar beams proudly. “My little Lily.”

“As much as I hate the idea of her having to do that, I can only approve. Revenge is something so few women get on their abusers.”

“Time will come for us all, dear.” Altar gives her a supportive rub on her back. “Even little George will have his day. He’s busy digging his own grave so we don’t even have to do anything at this point.” he rolls his eyes.

“He’s been in decline for some time. Which is what I assumed brought him to act so swiftly towards our Geneieve. He needed an outlet for his anger at his own shortcomings. His selfishness is coming back to bite him. He doesn’t have the power or the money like he used to. Too many poor decisions. No one wants to work with him because all this is rumored among his peers. He’s a weak little man, now both physically and mentally. Used to he was a stout thing, but in his old age his black heart has made him decline so quickly.”

“Good.” Altar gruffs out. “Bastard deserves worse.”

Alma shrugs. “It is true. But time will come for him. And I leave it to the higher powers to decide now. I am taking my life into my own hands, on my own terms now. My darling here gave me that push to do so. I can’t imagine having to do it at such a young age with no experience.”

“Luckily she came to me.” Altar adds.

“So true.” Alma agrees. “And now I am as well.” her face is still a frown, but a hopeful glint in her eyes. “We won’t be staying long, I’m afraid. I don’t want word to get out that we’re staying here and have George do something moronic about it. But we will be only a phone call away. I know it was a chance coming here, people seeing or hearing, but…”

“She will be better for it. Thank you.” Alfie says reaching out and placing his hand over hers. “As you said. A girl needs her mum sometimes. And now she needs all the help she can get. I’ll be sure she knows you’re well, and with Altar when she’s a bit more herself. She’ll be happy to hear it. Expect letters.” he ends on a light-hearted note and giving her a charismatic smile.

“I expect many.” she beams in response, a gulp and giving his hand a squeeze. “I’m leaving you with my most precious belonging, Solomons.”

“And she is mine as well. Have no doubt. I will always do what I think is best for her, for us. Not only out of respect for you and our laws but as a man who loves her. Who understands her and wants her to thrive. I would never act against her interests. Be sound knowing I will do everythin' in my power to keep your little girl safe and healthy. Her wellbeing in mine now.”

“And you will let me know the moment the wedding planning begins. I must be involved.” she adds on a lighter note.

“Of course.” he smiles softly. “We would have it no other way.”

“I knew there would be little traditional about my daughter's life once she left, but if I still can’t help but have the same wants of tradition when it comes to her wedding. She already skipped the planner and chose her own groom.” she chuckles. “So amuse an old woman and let her be a good Jewish mother for the first time.” she grins.

“What old woman?” Alfie says with a smirk.

Altar laughs loud enough for Gen to stir before he reaches down to rub her back to soothe her. “Told you he was cheeky. Same as Lily. No wonder you found each other. A couple of charismatic to a fault little buggers.” he chuckles.

“Altar!” she scolds and shoots him a look.

“No, no. As usual he is right. Both stubborn as hell but we’ve got our humor.” Alfie confides.

“She gets both from you.” Alma side eyes Altar.

“Oh but if you were only honest with yourself sister.” he laughs. “Us birds of a feather. We will always find ourselves in others and flock together won’t we?”

“Even when we aren’t looking for one another. As in our case.” Alfie’s adds a touch of sentimentality.

“Like bubbie said, when you aren’t looking for it.” Alma begins as she knows Altar will continue.

“That’s when you find it.” Altar finishes with a charismatic grin.

Alfie recalls Gen saying something much of the same sentiment. One night on her wine, lips on his jaw and fingers in his beard. She was never looking for him, for love. But against all odds it found her. Disguised for so long as something else, trying to run from her and hide, she carried on. She said she would change nothing that brought her to him, that kept them together. He wonders if she would say the same after this was over. Would she still not regret finding him, falling in love with a man like him and letting more danger into her life? He wasn’t a praying man, but he did hope that she wouldn’t regret the path they were on together now. ‘As long as it leads me to you.’ she would say. He truly hoped that would still be the case.

-------

After tearful and grateful goodbyes, Gen remaining lucid and not embarrassing herself or Alfie while her family was there he was breathing easy for a lovely moment in time.

Gen felt a rush of energy within herself, unsure of how to elaborate on it or process it she finds herself restless. The excitement sending too many signals off in her brain for her to calm down hours after they’ve gone. With Alfie asleep in their bed, a soft mess of dark gingery hair and a still hard looking face even at rest she slowly creeps out and into the bathroom.

She looks at herself in the mirror, facing herself truly for what was the first time since the incident. She didn’t remember each mark or bruise, and she truly didn’t want to. She wanted to never remember. Recalling the feeling of Horne’s brain as her nails dug into it when she killed him was enough for her. If he deserved that he wasn’t worth remembering.

A soft snort comes from the bedroom, a welcome change of thought. She leans against the doorway, her temple to the gilded frame. The past weeks were a fog to her, but she did remember Alfie always being there. She sighs and hums with a contented feeling as she watches him. The noise surprises her after the fact. She hadn’t heard herself speak except for her own thoughts since she came to in the hospital. But she hadn’t really tried, only pushing out the first syllable to indicate the severity of her words. Another snore from Alfie’s full and chapped lips as he rubs his face into the pillow. The sun would be up soon and so would he, or as soon as he discovered she wasn’t there. She decides to thank him for his dedication during all this chaos. Full days she didn’t remember, spans of trauma she didn’t care to remember that were still locked away in her brain, only coming in dreams and unwanted, uncontrolled flashes at random times. The medicine had helped those it seemed. It kept her impassive, kept everything with a lovely fuzzy frame of numbness around it. It was how she preferred to exist. The pain was still too much, both the physical and the mental. The morphine was a calm sanctuary she could return to when she needed, when things started to feel sharp and edged, she could go back to the cozy comfort of numbness. The morphine was becoming her best weapon.

But in these wee morning hours, before Alfie had to get up to make the drive to London, she rubbed her throat and tried to clear it as she felt muscle control coming back with the first dose of morphine taunting her in the near future. Reminding her it’d been hours and they were due for another rendezvous. But with her control, she warms up her throat and tries to speak. By the hour Alfie should rise, she would give him something to show she was trying.

She tasted blood but she didn’t care. Her voice light and raspy, but there. An odd soreness to her tongue she’d never felt before, her neck ragged but functional. She sits on her throne of pillows in the big elaborate bed with her various accouterment of medicinal devices and tonics around her. She waits, the light from the sun filtering through slightly, soon to rouse the sleeping bear she gently stroked that lay next to her, sprawled on his stomach.

A deep, sleep-filled grunt escapes him and she smiles. Fingertips over his nose and temples, waking him more.

“Mmph.” he blubs out with flared nostrils. Alfie loved being up before everyone else, the feeling of getting a head start on every other lazy fucker who was still in bed. But the act of waking itself he was not a fan of. He hadn’t realized how integral Gen’s practice of waking him gently had helped ease him back into the plane of reality until he no longer had it. He’d awoken to a still woman next to him, sleeping through him getting ready most mornings. But he’d forgotten all that time in the dim light alone for a moment as he crawled from the shelter of sleep with the tickle of her fingertips on his skin. “Mmph?” he asks with a clear question.

Gen remains soft, covers pulled up over her to her stomach, nails now on his scalp.

“Mmph. Genny?” he asks while rubbing his eyes. “Ya should be asleep, love.” he mutters and tries to focus.

“Matin.” comes from her mouth and he almost misses it. Easier to speak for her than the English greeting, she whispers it to him, leaning closely.

With a stiff grunt, he raises his head up fast, a pop of his neck as he does so. “Wha-?” he mumbles, and rolls to her side, reaching out to take her hand into his, holding it in the warm spot where he’d slept. “Genny love what are you doin’?”

“Good...morning.” she forces out, a childish expression on her face, hoping for happiness and praise.

“Fuck me…” he whispers, sitting up and giving her a more focused expression. “Ya talkin’ again?” he questions with a deep throaty noise of approval, reaching over to cup her face.

“Good... morning... Alfie.” she says slowly.

“Oh, pet. Little French flower, my darlin’...” he coos at her, caught up in her wide eyes that met his and the subtle smile and closed eyes that nuzzled into his hand as he held her face. “Don’t ya be pushin’ yaself too much. Stubborn thing.” he grins and kisses her forehead. “Ya know I am weak for my name from your lips, love, don't be exploitin’ a man now.” he gives her a warm smile and kisses her cheek and she happily hums. A sound besides one of pain for the first time he recalled after touching her in such a way.

“Good morning... Alfie.” she says again, a rough delivery but her voice most certainly.

“It is, love. It is.” he says before giving her the most chaste and innocent of kisses that he feels her reciprocate. A brief moment in time where everything was light and hope-filled in his sleepy brain. Something he would think back on when her condition was questionable. This small moment that meant so much to them both. They both felt as one again. No matter how fleeting these moments could be.

Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT!

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[raywritesthings]

Wrong Road to the Right Place 19/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, John Diggle, Ted Grant, Thea Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Moira Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, Walter Steele, Felicity Smoak Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: Laurel finds herself curious about the marks Oliver showed her that night in his bedroom - and the tattoo on his left shoulder stands out in particular. When she discovers its meaning, she finds herself questioning everything she knows about the man she doesn’t want to admit she still loves. *Can also be read on my AO3 page*

Oliver sat, pouring over pages and pages of notes, schematics and documents. Five years’ worth of them, and yet it seemed unreal.

“How does a person sleep at night, knowing they’re planning that?” Digg asked behind him, not for the first time. “He must not even see them as people.”

The enormity of it was crushing. A whole neighborhood. Potential casualties in the hundreds, maybe a thousand. Everyone in the Glades, the people who came to the Verdant, the Big Belly Burger where Carly Diggle worked and Laurel’s office all gone in a single act of terror. That was what they were up against, and without the aid of some mystery man concealing his face Oliver would never have known until it was too late.

The worst part of it all was that while these were files originating from Malcolm Merlyn, they had come from a different source: his mother.

“She knows about all this...how could she…?”

He didn’t finish the question because he already knew the answer. Him, Thea, Walter. And there was maybe the one spot of good in all of this, because Felicity had been able to find the reason why his step-father had gone missing. But it also told them that Malcolm was a man of his word who would follow through on the threats that he made.

The door to the base opened and Laurel hurried down. “I got your text. What did we find out?”

“See for yourself,” John answered. Oliver left his seat to let her read over the most relevant pieces. He could tell as each new part of the plan was processed just by the paling of her cheeks and the growing horror in her eyes.

“Does he have the bomb?”

“Not according to the latest status report.”

“Then it’s still at Unidac.”

He nodded.

“That might be our best shot, Oliver,” said John. “If we can get into Unidac and destroy their work, that sets Merlyn back months. Maybe years.”

It was a solid plan with only one flaw. “Unidac was bought by Queen Consolidated. Not Merlyn Global.”

“Malcolm probably wanted to cover his tracks. It would’ve looked suspicious for Merlyn Global to suddenly acquire a tech company,” Laurel pointed out. “And it gives him cover for if the police were to look into anything.”

“Exactly.” If he went into Unidac tonight, Laurel’s father and his people would be asking his mother questions. She would be the one implicated, not Merlyn. Exactly as the businessman planned, no doubt.

“Oliver, I know this isn’t easy, but she is involved,” Diggle pointed out. “If Merlyn does go down, she’ll be going with him. He’d make sure of that.”

“I know that, I just—” He didn’t know how to articulate his feelings. His father was far from perfect, Lord knew, but she was his mother. And everything she had done was for him and his sister. Could he turn around and condemn her?

Without the hit on Laurel, it would have been a resounding no. But now?

“Malcolm still has a hostage,” Laurel said. “Your mother’s documents wouldn’t have Walter’s location, but is there some lead we could follow to get to it?”

Oliver shook his head. “If there was, she would’ve followed it.”

He was paralyzed on all sides by indecision. Acting on the Unidac intel put Walter’s life in jeopardy, but could they wait to find Walter before acting on the information they had?

“Maybe instead of following your mother’s leads, we follow her,” Digg suggested. Oliver looked to him with a frown. “You told her I was reaching out to some contacts, right? You say to her one of them got back to me and said they found Walter dead. She goes to Merlyn and tries to call the whole deal they got going on off. He’ll have to give her proof he’s still alive.”

It was a risky bid, but he could see where it was going. “We trace that proof.”

His friend nodded.

“Okay, but after we rescue Walter, what if Merlyn decides your mother is a leak?” Laurel asked. “He could move this Markov device to another facility or change up his plan entirely.”

“Then we strike in two places at once,” Oliver decided after a long moment. “Digg will get into Unidac while I get Walter. It’ll have to be simultaneous.”

“Two solo missions at the same time. Won’t be easy,” Digg remarked.

“That’s not even everything,” Laurel added. “I just filed the deposition against Edward Rasmus before your text came in. He’ll know there’s a case against him now.”

“And so will the Bratva,” Oliver finished for her. This was not good. Obviously, Laurel couldn’t have turned that family away. Scum like Rasmus deserved to be prosecuted for stealing from the innocent. But it complicated things.

“I’m worried about them,” Laurel said. “If Rasmus has ties to the mob, what’s to stop him or them from sending someone to enforce the Moore’s silence?”

Nothing was the answer to that and they all knew it.

“Walter and Unidac will be time-sensitive,” he told her. “We have to go there tonight.”

“Of course you do.” Laurel took a breath and said, “God, everything’s moving so fast.”

“If it was one thing at a time…” He didn’t like the idea of splitting his focus, of worrying about two separate dangers not just to his family but the people of the city. If it was a choice between Laurel and others, it was one he didn’t want to make because he knew which he heart would choose.

But she shook her head. “I’ll talk to Ted, see if he has any advice. You shouldn’t be anywhere near this case, anyway, or the Bratva might suspect the Hood has ties to us.”

It was the same rationale for why he hadn’t gone to the drug deal with the Count in his vigilante persona, and it was just as crucial now.

“Be careful wherever you go now. They’re going to have their eyes on us.”

Laurel nodded. “That goes for you, too.”

Oliver couldn’t help a smile. It had been a long time since anyone who knew what he was capable of had bothered to worry about him.

“So we all know our plans of action,” Diggle said. “This is gonna really play our hand. I know Felicity thinks this information is genuine, but do we know we can trust it?”

It was something that had been niggling at the back of his head as well. Oliver didn’t like relying on others in a mission, especially when he didn’t know them. And if there was maybe the faintest chance that the information was bad, that they would be acting falsely, that his mother was still, perhaps, somewhat an innocent even after all she’d done…

He turned to Laurel. “You spoke to him.”

She took a breath, and he could see her visibly steeling herself. “Yes.”

If it were any other situation he might have laughed. Laurel was all heart, and it showed on her face. “You know who he is.”

“I do.”

“You do?” Digg echoed.

Laurel raised a hand. “But I made a promise. He wants to keep his anonymity for now. I don’t want to scare him off.”

He tried to tamp down a frustrated reply. Who could be so important—

And then he knew. Or he thought he did, because it had to be wrong. How and why would he have—?

He had to be sure. “You trust him.”

Laurel nodded. “Completely.”

“Well,” Oliver said, a million questions buzzing in his head. “That’s all I need to know.”

Laurel closed her eyes. “He’s going to kill me.”

“You didn’t break your promise,” he assured her.

“Hold on, now you know who this questions guy is?” Asked John.

“Yes, and we can trust him.” He said nothing else under Diggle’s scrutiny, which he could tell the other man was annoyed by.

“I don’t think it’ll take much,” Laurel assured their friend. “He’ll have to come back here if he wants the information we had decrypted anyway.”

“If this ends up being some kind of trap,” John began.

“It won’t be.” Oliver checked his watch. “If we’re going to do this, I need to go speak with my mother.” It was not something he was looking forward to; he hadn’t actually seen her since they’d moved out of the Manor. A part of him worried he would give himself away.

“I’ll call Felicity,” said Diggle. “She’s gonna need to track whatever tech Merlyn uses to prove he’s kept up his end of the deal.” He moved off to the other end of the base as he got out his phone.

Oliver turned back to Laurel. “Tommy.”

She shrugged, her lips curving in something like a smile. “I was just as surprised as you are. I guess he got tired of being the last one to know everything, so he did some digging himself.”

Oliver nodded, trying to process the idea. True, Tommy had done some extraordinary things in the past — a trip to Hong Kong came to mind, which he guiltily set aside — but to turn to illegal methods like this?

“I have been a bad influence on both of you.”

“Now you sound like my father,” Laurel pointed out. “I think this city’s been the biggest influence on all of us.”

That certainly held true.

Laurel stepped up closer. “I’m sorry I couldn’t just tell you myself.”

But Oliver shook his head. “I understand.” Laurel and Tommy had a bond, one that had been forged stronger over the years in his absence. He couldn’t fault them that. “If it had been me in your place, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have agreed to the same terms.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we know each other so well.” Laurel’s smile faded. “After tonight, things are going to get more dangerous.”

“They will.”

“I should warn my father. I just don’t know how to do that without...without telling him everything. Which is impossible,” she added before he needed to.

He didn’t have advice but he could provide assurance. “You’ll find a way.”

“You should talk to Thea,” she told him. His lips pulled into a frown. “Ollie, there are potentially huge changes about to happen in her life and to the people around her. She should be at least a little prepared.”

He knew she was right. “I just want her to be safe.”

Laurel stepped up closer to him. “And she will be. We’ll make sure of it.”

He sighed, taking Laurel’s hands in each of his. “I don’t know how everyone I care about comes out of this. On the island, that was something that happened, too.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed, thinking of Shado. “I didn’t think I’d have to make those kind of choices here.”

“I’m sorry. But we’ll make them together.” Laurel went up on her toes, to hug him rather than kiss him, which he found he truly needed more. When she pulled away, she cupped his face. “Just one thing at a time. We all know what to do.”

He nodded. “Talking to my mother. Not exactly an easy task considering.”

Her lips curved in a wry smile. “Tell me about it.”

“Oliver, ready to go?” John called out.

“Yeah,” he answered back. Laurel let him go, and he headed out to the car. Oliver did his best to try and forget the rest of their plan in the moment; right now, he needed to be convincing despite the confusion and disappointment he felt towards his mother. He needed to lie as effectively as she’d been lying to him.

The gates of the Manor shut with finality as the car went up the drive. John stopped the car momentarily in front of the house and pulled away once Oliver had exited. Inside, he found his mother and Thea just sitting down to dinner. His sister looked up with surprise giving way to happiness. “Ollie!”

“Hey, Speedy,” he replied in a far more subdued tone, his eyes quickly finding their mother again. She looked far more reserved than Thea by comparison, almost afraid.

If she was afraid, it was because she knew that in setting an attack on Laurel, she had put them on opposite sides. And she didn’t even realize what she might have to fear from him — if she were anyone else.

Oliver let that conflict within him fuel his performance. “I have some news. It’s about Walter. Um, Mr. Diggle heard from some of his contacts in the CIA…”

Thea gasped as he trailed off. When he glanced up at his mother again, the shock on her face looked completely genuine. She looked to be buying it.

When it changed into anger, he knew she had.

“No. No, that’s impossible.”

“I’m sorry, mom,” he said, some part of him still aching at seeing the distress he was causing her.

“Whatever Mr. Diggle’s contacts told him, it’s wrong.” She stood up, striding from the room.

“Mom!” Thea called.

“I’m going to sort this out, sweetheart. Stay in the house, both of you.”

Oliver kept his gaze down until he heard the front door open and shut. Then he started to leave as well.

“Ollie!” Thea shot up out of her chair and ran to intercept him. “Where are you going?”

“To follow mom,” he answered truthfully. “Just to make sure she’s okay.” That part was the lie. “Do what she says.”

“But—”

“Please, Thea,” he said. He could see the worry and the frustration in her eyes now. Laurel was right; his sister was struggling to understand what was happening all around her. “Just for a little longer.”

With that nebulous promise — to her and to himself — Oliver got on his bike to follow his mother to Merlyn Global. Once his surveillance tech got Walter’s location, it would bring him one step closer to tearing Malcolm’s plans for the city and for his family down.

And potentially one step closer to tearing them all apart.

—-

Ted got out of the ring just as he noticed Laurel approaching at a fast clip. She wasn’t dressed for boxing, either.

“Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.” Ted walked them back to his office. “Alright, what’s happened now?”

“I filed the deposition against the businessman the Bratva are tied to today, which puts the family in danger. I was wondering if tonight, I could bring them here to hide out.”

“While you do what?”

Laurel shrugged. “About the only thing I can think of. Tell my dad what’s going on so the police can set up a sting operation.”

It was the responsible option at the least. He might have even been inclined to agree with it a few months ago. But he couldn’t help asking, “And what happens to you?”

“Well,” Laurel began before taking a deep breath. “I’m probably going to be answering a lot of questions about my connections to the Bratva.”

“Which may get back to the boyfriend.”

“I would never turn him in.”

“Yeah, but if your father’s anything like you, he’s a smart guy. He can put two and two together.” Ted frowned in thought. “I’m not sure I like Robin Hood. He’s a little too eager to dish out capital punishment for one thing. But I worry even more about what might happen now in his absence.”

Like it or not, the Hood was an established presence in Starling City. His capture would cause a power vacuum, and there could be far worse waiting to fill it.

“I don’t know what else to do. Rasmus and the Bratva have to be stopped, but the Hood has a different mission tonight.”

“Important?”

“Absolutely,” Laurel said with such conviction it was striking. Ted wondered...but no, the less he knew, probably the better. The deeper he got into this, the more likely he was to end up back in the fight himself.

But was that such a bad thing?

He had hung up his suit for good after Isaac had gone too far and a man had ended up dead. It had seemed the right thing to do at the time. But if he could save lives now by putting it back on, what other choice did he have?

“Okay, then here’s what we do,” he said at last. “Moving the family is only going to alert these guys that you’re ready for them. We’re going to have to set a trap.”

“With the family as bait?” She looked pained even saying it.

“It’s risky, but from what I know of the mob, they’re only gonna send one guy. Make it look like a burglary gone wrong. I can handle one guy.”

Laurel blinked in shock. “You would?” When he nodded, a smile lit up her face and he thought she was barely holding back from hugging him. “Ted, thank you.”

He shrugged. “I’m not in the business of letting good people suffer. Now, do you have their address? If we’re gonna do this, we need to know the terrain. And make sure they’re ready to move the minute anything starts.”

Ted closed up the gym early and went with Laurel to scope out the family’s small home. There were a few different points of entry which might make things tricky, but he had a feeling the hired gun was going to come through the front door. There was a spot he could wait between two houses across the street that allowed him a view of the front and one side. It would have to do. Laurel and he parted ways, her to get the family ready and him to prepare.

He returned under the cover of darkness in his old suit. Putting it on felt like donning a second skin for the first time in so many years. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it. Ted watched and waited. Stakeout had rarely been his style, but he was willing to do it to keep a family safe. Eventually, his patience was rewarded.

An otherwise unremarkable looking man with a closely shaved head and dark skin came walking down the street. He held a briefcase and little else. Still, he set off the warning bells in Ted’s head, and he’d learned years ago never to ignore them. When the man approached the Moore’s front steps, he knew his suspicions were right.

Ted crept from the shadows, light on his feet as he approached. His mark tensed, so he figured it was best to go for broke.

“Scuse me,” he called out. “Pretty late, don’t you think?”

The man whirled around, and Ted was forced to dive into a roll to avoid the bullet that came from the briefcase. Clever disguise. This guy had brought a gun to a boxing match. Normally, that’d decide things right there. Not against Wildcat.

He was back on his feet and leaping forward before the man could take better aim, delivering an uppercut with his leading fist while his other hand ripped the briefcase from his opponent’s grasp.

The assassin fell back against the door but quickly got his guard back up. A fighter, too. Good. Ted was ready for a fight.

They regarded each other. In the ring, he might have tried getting the man circling, but he wanted his focus away from the house and the movement going on inside.

There was a small trickle of blood leaking from a corner of the assassin’s mouth, but his eyes were practically gleaming. “Even if I’d expected a vigilante, this would be a surprise.”

“That’s the idea.”

“I’m intrigued, but since you’ve seen my face, we’ll have to skip the pleasantries.”

They both flew into action, Ted landing a flurry of blows. He could tell the man was straining to reach the briefcase, but he kept him boxed in on the front stoop. As long as this was a fistfight, he had the upper hand.

His opponent got in a lucky jab, and Ted grunted, staggering back. He’d been slacking, apparently. Training would have to be stepped up, for him and his student.

Just as the man made to lunge for the briefcase a few feet away, the door flew open and a nightstick came down on the assassin with a sharp crack. He went down like a ton of bricks, revealing a person in all black from their boots to the mask they wore over their eyes and the knitted cap hiding their hair. “You alright?” Laurel asked.

He relaxed his stance. “Sure.”

“You didn’t think I was just going to watch, did you?”

“Guess not. Where in the hell did you get that?” He asked, gesturing to the nightstick. 

“Borrowed it.”

“And I suppose you borrowed the mask from your boyfriend?”

“Nope,” she answered lightly, coming down the steps. She took out a pair of handcuffs she had clearly liberated as well and snapped them over the assassin’s wrists. “This one’s mine to keep. Now come on, the Moore’s alerted the authorities.”

Before he knew it, his student had looped her arm through his and they were quickly making their way from the scene. In an alley, Ted pulled back his cowl and she took off the hat, her hair falling down around her shoulders.

“So, any pointers?”

Ted smirked. That enthusiasm was good; it would be invaluable after a time, when the work eventually might take its toll. Nobody could force themselves to be out here unless they really believed in it.

“Why the hat?”

“Had to hide my hair somehow.”

“Do you?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“This is gonna sound crass, but one of the best weapons you have at your disposal is looking like a woman.”

She crossed her arms. “That did sound crass. Want to qualify your statement?”

“Look, I know better than to think this way, but plenty of guys out there are gonna think they can go easy on you because they’re arrogant. It’s your job to teach them otherwise.” That got a grudging smirk out of her, which he returned. “So forget the hat.”

“Don’t I need something to cover my hair?”

“Who says it has to be your hair?”

She didn’t miss what he was saying. “A wig.”

“Might even help throw the police and anyone else off your trail.”

Laurel nodded.

“One other thing you’re gonna need. A name. Especially since you’re planning on working with a partner.” Ted still had his misgivings about the Hood’s harsher methods — he’d never wanted to cross that line himself — but seeing as Laurel had explained a bit of her boyfriend’s background he could understand it a little better. It helped that since she’d joined up with him, the archer’s body count had significantly dropped. Maybe once she was out in the field officially, they could get that down to zero or damned close.

“We’ve been talking about that,” Laurel told him on a sigh. Something about it indicated she hadn’t found one she liked yet. “How’d you pick Wildcat?”

“My fighting style, mostly. It’s how people described me. That plus I’m a southpaw, it fits. What are your boys calling you?”

Laurel snorted at his description of her partners, then admitted, “Pretty Bird, for the time being. It’s kind of an inside joke,” she added at his raised eyebrow.

“Well, you have any particular liking for birds?”

She shrugged. “Not exactly. My dad got Sara a canary one year for her birthday, and it just drove us all nuts chirping away...but maybe that’s what I want to be.”

A canary, ripping through the criminal underbelly and sounding her song of warning in the Glades, Starling’s proverbial coal mine. Not a bad idea. And as he looked over her dark attire, it hit him: “Black Canary.”

Laurel looked at him, a light in her eyes. It was the right one, and they both knew it.

They found themselves at the halfway point between his gym and Queen’s club, meaning they would go alone the rest of the way.

“Well, I’d say we can consider this good work tonight. Now we just gotta prepare for your boyfriend’s associates once they realize they’ve been crossed.”

“If only that were all,” Laurel said grimly. As she walked away, Ted found he really wanted to ask what that meant, and what he could do.

He smirked at himself. So much for giving this life up.

—-

John felt an uncommon bout of nerves as he stopped the car outside of Unidac Industries’ facility. He’d been on far more dangerous assignments, both in Afghanistan and for the Hood’s mission, but this was the first time he was really going out solo as himself.

Or the self people would hear about on the news, rather. He checked again that the helmet Oliver had rushed to have custom made for him was in place, then got out of the vehicle.

It had been a simple matter to have Felicity pull up Unidac’s blueprints, so he knew exactly where to avoid cameras and the sight lines of any guards as he approached the building. John drew in a deep breath, then unholstered the weapon at his side. 

He turned and kicked the front door in, firing off two shots at the guards sitting at the front desk.

“What the—” They each slumped over, out cold for the next half hour or so.

A woman passing down the hall screamed and dropped her coffee mug. It shattered on the floor, followed by shouts of surprise and alarm throughout the building as John quick-marched down the hall.

“I’m not here to hurt anybody,” he said. “Just keep out of the way.”

He’d armed himself with a tranquilizer rather than his usual gun. For one thing, that weapon was registered to John Diggle, and for another, he wasn’t interested in permanently injuring these scientists. Even if they did know what they were doing and what it was supposed to lead to, he figured the police and the courts of law could deal with them. He was only here for one thing: the bomb.

With the security guards taken out, the remaining scientists that tried to put up any resistance were easy pickings. They weren’t trained soldiers or battle-hardened insurgents, at any rate. John cut a swift path into the lab said to house the Markov device.

He paused in the doorway. “Damn.” The thing was huge!

But fortunately not armed yet when he checked it, so he sent it toppling to the ground. The casing cracked on one side and some of it dented inwards. John reached in to rip out wires and smash any small parts he could find. Then he picked the whole thing up and dropped it again, this time cracking it in two.

He threw a chair through a bank of computers and servers along one wall as well for good measure. He hadn’t permanently hurt anybody at the facility, but he didn’t mind trashing their stuff. Served them right. John wondered with amusement what Oliver would say about the insurance bill that was no doubt going to end up on his mother’s desk after this. If his mother would even be sitting at that desk for much longer.

“No, no! What are you doing!” An older man hastily pulling on a lab coat rushed in, probably summoned by the alarm.

John raised the tranq gun and fired, watching with only the slightest wince as the man crashed to the floor seconds later.

“Believe it or not, this is for your own good.” Or the city’s good, anyway. This guy probably lived in some McMansion outside the city limits and didn’t know anybody in the Glades.

John turned to go when he spotted some files lying open on the workstation next to where the device had been sitting. He picked them up, but sirens had him quickly racing out the door.

He only just got out of there in time and thanked every deity known to man he wasn’t stopped by any cop cars on his way back to the base. He found it empty; Oliver and Laurel were still preoccupied with their own tasks, then.

Mission accomplished, he felt his heart rate slow down as he set the helmet aside and began flipping through the documents he’d stolen. John wasn’t naive enough to think these were the only copies Unidac had, but it might help to have as few in circulation as possible.

As his eyes scanned the text, they widened. “Oh, no, no, no.”

The door to the base opened above him, and two sets of boots descended. “I’ll tell you after we get you over to see Walter,” Laurel was saying. She’d started pulling her mask off and Oliver had his hood down.

“Does it still let me call you Pretty Bird?”

“Shut up.”

“Hate to interrupt, but we got a problem,” John said, turning to face the pair with the file in his hands.

Oliver and Laurel exchanged a look, the easy humor leaving their expressions and postures. Oliver stepped forward. “Did you destroy the device?”

“Yeah, the one that was there. But this file I grabbed says it was one in a set.”

He watched both of them pale. “How many more?” Laurel asked.

“One, according to this.”

“My mother’s files—”

“Must not have been updated or Merlyn was keeping the second one on a needs-to-know basis, and she wasn’t needs-to-know. Oliver, it doesn’t say where the second one is.”

He watched his friend grit his teeth, his hand clenching around his bow. Laurel reached out and took his free hand.

“Ollie, we still have time. We can find it.”

“Merlyn will know about Unidac once the news covers it, if not before. It’ll be a race against the clock, for him and us.”

Oliver’s phone buzzed on the table where he’d laid it. John leaned over for a look. “It’s Thea.”

“You have to put in an appearance at the hospital,” Laurel reminded him. “I can stay with John. I probably should—”

“I’d prefer you with me,” Oliver admitted, then clamped his lips together as if he could take it back. It was clear he was rattled and feeling vulnerable, which he hated being.

“Then I can do that,” Laurel assured him, not even missing a beat. “Let’s get changed.”

She headed for the back of the base and Oliver followed. John set the file back down, taking out each individual page to spread out on the table.

Device 1 of 2, pickup by client, was the original line that had caught his eye. Beneath it was written Device 2 of 2, assembly on site. But where was that site?

He looked up when the two returned in civilian wear.

“I’m gonna keep studying this thing, see if there’s any clues that might indicate where a second one could be stored.”

Oliver nodded on his way out. “Send photos of the file to Felicity to get a second pair of eyes.”

“Right. Hey, is that family alright?” He remembered at the last second.

Laurel threw a smile over her shoulder. “Fine, thanks to Wildcat.”

John nodded. It figured that of all the gym trainers Laurel could have picked, she stumbled on the one with a vigilante past. Made him wonder what her — and Oliver’s, apparently — connection was to this questions guy as well.

None of those things were his priority at the moment. They had a ticking clock that in only a short time could become very literal.

—-

Laurel hung onto Oliver as he navigated their way through the streets on his bike. Not only was it for her own safety; she liked to think of it as the hug he didn’t feel he could ask for right now.

In a few minutes, they would be face-to-face with Mrs. Queen, where she could see plain as day just how little Laurel had followed her request. Laurel wasn’t sure what she thought about the Queen matriarch anymore. Yes, Malcolm Merlyn was a dangerous man who had proven himself capable of following through on his threats — the Gambit was only one example — but to know the older woman was perfectly aware of his plan for the Glades and was doing nothing about it, to know that she had somehow made peace with the idea of all those people perishing...it was unthinkable to her. She could only imagine the turmoil Oliver had to be in over it.

They parked and followed Thea’s directions to the room Walter was resting in. The rest of Oliver’s family was already inside, and Mrs. Queen’s smile froze as she caught sight of Laurel.

“Oh.”

“Mr. Steele,” Laurel greeted instead, knowing now was not the time. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Thank you, Miss Lance.” He was thinner than she’d last seen him all those months ago at the Queen’s Christmas party, but fortunately looked otherwise unharmed in the physical sense. “I’m very glad to be among familiar faces again.”

Oliver reached out to clasp Walter’s shoulder briefly, choosing to speak with his actions rather than his voice. It was probably for the best.

A soft tapping on the doorway distracted all of them. Felicity Smoak stood there, a bouquet of flowers in one hand.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt a family thing,” she immediately excused.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Mrs. Queen asked.

“A friend,” answered Walter.

Felicity smiled and stepped up to set the flowers down. “I just wanted to welcome you back, Mr. Steele. But I should get going, because of, um, work I need to be doing.” Her gaze darted to both Laurel and Oliver before she made a swift exit. Laurel gave her the slightest nod as she went.

“So, Ollie and Laurel started dating again,” Thea said to break the tense silence that ensued.

“Well, congratulations to both of you,” Walter said.

Laurel managed a smile. “Thank you. It’s been...interesting.”

Oliver raised both eyebrows at her. She raised them right back.

“Right, well. We should probably let you rest, Walter,” Oliver said at last. She could tell by the line of his body he was incredibly uncomfortable in the cramped space trying to maintain all the lies in front of his family. Laurel slipped her hand into his and followed him to the door.

They nearly crashed into Malcolm Merlyn on the way out. Laurel couldn’t quite stop the slight jump at his presence.

“I’m sorry,” Merlyn said with perfect politeness. “I just heard the news. Walter, so wonderful to have you back safely.”

Laurel felt the grip Oliver had on her hand tighten to an almost painful degree. She squeezed it back, knowing exactly how angry he had to be right now as she felt rather the same.

“Thank you, Malcolm.”

“I truly hate to interrupt, but I hoped to borrow Moira for a few moments,” Merlyn continued. Now even Thea frowned. “I’ll be sure to return her as quickly as possible.”

Mrs. Queen stepped away from Walter’s bedside. “I would hope so.” Laurel had to move back against the door as she passed. Up close, she could make out the same lines of tension in the mother that were present in her son.

Oliver led her out into the hallway, watching Malcolm and Mrs. Queen disappear around the bend in the hallway. “He won’t do anything to her,” he muttered, and Laurel knew the assurance was for his own sake as much as hers.

“Of course not. It’s too obvious. Either he wants to know if Walter said anything incriminating them or it’s about Unidac.”

Oliver let out a sigh but almost immediately stiffened; a different Merlyn was making his way down the hall towards them.

“Hey, I saw on the news. Walter’s back?” Tommy was facing Oliver straight-on but his eyes kept darting to her. Looking for information.

“Yeah,” Oliver replied, his eyes closing for a moment. She wondered if he, too, was blaming himself for this; the three of them had done everything together. Was Tommy following them into this life because of that? “And we need to talk.”

Laurel tensed. Since Oliver had guessed the truth, she had been hoping this confrontation would be much more private. It took them a few minutes to find a secluded corner of the hospital.

“Tommy, what are you doing?”

Their friend blinked, then gave a disbelieving laugh. “Really, you’re gonna give me the lecture?” He turned a betrayed look on her.

Laurel raised both hands. “He guessed.”

“You didn’t have to tell him he was right!”

“Keep your voices down,” Oliver instructed, his voice turning sharp. “Your father and my mother are in this building, Tommy, and if they find out what you’ve done—”

“So you got it decrypted. What’s my father’s plan?”

“We can’t discuss that here,” Laurel stated. “It’s too sensitive, and you’re going to want somewhere private to yell.”

He eyed her warily. “It’s that bad?”

“Worse.” She was sure, as much as Tommy had disliked his father for as long as she’d known him, even he wouldn’t be able to imagine what Mr. Merlyn had planned.

“So when can we talk?”

Oliver shook his head. “There’s nothing to talk about. We’re handling it.”

Tommy scowled. “You wouldn’t even have the information you do if I hadn’t gotten it. It was sitting in your house the whole time, Ollie, but I was the one who risked my butt getting it for you, so I think I have a right to it.”

“We have a lot going on right now.” She could see Oliver’s frostiness for the shield it was. Part of it had to be the hurt he still felt at Tommy’s initial reaction to his secret identity; the other part, she suspected, was him trying to push his best friend away to keep him out of it.

“Like what?”

“Like the Russian mob,” Laurel admitted freely. This was her problem, after all. “They wanted to use me to help one of their associates. I didn’t do what they asked, so now it’s just a matter of time.”

Tommy swallowed. “They’re going to come after you?”

She nodded.

He looked between her and Oliver again. “You’re going to need help.”

Oliver glowered at him. “Tommy, you’re not a vigilante by your own admission.”

“Well I’m your — I’m something, alright!”

Laurel stepped between the two of them before they could really get started again. “Look, Tommy’s right in a way. If the Bratva is sending their own after us, we need all the help we can get. But not from you,” she added to her friend. “You’re untrained, like I said before.”

“Alright, I get the message,” he grumbled a bit, embarrassed. “Got a recommendation for me?”

“Diggle.”

They both blinked in surprise at Oliver.

“Your sudden interest in physical training would raise eyebrows if you did it in public. Digg can get you started on the basics...if you really want some part in this.”

The two friends stared each other down for a time. “Look, I’m still not sold on this whole vigilante thing. It’s not — it shouldn’t be necessary. But, your mom said whatever dad’s doing is for my mother,” he confided in them. Laurel started in surprise. How would destroying an entire neighborhood be in the name of a humanitarian like Rebecca Merlyn? “After he tried to shut down her clinic, I don’t trust him with her legacy. I have to stop him. And you have to stop him for your dad,” he said to Oliver, who nodded. “So then, after that, we’re done, right?”

There was a terrible silence. Laurel looked to Oliver and found the same uncertainty.

Tommy hung his head. “We’re not done.”

“You can be,” she told him gently.

“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem of being a friend to somebody,” he told her. “Makes it hard to sit at home when you know they’re out there risking their lives like a pair of lunatics.”

Laurel couldn’t help a light laugh. Even Oliver wore the hint of a smile though his eyes remained on the ground.

“If I can’t help you with the Bratva, then what kind of help are you going to get?”

“Laurel has a teacher,” Oliver said.

Laurel meanwhile, bit her lip. “This isn’t going to help my ‘lunatic’ image, but I think we need more help than that.”

Both men looked at her.

“We need someone who’s dealt with the mob.”

Tommy stared at her blankly while Oliver gave a vehement shake of the head. “No.”

“Got any better ideas?” She challenged.

“Wait, who are we — oh no,” said Tommy.

“Well?”

Neither of them had a reply. She hadn’t thought so.

—-

Malcolm waited until he was alone before dropping his genial smile. “We have a serious problem, Moira.”

“I have no idea how any of this happened,” she denied immediately. To both his frustration and relief, he could tell she wasn’t lying; Walter’s rescue was just as much a surprise to her as it had been to him.

Still, the timing couldn’t be ignored. “We have a leak of some sort. Our Undertaking is under attack. I received a call from Unidac an hour ago. An unknown assailant broke into the facility.”

Again, only genuine shock registered on Moira's features. “Did they find it?”

“They destroyed it. That room, and nothing else.”

“They knew what they were there for,” she realized without further prompting.

He nodded. “I had our associate take the liberty of cleaning up any loose ends. The police won’t know what was supposed to have happened there.”

He was standing close enough to her that he almost felt her shudder. Malcolm smirked to himself; hardened as Moira had become over the years, she still reacted badly to the mention of violence. It was the edge he held over her.

“Does this mean our Undertaking is at an end?” There was a note in her voice, almost of hope.

“Not in the least. I had the foresight to commission a second device for our purposes,” he told her, enjoying the way her eyes went wide. “Always best to plan in redundancies in a business venture. Minimizes risk.”

“Of course.” He had to hand it to her, Moira always recovered well. “Then we move forward?”

“Naturally. It’s location will have to be moved to the central-most part of the tunnels to ensure the maximum damage to the Glades itself. The argument will have to be made to seize whatever is left of the neighborhood for the rebuilding.” It was not his ideal plan that he had been building towards the last five years but he was too impatient to commission new scientists to build a second device. So it would have to be a combination of hard and soft power that put the Glades into his hands.

“Very well. If that is all?” Moira already made to move past him, but he took her arm.

“One last thing. Should this second device be discovered, Moira, I will know you have betrayed me. And it won’t be a hostage our associate takes next time.”

He could tell by the tremble in her lips that she understood perfectly.

“Enjoy tonight with you family,” he said last, slipping through mask of respected businessman Malcolm Merlyn back on as smoothly as a glove. He stepped away from her and turned, leaving the hospital.

It had not been the Hood who had attacked Unidac. He was unsure if this was good fortune or not. A new player meant unquantifiable variables.

These challenges were a test of his conviction, he was sure. To determine that he was worthy. He would surmount them all, then enjoy the fruits of his labor made all the sweeter with every additional obstacle overcome.

[omgbrainstorming]

John Rogers’ Facebook Live

For those of you who didn’t know, this evening on the UPtv Facebook page, John Rogers (writer and producer of The Librarians and Leverage) did a Live and answered fans’ questions.

Here’s a recap of what happened (it��s a freaking poem, sorry!):

The comments in square brackets [like these] are my comments.

It started with some good old awkward silence (because few people were there and UPtv wanted for him to wait).

He said hi to everyone and marvelled at the fact that he had The Librarians fans watching him from all over the world (Please don’t ask me what time is it where I live). Someone had mistaken him for an actor and he thanked them, but said that they were mistaking him for someone way cooler than him.

In the meantime, he had a record on the wall behind him and someone asked him about it, he proudly took it in front of the camera to show that it was a 45 Bohemian Rapsody record (he’s a big Queen fan).

He reminded all of you lucky folks in the US that UPtv is not only showing all the episodes with new material every Wednesday, this weekend there will be a The Librarian marathon (the 3 movies plus the pilot and interviews with the cast), so don’t forget!

What was his fave moment from the show?

One of his fave was the videogame episode written for John Kim, the idea of the episode wasn’t new, but it was supposed to be a sort of redemption arc for Ezekiel. John Kim wasn’t a seasoned actor when he came from Australia to film the show and he really gave his best in this episode, thanks to - John Rogers added - the help of John Larroquette (Jenkins) and Rebecca Romijn (Eve Baird) who really helped him a lot. 

He added that every single moment spent watching John Larroquette was a great moment [and can’t we Larroquetthishes understand], also watching Rebecca and Noah interact was really funny because Flynn had been really unlucky, romantically speaking, on the show and watching him being pulled out of his shell because of Eve, his equal, was a gift, especially when they figured out that Rebecca had a lot of comedian potential and they learned to tap into that. He liked working with Jonathan Frakes, and when Christian Kane finally got to fight in season 3 and 4 (they intentionally held him back). Overall too many great moments because it was a great cast. 

Please talk about your experience as a writer and producer for The Librarians.

He wasn’t one of the original writers, he just hopped on the first and third movie of The Librarian because Flynn is a polymath and he (John Rogers) has a degree in phisics and could help with lots of science and cool knowledge stuff. After Leverage ended they managed to get the rights to make a tv show out of The Librarian, they had schedule problems because Noah was on Falling Skies, so they needed to make it quickly, they couldn’t replace him because he was a franchise character, so they came up with the idea of a team looking back at the first movie [when there’s that loooooooooong queue of people on the stairs that are trying to get the job like Flynn] and thought “Who are these people who had a shot of living this magical life?” and just one replacement Librarian would have been constantly compared to Flynn, while a team gave them the possibility to have the format change they were looking for. So then they sat down to think how Flynn would change and how these new characters would change. John Rogers thought about the fact that throughout the movies a big theme was loneliness, because this dream job made you isolated, and Noah was all for playing a Flynn who had been through a lot of action in those 10 years and was a different guy. 

What was your inspiration for the episodes you wrote?

They put togethere a lot of ideas, mainly thinking “What is a great myth, urban legend, urban lore, etc.? And how do we twist it?” Because us, the fans, watch a lot of genre entertainment, so we were probably ahead of them in terms of knowing the subject. So they decided to start with “something like the 90s X-Files, something that the audience’s expecting, and twist it!”. He makes the example of the “witchcraft episode” [1x07 The Librarians and the Rule of Three, the one with Morgan Le Fay] “so in the 90s the kids.. it would’ve been a goth cult doing satanic practices, how do we twist it? Well, it turns out it’s actually the parents and it’s with good intentions. And also we brought in Morgan le Fay, fantastic character”. They sit down, think about the themes, do a lot of research, have fun with weird historical stuff and then twist it. Then he added that beside all of this, they listened to whatever John Larroquette would say/point out because “whatever John Larroquette says is super super interesting!” [Preach.]

How did you decide the villains of each season?

Since they didn’t know if they were going to be renewed (this for each season), they always tried to give us closure, they didn’t want to leave us hanging too much, they tried to make each season like a book with only one big villain. Since the first season was a reboot of the movies they used the original villain, The Serpent Brotherhood, to ease us in a new mythology. By the second season they were really fascinated with how books and narrative works, so Geoffrey Thorne came up with the idea of the fictionals. For season 3 and 4 they found an interesting historical path to follow and explore. So they actually decided first what they wanted to talk about in that season and then picked a villain that would fit. 

Where does the story of What Lies Beneath the Stones come from?

[Can I say that this question is getting old?] Jacob Stone comes from a place where he’s uncomfortable with himself and that’s mostly because of the expectations that are put upon us by others, so they wanted to tell you where those expectations came from, in this case from his father. John Rogers was quick to assure us that Christian actually has a great relationship with his father, but they wanted to show what happens when you leave home, when you go out of a “redneck” situation like that. 

If there could have been only one Librarian in the end, which of the LITs would you have chosen?

“Well that’s not fair!” He says that there’s a reason for which he wrote the season 1 finale like that, to show you what all of them would have been like as the ultimate Librarian, partially because they didn’t know if they were getting a season 2 (they filmed it all before airing) and he “has no desire to revisit that nightmare”, he likes to think that “Ezekiel is annoying the hell out of Stone” somewhere, somehow, still all happily together. [Is John Rogers a Jazekiel shipper? Yes, he is]

Had you been able to do a 5th season, what ideas would you have liked to explore?

He thinks that the show had a lot more seasons in it than what they actually got, and they were leaning toward the idea that you can’t keep a secret forever, they would have to go public, they would have to address the fact that magic is in the world and the world would find out and that would have been a whole new mess. 

How did you come up with Galahad and the other immortals?

A lot of it was looking back at the movies, and once they established that Jenkins was immortal and Excalibur was there as a character, “a real character, he made us all cry when he died! I mean, probably my favourite thing in my entire career, is that I made a bunch of people cry when a sword died on tv!”, it made sense to look at the Knights of the Round Table for immortals (with the help of historians on staff, like Kate Rorick) and other immortals too are just “what are other cool myths and how do we integrate them with our story?”

Why otters?!

Always in the Morgan Le Fay episode, they were researching projects to put in the background and they stumbled upon the fact that otters are actually really dangerous, and “when you’re a bunch of writers locked in one room with each other for ten hours a day... you get a little sneaky, and so... deadly otters just became a recurring joke and we just never let it go!”

Which of the cast members could you see as a librarian, working the books and stuff?

Surprisingly for us, he says, Christian Kane, because he had a real interest in history, and he or Lindy Booth would have had a natural inclination towards it. 

When did you decide Charlene and Judson were an item? I ask since in the movies it was never really hinted at.

Bob [Newhart, Judson] was retiring and Jane [Curtin, Charlene] was on a CBS show and they had just enough time to shoot that first episode of season 1 with them, so they had to tie them together to say goodbye at the same time. They first tied them together with her being his Guardian - there was actually a cool sword fight with Jane Curtin we never got to see because there wasn’t enough time - and when they brought her back they got to throw Jenkins in the mix (they liked their banter and decided to up their relationship) [dumbest decision ever], they created a backstory and properly said goodbye to her. 

About the death of Excalibur,

 on the first edit Dean put in the dog whines sound without warning him and when it played he told him it was too heartbreaking, take that out, but Dean loved it.

Did you keep anything from the set?

No, because they were still shooting when he left. Everyone wanted the Globe, but Dean kept it. 

So who was Charlene married to prior to Judson?

Actually, it was after Judson. But he said “think of Higlander, once you realise Judson will never be able to settle down you think, well, maybe you should have a human relationship to have a real life”

What do you think was the secret sauce that made the show so special?

“Honestly, I think it was love”. And the fact that they could literally tap into any subject, and “they could all hit a joke!”, they [the cast] really liked each other, “Rebecca and Lindy were inseparable, everyone adopted John [Kim] as their little brother” so that showed on camera. On a business side nobody else was making a family show. 

How did you keep pace with the episodes so that nothing would happen too quickly?

In the first season they were lucky to be able to write it all before filming it, so they had a solid background, and he says that it’s important, for the emotional growth of the characters, to see the episodes in the order they were intended to, not like they are on DVD, especially “Jake and Cassie are kinda screwed up if you watch them in the DVD order”. The first season is about how you build trust, welcome to the magical world and see them rise to the occasion. In the second season it was how do you change, you’ve been introduced to this world, how do you become a different person. He loves writing about characters who don’t have a choice but to change. The actors really helped (they came up with “Jacob’s dad, the fact that Cassandra had never really dated so she was not aware of her sexual orientation, John [Kim] wanted to talk about his family. So it was very much talkig to them, looking at the emotional story we wanted to tell over the season and then split it into ten and figure out how to pace that”

How much ad libbing space was the cast allowed?

A lot. He knew Christian very well, kinda knew Lindy, “Rebecca was fantastic, John Larroquette has... nine Emmy’s! John Larroquette won so many Emmy’s he had to ask them to stop giving them to him! So, yeah, you let him do what he wants”. John Kim is a natural talent and Noah knows Flynn inside out. So they all go through reharsal (when they ask “oh, can I change this, can I change that?” and you’re like “yeah, sure” unless it’s a piece of information that is needed for later) and then they ask the directors “can I try this? Can I try that?”, sometimes they just go for it and you keep rolling. In the time loop episode (Ezekiel’s videogame) Christian Kane had to say “Some thief!” a billion times in one day and he tried to make it funny and new every single time.

Did you prefer writing more mythical/historical based stories or more science fiction based stories?

Fifty fifty. The mythical stories were funny because they had to find the real story and then find the magic tweak, science fiction is easier because you have control and people assume that what you’re saying is real, it feels easier. He likes the fact that in the historical ones you think “oh wow! That’s really weird, then you Google it and go like, oh wow! That’s true!”, both cool and sometimes disturbing, he says, what more could you want?

 Was it important for you to be working on a family friendly show?

Yes, very much so. Because there wasn’t much you could watch together with your kids back then. It was a beautiful challenge to make a show with deeply emotional stories and characters with real problems, real arcs, and do it in a family friendly setting. Raise subjects that were relevant, like in the Morgan Le Fay episode where a lot of the staff had kids in highschool and they talked about the fact that kids these days are under so much pressure, so much homework and still need to have lives! And they approached that through the metaphor of magic. 

Which tv shows and movies inspired you as a writer?

Old action shows, con shows, Doctor Who, historical shows, The Rocket Files [?? sorry, I’m really not sure about the name, English is not my first language], Raiders of the Lost Ark, old pulps (they structured the episodes titles to be like old pulps). Probably more books. Alastor MaClaine [??], Isaac Asimov, Robert Howard.

If the show had continued, what other mythologies would you have drawn from for ideas?

Probably expand the Arthurian mythology, Asian mythology, Russian mythology, etc. He would have liked a more diverse casting with the new mythologies to make it even more inclusive as a show, because The Librarians are the Guardians of the world and you should have world cultures and world mythologies represented. 

What were some of your favourite ideas put into the show?

Santa Claus. He thinks it came up because they knew they were going to be a winter show, so they had a Christmas episode, and he said “well, we can just do Santa Claus!” and then someone said “he’d be a friend of Jenkins because he’s immortal!” and then “but who do you get to play Santa Claus?!” and Bruce Campbell had just conveniently moved to Oregon. He was a delight, everyone loved him and he broke their hearts when later his schedule never allowed him to be back on the show. Jeff Thone’s fictionals as well, the vampire quest with Cassie and Jenkins and Clara Lago (Estrella) because of Cassie’s sexuality that was set out at the end of season 1 and had to roll out, basically they figured out who she had chemistry with, “Honestly, I was kinda going for her [Cassie] and Baird, but we never got there. Yeah, Noah kept coming back and he’s a charming bastard! Ops! I’m not supposed to swear, sorry” [John Rogers is a wild fanboy and I love him]. “Most of my favourite things were not mine”

About Nicole coming back:

They had to be careful, because it wasn’t something that could have happened in season 1, the story had to progress before her [you could have just... not brought her back? Just saying], the show needed to be able to stand alone and only then they could bring a character from the original movies back [yeah, but like, why Nicole?? Why not Emily? Better yet, why not Simone?? And don’t you dare tell me “Simone died” because guess what, Nicole was dead too.] 

Which character was the most fun to write?

It’s a tie, but Lindy because he had fun with maths, all the calculations she does they (espacially he) did them, in the pilot when she’s in Stonehenge, John Rogers went there and had fun calculating the actual height of the sun in Germany at that particular time, and then Rebecca because she’s a gifted comedian ancd actor, like with the story that Eve tells Ezekiel in the time loop episode that was the anchor to that episode. 

Who’s your fave director to work with?

They were all great, probably Mark Roskin and Jonathan Frakes. 

About the pilot:

The pilot was a challenge because in the middle of it they found out they could not have Jane Curtin for the second half, so her part was rushed. 

Did you ever have to deal with writers block trying to create such intricate arcs? How did you or would you deal with it?

There’s the writers’ room, so hopefully when you’re stuck, the others are not. That’s why it’s important to rely on your writers, because even if you don’t have a way to approach something, they will. There’s an old saying that goes “you don’t think your way out of a writing block, you write your way out of a thinking block”, if you are stuck you just start writing, even if it’s bad, till you hit one interesting line, one interesting moment and you hook on that and realise that that was what your brain was trying to get to. 

It was action packed, but was it hard to keep it family friendly?

No, lots of them had kids so they knew the right tone. Action doesn’t mean brutal violence, the most challenging thing was how to do the emotional stories that are mature but still resonates with, like, 12yo. 

Did you ever start working on an episode and find it wasn’t working? How did you change in the fly?

It happened only once to him. The physical sets weren’t lining up, they were trying to go for a dream sequence (later on they made something similar with the Wonderland episode), so they changed it with the “deal with the Devil in a small town with Baird’s old friend”. 

Was there ever a storyline that you wanted to do and didn't get to do?

He would have liked to do something more with the “the Government has found out that magic is real”, especially because the idea of magic in the show is not “weeeeee, we can do magic now! Hardwork is what pays off and magic is a short cut and is dangerous”, Jenkins is saying it constantly, they wanted to blow up some myths “everyone loves talking about kings and queens, but everyone forget that that means you don’t have any rights, that’s why Jenkins had that speech at the end of episode 10″ [season 1, Loom of Fate]

Who was the best poker player?

Not John Kim because he has no poker face “I love the boy but you can see everything that he’s thinking crossing his face at all times”.

After the time line resetted in the last couple of episodes, do you think Jenkins still has his D&D games with Jeff?

As you may have noticed from episode 10, season 1, Baird points out that the thing she did with Santa that enables her to remember all the other timelines did not come from the Clippings Book, it came from Jenkins, so the assumption is that Jenkins can at least see other timelines and certainly as immortal he’s aware of them, he’s a different relationship with time, so even if during the timeline reset maybe Jeff doesn’t remember, he [John Rogers] likes to think that Jenkins found his way back to them, if that was something that he enjoyed doing (and John Rogers thinks he does), “but Jenkins definitely remembers all of the timelines, wheter he admits it or not”. [Like, be still my Casskins heart, he remembers, he remember Tea Time in the Annex, I’m cool, I’m calm. Fine. Someone call an ambulance]

Which character relationship was your favourite? Eg. Eve/Jenkins, Jake/Ezekiel etc.

He says that the question is which characters do you prefer to write, because that’s how they exist, with dialogue. He loved Eve/Jenkins because they were “the old guys”, they’ve been through a lot, a lot of pain, loss, so there was a lot of bonding ground in those scenes, and Cassandra and Jacob because they both didn’t have a chance to live their best life, “because Ezekiel is living his best life, it’s just a shallow one”, and then as Lindy and Rebecca became friends they just let them ride with it. And then Flynn/Everybody because when Flynn shows up they can torture him and have fun. 

In the first episode there’s a conversation between Jenkins and Eve about Flynn’s mental state that i just LOVE. It made me fall in love with Jenkins.

That’s the idea of Jenkins, he’s been through A LOT, he’s known pain, has lost a lot and he’ll help you to help other people the way he couldn’t. [I’m crying, someone needs to hug Jenkins for like, a whole new season. I volunteer]

Did you have a favourite artefact?

They were trying to distance themselves from the movies by stopping the show from being all about artefacts. He can’t choose. But he really loved Frankenstein, loved that everyone forgets that in the book he’s actually really literate and wanted to bring him back to show his relationship with Ezekiel but the actor wasn’t available. 

What are you up to currently?

After The Librarians and The Player on MBC he’s adapting the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss for the tv.

Was the storybook episode easier or harder to write?

It was really easy once they figured out the archetypes, they wanted to subvert the tropes because they didn’t want Jacob as Prince Charming and they knew Ezekiel was Jack, so Cassandra being Prince Charming was a great clue of what would happen later on “and also, she nailed it! She was amazing, everyone was amazing”. It was very easy to write but very hard to produce. 

I remember reading about an abandoned "Black Mask" idea. What was up with that?

They were thinking about doing a much more complicated time travel story (for season 1), where Eve, instead of being thrown into parallel dimensions, would be thrown back through time, and they’d later reveal that each time the “mysterious hero” that Jenkins was supposed to tell them about, appeared in time of need was actually one of the Librarians going back wearing the mask to save the day, and that Jenkins himself originally had that role. 

In the episode with Dorian Grey, how difficult was it to turn the classic art story into the electronic version.

The idea came very easily, from selfies to narcissism, from that to Dorian, that’s done. 

I loved your blog posts as we went through first season - thank you for that!

He said thank you.

What a great storyline that would be - the black mask - maybe if you get to do reunion movie!!?

He said that instead of looking back he’d like to move forward, what would it be like for them not to have to hide anymore. 

I think the darkest episode was the Bender House, but it was really cool.

Perfect example of twisting classic stories.

Would Ezekiel have ever found aliens?

No, never! They find it too funny, in a world were everything is true, aliens are not. 

Did you ever think about having a kind of "flashback" episode of Jenkins' Arthurian times? [This was mine]

[Ignoring the fact that he though I was Spanish just because I told him who played Estrella - I just Googled it, I’m weak] They did think about it, it was going to be in the season 2 finale, when Eve and Flynn go back in time, it was supposed to be a King Arthur episode, when they were to find out that Shakespeare was Merlin, find him and give him their statue so he would be the guardian of it, but then they thought it’d be cooler - and John [Larroquette] himself liked this better - if even he didn’t know what was going on and they could talk more about his longing and the loss for Flynn and Eve like everybody else, they didn’t want him to be like “let the LITs suffer thinking they’ve lost them while I know better”. [So either the episode didn’t make sense or like... Galahad was just hanging out with Merlin in the Elizabethan period?? So it wouldn’t have been “his Arthurians time”, just “hanging out with almost the only remaining buddy from Camelot”, still cool, but I meant like, middle ages]

Who came up with the Serpent Brotherhood?

It was the original writers. 

He finished reminding averyone about the marathon, to tweet along because the actors will be active (he’ll personally bog John Kim so he’ll remember), he’ll be on the hashtag too. Thanked us fans and closed hoping for new The Librarians material.

Now I’m knackered, it’s stupid early in the morning here, I have yet to go to sleep, send help. (If you see any errors, please let me know!)