#Personally there's a few times where its either implied or it seems like Wednesday cares at least a little about Xavier

[marvelingatit]

So I finished wednesday, and I think I figured out why I'm so ehh with all of the Xavier hate. Everyone says their beef is that Xavier was possessive and got overtly jealous too fast even though Wednesday hasn't given him any sign of being interested.

My thing is I never took or got it as him being possessive or jealous. Did anyone register that maybe it wasn't because she was seeing someone or going on dates with someone that made him upset.

Like with the information we're given about Tyler and his friends assaulting and destroying his mural. I'm decently sure that Xaviers beef is more on the side of trying to protect her from someone he knows is willing to hurt outsiders then jealousy.

At the carnival thing, his attitude didn't really come out till he saw that it was Tyler that she was waiting on

[rest-upon-the-morning-light]

JonMartin fic

So I’m trying to get back into fic writing, especially for TMA, and have a multi chapter fic planned but wanted to start with a smaller one shot style fic to warm up. It’s been an age since I’ve written anything, much less something that wasn’t just reader based or smut lmao. I’ve added trigger warnings but if I missed any do let me know! 

Any feedback would be great and if you like this, please send me prompts! Happy to write anything from fluff to smut, just as long as its TMA based :D 

So! Here is my cute fluff JonMartin fic! Enjoy~ 

Everybody Wants To Be A Cat 

Word Count: 2240 

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Animal Abuse, but nothing to graphic. Anxiety. Self Worth Issues. Season 1 Jon being Season 1 Jon. Season 1 Martin being Season 1 Martin.

Fandom: The Magnus Archive

Pairings: Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood 

Summary: Martin was certain of two things. One, he had an enormous crush on his boss. Two, his boss hated him. Who knew a one eyed beast of an alley cat would bring them closer?

Martin Blackwood has two problems.

Problem number one. He was absolutely certain he was more than a little bit in love with his boss.

Problem number two. His was absolutely certain said boss hated him.

 Well, hated was probably a strong word. Hated implied that Jon thought of him at all, and it was far more likely that Jon thought of him very little throughout his day. Except, of course, when Martin did something wrong. Then those piercing eyes of his would be solely fixed on him whilst he shouted about how inept Martin was or how stupid his mistake had been.

It hurt, those moments. It hurt that the only time Jon ever truly seemed to see Martin was when he was angry at him. Not when Martin did an amazing follow up on a statement. Not when he’d created a great rapport with a statement giver or their family. Not when he brought Jon tea. Just when he did something wrong.

It was a running theme in this annoyance Martin called his life.

He still couldn’t help these feelings though. Jon was an arse half the time that much was true. It infuriated Tim to know end when Jon would lash out at Martin. “He has no right Martin. Mistake or not he’s your boss, he’s supposed to help you, not act like a massive dick all the time”

It was harder for Tim and Sasha in a way. They’d been Jon’s equal for a long time, working together. Moving to the Archive was always going to be a bit of a challenge. To have friend become boss. Especially for Sasha, who everyone thought was going to be become Head Archivist. But neither had held any real resentment over Jon for the change. After all, it wasn’t his choice, it was Elias’s.

But Jon’s sudden shift from rude but mostly recluse and occasionally friendly colleague to rude very recluse and stick constantly up arse boss was harder than any of them expected.

Martin could understand. It was big position and Jon seemed like the type to take everything he did very seriously. This meant holding everything in the archive to a high standard. His assistance included.

So yes, Jon was awful to him a lot of the time. But he was passionate. He cared. For all his blustering that none of this was real, Martin could see how much he empathised with the people who had given those statements. How he looked like he’d personally failed them when a follow up revealed they had died not longer after they’d come to visit the institute.

His crush probably wasn’t the most healthy but sue him! He liked being a bit in love. He liked having inspiration for his poetry. He enjoyed the fluttery feeling in his stomach when he came into work.

He just wished Jon didn’t quite hate. No. Didn’t quite dislike him so much.

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

There is a cat that has been hiding the alleyway behind the Institute for several days now.

Martin noticed the poor thing when he’d been taking out some rubbish that accumulated in the Archive. Usually that sort of thing wasn’t his job, but he’d been done for the day anyway and he liked to be useful, even if no one really noticed.

It was a mangy young thing. Light brown fur matted, one eye seemed to be damaged and it hissed every time Martin so much as approached it.

He couldn’t just leave it though. Poor thing needed help. It was out here, lonely, forgotten, damaged by the people that probably at one point said they’d love and protect it.

Was he projecting onto a stray cat now? God this was a new level of sad.

So he did what someone in his position did best. He researched.

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

There is a surprising number of places to buy cat supplies near the Institute and the workers in the shop were incredibly helpful with his questions.

Approach slowly. Don’t try to touch or hold the cat. Leave out food and water. He’d also bought a small plastic hut and shoved a warm blanket inside for the large cat. He didn’t know what breed it was. Just that it was grumpy and hurt.

It didn’t take a great deal away from his own funds either. His job paid well enough and he didn’t exactly go out with people very often, buying expensive drinks or tickets to shows.

His special treat was usually some sugar drenched coffee.

He couldn’t see any physical injuries on the cat, apart from its eye, so he put some treats in the hut, left out the food and water, then left.

He came back everyday with more supplies to keep the large growling cat comfortable. Every day that passed the cat came a little bit closer to him. He grinned at that. Hoping one day it would come close enough to pet.

He’d read somewhere that when cats blink, once and slow, it was a sign that they trusted you. Martin waited for that day with bated breath.

Tim and Sasha were a little bit suspicious as to where he was going on his lunch breaks. He told them he just taking a long walk, getting some fresh air away from the dusty old archives but he knew it wasn’t the best lie.

Lying for the sake of his job was one thing. Lying to his friends for no good reason was another.

It wasn’t like he doing anything bad. It was more that he wanted this for himself. He wasn’t even too sure why. Part of him wondered if he was worried the cat would somehow take some natural liking to either one of them or both. He didn’t want to lose all his hard work.

Or, if he was being more honest with himself, he didn’t want the cat to abandon him for someone better.

Yeah. New level of pathetic had been reached.

But one lunch, a few weeks after he’d first spotted the broken but massive feline, that the lying and the ill feeling became absolutely worth it.

Because the cat approached him.

Martin didn’t move a single muscle. He was sat on a small wooden box in the alley. Far enough away as to not frighten the poor thing, but close enough that the cat could make contact if it wanted to.

And today it did.

He held his breath the closer it got, keeping eye contact with its good eye the whole time. It paused for a moment, right in the front of his bent legs, before it let out a small mirp noise and butted its head against his knee.

“Oh hello” Martin laughed, chest feeling lighter than it had in an exceptionally long time.

He reached out his hand slowly to pet its head and let out another sign of relief when the one eyed cat let him.

“Well” he began

“I can’t very well keep calling you cat or beast in my head, you’ll need a name”.

It didn’t acknowledge his words in any way, just continued to let him scratch behind its ears and watched him with its one working eye. He could almost imagine its thoughts.

“Silly Martin, just come up with one already. Stop wasting time”.

He let out a soft chuckle at the thought, a name ready on his lips.

“Jon” he smiled gently.

“I think I’ll call you Jon”.

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

 It went well after that. Martin made plans to keep the cat. It would help the dreariness of his lonely flat, and he was lucky his landlord allowed pets in his building.

He couldn’t afford proper insurance but the workers at the pet shop knew an emergency vet that wasn’t too expensive, so he could get Cat Jon’s eye checked out soon.

Giddy as he was with his newfound friend, he didn’t realise that he’d been less subtle than usual about where he was going on his break.

It was one grey, wet Wednesday that it all came to ahead.

He’d been sitting crossed legged on the ground, his coat below him as a sort of makeshift blanket to keep his trousers dry, when Human Jon found them.

He hadn’t even noticed Jon had followed him until the backdoor that led the alley burst open with a bang that echoed down the narrow way.

“Martin” shouted Jon, looking at some papers in his hand.

“I need you to take your lunch late and follow up on this report. You made several errors in your research that, frankly, a child could spot. I don’t know what you’re doing out here but if you have time to sit around then –“

Jon’s rant was cut short as he finally looked up to the picture that greeted him.

Cat Jon had leaped into his arms from the loud noise, clinging to Martin’s bright yellow sweater.

Martin froze, cat in arms as Jon stared at him with a look of equal shock.

“Oh” began Jon softly

“Sorry” Martin practically shouted.

“I – eh – this is, well um, a cat, I found? A few weeks ago, actually. I’ve been sort of taking care of it? Getting it food and water and um” he gestured to the plastic hut and blanket he’d laid out.

“He was hurt you see. Only one eye and really badly taken care of. Abandoned, I recon. So I’ve been out here on lunches making sure he’s, um, that he’s okay? Is that..is that alright?” he trailed off nervously.

He couldn’t look at Jon. It wasn’t exactly something to be ashamed of, taking care of a stray cat. But he could imagine Jon being the sort of serious no nonsense person who would see it as a waste of time, his lunch break or not. God would this make his relationship worse? Would Jon scold him for it? Did it make him seem more pathetic than before? Christ, was that even possible?

He didn’t notice the movement until Jon was sat beside him on the floor.

Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, sat on a dirty alley floor with Martin K Blackwood.

He watched with bated breath as Human Jon reached his hand out to Cat Jon and let out a small sound of relief when Cat Jon didn’t bite, scratch or run away.

“You poor thing” murmured Jon, eyes only on his (unknowing) cat counterpart.

“What have they done to you? Well, you look better now than you probably did before. Thank to our Martin here”.

Martin couldn’t help but blush deeply at that. Hot all over his face. He couldn’t handle this. Jon being all, all soft and gentle and calling him “our” Martin.

“You’ve been taking care of him then?” Jon looked up at Martin now. Eyes soft and kind for once. It nearly took all of Martins brain power to respond after receiving such a look.

“Yes” he began.

“Like I said, I found him a few weeks ago. Planning on taking him back to mine soon, get him out of the cold properly”.

Jon nodded, eyes never leaving Martins, hand firmly petting the cat in Martins arms.

“I’m sorry, about the work” Martin nervously bit his lip.

“I’ve been really worried about him so I rushed it to get out here on time. It’s no excuse and I know you don’t exactly think highly of my work in the first place. I’ll make sure I stay late tonight so I can catch up”

“Martin” interrupted Jon, eye straying on the bitten lip, a slight flush to his cheeks.

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I haven’t been fair to you these past few months. It’s been unprofessional at best and, well, and downright cruel at worst”

“Your job is stressful” Martin tried to defend

“And we both know I’m not exactly at the same standard at the others”

“Still” Jon continued.

“It’s my job to help you, not, berate you at every mistake. You came from the library, not research, so you have different skill set and – well, its been hard for us all. Not fair of me to put all that blame on you. God knows Tim could stand to be a bit more professional at times” Jon grumbled out the last part, a small pout to his lips.

Martin laughed at that, smiling wider than he could last remember.

“Tim just likes to keep you human, I think” he winked and watched with fascination as the flush came back to Jon’s dark cheeks.

Cat Jon leap out of his arms after that, toddling off to who knows where.

“Well” Martin began, getting up from his cross legged position on the floor.

“We still have time for lunch, we could, um, maybe eat together? If that’s okay I mean! You could help me figure out a name for him?” “You don’t have one already?” replied Jon, surprise in his voice “Uhhh not any suitable ones, no” Martin laughed awkwardly.

He couldn’t exactly say he’d name the poor blighter after Jon. He doubted Jon would take it as a compliment and he didn’t want to ruin whatever fragile peace they’d stumbled onto.

He held out his hand to help Jon off the floor. Jon eyed it, before bringing his own hand up and placing it into Martins larger ones. Martin pulled him up and held back a small gasp as Jon shot forward quicker than intended, his smaller hand landing on Martin chest.

Jon looked up at him, a small shy smile gracing his lips.

“Beautiful” Martin couldn’t help but think, face and ears bright red.

Jon pulled back, coughing every so slightly into his fist.

“Yes, well, I’ve named a cat or two in my time, it won’t be too hard” “Oh?” teased Martin

“What about Magnus? We did find him here” Jon shook his head at that, crinkling his nose slightly.

“Absolutely not, something more dignified. The Captain maybe?” “Captain?” countered Martin

“The Captain” continued Jon as they began to head back inside

“I suppose the one eye does give him a bit of a pirate look” Martin couldn’t help by laugh slightly as he said it.

“Yes” Jon laughed back

“Dignified but still fitting his nature” And off they went, back into the Institute. Unaware of any monstrous eyes watching them as they simply watched each other. A new, wonderful feeling developing between them.

Neither noticed that they still held each others hands as they made their way to the break room.

And if they spoke of cat names, and toys and flushed deeply when they did notice the hands still entwined, well.

Those moments were only for them.

[rokutouxei]

the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop's most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo's pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 3 OF 22

“You started a book club with her?”

Arthur is dumbstruck. But he’s also dumb for having admitted that he was, in fact, listening in on her and Theo’s conversation at the counter, so now he’s nursing a headache from where his head met the wall when Theo had pushed a stack of books on top of him after she had walked away. Of course he was fully aware of where his co-worker was hiding all this time.

Theo crosses his arms and sighs. “It’s not a book club.”

“What?” Arthur cackles. “Care to explain that, when you’re doing exactly what book clubs do? Read books and share them with each other?”

“‘Clubs’ imply more than two people,” Theo answers, trying to keep his voice even when he, too, knows the reasoning is faulty at best.

“With the number of heart eyes she’s got for you, it ought to count as another person.”

Theo sighs. “Arthur, I’m going to ask you a favor.”

“You know the cost of that.”

“Yes, so let me owe you one, and shut the fuck up.”

“Aww, buddy—”

Theo’s expression shifts into something menacing.

“Arthur.”

-

Theo wishes it were just a book club.

That way, all they will have to do is talk about books and maybe engage in some intellectual discussion about said books. Then they go home.

But it’s more than just a book club.

(This is the beginning of Theo learning that it’s always ‘more than’ when she’s involved.)

It’s Saturday now, and Theo has just gotten out of his 3-hour long lecture. It’s considered to be one of the more complicated, higher-level business classes in his course, but…Theo doesn’t really have any strong feelings about it. It’s okay. It’s the second to the last subject he’ll have to take before he can finally proceed to his thesis-writing class… and Theo is rather eager to get this finished already.

…Well, no, he’d rather focus on helping his brother out since he can, since Vincent comes above all things, but the one agreement for him to keep his scholarship despite not taking a full load of units is that he had to take at least three units—one subject—each semester. He wasn’t going to say no to the demands of a scholarship and free tuition, so he takes a subject once a week—on his day off from work—and takes the rest of the day recovering from the long week of working retail.

But that’s about to change.

He doesn’t know what he’d done to end up in this position—well, maybe he does, and what he did was agree to work with Arthur, of all people—but now he’s here. Instead of relaxing on a Saturday afternoon, he’s picked up under his “care”—or whatever one would like to call it—a rather eccentric literature department girl, and there’s no turning back from that. Once she texts Vincent (not him, because why would he be giving away his phone number like that?)—

[ 2:38 ] Hi Vinny! Can you tell Theo I’ll meet him at the Grove at 4?

he knows he’s got no choice but to follow through with his word.

Unfortunately for him.

(And fortunately for his curiosity.)

It’s the first official day of the book club; the only agenda is to swap books. For the very first book, they’d agreed to read a wildcard from the other, any book they’d want the other to read. He’d considered two possible options—either giving her a book that’s entirely for the joke of it, one that he’s either neutral to or did not particularly enjoy; or giving her a book that’s genuinely interesting to some degree or another. He’d flipped a coin—and gotten tails—so he’s got slung under his arm his copy of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens.

“Theo! I’m over here!”

She waves from underneath the shade of a tree. Her dark brown hair falls in gentle curls, tied half-up with a ribbon as it always is. She’s wearing a cream top and a long brown skirt, matching with the rest of the place. And she’s even laid a picnic mat down. That… was not part of his expectations. He shakes his head and sighs a little as he heads toward her.

She cocks her head to the side. “What’s with that expression? Don’t want to spend time with me?”

“No,” he answers bluntly, though it doesn’t sound that true.

She laughs the same way Arthur does when he figures Theo out. Theo begins to have a growing dread of what kind of “friendship” he’s building with this girl—and how maybe Arthur had planned all of this to begin with: a partner to bring Theo into misery. “C’mon now, take a seat. It’s a great fall afternoon.”

And true, it is.  It’s still rather early in the season so it’s not too cold, but the campus is already beginning to fill in with the classic fall colors. There’s a wind that’s gently passing by, shuffling the strands of her hair that’s tied half-up rather neatly.

The Grove is, despite its name, not in fact a grove, but rather an open park in the middle of campus, surrounded and dotted by large trees that serve as great shade in the summer and also rather beautiful in the fall. There are benches and tables here and there, allowing it to be a great spot to study for the students, but it truly is a different experience to hang out there with a picnic mat, looking up at the blue sky—whether in the day or at the night. The Grove is also one of the quieter portions of the campus, which, Theo begrudgingly agrees, makes it a good place to hold discussions about books.

“Aren’t we just going to exchange books?” Theo asks, but he’s already heading down toward the very classic red and white checkered picnic mat.

Her voice is undeniably disappointed. “Wait, you were serious about not wanting to spend time with me?”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Besides make friends? No. It’s a Saturday.”

She’ll be at the bookshop tomorrow again anyway, as she is every Sunday… he could have just given her the book then, and vice versa. Did she invite him all the way here just to… hang out with him?

Oh boy, what did Theo get into? 

“You really should find a better hobby,” Theo says, as he takes a seat a foot away from her on the mat. She’s leaning on her wrists, her arms behind her, looking up at the clear fall sky, watching the clouds. She grins when she hears it but doesn’t turn toward him.

“Did you know,” she begins, “that’s also exactly what Arthur told me when I said it’s probably nice to make friends with you?”

“Arthur says useless stuff a lot of times, but that was the one time you ought to have listened to him.”

She shrugs it off with a laugh before pulling out of her bag a thinly bound volume. “Book exchange?”

They both place the books they’d brought in between both of them. She has offered him a collection of poetry, titled No Matter the Wreckage, by an author named Sarah Kay. He hasn’t read this one. And by the look on her face, as she picks up the Gaiman volume, it seems like she hasn’t read the one he’s brought, either.

“You didn’t seem like the kind of guy who read fantasy,” she comments, as she’s reading the summary on the back page. “Somehow I’m not that surprised though…”

“Gaiman is a good author,” Theo only remarks, hand on the poetry book. “His worldbuilding is rather thorough.” Theo doesn’t read a lot of poetry anymore, but he used to—perhaps this is the time to come back to metaphor and symbol. …Not that business isn’t filled with that stuff as well, all double meanings and reading between the lines. “I’m not surprised you brought me a poetry book.”

“I mean, I’d love if you were to read Les Miserables with me for class, but I figured I wanted something not too aggressive on the brain for this, you know?” she comments. “Why’d you choose Good Omens?”

Okay, he didn’t expect that. But he couldn’t exactly say It was the seventy-fourth one on the shelf, which was the number I got when I ran a random number generator. He answers, instead, “The questions it asks about morality and fate are interesting.”

“I see,” she hums. “I’ve read some Gaiman, but not this one. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

Theo thumbs through the poetry book idly, but not wanting his eyes to land on the poetry yet—he rather enjoys taking his time with books like these. “And why did you choose this one?”

“I like her poetry,” is the simple answer, but when he turns to give her a look, she continues. “The metaphors and symbols aren’t too expansive, too ‘deep’ to unearth, but they give the kind of dreaminess that I like about poetry.”

“That says a lot about you,” Theo snorts, and she pouts at him.

“And your book choice says a lot about you too,” she answers with a grin.

Theo thought he’d want to leave immediately. To hand the book, answer her questions, and then go. Maybe he can catch up and read that Alain de Botton book he didn’t have the heart to finish last week.

But interest had begun to grow in him. He hadn’t had someone so insistent in hanging out with him since he met Arthur. Not that Theo isn’t friendly—he’s part of a few business organizations on campus, although he’s not as active because of work—and he definitely has a handful of friends and acquaintances, but he can just tell it.

That she’s different.

So when she asks him, “Stay with me to read a bit?”, Theo doesn’t even think before he answers, “Okay.”

--

The weeks blur into one another like this. Sundays and Wednesdays, she comes to the bookstore to hang out. Her usual time, too. Arthur’s gotten into joking that maybe her wallet is thanking her now that she doesn’t have to pretend to want to buy something to come, but she does not deny nor confirm this. A lot of the time she does the same things anyway: come in, talk and chat with Arthur and Theo for a bit, and then hide away tucked in between the shelves scouring for books.

And it’s understandable, really, because the Dragon’s Hoard is the bookstore for this campus, after all. None of the other bookstores can compete with it.

If the campus’ most feared and adored physics professor (Isaac Newton) and the campus’ most voracious reader (Dazai Osamu) pledges to the bookstore’s greatness, she has no doubt about it.

(Them being her friends has nothing to do about that. For sure.)

The Dragon’s Hoard is popular on the campus for a few key reasons. One: the students have a discount if they can prove if the books are being bought for class, like in a syllabus or a professor’s official email. It’s not much and depends on what kind of book is being bought, but even a 5% discount on a book worth a month’s rent is already a lot for a struggling student.

Another reason it is popular is that it pretty much has a very actively rotating stock. That is, the books on the shelves constantly change every week, depending on the season or whatever is a hit as of late. (Of course, you can still ask for something in the back, if ever.) Most of the campus bookstores don’t take this much effort in keeping the shelves interesting—or have enough books at all to rotate them—so most of the bookstore connoisseurs (bookstore window-shoppers, really) enjoy coming into the Hoard to browse their books.

But perhaps the most important reason the Hoard is so popular is that the staff are known to be very well-read.

(This is exactly one of the reasons why she’s so interested in getting to drag Theo into a little book exchange.)

Interested in a specific genre but don’t know where to begin? Ask the staff—they’ll have a recommendation for you, tailored to your specific interest. Looking for a book whose plot you vaguely remember but not the title or the author? Ask the staff—they’ll either have it in stock or know it enough to be able to search for it and order it for you. Want to gift a friend a book but don’t quite know what will suit their tastes, and only have the vaguest of clues of what they might like? Don’t worry, ask the staff—they got this.

All of this happens thanks to the skillful eye of the bookstore’s main owner: a rich, middle-aged man who only lets himself be referred to as “Mr. Saint-Germain.” Said Saint-Germain guy is already an urban legend in the campus on his own because of his family’s supposed long history with the university and his silent influence on the school system but—that’s for another time. The thing with Saint-Germain is that he actually comes in to interview potential staff whenever they have a new hire, just to make sure they’re smart enough about books to actually qualify as a staff in the Hoard.

Sure, of course, she knows that Arthur qualified as well, and that’s why he’s in the store with that polo shirt with a dragon embroidered onto it, but—Arthur is different.

She knows Arthur from a class she was taking once; they’d both taken the same literary criticism class and were paired up for a project once. It’s how she got to know that he worked in the bookstore and—well, got to mooch out of his staff discount, sometimes. (“Please, you have to, it’s bigger than the student discount in this case?” “But just once!”) It’s not that Arthur doesn’t have a good literary taste, it’s just…

She feels like it’s a good, non-intrusive way to get to know Theo by reading the books he likes.

And asking him questions about it.

Is that so bad?

[just-my-sickly-pride]

Problem-Solver || Roger Taylor x fem!Reader & Brian May x fem!Reader

summary || you thought that brian and roger would be able to share, but their jealousy starts to get the better of them. maybe having a friends-with-benefits arrangement with two guys who live in the same house was a bad idea.

rating || some heavily implied sexual content, but that’s all. plenty of talking about feelings, though.

word count || 4.7k

author’s notes || and finally, another instalment in the try series! although this can be read on its own. i do a lot of changing and shifting with timeline stuff as i edit, so if there’s so discrepancies in that regard, please let me know! it’s hard to keep track of it. this instalment is more of an exposition-y thing, but i liked writing it, and it needs to be posted for the upcoming instalments to make sense.

masterlist

     “You’re what?”

    You took a sip of wine, nodding. “Yeah.”

    Veronica stared at you with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Then she laughed, a high-pitched, disbelieving laugh. “You’re sleeping with both of them.”

    “Yep.”

    “Brian and Roger.”

    “Uh-huh.”

    Veronica laughed again. “I– How? I mean, I know how you and Brian… Well, I know that you and Brian were – doing that, but I found that out from Roger. Who told everyone because he was making fun of you.”

    You hummed in thought, taking another sip of wine. “As if turns out, Roger was making fun of us because he was jealous.”

    “And how on Earth did you find that out?”

    “I slept with him.”

    Veronica made a strangled sound of surprise, and then leant back on the couch, shaking her head. “I am… shocked. Absolutely shocked.”

    “Are you, though?” you said.

    Veronica’s eyes went even wider. “Yes, I’m shocked! You’re casually sleeping with two of your friends. Who live together.”

    “That’s not that weird, is it?”

    “It’s fairly unusual, yeah!” Veronica sighed heavily, and gulped her wine. You waited in silence, letting her process it. 

    She looked to you. “Do they know about it?”

    “Does who know about it?”

    “Does Brian know that you have this thing with Roger, and vice versa?”

    “Oh, yeah, of course,” you said with a shrug. “It’d be ridiculous to try to hide it from them. Schedule clashes, y’know? Couldn’t exactly hide why I’m over at their place from the other person either. And anyway, the way I wound up sleeping with Roger in the first place is because Brian and I decided that I should try to. To find out if he… was jealous or not.”

    “Blimey,” Veronica muttered into her wine, shaking her head. “Honestly, I find one boy is enough to keep me busy. I can’t imagine two.”

    “Yeah, but Deaky’s your boyfriend, that’s different,” you said. “There isn’t that extra emotional stuff. I don’t have to worry about date night or meeting the parents or anything like that. It’s just casual sex.”

    “How do you even have the time?”

    “I figure it out somehow. And Brian and I do some of the same subjects, so he helps me study.” Not that all of those study sessions wind up being that productive, you thought to yourself with a smile.

    “Well, is it going all right, then?” Veronica asked. “They’re not fighting over you?”

    You sighed. “Uh… For the two weeks, it was fine, no problems. A bit of negotiation around who I see and when, but it settled down well enough by the second week. Then after that, things started getting a little… I don’t know.”

    “Wait, how long has this been going on for?” Veronica interjected.

    “Me and Brian?” you said. “About, um, almost six months? And Roger, a month-ish. Just under.”

    “And you’re only just telling me?”

    You pouted. “Yes, I know, I’m sorry.”

    Veronica tutted. “Okay, well, go on.”

    “They’re not… fighting over me,” you said. “It’s not that, like, territorial. Ugh. It’s more like they’re – I dunno – unsure? Like they don’t know how to deal with everything? I don’t know if they talk about any of it in private, but right now, when the three of us are in the same room together, even if other people are there, it feels like there’s this big, huge elephant in the room. I don’t expect them to talk about it or anything, but I’m just hoping it doesn’t become a bigger problem. I’m more than happy to discuss whatever they like, and we do these check-ins where we ask each other how we’re doing, like, emotionally and stuff, which Roger took some getting used to, honestly, but it’s always only in relation to each other and the friends-with-benefits arrangement. Not with anything else, you know? So Brian’s name wouldn’t come up in a check-in with Roger, for instance, because it’s more about what’s between me and Roger in that moment. Yeah?”

    “Yeah,” Veronica said slowly. “But what if Brian’s this sort of unspoken thing between you, and Roger just hasn’t said anything? Or the other way around?”

    You frowned. “Usually we’re all pretty good with check-ins. I’ve never had reason to doubt their honesty before.”

    “It’s not being dishonest, necessarily,” Veronica said. “Just… I don’t know. I’d be wary if the tension between them got any worse. Just be careful, okay?”

    “I am being careful,” you said.

    Veronica chewed on her bottom lip, staring at you with a mixture of caution and curiosity.

    “What?” you said.

    “Roger said that you, um… you and Brian – the whole ‘Daddy’ thing? Is that really true?”

    “Ah,” you said, setting down your glass. “Well, um…”

    “You don’t have to tell me,” Veronica said quickly. “It’s just curiosity.”

    You sighed. “Um, no, it’s true. It’s a little more complicated than that, but, uh, yeah, we do that sometimes.” You hesitated, and then added with a cheeky smile, “Turns out Roger was pretty jealous of that, too.”

    “Oh my fucking…” Veronica said. She laughed. “You astound me.”

    “Oh, why, thank you,” you said, picking up your glass again to gesture to her in thanks. “But this stays between you and me, all right? Don’t tell John about any of this. God forbid the boys find out that I’ve been gossiping about them behind their backs, and then they’ll be asking all these dumb questions like, ‘Did you tell her how big my dick is?’, ‘Did she tell you any whack, freaky shit about Deaky?’”

    Veronica snorted. “No. John and I have tried a few things here and there, but I’m sure we’re as tame as can be in comparison to whatever wild shit you three get up to.”

    “‘You three’,” you scoffed. “You make it sound like we’re all sleeping together at the same time. That is not happening.”

    Veronica quirked an eyebrow. “Isn’t it?”

    It was moments like these that you could see why she and John were such a good match. “It isn’t, thank you, you snide cow,” you said, and Veronica giggled.

    “Oh, we’ll see,” she said.

    “Fuck off!” You shoved at her, and she cackled. “As if Brian and Roger would ever willingly see each other naked.”

    “That’s your only barrier?” Veronica said. “Not the whole try-to-handle-two-guys-at-once thing? The fact that you don’t think they’d be down for it?”

    You scoffed at her, pushing her knee, more lightly than before. “Stop twisting my words.”

    “You still haven’t denied it.”

    “Ronnie!” you exclaimed indignantly.

    “Say no! Look me in the eye and say you’ve never thought about it.”

    “Get fucked.”

    “You can’t. You can’t do it. You’ve so thought about it.”

    You opened and closed your mouth a few times, and then, far too belatedly, said, “I have not.”

    Veronica grinned at you. “And have you mentioned it to either Brian or Roger that this is on your mind?”

    You gave her a look. “No! Of course I haven’t, are you mad?”

    “It’s a fair question.”

    You shook your head. “You’re unbelievable.”

    “Me?” Veronica cried. “You’re the one with this whole… business!”

    You clicked your tongue at her. “Can we drop this now?”

    “You brought it up.”

    “And now I’m ending it.”

    Veronica rolled her eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

    You raised your eyebrows at her. “Yeah, well, what are you gonna do about it?”

    She laughed, and curled her legs up against her chest. “Okay, gosh, message received. Can we watch this stupid movie now?”

    “Yes, please,” you said, leaning forward and pressing the space bar on your laptop. The Kissing Booth began to play.

    A few nights later, you had a small get-together at your place, just with Veronica, the boys, and a couple of uni friends. You didn’t want to say you’d jinxed anything in your conversation with Veronica, but it was hard not to think it when you noticed Roger and Brian getting increasingly testy with each other as the night went on. Every time you were alone for more than two seconds with one of them, the other would find an excuse to barge in. You weren’t even looking to hook up tonight, and they both knew it, but apparently, having a one-on-one conversation was too much to bear.

    It was royally pissing you off.

    Your other guests started to notice, too – especially Veronica, who kept giving you smug, knowing looks, which weren’t helping your increasingly sour mood.

    But you let it slide for tonight. It wasn’t unusual for Brian and Roger to bicker, and, although you did seem to be the root cause of their fighting, you decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, just this once.

    The next week, it was your night with Roger. Wednesday nights were Veronica and John’s date night, Freddie had a class that went late and he always went to the pub with his classmates afterwards, and Brian had a study session. So you and Roger made use of the empty house, making out on the couch. Neither of you were in a hurry to escalate things at this point – Roger seemed far more invested in trying to find your most ticklish spot with his tongue, making you laugh.

    “Oh, wait,” he gasped. “Can you lie down?”

    “Flat?” you said, shifting into position, Roger standing up to give you room.

    “Yeah. Like that.”

    You gave him a look. “Okay. And?”

    “I knew a girl once who had a really weird thing…” He held your hip, and began curiously prodding the flesh around your hipbone with his thumb.

    “What weird thing?”

    “She was really ticklish, like, here?” He pressed his thumb hard into you, and you yelped far too loudly, batting his arm away.

    Roger laughed. “You’re ticklish there too!”

    “I – I never knew,” you said, laughing, but deeply confused. “Wait, do it again.”

    He did, and, sure enough, your nerves went wild, and you squeaked. “Oh, whoa,” you said, looking down at your hip with wide eyes. “That’s so weird.”

    “I know, right?” Roger said. He grinned, waggling his eyebrows, and knelt on the couch, slotting his knee between your thighs. “Can crack that one open later.”

    “Sure, if you want to take me completely out of the mood,” you said dryly.

    “Tickling can be sexy, can’t it?”

    “Not to me. Why, do you find it sexy?”

    “If I can watch you and another equally hot woman to tickle each other while in your underwear, sure.”

    You slapped his thigh. “Arsehole.”

    “I’m joking, I’m joking,” Roger said. “I don’t mind it sometimes, but I can’t say it really gets me going, personally.”

    “So we agree.”

    Roger hummed, and lent forward, hovering above you, the conversation clearly already forgotten. “Do you ever get tied to the bed?”

    “Yeah, all the time.”

    “And we haven’t tried it yet?” Roger shook his head. “Despicable.”

    “Have you ever been tied to the bed?”

    Roger’s eyes went dark, and he sucked in a breath. “No.”

    You bit your lip, slipping your hands under his shirt. “Well.”

    Roger hummed again, a thoughtful noise, and leant down to kiss you softly.

    You were just getting lost in the kiss when there was the sound of keys in the door. You and Roger barely had time to react, scrambling away from each other, when the door slammed open, and Brian strode in.

    “Oh,” he said, far too casually for how aggressively he’d opened the door. “Hey, guys.”

    You sighed in relief. You didn’t really ever want to get caught in a situation where you’d have to explain your arrangements to Freddie or John. That being said, you weren’t all too pleased about interrupted, either.

    Brian gestured vaguely between the two of you. “Forgot you two, uh… Forgot it was your night.” He closed the door firmly behind him, and tossed his keys onto the kitchen table. They clattered against the wood.

    Roger cleared his throat. “Well, yeah, it’s our night, so.”

    “Yep.”

    “So you’re heading out again soon, I assume.”

    “Uh.” Brian cocked his head, thinking. “Mm, nope, don’t think so.” He seemed a little out of breath, like he’d hurried home.

    “Well, that’s fine with me,” Roger said sharply, reaching for you. “We’ll just continue where we left off. You don’t mind, Brian, do you?”

    “Rog,” you said lowly. “Let’s go to your room, yeah?”

    Roger seemed all too happy to give you his attention, although it seemed a little too attentive to be entirely natural. “Sure, sweetheart, whatever you like.”

    You both got to your feet, and Roger took your hand and started leading you to his room.

    You could feel Brian’s heavy gaze on the both of you, but, luckily, he stayed silent.

    On Friday, it was your night with Brian. You should have guessed that a similar event would have happened as on Wednesday, but it didn’t occur to you until Roger kicked the door open, his arms loaded with a twenty-four pack of beer. “Hey guys,” he said amicably. “Sorry, I assumed you’d be in Brian’s room by now. Taking your time tonight, are we, Brian?”

    As it was, you and Brian were sitting on the couch, just chatting. You liked to play with Brian’s hands on nights like these, liked to see Brian’s eyes drink in your face. Liked to let the tension build.

    But the tension was gone now, like a burst balloon.

    A dark cloud swept over Brian’s face. “Fuck off, will you?” he said to Roger.

    “Just making conversation, mate.” Roger set the case down on the table. “Either of you want a beer?”

    Brian sighed, and turned to Roger. “Can you just bloody leave us alone?”

    Roger raised his eyebrows. “Oh, sorry, it’s all right when you do it…”

    “I’ll have a beer,” you cut in sharply.

    Brian gave you a quizzical look, and it gave you an idea.

    Maybe it was time to nip this whole stupid thing in the bud. “Actually, Roger, why don’t you join us?” you said.

    Roger paused, taken aback. “Huh?”

    “What are you doing?” Brian whispered.

    “Yeah, come on,” you said, waving Roger over. “Grab us a couple beers.”

    Roger’s gaze flicked between you and Brian, and then he said, “Um. Ye– All right, yeah.” He tore open the case and grabbed three cans.

    He sat down on the single couch, and handed out the beers.

    You cracked yours open and took a big gulp. “Cheers,” you said, licking your lips. Your heart was hammering away with nerves – you didn’t quite know why you were so nervous, but perhaps it was the prospect of a big argument breaking out – and you took another drink to calm yourself.

    Neither Brian nor Roger had opened their drinks, staring at you unsurely.

    “Well, go on, then,” you urged them, and, mechanically, they both opened their beers and started drinking.

    “So,” you said with a contented sigh, “how was your day, Rog?”

    The boys slowly warmed up to the idea of just sitting and having a drink and a chat. You could still feel Brian’s frowns on your face – he probably felt a little cheated out of the evening that he’d pictured – but you were able to ignore it well enough.

    The beer helped lubricate the conversation.

    After an hour, you wondered if you could genuinely get away with avoiding a big talk about everything. Maybe Roger and Brian were fine. They seemed to be getting along perfectly well now. Maybe they’d just been having a rough time, or maybe they’d been in disagreement about something else and that was leaking into their arrangements with you, maybe–

    “So what kind of stuff have you two done?” Roger said, gesturing between you and Brian with his beer. “Y’know, the weird freaky shit?”

    You swallowed an exasperated groan.

    “I don’t think that’s any of your business, actually,” Brian said tersely.

    “Nah, come on. We’ve done so much already, haven’t we? And it’s only been a month.”

    “Roger,” Brian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “we have clearly done far more than you two would have done. By far. It’s not even a competition.”

    “You’ve just been fucking for longer,” Roger said. “Doesn’t count. You have to go from the first month. No, the three weeks, even. Just the first three weeks.”

    “I can’t remember all the stuff we did in the first three weeks,” Brian said. “It was so long ago. Because we’ve been fucking for so long.”

    “I bet, in the three weeks we’ve been fucking, we’ve done just as much as you have in your five months of fucking.”

    “God,” you muttered into your drink.

    “Six, actually,” Brian said. “And I bet you haven’t.”

    “I bet we have.”

    “Bet she hasn’t fucked you up the arse yet.”

    Roger’s mouth fell open. “She what?”

    You gave Brian a bewildered look. “Brian!”

    “With a strap-on,” Brian said proudly.

    Roger turned to you, a look of betrayal on his face. “Why haven’t you fucked me up the arse yet?” he protested. “I’d be so good at it, I promise.”

    Jesus Christ. “I di– I haven’t fucked anyone up the arse, thank you,” you said, shooting a pointed look to Brian. “Brian’s just lying.”

    “I’m not lying,” Brian said.

    “She just said she hasn’t fucked you up the arse when you said she did,” Roger said.

    “We’ve talked about it,” Brian said. “Right? We’ve talked about it.”

    “We… Well, yes, we have,” you muttered. “But that’s very different to actually doing it.”

    “Have to talked about it with Roger?”

    “Maybe,” Roger jumped in. “We– We might’ve. Maybe? Have we? I think we have.”

    “Can we stop?” you said. “Please? This is already weird and uncomfortable.”

    “I can’t believe you,” Roger shot at Brian. “You’ve made her uncomfortable.”

    “She wasn’t talking about me, clearly,” Brian said.

    “And can you both stop talking about me as if I’m not here?” you snapped. “‘She’ the cat’s fucking mother.”

    The boys fell silent.

    You sighed, rubbing your temple. “Of course there are going to be – differences. Between my… relationship with you, Brian, and my relationship with you, Roger. It wouldn’t make any sense if they were the same, because you two are not the same, and how I – how I interact with you and… what makes me feel – makes us feel happy and comfortable and all that good stuff is different for each of you. With each of you. You’re not in contest with each other, all right?”

    Brian and Roger glanced at each other.

    “I can’t believe I even have to spell this out for you,” you added, and, oh dear, here comes the big talk. “I thought it would be – manageable, at least, to have this sort of relationship with the two of you, because I thought you both would be mature enough to handle it. Honestly, my only thoughts were how you both – how we all would deal with the risk of getting in too deep, emotionally, rather than you two squaring off like– like some kind of animal. Like…” You shook your head. “Whatever… Whatever male animals fight each other in the wild. Moose. Do male moose fight each other?”

    You looked to them, and they stared blankly at you.

    It took them a second to realise they expected an answer, and they both spoke at the same time.

    “I– I dunno,” Roger said.

    “Yes, they do,” Brian said.

    “You’re like a pair of… mooses. Mooses?”

    “Moose,” Brian supplied. “You just said it before.”

    “Whatever.” You sat back on the couch, and raised your eyebrows at the boys. “Honestly, right now, I’m struggling to understand why I could be bothered to deal with any of this. We’ve had a good run, right? Maybe it’s time we all let this go.”

    Brian and Roger spoke at the same time again.

    “Whoa, hey, let’s not…”

    “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

    You shrugged. “Friends-with-benefits are temporary, anyway. We all knew that going into this. Maybe I want to start looking for an actual partner, y’know? Actually date someone.”

    “But do you?” Brian said. “Or are you just tired to us fighting?”

    You chewed on your bottom lip.

    If nothing else, he could read you like a book.

    “If that’s really what you want,” Roger said carefully, “then we’ll respect that–��

    “Of course,” Brian said, nodding emphatically.

    “–but, I don’t know, we haven’t even tried talking it out.”

    “This is starting to sound awfully like an actual relationship,” you muttered.

    “But it’s not,” Roger said. “Because I… We don’t…” He looked to Brian, lost.

    Brian watched you with soft eyes. “Check-in,” he murmured.

    You matched his gaze, and sighed. “Honestly? No, I don’t have feelings for you, and I never have. Same with you, Rog. But I don’t know if I’m entirely happy with how things are right now. It’s been more stress than I want, or need.”

    Brian nodded once. “Okay,” he said. “I don’t have feelings for you, either. But I care about you deeply. You’re one of my closest friends, and I really enjoy the time we spend together. No matter what we’re doing. And…” He took a breath. “And I admit that I have been feeling jealous of Roger lately. Irrationally so. I think part of me thought that you started your arrangement with Roger because you were growing bored of me, or I wasn’t good enough in some way, and instead of talking to me about it, you’d decided to start sleeping with my flatmate. To…” He swallowed, dropping his gaze to his hands in his lap. “To annoy me, maybe. Even though I know – I know that’s something you wouldn’t do, because you care about me, and you’ve been extremely open with your feelings since day one, which is something I respect. A lot.”

    Veronica had hit the nail on the head, it seemed. “How long have you been feeling like that?” you asked.

    Brian hesitated. “A while. Not at first, but maybe after a week or so.”

    “So during our check-ins, you were, what, lying? About how you were feeling?”

    “I wasn’t… lying,” Brian said. “I just wasn’t saying the whole truth. And I’m sorry. That wasn’t right, or fair, and it wasn’t respecting our rules, I understand that.”

    You sighed, thinking this over. Your eyes flicked to Roger. “Rog?” you said. “What about you?”

    Roger drummed a frantic beat on his knees. “Uh…” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, that’s– I’ve been jealous of Brian. I know how much history you two have, and I – I think I wanted that, maybe? Or felt like I had to live up to it somehow? I… I guess I just felt that I’d never be able to compete with that, so you’d ditch me soon enough. Guess I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that what we have is so different from what you and him have.” He rubbed the back his neck. “I’m sorry.”

    You nodded to yourself, then took a drink. You swallowed, felt it slide down your throat, a faint coolness brushing down the centre of your chest. You could feel two pairs of eyes watching you, like skittish horses eyeing up a snake.

    You set the can down on the coffee table, and then said, “Okay. Well. At least we’re all being honest now. About fucking time.”

    “So… what’s next?” Roger said.

    You thought for a moment. “I’m not sure,” you admitted. “But I think you two should apologise to each other, for starters.”

    Roger and Brian looked to each other, and then away, both muttering apologies.

    “Properly,” you said. “Haven’t you two ever apologised to each other before?”

    “I don’t think so, no,” Brian said.

    You couldn’t help but laugh. “Jesus, that explains a lot.” You nodded towards them. “Go on, then. Kiss and make up.”

    They met each other’s eyes. “Sorry,” Brian said.

    “Sorry too,” Roger said.

    They looked to you.

    You stared back. “Don’t look at me,” you said bluntly. “What am I, your mother?”

    Roger sighed, and turned to Brian again. “I’m sorry for being a prick,” he said. “I was acting out when I should’ve – talked about how I was feeling. You’re my mate, and you’re all right most of the time, and it wasn’t right of me. So I’m sorry.”

    Brian’s face softened. “I’m sorry too,” he said, and he sounded so sincere that you saw a blush of embarrassment crawl up Roger’s neck.

    Good Lord, they truly hadn’t ever properly apologised to each other.

    “I was being just as much of a prick as you,” Brian continued. “I wasn’t thinking about how you would’ve been feeling in this situation, and that was shitty of me. I should’ve talked about it, too. And I’m sorry that it’s taken someone else’s intervention for us to actually properly apologise to each other for the first time literally the whole time we’ve been friends.”

    “Yeah,” Roger said with a chuckle. “We should… We should work on that.”

    “Yeah, probably,” Brian said.

    You couldn’t help but smile. “Doesn’t that feel better?”

    “Feels gross, actually,” Roger said, screwing up his nose, and you laughed.

    “It does feel… It feels good,” Brian said. He patted Roger on the knee, slightly awkwardly. “I… I care about you, Rog,” he said. “You’re a good mate, and I’m lucky to have you around.”

    “Oh, shut up,” Roger said. “Bloody sentimental old man.”

    Brian laughed.

    It was time to help lighten the mood. “Now kiss and make up.”

    “We just did,” Brian said.

    You waggled your eyebrows. “No,” you said slowly, “kiss and make up.”

    Both boys took a moment to understand your meaning, and then they broke out into spluttering and stuttering, leaning as far away from each other as they could, shaking their heads dramatically, both of their faces turning red.

    “I’m joking!” you exclaimed. “I’m joking, I’m joking. Jeez. Sorry for making such an offensive suggestion.”

    “It’s not offensive,” Brian said. “It’s just–”

    “Weird and disgusting,” Roger said. He looked to Brian. “No offence, mate. You’re just not my type.”

    “Oh, none taken,” Brian said. He shook his head at you. “You’re filthy.”

    Your mouth fell open as Roger laughed. “Brian! I was just making a joke, you pig!”

    “I knew you were into some weird shit, but watching your two male friends kiss each other…”

    “I was joking.” Aw, fuck. You’d really walked right into this one.

    “This is what you were leading up to the whole time, weren’t you?” Roger said. “I knew it. You couldn’t help yourself. Brian and I are just too bloody delicious for you to resist.”

    Brian burst out laughing. “Eugh, don’t call me delicious!”

    “I’m not calling you that, I’m saying that–”

    “You just called me that!”

    “I called us both that, Brian, I didn’t just sit here and call you delicious.”

    “That’s what you did!”

    “I di– We’re on the same side here, you fucking bastard!”

    You were laughing, hard, but the tense ball of anxiety had just relaxed in the pit of your stomach, and the beer was starting to get to your head, so you couldn’t help it if you laughed a bit more than the banter really warranted.

    sorry we didn’t really have the night u were expecting, you texted Brian the next day. did u want to make up for it?

    It’s all right, he replied an hour later. It was a night that needed to happen. And I always like spending time with you, so I count it as a night well spent, regardless.

    You smiled to yourself. i think it needed to happen too. i’m glad it did. can u two legit talk about shit if it starts getting in the way again? please?

    Yes. I’m sorry you had to do that.

     it’s fine, I just don’t want to have to make a habit of it ok?

    I completely understand. But thank you, anyway.

    it’s ok.

    You went to put your phone away, but then it buzzed once more.

    Not to go back on what I just said, but can I show you how grateful I am? Brian had texted. Or perhaps tell you over the phone tonight?

    A thrill bubbled through you. I think I can make time for that.

    I’m glad to hear it. I’ll text you later.

    You grinned, and pocketed your phone.

[fyeahwonderbat]

In the Middle of a Broken Constellation - PT. 4

Pairing: WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman) Rating: T / 14A Universe: N/A - Reader's Choice Previous Chapter: <- Chapter 3

The once determined woman who was leaping across Gotham City had suddenly become still, panic seizing her limbs. The call that Aquaman made was indeed something to be concerned about - the toxic, transformative sludge that was at the root of all of the Justice Leagues problems lately grown into a monster of its own - and truly, she was. Whatever this hazardous waste was, it was designed and spread throughout the United States as a means to cause utter chaos, meaning a battle with a humanized version of it could pose as a genuine challenge.

But if she herself took on that challenge, what was she leaving Jason to deal with all on his own?

She was only in the East End and still so far away from him. In the mid-afternoon on such a rambunctious Wednesday, looking out over Gotham from her perch upon one of its many rooftops, all Diana could see were stepping stones that were meant to take her to Wayne Manor. Leaving her quest now to help wrestle their mystery monster into submission would mean that she’d be abandoning the ‘reigning member’ of Batman’s crime-fighting family and perhaps risking losing connection with him for a long while.

But that possibility wasn’t high enough to ignore the call of her fellow Founder.

“Wonder Woman here,” she felt an ach inside when she answered. Diana dared to carry on as she jumped to her next apartment building, gazing out over the skyline with a twinkle in her bright eyes. “Superman and I are out on a mission. Where are you located?”

“Off--...oast of --aine!” Arthur shouted into his comms, only for the disaster that he was facing to disrupt the connection. Diana could only assume what he was trying to say, given that he mostly supplied her with vowels and not too many hard sounds.

Luckily, there was a member of the League who excelled with managing dysfunctional technology. “Cyborg here. He’s about one hundred fifty miles into the Gulf of Maine, veering towards Portsmouth, Nova Scotia.”

“Thanks for the heads up! Flash here. I can be there in a minute, tops!” Declared the fastest man alive, with a slightly distorted audio on his line that implied he was already in motion.

The more people who chimed in on the matter, the more guilty Wonder Woman felt. Internally, she cursed herself and forced her voice to rejoin the call. “I’m outside of New York.” A divergent truth if she ever heard one. It would take the same amount of time to cross nearly the same length of distance--

Until her empathetic heart managed to create a plan that only elevated her warrior mind’s strategy.

Clearing her throat, she added on. “But I can join you in roughly twenty minutes.” Which was true, when she recalled that inside the BatCave was Bruce’s teleportation pad. If she could reach Jason, help him sort through the situation with Alfred while filling him in on Bruce, then create a communication link between them, she could confidently race off to Arthur’s side and help him handle the monster!

It was a hectic plan, no doubt.

Nevertheless, if she could execute it properly, wouldn’t require her to choose one disaster over the other.

“I can be there to help call shots from the air, but I can’t risk being knocked into the water.” Victor tried to offer his presence despite the damage that could happen to his electrical body if he fell into the gulf, and Diana wouldn’t want him to take the risk either.

Apparently, despite his currently combative position, Arthur concurred as well. “--en keep y-ur--… ass home! --et’s go, --lash!”

“Let’s get this party started!” Barry nearly cheered into the main League channel before they were switched into their own private one.

Mumbling into her ear digitally, Victor remarked, “I really don’t want to know what was clipped out in the last thing Arthur said.”

“Neither do I,” Diana agreed while trying not to laugh. Then, she tapped her ear piece to end the call.

With her disheveled plan in mind, she utilized the restlessness rattling inside of her to make her leaps longer, help her jump higher. After crossing the Sparrng River, she merely had Robbinsville and Crest Hill to work her way through before she would at least find herself in the same part of the city as Wayne Manor! She really missed her Mercedes in a moment such as this, though she doubted it was any easier to drive through such a commercial city during a post-lunch rush.

From fishermen bait shops to department stores to insurance offices, she bolted through Robbinsville with relative ease. She purposely stayed along the metaphysical border to Crime Alley, just in case she heard of any actual criminals acting out while passing by. Suddenly, Clark’s comment about her extensive knowledge of the city replayed itself inside her mind and it made Diana pause thoughtfully.

She didn’t see her geographical awareness of the city to be all that strange. Given their line of work as superheroes, despite Bruce’s resistance, it was only a matter of time before some threat called them into Gotham. Once the argument had happened at the Founders’ Meeting all those weeks ago, it seemed inevitably necessary to be prepared. She had enough time worrying about her friend to channel that energy into studying a simple map.

After all, as Diana, she only knew of the districts that entertained the rich and the famous.

The socialites, including the other Bruce.

The one she had only seen glimpses of, but never truly knew.

Her intuition had served her well and so she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Even generals in ancient times would try to map out enemy terrain before charging into battle - what was so odd about her taking the time to understand the layout of Gotham City?

Knowing the districts by name helped her to feel relief when she finally reached Crest Hill, as she understood just how close she was was to Bristol County, where Wayne Manor was located. There were many different manors scattered throughout her last stretch of the journey, which meant that she had to be much more careful about leaping over homes. Scenic, affluent, the area seemed like a wonderful area to have a home for a family.

Though perhaps the closeness of neighbours is why Bruce maintained his manor in the middle of nowhere.

Or perhaps it wasn’t as peaceful as the design of the complexes would have her assume.

There was a large crash that tore her away from her perceptions, followed by a guttural cry. Inside one of the many mansions on the street in the Bristol Township, there was a major disturbance taking place. Based on the raw emotion she heard in that muffled cry of a man inside his home, it could have been abusive. It sounded personal and pained, before another hefty boom reached her ears.

For fear of some young victim at the hands of such a wild person, Diana let her emotions take over as she threw herself through the front doors of the home in question.

There were no lights on as the wind swept through the front hall, giving the drapery an eerie look as the floated lifelessly on the breeze. It was cold, dark and chillingly empty, but it made little difference as she spied a leather chair sprawled out in the entryway of what looked to be a living room. In no time at all, she leapt over the cushioned blockade and entered the room.

Only for a gun to be cocked next to her head.

Then, after a small pause, a sigh of relief. “Wonder Woman!?” That emotional voice rang in her ears with a twisted sense of relief.

“Jason!?” she sounded pleased to see him, given the lengths she had literally traveled in order to reach him. However, that relief transformed into angered confusion when she motioned to the tattered living room they stood in. “What is all this? Why are you tearing up someone’s home!?”

Putting his firearm back in its holster, he ever so casually walked around the damaged space and plopped down on the only seat that wasn’t ruined - a floral love seat. “Don’t worry, this house was blocked off years ago for a murder and no one’s been back since. Well, I had hoped I’d find someone squatting here, but I guess I was GIVING HIM TOO MUCH CREDIT!” His shout was an obvious attempt to lure someone out of hiding if there was in fat another person in the house.

But after a few moments of an awkward silence between them, it was clear they were alone.

“You’re lucky no one has called the police to this house,” Diana chastised the young man, who looked like he was resting up after a hard day’s work now that she had arrived. “I heard you when I was a few streets away.”

Being cheeky, he decided to point to his ear and ask her point blank. “Metahuman hearing?”

The gaul he possessed was almost impressive. “Who are you looking for, here?”

It was almost rewarding that her question stalled him, stealing away the quick wit pace he seemed to thrive on. After racing through Gotham, being accosted by Huntress and contemplating abandoning Arthur and Barry so that she could save this young, rowdy, cocky man, Diana felt that she deserved some answers.

She arched a brow and crossed her arms, implying that she refused to move until she learned the reason why they both ended up in a warded off home.

Begrudgingly, he chose to behave and answered, “This is Drake Manor, the old home of the current Robin. At least, I think he is. Who the hell knows how many ‘wards’ Bruce has now, am I right?”

“And you thought he’d be here?” she interrogated him while looking around the space. There were feathers on the floor from the torn throw pillows, glass sectioning off the middle of the room due to a shattered table that once rested there, and even a massive vacancy on the wall where a large television must have been. Suspiciously, she looked to Jason.

His heavy shrug was much less enthusiastic than his earlier behaviour would have led her to believe. “He’s not anywhere. I don’t understand how Dick isn’t at the manor, or how Tim is just MIA. Or what the hell is wrong with Alfred! I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate reality where everything I knew here has been turned upside down on me!” His distress was palpable as he used his hands to indicate the directions he assumed his loved ones to be in; witnessing the intense display of loss and anger that stemmed from fear and sadness, Diana knew that Jason was just as mixed up in all of this as she was.

She felt she could empathize with him more so than she ever thought she could. “Jason, Superman and I went to visit Bruce.”

His spine shot up straight, but for once, he didn’t say anything.

So, she simply carried on. Diana moved to stand in front of him and dropped her arms so as to appear more welcoming than she had before. “When Superman used his X-Ray Vision on him, he said that he noticed… some type of damage done to Bruce’s brain. At this point, we don’t know what or who caused it, but we think that it might explain his behaviour for the last few weeks. I’m sorry.”

It felt necessary to apologize to his next of kin, if Jason could be called that. From the way he spoke of Bruce’s crime-fighting organization in Gotham, there was a large number of Robins and Batgirls and allies alike that assisted one another in times of crisis. As the seemingly black sheep of the bat-family - the one who was out of town, and therefore, possibly spared the same treatment of Bruce and Alfred - he returned to find everything he knew to be unlike what he remembered.

Diana could only imagine what it would be like to return to Themyscira, only to find her sisters or even her own mother treating her as though they had never met.

His blue eyes glossed over, and yet, they appeared lifeless. He stared at her without blinking, without moving, and she remained still as he digested her words. “So… is he in a hospital? Gotham General?”

Shaking her head, Diana tried to explain things to him without making everything sound just as confusing as it actually was. “No, he’s at work today. It seems he’s behaving normally as Bruce Wayne, but we don’t know what this brain trauma has to do with him ignoring his responsibilities as Batman or neglecting the Justice League. It’s too out of character for him, and we aren’t sure how to proceed.”

“Then why are you still here?” The question posed was rather confusing given the circumstances, but it was more a surprise when Diana realized that it hadn’t come from Jason.

She watched the black sheep raise his firearm once again as she turned around to face whomever so dared to enter the Drake Manor, eavesdropping on their private conversation. As she spun around, she worried that it was in fact the police, or quite possibly a disturbed neighbour.

But never in her estimations would she have expected to see Cyborg shove the leather seat out of the living room doorway and join their unsettling talk.

At once, Diana wanted to question him, despite the reprimand she knew was coming. It seemed more imperative to ask Jason to lower his gun though, given the circumstances. “Jason, it’s all right. Cyborg is a member of the League.”

“Who has the power of tracking people down, it seems.” Mocked Batman’s ward, speaking just like his mentor in a way that would have made the old Bruce proud.

Realizing he’d lower his gun when he felt comfortable to do so, Diana reengaged with Victor as she turned back around to face him. Responding to his question, she replied, “I needed to check on Jason. Both Bruce and Alfred are behaving unlike themselves, and we left Jason alone with Alfred to go after Bruce. I couldn’t leave him until I knew he was safe.”

His sympathy didn’t seem to commute at all. “Then why lie to us about it? How can we function as a team when one of us lies, let alone you?”

Despite knowing that she should simply back down and apologize, Wonder Woman felt it was vital that she stand her ground. “Superman was following his own lead, and then we were going to return to headquarters and approach you all with our findings. We wanted to see what information we could gather instead of coming back to you all with only our interpretation of the situation.”

“That doesn’t make it okay, and you know that.” Was Cyborg’s final evaluation of her explanation.

It took all she had not to sigh with frustration. He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t seeing it from her point of view either. She avoided mentioning Gotham City earlier to avoid a conversation such as this, as Bruce’s ban on League members would surely make them all sensitive to those who took it upon themselves to visit.

If only Kal were here, since it was his idea too.

Thankfully, unexpectedly, Jason put his pistol away once again and chose to come to her defence. “Whether it’s okay or not, we wouldn’t have the information about Bruce’s health if Superman and Wonder Woman hadn’t come here. So maybe we can take the hostility down a notch.”

Victor’s mouth shot open, but Diana had had enough bickering for one day. “All that matters is we officially know there is a problem with Bruce.”

“Cognitively,” Victor stated even though it still sounded as though he wanted clarification. “If something has happened to alter Batman’s mind, it could explain why he’s been ghosting not only us, but the people who need that antidote. If I could take a look at where the trauma was, it’d be easier to determine what’s been going on.”

Jason snorted and walked over to stand at Diana’s side. “I think he’d notice if a robot showed up at work and started scanning him for damaged parts” - they all could agree on that much - “but maybe you could squeeze Alfred into whatever plan you’re trying to come up with? The guy’s old and whoever went after Bruce clearly went after him too.”

That remark startled so much, as human eye shot open wide, the red circle inside his robotic one shrunk as if surprised. “Do you think that someone infiltrated the manor? Wouldn’t Bruce have a security system that would help protect him from this?”

“That’s what you can do!” Jason cheered, seemingly steering the conversation in another direction. As Diana and Victor looked at him, he seemed renewed with a new idea. “Cyborg, was it? You can hack into the security system inside the Manor and see if you can find any sort of video to explain what happened. That’s one of your robot powers, right?”

Victor eyed Diana as if to indicate that he was feeling exhausted due to the sporadic conversation they were having, but all she could do was concur with the young man. “It’s definitely something that would help us make sense of this.”

“I agree it’s something we need to do,” Cyborg concurred, sounding as though he was still strategizing while he spoke. “But given that we are talking about actual brain trauma in this situation, I don’t think we can leave Bruce alone while we are trying to figure out who did this to him.”

It was a thought that had crossed her mind as well, and so Diana immediately turned to Jason. “Would you be able to stick by him while we work on this? It might take--”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” it wasn’t his intention to be rude, but Cyborg’s blunt interruption stifled Wonder Woman’s battle plan effectively. Once he had regained the attention of the room, he elaborated on a scheme of his own. “I think we need someone to get inside Wayne Enterprises and remain at his side. We don’t know who did this to him or why, meaning we can’t guarantee they won’t strike again. It has to be someone that he trusts, so they can keep a watchful eye on him.”

The room went silent as Diana assumed that the three of them began to ponder how this proposal was possible. Kal had revealed himself as a reporter to an amnesiac Bruce, and Cyborg would stand out if he approached Wayne Tower. Jason could try to get into the building, but now that Alfred had seen his face and treated him like a burglar rather than a friend, he wouldn’t be allowed into the manor…

As her curious eyes moved from one face to another, she realized that both of the men were staring at her with some sort of expectation in their eyes. She didn’t quite understand - were they expecting her to come up with the answer on her own?

Or… were they expecting her to be the answer?

More unrefined than she had ever been in her life, all Diana could do was spit out a rather noisey, “Me?”

((Sorry I am one day late this week! I had a job opportunity and it messed with yesterday’s schedule. But I couldn’t deny my readers this juicy chapter, as things are clearly about to be amped up! I hope you enjoyed, and that you look forward to where this story is headed! ~ Maiden))

[emilyplaysotome]

Part 41 - Just the Two of Us

Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole is an ongoing story about our MC, who could easily be anyone in voltage fandom. She woke up in hospital bed only to discover that she’d somehow been transported Voltage universe.

This story is ongoing, so if you missed a part, or are new to the story, please use the link to the masterpost below to catch yourself up:

https://tinyurl.com/k4rrxna

Part 41 - Just the Two of Us

Initially I thought that Shun would be inviting the others from my department, but it was becoming more and more apparent that this was a date for the two of us, as we sipped our drinks in a private booth, tucked away from any prying eyes in the bar.

Shun was still going on and on about how amazing, and smart, and talented I was to the point he seemed more star struck than smitten, but I didn’t care in the slightest.

I was happy to see a new side of him, and to learn that he was capable of being my biggest cheerleader when he initially struck me as someone who only wanted to be showered with positive attention and praise. It made me happy to know that my achievements were attractive to him, and that he appreciated a confident, bold woman who knew what she wanted and went after it.

Considering that a leopard cannot change its spots, I was happy to know that the person I was satisfied him, and knowing that he wasn’t nearly as superficial as I’d initially thought, found him moving up my list in terms of who I wanted to take home.

It was important with my limited time that I evaluate each potential partner best I could, and I found myself naturally steering the conversation towards my home in New York City. 

Unbeknownst to Shun, I casually asked if he would ever consider working there, seeing as how his talents were clearly marketable all over the world, and he told me that he loved New York and would jump at the chance to experience life abroad. As he spoke he revealed another side of him - an enthusiastic, boyish side with a zest for life that wasn’t nearly as buttoned up as the confident, creative director persona he’d perfected over the years.

From there we got to talking about all kinds of things - favorite movies, music, and most importantly food. At that point we were both a few drinks in, and had completely done away with any shred of formality between us, as we chatted the night away like a couple of old friends.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Shun said earnestly.

“Who would I even tell...and more importantly why is your favorite food a secret? Is it something weird like…”

“No, no,” he said, his face beginning to flush from the amount of brandy he’d thrown back, “it’s just embarrassing that a hot shot creative director actually loves McDonalds more than any fancy restaurant in Toyko.”

“Stop. Are you serious?”

He gave me a cute shrug and added, “What can I say? I love their burgers and nuggets.”

I couldn’t believe that the real Shunichiro Tachibana was so secretly adorable, and finally feeling completely comfortable with him I found myself wanting to tease him like a fifth grade boy who suddenly realized his affections for a girl in his class.

“Oh well...this will never work because I like Burger King.”

“Burger King? Are you serious?”

“No. I’m totally kidding.”

He gave me a playful nudge, with led to me nudging him back, which led to him spontaneously kissing me. Our chemistry from that one kiss was undeniable, and soon I found myself holding his hand, being escorted from the bar to a hotel, and having my “fantasy suite” date with him 4 days earlier than expected.

A few hours later I sobered up, laying my head on Shun’s bare chest as we relaxed in each other’s arms. For a first night together it had been a good experience, and I had no doubt that should we choose to continue with this relationship, it would only get better in time.

Shun was obviously a skilled lover, and was someone who had slept with an ample number of women considering he did not possess a shred of unease when it came to his sexual encounters. 

Granted, his body (like all otome men in this world) was nothing to be self conscious about, and he touched me with confidence and without reservation. It was also fair to say that the alcohol had helped us both relax, and the hotel suite was made marginally more romantic by the moonlight and city lights which illuminated the room in a most flattering fashion, obscuring my cellulite while still revealing enough of my womanly shape to entice him.

A comfortable silence descended on us both, and I found myself worrying over whether or not sleeping with him so quickly had relegated me to booty call status without the potential for real partnership. 

Truthfully, I’d acted more impulsively than I would have liked to, but I had no regrets. I figured if he was a man who would look down on my actions when he had done the same thing, he would reveal his true nature as someone who I wouldn’t want to be with long term.

“You’re such a bad boss,” I finally joked, “getting me into bed on my first day at work.”

Shun sleepily stroked my hair, “It’s your fault for teasing me all day…”

“Hey Shun,” I found myself saying quietly.

“Hmm?”

I glanced up at his face to see that his eyes were closed, no doubt tired from his performance earlier and he made no attempt to open them as we chatted.

“I’m going to be straight with you. This was fun but I’m not looking for a one night stand. If you are...I totally understand and that’s cool, but for me...I want to find someone that I can spend my life with.”

“I want that too Ami,” he said sluggishly. “I liked you...from the moment we met...but...I’m tired.”

I had to giggle. It was such an unexpected response from a man who only hours ago had been so charming and smooth. Now, he was like a little boy, unable to keep his eyes open even though it was only 10 PM.

I kissed his forehead after gently sweeping his bangs out of his face, and covered us both with the blankets, before I moved away from him to get some sleep.

My alarm went off at 5:00 AM, but unlike yesterday I felt surprisingly spry considering how early we’d gotten to bed.

I quickly silenced the alarm, and Shun groaned a little before rolling over and falling back asleep. In the morning light he maintained the little boy aura I’d gotten a glimpse of last night and I caught myself fondly watching him sleep before writing him a note (thanking him for the night and also letting him know I had to get to Kendo practice), before slinking out of the hotel room.

Seeing as how I’d had my gym bag sent home, I hustled back to the Gods’ mansion via cab (since I was made of money these days) where I grabbed my Tuesday (and Wednesday) outfits as well as some new gym clothes.

I was happy that Zyglavis hadn’t caught me during my walk of shame with Shun, and hoped that he wouldn’t be waiting up for me on Tuesday. 

Just as I had that thought, my phone vibrated and the king notified me that he’d see to it personally that Zyglavis was kept busy so I could continue pursuing these men unfettered.

He also let me know that he’d enjoyed watching my date with Shun, and was happy to see that the black sheep in the race was gaining some momentum. 

My cheeks flushed a bit at the thought of the king watching us in bed together, but I knew it was all a part of the game and with that, put away my phone and looked out the window the rest of the ride to the academy.

After practice, Shu and I chatted a bit and I admitted that I admired the amount of discipline he had surrounding his job and his practice of kendo. I jokingly told him that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep up with our 6 AM start time, and Shu joked back noting that should the chief and I end up together it would simply become second nature to me.

I was impressed by how underhanded Shu was being, no doubt in Namba’s best interests and I dodged the comment a bit, as I alluded to the fact that he was putting the cart before the horse.

He started to say something else but Namba interrupted us, and I jokingly covered my face implying that I didn’t want him to see me looking so sweaty and gross before our date tonight. However, Namba being Namba, he just laughed and tousled my hair, telling Shu he’d walk me to the showers.

“So what’s on the docket for tonight Little Bird?” Namba asked, taking my hand in his once we were out of Shu’s eyeline.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

I had to laugh, “Says a police chief. Guess you aren’t as tough as you look Namba.”

He let go of my hand and put his arm around me, pulling me towards him, not caring that I was sweaty and gross.

“Only with you heartbreaker.”

“If I’m such a heartbreaker why did you agree to go out with me again?”

“Because I know I’m the only one tough enough to handle you,” he said with a wink. “See you tonight.”

With that he walked away, not turning back like he had the last time we’d gone our separate ways, and I found my heart racing in anticipation for my second overnight date.

There was no way he could have known it, but his declaration moments ago gave me pause. 

I’d always thought that he was chasing me, but when I thought about it I realized that Namba wasn’t as easy as I’d initially thought he was. The way he was around me, how he possessed a good deal of maturity and self-control, had made me like him more than I thought, and as I watched him fade into the distance I realized how badly I wanted him to turn and look back at me.

However, he didn’t, and he wouldn’t because he was sending me a message loud and clear. The face I wanted him to look back meant I liked him more than I was letting on. Whether he’d meant to or not, his actions had forced me to look in the mirror and accept the fact that my heart was not promised to either Zyglavis or Shun.

Feeling butterflies for the second time this morning with two different men, I tried to calm my frazzled nerves and get myself ready for the day ahead of me.

My morning was fairly uneventful, short of the text I received from the king who’d been watching my short interaction with Namba. He’d sent me the crying with joy emoji and a thumbs up, to which I had no response considering I was only doing what we’d agreed upon.

The ladies at the salon got me ready for work, and I arrived at the office feeling even prettier than I had on my first day. 

I’d made all the preparations for tonight - sending my gym bag, a small suitcase, and my extravagant Bachelorette style gown that I planned to change into before dinner to the appropriate locations in order to avoid a repeat of this morning where I’d been forced to run home before kendo.

When I opened my work laptop to log in I discovered a post-it note waiting for me from Shun which simply read, “I’ll cross my fingers that your second day is as eventful as your first.”

To the unassuming viewer, the post-it could be interpreted as Shun wishing me luck for Toshiaki’s client presentation later, but I knew it meant far more than that. I knew that it was his way of telling me that I wasn’t a one night stand if I didn’t want to be, and that he’d help me make tonight just as eventful should I want to be with him again.

I'll admit, Shun had really put to bed a lot of my concerns regarding if he was boyfriend material, and around noon he "just happened" to be on the creative floor and paid me a visit, pretending he simply wanted to see how I was settling in. 

Next to me, I could tell that Toma was silently freaking out, as he looked incredibly surprised that Mr. Tachibana had exited his lair to converse with a new employee. I watched his expressions out of the corner of my eye and felt fairly smug that between yesterday and today he was finally seeing me as the lady boss that I was.

Shun let me know that he didn’t have much time, but that he was planning on stepping out to grab a quick bite to bring back to the office, and asked if I wanted to join him.

I told him that since I was just waiting to hear the results of Toshiaki’s presentation I’d love to join him, and exited the office the envy of every woman (and Toma) on the creative floor as he effortlessly made small talk with me on our way outside. With too many of our coworkers around, nothing salacious occurred, however once on the street I followed him down a few twists and turns before I found myself pressed up against a wall in a deserted side street, kissing him furiously.

When he finally pulled away, he shot me a mischievous grin and took me in his arms giving my forehead a loving kiss.

“That’s for making me lonely this morning.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“So make up for it tonight. Keep me company tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t,” I said pulling away with a playful grimace, “I actually have a date…”

“Do you now…”

Maybe it was because we’d spent the night together, or maybe it was due to the fact that I’d played enough of these games to know when a man is jealous, but in that moment I saw Shunichiro’s confidence falter a bit. He quickly played off his disappointment with a smile, as it sank in that a woman as amazing as me obviously had several suitors, and taking me to bed again would not be as simple as he’d hoped.

“Before you get weird about this, it’s just a second date. I don’t have a secret boyfriend or anything.”

"But you like me more right?” he asked, his usual confident smirk back on his face.

With a smirk of my own, I kissed him in response and simply said, “You’re a sneaky one Mr. Tachibana…”

“What makes me so sneaky?”

“Hmmm I wonder…”

By the time we’d managed to pull ourselves away from each other, get lunch, and return to our office, over an hour had gone by. 

Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem except for the fact that I was sitting next to a Tachibana fanboy who grilled me on how a quick convenience store lunch equalled being out of the office for so long. I tried my best to play it off, pretending that we’d gotten caught up in discussing how I planned to proceed once Toshiaki got the green light from our Mira Black client, and upon outlining the general idea to Toma, realized that he was staring at me with disbelief.

“So on your first day not only did you get Revance to agree to promote Mira Black on a Tweeter takeover but BOTH Tachibana and Kijima loved your idea enough to go to bat for you with our client?”

He flopped down in his chair at a loss for words, running his fingers through his hair as his eyes practically bugged out of his head.

“Yeah.”

“You’re...that’s pretty amazing.”

“I am. And it is.”

Toma scoffed, “And they say I’m full of myself…”

I laughed, pretending I hadn’t meant it to come out as arrogant as it had, but once I was convinced that I no longer looked like a braggart to the people around us, I lowered my voice and leaned in close to Toma whispering, “On that note...don’t even think about falling in love with me.”

“Idiot! Who ever said anything about that?!”

“Mmmhmm.”

Toma’s face flushed immediately, and he grumbled as he got back to work, clearly miffed that I’d stolen what I guessed would be a line straight out of his route should my read on his character type be correct. 

I killed time surfing the bizarro internet until Toshiaki contacted me to let me know that Mira Black had absolutely loved my idea of a Revance Tweeter Takeover.

In fact, the presentation had gone so well that he’d called my desk phone while he was still with the client to confirm that I’d be able to make everything happen on Thursday. Unbeknownst it to either of us, Mira Black was doing a new promotion for their classic brand and had initially tasked their internal marketing team with spreading the word on social media. In hearing my idea however, they’d completely gone bananas and thought it would blow this promotion out of the water while also helping them attract the millennial customer base they were currently struggling with.

Toshiaki had some concerns about the tight timeline, but I assured him that it would be no problem at all, and once we hung up, I spent the rest of the evening busting my butt to get everything prepared. 

Considering that Revance knew this would be coming (it was a bullet point in our contract from when I agreed to provide them with additional lyrics), scheduling the upcoming week went rather swimmingly. 

On the second ring, Ryo picked up and I filled him in on my plan for the week. From there he immediately informed Sasayama and the rest of the band that Thursday would be dedicated to making good on their promise to me. In addition to the takeover, I also requested that they come by the office tomorrow for a quick photoshoot in the morning, seeing as how I’d need to whip together some promotional images for the takeover which I could start peppering all over Mira Black’s social accounts.

With that, we hung up, and having cleared everything with Revance, I ran a few lines of social copy by Toma before posting the “tomorrow we’ll be announcing something special” type of nebulous brand marketing post.

All in all by the time 6 pm rolled around I’d had another productive day.

Namba had agreed to meet me at work and I was surprised to see the amount of effort he had put into his appearance for our date. 

He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but instead something a bit fancier and even though the style was slightly outdated, I couldn’t help but smile. I thought that it was cute he had tried as hard as he had, and knowing that something as superficial as style could easily be fixed, I felt myself believing that he cared about me as much as he claimed to. 

After all, he might not have turned around this morning, but he’d gone so far as to put product in his hair and find his best suit.

I could also tell that he was a bit anxious, as I watched him stealthily from behind my office lobby’s tinted windows before approaching. His eyes were fixated on the revolving doors leading in and out of my building, and it almost seemed as if he were holding his breath with every spin of the door, waiting for me to finally appear before him.

“Is that the guy?”

I spun around to see Shun approaching me with a smirk on his face. He settled beside me and crossed his arms, wearing a haughty expression.

“I can’t believe I was worried…”

“Don’t be a jerk,” I said, semi-teasing, semi-serious.

“What’s he do?”

“He’s a cop. A police chief.”

“That explains those clothes.”

Every trace of Shun’s sweet boyish, persona had completely disappeared and instead he stood before me, the arrogant creative director. 

I wanted to give him a little shove, or something but considering the fact that we were in our office’s lobby, that was completely out of the question. Instead, I found myself wishing him a good night, seeing as how I did not want to keep Jin waiting any longer.

“Feel free to call me later...when you get bored of him,” Shun whispered in my ear with a mischievous expression.

With that, he turned away and started walking back towards the elevator banks to head back up to his office on the 32nd floor in order to finish whatever work still waited for him. I watched him go, and just as he scanned his card at the turnstiles he glanced back at me and smiled. 

My heart leapt a bit, and in that moment I knew I could have him if I decided that he was the one.

However, now was not the time to decide anything. I could no longer think about Shun, I needed to switch gears and focus on the man before me. He’d piqued my interest as a 2D lover back home, and in real life he had yet to disappoint. Compounded with the fact that this morning he’d accidentally made me realize the depth of my feelings, I found myself a ball of nerves as I held my head high and exited Addison & Rhodes.

It was time for me to go on my fantasy suite date with Jin Namba, and like the reality tv star I now was, I was ready to put on a good show.

To be continued…in Part 42!

If you’ve enjoyed the story, please show your support by sharing it with a friend or buying me a coffee! My goal is to create an original web series so if you like my characters please consider donating something to help me get it made.

Thanks for reading :)

@suzunesays

@suyi-nandar

@hifftn

@ocean-of-stars

@jasminwild

@scorpioslover

@untilsmidnight

@mandakatt​

@asyasacha​

@saphirepearl​

@evilgreenhedgehog​

@musiic-on-world-off​

@frywen-babbles​

@thesassyscribbler​

@lexlesnik​

@voltagewolfsoul​

@liebengirl​

@nitelotus​

@kingdomzeldaquest​

@kpkarlee​

@wickedtiff​

@chubbsmomma​

@ariaspencer1028​

@midnightdreamerposts​

@krispycherryblossomchild​

@animeangel1995​

@shies322​

@sone9yoona​

@appletealove​

@hazeldite​

@lone-wolf155​

@iluvsexyvoltageguys​

@vasl-97​

@galaxyinqkxy​

@01paige01​

@huntressofsheep​

@rokopo2003​

@callmesinner​

@graceyyk​

@oh-well-this-is-awkward​

@voltagefan195​

@mrszala​

@secretotomelover​

@otome-newbie​

@askluluberry��

@speakfearlessly1989​

@kiniloves-yoi​

@juliettebbgamer​

@hotdamnvoltageman​

@ashcordova

@ticoerica

@lazura

Sorry if I missed anyone and let me know if you want to be added/removed!

[dailybiblelessons]

Our Bible Readings for October 18 to 24

What's ahead in the Bible readings for this week?

October 18 to 24, 2018 The Twenty-first Week After Pentecost The Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Bible Review: The Inclusive Bible

There are two important things for you to know about The Inclusive Bible. First, it is a serious, and mostly successful, attempt to render the scriptures in ways that are more gender-balanced without losing the meaning of the text. Second, it is designed to be read aloud.

The authors didn't simply replace male pronouns, but created a new translation into modern English. Most importantly, they crafted it to let the power and poetry of the language shine forth (from the introduction to the first edition of The Inclusive New Testament).

Both male and female sexist language was examined. An example given in the introduction is the way in which the render the Whore of Babylon in Revelation 17:1-18 (which is our Friday New Testament lesson). The Greek word in the original text was more closely related to idolatrous defilement (for example worship of the emperor) than with sex for money, as the words whore and prostitute in our culture imply. Instead of whore or prostitute, the Inclusive Bible uses "Great Idolater."

The authors obviously gave careful consideration to the words used. For example, when Lord is a form of address, they use Adonai in the Hebrew Scriptures and Rabbi or Teacher in the Christian Scriptures. Abba and Loving God are substitutes for Father. Substitutes for Son of God include Only Begotten, God's Own and Eternally Begotten. These, to me, maintain the sense without the sexism.

One of the things I appreciate is that the Hebrew Scriptures are divided into The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings. In the typical Christian Bible, the early prophets—which we refer to as the former prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings) are separated from the latter prophets by Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and five other books, all of which the Hebrew Bible considers part of The Writings. The Inclusive Bible keeps all the writings together, which is very sensible.

The Inclusive Bible also explicitly refers to The Twelve, the so-called minor prophets whose writings were less extensive than Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Of course, they are called The Twelve because there are twelve of them. (If you can't find a book in your Bible, it's probably one of the twelve.) This way of referring to them (as is also done in some Hebrew Bibles) seems more respectful.

It also does not include section headings. An example of a section heading in the NRSV is "The Request of James and John" for Mark 10:35-45. Although some people find the section headings helpful in getting a sense of what's ahead, others find them intrusive. We often use them in the summary that appears in What's Ahead each week, but we don't include them in the daily readings.

Here is the Sunday Gospel lesson, as rendered in The Inclusive Bible:

New Testament Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:35-45

Zebedee's children James and John approached Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, ”we want you to grant our request.”

“What is it?” Jesus asked.

They replied, “See to it that we are next to you, one at your right hand and one at your left, when you come into your glory.”

Jesus told them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised in the same baptism as I?”

“We can,” they replied. Jesus said in response, “From the cup I drink of, you will drink; the baptism I am immersed in you will share. But as for sitting at my right or my left, that is not mine to give; it is for those to whom it has been reserved.”

The other ten, on hearing this, became indignant at James and John.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know how among the Gentiles those who exercise authority are domineering and arrogant; those ‘great ones’ know how to make their own importance felt. But it can't be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. The Promised One has not come to be serve, but to serve—to give one life in ransom for the many.”(The Inclusive Bible)

If you decide to buy this Bible, please use this link, so that your purchase will help us in our work of spreading God's word to all God's people: The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation The prices on Thursday, October 11 were $20.99 for the Kindle Edition and $24.61 for paperback.

This week's image

As the text above shows us, God expects us to be servants, which requires our humility. There have been times in my life when humility was difficult, but it is less so now. The image shows humility even in its form: it is an object that represents a person, and it is rusted. May we all go about God's work with the humility to know that it is not we, but God, who lets us see where we can be of service.

Gospel Lessons

Our Gospels this week are all lessons in humility. On Saturday, the disciples are arguing among themselves about who is to be the greatest. Jesus says to them “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” On Sunday it is James and John, the children of Zebedee, who are asking to sit at Jesus' left and right hands. When the rest of the Apostles become indignant, Jesus says to them “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” And on Wednesday Jesus washes the disciple's feet and tells them “I have set you an example, that you should also do as I have done to you.” This is an example of Jesus acting out the first being last, the greatest being the least of all. May we all find ways to do as Jesus did this week.

Epistles

In our time of preparation, we read a series of Hebrew Scripture quotations about Gentiles in Paul's letter to the Romans. During the time of reflection, we read from the letter to the Hebrews. On Monday, the author uses an image of us as ground that soaks up the word of God and either produces a useful crop or thorns and thistles. On Tuesday we are reminded that Jesus has entered the holy of holies, the inner shrine behind the curtain in the Jerusalem temple, to give us hope and a steadfast anchor for our souls. It is probably the symbol of an ideal priest-king (discussed in the Complementary Series Hebrew Scripture below) that the author of Hebrews is referring to in our Sunday Epistle lesson, and again on Tuesday.

Complementary Series Hebrew Scripture

In our first reading this week, Abram meets Melchizedek. Abram was Abraham's name before God changed it in Genesis 17. Melchizedek appears several times in this week's readings. Here's what Who's Who in the Bible has to say about him:

King of Salem. When Abraham returned from rescuing his nephew Lot from the four kings who carried him off, Melchizedek welcomed them with bread and wine. Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoil.

Scholars think that Salem might well have been Jerusalem, which is called Salem in Psalm 76:2 and in the 14th century BC Tel el-Amarna tablets called it Uru-salim.

In Psalm 110:4 Melchizedek is a symbol of an ideal priest-king.

Our other Hebrew Scripture readings are from Isaiah and Samuel. Isaiah declares God's word that Israel deserved the punishment that Babylon (also referred to as Chaldea) meted out, but that Babylon overstepped her bounds. Babylon will be punished for her misdeeds. The Babylonians had highly developed divination rituals and relied on astrologers, but they will do her no good.

Our readings from Samuel concern the appointment of the first king, Saul. Samuel declares that the Israelites were unwise to seek a king, and that in fact God was their king.

In the complementary series, our Psalm of preparation is from the ninety-first. It contains these lines

For [the Most High] will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

During Jesus' temptation the first few lines come out of the devil's mouth, but Jesus replies, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. The last few lines quoted here have led some people to put their faith to the test by handling snakes. I think we are better advised to take Jesus' advice and not put God to the test.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scriptures

We continue our reading in Job this week. Next week we will finish up. Here is a portion of the introduction to The Book of Job in the The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha:

The poet boldly challenges the Deuteronomistic theology that goodness is rewarded with material prosperity and wickedness is punished with temporal suffering. While the merit of this position is acknowledged, the poet creates a dialogue in which Job maintains that integrity in the face of disaster must not be sacrificed to social convention, nor even to established concepts of the deity as upheld by his friends. In the end, Job discovers that his own God as well as that of his friends is too small. Nevertheless, because of his integrity, Job is exonerated and stands before God as intercessor for his friends. And perhaps the key to the book is the view that the suffering of the righteous individual stands in the presence of God. (p.510)

In the Monday reading from Job, God mentions the Behemoth. According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Bible, it is usually thought to be either a hippopotamus or some creature from primordial times.

I hope this week's readings bring a blessing into your life. Thank you for all that you do to bring God's reign into being. Mike Gilbertson

Do you have a friend who could us these readings?

If you know someone who could deepen his or her commitment to being a Christian through these readings, why not forward this newsletter to that person? Here is a link that leads to the sign up form: Sign up link

Summary and links for the week ahead

Thursday to Sunday Psalms Complementary Psalm 91:9-16 Assurance of God's protection Semi-continuous Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35b Bless God and God's majesty.

Thursday: Preparation for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary Genesis 14:17-24 Abram meets Melchizedek. Semi-continuous Job 36:1-16 Elihu exalts God's goodness. Both Romans 15:7-13 Paul quotes Hebrew Scripture about Gentiles.

Friday: Preparation for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary Isaiah 47:1-9 Isaiah taunts Babylon. Semi-continuous Job 37 Elihu's exaltation of God continues. Both Revelation 17:1-18 The Great Idolater of Babylon

Saturday: Preparation for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary Isaiah 47:10-15 Isaiah condemns enchantment. Semi-continuous Job 39 The second part of God's answer to Job. Both Luke 22:24-30 Jesus asks, "Who is greater, the one at the table or the one who serves? But I am among you as one who serves."

The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary Isaiah 53:4-12 A Servant Song Semi-continuous Job 38:1-7, 34-41 God's answer to Job Both Hebrews 5:1-10 Christ, a priest in the order of Melchizedek Both Mark 10:35-45 James and John asked to be seated at Jesus' right and left hands. Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to be first among you must be a slave of all."

Monday to Wednesday Psalms Complementary Psalm 37:23-40 God rescues the righteous, who take refuge in him. Semi-continuous Psalm 75 Thanksgiving for God's wonderous deeds.

Monday: Reflection on the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary 1 Samuel 8:1-18 Samuel becomes old. Semi-continuous Job 40 Job and God speak to one another. Both Hebrews 6:1-12 We are either useful crops or thorns.

Tuesday: Reflection on the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary 1 Samuel 10:17-25 Samuel anoints Saul as king. Semi-continuous Job 41:1-11 God's answer to Job continues. Both Hebrews 6:13-20 We have this hope in Jesus, a sure and steadfast anchor.

Wednesday: Reflection on the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Complementary 1 Samuel 12:1-25 Samuel is angry with the people. Semi-continuous Job 41:12-34 God answer to Job is completed. Both John 13:1-17 Jesus washes the disciples' feet.

The links become active at 3:05 a.m. eastern time on the designated day.

*Denominations have different ways of designating the weeks during the year, so your church may refer to this week by a different name or number or both. Regardless of the name or number, the readings are the same. Here is an explanation: Calendar Explanation

Selections from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All right reserved. Passages ending in (The Inclusive Bible) are from The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation by Priests for Equality, Published by Sheed and Ward. Copyright ©2007 by Priests for Equality. Note: The links in the titles above take you to Amazon, where you can purchase them and benefit The Lectionary Company. Image credit: Humility by an unidentified photographer via Max Pixel. This is a public domain image.

[wayneooverton]

Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki

There are some dive trips you dream about for years before you take them, and some liveaboards so famous that it seems like you’ve already sailed. Diving the Solomon Islands onboard the Bilikiki was just such an experience for me. The boat was the first liveaboard in the Solomons, operating here since 1989. Its melodious name comes from one of the islands’ most distinctive birds, the “Beach Thick Knee,” or as locals call it — the Bilikiki bird.

Though I never see its namesake bird on land, I’m beyond excited as we approach the Bilikiki from the harbor in Honiara, the Solomon Islands’ capital. I’m about to embark on a 10-night trip that will visit the Florida Islands, the Russell Islands, the isolated Mary (Mborokua) Island, and the world-famous Marovo Lagoon. And I can’t wait to board.

The Bilikiki

Before its rebirth as a dive boat in 1989, the steel-hulled 125-foot (38 m) long Bilikiki plied these waters first as a fishing boat and then a cargo ship. The dive boat refit looks to be top-notch as I board on the spacious dive deck, which can accommodate 20 divers and plenty of gear. There will be plenty of time to get my stuff set up later. First it’s time for a brief tour of the boat and to meet the other guests and crew.

There are three levels, with all the cabins below. The salon, kitchen, eating area and dive deck are on the middle level. A deck up top features plenty of chaise lounges for catching some sun as well as a small photo room. The salon is decorated simply but comfortably, with big blue sofas and pillows hugging one wall. A wet bar and camera table occupy the other side of the room.

In the covered eating area outside all my fellow cruisers wait, as eager as I am to get underway. There’s a big group traveling with a dive shop in Hawaii, including my roommate (who’s actually Scottish). A few more folks from the U.S. and another Scottish couple round out the group. Pro tip: If you’re ever on a dive boat with three Scots, don’t try too hard to understand them when they speak to each other, especially after a few cocktails. Just nod and smile.

There are 14 crewmembers on the boat, including our chef Wilson, who’s been working the galley for 24 years. Dive guides Tina Gauer and Oli Burle have been on the boat since July 2016, and take turns conducting dive briefings. We’ve each got a station with under-seat storage and tanks are filled in place. Happily, this means you must set up your gear only once.

“The punishment for not using the name-tag board is three tablespoons of vegemite,” Tina says, walking us through safety procedures. Needless to say, we’re all vigilant about marking ourselves on or off the boat all week. There are four dives each day and one each night. Tina, Oli, and Andy, a Solomon Islands native who’s working on his divemaster certification while I’m there, take turns guiding the dives.

After our initial boat briefing, we head downstairs to check out our cabins. My roommate (and newly assigned dive buddy) and I have one of two cabins with twin beds rather than a double. Our en-suite bathroom’s not large, but it’ll suffice for the week, and we have no problem stowing all our stuff with storage under the beds, on a shelf above the bed, and in a compact closet. After getting comfortable, we head up to the dive deck for our first briefing.

Diving the Solomons 

“I can guarantee you one thing,” Tina says, “you will always be diving alone on the sites.”

Bilikiki regularly dives between 40 and 50 sites on a 10-day trip, depending on weather, guest abilities and requests, and dive guides’ knowledge of the day’s best sites. And since there’s only one other dedicated liveaboard in the Solomons, Tina’s right: on our trip, we’ll never encounter another diver. Diving takes place from two tenders, which the crew adorably calls “tinnies,” since they’re little metal boats. As it’s time to dive, either Tina or Oli call out, “tinny one, ready to board!” Trips to dive sites are short, with none lasting more than five or 10 minutes.

Since the Solomons anchors the bottom eastern point of the Coral Triangle, we’re spoiled for choice. Walls? Check. Fields of coral? Check. Drifts? Check. Sharks and rays? Macro? Check, check and check. We sail west out of Honiara, stopping first at the Russell Islands. I’ll cover the top dive sites in a forthcoming article, but suffice it to say, we are not let down.

After our check dive, our next stop is Leru Cut in the Russell Islands, which is just as its name implies. This narrow cut is much like an underwater slot canyon, seemingly cleaving Leru Island in two. We enter single file, careful to keep our fins off the bottom. Light streams in from above, giving the canyon an ethereal feel. At the end, we surface to see sheer walls covered in jungle vines, and on the way back out, we see clouds of butterflyfish, angelfish and parrotfish waiting in the blue.

The week progresses with one fantastic dive after another. At Ben’s Point on the uninhabited Mary Island, we can hear the boom of a nearby volcano rumbling underwater every few minutes. At Kicha Island in Marovo Lagoon, we have a smorgasbord: first we hook in and watch reef sharks hunting in the current, then sweep along a wall covered in swirling jacks, snapper and groupers. We end with almost 40 minutes in one of the most beautiful shallow coral gardens I’ve ever seen.

On the way back to Honiara, we stop for the second time in the Russell Islands at White Beach, called the “million-dollar dump” because it’s the final resting place of so much WWII materiel, including trucks, a crane, a Caterpillar, and ammunition. In the 73 years it’s been underwater, the rusting wrecks have become perfect homes for lots of macro critters, but just seeing all the history on the seafloor is spectacular. And finally, we take a spin on Devil’s Highway, an adrenaline-charged drift dive over the edge of a coral wall where we wait, tucked out of the current’s wrath, and watch manta after manta glide by, feeding in the current.

Time for Dinner

It would be remiss not to mention the food onboard Bilikiki. Like any liveaboard worth its salt, the mantra onboard is eat, sleep, and dive, and Wilson keeps us well-fed all week. When the Bilikiki began sailing in the late 1980s, they had a hard time keeping enough fresh produce on board. So, in a stroke of genius, the cruise directors provided the local villages along the boat’s route with seeds to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables. When it’s ready for harvest, the villagers sell back the fully grown produce to the boat as it sails. This keeps the guests in fresh bananas, salad, pineapple, greens, etc., and villagers eat the rest themselves. Each season the villages are supplied with new seeds, and the cruise director negotiates the produce sale.

After 10 nights on board and dozens of dives, my dream of diving the Solomon Islands on Bilikiki has finally come true. And unlike many long-anticipated adventures, my time onboard manages to not only fulfill all my pre-trip fantasies of deserted islands and teeming dive sites, but to exceed them.

The Details

With 10 cabins, the boat can accommodate 20 guests. Cruises run from seven to 14 nights; longer itineraries like ours visit Marovo Lagoon.

How to get there:

The Bilikiki sails from Honiara, the Solomons’ capital city. Getting there from the United States will usually require a stopover in Australia.

Qantas operates daily flights to Brisbane from LAX, landing at around 6 a.m. Depending on when you land, you can catch a Solomon Airlines flight to Honiara the same morning at 10 a.m.. Note that they only depart from Brisbane on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights back to Brisbane are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. You can also fly to Honiara from LAX via Nadi, Fiji, on Fiji Airways.

When to go:

The diving is great in the Solomon Islands year-round, so when to go is a matter of personal preference. Just a few degrees below the Equator, the air temperature is consistently warm and humid year-round. Expect a bit of rain, averaging between eight and 12 inches per month. Water temperatures are fairly consistent as well, ranging from around 82 to 87 F (28 to 30 C). You should be fine in a 3- to 5 mm full wetsuit. The boat is in dry dock for maintenance and crew vacations from mid-January to early March to coincide with the rainiest season.

What to bring:

You’re diving in a remote location, so make sure your DAN or other dive insurance is up-to-date. Nitrox is your best bet on the boat with so many repetitive dives, so don’t forget your cert card. It does cost a bit extra, but it’s well worth it. Although there’s a stock of rental gear onboard the Bilikiki, it’s best to bring all your own, as well as a few spare parts just in case. And finally, bring a bit of cash (USD) on the cruise for souvenirs. You’ll stop at a few local villages during the week to peruse intricate wood carvings and you’ll need cash at the end of the week to settle your tab with the cruise directors, who pay the village chief on your behalf.

Where to stay:

You may need to spend one night in Honiara before boarding the Bilikiki and perhaps one after the cruise as well. There are a few good, central options, including The Heritage Park, The Solomon Kitano Mendana and the Coral Sea Resort, the island’s newest hotel. Each has at least one good restaurant as well.

Special thanks to Solomon Islands Tourism, the MV Bilikiki, and photographer Matt Smith. Join him in 2018 on a 10-day photo safari on the Bilikiki.

  The post Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life http://ift.tt/2BRXi7X

[mrbobgove]

Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki

There are some dive trips you dream about for years before you take them, and some liveaboards so famous that it seems like you’ve already sailed. Diving the Solomon Islands onboard the Bilikiki was just such an experience for me. The boat was the first liveaboard in the Solomons, operating here since 1989. Its melodious name comes from one of the islands’ most distinctive birds, the “Beach Thick Knee,” or as locals call it — the Bilikiki bird.

Though I never see its namesake bird on land, I’m beyond excited as we approach the Bilikiki from the harbor in Honiara, the Solomon Islands’ capital. I’m about to embark on a 10-night trip that will visit the Florida Islands, the Russell Islands, the isolated Mary (Mborokua) Island, and the world-famous Marovo Lagoon. And I can’t wait to board.

The Bilikiki

Before its rebirth as a dive boat in 1989, the steel-hulled 125-foot (38 m) long Bilikiki plied these waters first as a fishing boat and then a cargo ship. The dive boat refit looks to be top-notch as I board on the spacious dive deck, which can accommodate 20 divers and plenty of gear. There will be plenty of time to get my stuff set up later. First it’s time for a brief tour of the boat and to meet the other guests and crew.

There are three levels, with all the cabins below. The salon, kitchen, eating area and dive deck are on the middle level. A deck up top features plenty of chaise lounges for catching some sun as well as a small photo room. The salon is decorated simply but comfortably, with big blue sofas and pillows hugging one wall. A wet bar and camera table occupy the other side of the room.

In the covered eating area outside all my fellow cruisers wait, as eager as I am to get underway. There’s a big group traveling with a dive shop in Hawaii, including my roommate (who’s actually Scottish). A few more folks from the U.S. and another Scottish couple round out the group. Pro tip: If you’re ever on a dive boat with three Scots, don’t try too hard to understand them when they speak to each other, especially after a few cocktails. Just nod and smile.

There are 14 crewmembers on the boat, including our chef Wilson, who’s been working the galley for 24 years. Dive guides Tina Gauer and Oli Burle have been on the boat since July 2016, and take turns conducting dive briefings. We’ve each got a station with under-seat storage and tanks are filled in place. Happily, this means you must set up your gear only once.

“The punishment for not using the name-tag board is three tablespoons of vegemite,” Tina says, walking us through safety procedures. Needless to say, we’re all vigilant about marking ourselves on or off the boat all week. There are four dives each day and one each night. Tina, Oli, and Andy, a Solomon Islands native who’s working on his divemaster certification while I’m there, take turns guiding the dives.

After our initial boat briefing, we head downstairs to check out our cabins. My roommate (and newly assigned dive buddy) and I have one of two cabins with twin beds rather than a double. Our en-suite bathroom’s not large, but it’ll suffice for the week, and we have no problem stowing all our stuff with storage under the beds, on a shelf above the bed, and in a compact closet. After getting comfortable, we head up to the dive deck for our first briefing.

Diving the Solomons 

“I can guarantee you one thing,” Tina says, “you will always be diving alone on the sites.”

Bilikiki regularly dives between 40 and 50 sites on a 10-day trip, depending on weather, guest abilities and requests, and dive guides’ knowledge of the day’s best sites. And since there’s only one other dedicated liveaboard in the Solomons, Tina’s right: on our trip, we’ll never encounter another diver. Diving takes place from two tenders, which the crew adorably calls “tinnies,” since they’re little metal boats. As it’s time to dive, either Tina or Oli call out, “tinny one, ready to board!” Trips to dive sites are short, with none lasting more than five or 10 minutes.

Since the Solomons anchors the bottom eastern point of the Coral Triangle, we’re spoiled for choice. Walls? Check. Fields of coral? Check. Drifts? Check. Sharks and rays? Macro? Check, check and check. We sail west out of Honiara, stopping first at the Russell Islands. I’ll cover the top dive sites in a forthcoming article, but suffice it to say, we are not let down.

After our check dive, our next stop is Leru Cut in the Russell Islands, which is just as its name implies. This narrow cut is much like an underwater slot canyon, seemingly cleaving Leru Island in two. We enter single file, careful to keep our fins off the bottom. Light streams in from above, giving the canyon an ethereal feel. At the end, we surface to see sheer walls covered in jungle vines, and on the way back out, we see clouds of butterflyfish, angelfish and parrotfish waiting in the blue.

The week progresses with one fantastic dive after another. At Ben’s Point on the uninhabited Mary Island, we can hear the boom of a nearby volcano rumbling underwater every few minutes. At Kicha Island in Marovo Lagoon, we have a smorgasbord: first we hook in and watch reef sharks hunting in the current, then sweep along a wall covered in swirling jacks, snapper and groupers. We end with almost 40 minutes in one of the most beautiful shallow coral gardens I’ve ever seen.

On the way back to Honiara, we stop for the second time in the Russell Islands at White Beach, called the “million-dollar dump” because it’s the final resting place of so much WWII materiel, including trucks, a crane, a Caterpillar, and ammunition. In the 73 years it’s been underwater, the rusting wrecks have become perfect homes for lots of macro critters, but just seeing all the history on the seafloor is spectacular. And finally, we take a spin on Devil’s Highway, an adrenaline-charged drift dive over the edge of a coral wall where we wait, tucked out of the current’s wrath, and watch manta after manta glide by, feeding in the current.

Time for Dinner

It would be remiss not to mention the food onboard Bilikiki. Like any liveaboard worth its salt, the mantra onboard is eat, sleep, and dive, and Wilson keeps us well-fed all week. When the Bilikiki began sailing in the late 1980s, they had a hard time keeping enough fresh produce on board. So, in a stroke of genius, the cruise directors provided the local villages along the boat’s route with seeds to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables. When it’s ready for harvest, the villagers sell back the fully grown produce to the boat as it sails. This keeps the guests in fresh bananas, salad, pineapple, greens, etc., and villagers eat the rest themselves. Each season the villages are supplied with new seeds, and the cruise director negotiates the produce sale.

After 10 nights on board and dozens of dives, my dream of diving the Solomon Islands on Bilikiki has finally come true. And unlike many long-anticipated adventures, my time onboard manages to not only fulfill all my pre-trip fantasies of deserted islands and teeming dive sites, but to exceed them.

The Details

With 10 cabins, the boat can accommodate 20 guests. Cruises run from seven to 14 nights; longer itineraries like ours visit Marovo Lagoon.

How to get there:

The Bilikiki sails from Honiara, the Solomons’ capital city. Getting there from the United States will usually require a stopover in Australia.

Qantas operates daily flights to Brisbane from LAX, landing at around 6 a.m. Depending on when you land, you can catch a Solomon Airlines flight to Honiara the same morning at 10 a.m.. Note that they only depart from Brisbane on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights back to Brisbane are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. You can also fly to Honiara from LAX via Nadi, Fiji, on Fiji Airways.

When to go:

The diving is great in the Solomon Islands year-round, so when to go is a matter of personal preference. Just a few degrees below the Equator, the air temperature is consistently warm and humid year-round. Expect a bit of rain, averaging between eight and 12 inches per month. Water temperatures are fairly consistent as well, ranging from around 82 to 87 F (28 to 30 C). You should be fine in a 3- to 5 mm full wetsuit. The boat is in dry dock for maintenance and crew vacations from mid-January to early March to coincide with the rainiest season.

What to bring:

You’re diving in a remote location, so make sure your DAN or other dive insurance is up-to-date. Nitrox is your best bet on the boat with so many repetitive dives, so don’t forget your cert card. It does cost a bit extra, but it’s well worth it. Although there’s a stock of rental gear onboard the Bilikiki, it’s best to bring all your own, as well as a few spare parts just in case. And finally, bring a bit of cash (USD) on the cruise for souvenirs. You’ll stop at a few local villages during the week to peruse intricate wood carvings and you’ll need cash at the end of the week to settle your tab with the cruise directors, who pay the village chief on your behalf.

Where to stay:

You may need to spend one night in Honiara before boarding the Bilikiki and perhaps one after the cruise as well. There are a few good, central options, including The Heritage Park, The Solomon Kitano Mendana and the Coral Sea Resort, the island’s newest hotel. Each has at least one good restaurant as well.

Special thanks to Solomon Islands Tourism, the MV Bilikiki, and photographer Matt Smith. Join him in 2018 on a 10-day photo safari on the Bilikiki.

  The post Diving the Solomons Islands Onboard the Bilikiki appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

from Scuba Diver Life http://ift.tt/2BRXi7X