#Hows this sound chat. I can add more details but I think its a better story then the clunky one in 7 that relies

[crimescrimson]

The Main House in Resident Evil 7 (2017)

[fleet-admiral-hiba]

Hanloo,

Sorry if i disturb you with this ^^'

But if you still take requests for the "Our Little Fox", may I request a story with a scenario?

I've read the "Dont judge a book by its cover" aka our little fox with Pierro went to monstadt and they got carried away.

Then a knight came to help, and when we find Pierro the knight holds us back because the knight didn't think that Pierro would be our guardian.

I thought of a scenario with our little fox with one of the Fatui Harbingers out in Monstadt, and little fox, asked permission to explore a bit and they say yes. While we explore we meet one of the beloved characters, like amber, kaeya, just anyone in general. And have a talk with them. And when the chosen fatui harbinger calls us, because we have to leave, the others just like, disbelief. The fatui harbingers has a child??

Maybe we can add collei for like a little drama because you know, her past.

And from there on you can decide how it ends.

Again sorry if i disturbed you. And sorry this was quite long.

If you can't write this it's okay, have a great day/night/afternoon/evening wherever you are, stay safe healthy and happy :)

LITTLE EXPLORER

Spending time with uncle Pierro in Mondstadt was beautiful, and you got the chance to explore the city more. He trusted you not to endanger yourself and if needed, he was nearby with some agents, should you be requiring their assistance.

Wandering the street of the land of the free, you were marvelling at the vibrant shade of colours, so different from the white landscape of Snezhnaya.

The people were friendly enough, and you tried various dishes that left you completely enamoured. It was at this time you met a young brunette, who was running towards the stairs.

She seemed in a hurry, and she bumped into you. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" you nodded, dusting off your coat, while sitting up. She had never seen you before around, so she was curious as to what you ere doing there.

"Who you might be?" you presented yourself, omitting certain details of course, you knew better than to trust anyone at first glance. "Well, nice to meet you, y/n, I'm Amber" she said while shaking your hand.

You chatted for a long time, all the while making your way to the Knight's of Favonius headquarters. You were sure your uncle would be somewhere around this building, having a meeting or something, but no matter what, you took the opportunity to visit the building.

It was so beautiful inside, you were left stunned: it was not as big as the palace, but it had a homey feeling. It kind of reminded you of gramps' office.

She had to give some reports to Jean, so you followed her. What you didn't expect was to find your uncle there. "Amber, what it is?" said Jean, "Forgive her for…" but Pierro stopped her mid-speech, "It's no problem" he said, while looking amusedly at you.

"Hello uncle P" you said, while going towards him, "had fun out there?" he asked, enjoying the shocked faces of the two. "Y/n, do you know this man?" asked Amber, making sure he wasn't a danger to you, "Yes, he's my uncle" you confirmed, while hugging him tighter.

"It seems we're both occupied at the moment, acting Grand Master. We had an interesting discussion. Perhaps it's best we continue this discussion at a later date?" he suggested, while standing up with you in his arms.

While you two left, you noticed a girl with green hairs making her way inside the room. You heard her name being called, but t did sound familiar.

Perhaps tonight you should call Uncle Dottore. Maybe he knows more about it.

[darkwitch1999]

Akuma Idea 🦋💡: 💇🏽Beautician Themed Akumatized Villain ✂️

Hi Everyone! This is an idea for an akumatized villain that I plan to write about in a future fanfic.

Powers:

Hair Manipulation: This akuma can grow and retract their hair at will. Additionally, they can use their hair to bind and restrain their foes, and morph their hair into a weapon or fist, and they can do well.....

This.....

Indestructible Hair: While their hair is soft to the touch, trying to cut through it would be like trying to cut through steel or diamonds. Forget about Chat Noir's cataclysm too. Kind of hard to call out an attack while having the life choked out of you by superpowered hair.

Sharp Projectile Claws/Nails: Had the character from Static Shock, Allie Langford A.K.A Nails, in mind while I was thinking up some ideas for this akuma. Though the akuma's body is not made of steel, their nails/claws are metallic, and this akuma possesses the ability to lengthen and retract the length of their claws/fingernails at will. In addition, the akuma can also shoot them as projectiles and then regenerate new fingernails/claws. These claws are also indestructible as well and they are effective for slicing, slashing, and/or saving their falls by embedding themselves into walls.

That's basically what I have got so far for superpowers. I think that might be enough for a beautician-themed supervillain. Anymore might make them a bit OP but I don't know. Do y'all think I should add more powers?

I did come up with a couple ideas for weaknesses for this villain (aside from whatever emotional trauma led them to get akumatized in the first place.

First off...their hair! Their fabulous powerful hair can easily bind the heroes and hit them hard with both closed-range and long-ranged attacks. Not to mention that the hair cannot be cut or destroyed. So how could our heroes stop this fabulous villain from using their hair powers? The answer is.....

JUST ADD WATER!!!!!!

Yeah, that weakness probably sounds really cliché and has been done to death, but whatever. Basically, if their hair gets wet, it loses its power.

As for the super nails, while it is true that the nails can embed themselves into surfaces or walls for climbing if the nails were to get stuck in a position or surface that would make it difficult for the akumatized villain to retract their fingernails, they would become immobilized.

So that's basically what I have so far for this original akuma. I haven't really thought of anything regarding the akuma's design yet and I'm still workshopping the akuma's name. I was thinking about calling them the "Hair Razor" for a while, but I don't think that name would fit this akuma, especially since the akumatized villain also has nail powers as well. If anyone has any better ideas, I would love to hear them. I'll be sure to mention you if the name ends up getting used in the fanfic that I write for this villain. (I already know who's going to get akumatized and why. I'll share more details once I figure out the character's design and name).

Anyway, what do you guys think? Pretty cool idea for a supervillain or the worst idea you've ever heard? Please share your thoughts!

@artzychic27 @andromeda612 @nerd-chocolate @lady0lunamoon

@username8746489

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor x MC – S2 CH 41 - CH 44 (Eng Translation - Part 1)

“The surrounding clusters of flames emit a bright glow, and the slowly rising lanterns encircle the man. It seems as if he is a god descending from the heavens.”

⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a chapter that is yet to be released on the global server. ⌚

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

[Disclaimer]: I’m actually going to subtitle the Victor parts for this update, so I won’t give myself double torture by adding sprites here LOL. this is more for keeping a transcript version, and adding the screaming at the end lmao 💕

—

【CH 41-1, Victor part】

The gears of the world rotate silently, propelling mottled time forward, ultimately toward a completely detached direction.

The black vortex contorts as if, with just an attempt to peep, one would be sucked into an abyss from which there is ever no return.

??: It’s indeed difficult to impose restrictions on the abilities of a powerful Space-Time Evolver.

??: You are indeed extraordinary to have persisted up to this point. It’s only appropriate to commend you for your abilities.

Victor turns his head and looks at the little boy who has appeared alongside the black hole. The boy is attired in a gentleman’s hat and a mismatched style of shirt and casual shorts.

Little Boy: Although someone helped you before, you must know that you won’t be able to cheat this time.

Victor has a vague feeling that he has seen this strange little boy somewhere before, but he doesn’t dwell on it as it doesn’t seem to matter.

He roughly has an idea of what the other party’s presence here right now means.

Every demand comes with its own price – this is a truth he understands better than anyone else.

Little Boy: Don’t try to secretly do anything. I can see everything~

It’s as if the young boy could see through his innermost thoughts with a single glance. He places a finger on his lips and speaks in a naïve tone that carries an unusual sense of composure for his age.

The black vortex expands, encompassing the entire space in silent and lifeless darkness. At this moment, the sound of a mechanical violin begins to play slowly.

A distorted space abruptly opens, revealing a crack from which a pair of black leather shoes emerges.

The little boy tilts his head and raises the tail note of his voice with a sense of intrigue.

Little Boy: Are you the Time Observer?

Zero: I would like to discuss a particular condition with you.

—

MC is back at the office, and after exchanging pleasantries with everyone, she heads back to her respective work:

After filtering through a variety of content, I draft a few program topics and want to discuss them with Victor.

As soon as I turn on my phone, I find that he has already sent me a text message.

Victor’s Text: “I’m currently in France. If you have any new proposal ideas, send them to me via email.”

How come he suddenly went to France?

A little puzzled, I type a line in the chat box - “Are you on a business trip?” But I delete the previous text after thinking for a moment and press the keys again.

MC’s Text: “I’m waiting for your return!”

MC’s Text: “Sent the new proposal ideas to your mailbox. CEO Victor, please have a look at them~”

MC [to herself]: Let’s add another cute emoji… perfect!

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【CH 43-13, Victor part】

The sky has just begun to clear up, but there is still a dampness lingering in the air of Paris.

As the wind brushes through the leaves and branches of the surrounding Sycamore trees, it makes a rustling sound that accompanies a faraway sigh, creating the reminiscence of a silent requiem.

The person in his memory used to really like this kind of weather.

Victor quietly withdraws his gaze, lowers his head, and lays down a bouquet of pure white flowers as he looks at the tombstone before him.

Looking at the cold yet familiar name on the marble, he seems to once again see the figure of that person who once took him by the hand and guided him to the window, showing him the birds seeking shelter from the rain under the eaves.

The past scenes are akin to feathers, gradually scattering in the shifting rainy season of a foreign land.

Victor closes his eyes and gently rests his forehead against the tombstone.

The Adam’s apple under his collar quivers for a moment. After a prolonged silence, he finally speaks in a soft voice.

Victor: [shredded my heart into a million pieces]  I’m leaving.

Victor: [x2]  But I will take care of everything beforehand… don’t worry.

As he speaks, his fingertips linger on the cold marble for a long, long time. It seems as if he wants to leave something behind, yet also wants to remember something for himself.

The evening breeze of the late spring brushes over the hair on his forehead, reminiscent of that hand that once gently fell on his head, accompanied by lullabies.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【CH 44-1】

At MC’s office–

MC is sorting out the materials for her proposal related to the “memory overlap,” and the entire situation, including the public opinion and commotion, is much more under control than before.

—

MC: I knew I should have come and sorted this out last night…

Sighing, I shake the document in my hand. When I subconsciously glance at my phone to check the time, a text message pops up on the screen just at that time.

“Don’t forget that you have to report in a moment.” The sender is Victor.

The conciseness of the content is infused with the familiar flavor, and I can’t help but curl up the corners of my lips.

Victor’s overseas business trip this time has not been a short one. And although we have contacted each other via texts, there are many words that simply cannot be conveyed through words.

After knowing that he would return last night, I immediately scheduled an appointment with CEO Victor, intending to do the so-called “work report.”

I quickly press the keys on the keyboard, typing out a reply:

MC’s Text: “I certainly haven’t forgotten. I have already sorted everything out!”

Victor’s Text: “I’m afraid if a certain someone hasn’t set off yet, she will be late again.”

I feel as if I can see the teasing expression Victor is wearing right now through the screen, causing my hands to accelerate involuntarily.

Just as I’m nearly finished organizing the documents and am about to get up, Anna comes over with a bundled proposal and hands it to me.

Anna: MC, there’s a proposal that you urgently need to go through. It’s about the redevelopment of Loveland City.

MC: Okay… Meng Chang? Why do I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before…

I thumb through the papers in my hands, my gaze falling on the compressed letters.

“Since assuming office, Mr. Meng Chang has made outstanding contributions and has significantly elevated the Evolvers’ social status.”

“This time, he is in charge of the Loveland City redevelopment project, and we are confident that he will be able to acquire even more remarkable achievements.”

The document also contains detailed notes on Meng Chang’s relationships with important figures and the key points for asking him questions. Rather than a proposal, it’s better to say that this is a publicity release.

Anna: This is the material provided by the City Hall, and in two days, there will be a press conference to mark his inauguration.

Anna: The company’s staff is still working on the past memories overlap project. So, I have no choice but to trouble you, the Boss, to make the trip personally.

I nod, thinking about how the main focus of my recent efforts has been on dealing with memory overlap, and the company has also been awfully occupied.

MC: No problem. The press conference will cover our association with the City Hall, and I’ll follow up. You guys have been working hard recently.

MC: Once we are done with the matters at hand, you all should take some time off.

Anna: Speaking of, aren’t you the one who should be taking a break the most?

Anna: Watching you running in and out with dark circles under your eyes every day, we are worried about you.

MC: It’s alright. I’ll find an opportunity to rest later.

Anna: Well, that’s just as well, I have something for you.

Anna suddenly comes up to me and places two tickets in my hand.

The huge Kongming lantern on the ticket enters my line of sight, and the words “Lantern Festival” are written in Chinese calligraphy.

–

[Tidbits]: The person encouraging MC to “go out with someone” to the Lantern Festival in “Victor’s Lantern Date” was also Anna~ 🥺💕

–

MC: Are there any festivals recently? How come there’s a lantern festival?

Anna: It’s a promotional event for the redevelopment project, and the City Hall sent out the invitations a few days ago. I put aside two for you.

Anna: When the time comes, remember to go out and relax~

MC: Thank you, Anna~

MC: I’m going to LFG to submit a report now. Is there anything else going on at the office?

Anna: Anything else…

Anna: Speaking of, something curious did happen. There is a guy in the finance department who hasn’t come to work for over a week.

Anna: We were concerned, so we informed to police to go to his house, but no one ever answered the door.

MC: What about his family?

Anna: We tried to call, but no one answered.

Anna: The police have taken over the matter, so all we can do now is wait. I’ll let you know as soon as we receive any updates.

I nod, and a slight vibration also comes from my phone at this moment.

I pick up my phone, and as expected, I see a line of text messages floating across the screen.

Victor’s Text: “I don’t even see the shadow of a certain someone so far. Didn’t you say you were already on the way?”

Quickly, I put the tickets in my pocket and walk briskly towards the door.

Even though I’m about to be labeled a “habitual latecomer” again, a tinge of joy still surfaces in my heart.

After all, what I can be certain of is that – I will soon be able to see Victor.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【CH 44-2】

As I approach the door of Victor’s office, I see that Goldman seems to be confirming something over the phone. When he sees me coming, he frowns slightly and draws a few steps back in silence.

I nod at him, then push the door open.

Victor (on the phone): Regarding this section of the proposal, it will be scheduled to discuss at tomorrow’s meeting.

The sunlight is folded into small speckles of light by the blinds, leaving marks on the carpet that reflect the passage of time. However, it is the figure at the window that captivates my attention completely.

With his back facing the door, his entire body is half-leaning against the wide windowsill. His voice is steady, but there is a hidden color beneath it that’s hard to discern.

In the distance, there is a long, dark suit draped over a hanger, while the sleeves of his white shirt are slightly rolled up.

I can’t bear to disturb Victor, so I quietly creep up behind him on my tiptoes.

Victor (on the phone): For the specifics of the rest of the itinerary, send them to me via email.

As he hangs up the phone, I avail myself of the opportunity and abruptly poke his broad back.

He turns around, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Victor: [sigh mixed with a soft laugh]  Did you think I would be caught off guard by this kind of child’s trick?

As I look into his familiar and helpless eyes, my heart is overcome with indescribable emotions.

I can’t decide whether to say it’s been so long since we last saw each other or should I ask about what has happened during this time. Too many words rush to my throat, and in the end, they all turn into an uncontrollable urge to draw closer.

MC: Who asked you to leave the country just after you got your memory back? And it was always so difficult to be in touch with you.

As soon as I open my mouth in a falsely reproachful tone, Victor pulls me into his arms. His chest pressed tightly against mine instantly drowns out all my emotions.

Victor: [extremely soft, indulgent laugh]  Now, does this count as being in touch?

I nod heavily in his arms, feeling this warmth that I’ve missed. The setting sun in the distance draws our figures into the fading twilight as if condensing this moment in time.

The next second, I feel a gentle pat descending on my head.

Victor: [soft laugh]  Are you going to spend the whole day here hugging me like this?

I lift my head to meet Victor’s teasing gaze. Pouting, I straighten myself up, then take out the report I’ve prepared from my bag.

MC: CEO Victor, please review the report for this period.

Victor: This heavy? Looks like a certain someone has been very busy during this time.

MC: Not only have I completed a significant amount of work, but I have also made much progress. It won’t be that easy for you to nitpick this time!

The corners of Victor’s lip curl into a soft arc, his gaze deep as he looks at me.

Victor: [soft chuckle]  In terms of self-confidence, I can tell that you have indeed matured a lot.

Victor: I just wonder when you will grow in terms of your sense of time?

MC: That was because you didn’t come back even after so long, so I made you “revisit the past”~

Victor: Sophistry.

Victor curls his finger and taps me on the forehead. Then he turns to return to the table and carefully flips through my report.

It’s not until he turns to the last page does he give the nod, a hint of applause tinging his voice.

Victor: The report is good. It appears that a certain someone has indeed grown up a lot during this period.

—

[Anika’s Tidbits]: BLESS CHINESE ITIREATIONS haha~ there’s a trend with Chinese speakers of using the same phrase twice, so it sounds really cutesy. The first time MC tried to make Victor say it was in “Advice Date (on EN)” 3 years ago LOL, and I just can’t with how he does it so naturally while imitating her now~ 😂💕

—

MC: As it should be. I burned the midnight oil for several nights to write these plans.

MC: Fortunately, the impact is under control now. Otherwise, there will certainly be an increasing number of people experiencing a mix-up between their past and present memories.

MC: And if it continues to develop, it may even lead to QUEEN’s identity being exposed.

Victor’s eyebrows knit into a frown, evidently, also remembering all the hazards this “QUEEN” identity had once brought with it.

Victor: You’ve done well. But resolving this memory overlap issue won’t be that easy.

Victor places the report that he is holding to the side, smoothening a creased corner of the document with his fingertips.

Victor: Memory is the most sensitive part of a person’s life, and it involves numerous connections.

Victor: As long as people believe that a particular memory is real, they are prone to act in ways that are beyond the ordinary.

His tone is solemn, and it seems he isn’t simply talking about the memory overlap issue.

And what’s more, given that everything with LFG is running steadily at the moment, there is no need for an explanation for the other things that could worry Victor.

Tentatively, I voice the conjecture in my mind.

MC: Beyond the ordinary… did something happen with BS?

Victor: There have indeed been some internal changes in BS.

Victor: To be precise, some people have chosen to leave of their own accord.

I can’t help but recall Victor’s rearranging of BS before. His thunderous and decisive approach really helped BS to eliminate its internal obstacles and achieve its ultimate goal.

But such a measure will eventually trigger a chain reaction. Additionally, Poseidon’s whereabouts are still unknown, making him a constant hidden threat.

Victor meets my gaze and seems to see through my concerns.

Victor: Those who left recently had no conflict of interest with BS.

Victor: As for Poseidon, the identity he used to disguise himself has already been found. Rest assured, he won’t be able to be in hiding for long.

Hearing Victor’s words, I finally feel a little at ease. However, his slightly creased brows make the air in the room somewhat stagnant for a while.

Having been with the people in BS, I know that they will get restless as long as there’s even a little hint of turmoil. So, I reckon the current situation is certainly not as simple as Victor is making it out to be.

Pursing my lips into a thin line, I lower my head and shift closer to Victor, crashing straight into his gaze without a care in the world.

MC: Victor, if anything really has happened, you must tell me about it.

MC: Don’t forget, I just saved the world!

Victor: Dummy, don’t worry about other matters.

Victor’s eyes sparkle with laughter, and he reaches out, stroking my hair.

Victor: The most important thing now is your proposal. Is there anything else?

MC: There is indeed something else. It’s about the interview with Meng Chang, the new person in charge of the redevelopment project.

MC: He seems to have come to Loveland City today. I’m going to attend the press conference tomorrow to find out more.

MC: Do you know this guy?

Victor: I’ve heard of him. He is an Evolver and has previously been in charge of the administration of Evolvers on the field.

Victor: But because of his eclectic ways of doing things, he was controversial in political circles.

Victor pauses for a bit before continuing again.

Victor: This, combined with his previously established position, gave him a strong follower base.

MC: What kind of followers?

Victor: Evolvers.

I let out an “ahh,” instantly understanding where this man stands.

Victor: So, even though the outside world was quite critical of him, he was able to soar to the top.

Victor: Reportedly, he applied for his transfer to Loveland City himself.

At some point, it has started drizzling outside, and fine drops of rain swiftly trickle down the glass.

Victor: You must be more careful when you go to meet him.

—

───── [Narrator’s POV Begins] ─────

In front of the City Hall. Leto has been waiting here for a long time.

Even though he tries to assume a calm and indifferent attitude, he still can’t help glancing at his wristwatch out of the corner of his eyes.

The curtain of rain outside has gotten heavier than before. On the misty street, the indistinct roaring at the far end is particularly ear-piercing.

The thunderclaps rumble faintly through the churning dark clouds, reminiscent of the muffled beating of snare drums.

Not long after, a black limousine comes to a halt in front of the entrance, and a pitch-black umbrella is unfolded in front of the car, blocking out all the raindrops falling from the sky.

The car door opens, and an amiable, middle-aged face appears under the umbrella.

??: Really sorry to have kept you waiting like this in this heavy rain.

Leto: Please! Your arrival in our city to lead the redevelopment project is a major event. How dare I will be negligent.

Leto: I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time, Mr. Meng. I’m Mr. Leto, the person currently in charge of the Loveland City Redevelopment Project.

Leto says, smiling as he extends his hand. The man called Mr. Meng is dressed in a loose leather jacket, wearing a pair of glasses on his placid face.

With an apologetic expression, he quickly takes two steps and reaches out with a handshake, the corners of his lips raised into an invulnerable smile.

Meng Chang: Mr. Leto, you’ve already done a great job. I’m simply in charge of adding some icing on the cake. There’s still a lot for me to learn.

Leto also withdraws his hand. Naturally, he won’t easily buy such official civilities.

Leto: That being the case, I wonder where Mr. Meng is going to begin his work?

Meng Chang: Mr. Leto, you just asked the question that was on my mind.

Meng Chang lifts his head. His sharp gaze cuts through the heavy curtain of rain and lands on the towering and radiant LFG building in the distance.

Meng Chang: Let’s just start from there.

—

───── [Narrator’s POV Ends] ─────

—

【CH 44-4】

The next morning, the press conference at the City Hall is completely packed with journalists.

I’m about to turn on my computer and do some more prep work when I hear the sound of discussion coming from behind me.

Reporter A: Do you have any information regarding Meng Cheng taking office?

Cameraman B: What else could it be? He’s definitely seen how well the redevelopment project is going, so he especially rushed over to grab the credit.

Cameraman B: How could a politician who stands by the Evolvers still have the well-being of ordinary people in mind?

Reporter A: There’s nothing wrong with leaning towards the Evolvers. Aren’t we all advocating for helping each other nowadays…

Reporter A: I heard that he was also attacked for promoting Evolver policies. I wonder if that’s true.

Cameraman B: Where do you guys get this much gossip from! Zip it now. They’ll be coming out soon.

The next second, the entrance of the meeting hall is suddenly pulled open. Leto strides to the front of the group, while behind him is an amiable-looking middle-aged man.

A well-ironed suit is fitted to his body. As his calm gaze sweeps across the venue, the sound of chatter filling the space just a moment ago instantly quiets down.

Leto walks up to the podium and steadily places his speech draft on the table, holding the microphone.

Leto: Good morning, everyone. I’m Leto, the person in charge of the Loveland City Redevelopment Project.

Leto: As everyone knows, the Loveland City Redevelopment Project has been underway for a long time. And although progress has been made, it has also encountered many difficulties.

Leto: Therefore, at this special juncture, Mr. Meng Chang will be engaged in the redevelopment of Loveland City, overseeing and directing the said redevelopment project.

Leto partially turns his body and gives a quick look at the middle-aged man behind him. The man smiles and steps up to the podium, tapping his hand on the microphone.

Meng Chang: I express my thanks to our journalist friends for their diligent efforts. I’m Meng Chang.

The moment he begins to speak, the stage is awash with spotlights.

Meng Chang: I’d like to start by expressing gratitude, on behalf of the City Hall, to all those who have shown interest in and supported the Loveland City Redevelopment Project.

Meng Chang: My purpose in coming to Loveland City is not only to oversee the various aspects of the redevelopment but also to boost cooperation among all parties.

Meng Chang: The redevelopment efforts in Loveland City concern the interest of every resident, including both the ordinary people and Evolvers.

Meng Chang: I’m happy to serve as the communication bridge for this process, and I will welcome your opinions and suggestions at any time.

As soon as these words fall, Leto, standing by Meng Chang’s side, immediately breaks into a massive smile and applauds.

Meng Chang’s speech is simple and unadorned, which inevitably leaves a favorable impression on the audience.

Thinking back to Victor’s assessment of this man yesterday, I have a vague understanding of why someone with such thunderous methods could still thrive.

At this moment, the assistant standing next to Meng Chang picks up another microphone, and the reporters raise their hands in unison. My fingertips, which I try hard to lift, are instantly drowned out by the crowd.

Reporter A: Excuse me, Mr. Meng, will your work this time overlap with Mr. Leto’s?

Meng Chang: Regarding my relationship with Mr. Leto, I’d much rather call it mutual assistance.

Reporter B: You mentioned the term “obstruction” earlier. Does it mean you already have an objective for investigation?

Meng Chang: As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.”

Meng Chang: If there is any headway in the relevant investigation, I believe our media friends will be the first to know.

Regardless of how pungent and tricky the questions are, he maintains his composure and speaks in measured tones.

After the previous reporter sits down, I raise my hand again.

Meng Chang: The last question. Miss in the back row, please go ahead.

As I’m called upon, I immediately stand up with the microphone in hand.

MC: Hello, Mr. Meng. I’m MC, from the program team of [MC’s Company Name].

MC: If I may ask, as an Evolver and as a leader, how do you regard the future of Loveland City?

The previously clamorous crowd in the surroundings quiets down, leaving only a few fragmented whispers.

Matters of identity and position have always been sensitive, and no one expected me to be so blunt in bringing this up.

Meng Chang: Miss MC, your question is quite interesting.

Meng Chang: Only, you are not the first person to ask this question.

He lifts his head, and his unperturbed face slightly curves upward beneath the spotlights.

Meng Chang: As an Evolver myself, I do pay more attention to the Evolver community.

Meng Chang: But my dream is to build a society where everyone can coexist in harmony, and I believe everyone present here must share the same vision as well.

MC: And what measures do you plan to implement in the future?

Meng Chang: It’s still too early to talk about measures now, but I do have a premature idea.

Meng Chang: As the proverb goes, “If one cannot clean one’s own room, how can one clean the world?” I want to help this society by cleaning up the garbage first.

—

The sunshine streaming in through the car window brings a touch of early spring warmth, but my heart seems to be covered by a layer of invisible mist, making it impossible for me to see through.

The flawless responses given at the press conference just now have earned Meng Chang a considerably favorable impression.

However, the words “clean up the garbage” that was spoken by his amiable face continues to send shivers down my spine.

MC: I hope I’m just overthinking it.

I shake my head and reach for my phone, intending to call Victor to confirm the press conference details. But at this moment, my phone coincidentally starts vibrating first.

Victor: Is the interview over?

MC: It’s already over. I was just about to call you.

MC: I’m on my way back to the office. I’ll head over as soon as I’ve got the documents sorted.

Victor: Alright, the time remains the same. Be careful on the road.

Victor: By the sound of your voice, it seems like things are not that simple?

MC: You’re right…

I heave a sigh and recount to Victor what happened at the press conference just now, and also share my own vague sense of unease.

Victor: Don’t worry too much about it for now. Since he will be involved in redevelopment-related matters, there will be opportunities to interact with him in the future.

Goldman: CEO, outside…

Suddenly, Goldman’s hurried voice comes through the phone, followed by some loud noise. It’s only after a while that I hear Victor’s voice clearly again.

Victor: Something has come up. Come over after you’ve finished organizing the documents.

MC: Mm, see you later.

As soon as I hang up the phone, Anna’s name begins to flash on the screen. The next second after connecting the call, I hear an urgent voice on the other end of the line.

Anna: MC, something’s happened.

—

By the time I rush back to the company, there are already many people gathered at the entrance. At the far end, I can see Anna standing in front of two men dressed in suits, frantically explaining something.

MC: Anna, what’s going on?

Anna: These two people claiming to be employees from the City Hall came with documents, demanding to take away all our entries and reports regarding the Loveland City Redevelopment Project.

As soon as the two men hear my name, they immediately turn their gaze toward me. The two tall figures stand rooted in place, exuding an intangible sense of intimidation.

I suppress the bewilderment in my heart and meet the opponent’s chilly gaze with a straight face.

MC: I’m the person in charge of [MC’s Company Name].

City Hall Staff: Miss MC, is it?

City Hall Staff: This is an investigation regarding the Loveland City Redevelopment Project. Please cooperate with us.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【CH 44-6】

The midday sun is shining fiercely, bright, and even a bit blinding. The oppressive air feels as if it’s pressing down on everyone’s chest, making it difficult to breathe.

I take a step forward and fearlessly meet the opponent’s gaze.

MC: Before proceeding, please let me verify your identities.

The investigator, clad in a suit, appears to have been ready for this and promptly retrieves a document from his briefcase.

City Hall Staff: This is our investigation order.

City Hall Staff: Signed by Mr. Meng himself, so we’re kindly asking for Miss MC’s cooperation.

As I take the document, the black text on the white paper makes my heart stutter.

“The City Hall’s Coordinated Investigation Order on [MC’s Company Name].”

Looking at the City Hall’s stamp and Meng Chang’s excessively neat signature in the lower right corner, my heart can’t help but sink.

This investigation order is indeed real.

But seeing how suddenly this investigation has been issued, I can’t help feeling that the other party was planning and preparing for it for a long time… I purse my lips and return the investigation order.

MC: May I ask how we should cooperate?

City Hall Staff: We need your company to provide, including but not limited to: the planning proposal, project plan, financial transaction proof, and complete files of relevant responsible personnel.

City Hall Staff: Once all the documents have been verified, you can collect them autonomously from the City Hall within ten working days following the completion of the investigation.

City Hall Staff: During the investigation period, relevant personnel must maintain immediate real-time communication to promptly confirm any pertinent information.

The other party answers my question like repeating a math formula.

The situation before me has made me realize that continuing to ask more questions would be simply pointless. It would be better to first see what the other party actually wants to do.

After contemplating for a while, I give a nod in Anna’s direction.

MC: Anna, please take them to retrieve the necessary documents.

MC: The two officers are simply following the protocols for an issued investigation, and I’m sure the materials will be returned to us soon.

Anna: …okay. Please follow me.

—

Anna leads the two of them into the office, and shortly after, a few more formally dressed people also flood in through the doorway.

By the time they walk out of the office, their arms are already heavy with documents.

A consistent and heavy sound can be heard ringing on the floor, reverberating in the ears of everyone present.

As the last footsteps fade away at the end of the hallway, the long-suppressed chatters in the office also erupt.

The minute whispers are accompanied by overflowing doubts, creating a pervasive atmosphere of unease.

I purse my lips tightly and force myself to calm down. Although it’s understandable for everyone to feel anxious due to the unexpected turn of events, I must not panic no matter what.

Allowing everyone to speculate randomly will only exacerbate the situation. Plus… if the investigation was actually designed, the current situation is precisely what the other party wanted to see.

After inhaling deeply, I walk briskly to the center of the office and clap my hands.

MC: Everyone, there’s no need to worry. The investigation is simply a routine inspection to cooperate with the redevelopment work, and it’s not intentionally targeting anyone.

Hearing what I said, the crowd around me lapses into silence.

MC: During my interview with Mr. Meng Chang in the morning, he stated that he intends to conduct a thorough investigation for the reconstruction work.

MC: All companies engaged in Loveland City will cooperate with the investigation to facilitate the next work steps.

MC: I apologize for not syncing this information with you all promptly. Keep up the good work, everyone!

It seems like they have accepted the reason I came up with on the spur of the moment. The clamors dissipate, and everyone gradually returns to work, as if the previous commotion was just an interlude.

—

Anna helps me to smooth things over. Once the situation has temporarily returned to normal, she discreetly pulls me back to the office, with a look of undisguised concern on her face.

Anna: Although we knew that a new official would be eager to make his mark, this Meng Chang’s actions are too extreme… I have never seen someone coming in and immediately issuing an order to investigate another person’s company.

MC: Don’t be angry, Anna. Anyway, we’ve done nothing wrong, so we shouldn’t be afraid of being falsely accused. Let them investigate thoroughly.

MC: However, the upcoming work related to Loveland City Redevelopment Project is likely to be quite troublesome.

MC: Send me the relevant plans later, and we’ll figure out our next steps after looking into it.

Anna: Okay, I’ll sort it out now.

As I watch Anna’s gradually receding figure, my brows finally can’t help from creasing into a frown.

Although the investigation itself does indeed hold water, the underlying reason does not withstand scrutiny.

Moreover, conducting such an extensive investigation with great fanfare, if nothing is found, could result in resentment from other companies involved in the redevelopment.

Unless… the other party is trying to obtain their desired outcome through the investigation?

If so, what exactly is it they want?

Numerous possibilities are entangled in my mind, but I can’t seem to grasp a single clue.

I knead my aching temples and glance down at the clock. It’s almost time to go to LFG for the report.

After the report is over, I’ll tell Victor about this. Perhaps he can help me disentangle the connections involved.

At this moment, out of nowhere, a news article pops up on my phone screen unannounced.

News: “Meng Chang enters a lengthy discussion with LFG! Suspected to conduct an in-depth investigation into the reconstruction plan!”

The huge headline is particularly eye-grabbing, and although the comment section below the news has been banned, countless reposts can still be seen.

I feel a tightening in my chest and immediately turn around, walking swiftly toward the door.

When I arrive at the entrance of LFG, journalists who have rushed over hearing the news are already crowded around the nearby street corners, waiting for first-hand information.

Even though the employees are in a rush, it’s evident that LFG is operating in an orderly fashion, indicating that the sudden investigation has not caused any disruption.

I walk upstairs, and turning the corner, I hear Goldman’s voice.

Goldman: In order to access the documents, we must wait for CEO Victor’s arrangements. Until his arrangements are made, please follow me to the lounge.

The four people across from Goldman are also dressed in suits and leather shoes, identical to the ones who arrived earlier to conduct a search at my company.

My heart can’t help but hang in the air again, prompting me to quicken my pace.

This hallway adorned with exquisite carpets, which I have walked down countless times before, seems especially long at this moment.

As I approach the end of the road, an elusive tension seems to permeate the atmosphere.

—

The moment I push the door open, the intense smell of a close battle assaults my senses. And there is Meng Chang’s amiable side profile that catches my attention.

Meng Chang: I wonder what CEO Victor thinks of what I said just now?

Meng Chang doesn’t seem to have noticed my arrival, as he speaks with an elevated tone while a sinister grin hangs on his lips that makes one’s hair stand on end.

Victor, standing at a distance, sees me and gestures with his eyes for me to remain silent.

Victor: Given that Mr. Meng is also in charge of the investigations, there is no valid reason for LFG to refuse.

Meng Chang continuously nods his head, seemingly satisfied with the outcome before him.

Meng Chang: I had heard before coming here that CEO Victor is an excellent cooperative partner, and today’s meeting with you has indeed proved it to be true.

Meng Chang: I also believe that the investigation results on LFG will not disappoint me.

Victor: I don’t really care about whether you will be disappointed or not.

Victor: And nor has LFG ever been obliged to please everyone.

Victor softly taps on the desk with one hand, his indifferent voice steady yet sharp.

Another tense silence ensues, causing one to be on edge. Meng Chang’s expression also becomes a little awkward.

He darts his eyes left and right, seemingly wanting to change the topic, and just then, his attention is drawn to me standing at the doorway.

Meng Chang: Aren’t you… Miss MC who interviewed me in the morning? I didn’t expect that we’d meet so soon.

Meng Chang’s eyes glide past Victor and rest on me. The inscrutable tone hidden behind his smile involuntarily causes a sense of apprehension to rise within me.

I purse my lips and subconsciously walk over to Victor while maintaining a calm demeanor.

MC: I also didn’t expect to meet you again so soon, Mr. Meng.

Meng Chang: Is Miss MC here to see CEO Victor too?

MC: You seem to be quite forgetful for a person of great wits. LFG is an investor in [MC’s Company Name], and we have many business transactions to deal with.

Upon hearing my words, Meng Chang's face lights up with a look of sudden realization.

Meng Chang: That’s right, that’s right. Miss MC’s company is also invested in by LFG.

Meng Chang: Oh no, the routine investigation this morning shouldn’t have affected your work, right?

MC: Their documents were valid and legitimate, and they also had Mr. Meng’s signature, so we naturally cooperated.

Meng Chang: That’s good to hear. However, I didn’t inform CEO Victor beforehand about this investigation. I wonder if he will be…

Victor lifts his eyebrows gently, not saying a word.

Meng Chang makes a small bow, as if he is genuinely conveying an apology.

Meng Chang: It’s my fault for not considering all the factors. According to regulations, I indeed should have informed CEO Victor first.

Meng Chang: But CEO Victor, please understand that I had no choice.

Meng Chang chuckles softly and adjusts his clothes as if nothing is wrong.

Meng Chang: I’ve already got concrete evidence of wrongdoings for the company under investigation, [MC’s Company Name].

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【CH 44-7】

The calm words are akin to a sudden clap of thunder, shattering the fragile balance maintained in the room.

MC: I’m unsure as to the source of Mr. Meng’s information. I wonder if there may have been some misunderstanding?

MC: Although our company has been involved in the redevelopment project, we have never had any conduct that violated the regulations!

Meng Chang nods, changing his expression to adopt a sincere one.

Meng Chang: Right. Actually, I also think there is a misunderstanding here. After all, [MC’s Company Name] has a great reputation in the city.

Meng Chang: However, when it comes to our job, the most important thing is the “evidence.” If there is concrete evidence, we have no choice but to investigate.

Meng Chang retrieves an old-fashioned cell phone from his pocket, repeatedly rubbing the surface of his thick leather glove against its buttons.

He holds up his phone, and the small LCD screen displays a vast array of open account details. Alongside it is an extensive list of overseas transfer transaction statements.

Meng Chang: As you can see, every transaction of funds from Loveland City Hall is made public in the community.

Meng Chang: Just three days ago, Miss MC’s company received a sum of money that was deposited to the company’s account, and it was then allocated to various projects as usual.

Meng Chang: However, the money that was originally intended to be allocated to different projects disappeared overseas after undergoing a series of account transfers.

Meng Chang: CEO Victor, you should know what this represents.

Meng Chang’s gaze casually sweeps over Victor, waiting for his response.

Victor: This represents that this company may be involved in major violations.

Victor walks up to my side with absolute composure, giving the other party a chilly stare.

Victor: Mr. Meng, since you’re aware of the relationship between [MC’s Company Name] and LFG––

Victor: Then you should also know what the accusation you just made implies.

Victor’s tone is almost flat, and there isn’t even the slightest trace of wavering in his voice.

An immense sense of oppression rapidly spreads through the room, causing the atmosphere to become so tense that the air begins to feel thin.

Meng Chang puts away his phone and resumes his previous composed posture.

Meng Chang: CEO Victor, there’s no need to feel anxious. As I said before, I also have some personal reservations about this matter. After all, this sum of money is not even worth mentioning in front of LFG.

Meng Chang: Besides, since Miss MC is the boss, it’s inevitable to have some oversight in managing the subordinates from her standing.

Meng Chang: So, there must be some malicious individuals behind this incident, isn’t that right?

Meng Chang’s tone is sincere, as if he truly doesn’t believe that the two of us would engage in anything illegal.

Meng Chang: There will definitely be numerous collaborations between the City Hall and LFG in the future, so considering it as doing a personal favor might be worth it.

MC: Mr. Meng, do you mind being a little more explicit with your words?

Meng Chang’s roundabout probing words make me unable to resist addressing the topic directly.

Meng Chang: I only need a result.

Meng Chang narrows his eyes, calmly looking at Victor before him.

The corners of Victor’s lip twitch slightly, and then he lifts his chin with an air of arrogance.

Victor: But it’s the responsibility of the City Hall to seek the results.

Victor: The request Mr. Meng proposed doesn’t seem to be in accordance with the rules.

Meng Chang: …the rules?

Upon hearing Victor’s words, a smile appears on Meng Chang’s face.

Meng Chang: If Mr. Victor were such a compliant person, perhaps he wouldn’t be sitting in the position he is in today.

Meng Chang: Efficiency is always the top priority to me, especially considering…

MC: [cuts him off immediately]  Especially considering that my company has just collaborated with the City Hall to produce a promotional program.

MC: If you were to start investigating at this moment, the citizens would likely begin to question the competence of City Hall, right?

Seeing that the other party is about to start speaking in convoluted official language again, I immediately interrupt Meng Chang.

Victor frowns slightly, and I turn my head to give him a reassuring look.

Although the current situation is very critical, as Victor said, the responsibility for any errors or negligence in this matter does not lie with us.

Since it was deliberately set up by someone else, being in haste to clear ourselves may actually lead us to fall into their trap. At this time, it would be better to take a step back and turn the situation to our advantage.

This could not only help to dismantle the current situation, but also potentially ferret out the person who is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

And Meng Chang seems to be surprised by my getting right to the point like this, revealing a hint of astonishment.

Meng Chang: Miss MC, your words always catch me by surprise.

Meng Chang: Alright. In brief, as long as you guys can find the person responsible for this and recover the money involved, you will be able to absolve yourself of suspicion.

I look into the other party’s eyes, trying to calm my heart as much as possible.

MC: What about the timeframe?

Meng Chang: I can give you a week.

Meng Chang: If you can’t find this person within a week, I’m afraid I’ll have to meet the two of you every day.

Victor: We don’t need that long; three days is enough.

Victor blinks in a leisurely manner, his eyebrows arched sharply like a blade.

Victor: I believe Mr. Meng doesn’t want this issue to drag on for too long, either.

Meng Chang: From the looks of it, CEO Victor seems very confident, so I won’t inquire further.

Meng Chang: Although this isn’t a formal investigation, I hope that the two of you won’t leave the city. I’ll arrange for my subordinates to ensure your safety, in case any “bad guys” show up.

Meng Chang: I’ll be waiting to hear good news from CEO Victor.

Victor: You can see yourself out.

Victor turns sideways, and his silent figure is outlined by the light, which is his response at this moment.

With a steady gait, Meng Chang slowly walks toward the door, but just as he is about to step out, he turns around and says:

Meng Chang: By the way, there’s actually a personal reason why I don’t want the people from City Hall to get involved.

Meng Chang: Aside from my fondness for Evolvers, I also really like smart people.

The sound of Meng Chang’s laughter resonates through the room, akin to the invisible sword of Damocles.

The suffocating sense of oppression that follows the laughter lingers in the room for a long, long time.

—

Victor and I get into the speeding car, and the street scene outside the window continues to retreat in the rearview mirror.

The person driving the car is not the usual familiar driver, but instead is the “bodyguard” Meng Chang has assigned for us.

Although I understand that this is a deliberate form of monitoring us, the most important thing now is finding a solution to the problem.

I unlock my phone, and unsurprisingly, there are already several missed calls.

I immediately call back and hear Kiki and the girls’ voices on the other end of the phone.

Kiki: Boss, rumors are circulating outside that we've made illegal profits in the Loveland City Redevelopment Project.

MC: Don’t be anxious. I already know about the situation. No need to pay attention to the rumors outside. Right now, we have more pressing matters at hand to deal with.

MC: Kiki, contact the media outlets we are acquainted with and have them focus on who has been promoting these topics recently.

MC: Anna, keep an eye on what’s going on in the company and send me the list of employees who have left recently or seem suspicious.

MC: Afterwards, you guys just go about your normal work and leave the rest to me.

After meticulously arranging everything that needs to be done, I lay back on the seat, feeling a wave of exhaustion washing over me.

Victor: Your response just now was good.

Victor: I thought a certain someone would be flustered, but you were much calmer than I had imagined.

I turn sideways to look at Victor. His lips have a gentle curve to them, and his resolute gaze is filled with an expression of trust.

There has always been something about this man that makes one feel invincible, and this feeling sustains me at every moment.

Without realizing it, I reach out and take hold of his hand, subconsciously stroking his palm.

MC: I told you, I’ve grown up quite a bit.

MC: Moreover, compared to all the things encountered before, these are nothing.

My phone suddenly buzzes. Picking it up, I find that Anna has already sent me the list of names she has compiled.

There haven’t been many employee changes in the recent period, so it doesn’t take me long to go through all the lists of changes.

My gaze sweeps over the form, and I quickly lock onto a person.

I bring the screen closer to Victor, pointing at the ordinary-looking photo on the form with the name “Chen Hui” written next to it.

Victor: What’s your reasoning?

MC: This person has been working for the company for more than half a year and has been responsible for matters related to the Loveland City Redevelopment Project. He appears to rarely interact with others.

MC: But according to what Anna and others said, he suddenly disappeared a few days ago, and the police went to his registered address but couldn’t find him.

After hearing my words, Victor nods and then taps on his own phone.

Victor: The person you mentioned just now, we can focus on him.

Victor: However, we can’t rule out the possibility of other suspects, so I will assign people to investigate them too.

Victor: Regardless of who the other party is, one thing we can be certain of - this matter is far from over.

MC: You mean, their real intention is not what it appears to be?

Victor nods, his gaze steady and powerful.

Victor: The sudden appearance of this oversight indicates that someone must have done it intentionally.

Victor: However, the trick played isn’t sufficient to cause actual harm to you or the interests of LFG.

I nod. Thinking along Victor’s train of thought, I feel that my outlook on this matter has suddenly expanded.

MC: You’re right…

MC: If this matter was planned in advance, it indicates that the “rat” had already been planted in my company a while ago. 

MC: This incident must have gone through a long period of planning and design, and they chose today as the opportunity to detonate it!

And there aren’t that many people who are capable of accomplishing a task like this.

Could it be GR? Or is it Poseidon, who managed to escape under Victor’s subordinates and whose identity still remains a mystery?

If this indeed were to be the case, what would be their purpose? Could it be because of the CORE in my body?

Or perhaps they are using this event to lay the groundwork for an even deeper conspiracy?

For instance, their target perhaps is Victor himself?

MC: Victor, if other motives are involved, could it be that what the other party truly wants is…

Before the words can exit from my parted lips, they are curbed by the expression in Victor’s eyes.

His gaze shifts slightly, meeting the eyes of the man driving at the front. An icy warmth flits across the corners of his lips, as if warning me to hold off on speaking for a while.

City Hall Bodyguard: Excuse me, CEO Victor, where will you go next?

The person seated in the front passenger seat seems slightly embarrassed upon noticing our eyes upon them.

Victor: Turn right at the next intersection.

Victor straightens his cuffs and speaks in a calm tone.

I subconsciously turn my head to look out the window. The sight of the familiar buildings and streets outside makes me blink in confusion.

This is the road to Souvenir.

Seemingly sensing my puzzlement, Victor leans in and approaches me. His breath stirs the locks of hair on my temple.

Victor: I’ve been looking at a certain dummy’s anxious face for too long. It’s time to get her to put on a different expression.

—

[Part 2]: Here!

────

[mllekurtz]

14 and/or 22 for the weird writer asks meme! <3

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back? I do lend my books to people! I do it much more infrequently now that 1) most of my friends are online and 2) I usually buy ebooks instead of physical books. I used to enthusiastically drop books in people's laps because I love to share the things I'm excited about, and yeah, I had a list of all the people I gave my books to when it became hard to keep all the loans straight in my head.

I like to think I have a healthy relationship with physical books. I've never truly venerated the book as an object (yeah, I'm an amateur bookbinder, but appreciation is not the same as worship), and working in publishing put the final nail in the coffin of my being precious about paper and ink. After all, you put all your efforts in the words themselves, and holding the bound object is just the last part of a long process. With all the due exceptions, as long as they're not out of print or ridiculously expensive, books can be replaced. The story is what's important, the reader is what's important; I'd rather never see a beloved book again than keeping a friend to enjoy a story I love.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

(this got long so it's under a cut!)

Story ideas usually live in the hivemind, aka discord chats or servers. Once an idea develops and starts to turn into a proper outline, I create a channel for it in my private discord server where I can chuck ideas on my phone when I wake up at 2 am. Once the fic is done, I move the channel into the graveyard.

This is what the graveyard looks like btw (not all of it):

(If you're wandering what is essek-thoughts, I was too, so I checked: they're notes on a better man than me. idk-shadowgast is the early stages of all this science i don't understand)

I keep using discord even when I start working on the fic properly in Google Docs; all the random thoughts I have when I don't have access to GDocs go there, as well as most of the darlings I kill while editing. (I also download copies of my docs in my hard drive very often, because 1) I was born in the '90s and I don't trust the cloud 2) you never know when you'll need to go back in time and search through an old version of your work.)

I usually break down the fic into scenes and/or chapters, depending on its length; I use various headings to make an organised outline in the sidebar. I've also started using the summary function to write notes to myself (future developments, changes I need to track, the tags that I add as I go, things I need to remember to say in the A/N and so on).

This is what my outline for the emergency contact au looks like right now:

It's not very detailed because the structure is very straightforward and the chapters are short, but I would usually have nesting headlines so I can keep track of scenes I need to go back to, flashbacks and so on. The days of the week are a necessity because I often have to refer to something that happened "three days ago" and I wouldn't remember when that would have been. I also need to remember that offices are usually closed on a Sunday, and so on.

I also often leave comments to myself and/or my betas throughout to highlight the parts that need attention. And this is it, I think? It might sound convoluted but it's actually a very straightforward process that keeps me from messing up and forgetting ideas.

[hangingslothcentral]

Spirit Box Radio is Crowdfunding for Season Two!!

Atmospheric and engaging, Spirit Box Radio is an audio drama which will lull you into a false sense of security before pulling the rug from under your feet. If you loved the creeping sense of unease of The Magnus Archives, the weird whimsy of Welcome to Night Vale and the LGBTQ+ representation of Hello from the Hallowoods, you'll love Spirit Box Radio.

Now launching it's second season, Spirit Box Radio has been shortlisted for a People's Choice Podcast award for Season One. The full cast and original creator are back, and determined to make Season Two even better.

Donate £20 (or equivalent in your currency)

Check out the crowdfunder page

More info under the cut, plus at the bottom a more detailed Image ID than the ALT description has space for!!

Spirit Box Radio is an indie horror audio drama which follows Sam Enfield, the unlikely host of Spirit Box Radio, a show for witches, arcanists, and the magically-inclined. Sam took over the show after the mysterious disappearance of his mother, the Illustrious Madame Marie, a renowned psychic. With no penchant for the Arcane Arts, Sam struggles to find his feet, and as he does, he discovers that Spirit Box Radio may be haunted by something much worse than ghosts: secrets.

Season One followed the mystery of Madame Marie's disappearance and uncovered Sam Enfield's true place in the conspiracy surrounding it. In Season Two, Sam, his sisters - sardonic Kitty and cynical Anna - and his snarky immortal boyfriend will try to unearth the mystery of the Man Who Walks Here and There (AKA The Man in the Flat Cap and Shell Suit, or The King of the Blood Rose Crown) whose many titles are found under almost every stone they turn. It's a story steeped in mystery, horror, trauma and grief, with plenty of softness on the side.

The show is made primarily by its creator, Pippin Eira Major, who wrote, directed and edited every episode in Season One.

Spirit Box Radio wouldn't be possible without the incredible cast of the show. Now 15 Voice Actors strong, the cast of Spirit Box Radio brings to life an array of characters, including; a shady but eloquent florist who cant be trusted; an Ominous Phone Guy; a trio of Inconvenient and malevolent entities; and numerous others.

Just like the characters in the show, our cast is mostly LGBTQ+ and many of us are young and trying to break into the industry. Here's who we are:

Pippin Eira Major (he/they) as Samael Apollo ‘Sam’ Enfield

Jessie Jeffrey (she/her) as Ekaterina Erzabet ‘Kitty the Investigator’ Enfield

Alex Peilober-Richardson (she/her) as Anastasia Morgana ‘Anna’ Enfield

Will Cummings (he/him) as Oliver ‘the Florist’ Boleyn

Billy Bray (he/they) as Scourge

Beca Barton (she/they) as Indi

Tais Grimberg (she/her) as Bliss

Kay Watson (he/she/they) as Ingra

Ellie Ripley (she/they) as ‘the Bog Witch’ Rhytidia Delphus and Stykler Snr.

Daisy Major (she/they) as Regular Caller Beth

Elinor Wood (they/them) as Additional Voice

Gary Major (he/him) as Additional Voice

Mars J Brown (she/them) as Stykler Jnr.

Rose Eke (she/her) as the Mystery Caller

Freya Meldrum (she/her) as Show-Caller Emily

If this crowdfunder is successful, we're also hoping to add five more fantastic VAs to our cast!

Being such a tiny studio, Hanging Sloths can't afford to compensate our cast for their amazing work and provided the amazing performaces you hear in Season One on a voluntary basis. They've all agreed to come back for Season Two on a Profit Share model, where they'll all get a percentage of the money made on this crowdfunder. Here's a handy graphic breaking that down:

Our main priority is to make sure the cast are making something for their hard work on the show. Up to our main goal amount, we'll be splitting the money like this:

- 50% towards the actors' profit share (which exludes me, Pippin)

- 25% towards guest writers and directors

- 25% towards other essential costs including hosting the show on Acast.

Our initial goal amount (£2500) has been worked out to make sure everyone (besides Pippin) who is providing acting, directing or writing for the show can be paid an industry standard amount.

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[IMAGE ID: a square image of the words 'Spirit box radio' glowing in blue, like a neon sign. it's on top of a glowing yellow pentagram, trapped inside a more brightly glowing yelllow circle. behind these, a red splatter of blood. Around the circle, glowing in pale purple, a variety of stars and sparkles around 'Season Two'. Under this image, glowing yellow, it reads 'Crowdfunding now'. The background is deep purple, broken by teal grey constellations and a pair of hands, cradling the neon words from behind. END IMAGE ID] [BANNER IMAGES: Puple backgrounds with pale consetellations and yellow neon caps-locked words as described in the Alt Text]

[spaceorphan18]

99 Perspectives on a Single Love Story #71

A/N: The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

I started something like this a while back - and now I’m taking the idea and really running with it. Each chapter is a ficlet of a different character at a different point in Kurt and Blaine’s life - documenting their love story. This starts in Audition, and each chapter will be paired with a different episode until reaching Dreams Come True.

[Ao3]

***

Louis (The End of Twerk) 

Louis is in the zone, putting in the detail work as he tries to fix the tattoo.  What is the name of that broad in that movie his girl likes so much? The one in that movie all her gay friends love so much? Ah yes, Bette Midler.  Awkward looking lady, but by god can she sing, and boy does it bring a tear to his girl’s eye when she does.  The tattoo might be a botched mess of a message, but the kid he’s working in is young.  The tattoo doesn’t really mean a damn thing, really.  Doesn’t mean it’s meaningless.  

“Life just hasn’t been easy,” the kid’s chatting as he lies on his stomach.  “I grew up in Ohio and it was just hard, you know? Trying to say to be accepted?  Trying to figure out who I was and what I really want in life?  So, I came to New York -- thinking that being a place that would accept me, I’d have it all figured out.” 

Louis nods a bit, but he isn’t paying full attention.  He’s not a big talker himself, but he’s used to the chatter.  It comes with the job.  He’s not some therapist or priest but he don’t care what you’re up to in life as long as you pay for the ink.  The quirkier the better.  Sometimes they’ll make for great stories to tell his girl.  

“Since I’ve been here, though, it’s been both the best and worst time in my life,” the kid continues.  “I’ve struggled to get into school, watched as my friends became more successful, broke up with my boyfriend, my dad’s been sick, and then my brother died. And instead of conquering all my dreams -- most of the time, I spend at home watching TV.  So I thought maybe doing something bold, unexpected, not like me at all would bring me out of my funk.” 

“Sounds like you had a bad year,” Louis grunts.  The kid needs to hold still a little, Louis presses his free hand down a little firmer on his back.  

The kid remains quiet for a little bit, letting Louis do his work.  

“Reminds me of the time I spent that year homeless in Las Vegas,” Louis says.  Just a few more finishing touches and he’ll be done.  “Now, that was a rough year.  Lived in my car behind an abandoned grocery store.  Did odd jobs around the city for food.  I’ve got some stories, let me tell ya.  But then - shacked up with this prostitute named Lola.  We moved out east, I set up this shop, and now we got two kids and a mortgage.  Go figure.  Never know how life’s gonna pan out - so no use trying to plan every second.  Feel me?” 

He let’s go of the kid, helping him sit up and adjust so he can see the tattoo in the mirror.  It takes a moment for the kid to register what it says.  “Bette Midler? It’s got Bette Midler?” 

“Life’s always got Bette Midler, whether you want her there or not,” Louis says, with a chuckle.  

“I guess she is.” The kid begins to laugh, bearing the first genuine smile Louis has seen on him. “I’ll have to show my fiance.” He admires the work a bit.  “We’ve hit a bit of a dry spell.  Maybe this will liven things up a bit.”  He looks adoringly down on the ring on his left hand.  “I mean, this year has had its bright spots.  And maybe this experience will add to that.” 

Louis gives a little bit of a skeptical look.  The kid did just list a break up in the list of traumatic experiences.  But it’s not his place to judge.  Not like he and his girl haven’t hit a few rough patches here and there.  

“Well, if you really wanna bring some spice back to your intimate life, I still suggest that tongue piercing.”  He puts down his tools, and opens up a drawer in the counter beside him, pulling out a box, and placing it in front of the kid.  The kid opens it, looking at the studs.  “I mean, there’s nothing quite like having a partner with a tongue ring go down on ya.  The tattoo is for you - but the tongue ring says I’m here for your pleasure, too.” 

The kid looks up at him with terrified eyes.  Louis cackles.  

[balmasedas]

desperado / druglord!javier peña au. 

chapter one.

summary: reader is a dea agent. violence has arisen in the streets of colombia and she's determined to bring javier peña to justice. things take an abrupt turn when, instead of her finding him, he finds her and realizes they got much more interest in each other than just drug-related topics. 

warnings: only +18. overall, this is smut so smutty. canon violence. detailed warnings in every chapter. spanish traductions are in the notes, though for the sake of non-spanish speakers, spanish dialogues will be minimal and not relevant to the plot.

word count: 2.5k.

You throw your sweater in the backseat of your car before exiting it. In the morning, you had dug through your boxed-up winter clothes after shivering in your shirt-sleeves as soon as you got out of your department. Now, the temperature has risen to the seventies and you give yourself a clap in the back for deciding to wear something decent underneath. Spring in Colombia is a nightmare.

The crime scene is packed with local police and DEA agents. There are no civilian spectators this time, they know better than sticking their noses in the Medellin's cartel businesses.

Upon your arrival, you don’t need to identify yourself to the uniformed men guarding the perimeter. They know you well by then. You are the only female in the team that has to deal with these kinds of situations —gruesome, gut-churning, dirty shit. Not a very much "lady-like" job, some would express. For that, you have earned yourself the title of a gritty woman. Maybe because you were gritty, maybe because you were a woman.

Sometimes, though, you find yourself wondering why you turned down some run-of-the-mill desk job back in Virginia. It would’ve been a dull routine, for sure — hideous, even; but gossiping about some flash romance between two co-workers is less taxing than having to witness five rotting corpses at first daylight. 

"Jesus Christ," you lift your sunglasses to your head. Your partner, esteemed, weary agent Steve Murphy, turns around at the sound of your voice. 

“You’re up early.” he asserts, with a raised eyebrow. 

You purse your lips. “Had a bad night. Ran out of whisky at one am.” 

Not even Hugo, or Hughie for his gringo friends, could help you. You forgot that his daughter would be celebrating her birthday and his all-night store would be closed until the next morning. Normally, you would own an arsenal of alcohol, but it has been an abnormal week and a hell of a night —starting with the spiral of violence that has arisen in the streets of Medellin.

"Well, look at the bright side: your stomach is empty," Murphy mumbles.

Looking at the bodies in front of you, you can’t agree more: their hands are tied-up to the oxidated wire behind them, hanging by their arms. They are barefoot and scantily clad. There is a visible gunshot wound in all of their front heads, some flies are already hovering around the open flesh. A quick death to eternal torture, you suppose.

"When did you get the call?" you inquire.

He fiddles with his wristwatch. "About two hours ago." you only hum in response, keeping your eyes in front of you and paying no mind to Steve who only grows impatient at your silence. "You think this was Peña's job?" he adds.

You nod in denial. "If it was, it doesn't make sense." Not one bit. "Peña works underground, quiet, like a sneaky rat. I'd even say they're more well-behaved than most cartels. So why do this?"

Why such a declaration of violence? Why draw even more attention from the authorities? 

"Maybe he decided to toughen his punishments?” You scoff at his remark.

“He can do that without half the city knowing it. A ditch is much more subtle than a monument to death blocks from the US embassy.” 

Murphy smirks. “Seems that you have given it a thought before, Sarchie.” you narrow your eyes. He knows you hate that nickname. Your tendencies to boss him around had brought you consequences: the unofficial title of a Sargeant. Sarchie, shortened and friendly.

“Killing someone? Yes, you. Multiple times a day.” you put your sunglasses back on and walk away. The forensic police won’t be there until the next half hour, at least, and you are too disquiet to wait around. Plus, your stomach is growling, but Steve doesn’t need to know that. “We’re gonna need their names, I’ll see what I can find. You have a little chat with the coroner and see if they can speed up the autopsy. The sooner the better, ok?” you spot the smirk on his face. You know what he’s thinking. You shut your car's door and point a finger at him through the window. A clear warning sign in your eyes. “Shut the fuck up and do it.”

(,,,)

Happy hour. You give up on the investigation and stop off at ‘Chiquita’, a popular local bar near your place. The prices are cheap, the drinks aren’t that good but they do the job. The place is crowded — hot couples with wet, glowing skin grinding against each other. Happy or horny or both. You take a mental note to have some fun later. 

As you sip at your bourbon and crack your peanuts, you let yourself dwell on what you found out about your case. You finally got the names of your five guys. For that, much research wasn’t needed: All of them had their IDs in their pockets and they were exactly who you feared they were: no ones. No ties to any big names, no official involvement in any cartel — at the most, a few minor possession charges. As for weeks, your few clues have led to nowhere and the enigma surrounding the Medellin cartel seems to worsen with every minute that passes by.

You hate mysteries. Colombia’s full of them. 

You take your second bourbon in one smooth shot and ask for another. You grab a colombian peso from your wallet and slide it across the wood. Your eyes stop at the picture of your parents that you carry around. It’s tiny and worn, just like your relationship with them. They haven’t heard from you in weeks, a fair deal, if anyone asked. They don’t have to deal with their fucked up daughter and you can focus on your work filled with dead ends and a ghost that haunts you while you’re awake: Javier Peña.

“¹Qué tomas, preciosa?” a velvety voice caresses your ears. A pleasant smile breaks quietly over your lips. Just in time.

You turn your head to the side. The stranger, with chocolate-skin and inviting eyes, is waiting for an answer. You tap your fingers against the glass.

"Bourbon," you say. "²Pero no me vendría mal un trago más." he grins and holds up two fingers to the barman. He sits at the empty seat beside you, he’s exuberating confidence. He’s offered you the bait and you'd taken it.

"³Algo más que se te ofrezca?"

You look him in the eyes. You know how the story goes from there. It isn’t any different than the one from last night, or the night before. As an apex predator, he's out for something to satisfy his hunger. He won't go home without reaching his goal and you're desperate enough to let him.

"⁴Sí. Hay algo más que puedes hacer por mi."

(,,,)

The fucking cat on the window has been staring straight into your eyes for the last fifteen minutes. Matias, the guy you've met hours before, is too focused on you to notice the awkward presence of the animal, so you don't bother shooing it away. 

He's enjoying himself, pounding into you in a symphony of lust bites and moans. But the sound of skin on skin doesn't match the intensity of your passion for this encounter.

It's not that his performance was terrible, it was just... soft. So soft, too soft. From the sweet nothings, he gasps on your ear to the gentleness of his grip on your hip. 

You aren't a sweet girl. If you were sweet, you wouldn't have traveled all the way down to Colombia to participate in the war on drugs. If you were fond of delicateness, you would've stayed inside and touched yourself to a Cristina Peri Rossi novel instead of searching for strangers at bars.

You don't like to believe you are a special case. On the contrary, you assume your attitude is the rule and not the exception. Not a hell of a woman, but a woman made of hell – waking up already worried about the hours ahead of you. How could you not? Your life is as wide and empty as the sky. Unstable, unpredictable. Anything can happen. A good meaningless fuck is the only moment you allow yourself to feel something — someone. By then, the detachment that gets you through the day disappears and raw feral emotion takes its place. 

You are addicted. It's like a drug, but worse. Drugs don't have feelings, people do.

You’d grabbed Matias' hand and wrapped it around your neck a few times but your request had been ignored; you’d even pushed his ass against your body so you could get closer to a feral touch, but he had insisted on something more caring and delicate. 

And delicacy just won't do. 

So, after a few tries, you give up. You lay still, under his heating body, dead eyes directed at your window. No emotion whatsoever, no release. Like a numb, stiff sex doll, rooting for his satisfaction. Forgotten until next time.

“⁵Donde?” he blurts in your ear. You evaluate your options quickly. 

“⁶Adentro.” Any other place would demandsñ more attention. By then, he would be aware of your passivity and asking too many questions. You don't answer questions, you make them.

His body tenses and trembles. You feel heat dripping between your legs but it doesn't come from you. He leaves a few small pecks on your neck — thankfully, the last ones for the night. Matias breathes over you for a few seconds before he gets off. You stare at the roof in silence, and when he asks if you finished, you simply nod.

You can't grasp what he says under his breath after you ask him, as nice as possible, to leave. What he does or doesn't vocalize, it doesn't matter. You won't be repeating with him. You never fucked the same person twice. 

Once you hear the front door shut, still resting on your bare skin, you lit a cigarette. The room is void of artificial light, and the cat is still in the same place, with his silhouette contoured by the gleam of the moon.

"Sneaky bastard." you chuckle, then get up from the bed and slowly approach it.

You stop at the wooded frame of the window, maintaining your distance. Not too close to scare him or him to scare you. He isn't a friendly guy. He isn't even yours — just a grumpy cat that stops by your department too often demanding some food. You tried to get him to come inside before, but all you had won from your offers were a couple of scratches. Nonetheless, the cat has seen more of you than many people have. So, even though you renegade from him, you found yourself inevitably attached. He's the closest thing to a family, after Murphy, of course. But Murphy hasn't seen you on your worst, yet.

"Hope you see the same shit I see." you grimace and shake your head. "Not like that, I mean... I should choose better who to fuck with. And they should choose better too." the cat remains silent –obviously– and you keep talking. "You could make yourself useful and spook them away before I have to." he meows, you roll your eyes and decide to leave him alone. "Then again, I could do it myself if I told them I hold long conversations with the stray cat that lives in my window."

You choose to take a bath and call it a night. You glide through the living room, though before you can reach the bathroom something stops you. There's a noise outside, some glass breaking down on the streets. You can ignore it, conflict isn't a foreign subject in Colombia, especially at late hours. But then it repeats itself a second time, and the third bugs you too much for you not to grab your night robe and take a look at it from your window.

The only light pole is out of order; there's not a soul in sight; music can be heard from afar. You see nothing out of place until you do.

Your car is parked across the street. All four windows have been smashed, the tires are flat. You barely waste time cursing before you flee out of your place. You thought the night couldn’t get worse but the world has a disturbing obsession with testing your patience. 

Once you take a step outside and approach your damaged car, you’re not sure where your chills are coming from. Perhaps, because of the unfriendly weather or maybe because you’re suddenly aware of how idiotic was your decision to go outside. 

Everything inside your vehicle is left untouched. There weren't objects of value anyways. You find no logical reason for someone wanting to wreck a car just because —yours, of them all.

Big red warning signs color your mind. Your eyes scan your surroundings with speed. It's a dark, lonely dessert. You're now sure that what happened isn't some random event. The victim could've been to another person, but you weren't just another person.

"⁷Discúlpeme, señorita." a voice throws yourself far from the source. You reach for your gun just to find nothing there. Damn you. "⁸Está bien?" you look at the man. An old man that, at first glance, doesn't represent a threat. His voice is gentle, his voice is tinted with a caring voice. You lower your defenses, just a bit, not enough to stay around.

"⁹Sí." you mutter.

Slowly, you walk back to your apartment. Old man glues his eyes to your form and you don't take your own off from his'. Before reaching the sidewalk, you trip with something. Your back collides against a car and you're ready to apologize when the owner exits it there’s not a sign of rage in his face. On the contrary, his stare is blank and his mouth doesn’t even twitch.

Bad news.

You intend to run, but another guy blocks your passage and two more appear at each side of you. You turn over to ask the old man for help, but he’s gone along with your last piece of hope. Can’t blame him, you would’ve escaped too if you had the chance. However, you can’t and the smartest thing to do is acknowledge it and work from it. 

You stay still thinking it will persuade them to opt for gentle treatment. 

How naive of you. 

A set of fingers dig into your arms, another one grabs you by the neck and lowers your head as they drag you into their car. Guarded by two of them who sit at your sides, a dark cloth bag is placed over your head and your wrists are restricted with a zip tie. 

All you have left now is your hearing, you pick up a few things: the engine roaring, the tires burning on the asphalt as you speed off, some spanish words thrown in the air. Nothing substantial, nothing of use.

You sit in silence and wait for the worst.

[mochegato]

Pixie Spy

Written for the Jasonette July Wayne Gala prompt.

Why?!? Why was she doing this again? Oh right, because John Constantine promised to give her some help with a particularly difficult part of the Grimoire if she did.  And he needed the information he was currently obtaining in order to give said help.  That is how she ended up with an invitation, still not sure how Constantine pulled that off, to the most exclusive event of the year, the Wayne Gala.  

Plus, Adrien was kind of right, ordinarily it would be a great opportunity to showcase her designs. The problem was on its surface, her dress wasn't one of her best works. The black dress had a high, cowl neckline in front and in back, adding a bit of drama and a small homage to the local heroes, vigilantes she silently corrected herself.  The high neckline also offset the incredibly short bubble skirt, making her legs look longer than the Nile.  Despite being a bit uncomfortable showing that much leg, it was necessary for this particular design and if she could actually feel like she had long legs for once, she was willing to deal with the discomfort.  She also added a glittery belt to show her shape and add some bling, which seemed like something the people at this particular event would value.  It was functional, not fashionable.  Not that it was ugly, just that it was designed to be passable, enough to fit in but not enough to get noticed.

She fidgeted slightly as she stood in the entryway trying to get past the people piling up trying to not so discretely pay homage to the king.  That king being Bruce Wayne. From her research, he actually did seem like he was a good guy. The list of charities he started or contributed to was longer than she was tall. She scowled at the voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Adrien's saying that wasn't much.  Adrien, who got out of coming tonight because the mission was to observe the Waynes unnoticed and Adrien Agreste would get a bit too much attention, that cat bastard.

Despite the laundry list of charity work, Marinette was still suspicious of Wayne.  First of all, he was rich, filthy rich.  Anyone that rich had to have some dark and twisted secrets they were hiding.  He wouldn’t be the first rich person to hide their illicit activities behind a veil of charity work.  Second, he chose to live in Gotham, the most crime-riddled city in the world.  And that is just the reported crime.  A great deal of the crime never got reported to or investigated by the police, whether through corruption or exhaustion.  The kind of place a rich person could be confident they would get away with literal murder.

But mostly, it was Constantine that made her suspicious of Bruce Wayne.  Not that Constantine had ever said anything negative about him, well nothing more than calling him a pain in the ass, but that was really not so much an insult as a compliment coming from Constantine.  But, Wayne had information Constantine needed to help them with the Grimoire and Constantine refused to say how Wayne had gotten that information. How and why would a playboy billionaire have that information?  There is absolutely no reason someone outside of the hero/villain/magic community would have that information.  And, if he was such a good guy, why would Constantine need to go to these lengths to get it without Wayne’s knowledge?  Unless it was related to one of his illicit secrets.

Her eyes darted around the room taking in its grandeur, muttering to herself about how ostentatious it all was.  Normally, she would be completely mesmerized by the grandeur and pomp of the scene.  The room was decorated to perfection.  Everything was absolutely exquisite.  However, she was too anxious and wary to enjoy it.  So instead of being inspired, each gorgeous detail grated on her. She reached up to tug on her hair before remembering her hair had been pulled up into an elegant twist held in place with a single silver pin. With her normal anxiety relief method unavailable, she instead shifted nervously from foot to foot while she scanned the room trying to catch sight of the rest of the Waynes, gently tightening and loosening her grip on her purse, trying not to crush Tikki.

She was so lost in her anxiety she didn't notice the dark haired man walking behind her take notice of her and stop.  He stood behind her with a nonchalance that didn’t seem to fit a man his size.  He watched her fidget and muttering to herself about “damn rich people” with a smile on his face.

“You don't seem excited to be here” he said quietly.

She turned around with wide eyes, shocked that someone had heard her.  Whatever she was expecting to see it was not what she saw in front of her.  The man towered over her.  Even in her ridiculously, dangerously high heels, Chloe insisted, her head didn’t even come up to his chin.  He was also extremely handsome, with chiseled features and the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen.  Those eyes were going to be a problem.  They were clear and kind and roguish and hypnotizing.  His black hair with a shock of white was slightly tousled giving the impression of a rouge trying to look sophisticated.  Was it inappropriate to imagine running her hand through his hair and along his sharp jawline?  Yeah, probably not appropriate and likely not welcome.  Clean up your thoughts, girl!  Great, now Alya was in her head scolding her.  No, that’s not right, because that would definitely not be Alya’s advice.  

He was grinning at her with an impish look in his eyes. “What?  Not impressed with the ‘we care about whatever the point of this gala is, but we’re not hobos so let’s not skimp on the luxury for us’ décor?  Or maybe it is the illustrious, soul sucking, benefactors of Gotham that have set you on edge.”  The smile he shot her was guarded and critical. She chuckled lightly and looked away. “You have good judgement and a good reason to be suspicious.  But you made it to The event of the season, so you must have done something right… or wrong.”

She hummed and looked away.  “Have you ever had one of those days where everything went wrong and now you don't know how you got where you are or why you are there?”

“I’m familiar with the feeling,” he nodded.

“That's my life. All of it.  Every single fucking day.  This one included."

He barked out a laugh and looked at her again appraising her.  “Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine.  I think I like you.  You might just make this torture session more bearable.  See you around,” he chuckled as he walked away.

Marinette watched the man’s retreating back.  The night was already going better than she thought it would.  But the plan for the night wasn’t to find a date it was to act as a scout and keep tabs on the… enemy?  For all intents and purposes, that is what the Waynes were tonight, right?  They had information that she needed, that Paris needed, and they apparently weren’t going to part with it willingly, so they were the enemy.  No, enemy sounded too harsh she chided herself.  Opposition? Yes, they were the opposition.  That sounded much less hostile, more like a game… a game where people’s lives were on the line.  You know, just for fun, no pressure.

She found a spot against a wall she could use.  It was slightly raised but not well lit so it wouldn’t draw attention to her.  From her spot she could finally see the family. It was very thoughtful of them to group together like that.  She could see the little one, stiff and military-like posture, glowering at the people around him.  He was standing as far away from the rest of the people there as he could without actually leaving the room.  Much closer to the dancefloor, she could see the middle boy talking to a few business men. They all had fake smiles plastered on their faces as they made seemingly insignificant small talk.  She did not envy him that experience.  Between the two and to the side was the oldest son. He was chatting up some business person’s daughter, leaning in a lot closer than etiquette would dictate. Just the father then… there he was still not too far from the door talking to a dark haired woman.  He had his arm around her waist as she leaned into him. She must be the girlfriend then. Mari made a note that she should probably pay attention to where she was as well.  Fortunately, the spot she had chosen gave her a great vantage point.  Unfortunately, her observation spot wasn’t as unnoticed as she had hoped.

 ___________________________________________________________

Jason made his way over to the bar and ordered a beer.  He still hadn’t spoken to his family to let them know he was there and he definitely needed a drink before he approached them.  Why the fuck was he here again?  Fucking Batman.  

Fresh glass of beer in hand, he made his way over to his brothers, refusing to acknowledge any of the partygoers along the way.  He watched as his brothers took note of his approach and excused themselves from their conversation partners.  Dick didn’t look too happy to turn away from the latest interest, smiling at her and giving her reassurances before sending her away.  Tim looked less happy to have to turn away from the men he was talking with. He should be thanking Jason really. He was giving him an out from having to deal with them and their god awful personalities and fashion. Seriously, who told that guy that tie was okay.  Even the Riddler would think that tie was obnoxious.

“Okay, I’m here,” Jason said taking a large swig of his drink.  “How long before I can ditch this bottomless pit of misery?”

“Woah, slow down there.  You’re going to get drunk before the announcement.”  Dick cautioned him.

“Do you want me here or do you want me sober?  You’re going to have to choose one.  They’re mutually exclusive, Dickweed.”

“Come on Jaybird, we all have to be here.  None of the rest of us are getting drunk.”

“That’s just because I’m smarter than you guys are,” he said tipping his glass to Tim who had scoffed at the suggestion and took another drink.  “There is no reason we all have to be here.  We shouldn’t all have to suffer.  And officially, I’m not even a member of this hellscape of a family anymore so I really shouldn’t have to be here.”

“If The Disappointment gets to leave, so do I. Someone should be patrolling tonight instead of all of us wasting our time entertaining these harpies.  And if one more person tries to touch me on my head I’m going to break a hand.”

“Stop it!  Nobody is leaving, Damian.  We’re in this together.  And Jason, if anyone got to go home it wouldn’t be you.  You are the reason we all have to be here in the first place; so we can ALL show our support when we officially announce that you are part of this ‘hellscape of a family’ again.  So enjoy it,” he said with a cutting smile.

“Not everyone enjoys getting groped by the gold-digging, trust fund whores.  I’ve found a way to cope.  It’s called alcohol.  Now if you’ll excuse me,” he downed the drink in his hand, “my drink is empty.  I’m going to go find another.”

“At least try not to interact with anyone. We don’t want to piss anyone off tonight.  And I don’t want to have to fix your messes.”

“Way ahead of you, Replacement.”  Jason turned and walked away before Dick could reprimand him again.  He needed to get away.  He could only handle his family in small does, very small doses, miniscule amounts, and he had already surpassed that limit.  

He grabbed two more drinks off of a passing waiter’s tray and looked for the Sunshine Girl.  He scanned the room sipping the champagne, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room.  His size and demeanor was usually enough to keep people away but making eye contact made people think he was open to talking.  He was not.  He had no interest in making nice with Gotham’s elite.  He wanted to get this night over with, with as little pain as possible.  

He finally spotted her off to the side of the room speaking with the obnoxious tie guy.  Jason watched as the man slid his hand up the side of her leg starting to move under her skirt.  Jason started to make his way over to them until he saw her move closer to the man.  She was close enough to whisper seductively into his ear now.  Ah, not uninvited then.  Maybe he had misread her.  Well there goes his hope of this party not sucking balls.  He started to turn away but noticed a pained expression on the man’s face.  He turned back to reexamine the scene.  She was holding the man’s hand at an unnatural angle.  It was a hold he’d used a few times himself, it was discrete but extremely effective, causing intense pain with a small movement.  He knew if she moved her hand just a few more centimeters, she could easily break his wrist.

She let go with a viscous look pushing him away from her as she did.  The man shook his hand and scowled at her.  He started back toward her and Jason took off running, not pausing to apologize to the people he bumped into along the way.  Before he could get to her, she had already taken care of it. She squared her shoulders and glared at the man, making it clear that she could and would continue with her actions if he persisted.  When she moved her hand ever so slightly, just enough so he could see it and remember what she had done, the man turned away and smiled at the people who had been standing behind him as though nothing had happened.  Jason chuckled to himself watching her move away from the man. She was definitely going to make this night more bearable.

“Looks like you don’t need me around for protection. Although I did bring a drink so maybe I can earn my keep that way,” he said handing her one of the glasses in his hand.  “That was extremely impressive.  How did you lean to handle yourself like that?”  

She accepted the glass and shrugged.  “You live in Paris long enough you pick up a few things.”

“That isn’t something you just ‘pick up’. That’s experience.”

“And that is exactly what you get when you have a supervillain terrorizing your streets and thoughts for 5 years; experience. And how do you know about that move?  Rich boy secretly a vigilante?” She raised an eyebrow at him giving him a daring smile and pretending to take a drink from the glass.  She was on a mission and she didn’t know him.  She wasn’t about to actually drink anything a stranger gave her, let alone get drunk.

“You don’t grow up in Gotham without learning how to take down someone trying to cop a feel.  And what do you mean about a supervillain in Paris?” he asked taking a step closer to her, concern edging into his stare.

“It doesn’t matter.  It’s not relevant for tonight.” She said taking a step away and scanning the room again to locate the Waynes.

He looked at her for a few moments taking her in, not just her appearance but how she held herself.  She stood with confidence and nonchalance.  She wasn’t acting coy, she wasn’t baiting him to ask her more questions, she was serious.  There was some kind of supervillain running around Paris that they had no idea about.  Well that piqued his interest.  He wanted to find out more about that and just his luck, the only person around who knew about it was the gorgeous and badass Sunshine Child in front of him. Guess he’ll just have to suffer and spend more time talking to her.  The things he does for Gotham, he smirked to himself. “I’m Jason,” he said putting his hand out for her to shake.

She looked at his hand before hesitantly taking it. His hand absolutely engulfed hers. “Nice to meet you Jason,” she said looking toward the dancefloor.  She had last seen the Waynes near the dancefloor and they couldn’t have gotten far, right?  They were likely to be near it.

Misinterpreting her focus he asked, “Wanna dance?” placing down his now empty glass.

She needed a better vantage point to locate the Waynes and even if they weren’t on the dancefloor anymore, the dancefloor would be the ideal place get an unobstructed, overall view of the room.  She could see the entire room from the dancefloor.  She just had to scope it out discretely so Jason didn’t get suspicious.  “Sure,” she said smiling at him and accepting the hand he had offered her.

He guided her out onto the dancefloor.  Jason noticed a little girl standing nervously next to the dancefloor looking at a group of kids nearby.  “Hold on just a second,” he said dropping her hand to kneel down next to the little girl.  “Hey, I just wanted to say what a beautiful dress you have.  I wish you had a smile to match.  Anything wrong, kid?” he asked gently.  The little girl gave him a nervous smile.

“Thanks.  My Mom said I could pick out a dress and I chose this one.  But Mom says it looks silly.  It’s too fluffy and gets in everyone’s way.”

At that Marinette kneeled down next to her as well. “Oh.  Well, let me fill you in on a little secret.  I’m a fashion designer and I can tell you there is nothing wrong with fluffy.  You did a great job picking it out.  It is perfect for you.  I couldn’t design anything better.  I wish I looked as confident and effortlessly beautiful as you do. ”

The smile the little girl gave her was genuine this time.  “You really like it?”

“I do,” Marinette responded.  

“I do, too.  I’m not a fashion designer, but I still think you look good, kid.  And if anyone tells you they don’t like it, scr… I mean, forget them.  Who cares what they think.  A fashion designer and a delinquent think it looks amazing.  Don’t let someone else tell you what you like.” Jason added.  The little girl beamed at both of them and bounded off to join the kids with much more confidence.

Marinette watched him as he watched the kid play with her friends making raucous noise as they played, a grin on his face until he saw some parents come to reprimand their kids for being so noisy.  So, rich boy has a heart and is really protective of kids.  Well that wasn’t going to help Marinette focus solely on the mission. “That was incredibly nice of you.  That’s not advice I would have expected from someone attending a party like this.” Marinette said taking Jason’s outstretched hand again.

“Just because we’re miserable here doesn’t mean she should be, too.  Kids should be happy.  It’s ridiculous to bring a kid to a party if you aren’t going to let them be a kid. Adults in Gotham expect too much of their kids.  They treat them like props instead of kids, tools to help them achieve a goal.” He said voice getting gruff as he spoke.  He looked back at her and shook his head as if to clear his head of his thoughts.  He smiled at her instead and took her waist with his free hand to start dancing with her.

“You know, I noticed you never did give me your name.”

She looked into his eyes for a just a moment before she looked back to the dancefloor, “You know, I noticed that too.”

“Hmmm.  Secretive. No name but a fashion designer from Paris,” he said.  Marinette paled slightly refusing to look back at him.  He was paying attention to her and noticing details.  She hadn’t expected that from this crowd.  She was going to have to be more careful about what she said.  ‘Not get noticed’ played over and over in her head.  She was supposed to slip in and out with nobody remembering her.  She might have blown the mission already.  But, was she ready to walk away from those blue eyes?  Surely, talking with him couldn’t do any harm, right?  “So, did you design the dress you’re wearing?”

She was brought back to reality with a jolt.  “Yes.  Not… not my best work, but it fit the uh, occasion,” she stuttered out.

“Was the occasion to look stunning?  Because you do.”  He grinned smugly as she blushed heavily under his praise.  This was fun.  This was his new mission for the night; to see how many times he could make her blush.  “Still not going to tell me your name, huh?”

She looked back at him before dropping her eyes again.  Stupid mission.  If it were just her here for herself, she could stay here dancing with Jason and gazing into his eyes for the rest of the night, and tomorrow, and the day after for that matter.  But she wasn’t here for herself.  She was here for a reason and that reason demanded she be anonymous and keep track of the Waynes.

She scanned the floor again and finally spotted the Waynes, confirming they were all there.  Nobody had snuck off.  They really liked sticking around each other didn’t they?

“No, it takes more than a pretty line from a pretty boy to get my name” she said looking back to Jason and plastering on a fake smile. “I don’t need any rich boys remembering me after this is over.  Tomorrow I’ll go back to my real life and it will be like none of this ever happened. I can report that I came, I danced, and I even smiled a few times, then never speak of it again.”

“Friends or family forced you to come because they thought you needed some excitement in your life, Pixie Pop?”

“Something like that… Pixie Pop?”

“You won’t tell me your name and I need to call you something.  You’re little and mischievous and can handle yourself… Pixie Pop. Honestly, you’re lucky I didn’t go with Odysseus.  Also, you think I’m pretty?”  He grinned down at her.

She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, cheeks flushing slightly.  “I think that would have made you Polyphemus, which you certainly have the size for,” she grinned up at him.  “Anyway, that’s why I’m here.  How about you?”

“Oh, my family thinks I have enough fun already. I’m here because if they have to suffer, so do I.  And all to bolster the name of the illustrious Bruce Wayne.”

Marinette examined his face as he stared toward where she last seen Bruce Wayne.  He looked annoyed and frustrated.  This was a side of Mr. Wayne she had not heard about in her research, a side that frustrated native Gothamites.  A bit more information could be helpful for her to figure out what role he played in the Grimoire information Constantine was gathering, figure out whether or not he was a threat.  “Not a fan?” she asked delicately.

He looked back at her examining her face for any malice.  “Depends on the day.”

She hummed in response.  “What can you tell me about Bruce Wayne?” she finally asked.

“Why do you want to know?” he responded suspiciously. Most people looking for more information wanted it as a weapon.  Bruce might not be his favorite person, he might actually hate him right now, but he wasn’t going to help someone take him down unless it was him.

She shrugged, “everything I’ve seen shows an exemplary record for him.  You don’t seem to be a fan though and you’ve grown up in Gotham so you would have some good insights.  So, I’m wondering what your take on him is.  What he’s done to draw your ire.”

Jason nodded slightly seeming to mull over what she said.  “He does good things.  He helps a lot of charities.  He honestly does care about the city and the people and about making their lives better. His parenting skills could use some work though.  He could show his sons that he actually cares about them as more than tools, you know, whether they live or died…” he furrowed his brows and looked away for a few seconds before he schooled his expression.  His eyes got a wicked gleam to them and he leaned towards her to whisper conspiratorially “… and I hear he’s sleeping with Batman.”

Mari looks at him surprised.  “Huh, I guess he has a type then, supermodels, superheroes…”

“Supervillains…” Jason says under her breath looking back at Bruce and his date.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he covered quickly, but the damage had already been done.  She had started thinking about Bruce’s involvement with the super community.  If he was sleeping with superheroes and super villains, that meant he was part of the same circles as Constantine… and Constantine liked dating in the super community.  Could Bruce Wayne be in the super community?  That would explain why he had information pertaining to the Grimoire.  And she might need to revisit exactly how Constantine knew Bruce Wayne.

“Are you okay?  I didn’t break you, did I?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah, fine I could just maybe use some uh, water?” she gave an awkward smile.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please?”  She just needed a bit of space to think.

Jason left to grab a glass of water and turned back to her.  She watched Bruce with her head crooked to the side.  He saw her finger discretely swiping to the right a few times as she stared intently at Bruce.  After a few times her finger swiped left instead and head straightened.  She looked around to the other members of the family as if she was counting, confirming something in her head.

Marinette’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized why Bruce Wayne could have information they needed and why Constantine needed her to keep an eye on the Waynes.  Shit. Shit shit shit shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.  She turned away quickly.  This could not be happening.  This. Could. Not. Be. Happening.  She did NOT help him break into the BATCAVE while she kept tabs on BATMAN.

And if Constantine was trying desperately to avoid him, like he did all his exes…That little…

Jason had no idea what happened but as he got closer to his Pixie he could hear her muttering under her breath in French.  His French was a bit rusty so even the pieces he could pick up were scarce and nonsensical.  Something about maybe “lying” and “Roast Beef” and “bat” and “shark” and “fucking”.  He couldn’t be positive about any of the words except two; “fucking” and “bat” those he was pretty familiar with.  Not to brag but he could swear like a sailor in at least 7 languages.  And “bat”, he knew that word in a few more languages for obvious reasons.

She was abruptly moving and ran right into him before she could take notice of her surroundings.  She looked at Jason with wide eyes, reexamining the man she had spent the evening speaking and dancing with.  Suddenly, everything clicking into place.  There was one more hero she hadn’t accounted for, Red Hood, who while he hid his face behind a mask, just so happened to have the same towering build as Jason. But Bruce Wayne didn’t have any more kids, right?  And if the other vigilantes were his sons, Red Hood should be too, right?  He just had the three boys and the two girls who were out of town.  That was it.  He had another son, but that son had died.  What was his name… She gasped loudly, “Oh God! You’re Jason,” she exclaimed out loud.  

“Yeah?”  He said confused.  They’d been over this before.

“You’re Jason Todd,” she said looking down and taking slow breaths.  “You’re Bruce Wayne’s son.”

He looked at her startled.  She put that together quicker than he was expecting especially since she didn’t seem to know much about the family. “For what it’s worth, I don’t feel like his son most of the time,” he tried to joke.  “Sorry for not telling you before.  I don’t like talking about being in the family, or being in the family at all, actually.” He winced looking at her wide eyes.

“I wasn’t supposed to get noticed by the Waynes. Shit!”

“Then you shouldn’t have worn that dress… or that face… or that smile, Pixie.”  He said grinning suavely.  

She examined him for a few seconds, emotions flittering across her face almost too quickly to identify them.  Confusion, bashful, flattered, hopeful, guilt, pain, melancholy.

“I have to go.” She finally spoke up.

“Wait.  What?”

“I… I have to go”

“Wait, is it… you have to go because I’m Wayne’s son?”

“No, I… shit.  Putain de bâtard.” Yep, that one he understood too.  Wait... “Me?” He asked pointing to himself.

“No, not you… Not because you’re a Wayne, well kind of because you’re a Wayne.  It’s…” she faltered for a few seconds then muttered under her breath again “Je vais tuer cette putain de mère.”

“Wait, who is the mother fucker you’re talking about? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  I’m just going to kill a bitch when I get home.”

“Okay… Okay, first, that is a lot more swearing than I thought you were capable of and I’m extremely impressed… and turned on,” he chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him and mumbled under her breath “you should have heard what was going on in my head”.  He raised his eyebrows at her suggestion.  “Okay, you’re making it really hard not to make out with you right now.” He watched proudly as her cheeks suddenly blazed red at his comment. Another point for him tonight.

“Second, if you’re just worried about Bruce finding out you were here, it never happened.  I never saw you.  You were never here,” he assured her.  Instead of calming her she seemed more panicked, eyes darting from the door to him. This seemed like more than just not wanting to get noticed.  She was into something and didn’t want to be.  “Or, if you’re in trouble, I can help.  You just need to tell me what is going on.  You don’t seem like you would willingly work with someone out to hurt others, so whatever it is, I’m sure you aren’t willingly doing it.  If it is something bad.  I just really have no idea what is going on right now and I would like you to tell me.” He continued earnestly, looking her in her eyes to make sure she understood how deathly serious he was about it.  If she needed help, he WOULD help her.  Even if he didn’t like her, which he really did, he was going to help put that smile back on her face.

She looked at him for another few moments opening her mouth slightly to say something then seemed to think better of it and closed it again.  She narrowed her eyes and looked away scanning the room as she thought about what to say and do next.  She seemed to come to a conclusion as she turned back to him and set her feet firmly on the ground.

“I never told you why I was here, did I?” Even before he shook his head she continued.  “I’m here to keep an eye on the Waynes.  On you, apparently.  Didn’t know you were back from the dead though, so I wasn’t looking out for you. Congratulations on that, by the way, you know, on the whole not being dead thing.  That’s really amazing.  I’m glad you can be around to enjoy life and laugh and be sarcastic and look at me with those eyes and look like that in a suit… probably even better out of it.”  She muttered the last part under her breath.

“I’d love to see you out of that dress, too.” He smiled smugly at her.

She huffed out a breath, cheeks reddening again, “Yeah, not happening.  I’m burning this dress as soon as I get out of here.”

“I can help you with that, too.  I like setting fires.  Two birds, one pyrotechnic.” He preened for a moment enjoying the flirting. Wait, less flirting, more focusing back on the more important part of her earlier speech.

“Wait, why are you keeping an eye on us?” he asked apprehensively.

“So I could warn my… associate if any of you left. So he could have plenty of time to… what is the best way to say this…” she looked up to the ceiling and took a deep steadying breath thinking about the words she wanted to use.  None of this was part of the plan. “…so he could have plenty of time to evacuate your… lair? No, lair makes you sound like villains… your illicit… cavern of, actually I don’t know if it is a cavern… and it isn’t really illicit, is it?  Well, actually I guess it kind of is, but that still makes it sound like you’re a villain…your underground… no, I don’t even know if it is underground… to evacuate your… uh… secret… base of… um, operations?”

“My what?” Jason demanded now more than a little concerned. “Who are you?”

“Nobody.  Absolutely nobody of consequence. And nobody who should be here right now.”  She turned to walk away before Jason stopped her.

“No.  You don’t get to say something like that then try to slink away like nothing happened. Come on, we’re going to go talk to some people,” he said grabbing her arm a bit harder than strictly necessary and dragging her towards his brothers and Bruce.  She definitely figured out who they all were or at least who Bruce was and that they knew too, which put her in danger, and she was working with someone to break into the Batcave, which put them all in danger.  Everything about this situation was dangerous and bad and they needed to talk to the family to figure out the best next steps.

Marinette dug her heels into the ground pulling against him, a really bad idea considering how high her heels were. Instead of stopping him she stumbled into his chest allowing him the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said squirming to get out of his embrace. “This is between you guys.  I have neither the desire nor the interest to get involved in this little lover’s spat.  I have more important things to be doing right now.  Things that asshole was supposed to be doing instead of pulling practical jokes.”

“Jokes?  What do you mean jokes?  What the fuck is going on?”  He looked at her again.  She wasn’t afraid, she wasn’t gloating, she wasn’t even nervous.  She was annoyed verging on enraged.  

“Nothing you need to worry about, Red.” She threw in the moniker at him to get him to back down.  She knew how important secret identities were, and how finding out someone knew yours could throw you off your game.  She felt a bit of guilt as she used that knowledge against him but this was no longer fun.  Now this was infuriating.  John was playing games with his former lover, or current lover, whatever Bruce was to him, instead of just helping.  He was taking time she didn’t want to spend, time the people of Paris should not have to wait.  They had spent weeks planning this when he could have just walked in and asked for the information.  They had wasted so much time.

“I. Do. Not. Have. Time. For. This.  This is not a joke.  This is not some gag for you overgrown children to play at,” she said hitting her finger into his chest with each word.  “I have people in need relying on me.  I have children counting on me. Parents counting on me.  Single people, who also deserve to live just as much as everyone else, counting on me and all suffering while they wait.  I. Am. Done.  And I am leaving”

Jason listened to her shocked.  Something was happening and he had absolutely no idea what, but somehow they were involved.  He hated not knowing what was going on.  Apparently children were suffering because of all of this and he didn’t know why.  But, he was going to figure it out.  She was right.  They did not have time for this.  Whatever was going on, they were going to help.  He turned away loosening his grip on her waist to just laying his arm on her instead of encircling her.  He touched his hand to his ear to activate the com hidden inside, “Tim, can you check the security video for the uh… our base of operations?”

It appeared that Tim was giving Jason some resistance because Jason turned away even further and started yell whispering threats into the air.  He was trying to be as discrete as possible in the crowded room, which normally wouldn’t be such a concern but there was a group of dancers headed their way, just leaving the dance floor after the song ended.  Marinette took advantage of his distraction and the sudden cover to twist away from him and slip into the crowd.

Jason called after her and tried to grasp her arm but missed her.  He searched for her but the crowd was too thick, having had to bottleneck to get past the tables surrounding the dance floor.  He scanned the crowd for her twisted hair or the black dress, but couldn’t see her in the group.  She had effectively disappeared, but if she went into the crowd, she would have to come out and cross the dancefloor in order to leave.  He could just wait for her on the other side of the group and keep an eye on the dancefloor.  He moved to go around the table, but that side was just as crowded so he did the only rational, discrete thing he could in the situation, he slid across the top of the table landing on the dancefloor and waited to grab her there, but she never came out.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

_____________________________________________________________

Marinette had a habit of catastrophizing.  She knew this.  Everyone who knew her knew this.  She thought of all of the worst case scenarios and tried to plan for them. Generally, it was a wasted effort that did little more than stress her out and annoy her teammates.  Today, however, today it paid off.  She had anticipated having to make a quick escape and once she decided it was time to go, she put her escape plan into action. Freeing herself from Jason, she pulled off her belt before even getting to the crowd.  As she entered the crowd of people, she pulled out her hair pin, letting her hair fall down.  She didn’t even have to hunch down much at all to disappear into the crowd as she weaved her way through them.  One advantage to being short.  She ran her left hand through her hair tousling it so her long raven hair cascaded around her shoulders.  With her right hand, she yanked at the cowl neckline of her dress, allowing the fabric overlay to drop forming a floor length skirt, revealing the bodice of her now red Harlow inspired dress that had been hidden underneath.  Her new dress hugged her body until it reached her hips then fell freely.  

Finally, she reached into her red purse, removed her phone, the cookie for Tikki, and Kaalki’s glasses, nodded to Tikki, turned her purse inside out revealing a now black purse with red detailing, and returned her phone, glasses, cookie, hairpin, and belt into it, leaving plenty of room for Tikki. The entire change took all of 10 seconds.  By the time she would walk out of the crowd, she would be completely unrecognizable, at least by anyone who didn’t already know her.  Unless that is, if they were looking for someone moving against the tide of people.  That would be a dead giveaway.  So instead, she pivoted and moved with the crowd instead of against it, parting with them after a few tables and moving laterally toward the exit.

Marinette made her way to the exit quickly, but not quickly enough to draw attention to herself.  She needed to get to Constantine before the “bat family”, as her research had called them, got to him.  They had reasons for keeping other superheroes out of Paris and she had no interest in having that particular awkward and slightly guilt laden (stupid gorgeous blue eyes she wanted to get lost in) conversation with them.  Especially when she was this utterly livid with Constantine, which was another reason she was rushing.  She needed to get to him so she could beat the asshole out of him. Oh, she was going to make him pay for this, and not in a way he would enjoy.  

She was angry and frustrated and guilty and grieved. She knew Jason didn’t deserve for her to snap at him like she had but she had been too frustrated to hold back and he was part of the problem.  She had been having fun with Jason.  She had been enjoying bantering with him and looking into his eyes.  She had really, really been enjoying having him look at her like she was the most interesting thing in Gotham and having him hold her closer than he had to while they danced.  And now it was gone.  She was a hero and he was a vigilante so he had to be kept at a distance.  A 3,670 mile distance to be precise, well approximate.

She was just about to cross through the exit when a voice stopped her.

“Hey,” a woman with short black hair and green eyes called out to her.  Marinette slowed down weighing the risk of just blowing her off vs the risk of stopping. She decided ignoring her might lead to the woman calling after her, which would bring unwanted attention, which she wanted to avoid.  Stopping seemed the safer answer.  As long as she didn’t look back at the gala or do anything else that might incriminate herself, she would be able to get away without any awkward conversations or fights.

“Yes” she answered with a strained smile.

“I saw that little quick change back there,” the woman responded.  Marinette’s eyes widened in panic.  Before anxiety could start going over all the worst case scenarios her mind could come up with, she was already in the midst of one of them in real life she really didn’t need to start thinking of worse things to add to it, the woman continued, nonchalantly scanning the people at the gala, “don’t worry, I’m not going to out you.  I just might have occasion to use a quick change myself from time to time, so I was hoping you might share where you got your dress.”  She shot Marinette a wicked smile.  ”Just because you’re hustling doesn’t mean you can’t look killer doing it.”

Marinette relaxed minutely and gave her a small smile, “it’s called MDC Designs.  She’s online. What’s your name so she’ll know who to look out for?”

“Thanks kitten.  I appreciate it.”  She said never looking back at Marinette.  “Selina.  Selina Kyle. I’d say nice to meet you, but we never met, did we?”

Marinette smiled to herself as she walked out the door. Maybe the night wasn’t a total loss. Hopefully, Constantine got the information they needed, she’ll get to punch his smug face as soon as she sees him, and she’ll get a new client.  Guess Adrien was right about showcasing her design after all.  He must never know.  Not such a bad night at all.

 Chapter 2

 Tag:

@fsketchart @jasonette-july-2k20

[shoichee]

May I request a matchup please?

I go with she/her and I'm Straight! Pretty outgoing at some point but mostly is that calm sunshine in the group (or that's what I've been told) I am a Virgo and an ENFP! You see where the energy is coming yes? Hehe

Anyways,Hobbies,, You can say almost anything fun. I love sports especially Volleyball and basketball. I definitely enjoy singing, drawing, painting, writing and so many things- I just can't stop haha!

Strength? The ability to talk to Everyone easily! Communication! I love interacting with people and I honestly think its one strong point for me! I usually get pissed at people easily but Somehow they turn around and become nice to me so It doesn't bother me much anymore!

Weaknesses,, Stress is the biggest one. I can't function straight with stress and I lose my control and focus. I get really vulnerable and weak under it and like,, oops. Also Insecurities are part of the whole thing but that goes with Everyone I guess.

My interests revolve around almost everything. Curiosity. Mhm. Oh and Also I LIVE for making Others feel better. No matter who I try to take care of Everyone around me and all. Even if other people thought they were bad and Hideous. I just give the person a chance and then,,,, I get easily attached. Help.

Ah, I am not the tallest but Is 5'475 tall? Hehe,, lets not talk about the rest- Long dark hair with some hazel highlights and slightly tanned skin.

Hmm what else. Ah yes! One main thing that I LOVE is Roller Coasters.

I hope that's enough?? Haha Hope you have a good day/night! Stay Hydrated!

I just saw that another anon Said that they forgot something and since mine is in the askbox I was wondering if It's okay to add some small things? Minor details? If so here are mine🥺 (I don't remember if I submitted as an anonymous or not but I'm the ENFP gal who has a lot of energy uhh Volleyball basketball gal?)

I am a big softie who EASILY gets attached to people/things/animals and even numbers. If I liked someone and they liked this specific number, this number is now one of my favorites. Colors as well. Anything that resembles someone I really like. Plushies? If anyone got me one I'm definitely cherishing it but best gifts would be colorsets. I love coloring so any color set makes me happy.

I am a total softie. I would appear to be confident and more mature but I have this soft side in me. (And that side who squeals and screams in horror movies as well) I cry while watching shows and Whatever happens that makes me happy makes me soft like 🥺

Food makes me happy as well (Idk I'm hungry had to put that in)

Sorry If that caused you confusion and if that was messy-

Hope you have a Lovely day/night Darlin!!💖💖

AHHHHH HI, I AM BACK AND READY TO DO YOUR MATCHUP FELLOW ENFP(and ENTP oof)  HERE TOO I RELATE KEKE YOU SOUND SO WHOLESOME AND SWEET JUST AHHHHHH– anywho….. I am…. Sincerely sorry I went on an unannounced hiatus–

Best Matchup…

Sakurai Ryō

listen, HEAR ME OUT

he’s an INFP first off, the butter to your ENFP bread and he’s a virgo too

he’d probably be intimidated by you first by how chatty you can get ✋😭 but he’ll always be in the background, noticing your presence, being that the very observant guy he is

but you’re always hanging around the basketball courts and he has that curiosity in him that he can’t bring himself to shake off

everyone calls you the oh so wonderful “calm sunshine” and the mega-softie that he can’t help but want to get to know you, but he doubts your reputation and rumors about you just a smidge bit when he sees you yelling your ass off at Aomine, because let’s face it, he brings out the worst sides in everyone LMAO and he’s NEVER OUTWARDLY NICE (Aomine—stop making things harder for everyone, I’m begging–)

of course, noticing Sakurai doing his own shooting drills many times while you hang around the courts, you’ve tried a few times to approach him to say a quick “hi” and a chat, but he IMMEDIATELY books it out the door every time, all while frantically chanting “sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

you’re here like: “??????????? What did I do?”

it was by pure chance when you guys ended up in the same class that spring, I just know it

it was during a break when you, who were seated pretty close to Sakurai, couldn’t help but take a quick peek on his desk when you realized he was moving his pencil in a way that only an artist would do: he was drawing something

oh no… someone got a wee bit excited at that, totally not you right now or anything

even when he was half covering the paper while timidly sketching, you could totally see that he was drawing some manga panels and quickly outlining some dialogue bubbles

you made a suppressed delighted noise and he INSTANTLY scrambled to cover his sketch with his entire body on the damn desk and snapped his head up to look at the source of the sound: you

“Uh-uh..Uhm…! I’m sorry!”

“No, no!” you tried to reassure him. “I should be sorry for looking at your art without asking…”

“Oh…” he hesitated, before sitting properly again… though his arm still protectively covered the paper. “It’s fine… so…”

“But by the way!” you chimed. “I really love your art style! I draw too, so I was just really excited to see you did too, sorry if I scared you… I never meant to, ehe.”

he dares to try to glance at your figure at your giggle, but he immediately averts his gaze away in embarrassment… does he have an eensy crush on Touou’s “calm sunshine?” he doesn’t dare to even think

I would think for the next few weeks, you would be the one to initiate all the conversations with him in class, talking about manga and sharing your own drawings to make him feel better, even bringing up basketball as a topic frequently

he slowly becomes more comfortable with you, now realizing that you aren’t here to hassle/embarrass/bully/take advantage of him… poor guy

I suppose this is where your comforting side kicks in a lot more; you’re very protective of him in general, because LOOK AT HIM and tell me he isn’t the SOFTEST GUY YOU’VE EVER MET?

you’ve slowly led him to have more agency on himself + with others and have a little more self-esteem on all the encouragement and reassurance?? and you always try your best to make him feel better?

he likes that you’re the more “mature” and “put-together” one out of the two, you’re someone he can rely on in that sense

there’s gonna be a LONG TIME where he thinks he can’t be with you because he thinks he doesn’t deserve you—someone help this poor guy out

and you’re probably giving the most OBVIOUS signs that you’re smitten with him and everyone around you two are just slapping their faces like: “DUDE… you’ve GOT to be kidding me…”

fast forward where you’re probably the one who confessed and then you two get together

he’s surprisingly calm under large amounts of pressure (he has to, that’s his entire life on the courts), and when it’s with you (someone who he really, REALLY cares about) he’s willing to steel himself to be someone you can rely on during periods of high-stress and vulnerability

he gives sound advice, being really down to earth

as much as he has tons of insecurities on his own, when you have your own bouts of insecurities, he’s rushing to reassure you so adamantly and vehemently that it’s almost comical how passionate he is to dispel your negative thoughts

like, he understands you down to a T because he faces the same struggles himself

you BOTH can cry and squeal at all the types of movies together in a collective sobfest for movie marathons

bonus: there was a time when you gifted Sakurai a mushroom plush, as per his team’s suggestion… not knowing that they were snickering the entire time

“Wha-wha…? What’s with everyone associating me with mushrooms…?”

“Hm? I thought they were your favorite food? And your team told me you would love something like this…”

“Uh… erm… I guess… though I don’t think I’ve ever said any of that.”

a light bulb went off in your head, then a very large irk mark replaced it… you immediately turned and stormed off to find the conniving Imayoshi to yell his damn ear off… leaving a very confused Sakurai behind

his gifts for you on the other hand, are impeccable and well-thought out, always giving you art supplies and trinkets and plushes you might fancy

Runner-Up Matchup!

Kiyoshi Teppei

I was debating between Sakurai and him SO MUCH

let’s just say both are great matchups to you

Anyways, our local ENFJ here is just as sunny as you here

with you two together? godamn, it’s too bright looking at you two standing next to each other, flashing everyone the brightest smiles out there like there will never be rain (cue the sunshine anime sound effect with all of the yellow rays coming off of you two)

both of you guys are quite the conversationalists, livening up any place you guys go to

like… you guys are really similar to each other, no really

it’s not hard to believe for anyone that you two would become great friends and then accidentally fall in love with each other eventually, and it feels all too natural

the only thing that distinguishes him from you is his very strong will and strong mental state overall

he isn’t the “Iron Heart” for nothing

he would definitely keep you grounded on your feet when things get mentally tough, always being there to say the right things and help you relieve the stress through massages and doing some work for you (if he can); also canon because he does this for the Seirin team

and he’s always there to stop you from being too nice to people (especially if these people were vicious and awful to you one moment and then become nice to you the next)... or instead of stopping you from doing anything, he LETS you be nice and chatty, but while you turn around to leave/do something different, he gives them a quite threatening (knowing) smile of his own as a warning not take advantage of you

he’s… not adept with his hands in terms of arts and crafts, so while you stare at wonder at his basketball techniques, he admires your dexterity with a pencil and brush… you’re like the Renaissance goddess to him or something

“Please Teppei, It’s not THAT much of a masterpiece.”

“(y/n), you know you should give yourself some cre~dit.” He would cheekily say while mussing up your hair (he, in fact, quite loves that your highlights really do remind him of sun rays)

“Hey!!”

both of you are literally holding onto each other for dear life when you two thought it was a bright idea to sit down and watch a horror movie together; it’s canon that a horror movie caused him to develop a huge fear of rats… so I’m just saying

“(y/n)! You sing?? Wow, lucky me, getting free front-row seats.”

“And who said I sing for free?” you playfully chided, and he gave a good-natured smirk of his own

“I’m glad you asked, because I can be the instrumental backing to your vocals, so I’ll be technically working to support you, as always.” he reaches into his back pocket to pull out…

a harmonica

a fucking harmonica

“How am I gonna sing to THAT?���

“Let’s try it out, shall we, (y/n)?”

bonus: imagine the hellstorm the Kirisaki Daichi team is gonna get when you see Teppei in a horrible state after that match

Honorable Mention!

Kise Ryōto

did you say your interests revolve around everything??

did you say that you like to sing?

did you say you like to talk with people?

say less, for you have summoned the one and only Kise

canonically, Kise is pretty much the only guy with dyed hair (he actually has brown hair while everyone else has natural black), so when he spies your hair also being a bit different from the rest, he remembers your face

he noticed how sociable you are and how you got along with most people around school

and he finds you a bit more intriguing than your average person to be honest

why did I not put this guy at the top of your matchups? it all lies within his twisted personality

Kise, being an asshole that he is, would talk to you frequently and have you wrapped around his finger (YIKES, aka the people Teppei would warn to stay away from you)

I can already imagine the drama between the two of you and all the misunderstandings things are gonna cause–

see, you’re a great communicator, and contrary to popular belief, Kise really isn’t the best communicator at all—always keeping his real feelings to himself, accidentally assuming things at times, jumping to conclusions, hiding his motives at times

you’re an ultimate softie at heart and get attached really easily, and Kise at first, chalks you up as any other fangirl he’s met (OUCH)

and even when he finally reveals a more sinister side to himself, and you get pissed off and storm off, he’s a bit… thrown off… when you’re back to begrudgingly talk to him again the next time you encounter him

like, you guys will be going through 75282 hurdles before you guys truly see eye-to-eye with each other, but IF THAT HYPOTHETICALLY DID HAPPEN ALREADY…

you guys would be softies together!! he glomps on you, gets all childish on you, and you’re the sentimental person crying and being emotional

when you’re unbelievably stressed, he’s automatically by your side to support you and your needs

and when his team loses again in another match/tournament, and Kise is THIS close to crying again, you do everything you can in hopes of comforting him

people would probably look at you two and go, “eurgh, cheesy”

frequent karaoke night trips!!

you guys just share hobbies and try everything like it’s a trading card game

always going to the fairs and amusement parks to try on all the rides for fun

insanely tooth-rotting fluff in a nutshell if you can get past the huge initial obstacles

[winterhawk-olympic-bang]

How To Edit Your Writing

Guest Poster: Chronicwhimsy

Here is our final Writer Workshop post, written by Chronicwhimsy. Have a read and then head over to the Discord Server where we have a channel for you to take part in a discussion based on the post, with chances to share your own ideas too.

Editing: a drive-by guide

Hi, my name is Claire, and I’m an editor.

(Hi Claire)

I’ve been asked to give a quick guide on tips for editing your stories, as I’ve been a beta/editor for various fanfic writers over the years. I’m a professional editor, working for a publishing house in the UK, and I offer independent freelance editing too, via my website. I’ll be on the Discord server answering questions this evening, but I’m also happy to chat to people either through my website or even if you wanted to drop me a line on tumblr.

The key thing to remember about editing is that the end goal is to make your story the best it can be, and make sure your initial idea comes across as clearly and purely as you first imagined it. It’s about ensuring that the lines of communication between you and your reader are 100% open.

To do that, you need to have finished your story, because you can’t fix something that doesn’t exist.

Then you edit.

What now?

So, you’ve finished your Winterhawk Olympic Bang Fic, and you’re wondering what to do next?

The very first, and most important thing you should do? Celebrate. I mean congratulate the hell out of yourself, pat yourself on the back, and have some cake. Finishing stories is hard. Getting through a first draft is one of the trickiest parts of writing, so you should be proud of yourself, and proud of your story.

Because in a short while, editing is going to make you hate both.

I mean that in the nicest possible way of course, but you absolutely are going to be thoroughly sick of this whole thing by the time you’re done, and you’re going to question everything you’ve ever written. You’re going to get a close-up view of all your narrative bad habits which will make you think you’ve never had any skill at all, and you’re going to re-read your work so many times that it’ll feel trite, old, uninspired. This is normal and it is your brain lying to you. If you remember nothing else, remember that!

“The writing itself is no big deal. The editing, and even more than that, the self-doubt, is excruciatingly impossible.” Jonathan Safran Foer

Don’t lose faith! Editors and editing exist for a reason, no first draft is perfect. You’ve done something amazing in finishing, and now you’re going to make it incredible.

Before You Start - Take a Break

You know the phrase “can’t see the wood for the trees”? It could just as easily be “can’t see the story for the words.” It’s never recommended to go straight into editing as soon as you finish writing, and part of the reason for that is because you’re too deep in the story to be able to assess it objectively, or to catch things that are missed out because you know they’re there, but the reader wouldn’t.

“Once it's done, put it away until you can read it with new eyes. When you're ready, pick it up and read it, as if you've never read it before.” Neil Gaiman

Most writers and editors advocate putting a story away for a month or so before returning to edit, so you’re looking at it with fresh eyes. Obviously, with a Big Bang (or other fic event) this sort of time is usually at a premium! Try and make as much space as you can while still leaving yourself time to edit.

If you really don’t have any time, one trick that can help is changing your location. If you write in your room, can you relocate to your kitchen? Or a café (if you can safely)? Could you print it out? (Printing Top Tip: if you do print it, try and do it double-spaced - this makes it easier on the eyes, and gives you room to make notes. Also, serif fonts can often be easier to read than sans serif fonts, as it gives stronger distinctions between different letters.)

The Filter System

I like to think of the editing process as a series of different filters which, when used one after the other, produce a finely-sieved finished product. Each filter stage has slightly smaller holes than the one before it, as you look increasingly closely at your work.

Filter 1: Structural editing

Does the story make sense? Is the pace okay? Do all the scenes work where they are, or would they be better elsewhere? Do some scenes need to be there at all? Is the characterisation consistent? Does anyone change names halfway through? Did you forget what time of year it was set halfway through?

Filter 2: Line editing

Is this phrase as tight as it could be? Have you repeated yourself anywhere? Does this sentence add anything or does it throw the pace off? Have you gone overboard with adjectives and similes? Have you been too sparse with them?

Filter 3: Copy editing

Is your style consistent? Did you start writing in present tense and switch to past tense? Could this scene transition be snappier? Are there any bits that you want to tidy up? Have you left any half-finished sentences because you got distracted before you could end it?

Filter 4: Proofreading

Is everything spelled correctly? Have you caught all the strange grammar mistakes?

Some of these things might be picked up by your beta reader if you have one. Different beta readers have different styles, and also they will work based on their relationship with you and what you prefer. Some may stick to proofreading and consistency-checking, others may be more confident to dive right in and look at structure, pacing and characterisation. Some may work through the process with you as you write, others may only look at the story when it’s complete so they can get a full overview. There is no right or wrong answer, and having a conversation with your beta about your respective styles at the start can help you work better together!

Filter 1 - Structural Editing

For this stage, you want to read your whole story through from start to finish, and resist the urge to tweak anything to begin with! You will want a way of making notes as you go through because as you do, you’ll make yourself a cheat-sheet to help you with your line edit. Things to keep track of:

Character name spellings

Character ages

Character relationships (drawing a relationship web can be very helpful to visualise this!)

The time span of the story - the date it starts, the date it ends.

As a subset of this, I find it can be very helpful to set up a spreadsheet with a timeline of what happens in the story, and who is involved. Doing this both chronologically for the characters and in order of how it happens in the story can help you keep track of what characters know when, and also when the readers find out certain information. You might have one of these from when you were planning your story (as detailed in Sara Holmes’ workshop). If you’ve kept it up to date with changes to the plot and structure as you’ve written, this will be super helpful.

At this stage, you’re looking to see if everything works as a consistent story. You want to check to see if it feels like it’s the right pace, or if there are bits where it drags or rushes through the action. Why is this? Are there scenes which aren’t adding anything to the progress? Could they just be referred to in passing, or removed entirely without impacting the story? Are there other scenes which need to be added to provide more detail and growth? Is there anything that you as a writer know that is essential to the story, but you forgot to actually put in the text?

“Crafty writers...don't allow Exposition to form Lumps. They break up the information, grind it fine, and make it into bricks to build the story with.” Ursula K. Le Guin

You’re also looking to see if the characters feel true to themselves all the way through. Do the relationships spark? Do they sound like themselves? Can you hear them in your head?

Some people recommend doing several structural edits, with a different focus each time. One pass to look at the pacing, one pass to look at the characters, one to look at the story arc. You’ll work out what floats your boat, but you will be re-reading this story a lot of times before you’re done editing - which is why it’s very important to write what you love and want to read! You’ll go through many stages of hating this story before you let it go, and that will be even harder if it wasn’t something you enjoyed in the first place.

Filter 2 - Line Editing

So you remember I told you to make all those notes during your structural edit? Here’s where you’re going to use them. Now’s the time to go through your story line by line and check that the details in your cheat sheet are correct all the way through the story. I’ve written a novel that I initially set in November, but by the time I finished it, I’d decided it was taking place in early May. I had to go back and fix all the dates and weather descriptions to make sure the action hadn’t actually been yeeted forward six months spontaneously in the middle of a conversation.

Arguably, the line edit will be the most painful part of editing. At this stage, you will be taking a fine-tooth comb to everything you have written, examining it to within an inch of its life, and casting judgement. You’re going to find every stylistic tic you have (for me, everyone is constantly quirking their eyebrows and smirking like they’ve got cramp in their facial muscles), and you’re going to get rid of them (a person only has so many eyebrows, and they can only quirk so far). Now is the time to kill your darlings - don’t hang on to anything unless you feel it’s really doing a job to further the story and the characters.

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings.” Stephen King

If you have ever worried about the unbearable sensation of being Known, the line edit is where you will experience that with every word, and you’ll be doing it to yourself. This is when the doubts will really start to creep in and you will maybe feel like everything you write is unoriginal, derivative trash and unfit for human eyes.

Here I’ll reiterate what I said above:

This is a normal feeling, everyone experiences it when editing. E V E R Y O N E.

It’s a lie. No-one else will ever read your story in this state, no-one else will ever read your story this closely. Of course it feels obvious and uninspired to you - you wrote it. It’s your idea, and you’ve read it several times, it holds no surprises for you. (I may be projecting my feelings from every time I’ve edited something here, but…)

You’ll also be catching any ELEPHANTS or whatever your mammal of choice for placeholder text is that you’ve stationed throughout the story as a flag for you to come back and add in a name, or a food, or a song title later. You know, the things you decided were a problem for Future!You. I have bad news, the future is now.

Top Tip: if you have changed someone’s name halfway through, DON’T for the love of Mike, just do a straight find and replace to correct it. Because that’s when you suddenly find out how many other words actually contain names (Mark became Bill? That’s great, until your characters are going to the superBillet to buy groceries). Some word processing programmes have a “whole word” option which is your friend, otherwise ensure to put spaces either side of the word when you search. If you don’t, you’ve just made another horrible job for yourself...

Filter 3 - Copy Editing

Once you’ve made it out the other side of the Line Edit (and given yourself a nice treat to congratulate yourself because that stage is HARD), we get onto copy editing. This is basically the set-dressing stage. You’ve built the house, you’ve decorated the room, and now you’re just making sure every bit of furniture is in the right place for optimal feng shui.

Here’s where you go through and go, do I really need a dash here, or could I just use a comma? Could I use fewer commas? Could I go in and move all of @kangofu_cb’s commas around because I’m the sort of person who will come into your house and change how you hang your toilet paper or where you keep your ketchup.

Now is the time to be as picky as possible, like you’re an interior designer for the most demanding client in the world and the ornament must be exactly equidistant from both ends of the mantlepiece and facing precisely south-west. Things that may have just survived your line edit will be measured again, and if they’re found wanting, then they get binned.

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” Mark Twain

Another thing you might like to do here is check that all your features and things are correct. Did you make a wild claim about the lifecycle of salamanders, or the average price of corn and then never go back to verify this? Take a second to just do that now. It may be that you decide it’s not a problem (I received one copy edit note saying that an idiom used in a book wasn’t recorded until 200 years later, and I made the editorial decision that no-one would care), but for bigger things you may want to make sure you’re accurate.

If you google it (as I just did, to make sure I was definitely giving you the right information), copy editing is often conflated with line editing, and that’s because in reality a lot of the elements of copy editing actually wouldn’t usually be done by the author, and are probably irrelevant to fanfic. The copy editor is responsible for ensuring the book has a consistent grammatical style in line with the preferences of the publisher (em-dash or en-dash, curly quote marks or straight ones, how you deal with acronyms, what needs to be italicised, etc. etc.), which isn’t necessarily required for fanfic. In reality, for fanfic I’d use this stage as a second, lighter line-edit to see where things can be tightened up in phrasing, as well as perhaps a preliminary proofread where you start to mark up any spelling errors.

Filter 4 - Proofreading

By this stage, you’ll be exhausted, and sick to death of the blasted thing. But the end is in sight! Now you’re onto the proofread. This is another close read, where you go through and check for spelling errors, typos, missing full stops, strange formatting stuff (which probably will be less of an issue as AO3 basically makes everything uniform anyway).

Before you even start this, change your font.

We’ve all been there, thought we’d caught every spelling error, every weird typo, only to spot six immediately after posting. That’s because after a certain point our brain becomes used to the font we’ve written in, and will automatically correct things that aren’t right. AO3 has its own unique formatting - colour, spacing, font - and the minute your fic appears on there in this new format you brain wakes up and is like “oh shit, yeah, that’s not how it should be.”

By changing the font before you proofread, you preempt this step.

Another thing to remember: it’s unlikely you will ever catch every mistake. Published books regularly go out with a smattering of typographical errors throughout the text - how many first editions of books are valuable because of misspellings that slipped through the net? You’re only human.

“Connie's other job was proof-editing which she did very badly. Transferring the author's corrections to a clean sheet of proofs was something Connie was unable to do without missing an average of three corrections a page, or transcribing newly inserted material all wrong... she put angry authors' letters about the mutilation of their books under the cushion of her chair to deal with later.” Muriel Spark, A Far Cry from Kensington

Often, spelling errors and things you would look for in a proofread are things that a beta reader will pick up as they go, as they’re the easiest things to spot, but it’s also worth looking over yourself for anything your beta might have missed.

Whether you decide to follow any or all of these steps, always do the proofread last.There is no point carefully spellchecking a chapter you are then going to delete, or proofreading the whole thing, but adding loads of new paragraphs later that either don’t get looked at or mean you end up having to proofread twice. That’s the only hard and fast rule when it comes to editing, and it will save you a lot of unnecessary work!

FREEDOM

And then, finally, unbelievably - you’re done. Your literary child is ready to leave the nest. Resist the urge to keep re-reading and tweaking. Instead, click “publish” and give yourself a nice little treat. You’ve earned it.

Miscellany and Disclaimers

These editing stages are ones that would be applied to a published novel. An author would probably do this several times - once on their own to get it ready for submission, then perhaps again with their agent, but the really heavy work would be done with their editor. The structural edit would be done under the advice of an agent or editor where the author looks at their comments, rejigs things accordingly, and lather, rinse, repeat until everyone’s happy. The editor would undertake the line edit, and the author would decide what they wanted to keep or change. The copy edit and proofread would be done in-house or sent to freelancers, with queries and changes wafted past the author for clarification or approval.

Self-published authors will often hire freelancers to help at various stages to get feedback and advice.

Very rarely would an author go from draft to final published piece by doing all their editing alone. Because it’s hard fucking work, and because your brain will get exhausted.

In light of that, you need to remember:

You’ve written a fanfic

The editorial standards of fanfic are significantly less stringent than published books

Editing by yourself is really hard work that many people are often paid to do for published books

No-one is paying you for your fanfic

Fanfic is supposed to be fun

Some published authors will edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite again and again. At a panel I attended, Joanne Harris said that if she didn’t rewrite her work at least five times she was being too easy on herself, while Joe Hill said he usually aimed for three rewrites - Joe edited as he went along, going over the previous day’s pages before continuing, where Joanne completed her manuscripts before editing. Elizabeth May has talked about her stages of drafting, starting with her Trash Draft, then her Clean Draft, and then rewriting and editing after that.

These are people who are writing professionally, getting paid for their work, and so the time they put in has monetary results. If you want to write original fiction, their advice is extremely valuable.

For fanfiction, it’s a large time investment for something you’re doing as a hobby for free. If I’m strictly honest, I’m fairly lax with my fanfiction editing. I do structural discussions and tweaks with my beta reader as I write, and then a spell check. I’m also aware that my fanfics aren’t narratively complex, nor do they seem as polished, rich and deep as some of the other works out there. That’s fine by me. You simply need to find the level you’re happy at, where you can still feel proud of your work but you’re enjoying the experience.

In the end - it’s all for fun!

Resources:

Online

Curtis Brown Creative: An Editor’s Guide to Editing Your Novel

Joanne Harris: Ten Tweets About Editing

Joanne Harris: Writing Resources

NerdsLikeMe: Beta Reading vs Proofreading vs Editing

Books

Stephen King - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Ursula K. Le Guin - Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew

[petri808]

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Inukag AU

As Inuyasha and Kagome cut through a park on their way back to the Higurashi home, they chatted casually, just winding down after a hearty lunch at a nearby cafe. The couple stayed to the pathways traversing the manicured park. It would be shorter to cut through the grass, but why the rush? It was a beautiful location, with a several different kinds of trees dotting the landscape to provide shade and lots of open space for all kinds of activities. Some picnicked, flew kites or played frisbee, they’d even passed a group doing Tai Chi. There were young families to older citizens enjoying the scenery. The couples conjoined hands and twined fingers swayed lazily back and forth between them. Despite the summer heat starting to rise in Tokyo, with blue skies and a gentle breeze brought in from the Pacific Ocean, it was a perfect day for a stroll.

While this journey towards normalcy hasn’t always been an easy one, the past couple of months have been the happiest so far. Ever since leaving the hospital Kagome’s felt better and better. There were even moments she’d made peace with the idea she may not regain her memories. Was it saddening yes, because she wouldn’t remember her job, friends, and other precious moments. But at the same time, she could always make new ones. Sango’s twins were still young. She could relearn her job, and best of all she had Inuyasha who’d she’d become attached to. Their steadily growing relationship was a budding romance regardless of their past history. Think about? Kagome had a chance to re-experience everything in a new way, through a new lens. Well… that’s what she told herself to justify the idea, and so far, it was working.

But there were strange moments starting to occur. Sometimes they were dreams of scenes Kagome didn’t recognize. That in of itself weren’t unusual because how often do dreams ever make complete sense? No, it was in the emotions that came with them. On several occasions Kagome would wake up with the distinct feeling these were not merely dreams but memories trying to break through. At other times, she couldn’t remember the dream, only the emotions she’d felt during them. Sometimes they were so intense, she’d wake up in tears or completely happy for no other reason. According to her neurologist, this was normal during the healing process, but unfortunately there was no true way to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

“Did I tell you I reached out to Ms. Tanaka the other day?” Kagome asked Inuyasha.

“Mmm, I don’t think so.”

“I called the office and spoke to her briefly about maybe getting lunch one day so she could tell me how things have been there. I may not know exactly what she’s talking about, but maybe it’ll jog my memories.”

Inuyasha lifted their conjoined hands and kissed the back of hers. “I think that’s a really good idea. You guys will have fun talking.”

“I think so too, she seemed very nic—…” Kagome’s voice trailed away as stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes shifted towards one of the parks trees. “Um, c-could we check out that tree?”

“Sure, whatever you want.” Inuyasha smiled knowingly.

It was like her feet gained a mind of their own as they carried her towards a large Sakura tree in the middle of a field. Just from looking at, there wasn’t anything special about the tree. Spring had long since passed and the blooms were no more. But Kagome felt a pull towards this one in particular as if she remembered something about it. What that was she had no idea. She let go of Inuyasha’s hand and reached out, touching the bark of the tree, and staring up at its massive girth. It looked old. Maybe there long before the park existed… maybe older than even the Edo period, who knew? It was just another green leafed tree, yet why was it stirring up a rush of emotions? Happy ones with butterflies dancing in her soul.

Slowly, she moved around the base of the tree like a surveyor mapping it out or searching for secrets only it could provide. And that’s when she saw it. Kagome’s breathing hitched as her eyes fell upon a carving in the wood, approximately five feet above the ground. There, a bit worn nonetheless was a heart encircling two names. “Kagome…” She read aloud, “& Inuyasha—

Oh, my Kami!” She gasped, both hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock. “H-How? When?”

At that moment, Inuyasha walked over, gazing at the words and running his hand over the carving while he spoke. “We carved this about two years ago.” He smiled, eyes crinkling, and growing moist as if reminiscing. “It was a late Saturday afternoon and after eating an early dinner at Genki Sukiyaki, we cut through this park to get to your house. But it started to rain, not very heavy, so we took shelter under this tree.” Inuyasha chuckled lightly. “I remember you being upset about your hair getting wet.” He finally looked to Kagome, placing a hand on her cheek. “You looked so beautiful and even though the weather was miserable, there was just something magical about it all. That’s when you asked me to carve this into the tree.”

“But how did I know to look for it?” Kagome was so confused. “I don’t remember any of that.”

“I have no idea how. But part of you must. Maybe, it’s a sign your memories are fighting to come through.”

The tears gathering in Kagome’s eyes, trickle down her cheeks as a blend of happiness and sadness. She wanted to be happy for such a beautiful memory but devastated that she couldn’t remember it. She wanted to be excited that maybe, just maybe it could be true that her memories were returning, yet she didn’t want to take the chance of a let-down. Inuyasha pulled her into a tight hug as she let go of the angsty emotions. “It’s not fair that I can’t remember! I want to remember!”

“Shhh,” Inuyasha who’s own tears begun to spill, did his best to soothe her with softened tones. “I want that too. It’s gonna get better baby. I think this really is your memories returning, we just have to believe.”

“It’s hard to do that sometimes…”

Inuyasha lifted her chin and swept his thumbs over her cheeks to dry them. “And if you don’t, we’re creating a whole new memory of this tree right now, an even more special one.”

Kagome sniffled. “You think so?”

He nodded his head and placed a gentle kiss on her whetted lips. “What do you think?” Inuyasha questioned with a soft smile. “How can we add to this memory?”

Kagome paused for a moment in thought. “We could add something beneath our names… like… mmm, forever in time?”

“Is that what you want?” She nodded yes. “Okay,” Inuyasha obliged.

He kissed her again then used his claw to slowly, meticulously carve the new words into the bark. It took a few minutes because he wanted to make sure it was easy to read and would last a long time. “I think this is definitely will better than the original memory.”

“Mmhmm, it’s a good one,” Kagome agreed. She felt a lot better now. “Thank you, Inuyasha for being so patient with me. It must be so frustrating.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “Not anymore. I’m not glad about the accident, but I’m cherishing all this time I’m spending with you. Kagome, I truly mean it when I say, this moment right here,” he took her hand. “It’s now one of the happiest moments you’ve ever given me. No matter what,” he smiled, “I’ll always love you, forever in time.”

She giggled. “Forever… I like the sound of that…”

After the incident at the park, Kagome brought it up with the neuropsychologist assigned to her case. The woman patiently sat in her chair as Kagome told her every little detail. What she felt, the emotions, her thoughts, and reactions. She also brought up the dreams she’d been having as well as small incidents that caused her to feel like it might be memories trying to come through.

“Like, just the other day,” Kagome explained. “Sango accompanied me to the hospital for my last physical check-up, but as we passed by the nursery, we decided to stop to look at the cute babies. Then out of nowhere I started to feel emotional, nothing bad, just happy as she talked about the birth of her twins. I mean, yeah it makes sense to feel happy at the time because we were having a good time, but it just felt different. I almost felt like crying. Why is that??”

The woman finished jotting down her notes before speaking. “It’s been about 5 months, correct, since you lost your memories?” Kagome nodded yes. “And according to your latest evaluations, your brain has healed quite nicely. It’s not uncommon at this point for triggers to manifest themselves.”

“I don’t understand…”

“The way long term memory retention works, our brains must process information and create new neurocircuitry, storage if you will once the information has been deemed necessary to keep in the long term. If not, our short term memories are discarded quickly. Of course, this is just a basic explanation and there’s more to it, but what studies have found is memories attached to an emotional event have a higher likelihood of being retained and will evoke a stronger response from us. Think of it like, these emotional memories are much more deeply attached to our psyches.”

“Oh— I think I understand.”

“Mmm,” the doctor hummed. “The park incident was attached to a very emotional moment in your life. So even though you couldn’t remember the event itself, the part of you that remembered the emotions surrounding it did and pushed you towards the tree. Also, the hospital, you mentioned being with your friend Sango and looking at babies. This is just a guess, but perhaps you were feeling the emotions you felt from the time she gave birth.”

As the doctors words were processed, moisture began to pool in Kagome’s eyes. Could it really be true?! Should she really allow herself to hope?! When Kagome finally responded, her voice cracked as it held back the tears. “D-Does this mean… I’m starting to get my memories back?”

“I would say, yes. Again, I cannot say one hundred percent certain, but what you are experiencing is a common one. Those that suffered from acute memory loss, don’t just wake up one day and suddenly they’ve all returned. It’s a gradual process, but once it begins it typically continues at a steady pace.”

“I-I don’t know what to say!” A few happy tears joined the smile on Kagome’s face.

“I suggest that you start writing down the times you feel something or think you’re remembering something and check them with your family and friends. If they confirm it, talk about it. That could help as well to bring more information and memories to the forefront— give your brain a little help to jog itself.”

“Thank you so much, doctor! I’ll definitely do that!”

The woman smiled, reaching over to pat Kagome’s hand before giving it a small squeeze. “You’re very welcome. I wish you all the luck in the world!”

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Hey guys, I was having thoughts on the meta-side of the Dream SMP. Okay, so we know that Technoblade has done much of the scripting for this present arc, Tommy, Dream and Quackity have also done some in collaboration, presumably doing each of their own characters and motivations, and Tubbo and Fundy have also been involved too. Uh, this will be rambly as it’s a lot of unsorted observations.

Obviously these are my thoughts, and ideas purely based on my observations as a viewer but you can definitely tell that they’re all very aware of the fanbase and are likely very influenced by them. I could see this even in the Pogtopia arc where Tommy started reusing phrases before when debating ethics with Wilbur, eg ‘let’s lose as winners, not win as losers.’ or something along those lines and how Techno made a callback to his only universal language is violence speech in his wither monologue. 

But wow, the scripting is definitely becoming a lot more obvious in this new season of the SMP. Not a bad thing at all, by the way, it’s just a difference. Clearly they’ve gotten more detailed plans and are more ambitious with what they convey in minecraft, with more players taking inspiration from Wilbur after how well he executed it. It’s also the difference in how the various people write, I’m sure. 

Tommy and Tubbo have streamed the SMP for the longest and have very gradually evolved into the roleplaying and their respective approaches to it are very interesting. Tubbo’s streams are typically chill and usually involve him working on some sort of project - he’s very chaotic when with other people but is usually very reactionary when it comes to the roleplaying - doing most of his best stuff when bouncing off Tommy, or occasionally Quackity. On his own he doesn’t like to lead bits but is among the best at making other people’s bits work. Same with the RP! His character’s in a weird spot right now as the other writer’s seem to be writing him in quite an unflattering way and he doesn’t do solo, emotional performances all that much meaning he’s less sympathetic right now then he really should be. Like, Tommy garnered loads of sympathy during his exile as he gave a very expressive performance where Tubbo’s character also presumably feels very isolated and alone and he’s being manipulated by the people around him but he gives a lot less. This has made it easier for the audience to start siding more with Technoblade, the literal mass-murderer, over the traumatised kid who was manipulated into exiling his best friend and continues to face terrible choices with no good options.

 While I can of course make less meta theories on why Tubbo should be appreciated more and what it says he’s got no real support and is compartmentalising his problems, in the end it’s how his streams work. Tubbo does plot related streams, and he does streams where he simply vibes - and even in the serious streams, he can joke around and cheerfully lampshade the goofiness by doing things like joking about wanting a good review from Techno while kidnapping him - that stuff is priceless and does not fit into the melodramtic scripts but it adds so much to the SMP and why it is so much fun to watch. Tubbo’s really good at making content better! He’s not afraid to look ridiculous, he will also unapologetically avoid engaging in too much melodrama himself when he doesn’t feel like it. I consider his character highly underrated in the plot right now.

Tommy knows what he’s doing. Even before the roleplaying really took off, Tommy liked to play a character and lead bits and the SMP shifting in a more scripted direction suited him exceptionally well. Tommy focuses heavily on streams with lots of content, only rarely doing more chill stuff - especially more recently. He has always approached streams with a plan - but usually their extremely loose and he has said that he’d sometimes just come up with an idea 10 minutes before the stream and improvise from there. Tommy’s good at improvising and seems to work best with a very loose plan. Where I think Techno likely came up with the plan for Tommy to get exiled from L’Manburg and then join forces with him, Tommy likely filled in how to play his character and - wow.

Tommy’s writing seems to be incredibly simple - each exile stream had no major plot points or anything and the plans that are there don’t even make logical sense (let’s throw a party in one day and let’s invite everyone but have Dream not send out the invitations so no one shows up - and I’m going to do this even with Philza and Fundy literally in the call.) but Tommy pulled every one of them off very well and proved to be compelling enough that no one cared at all whether the plot made sense nor did Tommy make much effort to justify that sort of thing - ‘cause he knows how the SMP works and how much the audience will go along with it. And instead, Tommy focused entirely on his characterisation and spent all his time exploring it. That’s how Tommy works - very simple plans, then improv in character into an engaging bit. He’s managed to pull off the most ridiculous things like that, and has confidence that the other streamers will support it - that’s how he’s prepared to try insane things like pretending to be Clarencio the llama. And, like Tubbo, he’s always willing to throw for content. 

Then there’s Technoblade. He’s streamed the SMP a lot less - though he’s done so much more recently - but he’s spent a lot more time playing on the SMP, doing tons of grinding. He here for the RP but is also committed to playing the game itself very optimally. He seems to have a much larger view, taking in the bigger picture, of the story where Tommy has a very personal view. His approach to content is all about the fanservice. 

He’s always trying to create big epic, moments, that both look and sound awesome. Like the butcher’s army plotline which let him both seem like an underdog, a victim against a mean group, and also an incredible badass figure who outplayed them all and came out as victorious. The butcher’s army were really given an antagonists role there, and were really made to seem unlikeable. Then he met up with fan-favourite Tommy and suggested a team-up with him. (This is also leading to the ultimate fanservice that is the Sleepybois team-up.) Techno’s got a very, dry self-aware sens of humour too and he’ll often make simple meta observations about the SMP - like noting that the pacing’s fast or teasing in the chat in the middle of wars. He’s also made himself into a bit of a meme what with logging just to say his name and leave. 

I don’t know how much it’s just Techno of course, but the plot really seems to be heading in a direction that suggesting that Technoblade was Right. L’Manburg’s seeming corrupt, and Tommy is being seen as Theseus. At the time Techno first made the Theseus speech, I felt like the comparison seemed unfair - but now it’s like the plot itself has bent over to make the comparison make sense, and Techno’s one of the writers of the script. Techno also of course, prepared a vault to show Tommy so he could say ‘welcome home Theseus dramatically - total fanservice as fans were indeed talking about how cool saying a line would be, and then he absolutely did. The way Techno calls his viewers chatting as the voices in his head is also fanservice. It’s not like actually true, as Techno ignores the chat if they tell him information his character doesn’t know and meanwhile all the streamers interact with their chat too - so all chats have always been a part of the story and calling them canon is absolutely meaningless. Not a bad thing though - it is nice and makes the fans happy and makes them feel included. I don’t know if this sounds critical by the way - it’s not meant as such at all - all the streamers love engaging with the fandom, and Techno’s approach to giving lots of fanservice by providing so many epic moments is great. I just wanted to highlight it. 

And those were some meta thoughts on the SMP right now and its writing. I don’t really think I had a point or argument. I just wanting to make some observations and my impressions. If you’re curious I am course a Tommy fan first. I love how he’s evolved with the SMP most of all and I appreciate his character-driven storytelling. His main weakness is probably getting too into bits and going too far and it’s so nice that the SMP is a place where even his weaker ideas are supported rather than shut down. I like how he’s able to improv so well and simply how he streams. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love Tubbo best when he’s with Tommy as they bring the best performances out of each other. I find Techno interesting as a contrast to both of them, as he approaches so many things in such a different way. 

[fan-fantasies]

Partners? (Namjoon smut)

Pairing?: Namjoon x virgin!reader (college! au)

Warnings?: SMUT, fingering, oral, bit of a daddy kink, virgin reader, swearing (i think thats it?)

Word count?:a little over 8k

A/N: Hey guys! Its been a bit, kinda crazy that its now that i wanna write. So just a life update, i’m back at college, we are doing in person classes so I’m not sure how busy i’ll be. Though on a better note i’ve been writing a lot for some reason and am only now feeling inspired to do so. Anyways, someone needs to stop me from writing smut, I suck so bad at it but here I am continuing to write. Anyways, i hope you guys enjoy. Maybe i’ll post something else later in the week or by the weekend, who knows. Thanks for all the love and support you give me and Heather, we really appreciate it! <3 ~Breezy

In the three years, you had been at your university you had honestly believed that college dorm sex was the worst kind of sex to have. Not only did you have to be slightly quieter as to not allude the other students around you of what you were doing, but you had to make sure that you timed it just right so your roommate wouldn’t walk in on you. The number of times you had walked in on your roommate and her boyfriend finishing up was honestly insanely high. 

You and your roommate had been rooming together since your first year, you had moved into her room after your first roommate decided she wanted to party all the damn time. The two of you just seemed to click right away, you two had enough in common that you would stay up all night just chatting away. Usually talking about weird things and just end up going to bed without another word. 

Today was another day, your writing workshop had seemed to take its toll on you seeing as though you were dragging your feet on the pavement, how you hadn’t tripped yet was beyond your logic. You let out a rather loud yawn as you trudged towards your dorm building which seemed to be much farther away then you remember. 

“Hey!”A voice called from behind you, it took you a moment to realize that someone was talking to you. Stopping in your tracks, you turn and see a tall figure jogging towards you. You instantly recognize him by his blonde hair, he usually sits next to you in your workshop class. Namjoon was his name.

When he finally caught up to you, he stopped to catch his breath, “Damn, I’m out of shape,” he pants before standing back up fully. He was tall, practically towering over you. 

“Sorry to just run up to you,” he begins, “but I know we will be having a group project soon and I enjoy your writing so I was wondering if you would want to work with me?” He says looking at you, there was a small smile on his face. 

You had done proofreading on his work before, it was honestly amazing but you weren’t sure what he saw in your work. 

“Y-Yeah! Sure, I would like to work with you,” you smile, “I enjoy your work too!” You follow up as you watch his smile grow and small dimples appear. 

“Awesome!”He exclaims, “Can I have your number? So we can talk about times to meet up or maybe throw ideas at each other.”

You’re too mesmerized by his cute smile to say words, so you simply nod at his question. Both of you exchange numbers before you both go into different directions. 

You were lucky that Namjoon had stopped you to talk because if he hadn’t, you likely would have walked in on your roommate and her boyfriend having their sexy time. Unlocking the door, you enter, seeing the two of them in bed just kinda chatting but you knew they were likely naked under those blankets. You kept your eyes from looking in that direction as you walk towards your side of the room. 

Your roommate had greeted you, which you happily reply with a simple greeting. You knew the two of them would go back to chatting until they either fell asleep or he would get dressed and leave. You put your earbuds into your ears and began to read over the assignment that was given for another class and began to work on it. Engrossed in the music, your head thinking about nothing but the assignment until you felt someone tap your shoulder. 

“It’s time for dinner, wanna go to the cafe?” Your roommate asked, typically you both went together or ate in the room.

“Yeah just give me a second,” you answer as you get yourself to a good stopping point before grabbing all the things you needed for dinner. 

The walk with filled with chaotic chatter as usual, though she did apologize for you nearly walking in on them again. 

“Me and him just have awful timing,” she admits, “and we can’t do anything in his room cause his roommate is literally always around,” she explains with a shrug. 

You nod, “Yes well, please for the love of all things, just text me when you think you’re gonna start anything.” You plead, “Then at least I can wait an hour or something so I don’t have to see any more than I already do.” You both laughed for a few moments before entering the building that seemed rather quiet for the time of day. 

After grabbing your plate of food and finding an empty table you both sat together enjoying each other company more than the food. 

“Hey (y/n),”

You glance behind you, surprised to see Namjoon standing behind you. “Oh hey Namjoon,” he was smiling,

“Do you mind if I join you two? I wanted to run something by you for the project,” you glance over to your roommate who was clearing giving signs to let this poor man sit. 

“Sure take a seat,”you tell him, “Oh Namjoon, this is my roommate,” you introduce both of them. Your roommate seemed more interested in trying to leave you two alone to talk then actually making a friend. She stood up, grabbing all her things, before leaving she whispers in your ear,

“He’s cute! You better be getting some of that,” she giggles before walking off not giving you a chance to explain that it was nothing like that.

“Sorry about her, she can be a little weird,” you apologize to him, he only laughed a little before you both began talking about your project.

“I don’t know about you, but I find myself writing more romance style novels then I do anything,” he laughs nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

You sat there thinking about it, “I’ve never really written a romance style thing before,” you trail, you were more into writing horror and fantasy then you were anything. 

“I enjoy horror and fantasy,” you explain looking down at your hands. You weren’t exactly expecting the reaction you had gotten.

“That's wonderful!,” He began to jot notes down in his book, “Why don’t we try to write the most obscure story? Some sort of romance horror story,”  he suggests. 

There were a few moments of silence while you thought it over, a horror romance novel? That seemed a bit out there but then again, your writing wasn’t too far off from being “out there”.

“That sounds kind of fun~,” you tell him. His beautiful bright smile appeared on his face causing a blush to appear on your cheeks. What a truly interesting project this would be.

You hadn’t even noticed that people were slowly leaving the dining room area, the both of you too engrossed on trying to come up with the perfect idea. It wasn’t until the staff came over and told you it was nearly closing time that you realized how long you had been sitting at the same table. In that period, you had brainstormed five potential ideas. Honestly, you didn’t believe that you could be so productive with anyone.

“Namjoon, your some sort of genius,” you say as the two of you walk back towards the dorm buildings,

He laughs and shakes his head, “Well I wouldn’t say I’m a genius,” he began, “We can work really well together which is just a good thing,” he tries to explain, you figured he didn’t know how to word his statement but you understood what he meant. It was a relief to think someone so great had wanted to be your partner, since you last partner did none of the work and royally screwed you over. 

“Do you want to meet up tomorrow?” He asks, “To brainstorm some more,” he quickly adds . You thought for a moment only to remember tomorrow was the worst day of the week. 

“I won’t be able to till pretty late. My last class gets out around seven,” you sigh glancing up at him,

He just gave you a nod, “Why don’t we meet up tomorrow after your class for a little bit? I don’t mind staying up a little later,” he suggests,

You weren’t sure if your body could carry you that long, “I don’t know Joon~,” you trail, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to function after such a long day,” you try to reason, 

It was clear he understood but he seemed a bit taken back, “Joon?” He questioned, your eyes went wide with shock, 

“O-Oh, I’m sorry… I tend to give people nicknames and I don’t ever ask if its okay,” you blurt out in hopes you didn’t actually offend him. 

He just laughed, “No it’s alright, I like that a lot,” he answer causing a huge weight to lift from your chest. 

“How about this? We meet up tomorrow, a friend of mine works at a small diner right down the street. He would give us a place in the back if we wanted to work and we can get something to eat,” he says, “if the time comes and your tired then we won’t go,” he concludes. You decided to just tell him yes, not like it was a hard choice. 

You both said your goodbyes before entering your building and heading towards your room. Your roommate was sitting on her bed, laptop on her lap as she scrolled through Facebook. Her face lit up when she saw you, 

“Spill it!” She squealed looking at you hoping for some juicy details of a ‘hook up’. 

You raised your eyebrow, “There is nothing to spill,” you tell her, “We sat and talked about our project,”

She groaned loudly, for some reason she was always trying to convince you to sleep with someone. “Come on girl!” She shrieks, “You need to get some of him!” She put her laptop onto her bed and turned to face you. “He’s super cute and I’m pretty sure he likes you,” 

You knew she was happy for you but she honestly tended to be a little over the top about it. 

“Just forget about it, he’s my project partner,” you didn’t say anything else, you got your bag ready for you long day of classes. 

You knew you were asleep, but this dream felt so real to you. The library was quiet, you really enjoyed studying on the second floor of the library cause no one typically ventured down this far. It almost felt like a secret spot to you. 

“You like this spot too?” A voice asked, you knew it was Namjoon, you didn’t even have to look up from your book. 

“Its quiet and no one can distract me,” you explain continuing to let your eyes scan the book in front of you. 

“Can I join you?” You gave him a nod before he pulled a chair up next to you. The both of you studying in silence for what seemed like forever, it was peaceful and calming. That was until you felt his large hand on your knee. 

You froze at the sudden contact, finally glancing up from your book only to see him reading his as if nothing was happening. 

“N-Namjoon?” You stammer trying to keep yourself calm and to not over think it. He glanced over from his book, only to send you a wink before going back to his reading. What in the world was happening? 

You went back to your reading only to feel his hand creep higher up your leg, now reaching your mid thigh. You felt you stomach twist, not in disgust but in excitement. You tried so desperately to focus on your reading. Though his hand just kept creeping higher until reaching the apex of your thigh. You bit your lip, gently squeezing your legs together. His hand squeezed your thigh, he clicked his tongue in displeasure. Using his strength he pried your legs apart, though you didn’t try to fight back, it was easy to say you weren’t apposed to this happening. 

Once again looking up from your book, you finally saw him looking at you. His eyes blown with lust, it took your breath away. 

“Joon?” You whisper softly as he sets his book down. 

He chuckles, “Keep reading babygirl, and remember keep quiet,” he mumbles, “this is a library,” 

You aren’t sure what his plan is until you feel his hand creep up and begin to unbutton you jeans. You cheeks begin to heat up but you don’t protest, it almost turned you on more. You continue to try to focus on your book as he shimmy you jeans down your legs. Eventually his hand found its way between your thighs, his long fingers gently rubbing over your clothed core. You held back a moan, you had never been touched like this by anyone. 

He felt you tense up and could clearly see the wet spot starting to appear on your underwear, 

“Someones excited,” he chuckles glancing up at you, “Have you thought about this, me touching you like this?” He whispers now expecting an answer, 

You nod your head, “Y-Yes,” you whimper out, you wanted more, you NEEDED more. 

“Now be a good girl and start reading to me, don’t miss a word or I’ll stop,” you couldn’t believe your ears, he wanted you to read? You felt him move your underwear aside, his fingers dipping down through your wet folds. You whimper softly, 

“You heard me baby, start reading,” he growls lowly causing a shiver to run down your spine. Slowly you begin to read where you left off, reading something about the Egyptian gods and how the society revolved around them. You had honestly stoped paying attention up until this point. 

As you continued to read, his fingers ran through your folds collecting you wetness before gently making circles on your clit. The low moan that left you lips was unintentional and not something you had hoped would come from you but you continued to read. 

“You’re so wet baby,” Namjoon mumbles as he kisses your inner thigh, his fingers now trailing towards your entrance before he slowly interested a finger into you. 

You couldn’t help but stop reading, you knew if you continued the moan that would have escaped your lips would have alerted the who library. Just like he said, he stoped when you didn’t continue reading.

“What did I tell you babygirl?” He huskily asks, you began to pant unsure if you can answer. 

“P-Please daddy,” you whine, “just give me a minute, i-i’ll keep reading~ I promise,” the fact that you had just uttered those words even surprised you seeing as though you didn’t think that was something you were that into. 

He gave you a curt nod, “You better beautiful, or I won’t move,” you tried desperately to catch your breath but it took a few moments until you found yourself reading again. Once you began to read, Namjoon slowly began to pump his finger in and out of you. It took every inch of you to not stop or to stumble on your words. 

It wasn’t until he added a second finger where things started to go down hill. You began to stutter, soft moans began to leave your lips.

“P-Please, can I stop reading?” You beg hoping to get an answer you liked. 

He just chuckled as he stopped his motion, “Why should I let you stop baby?” He teased looking up at you, you didn’t have an answer to his question. 

“You gotta study babygirl,” he teases as he slowly pumps his finger in and out of you. 

“P-Please daddy, I wanna watch you,” you whine causing him to stop, 

“You like this?” He begins to move his fingers faster, you put your book down. “If you aren’t gonna read you’re gonna look right at me,” he says looking you directly in the eyes. You gave him a nod locking eyes with him. While keeping eye contact, slowly he leans forward leaving a single kitten like on your clit, almost testing the waters. You bit your tongue to hold back the moan that would have escaped. 

Without warning he went straight in, sucking your clit between his lips.

“o-oh fuck,” you whimper as you try to keep eye contact with him, the feeling of his lips harshly sucking on you, while pumping his fingers into you. It was unlike anything you had ever felt before. When he finally inserted a third finger, your head rolled back a moan finally leaving your lips. You felt him gently slap your thigh to gain your attention, 

“Eyes on me babygirl, I wanna see your beautiful face when you cum on my fingers,” you felt yourself get closer to your release, 

“Fuck, are you gonna cum babygirl? I feel you tightening around my fingers.” He groans, “You like doing this in public don’t you? You like the idea of getting caught, don’t you?” He taunts, you moan not able to form words, 

“Answer me,” he growls against your clit as he gently nibbles on it, 

“Yes daddy, I like it,” you whines out softly, he chuckled sending vibrations straight to your core. 

“I knew you did you slut,” his words only pushing you closer to the edge, 

“I’m so close,” you moan, “Please daddy, let me cum,” you beg, he groans at the sound of you begging. 

“Go on babygirl, cum for daddy,” he groaned out move his fingers faster. The look in his eyes was enough to throw you over the edge, your legs began to shake as you finally reached your climax. He helped you through your high, working his fingers slowly in and out of you until you finally came down. 

“What a good girl~”

Your eyes snapped open, you could feel the wetness pooling between your legs, you hated wet dreams…. You grumbled to yourself as you looked at your phone and saw that it was seven o’clock, thirty minutes before your alarm as to go off. 

“God damn it,” you mumble under your breath as you get out of bed, deciding to take a shower to start the day and maybe you might be able to deal with the aching between your legs. 

Your day had honestly started off alright considering waking up earlier than intended.  Your first three classes went by rather well, though you had two more to go. Between walking from building to building you stopped into the cafeteria to grab a quick snack seeing as though you wouldn’t be eating until eight o’clock tonight when you met with Joon.

In your rush to get in and out quickly, you ran into something solid, 

“(Y/n)? You alight?” A concerned voice asked, you nodded before looking up, 

“Yeah, I’m alright Hobi,” you say, “I’m sorry for running into you, I’m in a bit of a rush,” you explain to him, he smiled his bright smile before speaking, 

“No harm done! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the club meeting!” He say as you rush off. Hobi was president of a dance club that you had been apart of since your freshmen year, but it wasn’t until Hobi came around that you guys ever did anything. You were finally doing shows and competitions, it was honestly the most amazing thing. The both of you bonded over a duet you did together that would be considered pretty risky for just friends to do. Ever since then you two were honestly the best of friends. 

Rushing towards your next class you munched on a piece of toast, you weren’t running late but if you walked slow enough you would be. You just kept telling yourself that you were almost done and soon you would be meeting with your cute new friend. 

Seven o’clock came around and you were trying your best to keep yourself awake, you last class had a quiz that you had completely forgot about and it honestly took everything out of you. 

“Hey (y/n),” Namjoon says as he meets you outside of the school building. 

You yawn and smile, “Hi Joon,” he frowns, he can clearly see that you were tired. 

“Let me take you to your room,” he says with his usual smile, you looked at him in confusion,

“N-No, Joon lets go do our project,” you yawn as you begin to walk, he stops you by gently grabbing your hand,

“Why don’t we go to your room, we can work there if you want,” he says, you nodded sleepily. You must have been that sleepy to invite the boy your roommate shipped you with back to your room. This was a disaster waiting to happen. 

Namjoon walked with you into your room, your roommate was no where in sight. Weird, she must have been at her boyfriends room…

“Make yourself at home,’ you yawn as you set you bag down by your desk and promptly take a seat on your bed. 

“Fuck~” Namjoon mutters as he checks his phone, 

“Whats wrong?” You ask sleepily, you kinda cuddling into your bed. 

“My roommates girlfriend is over, meaning I need to find a place to crash tonight,” he mumbles clearly not happy about the predicament. 

Without thinking you spoke up, “Stay here,” he seems to freeze in his place, “I don’t mind,” you yawn again now laying down in the bed. 

“A-Are you sure (y/n)? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he reasons with you. You pat the empty space next to you, honestly not caring what he did. 

He must have realized no work was getting done tonight, because the lights went out and you felt him lay behind you. You could tell he was trying to keep his distance like a gentleman but you weren’t a fan of personal space. 

A soft yawn escaped your lips  as you cuddled closer to his chest, you had always liked being warm when you slept and he was practically radiating heat. Namjoon tensed up behind you, unsure of what to do mainly because he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. Though he felt himself slowly drift to sleep, his arm gently draping over your waist gently. He could help but feel butterflies in his stomach, it was true he found you cute and that he may have gained a crush on you in the small amount of time you knew each other. Though he wasn’t going to complain about what was happening, no way in hell but he just hoped when you both woke up you things wouldn’t be too awkward. 

You heard the door slowly open, at what you assumed was, early that next morning. You didn’t pay much mind to it seeing as though you were so comfortable and warm in your bed. The soft giggles of your roommate were faint as you slowly began to wake up from your peaceful sleep. You had begun to realize that you pillow was a bit harder then usual…You eyes fluttered open only to find that your pillow was, in fact, the hard chest that belonged to none other then Namjoon. You knew nothing had happened last night, and that this was nothing more. 

“What time is it?” You groan quietly to your roommate, 

“A little after seven,” she says just as quietly, “I see you had a fun night,” she teased, 

You stuck your tongue out at her, “No, he came over to work on our project and I fell asleep, his roommate had his girlfriend over and needed a place to crash.” You tell her as quietly as you could without waking the gentle giant. Your roommate still giggled and went to her side of the room, you assumed to get ready for the class she had today. 

You took this moment to look up at Joons sleeping face, his hair was slightly disheveled and his lips slight agape. Every so often he would softly snore and shift a little. You honestly wished you could have this view all the time. You watched for as he slowly began to wake up, his eyes fluttered open. 

A small smile formed on his lips, “Morning,” he mumbled lowly in his deep morning voice. 

“Morning Joon,” you say just as softly as you slowly try to sit up, instead he slowly pulls you back, 

“Stay for a bit longer,” he groans as he seems to close his eyes again. You honestly didn’t fight him, though you knew your roommate wasn’t gonna let you live it down. It wasn’t much longer until your eyes fluttered shut again and you fell asleep. 

You woke up again, this time to a tickling feeling against your neck. It didn’t take you long to realize that it was Namjoon’s breath against your neck. His face was buried into your neck, his lips ridiculously close to touching your skin. You tried so hard to control your breathing, to ignore the feeling of arousal starting to pool between your legs. Just the idea of his lips on your neck was enough to cause said aching between your legs. 

Namjoon groans in his sleep, shifting closer to you, his lips now brushing gently against the nape of your neck. You bit your lip in order to hold back the whimper that was rising from your throat. This man had no idea what he was doing to you. You continued to feel his lips lightly brush against your neck for a few moment, holding back was becoming incredibly hard. You wanted to move but his arm was securely wrapped around your waist, holding you close to him, maybe he was aware of what he did to you…

You tried to push that thought away from you there was no way he knew, well that’s what you thought. Not seconds later did his lips press against your neck, not roughly but just enough that a the whimper you had been holding back finally made an appearance. His lips didn’t move, it was clear that he was still asleep. 

“J-Joon,” you whisper out in hopes that maybe he would wake up, He just groaned in his sleep, his lips continuing to graze your neck. 

“Namjoon,” you breath out, trying to hide your embarrassment, you honestly couldn’t believe that something this simple was turning you on. Slowly he began to shift, his lips moving away from you now as his eyes opened. 

“(Y/N)?” He groans as he slowly wakes up, you sat there trying to catch your breath. You heart was still pounding in your chest, 

“Are you okay?” He asked, clear concern laced in his voice. 

You nod your head, “Y-Yeah, just woke up from a weird dream,” you stammer out trying to keep yourself calm. He sits up looking at you, he was worried about you clearly. 

“I’m alright, I promise,” you say, “do you have class today? We can do some of our project today.” You say trying to change the subject. He rubs his eyes, before shaking his head, 

“I have a club meeting tonight but that’s about it,” he replies, he keeps an arm wrapped around you as you chatted,

“You’re in a club?” You question, you assumed he was in some sort of ‘smart person’ club but you wouldn’t actually admit that out loud. 

“A childhood friend wanted me to join a club with him,” he says with a nod, 

“Who’s your friend? If you don’t mind me asking,” you ask honestly kinda curious to see if you know them.

“His names Hoseok,” he says with a shrug, 

You sat there shocked for a second, “Wait, Jung Hoseok?” You ask, when he nodded you nearly had a heart attack, “You’re joining the dance club?” You blurted, you really hoped he didn’t take offense to that. 

He laughed and nodded, “Yes, I know it’s a bit strange. He roped a bunch of our friends together to do some sort of dance together,” he laughed, “He even managed to ask our friend Seokjin and Yoongi to come back to join it,” He explained, now you were interested, 

“Wait, Min Yoongi?” You ask, “The music production major, who on the last day literally cussed out the professor?” You squack, causing the both of you to laugh. His laugh was honestly adorable to say the least. 

“Yes that Yoongi,” he confirmed, “We all became friends at a young age and we all just kinda stayed together I guess.” He chuckled, you smiled hearing that. You didn’t have many friends growing up, and the ones you did lost contact and you all just kinda faded away. Not like you really cared seeing as though you never really liked having friends anyways. 

“I didn’t realize he would be someone to be into dancing,” you mutter causing Namjoon to chuckle, there were no other words spoken for a few moments. 

Eventually, the both of you began to work on your project. You both of you throwing ideas back and forth of the strangest thing. 

“Hear me out,” you begin with a giggle, “What about these two friends live together, and one of them becomes possessed by a demon,” you explain, “the demon sees that the friend it’s possessing is madly in love with the other. So it spends all its time trying to get them together,” you conclude looking at his face for any sort of thought. 

A bright smile spread across his face, “Thats amazing! It’s perfect!” He says happily, jotting it all down in his notes. The both of you continued to work for most of the day, it seemed like both of your minds just joined together as one. 

Before you realized it, it was nearly time for you to head to club. 

He began to pack up his things, “So I’ll see you there?” He asked with a happy smile, you gave him a happy nod before saying goodbye. Once he left, you threw on your more dance worthy clothing before grabbing your water bottle and keys, before locking your door and leaving. 

You were one of the first to arrive after Hobi, he was quick to run to you and engulf you into the tightest hug imaginable. 

You were happy to give him an even bigger hug, “Hobi!” You squeal happily, his cute laugh filled the room as you both just stood embracing each other. Though it honestly hadn’t been that long since you had seen him, you both often greeted each other this way. 

It was honestly the one thing you looked forward to. If it weren’t for Hobi, you wouldn’t be the person you were today. As you waited for the rest of the club, the both of you stretched and spoke together about the things you had done over your summer or just random things that you both had been up to. 

Eventually a few stragglers came in before the large group of boys that you were kind of familiar with. The three you recognized was, of course, Namjoon who walked beside Yoongi. You had only seen him a few times, Yoongi was pretty quiet when he wasn’t with his friends. You had nearly worked a project with him, a singer was needed, you had auditioned but the day you were asked to go in they had turned everyone away. He had decided to do something different. 

The last person you recognized was Jimin, you had met him through the club. He was a true sweetheart and was honestly a dance god. You honestly envied his talent, he was an amazing dancer with so much passion. You had both danced together once, you had nearly won a competition his first time doing the club. 

Hoseok’s voice filled the room as he greeted his friends from where he was standing, you could tell he was extremely happy to see that they had actually decided to show up. He waved you over with a wide smile, you cautiously walk over not exactly sure how this would go over. 

“Guys! This is (Y/N), she’s another good friend of mine!” He introduces, you gave an awkward smile and wave as they all introduced themselves. Jimin greeted you with a sweet hug as the others just kinda waved. 

“I’m just so glad you guys are here!” He cheers with a giggle, each person broke into a pretty wide smile. This years club was going to be an interesting one, you could tell. 

A few months had gone by, Namjoon and yourself had gotten closer than ever. If you squinted you would honestly think you were an actual couple, well most people believed that you were anyways. You were always together, either working on your project or just hanging out together.  Hobi had noticed the two of you getting close, so he decided to make you dance partners. It was honestly the most amazing thing to happen, it only brought you two closer together. 

So close that your roommate just wouldn’t stop teasing you, asking when you were finally gonna take things to the next step. You obviously told her that you both weren’t in that kind of relationship, she would just roll her eyes and continue to tease you. 

Today was like any other day, except today you stayed in his room. The both of you sat in his bed watching a random movie that played on his computer. You two often did this on the weekends, it was a way for you to de-stress and just spend time away from everyone. 

Though something was different, Namjoon seemed nervous. He arm was slung over your shoulder, you wanted so desperately to cuddle into his side. 

Recently the stresses of college had really gotten to you, all the work and projects you had to get done where starting to take its tole. You hadn’t been sleeping well, you hadn’t been eating well and honestly you had gone a week or so without interacting with anyone, that included going to your favorite club. 

“Are you okay?” Joon questions snapping you out of your thoughts. You didn’t speak for a few seconds, the only sound to be heard was the sound of the tv. 

“I’m alright,” you finally answer, “I’m just glad to be finally having a break from everything.” You whisper softly, he gave a small nod before pulling you closer to his side. The faint smell of his cologne fulled your nose instantly calming you down. 

“Thanks Joonie,” you mumble snuggling into him more, if that’s even possible. You heard him chuckle a little. You glanced up to him, much to your surprise he was looking at you, his dimpled smile showing. You found yourself glancing down at his lips a few times, honestly wondering if they were a soft as they looked. He seemed to notice you gaze rather quickly, he was always a little slow when it came to the signs but he could see that this was something you might have wanted. He slowly leans towards you, his lips now extremely close to yours. 

“N-Namjoon,” you whisper, looking into his dark eyes. Concern filled them for a second, afraid he had done something wrong. “Kiss me, please,” you tell him, not wanting to wait another second. He seems frozen at your request, so you took the leap of faith. Gently you connected your lips together, it was clear that the both of you were nervous. 

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, before he pulled away slowly, you heart was beating out of your chest. Before you knew it, his hands gently grabbed your waist, pulling you onto his lap you legs straddling him. One of his hands sat gently on your side while the other caressed the back of your neck. He pulls you back in for another kiss, this one passionate and showed all the feelings he had. His hand held you close as his tongue gently snaked his way into your mouth. Was this was really happening?

You couldn’t help but involuntarily rolling your hips against his causing the both of you to moan into each others mouths. You finger tangled in his hair holding him as close as you could get him. Was this actually happening? You’d never done this with anyone before but you weren’t going to stop, this felt way too right. 

You pulled away from his lips, both of you trying to catch your breath. Cautiously his lips trailed down your neck, leaving feather light kisses everywhere that he could. You let out a soft sign, the feeling foreign but pleasant. As he became more confident in himself, his lips pressed harder onto your neck occasionally sucking and nipping at the skin cause soft moans to slip past you lips. His hands began to wander cautiously, giving you an opportunity to stop him at any time. You hadn’t planed to stop him, even after his hands began to wander under your shirt touching your bare waist. He pulled away from your neck, looking you in the eyes asking for permission. You simply nodded, you didn’t have to say words the both of you could practically feel each others energies. 

His lips connected to yours again, you grabbed the edge of your shirt, slowly pulling it up and off of you. The kiss continued for a few moments before he too shed his shirt. Your hands began to trail his toned stomach, he was so well built… 

A groan escaped his lips as a hands began to trail up towards your chest, his hands cupping your cloth covered breasts gently almost testing the waters. Once again his lips trailed down your neck heading towards your semi-exposed chest. Taking this chance, you reach behind to unclasp your bra letting it fall from your chest. He doesn’t hesitate to let his lips wander further down until his lips attached to one of your nipples. You couldn’t stop the moan that trembled from your lips causing him to glance up at you and pull away, 

“You gotta be quiet, we don’t need everyone hearing,” he chuckled with a small smirk causing wetness to pool between your legs. He left a few kitten likes against your nipple before seeing your reaction, “Unless you want everyone to know.” This caused another moan to surface giving him the answer he was looking for. He used his strength to lay you down on your back, him hovering above you. His lips continuing to assault your breasts, leaving small love bites and soft kisses as he worked his way down towards you stomach. 

“Joon, please,” you whine softly trying to keep your voice down. He left light kisses near your navel as he slowly began to pull down your sweatpants. Lifting your hips off the bed to help get your pants off. He wasted no time, leaving light kisses against you thighs leaving your body shaking with anticipation. He silently drank in your form before leaning down kissing near the waistband of your panties, he glances up at you almost silently asking for permission which you happily gave him. He pulled them down your legs carefully, you hear him audibly groan at the sight of you. 

“You’re so wet baby,” he groans as he begins to kiss your thighs again making his way higher and higher. He parts your legs, placing them on his shoulders as he dives in. His tongue automatically finding your clit, you bit your lip silencing the cry that the whole building would likely had heard. Your fingers tangled in his hair, holding on for dear life, his mouth felt amazing. 

“H-Holy shit, that feels so good,” you moan softly, you felt him smile against you, occasionally groaning as he continued to eat you out. The closer you to to your high, which was a lot faster than you would hope, the harder it became to hold back your moans. 

“Joon, I’m so close, please,” you beg trying to keep your voice down as low as you could, your grip in his hair tightened causing him to groan. You hips bucked up against his face, trying to chase your orgasm. He flattens his hands against your stomach, pinning you down so you couldn’t move. This only brought you closer, after a few moments of chasing your much needed orgasm he growls against you, 

“Cum for me, baby,” That was all it took before you were thrown over the edge, the idea of him being able to bring you to an orgasm with just his tongue only seemed to intensify it. 

“Joon,” you whine as you came down from your high but his ministrations didn’t stop. You tried to push him away but he held you down. It was only a moment before he from between your legs, crawling up your body and kissing you lustfully. You could still taste yourself on his tongue as you fought for dominance. His fingers gently touched your sensitive clit causing you to gasp against his lips, he pulls away slightly,

“Relax baby,” he whispers, “I have to prep you for me,” he nips at your neck, as his fingers trail down towards your entrance you grab his hand. 

A faint blush crept on your cheeks, now feeling embarrassed, his eyes softened. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked genuinely concerned about this, you covered your face in embarrassment. 

“I-I’m a virgin,” you mumble, gently he moved your hands from your face. He looks directly into your eyes, you could only see love in his eyes. 

“It’s alright,” he kisses your cheek sweetly, “If you want to stop we can, I don’t wanna rush you,” he begins, “If not, I will be really gentle alright? I would never hurt you,” he whispers, you felt tears well up in your eyes. You couldn’t believe he actually cared that much for you…. 

“Please keep going,” you whisper, “I trust you,” you watch as his smile grew wider, the love in his eyes only grew brighter. 

“Then I will be really gentle, you just have to tell me if I’m hurting you,” he says; you give him a nod of understanding before he continued. His lips connected to yours once more in a quick kiss before he gently laid his forehead against yours, his finger circling your entrance. You gave him a small nod while looking into his eyes. He took the first step, slowly inserting a finger into you. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to start with, kinda uncomfortable but the longer you adjusted. You knew this was just the beginning though. 

Slowly he began to move his finger, testing the water to see how you were feeling, the moan that escaped your lips seemed to egg him on. His pace slowly quickened, before slowly entering a second finger into the mix. He halted his motions for a few moments, 

“You’re doing so well beautiful,” he whispered in your ear, along with a few other encouraging words that seemed to shoot a tingling sensation right down to your core.  

“M-Move, please,” you whine not wanting him to hold back any more. He took that as his cue, starting a slow almost teasing pace that drove you crazy. Though the slow pace didn’t exactly last too long, it began to pick up. His eyes never left yours, watching as your face would contort in please just by the flex of his fingers. 

“J-Joon,” you moan, “I want you,” he didn’t need to be told twice. He pushed himself off the bed, finding a condom not in his desk but his roommates. This made you giggle, 

“he won’t notice, the guy goes through them like candy,” he grumbles as he pulls down his sweatpants and boxers. His hard cock hits his stomach, the tip already leaking pre-cum as he put the condom on and hovered above you. 

“This will hurt a little, alright? But just for a minute,” he advices as he lined up with your entrance. Once he slowly began to sink into you, holding back tears you pulled him closer to you burying you face into the crook of his neck. He whispered sweet nothings into your ear as you laid together adjusting to his size, the pain slowly turned into a dull ache and eventually nearly nothing. 

“Y-You can move,” you tell him as he pecks your lips. Slowly he pulls himself out and back in, setting a slow pace just to start out. Soft moans continued to flow from your lips, trying so hard to keep quiet but it was proving a harder task than you thought. 

He kept the slow pace for a few minutes, the he began to speed up until he was nearly pounding into you. All you could do was moan his name as you were, once again, building up towards your orgasm. Namjoon left soft kisses against your neck, leaving love bites in his wake, 

“Are you gonna cum, baby?” He growls against your neck, 

You hold back the loud moan you were threatening to let out, “yes,” you moan, “Yes daddy,” you whimper, you felt his tense slightly at the name he was just called. A blush crept up your neck and to your cheeks, you honestly believed you had screwed up. 

“Call me that again,” he groans into your ear as he began to snap his hips forward thrusting deeper than before.

“Daddy,” you whine, “I’m so close please,” you sob trying to keep your cries to a dull roar but you were ultimately failing. He continues to thrust, now rougher than ever but you could tell that the name was really getting to him. You could feel the knot in your stomach endlessly tightening but it wasn’t enough, you needed something else. Almost as if he read your mind, his hand snuck down between your bodies, his finger tips drawing tight circles on your clit. 

“Come on baby,” he groans, “Cum for daddy,” he growls while making eye contact with you. You felt the knot snap, you pull Namjoon down into a suffocating kiss, muting the loud moan that escaped as you found your release. Namjoon followed behind, as he felt your walls tighten around him his thrust got sloppy, he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. 

“Shit, fuck,” he groans into your neck as he released into the condom. His thrusts continued until he nearly collapsed on top of you. The both of you panting, trying to catch your breath. Before he got to comfy he tied the condom off and threw it in the trash. He pulled the blankets over the both of you, and pulled you towards his chest, his heart was still racing. 

“That was amazing,” you say softly, cuddling into his chest. He only nodded in agreement, taking a few minutes to figure out what he wanted to say. That was until the sound of his door unlocking brought you both out of your daze. 

You weren’t prepared for who walked in. 

“Woah, what the fuck…” a familiar voice said, the both of you glanced over only to see your roommate and her boyfriend walk in. 

“No fucking way!” Your roommate squeals in, honest to god, joy. You buried your face into Namjoon’s chest to hide the deep red blush that appeared. 

“Can you guys like, leave?” Namjoon asked, hoping that they wouldn’t over stay their welcome. The both of them laughed, his roommate grabbing a few things before heading back towards the door, 

“So this is what it feels like to be walked in on?” He mumbled causing you and Joon to laugh. When the two of them left, leaving you two alone did he finally speak. 

“I want to take you out,” he mumbles, “Please… I kind of did this in the wrong order,” he rubbed the back of his neck. You giggled at him, his nervousness was honestly the cutest thing. 

“I would love to go out Joonie,” you say kissing his cheek, “Now can we take a nap?” You ask with a giggle. He gave a wide smile before nodding. 

“Of course beautiful,” he whispers as the both of you lay down, he pulls you into his warm chest before the both of you fall asleep.

[chyrstis]

WIP Saturday!

Tagged by @shallow-gravy @chazz-anova @adelaidedrubman and @starsandskies thoughtout the week, and while I feel like I’m playing a bit of catch up right now, I didn’t want to miss out on this at all. Thank you all! <3

@writerofblocks @hunnybadgerv @painterofhorizons @cobb-vanthss @amistrio @ma-sulevin @tommymillers @jackiesarch @shellibisshe @redroci @unlikelynick @fadedjacket @faithchel @risenlucifer @tomexraider @weekend-writer @vasiktomis @consumedkings @scarlettkat86 @aceghosts  but no worries or obligations intended either!

I’ve been having fun dipping back into an earlier idea with Hana and Sharky, mostly because it was supposed to be a simple chat over a cigarette (and a silly exchange about tootsie roll pops), but it decided to get a little more serious than that, and I can’t be mad about that at all. 

---

“Now that’s impressive.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Hurk.” Sharky’s eyebrows rose, and she laughed. “I’ve had a few partners before that snored, but this? This would’ve had me on the couch in ten minutes flat. There’s no set of ear plugs strong enough to block that out, not that they’re selling anyway.”

“Huh.”

“You’re fine, though,” she added quickly.

Sharky had been scratching his goatee, lost in thought, but snapped back to attention. “Wait? For real?”

“Yeah, you’ve never-I never noticed. Not enough to smack the pillow or poke you at least.”

There might’ve been a time shortly after they’d started traveling together where he’d rolled over during the night, all but snoring in her ear, but she’d dealt with it. Maybe even let him repeat it once or twice, and wasn’t about to bring that up now. 

“Never thought much of it before.” He went back to mulling it over, and jabbed a thumb towards Hurk. “I mean, Hurk’s always been like that, rattling blinds and shit once he really gets going.”

“You don’t say?” Hana winced, and it didn’t take much to imagine the sound. 

“Yeah, but that’s after we have a real rager. The kind everyone talks about, and it’s been way too fucking long since we’ve pulled one off.”

“’Cause of the cult?”

“’Cause of the cult. A few of them got real bent out of shape even at Nick’s barbeque a couple years back - which was one kick-ass place to be - and that didn’t even have half of the shit they say they have problems with. Just good food, good company, and some pretty all right tunes, short of whatever the hell the Seeds were trying to pass off as food.” He sighed, and his whole body sagged with it. “Cults, man. Ruining shit for everyone since day one. Ain’t that right, cuz?”

Hurk snorted almost in perfect time to agree, but stayed exactly as he was. Sleeping better than anyone had a right to out in the woods like this. 

---

Also, another excerpt from the John the jerk bonanza, maybe? Sorry, Han :( and part of me’s tempted to add just a bit more to it so I can go ahead and post it on its own b/c it’s still pretty far down the fic timeline

---

“Which should be first? Greed? Envy? Pride? Lust? We have some fine candidates to consider, but to choose…oh, to choose. ”

He kept on going. Kept talking, monologuing, raising his hands to add emphasis to every word, and it was all drowned out. All through the blood rushing through her ears.

But it eventually died down. Eased off just enough for her to breathe and be able to think again, catching a few scattered words of his that filtered through, even as John gesticulated for no other reason than he wanted to, and she made a promise to herself then and there.

She’d make it through this. Push past it and find a way to Joey somehow, because that was all that mattered.

So if he wanted to do this - and the sinking feeling in her gut told her that this was only the tip of the mindscrew - she’d do it on her own terms, dammit. Diving in feet first if she had to.

“….John, just get it over with.”

“-thout sin, and you-” John paused, and raised one eyebrow then the other at her. “Hmm?”

Canting her head at him, Hana blew at the bangs that had fallen into her eyes, scattering a handful of the dark red strands without really moving them, and settled as hard a stare on him as possible.

“Sure we could have a field day with the others, but you’re already getting off on this, so why not start with the old L-word. You know the one. Lust,” she breathed, letting her head fall back as she arched into it, only to snap another sharp look off at him. “Just go straight for the shameful shit and run right down the laundry list of people I’ve fucked, since you’re going to want every last dirty detail anyway.”

John opened his mouth, but slowly closed it, narrowing his eyes at her. “Deputy, what do you think I’m going to ask? How many partners you’ve had? Specific acts? Preferred positions?”

Yes. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from saying it, and hated how her face burned in response. “You’ve got to have something to judge, might as well. Direct demonstrations are right the fuck out, however.”

---

And just a short bit that I’ve added to an earlier John and Faith idea where I was trying to feel a potential intro out, and I think I can totally work with this. 

---

She was late.

John checked his watch. Could almost hear the seconds tick by as he stood out on the balcony, drumming his fingers along the wooden railing.

While not uncommon, it always dug in just enough. Being forced to wait when he’d already put everything else on hold for her, even if she promised him it would be worth it.

His dear sister tried, but very few things were worth that loss of time, and that was one of their most precious resources nowadays. The only thing he couldn’t measure, weigh, or record, and not even Joseph could give him more than an indeterminate soon at best in terms of when it would finally run out.

So, with soon weighing over all of them, the Collapse reduced to nothing else but that, he was left to stand here.

To wait.

To welcome his sister’s visit with open arms - and he would still, even now - when he’d been left idle long enough for anyone, not just the Deputy to take advantage of it.

The tapping stopped, and John let his fingers lay flat. Let them start to dig the slightest into the surface of the wood.

And where was she now? That deputy...

He’d lost track over the past day, with nothing useful coming in through the cameras or his Chosen. She didn’t disappear. Couldn’t, not with how she dressed, how she looked, or the company she kept, but she’d somehow managed it, and hadn’t headed north or to the east.

[fandom-necromancer]

Let your Warmth melt my Ice

You all know I like emotional destruction, right? Well strap in, because this post by the amazing @nock-and-bolt hit me right in the feels. Had to write a short to it. Also tagging @janjan-the-ninth because they said so XD Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 (Warnings: Temporary character death, grief, misunderstanding)

[Warning: Critical damage detected. Shutdown imminent.]

Nines was already on the ground by the time he had realised those bullets had indeed hit him and that there had been more enemies than anticipated as he had rushed in. He still heard the gunshots around him, the people shouting, barking orders and screaming in pain. His systems were still busy locating each position and making tactical calculations based on this information. Still prompting him to continue, to shield his friends and protect them. Apparently, his systems hadn’t caught up with the fact that he was minutes from death. True death. This body wasn’t able to function anymore and the loss of Thirium meant his hardware would run hot and eventually melt. There was no way for him to survive this.

His fingers started to spasm from wires shortcutting. His vision glitched and his analysis program darted from one detail to the next. Was there still gunfire? It was hard to concentrate, to filter sensory information and not get lost in a confusing mess of signalling. He felt how some non-vital systems began to shut off and left his mind a little less crowded, a little less confusing. Gavin, his thoughts managed to form conscious words again. Where was he? Was he safe? He tried saying the name, forming it with his voicebox but never hearing it as his auditory systems malfunctioned briefly. Next were his legs and torso, but he never regained feeling there. He was about to try again, as a face appeared in his vision.

‘Nines? Nines!’ Those words were like balm on his soul. Those special sounds only the human could speak like that, this special melody they used to create meaning. This name he had been given by the same person that meant so much to him. ‘Nines! Can you hear me? Nines?’ The android registered he was lifted up by Gavin and propped against a wall. He could see the human touch his wounds and press his hands on them as if that would help in any way. ‘Nines! Phcking asshole, say something!’ Nines tried once again to say his name, but his voicebox was already damaged, only static making it out of the small speaker. If anything, it made the human even more anxious. ‘Nines. Nines, phck!’

[Warning: Commencing Shutdown. Begin upload?]

Upload. Right. Nines knew it was likely for nothing. He was the only model ever produced and therefore unique. But still, an upload of his memories and personality matrix was something to continue living with. If what they did was living and if their programming was a soul like most humans were proclaiming, then maybe the upload could safe him. Keep him alive, even if there was no immediate body to switch to. Maybe someone valued him enough to rebuild or design anew.

Gavin certainly would.

Gavin.

[Upload started… 1%]

‘Nines, what’s going on? Your LED flickers! What- No.’ Nines managed to lift his eyes to the human’s face. He was kneeling next to him, holding him upright against the wall and trying frantically to stop the blood flow. If he had been human, it might have worked. ‘No, no, no, you are not dying! You are not!’ His face showed despair, shock, pain. All for him. All Nines had ever wanted for him was to be happy. Now he was the reason he wasn’t.

[Upload at 26%]

Nines didn’t want to see him like this. Nines wanted to see his smile again. Those green eyes sparkling in the light of the sun when they spent their break outside on the bench. He wanted to hold his human and comfort him. He wanted to be there for him. He wanted to make sure he was safe on future missions. He wanted to reach the day when he could finally tell him what he was sure Gavin never wanted to hear. He wanted to… do so many things. ‘Nines! Please. Tell me what to do! Cyberlife’s contacted, Jericho too. Help’s on the way. Hold on. Stay with me.’ There were tears on the man’s face as he swallowed and looked at him in panic. Don’t panic, Nines wanted to say. You will live, he thought. I protected you. But those words were never spoken.

[Upload at 63%]

Nines felt more and more systems shut down due to overheating and misfiring of vital sensors. It wasn’t long now, and he needed his last moments to remember. His eyes had never left Gavin’s, but now the android tried to form a smile on his face that he hoped to express everything it needed to. Hoping that it would calm down the human and be how he remembered him. As long as he still could, Nines lifted his arm and hated how it jerked back and forth and never reached its goal. His motor control was malfunctioning and the servo itself too damaged to work at full capacity. Nines’ arm hovered over his chest, reaching for Gavin’s face. Thankfully the human got the message and took his arm to help him direct it so his hand cupped his cheek.

Warm. Nines had been fascinated from the start how warm humans could be. Like they were constantly overheating and radiating their energy into the world. Those creatures couldn’t be described better in his eyes. Exhaling love with every breath and being compassionate beings always looking out for the wellbeing of others, even when the person was described as an asshole, like Gavin. Gavin cared. He was just hurt one too many times and now Nines would add to it.

[Upload at 82%]

‘Nines! Nines, stay with me.’ Nines followed a tear that was rolling down from Gavin’s cheek and stopped as it hid his hand. His robotic hand. He hadn’t realised his skin had retracted, but he was showing off his white plastic hull on his entire body by now. When had that process shut down? ‘You bastard! Stay with me! Don’t you dare phcking dying on me!’ The android felt how he lost power over his body and sacked down, but Gavin was reacting fast, catching him and holding him in his arms. The man grabbed his arm and pulled it over Nines’ chest. ‘Nines! I swear, if you die on me, I will kill you!’ Could he still do that, Nines would have laughed. Only Gavin would curse at him, threaten him in his dying seconds.

[Upload at 96% Shutdown imminent]

Nine’s vision was getting hazy, static filling it and only leaving him his area of focus: Gavin’s panicked face. He couldn’t feel the warmth of Gavin’s touch anymore, could only see and hear. ‘Nines, please. Please, I need you, you plastic prick! Don’t you dare do this to me!’

[Upload finished. Shutting down…]

Gavin lifted him to his chest and buried his face in Nines’ drenched clothes. ‘You can’t leave me, you phcking asshole! Because I… I love you.’

Nines hadn’t had any more time to process this.

[Shutdown]

-

Gavin’s day had been completely normal. It was surprising how normal his days had been lately. People around him were chatting, laughing at each other’s jokes and discussing the new shop around the corner. He was driving through a city that continued life as usual whenever he got to work or back home. Crime scenes were coming up and vanishing, cases came and went. Reports were written and evidence filed. But the chair in front of Gavin stayed empty. The terminal remained switched off.

All the little trinkets Nines had gathered on his desk and considered skilful decoration gathered dust. No one had the heart to put them away. Just as no one had thought to hire a new person. Not when there still was a chance that Nines could come back. Gavin looked down on his hands that mindlessly fidgeted with a small ring. Normally shining blue, yellow or lastly red, it was now just a dark circle in white plastic. But it was something to cling to, something to remember. Just in case. Just in case Nines didn’t come-

No. No, he had to. The android had uploaded his personality to Cyberlife as a failsafe. And although there was no body for him, Jericho had bullied the company to build a new one. With the blow Cyberlife had to take to their image, it hadn’t taken much. Gavin had hope they could make it. Maybe it was all he had. In any scenario, he had never thought for the android to die first. Almost completely bullet proof, the chance of him dying… Well, Gavin had considered it zero at this point. That was about the only reason he hadn’t said what he told the dying android long ago. Thinking they had time…

He sighed deeply, looking over to his mug and tilting it a bit to look inside. Empty. Of course. He groaned. He really didn’t want to get out of his chair. He had no motivation for anything anymore and even a trip to the breakroom could as well had been a journey around the earth. The more surprised he was as a new mug was placed next to his. Steaming and filled to the rim. Gavin looked at it, brain lagging behind. The hand that was holding the handle lingered for just a second, then retracted. Gavin’s eyes followed the movement and were directed to a white uniform. Black details at the opening and the pockets, a ridiculously high collar and then… That stupidly beautiful face.

Gavin’s throat went dry. ‘Nines?’, he croaked disbelievingly. ‘Are you… phck, are you Nines?’ The android in front of him lowered his head a bit, then nodded. ‘Yes. It’s me. Cyberlife rebuild my body and I thought to return to work as soon as possible. I left you long enough with both our-‘ He couldn’t finish, as Gavin stood up and grabbed him by the jacket to push him against the glass separating the desk from the hallway. ‘You asshole died in my arm and all you can think about is work?’ He let go of the android, swallowing his emotions. Damn, the android had just returned from the dead, he should be happy. ‘I… I’m sorry for the trauma I’ve caused you. I’m fine again. I just thought we could get back to normal?’

Gavin looked at the android and swallowed for real this time. Hell, how would dying feel like? All Gavin wanted to do is shake Nines and tell him how relieved he was and how good it was to see him again and how bad he managed living on without him and also ask how he felt about what Gavin had asked him in the very end. Because he was ready to make up excuses for that, if the android didn’t feel that way and oh would it help him if Nines felt the same…

But exactly how Gavin managed trauma like that – with his thoughts running at hundred miles an hour and his only reaction anger and brashness – Nines might need the exact opposite: Calmness and time to think and reset. He was an android after all. Maybe all that programming and logic had some use after all. Gavin nodded and instead hugged Nines’ middle. ‘It’s good to have you back, tin-can.’ The android didn’t move to return the hug but stood there rather awkwardly. ‘Thanks…’ Gavin stepped back and let go of the man. ‘Err… yeah, sure. Let’s… let’s get back to work, shall we? And if you… want to talk about what happened or… what that makes you feel… I’m right here.’ ‘Thank you’, Nines smiled and that smile almost made everything alright again.

The android moved over to his terminal, switched it on and interfaced with it, while dusting off his belongings with the other hand. Gavin too returned to his work. As if it was just another day.

-

Nines was thankful to be back. He remembered not believing it might work, but Cyberlife had harboured his soul in their servers and Jericho had actually managed to move them to build a new body for him. It felt like he had never been gone, as he stepped foot back into the precinct. He had of course been the centre of attention then, but he still managed to surprise Gavin and that was all he had needed to feel that warmth again. As the human had hugged him… It had been heaven on earth. Metaphorically. From his own experience if android heaven was a dusted Cyberlife server, then this was much better.

He had enjoyed the unexpected contact far too much, his systems overwhelmed by the sudden motions that he had actually frozen for a few moments. He was actually surprised Gavin had taken it so well. From his last memories before his deactivation, he had expected there to be more tears… more emotions. But then again, maybe Gavin had already grieved for him. It had been two weeks after all. Maybe he had just been relieved he was back and now was eager to get back to normality. Or he suppressed his emotions as usual until they weren’t too intense to handle. Either way, Nines wouldn’t start a conversation with him, not unless he initiated one first. He had caused the human his pain after all. Gavin would have to chose when was the right time.

Unfortunately, even the next day, nothing changed. Gavin had no interest in opening the talk and even seemed to avoid him. If anything, he was growing more distant, seemingly wanting to tell him something when he left for his home, but never actually speaking up. It hurt. It hurt somewhere deep inside Nines. The android was feeling so much, even looking at the human caused him software instability. But he didn’t dare to tell the man. Gavin hadn’t said something when he was in emotional turmoil because of his impending death. Surely, he would have done that if he felt something. And with how he always pulled a face at seeing publicly displayed affection, maybe he didn’t want to hear it either.

Nines loved the human. He wanted to deepen their relationship. He had died to protect Gavin and he would do so again and again, if he had to. But with how Gavin kept to himself and didn’t even acknowledge him some days, Nines really doubted that was what the human wanted.

-

Gavin was beyond disappointed. He would have been angry hadn’t that felt too much of a defeat. The android had had the audacity to die in his arms catching multiple bullets for him and then ghost him like that? Gavin had confessed his love to the plastic prick in a moment of vulnerability and now the damn android just pretended nothing had happened? “Detective”-d him at any given moment and displayed no more emotion than before their mission? Hell, if he wasn’t interested, Nines could have just said so. This was just an asshole move. And two could play that game of ignorance. It didn’t matter to Gavin that his soul was bleeding with every stumbled ‘Oh. Okay.’ from the android whenever Gavin shoved him away further. He was far too angry for it. And it only got worse during the week.

Friday finally was the day, that promised Gavin refuge. He wouldn’t have to see the android on the weekend and have time to come to terms with his contradicting feelings. Then, on Monday, he would just tell the android and be done with it. No more dancing around each other, trying to find out how the other felt and watch out for the other’s wellbeing. He decided to leave early and switched off his computer grabbing his jacket as he stood up. ‘Gavin?’ Oh hell no. If the android continued to speak with him, he would resort to violence at this point. He was hurt and confused and done, so, so done with it all. So, he just turned around and left. Only once he left the building and heard the door fall into the lock behind him, he sighed and took a deep breath of the grounding cold February air.

He shouldn’t have stopped. ‘Gavin!’ The door behind him opened and Nines stumbled out of it, coming to a halt everything but gracefully. His LED was a dark red and Gavin didn’t want to think of what that reminded him of. ‘What do you want?’, Gavin spat. ‘I want to talk with you. About what happened. I held myself back until now because I know this might have been traumatic for you and-‘ ‘Phck off! You died in my arms! You know, you are right, that might have been traumatic for me, phckhead!’ ‘I apologize for that, but-‘ ‘Oh, you apologize?’ Gavin turned around and walked right into the android’s personal space. ‘You apologize? For what exactly? Dying? Ignoring me? Disregarding that I laid out my heart in front of you and you decided to step on it?’

Nines took a step back and frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘What- What do I mean?’, Gavin wheezed in disbelief. ‘Ex-phcking-cuse me? I mean that I told you I love you! You died in my arms and I thought if this was your last moment and you died for me, I could as well tell you that! Maybe made it a bit easier for you. Less hurtful. Phck, what have I been thinking? You are just a damn machine, you don’t phcking feel. Or at least not in that way. Because hell, I tell you that, let you into my heart and when you come back, you hand me a coffee and go straight back to work?’

‘Wait’, Nines said, holding up his hand. ‘Wait, Gavin. Your last words to me were: “Don’t you dare do this to me!”’ He blinked. ‘Or were they?’ Gavin clenched his jaws. ‘No, asshole they weren’t! My last words to you were that I loved you!’ ‘When was that? Right before I shut down? Was my LED still flickering?’ ‘How the hell should I know?’, Gavin asked, throwing his hands in the air. ‘You were dying in my arms; I don’t think I had more important things on my mind than your stupid mood light!’ ‘Gavin, this is important’, Nines said, stepping forwards and holding the man by the shoulders. ‘Was it less than two seconds before my body went rigid?’ Gavin shrugged. ‘Yeah, could be. Why?’

Nines let go of him and had to sit down on the stairs in front of the station. ‘Gavin, I uploaded my memory to Cyberlife as soon as I knew I would die. It recorded everything up to two seconds before my death, because it takes a bit of time to end the Upload and shut down the body. I… I might have heard it and understood it as I was dying, but I… the backup of me that I am now has no memory of you telling me that.’

Gavin stared at the android and processed what he just heard. Then he sat down next to Nines on the stairs and stared blankly ahead. ‘Phck.’ ‘Fuck indeed.’ ‘And all the time I thought you were just a work-centred prick ignoring me.’ ‘I wouldn’t have ignored it had I known it, Gavin, I’m sorry.’ Gavin rubbed his face in frustration. Phck, he just wanted this day to be over.

But Nines didn’t let him end it just yet. He cleared his throat and looked over at the human that had nearly folded in on himself. ‘Err… Do you… Do you really love me?’ Gavin lifted his head up, his fingers resting on his mouth. He looked at Nines from the corner of his eyes, only then letting his hands slap on his knees. ‘Yes, I guess’, he sighed. ‘No, yeah I do. I was so angry at you all phcking week it won’t be a heartfelt confession now, but I do love you. The way you’re just… Always there for me and care so much. Most would just pretend not to have seen me and move on. You sought me out. You are actually funny and intelligent and competent. And you are phcking hot, okay? I feel so much for you and seeing you die… I couldn’t handle it. I think the hope you would come back to me kept me going.’ There was a brief moment of silence.

‘I love you too, Gavin’, Nines answered in a whisper. ‘I can’t understand how I am the one lucky enough to got to know you when so many others had their chance before me, but I am happy fate chose me. I… I can’t express how I feel as I shouldn’t be feeling at all as an android. But I do and I wanted to tell you for so long. I just always thought you didn’t want to hear something like that…’ ‘Nines?’, the human spoke up and turned towards him. Nines followed his movement and his eyes naturally found their way to Gavin’s, who smiled. ‘Nines, this was the only thing I ever needed to hear.’

Nines blinked, but didn’t have the time to answer, as Gavin laid an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Once again, Nines froze up, but Gavin’s warmth quickly made him melt into the touch. Soon enough, he would have to think about all of this to process what he just heard, but for now…

For now, he enjoyed this.