#ELS Writing

[eternal-love-song]

Recognition

Odile finds herself recognizing something in Loop.

Odile doesn't recognize him right away. In the moment she's distracted by Siffrin's disappearance, the confrontation with the king, and then the immediate aftermath of… everything. So no, she wasn't particularly paying attention to the odd stranger that had come out of nowhere to help them. Not more than her caution and skepticism dictated at least.

That didn't last long, of course. As soon as Siffrin had returned the oddly bright stranger, she had begun paying attention. And she noticed.

She recognized him.

She recognized the way that they smiled, with their voice and their eyes, but never bright enough to hide how hollow it was when they didn't mean it. And Loop almost never meant it. They were miserable, but they hid it behind a mask of brightness that was just different enough from Siffrin's that the others hadn't noticed yet. She would almost wonder why they had decided to come… if she didn't know.

She recognized the way they spoke with their hands. The gestures are a little more staged, a little more stiff than she was used to, but recognizable all the same. The way their hands jumped to their hip when they felt threatened, the way their hands fell into scissors before they flexed their fingers to hide the gesture, the way they tried to wave off concern by directing it to something else. It was specific, loud, in a way that she knew Siffrin rarely realized he was.

She recognized the hesitation in their body when they wanted to be somewhere, do something, but weren't certain of their welcome. Without a cloak to cover the moments, Loop spoke with his entire body. And they spoke loudly. Screamed really. Odile couldn't help but listen.

Within the first week of traveling together she had filled more than a handful of pages with observations and speculations on Loop alone.

It wasn't that she didn't want to devote attention to Siffrin as well. She did and she kept her eyes on him whenever she could, but there were already three other pairs of eyes on Siffrin and none on Loop. She didn't think hers would be missed.

The more she watched, the more she couldn't help but think that Loop reminded her of when Siffrin first joined the group. So unsure of his place, so awkward, always keeping to the outskirts of camp or the fringes of interactions. Except with Sifrin themselves, of course, who went out of his way to join Loop every so often.

Watching them made Odile think back to her own behavior when Siffrin had first joined their party. She'd been far too suspicious to be welcoming, far too cold to be comforting. The more she thought about it, the more that she didn't want that for Loop. She wouldn't say anything to the others, not if they didn't want her to, but she wouldn't, couldn't, ignore it. Couldn't ignore them. She didn't want to see herself repeating the same mistakes she had already made if she could avoid it.

And she might admit that she was… intrigued by this version of… by Loop. The parts of them that she didn't recognize. The parts that would snap and bite and hiss like a feral cat trying to assert itself. It was… cute. It was welcome. Odile had always found a certain kinship with Siffrin, the way they both expressed themselves (or failed to) had always been something that made her gravitate toward him a bit.

In the same way, Odile found herself gravitating toward Loop. The biting snark, the sarcasm, the wit, it appealed to the parts of her that she often tried not to share with the group. Or not too often, at least. Mirabelle was too kindhearted, Isabeau too determined to keep on a cheerful face, and Siffrin was sometimes too… skittish. Loop could be skittish as well, but they didn't run the way that Siffrin did, they bit. Odile found that a bit easier to deal with if she were honest. It reminded her of her younger self. (Of the self that she still was when the others weren't looking.)

"Ah, I thought I would find you here," she said as soon as she'd found the spot Loop had decided to scamper off to. They'd just finished making camp and like always, Loop had managed to make themselves scarce at the first opportunity. After a week of recognition and watching and notating, she found that she wasn't content to keep up the distance that they was creating. Especially when it was so very obvious that they didn't actually want it.

What must it be like to find yourself replaced by… yourself?

She wasn't sure how the situation had come about. She didn't plan to ask, at least not yet. She wouldn't remain on the sidelines like it didn't matter though. It mattered. It mattered more than she knew how to say.

"Researcher!" Loop trilled from his position on a low branch of a tree. She wasn't certain if Loop enjoyed climbing trees or was just using them as a way to keep watch on everyone while still staying far enough away to not be considered "a bother." She knew what the answer would be if this were Siffrin, of course, but it was Loop. The distinction did matter. "What brings you here on this wonderful new day?"

They said it with the bitter cheerfulness that she had come to associate with the incident. Siffrin sometimes used that same tone, but he was a bit quieter with it, didn't drag it through the streets the way that Loop did. Could it be something that they said during the loops? Some variation of it?

Odile hummed as she opened her notebook and made a note. Loop's eye twitched and she fought the urge to smile at his obvious discomfort. "Nothing much, I just decided that I was growing tired of you running off as soon as we made camp every night."

Loop clapped their hands together and tilted their head, as if they were trying to make themself the picture of a smile. Superficially it might have worked. They was bright and their eyes seemed to be smiling, the tone was just about right. Odile wouldn't fall for it though. She already knew, after all. She had already seen them. "Why Researcher, are you in that desperate of a need for company?"

That was another thing that Loop did and she didn't hesitate to jot down the note if only to test the mask they insisted on putting on around her. They liked to bite, to scratch, whenever someone dared to acknowledge them. Too bitter not to bite, not to test the tentative bonds that they had barely built, and yet so desperate for them.

Or maybe she was projecting. The thought made her frown uncomfortably, what it didn't do was make her want to leave. No, it would take more than a few shallow claw marks to make her walk away now that she was here.

"Perhaps I am," she told them, smiling when she felt their smile waning a bit. "Think you can help me out?"

Loop did not let their mask slip far. "Well, of course! Helpful Loop, at your service! Now what did you want to talk about?"

"How about we talk about you?" she asked, not fighting the smirk as it spread across her lips. A Siffrin's least favorite subject, but one that Loop pretended to just love. "You have to admit you're a curious one, Loop."

"I suppose you wouldn't be a researcher if you weren't researching something." Their reply was more of a grumble than anything. So it seemed that Loop knew that she wasn't researching anything. That was rather interesting as well.

"I think anyone would find it hard not to be interested in you, researcher or not," she said.

"The others seem to manage it just fine." The bitterness wasn't even hidden this time. It must be rather exhausting to keep up such a loud facade as often as they did. She didn't fault them for slipping.

"I suppose the others have their minds otherwise occupied," she said diplomatically.

In a blink, they were back to being the bright, enigmatic creature they so often portrayed themselves as. "Well, Stardust is in need of a lot of attention, so I suppose it's only natural. Can't risk him throwing another tantrum, now, can we?"

Odile added self deprecation to her list of notes. Not that such a thing wasn't already abhorrently obvious to her, but she liked to be thorough. She also liked the look on their face as they tried to pretend that they weren't trying to look down at what she was writing. She made sure to tilt her notebook so that they couldn't get a good angle for it.

"Yes, I suppose that could be a concern," she admitted, looking up at them once more. "I think I have my eyes set on something more pressing, however."

The surprise on Loop's face was real, but they tried to twist it into something more theatrical. "More important than ending the world?"

"More important than smothering a teammate that's already drowning in attention," she corrected. She didn't think that Siffrin would be in danger of such a large emotional reaction again so soon, though if he were, there were certainly enough people keeping their eyes out for the signs. Loop included.

Odile could see that Loop was struggling to digest this information. She wondered exactly which part of it was the part that they were having trouble with. The idea that they might hold more significance than Siffrin for even a moment? The idea that it was her who was paying them attention. That last thought brought a frown to her face. She didn't want Loop thinking that they were inherently less important to her simply because they were… new.

"I think I should take this opportunity to make something clear," she began, Loop cutting her off before she could finish.

"You don't have to make yourself any more clear Researcher," Loop said, waving their hand before their face as if they could banish her words so easily. "You've already given me the warnings, I remember them well."

She did too. While Odile did not take them back, she didn't feel any guilt or shame for trying to protect her family, that didn't mean that she wanted them to think… a number of things that they might think about her based on her initial reaction. Best to clear the air before that had a chance to fester.

"No, Loop, not that," she told them. She sighed, pushing frustration with herself out so that she could focus on gathering her words properly. Often she wasn't the best with them, despite how she tried. She had never been particularly skilled at emotions and wanting to be didn't change her deficit at all. "My understanding of the situation was different then than it is now."

"Oh?" Nothing. No emotion in that voice, no expression on their face. It couldn't be more obvious that they didn't believe her or perhaps that they were not truly listening at all.

"Don't do that," she said sternly. "I think I can be forgiven for not having understood the situation immediately, given the circumstances."

"Of course." Pouting now. They refused to look at her, one arm wrapped around their body as if to hold themselves together. It was… painful, to see that kind of reaction to talking to her. She wanted to shake them until they understood that they were wanted here. Or maybe take their face in her hands like Mirabelle did to Siffirin.

Ah, that thought was… perhaps a bit more intense than she expected it to be. Gems alive, she was far too old to be having such a reaction.

Odile sighed again, closing her book with enough force that the sound grabbed Loop's attention. Their eyes jumped to hers and she took the opportunity to speak before they could look away. "I wanted to make sure that you knew that you were wanted here. We may have gotten off to a rough start, I'm not known to be the most warm or welcoming person in this group. I don't want you thinking that you don't belong here. You do. If not for any reason other than you are wanted here. And by more than just Siffrin."

Loop was staring at her with wide eyes and… were they brighter somehow? Even being uncertain of what that might mean, Odile still felt a smile plaster itself across her face.

"I, ah…" There was something rather satisfying at seeing Loop at a loss for words. "I see…" They swallowed, which she only noticed because she was paying such close attention to them. "Consider yourself made clear, Researcher."

"Odile," she corrected. "Or else I might have to start using a rather old way of referring to you as well." She gave them a look to make sure that her meaning came through to them. If the way that their eyes managed to become even wider was any indication, they understood her just fine.

Loop cleared his throat, shrinking down as if trying to hide in a cloak that they no longer wore. "Y-yes, of course… Odile…"

She reached out to pat their leg, ignoring the way that they practically jumped a foot in the air at the touch. If Siffrin was any indication the action wasn't undesired, just unexpected. She would have to work to make it a bit… less unexpected. As if to confirm her theory and strengthen her resolve, Loop relaxed, seeming to lean into the touch a bit.

"Good then," she said. She let her hand linger just a bit longer before pulling away, pretending that she didn't notice the way their entire body seemed to lean toward her as she did so. "Glad that we could get that straightened up right away."

"Rese- Odile," Loop said, correcting themselves halfway through using her title. "You, um, you won't…"

It was easy enough to assume what they wanted to ask.

"No, Loop, I don't plan to say anything to the others. That should be your choice to reveal or not." She paused before adding. "For what it's worth, I'm enjoying having 'Loop' as part of our group. I'd like to get to know them better."

This time, when it looked like Loop was smiling, it felt much more sincere. Maybe it was the softness around their eyes that made the difference. "Your helpful ally Loop will always be at your service!" The thrill of their voice was a lot more… grounded, she dared say. Maybe even happy.

She didn't want to overestimate that though. For now, she would simply say that she thought this might be a good start between the two of them.

[one-true-jeremy]

have a joel smallishbeans fic that I wrote in an absolute frenzy

[the-ouma-mansion]

A Taste Of Kimchi

The class learn about Kokichi's twin brother, Kimochi.

[Hope's Peak Academy AU, Non Despair, Humor]

It was a normal day at Hope's Peak Academy. Miu was being her usual loud self, Kaede was trying unsuccessfully to get everyone to calm down, Kokichi had stolen something off of Maki's desk resulting in both her and Kaito trying to chase him down with many casualties in the process. Tenko had picked Himiko up and moved her bodily out of the way of the way of the chase, while Shuichi had been knocked over, Kaito throwing a "sorry" over his shoulder without stopping.

It was during this mad dash around the classroom that Kiibo noticed something falling to the classroom floor. A picture, it seemed, and a quick examination of the ten individuals shown revealed it to belong to Kokichi. The picture was quickly taken out of Kiibo's hands though, as Kaito noticed the picture and helped himself to it.

"Yo, Kokichi! What the hell is this?" Kaito asked, waving the picture around to get his attention.

Kokichi looked at him cautiously, waiting until Maki had stopped chasing him before looking at Kaito. "How am I supposed to see it if you keep waving it around?"

Miu, was close enough that she barely had to lean over to see, let out a loud laugh. "Heh, just a bunch of clowns."

That statement drew the rest of the class forward. Realization seemed to dawn on Kokichi's face as he grinned and moved closer to them. "Oh, that. That's just a picture of the loyal followers of my secret organization."

"Bullshit," Kaito said immediately.

"Oh, you're in this picture, too," Kaede said when she got a look at it.

"What?" Kokichi moved closer, snatching the picture from Kaito's hands to look at it himself. "Oh, that's just Kimchi."

"Who?" 

"My twin," Kokichi answered with a shrug. He put the picture into his pocket where it was assumed to have come from.

"No way there's two of you!" Kaito said immediately, rejecting the idea. "You would have said something by now."

"Nishishi," Kokichi grinned at him. "Sure, that's a lie. Just like my organization and my talent, right?"

"W-well..."

"You can't blame us for being a bit skeptical," Korekiyo spoke up. "You have a reputation for stretching the truth, after all."

"I tell the truth all the time," Kokichi objected. "It's not my fault that none of you believe me." With that said, Kokichi ran out of the classroom. 

No one realized that that was just the beginning.

OoOoOoOo

It was nearly two weeks later that Miu came rushing into the classroom with a manic grin on her face. "Holy shit, guys! I just saw Bakamatsu and Cockichi holding hands!"

"What?" Kiibo questioned, blinking at her. 

"No way," Kaito said, moving across the room to her desk. "You must have seen that wrong. There's no way Kaede would hold hands with that little freak."

"Maybe Kokichi and Kaede like each other more than we think?" Gonta pondered out loud.

"It's not really any of our business," Kirumi pointed out.

"Bullshit it's not my business," Miu replied, glaring at the maid. "If my classmates are getting busy behind my back, I wanna know about it."

"Your curiosity doesn't make you entitled to the knowledge," Kirumi said with a small frown.

"Maybe we should just ask them?" Shuichi suggested.

"That little runt would just lie!" Miu complained.

Maki rolled her eyes. "Then ask Kaede."

Miu took her advice to heart, cornering Kaede as soon as the girl entered the classroom. "Why were you holding hands with Kokichi, huh?"

Kaede took taken aback. "W-what?"

Kiibo placed a hand on Miu's shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Miu thinks she saw you and Kokichi holding hands."

"Um, no," she answered with a confused expression on her face. After a moment, recognition flooded her face and she smiled at them. "Oh, that must have been our twins. They've been hanging out lately." With that seemingly settled, Kaede went to her desk. 

The rest of the class was much less convinced. 

Kaito sighed. "What? Now she has a secret twin? That little gremlin must have gotten to her."

"I bet they're secretly dating," Miu cackled. "That's why they came up with this super lame lie."

"We shouldn't assume that," Shuichi said.

"If Kaede and Kokichi dating, Gonta happy for them!"

"I... agree with Shuichi," Kiibo said. "It's wrong to assume."

Miu rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Be in denial if you want."

They were quiet by the time Kokichi showed up, except for Gonta's well meaning cry of, "Congratulations, Kokichi! Gonta happy if you happy." That left the Supreme Leader confused.

OoOoOoOo

It was Shuichi that eventually asked, "Do you really have a twin, Kokichi?"

The Supreme Leader grinned widely at him. "Sure do! We're completely identical! He's always copying my style, can you believe it!"

"I don't believe it," Kaito insisted, butting into the conversation from two desk away.

"Nyeh, what's your twin like?" Himiko asked.

"Believe it or not, he's the evil twin," Kokichi answered with a smile.

"More evil than your annoying ass?" Miu asked.

Kokichi glared at her. "No one was talking to you, slut!"

"Eh!"

"Forgive me for saying so," Kirumi said. "But I find it hard to believe that your twin could be more difficult to deal with than you."

Kokichi teared up immediately. "Wh-what? M-mom... doesn't love me anymore... Wahh!"

Kirumi looked pained as Kokichi wailed at her loudly, regret written all over her face.

Rantaro placed a hand on Kokichi's head, which seemed to work as a switch since Kokichi stopped crying instantly. "Hey, I'm sure Kirumi didn't mean it that way."

"Yay!" Kokichi said, throwing his arms around Rantaro. "I knew someone here loved me!"

"I still don't believe it," Kaito insisted. "You haven't mentioned having a twin once before now. This has got to be some kind of prank."

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault that none of you ever cared enough to ask."

"He has a point," Tsumugi spoke up. "We've never really asked before, so..."

"Prove it," Maki demanded. "If your twin is real, there should be proof, right?"

Kokichi's expression went blank. "Are you all sure? I've protected you all from him so far, but if I let you meet him, then you're all on your own."

"I can't imagine him being worse than a degenerate male like you," Tenko said. "Not that I believe you in the first place."

"Well, you all asked for it." Kokichi said. "Tomorrow I'll let you all meet Kimchi!"

"What kind of name is Kimchi, anyway?" Kaito questioned.

"Short for Kimochi," Kokichi told them. "I call him Kimchi and Dice call him Mochi. Wars have been fought over his name, you know."

"Sounds made up to me," Miu grumbled.

"The only thing made up around here is your dignity, whore!"

The conversation devolved into bickering from there.

OoOoOoOo

The next day, Kokichi came to school wearing a hat, cape, and bright smile. "Good morning my dear classmates," he called out to them.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," Kiibo noted.

Kokichi skipped over to Kiibo, placing himself on the robot's desk. "Of course I'm in a good mood when I get to see all my wonderful friends."

"What the hell is this?" Miu asked, flinching away from Kokichi where she stood beside Kiibo. "The twerp is acting weird."

Kokichi frowned. "Hey now, there's no need for name calling."

Kirumi removed her glove and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. "He doesn't feel warm."

"I'm not feeling the love today," he told them. "I thought I would be welcome here."

Gonta stood up from his seat at that. "Ah, Kokichi no be sad. Gonta happy to see him!"

Kokichi smiled again. "I knew someone would be happy to see me. I missed you too, Gonta!"

"Wait a minute," Kaede said, walking over to Kokichi and staring him down. "You're... You're Kimchi, aren't you?"

Somehow, his smile got brighter. "You got me! So Kokichi really did tell you about me? That makes me soo happy! And I'm really glad to see you, Kaede."

Kaito got to his feet. "That's enough, Kokichi. We're not gonna fall for your little trick. Now knock it off. You're weirding me out."

He shook his head. "Kaito, Kaito, Kaito. Always such a disbeliever. Weren't you the one that wanted to see me in the first place?"

"Um," Shuichi spoke up. "Technically, Maki was the one that wanted proof."

His eyes brightened as he hopped off Kiibo's desk. "And where is our lovely Maki? I've wanted to meet her most of all."

Maki sighed  from her desk, glaring at Kokichi. "You really think I'm gonna believe you're someone else just because you're acting a little differently. You look exactly the same, even if you are wearing a different outfit."

Kokichi frowned as he looked down at his clothes. "You don't like my cape?"

"I like the cape," Himiko said.

Kokichi smiled at her. "You were always my favorite."

Tenko pulled Himiko into her arms and shielded her from his sight. "Don't you get any ideas, degenerate!"

He laughed. "You're all just as much fun as Kokichi said you would be." He skipped closer to Maki. His back was to the rest of the class, so she was the only one that could see how his face became progressively darker. "I've heard that you're the most fun of all, Maki. Is that true? Do you play with my brother as much as he says?" He was standing right in front of her now and his voice dropped from the cheerful tone he'd ben using into something dark and threatening. Worse than anything they'd heard from Kokichi before. "Or was that just a lie to cover up how poorly you treat him. Are you a problem that I need to handle without him knowing, Maki Harukawa?"

Maki actually looked taken aback, prompting Kaito to step towards them. "Hey, what are you doing to Makiroll?" He grabbed Kokichi by the shoulder and spun him around. By that point, he was already wearing the bright expression from earlier again.

"Something wrong Kaito?"

Kaito picked him up by his cape. His eyes widened in surprise, feet kicking out beneath him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"What is wrong with you today?"

Kokichi's eyes began to water, but rather than the wail they were used to, trails of tears began to roll down his face. "Why... are you doing this to me?" he asked them. "I just... wanted to be your friends..."

"H-hey..."

And then the real Kokichi walked into the room, pausing as he took in the sight before him. "What the hell are you doing to Kimchi!" Kokichi ran toward Kaito, pushing him and making him lose his grip on Kimochi. Kokichi leaned over his twin, wiping his tears. "Hey, what happened? What did they do?"

Kimochi shook his head. "N-nothing, they were great..."

"You don't have to lie to me, Kimchi," Kokichi said. "If they were mean to you, I'll make their life hell for the next three years."

"They weren't... all bad," Kimochi said. "Gonta was nice. And Himiko."

Kokichi glared around the room. "Do you guys really hate me that much?" he asked. "Kimchi was here for five minutes and you already..." He took his twin brother's hand, pulling him toward the door. "We're leaving. I don't want to see any of your faces."

As they left the classroom, Kimchi looked back at them. His expression was twisted and his grin was manic as he looked at them. "Goodbye class."

Everyone was silent until they were out of sight.

"Holy shit!" Kaito said. "What the hell was that?"

Kaede sighed. "That was Kimchi."

"That little shit really does have a twin!" Miu exclaimed.

"I don't know why you doubted it," Kaede said. "I told you guys."

"Well, yeah, but we didn't believe you," Kaito admitted, scratching the back of his head. "We thought you were just embarrassed to be caught holding his hand or whatever."

Kaede wrinkled her nose. "Why would I be embarrassed?" she asked. "I'm not the type to lie about stuff like that."

"She has a point," Rantaro pointed out.

"I suppose we should have taken Kokichi's words of warning to heart," Korekiyo said. 

"Guys, there's something else I think we should worry about," Shuichi spoke up. He ducked his head a bit when all eyes were on his, but he continued, "Kimochi lied to Kokichi and Kokichi has no idea."

They all paused, absorbing the fact that Kokichi knew his twin was, in his own words evil, and still fell for the trick that the class had been able to make him cry. 

Miu summed it up nicely when she loudly exclaimed, "Fuck!"

"Guess Kokichi has a blind spot where his brother is concerned," Rantaro said. 

"Do you think he meant it when he said he would make our life hell?" Kiibo asked.

"Angie thinks that some of you should start praying to Atua before Kokichi returns to class."

For once, the class thought that maybe she was right.

Read more about the twins here!

[sunshinesere]

Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone / This is How You Lose the Time War

[eternaldeviants]

Alley Cat and Street Rat - Chapter 1

Kokichi/Kaede, Kokichi & Dice, Kokichi & Angie, Kaede & Shuichi [Established relationship, Aged Up Characters, Miraculous AU, Thieves, Superhero AU]

Kokichi's life has been on a steady track for years, he goes stealing with Dice, he's dating Kaede, and he's been pretty good at keeping those two lives separate. When he ends up stealing some magical jewelry that grants him special powers, his life becomes a lot more interesting and his two worlds become a little harder to keep apart.

Shuichi's calm life seems to avalanche over night. It starts with a case coming across his desk about a group of thieves, escalates when he receives a strange present from his parents that give him strange abilities, and culminates when a supervillain calling himself Yokai starts terrorizing the city. As these separate problems combine into one when he takes up the mantle of a hero and learns the thieves he's chasing have the same abilities as the villain he's fighting.

Prologue

OoOoOo

"When are you going to introduce me to Dice?"

Kokichi raised his book so that he could look across the apartment to see Kaede was standing in the kitchen. He was hanging upside down off the edge of the couch, feet brushing against the wall where they were propped up on the back of the couch and his hair brushing the floor. Kaede still had her back to him as she focused on burning breakfast.

Well, Kokichi assumed that she would burn it because she was a terrible cook. She could rarely follow a recipe without trying to add something or getting distracted so that it ended up burned. The fact that she was keeping her eyes on the food would have been a good sign, but the fact that she had started this conversation meant that her mind wasn't really on it. He didn't mind though. They had poptarts in the cabinets that he could snag.

"I have introduced you to Dice," he replied. It was pretty much impossible for him to spend any significant time with someone without them colliding with Dice in some way. Dice were the most important thing in his life and while Kaede was steadily climbing higher on that list, she hadn't and likely wouldn't surpass Dice. 

Kaede turned to glare at him over her shoulder. "Only, like, three members," she said. Technically five, but he wasn't sure she had realized that he had long recruited some of their former classmates. Though if he really thought of it, all of Dice had met her by now, she just didn't know it. There was no way Dice would ever let their leader date, let alone live with someone that they hadn't met and vetted to some extent. She was at a bit of a disadvantage when it came to spotting Dice members though. There were a lot of people that came up to her all the time, either because she was a Hope's Peak alumni or because she was a famous pianist, and it was hard to keep up when you met that many people a day. Or so he heard. Kokichi was pretty good at remembering people.

"So, what about it?" he asked.

"Three people isn't all of Dice," she complained. "I want to meet everyone."

Kokichi sighed and closed his book, tossing it up on the couch beside him. "What for?"

"What do you mean, what for?" she asked, voice becoming louder with incredulousness. "Because they're important to you. They're practically your family, right?"

"They are my family," he corrected.

"So why wouldn't I want to meet your family?" She asked, fully turning toward him and putting her hands on his hips. Definitely going to burn those eggs, or whatever it is.

Kokichi sighed loudly. "Sounds like a lot of work, to me."

"Kokichi," she said in a scolding tone. She walked away from the stove, big mistake, and kneeled down so that she could look him in his eyes. A silly thing to do when he was upside down. His expression went from scolding to soft in moments. "I want to be closer to you. You want that too, right?"

Kokichi met her eyes and said, "Your food is burning."

The calm expression was immediately replaced with panic as she got to her feet. "No, the omelet!" She ran over to the stove and began fussing around with the pan, trying to save the undoubtedly ruined meal. 

Kokichi slid off the couch and onto the floor before rolling over and getting to his feet. "Poptarts are on the shelf," he told her helpfully.

Kaede gave him an exasperated look over her shoulder. "I don't want junk food for breakfast."

"And I don't want burned food," he said, walking to the cabinet and pulling out the box. "Guess our tastes are just too different."

"Don't eat that, she told him. "I'm going to make us a nice breakfast for once."

Kokichi gave her a flat look. "A nice breakfast of what? Cereal?"

Kaede frowned, looking back down at the mess in her pan. "Maybe it doesn't taste that bad?" she asked hopefully.

Kokichi looked her in the eyes as he ripped open his poptarts and took a bite of one. "Then you eat it."

Kaede made a sound of distress as she hung her head. Kokichi pat her shoulder as he walked by. 

"Better luck next time, sweet cheeks."

"Don't call me sweet cheeks," she grumbled half-heartedly. She knew by now that objections basically guaranteed that he would use the nickname again, but it was a hard habit to break. 

Kokichi watched from the couch as she scrapped the food from the pan, dropped it in the sink, and slowly trudged over to sit beside him. He held out his poptart for her to take a bite and Kaede sighed before doing so.

"See, it's not so bad," he said.

Kaede groaned and let her head fall onto his shoulder. He continued letting her take bites of his poptart

OoOoOo

It was mid-afternoon when Kokichi met up with Dice. They had a lot of meeting places within the city, the main one being in an area that had been dubbed Hideout Park. It was a completely normal park but after meeting there a few times, Joy had made a joke about it being their hideout and the name had stuck. It wasn't the largest park, but it was in a fairly busy area making their constant gathering seem very inconspicuous.

There was a path that ran through the park and a picnic table that sat to one side, known as the throne after he routinely used it as a chair instead of a table. Today was no different and Kokichi hopped up on the table as soon as he arrived. "Bow to your king!"

Joy was kneeling on the ground in a circle of dogs they were meant to be walking, trying to pet all seven of them with her two hands. She looked up at him, rolled her eyes, and continued trying to pet the herd of excited canines. Princess was sitting on the grass with one of the smaller dogs in her lap and she waved at him. Bishop and Ace both smiled at him, the latter trying to reach over Joy to hook leashes on dog collars.

"Hey boss," Bishop greeted.

"You're late," Ace told him.

"A king is never late," he declared. He looked around briefly to see if he could spot any of his other minions, frowning when he didn't. "Where's my good for nothing second?" he asked.

"Angie had a commission," Joy answered. "She took Raeve with her and Jack thought that he should supervise."

Kokichi sighed. "Typical." Angie, otherwise known as Brush once he had taken her under his wing, was more chaotic than she was reliable most of the time. Kokichi didn't need a reliable stick in the mud though, that's not what made her his second in command. No, he needed someone that could ride the same wave of chaos that he did, someone that was devious and reckless but not stupid. Lantern thought that he should be second in command because he was reasonable and usually tried to reign Angie in for that reason. The fact that he usually failed emphasized his lack of suitability to the role. 

"Did you need her for something?" Ace questioned. His bleached blonde hair stood up at a 90 degree angle, but rather than make him stand out, he looked rather normal among them. A lot of people bleached their hair and used too much gel. Bishop was big and round with a bald head, Princess was smaller than even Kokichi with hair so long it nearly trailed the ground, and Joy had bright pink hair with shaved sides. Comparing them, Ace seemed like your typical delinquent.

"Kaede wants to meet you all," Kokichi said instead of addressing Ace's question.

Joy's face lit up. "We get to meet the mistress?"

"Don't call her the mistress," he said. "That makes me sound like some sleazeball."

"What does she want with us?" Ace questioned.

"The usual," Kokichi answered with a shrug, looking at his nails. "Torture, interrogation, intimidation."

Ace's eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

Joy snickered. "No way. He's kidding."

Ace looked at Joy. "But are you sure? I mean, if she's dating the boss then..."

"If she was like Kichi then she would have already met us by now," Princess said. She looked up at Kokichi. "Right?"

Kokichi smiled widely at her. "Some minions are brighter than others."

"Hey!" Ace yelled.

Kokichi laughed as he hopped off the table. "Enough messing around. We've got a job to do!"

They all nodded, getting to their feet and handing out the dogs leashes until they all had the dogs that they could handle. Dice Dog Sitting services had been a successful endeavor for them since before he graduated from Hope's Peak and it was enough for them to scrape by. Of course, their other endeavors went a long way as well.

"Onward!" he exclaimed.

"Onward!" they echoed him.

OoOoOo

The minute Kaede reached the table where Shuichi was waiting for her she let out a loud groan. She let her body fall into the seat and dropped her head onto the table, not caring at all if she got a few stares from the other patrons at the cafe. She and Shuichi always chose to sit outside where the noise was more acceptable and years of dating Kokichi had made her less uptight about causing small scenes in public. The same couldn't be said of Shuichi though, who looked around nervously before he even addressed her.

"Um, is something wrong?" he asked.

"Today was a disaster," she told him. "Again!"

Shuichi's eyes still glanced around but he kept the majority of his attention on her. He really did worry too much about what others thought of him, she wasn't being that loud. "What happened?"

"I ruined breakfast."

"Well, that's not new," he said. When she lifted her head to look at him, Shuichi tried to swiftly backtrack. "I-I mean, um, did Kokichi complain or..."

Kaede sighed again, deciding not to comment on his less than delicate reponse. "No, but he never complains. And he still doesn't want me to meet Dice either!"

"Did he say that?" Shuichi asked and Kaede could tell by the way his eyes sharpened and his lips thinned that he would be offended on her behalf if he did. The thought actually made her smile, just a little.

"Not in so many words," she told him. "But he did change the subject." The fact that the subject changed to her burning food was irrelevant. She folded her arms under her and sulked just a little. It wasn't fair that he had a secret organization and wouldn't tell her anything about it.

Shuichi lifted his hand to his lips as he thought, a habit that he still hadn't broken all these years later. "Maybe he has a good reason that he doesn't want you to meet them."

Kaede frowned. "What reason could he have? These people are his family and I live with him now!"

Shuichi held up his hand, leaning away from her glare. "It was just a suggestion! I don't want to-"

Kaede leaned closer to him. "But you're a  detective, right? So detect something!"

Shuichi leaned further away from her. "Um, it doesn't really work like that."

Kaede sighed as she put her head back on the table. "Sorry, I'm just driving myself in circles here. Why doesn't he want me to meet them? Does he think they won't like me?"

"Well..." Whatever Shuichi was in the middle of saying was cut off by a scream. The two of them, as well as several other people in the cafe, stood up to look around for the sound. Several people were beginning to run past, though they still wouldn't see what was causing the commotion.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's a Yokai attack!" someone hastily spat out.

"What?" Kaede pushed herself away from the table as she got to her feet, trying to look toward what was happening. 

Shuichi put a hand on her shoulder. "Kaede. We should go."

Kaede noded. "Right." 

While the people around them were standing up and trying to lean over the cafe's rail to see what was happening, she and Shuichi went the other way toward the bathrooms.

Yokai, as he called himself, had been making random attacks on the city for a while now. No one was sure where he had come from, or what he wanted, but every time he made his move he was there and gone before anyone had the chance to do anything about it. 

That was, until now. Kaede looked down at the small winged brooch that was clipped to her shirt. "Do you think we should?" he asked softly. She looked up at Shuichi, seeing the same indecision on his face before he nodded.

"If we can do something, then... we should try," he said.

Kaede smiled at him. "You're right. See you on the other side." They went separate ways, him into the male restrooms and her into the women's. She briefly looked around to make sure the place was empty before ducking into one of the stalls. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Alright, we can do this. Nooroo?"

Her kwami, a small purple plushie-like creature with large eyes and butterfly wings, floated out in front of her with a smile. "You'll be great, Master. I believe in you."

Kaede smiled back at it. "Alright, Nooroo. Wings rise!" There was a flash of light around her and she could feel the transformation as it spread over her. Once it was done, she opened the door and looked over herself briefly. She'd only transformed a handful of times before and she hadn't really gotten the chance to see how she looked any of those times. Red butterfly wings drooped behind her and there were wings on the side of her cap. She had a red mask over her eyes, with matching gloves and shoes, but her shoes and tights were black. The cane in her hand looked a bit more like a wand, a red butterfly emblem below the pommel.

Kaede only paused long enough to give herself a quick once over before she was pushing herself out the bathroom's window, and rushing toward where she heard the commotion. 

Shuichi was only a few steps behind her. He looked a lot less elaborate than she did, dressed all black with a button up shirt tucked into slacks, a black cap pulled low on his head, and black fingerless gloves. The only spot of color was the blue of his mask, his hair that looked wilder and fluffier than normal, and the dog ears peeking out from the sides of his cap.

Kaede gave him an encouraging smile. Even though he'd done this a little more often than she had, he was still far from being an expert. "We can do this," she told him.

Shuichi pulled on his hat, much like he used to in highschool. "I hope you're right."

OoOoOo

They heard the screaming before they got to the scene. There was a web of string covering the area, thin in some areas but thick and black in others. At least, Shuichi thought that it was string, before he was able to spot Yokai standing in the center of it all. The man was dressed in a loose, flowing white top and golden hakama trousers, a giant paintbrush strapped to his back. He had skin that was pure white like it was made of marble, golden pupil-less eyes, and long trails of black hair which were connected to the trails of string all around them. All around the area, he could see people being accosted by this sentient hair, grabbing hold of limbs or wrapping around necks.

"Oh no," Kaede said as soon as she saw what he did. "We have to save them."

"I'll rescue as many as I can," he told her. "You need to distract him."

"Right." Kaede set her sights on Yokai and jumped into the hair, the red wings on her back coming to life to help carry up to the top of the building where Yokai waited. 

Shuichi focused his attention on the first person he saw whose neck was being gripped by the hair. He pulled out his weapon, a small blue ball, and tossed it at them. It hit them and bounced back into his hand. "Fetch!" he called out and the person was teleported from where they were into Shuichi's waiting arms. The sudden weight brought Shuichi to his knees as he tried to hold up the person as they coughed and struggled to catch their breath, but he sighed in relief that the power worked like it was supposed to. He couldn't spare too much time though. He ran through the area, tossing his ball out at anyone that was in a bad spot and calling them safely to his side. 

Once he'd rescued everyone that was in immediate danger, he turned his attention to Yokai and Kaede. Yokai was brandishing his giant paintbrush as a weapon and Kaede was using her cane to deflect the blows. She looked far from confident though, slowly backing up from Yokai's steady advances as he rained down blow after blow.

"Why are you doing this?" Kaede asked. "Why are you hurting people?"

Yokai ducked beneath her guard and jammed  the end of his paintbrush into her stomach, making her double over. "I don't think that's any of your concern."

Kaede looked up at him, face contorted in pain. She still managed to fling her cane out toward his leg, causing him to hiss in pain. "It is my concern! I refuse to let you do whatever you want!" 

Shuichi ran to get closer to her, jumping from cars to streetlights to make his way up to her side. He tossed his ball at her once he was close enough, knowing the projectile would travel faster than he would. 

"Unfortunately for you, I wasn't asking for permission," Yokai said. 

The ball returned to Shuichi's hand just as he noticed someone else coming toward them. No, coming toward her. 

Shuichi didn't think, he just yelled. "Fetch!"

Kaede disappeared just as someone landed in her place, creating a crater in the top of the building. Kaede blinked several times in confusion as she appeared at Shuichi's side. "Wh-what?"

Shuichi turned his gaze back to the roof. While Yokai had appeared several times now, with ever changing abilities at his disposal, this was the first time that he'd ever had someone at his side. The girl was dressed in white, with brown hair that looped at the top to look like ears, a cat paw print on her top, and black and red paint surrounding her red eyes like a mask. She looked dangerous, the way she zeroed in on them and immediately took up a fighting stance, claws on one of her hands.

"Who are you?" Kaede questioned.

"Mauler," she answered curtly. "Don't get in our way."

"We're not going to let you hurt people!" Kaede responded. 

"Then you'll get hurt," the girl answered. She kicked a chunk of concrete that had been dislodged by her attack, sending it straight at them. Shuichi and Kaede separated as they dodged. Shuichi landed on the top of a nearby car, while Kaede took to the air. The onslaught didn't stop, as Mauler punched the ground once again and began kicking more debris their way. Shuichi quickly dropped down behind the car to take cover while Kaede dodged in the air.

Unfortunately, they had both forgotten about the web of hair loosely covering the area around them. Shuichi didn't realize that he was trapped until the strands tightened around his limb, binding his arms to his torso and causing him to cry out. "Ack!"

"Cerber! Ahh!" Her cry was cut off as the hair wrapped around her leg and dragged her from the air, slamming her into the ground below. 

"I feared that this would be a difficult task," Yokai said, standing at the edge of the building and looking down at them. "But it seems I overestimated you."

Kaede glared, trying to kick her leg free, but more tendrils were wrapping around her and closing around her other leg too. Her face was absolutely panicked and for a moment, Shuichi thought they were done for, that this would be their first and last attempt to use these powers, their Miraculous, for anything good. But then she cupped her hands together, a small light gathering in her palms, before she flung her arms out, releasing a small white butterfly. Kaede kept her gaze on Shuichi as the butterfly traveled to him, landing on his hair.

"Shuichi? Can you hear me?" Kaede questioned, her voice floating through his mind. He could see the white outline of butterfly wings around his face and her mouth wasn't moving, so this must have been part of her ability. 

"I can hear you," he thought back to her. "How are you doing this?"

"Part of my abilities are to empower others," Kaede said. "I can give you the strength to save us. What do you need, Shuichi? Show it to me."

Shuichi tried to think, what could he do to get them out of here? The problem was that Yokai could trap them too easily, they needed a way to be able to escape his web and then they could take care of the rest. He imagined the ability he would need.

"Alright. I can do it," Kaede responded to him. "Just trust me."

"I do," he answered confidently.

Kaede smiled at him and then she called out, "Metamorphosis!"

Shuichi could feel her power rushing over him and closed his eyes against the bright light it produced. He could feel his abilities becoming stronger and he instantly understood how to use them. He tossed out his ball and yelled, "Chase!" As soon as his weapon hit the ground, he was teleported out of the tangle of hair and to the location his weapon had landed. "We did?"

"Good job, Cerberus!" Kaede said. "A little help here?"

Shuichi was knocked over before he could respond. He looked behind him quickly, pailing as he saw Mauler standing over him. "Forget about me?" she asked. She held up the hand adorned with claws. "Clout," she said quietly, causing her claws to glow with energy.

Shuichi quickly scrambled backwards before tossing his weapon. "Chase!" he yelled in panic. Her claws were inches from his face when he vanished and a crater was left on the ground where her fist had landed. 

"You can't dodge forever," she told him.

No, he probably couldn't, Shuichi was very determined to try. He moved to put more distance between them, trying to avoid the web of hair as it lunged at him. When he was finally close enough to Kaede he tossed his ball out to free her. She slumped against him, giving him a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," he said. "I have no idea how to defeat them."

"I think I do," Kaede said. "We need to get that brush from Yokai. That has to be how he's using his power, right?"

"Maybe," Shuichi answered hesitantly. He couldn't think of anything else though and it would be easier to steal that than trying to take Mauler's claws. 

"Ah, Look out!" Kaede yelled, pushing them both to the ground just in time to avoid being barreled into by Mauler. The woman was fast, immediately getting back to her feet and raising her claws.

"Clout!" 

Kaede grabbed him around the waist and jumped into the air, out of Mauler's reach, her wings fluttering quickly as she struggled to keep them both in the air.

"Chase!" He yelled, teleporting them to one of the nearby buildings.

Kaede smiled at him, but it looked tired. "I think this power is taking a lot out of me. I'm starting to get a headache."

"Let's try and finish this quickly then," he said. 

"Yeah." Kaede took a deep breath, putting on a determined expression. They both ran toward Yokai, splitting up once more and Mauler leapt between them. "Stay out of our way!" Kaede yelled, hitting the girl with her cane. The hit knocked Mauler back a few steps, but she was running at them again quickly. "Go on, Shu- er, Cerberus."

"Right." Shuichi turned to run toward Yokai, teleporting to get to the man more expediently.

"That's a rather interesting ability your friend has," Yokai said, tilting his head to observe him. "Cerberus, was it? The two of you never properly introduced yourself."

"Cerberus and Red Wings," Shuichi said. "Not that you'll need to remember it for long, since you'll be going to jail soon."

Yokai laughed, low and sinister. "I doubt that." 

It was only the tilt of his head that alerted Shuichi to something coming toward him and he moved before he even saw what it was. A tendril of hair swept the area where he had just been standing and even after landing again, he wasn't safe. More and more tendrils swiped at him, trying to capture him. Shuichi was a bit out of breath trying to dodge them all while also trying to get into a position to throw his weapon. They caught up with him at the same time his weapon bounced off Yokai's brush, the strands tightening around his feet and causing him to fall.

"Fetch," he grunted, his hands tightening around the brush as soon as it materialized in front of him. 

Yokai began walking toward him slowly as the hair tightened around his legs. "I wasn't going to bother with trying to take your Miraculous," Yokai began. "But on second thought, both of your abilities would be quite useful."

Shuichi pulled the paintbrush closer, looking around as he tried to decide what to do.

"Let me guess... you look rather like a wolf and the name would lend itself an air of viciousness," Yokai said calmly. "But no, that doesn't seem right with your attacks. The dog Miraculous? Am I right?"

"Chase!" Shuichi yelled, throwing his ball, but Yokai's hand whipped out to catch it. 

"No, not this time," he said.

Shuichi took the moment of distraction to toss the paintbrush over the edge of the building. "Red Wings!"

Kaede leapt into the air, looking a bit worse due to the fight she'd been having with Mauler. Her hat had been knocked off and her wings looked a bit crooked, but they held her well enough to fly and she scooped the paintbrush into her arms. "Ah ha! Yes!" She grinned victoriously. "Give it up, Yokai!"

Yokai watched them both calmly as Mauler jumped to his side. "I could take her," Mauler said.

"No," Yokai said. "Let them have this victory. I learned some very interesting things this time. That's more than enough."

Mauler growled before nodding. "Fine." She backed up to the edge of the building before jumping off, shortly followed by Yokai. Kaede flew after them, looking around a few times before she turned to Shuichi. "I don't see them."

All at once, the web draped over everything disappeared, along with the brush in Kaede's arms. Shuichi blinked at his sudden freedom. 

"What happened?" she questioned, landing beside him and helping him to his feet.

"They must have de-transformed," Shuichi said. "I guess we were right and he couldn't control the ability anymore."

Kaede sighed. "That was way harder than I thought it would be."

"Yeah, I never would have guessed that being a superhero was that exhausting," he agreed.

"Ugh! We didn't even get to have lunch," she groaned. 

Shuichi chuckled. "I think we can give ourselves another hour, don't you?"

[artstaeus3600]

So some people have requested a part two for the Danny is Conner's Dad prompt/one shot? I did and it's been in my head since I'd written it so here ya go!

Danny's been living in Central City for almost a year now and things have been great with Conner! Dan finally gets to meet the little ghostie and finds him acceptable (read adorable) Conner seems to love going outside and napping so they have been doing that for nap time, he's finally seen the "Flashes" that Dan and Clockwork were complaining about so much and he gets it, it's a little irritating figuring out what changes in the timeline when he goes places.

Dani came by with her latest gift, a blue and red wrap with stars on it, that Danny now wears everywhere with Conner, so when Danny and Conner were having their nap walk around the City Danny got Summoned by a cult just from the smell of blood it's not going to be great... So Danny in his more eldritch form of endless stars and glowing green eyes and fire crown (still human sized), with the bonus of baby Conner with his wrap, he gets pulled to the summoning and finds the cult wearing green robes with some of the superheros he's seen around beating them up and suddenly stops when they notice him and the baby.

The leader of the cult who for some reason was still conscious starts speaking

"Oh Great One, Ghost King, Ancient of Space we ask for you to cleanse our world of the filth that has...", and that's as far as he got before the Superhero with a Kryptonian symbol for hope knocked him finally unconscious, then all focus is back on Danny with the baby and well Danny didn't really wanna reveal his human identity to the heros cause he can just tell the edgy dark one is a nosey type of hero, and he's finally having a semi peaceful life and he's rather not get involved with heros again, so he breaks the summoning circle faster than they can protest and dips out only leaving a green sticky note with a summoning for him and written "use only for emergency"

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Hopefully this is good for part two? This was what I was imagining for the Justice League to figure out Danny and Conner and trying to track him down.

[imfinereallyy]

El being wholesome with Steve. El being wholesome with Steve. The weird sibling duo we didn’t know we needed. I need more of it. I might do it….no I’ve done enough of them…

Okay, okay. But just picture this:

The kids trying to embarrass Steve all the time with photos and stories to Eddie, but El ruins it every.single.time. because she is so unbelievably wholesome when it comes to Steve.

Here is everyone pulling out scoops photos (which Eddie actually loves thank you very much) and sharing stories about his failed dates. Dustin tells Eddie specifically about the time he was teaching Lucas basketball and Lucas threw the ball too hard at the backboard and hit Steve in the face.

So they are all poking fun at Steve in his and Robin’s apartment (because in every universe these platonic soulmates live together) and there is just El who randomly chimes in:

“Steve took me to this thing called a ren faire once. It was very fun. We both looked really pretty.”

Eddie absolutely melts at the story and gushes over the photos she has.

And everyone gets quiet every time, because no one wants to criticize El, but one time Max gently goes, “You know that’s like….nice right? We’re making fun of him.”

Everyone one expects her to being embarrassed or confused but instead she simple says.

“I know. I don’t like it. Steve’s nice.”

And she embarrasses everyone, except Robin and Eddie who are the only ones Steve never gets upset with when they make fun of him. They all mumble out apologies, and Steve turns to Dustin and goes:

“This is why she gets a special section in the freezer. All different flavors of eggos.”

El’s eyes get wide. “Even the blueberry ones?”

Steve gives her hair a tousle, “Especially the blueberry ones.”

[feral-ballad]

Mohammed El-Kurd, from Rifqa; “Rifqa”

[Text ID: “I cried—not for the house / but for the memories I could have had inside it.”]

[axstoria]

Got this idea from another post that I CANNOT for the life of me find.

AU where Clark comes to Earth as an adult, and has to blend into normal human society.

He knows his name is Kal-El, but he also knows that humans don't have names like that. He sees a couple of celebrities and mashes their names together, hoping that it would make him a bit more likable in the eyes of humans.

He hides sharp-tipped ears behind black curls and ball caps, wears glasses so people won't notice his abnormally deep blue eyes, and is constantly in sweaters despite the weather to conceal muscles that shouldn't exist on a "normal human".

When he gets his job at the Daily Planet and has to interview Bruce Wayne, he's scared. This is his first time being near a real human celebrity, and he's mortified that he'll blow his cover.

He sits and stares at the billionaire for several minutes. This human is gorgeous in all the ways a being can be. His eyes are blue like Earth's oceans, his hair falls in perfect wisps against his forehead, and his outfit is perfectly crisp against his body, perfectly tailored to every small curve.

"Uhm... Mr. Kent?" Bruce bats his eyelashes at him, smiling expectantly.

Clark snaps out of it, his pupils dilating ever so slightly. "You're beautiful. Can I court you? What's your favorite planet?— I'll bring you rocks!"

The man is stunned, watching the reporter for some time before replying, "I... suppose Venus is nice."

Bruce is fully convinced that this reporter is autistic. Makes his life easier. They could connect in that way.

Clark flushes, realizing what he's done. He's very happy the interview wasn't recorded in any way.

Bruce shows up to work the next day and there is a box with his name on it in sloppy handwriting sitting on his desk.

He opens it, and to his amusement—and shock— , there is a piece of rock inside with a note that says one word: Venus.

That night, Bruce takes the rock home to the Batcave and analyzes it for its composition. When it is a match for Venus, he immediately connects the dots that Clark Kent is the new meta being that had been parading around Metropolis and surrounding cities as of late. After all, not even the greatest scientists have yet to reach Venus, so how else would this reporter get a rock from the planet unless he could survive the expanse of space and fly there?

He is dumbfounded. And maybe a little in love.

[killakalx]

18+ content, not much going on unfortunately because this is a wip, poorly proofread & not edited as always

your second orgasm hits as another bruise blooms along your neck, cunt tightening around thick fingers knuckles deep inside of you. jason hums against your soft skin and a free hand of his finds refuge around your chest, pulling another gasp from between your lips. the rough palm of his hand rests directly on your clit each time his fingers curl and your hips squirm underneath his hold while you cling to him beside you and whine.

jason’s proven that he could spend a long time getting you ready for a good fuck, working you open for his cock by making you cum at least twice. when given ample time, he’ll have you throbbing around his fingers like it’s the real thing, pussy all puffy and sensitive before he even gets his dick out.

through shallow breaths, you start, “jason- I can…” a pinch at your nipple makes you pause, “I can take it, I promise.” still, his expression remains focused on the way your pussy clenches and leaks around the base of his fingers, biting at your collarbone and groaning at the sight like he’s getting off on that alone. once you twitch from the stimulation, jason slows his fingers out of courtesy for a moment, still reaching deep and nudging that sweet spot over and over.

the second time you call his name it’s meant to sound more authoritative, or at least sound stern enough for him to take a hint. your thighs drift together to hide yourself despite his hand not budging, still trembling each time he sends pleasure up your spine. much to your dismay, though, he quickly picks up on the overstimulation and repositions himself.

“fold em’ up higher,” jason orders while placing himself directly between your thighs, hand gliding up the back of them to keep your pussy exposed. you fix your lips to scold him but the two digits buried inside of you resume their pace, curling deeper each time they disappear between your folds and drawing cute whimpers of his name from your throat.

“you’re tense,” your boyfriend teases, “I made you cum twice and you still can’t relax for me?” your scoff turns into a mewl in response as the stretch in your thigh begins to burn, and you move so you’re no longer resting on your elbows in an attempt to lessen the slight pain.

jason’s free hand finds it’s way right back to your chest once you lay back, kneading the soft mound and wrapping thirsty lips around the other as your hand creeps along the nape of his neck. your legs are folded over his shoulders now, pressed against your lower tummy and practically wedged open by his wide frame while your movement becomes more and more compromised. your hips manage to role in time with his thrusts, even though you’re firmly suggesting that there’s no point. all jason does is hum, acknowledging your gentle redirection without budging.

your breath hitches with impatience. savoring the moment becomes easier said than done after going so long without him inside of you, stretching and filling you to the brim like his own fucktoy, yet jason insists on handling you with care for now. I have to, princess, he’s emphasized, be good f’me and you’ll get what you want so bad. but by now, you’re convinced he was bluffing, just making something up as an excuse to torture you with this ache for his cock.

[chatonfils]

Starting off by saying I hate “mom Danny” bc it tends to be p transphobic and misgendering, so if anyone adds it to my post I’m blocking them.

Tim making his Kon clone baby, but the cloning chamber isn’t stable enough for the fetus. He’s desperately trying anything that he think might work, when he comes across Phantom. Phantom who has experience with stabilizing clones.

Danny had heard whispers through the grapevine (Ellie who’d joined the Teen Titans as Phantasm) that there was someone attempting to make clones. He’d only meant to snoop and see if it was a Vlad situation. If any clones had been made and needed liberating. What he found was a newly minted Red Robin crying over a red blinking message on a cloning chamber. He warbled a quiet “please, Kon, I don’t want to live without you.”

Danny quickly realizing this wasn’t an attempt to replace and destroy, but actually someone grieving, in probably an unhealthy way, but who was Danny to judge, he’d once replaced Sam and Tucker with robots for less. So he decided to help Red Robin out. Sure, he hadn’t dealt with kryptonian dna before, but he was at least 89% sure halfa dna was way more complicated. And Red Robin had already figured out ways around the dna shenanigans, it was just the stability that wasn’t going well. Honestly, he didn’t think it would be as easy as an ecto dejecto like it had been for Ellie. But his parents had a lot of inventions that they’d started making to help out ghosts, once they’d realized Danny was Phantom. Maybe telling Red Robin about ghost IVF wasn’t his most thought through plan.

“I think what might help is an incubator.” Phantom had suggested.

Tim could only gesture at the cloning chambers that had failed him thus far. They were essentially huge incubators.

Phantom awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “I meant, like, a living incubator. Like a surrogate.”

“Where am I going to find someone that I not only trust to carry the baby, but also would volunteer?” Tim raised an eyebrow at him. Hell, had Tim had the equipment to do so, he would have carried the baby, everything else be damned. He just didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Phantom blushed green and looked away. “It might take a little tinkering with the embryos to work with the physiology, but…. I could carry the baby for you. I mean, I’m trans, and even if I wasn’t, ghosts are kind of malleable in a reproductive sense. And there are options for IVF in ghost science. And like, my own clone is like my little sister. I’m also a protection spirit, so I would protect the baby with my entire afterlife. And I’m kind of rambling so you should say something before I embarrass myself.”

“You would be willing to carry a baby for me?” Tim was shell shocked by the offer.

“I mean, yeah. You’re a good guy. You’re not cloning him for a malicious reason. You’re just trying to bring back a piece of your friend because you love and miss him. Dedication that strong for someone who has left the living plain, is admirable. You realized early on that you wouldn’t be able to increase the speed in which the clone grew. You’ve been trying despite knowing that this clone will be a baby that’s going to be your child, and not just the friend you lost. And I wouldn’t mind giving up my body for a little bit so you can make your family.”

Tim certainly hadn’t meant to surge forward and kiss Phantom. “Thank you.” Tim pulled Phantom into a fierce hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

It took about a month for them to work out the kinks of making the baby safe for Danny’s body. In this time, Danny showing Red Robin his human form, and Tim revealing his own identity. It felt kind of wrong to keep his name from someone he intended to get pregnant with his child. Tim and Danny got close as they worked together on the baby. And there may have been a few more kisses shared between them. In the end, the baby ended up spliced with mostly Kon’s dna, some of Tim’s (to stabilize the kryptonian dna), and some of Danny’s (to keep the baby safe in the womb).

Once Danny was well and truly pregnant, he encouraged Tim to find Bruce. “I’ll keep the baby safe. You find your dad. If you need me for anything, I’m only a call away.” Tim hadn’t forgotten about Bruce, he’d just never thought it would take so long to set up cloning Kon. So much of his hurt and loneliness had fallen away in Danny’s presence, and Danny had let him hyper focus on making their baby.

“Probably terrible timing, but I’ve got to ask,” Tim swallowed nervously. “Be my boyfriend?”

Danny’s lopsided smile, thawed Tim’s nerves. “I think I could work with that. I hope you don’t mind kids though, I’m kind of pregnant.”

Tim huffed a laugh. “I’ll keep in touch while I’m away. Please keep me updated on the baby.”

Danny pulled him into a proper kiss, “I will.”

I’m mostly imagining Tim getting bump update photos and falling in love with his increasingly pregnant boyfriend, while he finds Bruce.

I’m also imagining after Bruce is back, Tim being like, “anyways gtg, my boyfriend is in his third trimester and I don’t want to miss the birth of our baby.” And peacing out before any bats could react, let alone stop him.

And also maybe when Kon comes back, there’s maybe a poly relationship started.

Also thinking about Tim getting Danny pregnant without the science.

Danny gets Dad, Tim gets Papa, and if Kon joins, he gets Poppy.

[eternal-love-song]

Familiar

Siffrin and Odile share a moment.

The habit had formed without Siffrin having noticed. Every evening, before the sun had set so far as to leave the sky dark, he would find where Odile was sitting with her book and park himself right beside her. He had gotten closer and closer over time, until he was sitting with his back pressed against her side, carving tools in hand while they both focused on their own task. 

At first it had been a sort of breather. It was a lot at times, trying to have "feelings talks" with Mirabelle, trying to balance not looking too worried while still being honest for Isabeau, and indulging Bonnie however he could so that none of them were too worried. They had reason to worry, Siffrin still wasn't anywhere close to normal again, but he still didn't want them to. As much as he couldn't just go back to normal even if he had wanted to, and he did, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to just... change his behaviors on a dime. And trying to for them was... exhausting. 

Odile, observant as she always was, had noticed this.

"You don't need to tell us everything all at once," she had told him. "Just say one thing, any one thing, it doesn't even have to be new, so that you can get into the habit. And if you need to say nothing at all, you can always just sit with me."

So he did. 

It happened when he got overwhelmed by memories or when he pushed himself too much to try and share more than he was really ready for. He would excuse himself from whatever he was doing, trudge over to Madame Odile, and just sit. First more than an arm's length away with his head buried in his knees, and then slowly closer, closer, bridging the gap between them more and more. 

Siffrin and Odile had always understood each other fairly well. They had a similar distance between themselves and others. The reason for that had changed during the loops, but the way they could understand each other hadn't. 

"That's starting to look rather familiar," Odile commented lightly. 

Siffrin flushed a bit at the comment, holding the carving closer to his chest as he looked over at  her. Her eyes seemed to still be on the book at first, but she smirked after a moment of him looking, moving just her eyes to meet his.

"Oh come now, don't tell me you're going to hide it now."

Siffrin ducked his head, once again wishing he still had his hat to hide beneath, but he held the wood out for her to see. It was barely more than half finished, the shape was clear enough. He didn't know when he had made up his mind to make this carving of her, but before he knew it...

"It's not done yet," he said in a small voice."

"No, but I can't say that I'm displeased to be your first subject after so long."

He could feel his face darkened even more. Odile laughed lightly at his reaction.

"Well, maybe you're the most compelling thing here to carve," he said. There was a hint of challenge in his voice as he said it, letting his eyes move back to hers. There was the slightest hint of a question in his eyes, asking if she would deny whatever bond was building between them lately. 

Odile's expression broke into surprise, before melting into something a bit softer. "Perhaps I've been thinking something similar," she admitted. She lowered her notebook, revealing a simple sketch she had done of Siffrin himself. 

Warmth began to spread through his entire body and he found himself leaning more heavily against her side. "Looks familiar," he parroted her words back at her with a small smile.

She huffed out a small laugh as she pulled her notebook back onto her lap. "Don't tell the others. I have Isabeau convinced that I'm writing observations about him."

"We can't let him find out what you're researching too easily, right?" He smiled like they were sharing a secret and she returned it. 

They returned to their own task again for a while. Neither of them spoke again until the sun was beginning to set. 

Soon, Bonnie would be calling them all for dinner and the little bubble of privacy around them would be broken. Siffrin closed his eyes, leaning his head against Odile as he just enjoyed the moment. He smiled when he felt her leaning into him as well.

[one-true-jeremy]

Welcome to the place where I go absolutely insane about gay cube people, this mostly surrounds empires smp, the life series, and hermitcraft lol

be warned for those who don't like it, i do a lot of hermitshipping/life-shipping and do not tag it

The cubes I'm interested in, the main ones will be bolded:

Scott Smajor

Joel Smallishbeans

Grian

Flower husbands

Desert Duo

Boat boys

Jizzie

TangoTek

Ranchers Duo

Cubes I dabble in (this is non exhaustive lmao):

Gem

Mumbo

Lizzie

Bdubs

Jimmy

I don't really have a DNI, but if you like toxic flower husbands, pls kindly leave my blog lol

Tagging-

#els chatting

#els art

#els writing

#els memes

#els silly reblogs

[the-ouma-mansion]

Sleepover

Kimochi and Koharu have a sleepover for the first time.

[Kimochi & Koharu] [Sibling bonding, Koharo POV, Unreliable Narrator]

It was a rare moment that left them alone. They had, of course, indulged in each other's company before, but they were never alone. Never without eyes on them. Be they the ever watchful eyes of their siblings always seeking to poke where they need not be, the crowding eyes of Dice, or the unworthy gazes of the masses, Koharu was never alone. Never felt as if he was alone. Even the few stolen moments of peace and companionship had not allowed Koharu to release his guard too much. Not when his watchers, his enemies, were always right around the corner.

This night, however, was different. His enthusiast imp of a brother had gathered his group and disappeared for the night on some vapid quest or another, not to return likely until dawn, and the shepherd had excused himself to pastures unknown. Thus it was only the two of them, him and the Little Prince.

"It'll be like a sleepover," Kimochi declared, excited and starry eyed as seemed to be his default. The idealism washed off of him in waves, lapping at Koharu's feet as his younger brother circled him. Kimochi had proved himself easy enough to appease, to indulge, compared to the rest of his blood. If he had but time enough he was certain he could sway the little prince's thinking, yet time had not been afforded to such an endeavor. Even in moments like these, which seemed ripe for capturing such a malleable mind, there was something giving him pause.

In this case, it was the utterly incomprehensible words his brother insisted on throwing at him. "A sleepover," he repeated.

"You've never had one?"

He hadn't. It hadn't seemed prudent. Had, in fact, seemed antithetical to his goals to invite strangers into a personal sanctum of his. He rejected the idea of stating this outright, of course.

"I suppose I can indulge you," he said instead.

Kimochi smiled at him. Shining, bright, burning with the power to sway or swallow whole anyone that might stand in his path if he learned to hone the skill. Koharu returned the smile as a teaching exercise. It went wildly underappreciated.

"We can tell stories and braid each other's hair and-" Koharu stopped listening as Kimochi grabbed his hand. It was a... disconcerting habit of his youngest blood, this... physicality. Most often employed to move Koharu between locations, he had noticed. A strange posturing that Koharu should put a stop to before Kimochi began to believe he could haul Koharu anywhere with such a tactic. It was rather bold of him to attempt tricking Koharu into complacency, admirable almost. Koharu wouldn't be fooled though.

The time spent was surprisingly enjoyable, if unproductive. Kimochi's excited chatter fluttered around him like a song as he pruned and plucked at Koharu's hair. When applicable he made commentary to show that he was still engaged, regardless of the truth of his wandering mind. It was soothing. Knowing that he was unwatched for once allowed him to let his guard down more than even what he usually allowed his family to see.

So of course he did the one thing he had always trained himself not to do. He allowed his tongue to slip.

"The solitude is appreciated," he said softly.

Kimochi laughed. "Yeah. Kokichi hasn't left me alone since I stopped going to school. Though, I suppose I'm not really alone if you're here."

"You make acceptable company," he admitted. "All of you do. If I could keep you all to myself, I would." Koharu paused, panic from how he had let such words fall carelessly from his lips slowly rising within. Disgust joined panic when he felt his heart begin to race in such a crude, almost mortal, distress. Still, he had to keep control as he reapplied his glamor, to show nothing on his face towards the slip, not even a small grimace at the disgustingly nearly human response his body had. Not for the first time, he cursed the weakness of his body, unable to truly hold the divine soul that rested within. Truly to make such a mistake, especially to his Little Prince who was so close to being properly guided, was not just disgrace but sacrilege towards all Koharu knew to be fact. Even as he knew later on he would have to discipline his body for betraying him, he had to fix things. He opened his mouth to say more, to cover his mistake somehow, but Kimochi was speaking before he got the chance.

Kimochi laughed, too soft and too sad to be any sort of falsehood. "Me too." His voice dropped even lower, to the point Koharu had to strain to hear. "I'd devour every bit of you if I could."

Was it... relief or fear that was coursing through him at this moment? Was he supposed to rejoice in this... shared sentiment... or run from it? Should he flee from the thought of his brother beholding some guarded part of himself or...

Kimochi leaned his forehead against Koharu's back. "Just this once, you're all mine, Koharu."

Kimochi had never caused him to feel so chilled... or so cherished. It was... odd.

Surely, it should be nothing for a god to be desired by the lower masses. It was natural even. Everyone should seek out his company, his approval. Everyone should harbor the utmost respect and fear and love for him.

Kimochi wasn't "everyone" though. He wasn't one of Koharu's sycophants. The Little Prince was his blood, his chosen lineage. It was... For once, Koharu could admit that he didn't know what it was. What did it mean for Kimochi to say such a thing? To feel similar, if not the same, things as Koharu? His body had become very still but his mind was racing. Racing with possibilities and potential and puzzles with pieces missing that just needed to be placed--

Then Kimochi pulled his hair. He laughed a bit awkwardly, something Koharu had never heard his charismatic brother do before. "Haha, sorry. My hand must have... must have slipped."

His hand. How... transparent. He knew Kimochi could lie better than that. 

As ever, it was up to him to offer the kindness his siblings so desperately craved. He reached behind him to pet Kimochi's hair, smiling magnanimously at him. "I will not hold such a slip against you."

[frappegoddess]

I originally said this in a reblog but, picture this

Bruce Wayne gets invited by BuzzFeed to read thirst tweets. They are all from his Justice League coworkers.

-------------------------------------------

Bruce, in a completely monotonous voice: @Superman says: I wanna suck Bruce Wayne's soul out through his dick and spit it back in his face.

Bruce, with a completely straight face: Poetic

--------------------------------------------

Cue the batkids watching this video after its been uploaded and gone viral on Twitter: Remember when Uncle Supes wrote that tweet about you when he was stoned off his ass??

------------------------------------------

Said video was further used as blackmail by Tim, Jason and Steph. Duke couldn't look him in the eye for a week straight. Damian is yet to understand why the kids at school keep making jokes about his dad.

------------------------------------------

The Justice League will never live it down

[yjcorefourenjoyer]

I fully believe that yj98 doesn’t tell ANYONE about their missions anymore.

they probably did in the past with their early ones, but after the 7th lie detector test, and 3rd time they had to get Jon and/or Wonder Woman’s lasso involved to prove they were telling the truth, they just stopped.

After you’ve heard one mission people usually think they’re lying and stop asking questions. All YJ have to say is ‘it was a Classic yj mission, do you really want to hear about it?’ and all other inquiries would be dropped. YJ themselves won’t bring it up, and you won’t believe them anyways, so what’s the point?

So you won’t believe what this leads to when Damian and Jon after being curious for a while, decided to answer “yes, we do wanna know” to them

now YJ has to deal with two teens and the justice league, who finally decides to look at them (and what they’ve done) for the first time…