#The reasons they both fall for each other are not really the right ones (Olive fell for a fully fake personality but didn't care because al

[cyellolemon]

Love

[habken]

If you're willing to share can you give a few reasons why you think Bakudeku works so well as a ship? (I also ship them and love your art!)

okay...

I think they just naturally fall into each other’s orbit. Living in each other's minds rent free 24/7. Their entire lives are so intertwined. Even when things were bad between them, there's never been a point where they haven't been part of each other's life in some capacity.

They've influenced each other so much you can see little habits they share and behaviours they've picked up from one another. Izuku acting more like Katsuki when he wants to win is the obvious one, but even little things like the way they think out loud and pinch their lips and stuff are similar.

I don't think it's right to undermine Katsuki's bullying and the falling out between them, but coming from a place where there's a lot of animosity and hurt and then having that turn into a relationship where they both mutually care for each other and challenge each other to do better and be better is really interesting.

I think that's part of the reason it's such a compelling relationship in general, not just in a romantic way. They start off at the lowest point - we see them at their absolute worst and then we get to watch as they mend that fractured friendship and build up a genuine and healthy bond.

To me personally, the trajectory of their relationship was evident as soon as episode two, when Katsuki chased after Izuku after the sludge villain to let him know how much he "didn't need his help." That's the point that I decided I was interested to see how their characters developed as the story kept going, and I think it was such a huge payoff.

I think it also made for a lot of interesting fanworks. In the earlier days especially, you really had to work at it to make things good between them. Canonically, their relationship really is a slow burn lol, so if you wanted to write something that followed close to the actual story, there had to be tons of build up. I've read stuff where the beats felt so similar to what happened in the actual series which is crazy. It's a ship that lends itself to deep and lengthy analysis and a lot of people ended up being pretty spot on because of that.

I also think what's special about them is how intentional they work to make things right between each other again. They want to know each other's feelings, they want to be rivals and fight alongside each other, and be neck in neck and constantly chasing after each other. They want to be close again. Izuku offering Katsuki an olive branch and asking him about his fighting style after their bout at ground beta and Katsuki finally grabbing onto it is such a turning point for their relationship. It's a conscious choice on both their parts to work towards mending what was between them.

And I could go on and on about Katsuki's character arc, but that's a different post lol. For simplicity's sake, his arc is about recognizing for himself where his weaknesses lie, seeing how his actions hurt and shaped Deku, and working not only on himself, but on repairing the rift between them that he caused. He works with Izuku, shares and keeps his secret, trains with him, and eggs him on more and more lightheartedly as the series goes on.

His choice to care for Izuku, let him into his life again, and make up for what he's done is really important. Nobody is really forcing him to atone for his past and it's his desire to do so despite the lack of external pressure that makes that change feel genuine and meaningful. Training with Deku to master his quirks, sacrificing himself for Izuku during their fight with shigaraki, apologizing to him in front of the entire class and letting go of his pride, choosing to call him by his given name, dying with Izuku's name on his lips, fighting the big bad and continuously repeating that when Izuku can't handle it, he'll step in for him - all of these things are so telling of the kind of care he purposefully put into their relationship, and the way he grew and changed throughout the story.

And I think that in light of everything else, the fact that they remain important to each other right until the end is what makes it such a beautiful relationship, no matter what context you want to see it in. They love each other! They can't imagine a world in which the other isn't part of their life, and they actively and continuously work to make that a reality.

They're soulmates that intentionally chose to be so.

[caelivir]

[ 12:42 am ] — OLIVER AIKU | angst

the door bell rings, followed by a vicious pounding on the wood. your name is called out numerous times, muffled by the walls that separate you and oliver.

the tears spring into your eyes, and it takes a moment for you to steel yourself for what comes next. one breath in. one breath out. then you’re up from the couch.

you unlock the door, not shocked to find oliver standing on the other side of it, huffing for breath. he rushes past you, and his presence inside your home makes your heart clench in ache.

your eyes shut. one breath in. one breath out. the door shuts softly. you follow him, stopping until you’re only a couple feet away from him.

oliver’s standing in the middle of your living room. “i know you’ve probably already seen it, but it’s not what it seems.”

you saw it alright. you saw the tweets, and the ongoing chaos taking over your feed. you’ve read each speculation, each nasty dig, and each sentence of support. you felt your heart crush. you’ve felt the last of your will disintegrate, all because of one of many article titles.

UBERS DEFENSIVE STAR OLIVER AIKU SPOTTED WITH SUPERMODEL AT DINNER

“it doesn’t matter.” you mumble to him, rubbing at your eyes. your head’s starting to hurt.

“just listen to me-”

“it doesn’t matter, oliver.” you repeat sternly, causing your boyfriend to blink.

his face contorts in confusion. “what? what do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

you don’t have the guts to look up. your gaze locks onto your feet. your tongue pokes around the inside of your cheeks.

“hey,” oliver tilts your chin up, forcing you to look him in the eyes. his hand slides to cup your cheek, and the gesture that was so common place in the past makes you sick. “talk to me, baby.”

such simple words, yet they cause you to break so ferociously.

“i’m so tired,” you whisper pathetically. the first of what is probably many tears slide down your face. “i’m tired of this, tired of us, tired of you.”

you can feel oliver’s hand falter against your skin. “huh? wait, baby, you’re not making any sense. i don’t get it. what are you-"

“there’s only so much i can take.” you cry, pushing his hand off you to wipe your cheeks. you can sense that he didn’t expect that. some sick part of you is proud that it wounds him. “i can’t keep making excuses for you. i can’t keep forgiving you. i can’t keep doing it. it’s killing me, oliver.”

“please. just let me-"

“no.” you shake your head. “just stop. don’t. i already know.”

“come on. you’re not being fair.”

those words make you laugh. “fair? of course it’s not fucking fair. i have to look at pictures of my boyfriend with other women. i have to watch the world speculate on whether you’ve settled down or if you’re in another fling. i have to take it all without uttering a single word.”

“but we both know what’s true. it doesn’t matter what they say.” oliver tries to reason, but it fails to work on you.

“if it doesn’t matter what they say, then why do you refuse to let them know about me?” you fire back. “if it doesn’t matter, then let them know i’m here. i’m the person you’ve settled down with. tell the world i’m yours. oliver, i’m right here.” your voice breaks.

oliver’s never looked so torn before. he’s caught in a mental battle. “i’m trying to protect you.”

you scoff with a shake of your head. “you’re not. i never asked to be protected by you, and even then, the protection that you swear you’re giving did nothing to prevent my heart from breaking. if anything, oliver, you’re protecting yourself.”

“in what way does this protect me?” his eyes are desperate and lost.

“you really don’t get it, do you?” you strain a smile. “i would hurt your reputation, wouldn’t i? because surely, i’m not the person who made infamous playboy oliver aiku fall head over heels in love because oliver aiku only hangs with actresses and supermodels and idols.

“you’re scared, scared of admitting that you’re with me because then that would make everything real, and that image you’ve curated for yourself would come crashing down. people will know to back off. your fans will stop trying to flirt with you as you sign whatever item they shove in your face.

“and we can’t have that, can we now, oliver? you thrive off of the attention. you’re fucking high on it, and i am the one person who can ruin it all.”

oliver reaches for your hands. his rough fingers caress yours. “baby, come on, that’s not true.”

“it’s not?” you challenge. “then you should be able to clear it, no? tell the world i’m here. tell them you belong to me, oliver.” you say these words through sobs.

your boyfriend’s thumbs stop tracing your skin, and he’s silent. it’s so heavy it could crush through the floor.

there it is — the final nail in the coffin.

you can’t even see him through your blurry vision, but your hands slip out of his grasp. you cast your head down, utterly defeated. “i think you should go, oliver.”

“(y/n). don’t do this. please, baby. let me fix this.” you’ve never heard him beg like this. it almost makes you surrender. it almost makes you pull him in for a kiss, a hug, or whatever would allow you to feel his familiar warmth, but you’re able to catch yourself.

“oliver, maybe one day someone will be able to handle hiding. maybe they’ll love you so much that they can bear it, but it’s not going to be me. not anymore.”

your words hang heavy in the air. they settle into your bones. and without another word, oliver cups your face in his hand. he places the most delicate kiss on your forehead.

you shut your eyes in fear that if you saw him, you would break all over again. you keep them shut as he backs up. his steps are slow across your floor. oliver stops at you assume to be your door.

“i’m sorry, (y/n). i-i love you.”

you’re not sure if that was his last resort in trying to fix this. it’s pathetic, but it nearly works. you have to bite your bottom lip to prevent it from trembling. a fresh wave of tears threatens to spill from your eyes. you wish you could say it back. you wish you could run into his arms, and oliver would whisper into your ear that everything is okay. but not all wishes can come true. you know you can’t cave.

instead, you clench your fists at your sides. you can’t turn back. one look at his face would break your resolve. you’ll have to bear the hauntings that come with the ‘what-if’s’.

“it’s too late for that.” you say instead.

for a moment, the stillness of the air makes you wonder if oliver had left. that is until you hear your front door shut. your eyes fly open.

one breath in.

one breath out.

and you finally let your cries carry throughout the room.

notes. thank you guys for 200 followers!! i threw this together as fast as i could just to have something to celebrate, but i’m writing this before sleeping so it’s probably ass. oliver might be ooc too so i apologize ab that in advance. i just really wanted to write for him lol. i only gave it one read over so forgive any mistakes i made. again, im too tired for this. hope you enjoyed!! i’ll see you in the next one <33

[saerins]

⋆୨ chapter three ୧˚ for a while, you were all mine

⋆୨ if not for you (masterlist) ⋆୨ previous: chapter two - a million miles away, still you connect me in your way <> next: chapter four - behind a box of reasons why ୧˚

⋆୨ synopsis ୧˚ neither of you want this. both you and sae reluctantly agree to this marriage, although sae’s dissatisfaction far outweighs your own. with hidden agendas and old flames, will this ever work out between the two of you, or will your forced spark be doomed to fail?

ೀ series: sae x f!reader | wc 6.3k | ೀ content warnings: fluff/angst, modern au, arranged marriage, rich!sae and rich!reader, jealousy/paranoia, third parties, yn and sae finally sharing one bed | notes: eeep this was long i’m sorry !! more of the other girl here heh ^_< also mwah thank you to all of you who’s reading ily !! <3

In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t right of you to go through your husband’s stuff. Maybe you should’ve just looked at that little black box and left it there and continue to be ignorant.

But no. In this world, you’re nosy and greedy and you wanted to know who exactly it is that Itoshi Sae of all people can’t get over and now you have exactly what you were looking for.

After extensive research—and by research you mean scrolling through your husband’s social media (all of them), you managed to find her tagged in a post buried way below on his Facebook wall. Silver lining is: there’s nothing recent. The bad part? Judging by the date, they’ve known each other for a long time.

Apparently her name is Mirin, and her family’s made up of a whole slew of top lawyers in the whole of Japan. There’s not a lot on her Facebook, but her Instagram is a whole other story. Her posts the last few years put her somewhere in Europe, and judging by the content, she’s been studying there for a while. But before that, back when the posts were all in Japan, you catch a few photos of Sae. Some of them have Oliver and Eita, and a couple of other guys you haven’t met before.

It’s really wrong of you to do this, only because you know you’re just setting yourself up for a world of paranoia, but you can’t stop. You move over to the pictures she’s tagged in, and there’s one from Oliver that catches your attention.

Because it’s dated a few weeks back.

The first of two photos show Oliver, Eita, Sae and the same guy you saw back in Mirin’s feed—the one with jet black spiky hair. They’re in a bar, you presume, sitting around a private booth with a ton of alcohol in the ice bucket on the table. You recognise his attire; it’s from the very first night Sae bothered to sit down at the dining table and eat with you. 

The second makes your heart crash to the floor. In the photo, in Sae’s place is Mirin herself, looking drop-dead gorgeous in a skin-tight red dress that you wouldn’t ever think of wearing. (One, because it’s much too revealing for your own taste, and two, well, just because you’re more of an oversized t-shirt kind of girl.)

All you can take away from what you saw is that Mirin is now back in Japan. Coupled with the fact that Sae had been gone even though he was off from work for those first few days of your marriage, you deduce what you wish isn’t true—was he meeting up with her all this time? Even 

Trying to avoid falling into utter madness, you grab your phone and text your ever-trusty best friend.

Reo, meet you at our usual. ASAP!!!

Just as you’re about to leave the house, Sae gets back from wherever he’s been (which now you can’t help but wonder whether he was meeting Mirin), and you run right into his chest.

“Careful, busy?” Sae asks, which is more than Sae usually does and you realise just how low the bar is set right now.

Still, you answer him like you always do. “Yeah I’m gonna meet Reo for a bit,” you tell him, biting back a snarky comment about Mirin.

Even with those doubts of Sae in your head, you can’t help but stop to appreciate how he hands you your keys from the key hanger before you forget, or how his other hand is gripping onto yours, warm and just slightly calloused. It’s the first time you’ve felt them since that day at your own wedding.

“Take your time, I’ll handle our dinner tonight,” he tells you, and you think that’s already a lot considering that he’s never really bothered with anything the past few weeks, but then you feel a soft sensation against your forehead—very brief, so unfamiliar, way too soft—and then it’s gone in just a second and it’s way too quick that it has you doubting its existence at all.

All you hear is a soft “see you” before the door shuts behind you, and then there’s only the erratic beating of your heart that fills your ears.

“Yikes.”

“Very helpful, thanks,” you sigh exasperatedly as you plop down onto the cushioned seat across from Reo.

Reo laughs, handing you your phone back, open to Oliver’s Instagram account. “Then ask for a divorce, I’m sure he’d happily oblige if all of that’s true.”

“You know why I can’t, Reo,” you remind him, close to giving up.

Reo nods, remembering about your parents and deciding not to make matters worse. “Did you ask him about it though?”

You frown, glaring up at your best friend who’s now happily sipping on his cold brew. “And let him guess that I was stalking his ex? Sure I did.”

Reo snorts at your sarcasm. He thinks it’s funny how you’re oddly meek in front of Sae, and yet you’re snappish around him. Comes with the many years of being best friends, he supposes. But on that note, “you think there’s something going on between them?”

For the first time, Reo sees you helpless, eyes staring into nothing, index finger idly tracing circles on the polished wooden surface. “I don’t know,” because all you know is that you’re already exhausted from overthinking all the things they could be doing behind your back. “But… he’s always away and he says it’s work when I know it’s not. And she’s back and they were at the same place and urgh, I don’t know what to do.”

By that last line, you’re already burying your head in your hands, slumped against the table, Reo watching on as you grumble in frustration. He chuckles, gently patting your head before you look up at him, “what if they’re just friends right now?”

“It’s still weird, isn’t it? I mean… from the looks of it, they were pretty serious at one point.” Your words are all muffled because you’re pretty sure this is you being jealous now—thanks to Sae considerably warming up to you (be it at his own sluggish pace), it’s hard not to feel anything for him. In a way, you’re learning to like a lot about him, but there’s this unshakeable doubt you can’t brush off in the form of his ex.

Reo leans back against his chair now, pondering out loud. “Hmm I wonder what that reminds me of.”

In a second, you know all too well what he’s referring to, and you find yourself unable to look him in the eye. “That’s… different. We didn’t act on it.”

He rests his elbow on the table, head resting against his fist, “yeah but… we were still each other’s first kiss, right?”

“But we didn’t amount to anything.”

“Except that we’re best friends now,” Reo tells you, and you know he’s trying to get a point across but you’re not sure you want to understand it.

“And that’s all we ever were, Reo.”

Smiling, Reo leans forward a little, cautious at keeping his voice down. It won’t do if people misunderstand and word gets around. “Listen, I don’t know about you, but you were all I wanted at one point. For more than just that one day under the cherry blossoms, more than that one time I stole your first kiss.”

It stuns you a little to hear it, because any romantic emotions between the two of you were never said or shared. Both you and Reo knew back then that your parents wouldn’t ever be in favour of him and his rebelliousness that you both just decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. At that time, when you were both foolish kids, having that something intangible was enough. Maybe it faded for you faster than it had for Reo, but he knew that it once existed. Even if only for a second.

“And?”

You’ve gone soft now, and Reo knows you understand. You’re just in denial.

“Are you sure Sae would feel the same if he knew about it? If he knew I used to love you too?” Reo asks you, genuinely wondering for himself.

You’re about to argue that Sae doesn’t even care, but putting yourself into his shoes, you get where Reo’s coming from. History is history. No matter how long ago it was or how short the relationship (or lack of one) was, the feelings still existed, once upon a time.

Still, you have a feeling that there’s more than meets the eye. Especially if Sae has to hide it all the time. He’s never even said her name to you, if they met at all.

“Anyway look, do you want me to try asking Oliver about it? I’ll be discreet, though I can’t really say the same for that knucklehead,” Reo warns you. It’s not like he knows Oliver much outside of any business dealings, but he can tell that much at least.

You shake your head anyway, knowing it’s a bad idea. For all you know, Sae would just lash out at you for prying into his business when you’re just his on-paper wife.

“Wonder why they broke up though,” you think out loud, watching the liquid in your cup swish around, close to spilling off the edge as you swirl it with your hand, almost completely lost in thought.

Reo answers you without missing a beat. “She went abroad to study and just called it off thinking it wouldn’t work.” His eyes go wide the moment your head shoots up, and he winces after letting it slip.

“You knew?”

“Yeah…”

“What the- how?” Because it’s incredulous how Reo happens to know that much more about the relationship.

He sighs, fessing up. “I was asking around about Sae remember? When I told you he’s just a tough nut to—”

“Yeah yeah,” you wave it off, wanting him to get to the point.

“Well, Oliver’s kinda a blabbermouth so…” Reo sighs, as if he senses there’s no point in keeping it in, not when you’re already halfway into that rabbit hole yourself.

And you’re all ears. Half because you really just want to learn more about it and the other half just wanting confirmation that you’re not crazy for overthinking about this. But then Reo tells you and you’re not sure anymore.

“He said Sae was never over her, loved her to bits.” Reo pauses, hesitating before he opens his mouth again. “He said Sae was waiting for her to get back before starting things up again.”

Oh.

SEVEN YEARS AGO.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

Surely it wasn’t a stretch to be furious that distance would be enough of a reason for a breakup? Surely Sae didn’t have to think himself crazy for refuting such an idea?

Mirin’s hair flowed in the wind, pretty as it always was, and it would be even prettier in his memories. She looked unsure, and he knew it too. He knew her like the back of his hand, down to the injury on his ankle. She was only doing what she thought was right, and that was offering each of their own freedom, though Sae had no single doubt in his mind that that wasn’t what he wanted.

“Sae, please don’t make this harder than it already is,” she told him, her eyes swimming with tears that she wouldn’t allow to overflow.

Always so stubborn, and forever thinking less of herself. That was how he knew her to be. And as much as he hated that stubbornness at that moment, he loved her just as much.

With a hand reaching out to her, he pulled her to him, letting her rest her head in his chest, something that he savoured because it wouldn’t be long until she’ll be gone for who knows how long.

“Is it selfish of me to say I don’t want to break up with you?” Sae was asking her, genuinely. He didn’t know how to handle this—when life held different paths for two people in love, wasn’t it just common sense that they could still tread it and yet be together? Was long distance really the end of everything they had?

Mirin sniffled just a little before she pulled away and forced herself to smile, something that Sae hated. It was always the fake ones that irked him, even now.

“Is it selfish for me to think that we’re supposed to?”

Maybe he didn’t know the answer. But all he knew was that if she still felt like they should, then he’d concede. He was always weak when it came to her. It was always the same. He couldn’t imagine being weak to anyone else. It was her. Only her.

“Fine, we’ll do that, if that’s what you want,” he told her, a tone so gentle that no one but her has ever heard. But he drew close, tipping her chin up so she would look at him, his teal eyes appreciating every inch of her beautiful face, the most beautiful one he had ever seen, and the most beautiful one he thought he would ever see. “But you know something?”

Mirin swallowed the lump in her throat, the amount of love she felt threatening to swallow her whole. “What?”

Sae let out a deep chuckle, a soft one before he pressed his lips against hers, a promise laid between their lips like it was a secret only they both would keep.

“Nothing would stop me from waiting for you to come back. So come back to me, okay? Come back, I’ll wait for you.”

That night when you get home, you feel just slightly numb. After hearing what you did, it’s no surprise. You’ve always been kind of weak when it comes to feelings. You’re more heart over mind and you’d choose your heart over and over again even if you had no more blood left to bleed.

You think you’re never getting over it until you walk in and realise that Sae’s in the kitchen, setting your dinner down on the table. It’s like your tears automatically dissipate once you look into his eyes.

“Oh, just nice,” is all he mumbles before he sits down at his place on the entirely too-big dining table for the two of you.

Across from him, you sit down as you look at the spread before you. A steak on each of your plates, potato puree at the side. In the middle there’s assorted sides of mushrooms, corn kernels and what you assume to be a tray of sauces for the meat.

“Did you cook all of these?” You ask, almost breathless. You’re about to say he’s a much better cook than you are, until Sae speaks up.

“No.” He seems nearly unwilling to answer you, a delicate frown on his face. “Accidentally burnt the pans when I tried to cook.”

“Huh?” You spin your head around to find the sink filled with all your pans, and from the looks of it, Sae had been trying to scrub the burnt portions off unsuccessfully.

“We need to buy new pans.”

Sae says this all too monotonously, like he’s half-robot and half completely embarrassed, that you can’t help but laugh out loud. Besides, it’s kind of cute that there’s a faint pink on his cheeks. You’ve never seen that before.

He looks at you incredulously, like he wasn’t expecting you to laugh at him like he’s a damn clown. Flinging a mushroom at you with his fork, he rolls his eyes. “Shut up,” he groans.

Pouting at him mockingly, you decide to tease him a little more. “You didn’t touch anything else in the house and ruin them, did you?”

And you were joking, until you realise Sae’s averting his gaze, stuffing his mouth full with corn kernels.

“Sae!”

“We might need to get new stuff for the laundry room too,” he confesses, talking with his mouth full. (Spoiler: you find out later that he put the wrong detergents in the washer and accidentally flooded the laundry room.)

Still, you think it’s sort of endearing that he tried to do the chores while you were the one out for a change, so you stop yourself from making fun of him too much. It’s not like whatever you learned earlier isn’t still sitting in the back of your head (because a part of you wonders if he’s doing all this out of guilt), but some part of you wants to be selfish and let yourself feel special, even if it’s delusional, at least for a little bit.

You want to feel like the wife he misses when you’re not around, like the person he would think of when his mind strays. Is this all too much to ask?

Maybe you just can’t help yourself, so you bring yourself to ask: “Sae, why did you agree to this?”

There’s a pregnant pause in the room, the only sounds filling the silence being the stainless steel cutlery hitting the plates as Sae adjusts himself. “Why did you?”

You suppose that maybe it’ll be easier for him to share if you start first, so you bite the bait. “Long story but… if I don’t then it’ll fall to my sister and she’s happy with someone else.” You swallow the meat in your mouth, the fat rendered so well it makes you crave for more. “I don’t want her to have to sacrifice that. Our parents aren’t exactly the nicest people in the world.”

Sae listens to you, an understanding settling in his chest. He could laugh from the coincidence of it all. “Same, but for my brother,” he tells you, prodding at his steak. “And he’s happy with soccer, not some girl. Can’t get a girl to save his life.”

Somehow, you can hear the quiet fondness that he has for Rin that makes you believe he’s a good brother.

“Would a marriage affect his career all that much?”

There’s a certain complexity behind Sae’s expression when you ask that question, something that you can’t decipher. But he scoffs, “let’s just say, my parents aren’t the nicest people either. I would know.”

And something tells you that it’s not something you want to ask yet, so you let his answer sit with you.

“Oh, speaking of parents,” Sae brings up his phone, switching the subject and handing it over to you. It’s a string of texts between him and his mother, apparently. You hold it up to your face, reading through and it appears they’d gotten you both tickets. “Mine got us both tickets, so.”

As you scroll, a grin appears on your face as you look at him. “Honeymoon tickets to Korea?” You’re almost squealing. It’s been a long while since you’ve last had a vacation, and ten days of distraction sounds really nice after all the information you’d just learned today.

Sae rolls his eyes, though you don’t miss the slight tug upwards at the corner of his lips. “Yeah, so get packing, we leave in two days.”

And as excited as you are, you feel a vibration and the brief flash of ‘dummy’ messaging him, the only part of the preview that you can see being: no, take me with you :(

You’re pretty sure it vibrates some more but by then, you’re already handing the phone back and Sae just locks his phone without bothering. Shaking your head, you try to stuff that image back to the deepest crevices of your mind, determined to not let it ruin your mood for your getaway.

Ex lover or not, Sae is still your husband and it’s not like he hates this (by the looks of things, it’s only been getting better and better), so you’re still hell bent on making things work.

Two days fly by way too quickly.

The day after Sae tells you about the trip, you immediately get to work at packing. Ten days is not a short trip and you plan to make full use of it, and for that, you have to be ready.

You had spent the whole day buying anything you would need—travel-friendly items and whatnot—while commuting back home to your parents’ house (at a timing you know they’re at work, of course!) to take anything you might’ve left there that you needed. Just as you left the house, nostalgia took over as you looked around at the place where you grew up.

It’s strange. People say to cherish what time you have with your parents, that one day you’re going to move out and you’re going to miss it.

You don’t feel like that’s necessarily true, because you’re living proof. The only thing you’d miss is your sister and you still talk to her everyday. Meanwhile, the only times your mother or father ever talks to you is to ask you about your marriage and warning you not to annoy Sae too much, as though it was a given and that it shouldn’t be the other way around.

Maybe it doesn’t make much sense; you and Sae (or maybe just you) trying to be a family when you both have no idea what a proper family is like. Even if it is just on paper.

Now you’re on a town car to the airport and you’re fiddling with your passport in your hands, staring out the window like a little child that’s going overseas for the first time. (Next to you, Sae’s thinking the exact same thing—you do look so much like an excited child. Or maybe a puppy.)

Of course, Sae’s parents waste no expenses in gifting you two first-class seats. Not that you’ve never been in first class, but it’s nice to be next to Sae, and you catch yourself, realising just how quickly you’re catching feelings.

“What?” Sae’s just getting ready to turn his phone to flight-safe mode when he catches you staring, a hint of smugness forming inside of him.

Even with a small partition separating your seats, you can see his teal eyes staring at you, long lashes fluttering in all its glory. Instead of offering an answer, you just shake your head and lean back, busying yourself by adjusting the screen in front of you. 

Being in a state of denial is easy; it’s actually fun to sit in first class next to Sae, on a three-hour flight to your honeymoon, annoying him each chance you get, earning yourself a death stare every instant before laughing yourself silly when he flips off at you. It’s been a few weeks, but you think you’ve grown accustomed to what Sae is like that you know his middle fingers to you are never meant to be taken seriously and his silence is just how he is when he isn’t fully opened up. It nearly makes you think you’re crazy for doubting him and yet you don’t have the balls to question him about any of that. Not yet, because you’re not ready for this to end (if it will).

The itinerary had already been planned out by Sae’s mother, but it wasn’t like either of you wanted to follow it. One, Sae likes to do things spontaneously anyway and two, well, you have a feeling that he might want to treat this like a solo trip. It’s not like either of you have properly been husband and wife much to have a proper honeymoon together.

So count you surprised when you suggested that you both try to do solo trips around the city and just meet up for dinner, only to have Sae agree and yet follow you wherever you decide to go that first day.

At first, you were just wondering whether he had the same plans, but after he followed you into a Sephora looking absolutely clueless and then getting all flustered and sticking to you the moment the staff there asked him if he wanted to do a skin test, you allow yourself to think that he’s actually tagging along with you.

“What are you doing?” You decide to ask after exiting another store, carrying no less than five bags thanks to your anxiety of asking Sae what he’s up to.

On his part, he merely shrugs and looks away, hands in his coat pocket, looking absolutely like a model out of a magazine. Sometimes you wonder if he’s really yours. On paper, at least.

“This is our honeymoon, right? Makes sense that we’re together.” That’s all the explanation Sae offers, his gaze hovering over the bags you’re carrying, before he leans closer. “Besides, you’re my wife,” he says, gently grabbing your bags and carrying it for you.

He doesn’t say that it’s just on paper this time. And you can’t help but read into it. It’s perplexing how easily his words can affect you. It has your heart doing somersaults and your lips nervously pursing together.

“So, where next?” He prompts, looking at you expectantly.

And maybe you’re a little too excited for this pleasant turn of events that you’re grinning from ear to ear as you stare at him. “Wait, really?” 

You can’t even hide the glee in your voice and Sae, for the first time, smiles—even if he’s doing it as he rolls his eyes at you.

“Yes, stupid,” he tells you, chuckling as you hop slightly in excited. “Are we going or are you just gonna stand here like a little puppy?”

With excited nods and a little squeal, you clap your hands together before daring to put your fingers around his wrist, dragging him with you.

Sae follows quietly behind you, staring at you as you happily tread ahead, your hands warm and guarding his against the slightly chilly air, hair flowing in the wind and he suddenly thinks you’re even prettier than he first thought you were. And then he starts thinking that maybe this part of his life that’s planned by his parents isn’t so bad after all.

Though, when you get back to the hotel, you find out that Sae has already specially asked for two separate beds, to the surprise of all the hotel staff, because of course, Mrs Itoshi had booked the honeymoon suite for the both of you. Special requests for that room usually mean flowers on the bed, or breakfast just the way they like it—not for the groom of all people to be asking for a separate bed altogether, especially when he insists there is no additional person.

“I’ll sleep out here,” Sae tells you the moment you get back to the hotel that night, gesturing to the bed set up by the television, much to your bummer. But you suppose you can’t expect too much—hand holding was already a miracle in itself.

“Oh yeah, sure,” you shrug it off, like it doesn’t even matter. Deep down you feel like a rock was dropped from your throat to the bottom of your stomach, forming a gaping hole in your heart along the way that you tried to will into non-existence.

Still, somehow, despite this little obstacle, you find yourself optimistic after being witness to Sae’s change in demeanour.

“Hey, Y/N?”

When you turn around, you see a hint of hesitation flicker across his teal eyes before he shakes his head, brushing it off.

“It’s nothing, goodnight.”

Although you’re curious, you decide not to press him about it. Offering a small smile, you nod.

“Goodnight, Sae.”

Over the course of your entire honeymoon, you find that you shouldn’t be chiding yourself for being delusional in the first place.

For once in this one-sided love affair, you feel like perhaps it’s not so one-sided at all. Because from what you’ve learned about Sae in your close-to-minimal time together, he isn’t someone that you can force into doing anything he doesn’t want to. At least when it comes to mundane activities which includes trips. (Unless you’re his parents who you have no doubt in your mind probably mirrors your own and have their ways of controlling him, per se.)

But it’s hard to think he doesn’t want to do any of this with you when he’s so compliant. He follows your bucket list of things to do and doesn’t complain once. He lets you drag him to the palace and looks only slightly concerned when you tell him you want to “do the thing where we can dress up like royalty and take pictures” but he only sighs and concedes within seconds.

When he comes out of the room looking like the most handsome prince you’d ever met, you’re too shy to meet his gaze but he tilts your head up to look at him for most of the shots anyway. With his face so close to yours, with these kinds of small gestures which he willingly initiates, you begin to wonder if it’s possible to make him happy in this possibly loveless marriage.

Spending ten days together, surrounded by just each other and doing things that couples do; it nearly makes you feel as if this is real. Like Sae really loves you and that he had asked you to marry him one day out of the blue because of it. Nothing like how you felt that first time you met him, in your dressing room minutes before you were about to become husband and wife, being talked down to and told that this was a facade and could be nothing more.

Now he’s here with you, sticking close and following you around, entertaining your requests for activities, falling asleep on your shoulder when you were on the plane to Jeju, and sometimes he absentmindedly holds your hand like he’s used to it. He helps you with your luggage always, and he makes sure you get food whenever your stomach starts growling, and he’s more observant than you give him credit for because he starts picking the radish off your plate without you asking.

Your album’s suddenly filled with pictures of you and Sae and you were hesitant at first but dragging him to the amusement park when he wasn’t for it at first was a good decision; for a while, you get to see what he’s like when all the downturned lines on his face reverse, when he looks the most like an actual guy in his mid-twenties, enjoying life instead of brooding all the time. Thanks to that, your pictures are more both of you smiling or being goofy together instead of faceless pictures because neither of you feel like showing your faces at all.

By the time your honeymoon is about to come to an end, you find that maybe there’s hope for this after all. That maybe you’d just been overthinking everything prior to this and it shouldn’t be worth worrying over after the trip ends.

But you find that hope can be flimsy sometimes. 

On the seventh night there, you and Sae are both on your bed, in the actual bedroom, fighting (not literally) over a multiplayer game. Just two adults hunched over one phone playing frustrating games meant for kids. (Somehow it makes you feel like perhaps neither of you ever had a normal childhood and this is something to make up for it.) It’s all fun and games until you see a throng of message notifications from dummy mixed in with several from what you presume to be Sae’s group chat with the guys.

And you can keep pretending like it doesn’t matter, except Sae immediately stops after the current round and tells you he has to take a call. And you already know more or less who he’s going to talk to. And just like that, you feel like you’re back to square one all over again.

The subsequent nights (and days) aren’t easy for you either. After just giving up on thinking and forcing yourself to sleep that night, you’d been stuck with paranoia everyday. Especially when you realise that he’s starting to take calls every night outside on the balcony where he’s sure you’re out of earshot. 

You wonder if he’s being lovey dovey with her outside when he talks to her. You wonder if he imagines you as her when you’re out together. You wonder if he wishes you were her. You wonder if all this is just a gimmick; a test run for when he does the actual things with the actual girl he wants to do them with.

Safe to say, by your last night there, you’re a mess. The moment you get back from trying to be happy all day (which was a disaster because you wouldn’t stop trying to minimise contact with Sae), you tell him you’re too tired and that you’ll just go ahead and go to bed.

Which, of course, is code for ‘you just want to lie in bed and cry all night’.

Sae couldn’t even get a word out before you shut the door on him, plopping down onto the bed and crying into your pillow. Maybe holding everything in was a bad idea. Now you’re bursting with emotions and you try to call Reo a few minutes later but you can’t even get him because he’s busy somehow and you’re positive that the gods hate you right now.

There is one thing about being on rock bottom that you like, though; at least you know how you feel. You’re exhausted and upset and envious because you wish you could be that person for your husband. But you keep getting reminded that you’re not. That somehow you’re just a mere stand-in until he marries his real wife next time. The one he promised to love forever. (Technically, he vowed that to you on your wedding day too, but that’s not the same and you know it.)

Deciding to shut off your phone and have this time to yourself to cry your eyes out, you miss the sudden swarm of notifications that come in. And thanks to you stuffing your head into the pillow, you don’t notice Sae opening the door and peeking inside, an unfamiliar feeling settling inside him at the sound of you sobbing.

He gently closes the door behind him as he walks to you, your back turned to him, your hands and feet hanging onto the bolster like a koala to a branch. Slowly, he saunters over to you, almost like he’s afraid to. When his hand rests on your shoulder and he sinks into the mattress beside you, you stiffen up for just a moment before spinning around and sobbing into his chest instead.

You didn’t expect him to even enter your room at all, much less let you stain his shirt or hold you close when you’re being emotional like this, but he stays there, hand gently rubbing your arm, up and down, a gentle kiss placed on the top of your head. It makes you wonder what kind of games he’s playing. Is this Sae not being able to make up his mind and that’s why he’s still so nice to you even when he has his old flame in the back of his head?

“Do you… want me to leave you alone?” He asks, though you can argue it’s kind of a stupid question but then you realise he probably doesn’t know much about actual relationships so you let it slide.

You shake your head in response, deciding that as stupid as it all sounds, you want to throw your hat in the ring. You’ve fallen for him, and you want him for yourself.

And maybe it’s wrong of you to project this on him, but your absence of a normal family where a home is not just a house and where parents shower their children with actual love and concern makes you yearn for one yourself. And maybe it’s not a great idea to want that from a man you married from being forced to, but thanks to this honeymoon you can see that there’s a flicker of spark there.

That Sae’s not emotionless and he’s definitely not cold to you. Not anymore. That if you guys had been given more time instead of being rushed into things by your parents then maybe the whole wedding could’ve gone without any of the hitches you experienced. That every single radish he picked off your plate, every picture he took with you, every time he held your hand, every time he pulled you close—none of that was manufactured, was it?

So isn’t it possible for you to be happy with him? So is it still foolish or selfish of you to want to be with him?

Is it too much if you ask him about it?

“Hey, Sae?” Your voice is soft and timid and more vulnerable than you’ve ever shown, but he hears you loud and clear, his “hm?” resounding against his chest, right next to your ear. “Can you stay?”

A few seconds of pause, and he replies, “of course.”

You shake your head slightly. “I don’t mean that. I mean, you know, what we said on our wedding day.” Your voice is entirely muffled, still Sae understands.

There’s an even longer pause this time, and you think that Sae’s just thinking of a way to get out of this until you hear him speak up again.

“Idiot,” he chides, but you can hear the soft affection in his voice. Suddenly, you feel his pinky wrapping around your own, and he holds it near your face. “I promise you,” he whispers, and you wish you could see the expression on his face, “I’ll stay.”

It might be wishful thinking but you think he really means it.

taglist: @kimvmarvel @mxplesyrvp @yuzurins @futuristicxie @kiopanxp @k0z3me @y-sabell-a @sae1toshilover @xoxojisu @karmatiz @sagejin @minnieminnie00-got7 @hearts4heidi @shiinobu-x @n1uh @prepchuu @leeyzhuo @shidouryusm @tsukishiro-yue2402 @kaiserkisser @pookiebearcave @dcvilxswish @saeskiss @whtflrr @arminseas @raphsimp @saharei @danibxe @lectris00 @comet-kun @ishitam67 @gskill @sweet2wthsblog *bolded: can’t tag you due to your settings >_<

[fatedbutblinking]

meeting the parents. jason grace x eros daughter

jason and eros' only half-blood daughter are in love

everyone knew that about them but they refused to admit that it was true to everyone, each other and themselves

then they 'accidentally' sleep with each other one night

despite trying to be the perfect and detached leader, jason can't help but confess first

not only is she the most beautiful girl that he has ever seen, but she pushes him to be the best version of himself. she's caring but biting. she's excited him since the day he met her. and she is really good in bed so

and she thinks his arms are sexy

then comes parent day, one day a year where all the gods are forced to spend the full day on earth with their children

as the only daughter of eros and with jason being one of zeus' only children, zeus and eros decide to take them out for a nice meal

zeus and eros aren't keen on each other, because eros keeps trying to shoot arrows at him and human ladies to piss off zeus' wife hera

soo it's a bit awkward

'i can't believe you're in love with a boy who looks like he should be on a cereal box.'

jason almost spits out his water.

'dad,' she hisses.

'it's like dating peter pan on steroids.'

'nice,' jason jokes.

'don't push it, eros,' she hisses again.

'they're barely dating. of course my son is going to be drawn to a barbie doll.'

'don't talk about her like that,' jason says sternly.

'it's not bad to admit that. she's shiny. it's a good break for you, son.'

jason shakes his head. 'you're such a --'

eros ignores what zeus says and continues to her. 'i know you're in love with him. i can feel how much you do, trust me, and i know he loves you more -- obviously -- but you should still keep your options open.'

zeus puffs his chest. 'of course you're encouraging disloyalty, eros.'

'you're not exactly a saint, zeusy.'

'and whose fault is that?'

'the arrows don't force you to fall in love. they only make you do what you otherwise would if logic wasn't in the picture.'

'i'm already tired of being here.'

'then you shouldn't have made the plan.'

'i had to. you would have taken them to a brothel otherwise.'

'fuck off.'

and so zeus and eros argue

jason and her look at each other. she grasps his hand.

'i'm sorry.'

'no, i'm sorry. your hair is very shiny, but i love you for a lot more than that.'

'really now?' she teases.

'yeah. i like your face, your body, your lips...'

'very funny, grace.'

'i'm more than my looks as well, you know.'

'i don't know. i think he's right about you looking like peter pan. the buffer, sexier, more stupid version.'

'ha-ha-ha.'

'i am sorry, jase. you'd think my dad being the god of love and affection would mean he'd be nice.'

'don't be sorry. they're gods. they're always going to think they're right.'

'but they're our fathers.'

'even more reason for them to think they're right.'

'i love you.'

'i love you more. your dad's not wrong about that part.'

suddenly they notice it is really quiet around them. both zeus and eros are staring at them, having listened to part of their conversation. they seem to be a little bit shocked, but regain their composure quickly. eros ends up smirking, folding his arms on his chest and leaning back as he stares at them. zeus watches them with curiosity, eating an olive.

'what?' he asks. 'what is it?'

'have you two picked what you want to eat?' zeus asks, motioning to the menu.

'i thought you guys wanted to leave,' she says.

'it just happens that you're obsessed with each other,' cupid explains. 'i should at least try to find out why.'

zeus nods. that's the first time that they agree with each other. both of their heads dart towards the menu as they bicker over what food they're going to get.

jason smiles softly and holds her hand. she is a bit in shock now.

'guess we're hard to deny,' he says.

'we? i'm the shiny one,' she jokes, squeezing his hand back.

[that1emowitch]

At the end of the world / Or the last thing I see / You are never coming home, never coming home

Prompt from @tuna-f-b: Do you still do request? If yes and angst is o.k: what would happend i all the bats died? Like how would the hero community react. The supers alone. Clark having to deal with losing his best friend(?) and the kids he basically co parented- as well as seeing his sons lose their best friends(?) Specially as ships that would be awesome angst

A/N: I'm not crying you're crying (Also, for those who don't know, Izzy is Duke's canon gf and one of the Robins from We Are Robin)

Words: 2504

TW: Mentions of blood, Major character death, Coping with loss, Self-blame, Mentions of relapse (drugs)

“If you’re watching this, I am either deceased or indefinitely unable to continue my duties as Batman. But the world still needs Batman. Gotham still needs Batman. My son Damian Wayne, if he is an adult, shall inherit my mantle— if not, Dick Grayson will take over until he is. In the event that he, too, is unavailable for any reason, the mantle goes to Tim Drake, after him, to Cassandra Cain, then Duke Thomas, then Stephanie Brown, then Jason Todd, should he accept it.”

In the video recording, Batman pauses, taking a deep breath.

“In the unfortunate event that the entire family is… deceased… I have a list of contingency plans on both the Bat-Computer and the Justice League’s primary databases. Oracle will help you access it, but in her… absence… the password is “a6ghr83kc02m”.”

Then video-Bruce takes off the cowl, his pale blue eyes looking straight into the camera.

“I know I was never the best with feelings. But I would like my children, my allies, and friends to know that I’m proud of you. And to my fellow Justice Leaguers… Diana and Clark, I am truly grateful for your companionship. I would never have made it this far without you. Barry, Arthur, Dinah, J’onn, you’ve all been good friends. Oliver, Hal… you’re not so bad either.”

Bruce turns around, and looks over his shoulder, the shadows of the Batcave making the scene even more dramatic.

“I wish you good luck.”

Then the clip ends.

A shuddering breath leaves Clark.

It’s real.

He’s really… They’re all…

He can’t do this anymore. He turns around and walks out the door, leaving the other core Justice Leaguers staring sombrely at the now-blank screen.

He doesn’t know when he started flying, when he started trying to escape. The walls of the Watchtower seem to be suffocating him, but he has enough sense not to just leave the airlock yet.

Instead he finds a corner by a window, far, far away from the others, where he can see a majestic view of Earth, the moon, and the Sun in perfect sync with each other.

He falls to his knees.

His breathing’s uneven, a tear rolls down his cheeks.

Then he feels a hand on his shoulder— soft, trembling, yet steady.

“Kal,” Diana whispers, sitting on the floor next to him. She doesn’t continue— she isn’t sure what to say.

“They’re all going to die, you know? We’re going to bury all of them. Everyone on Earth, everyone we know.” Clark’s voice trembles, in a way Superman’s never does. “It scares me so much.”

“Kal,” Diana says again, pulling Clark into a hug. “It’s okay. We’ve lost… We’ve lost so many of our friends. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to grieve.”

“How are you— how are you so—” Clark can’t form his words properly. He turns to Diana, to see her face tight with grief, eyes misty with unshed tears.

Her voice breaks slightly as she speaks. “I don’t want to believe they’re gone. But… we have to carry on. We’re the Justice League. Our people need us, Kal.”

“So we just go on and on? Forever?” Another tear runs down his cheek. “Ollie, Hal, Dinah, Lois, Jon, they’re all going to… they’re all going to die one day and we just have to… to go on?”

“I’m sorry, but it is the truth,” Diana whispers, her eyes stinging with hot tears. “We must find peace in the fact, right now, that Batman— Bruce, the Robins, they— they were so brave. Brave till the end. And they fell as warriors, defending our world. I’m sure they’ll all reach Elysium.”

“And Dickie, Damian, Jason, Tim, Cass, Duke—” Clark’s voice is hoarse. “They were so young, just kids… I… I know Dick, Jay, Tim, Cass… they were adults, but… they’re gone, they’re gone…”

“They were heroes, like you and me. Don’t forget that.”

“I… I know, I just—” Another shuddering breath escapes Clark. “I just— I…”

“It’s okay,” Her voice is forcefully steady, but with an undertone of heartbreak. “It’s okay…”

Dinah looks around the room, her heart heavy.

Clark has left, Diana’s gone after him— both of them need their space, she knows. They were close to Bruce and the other Bats in a way no one else in this room was.

Was.

The word still weighs down on her.

Hal speaks up finally, breaking the deafening silence. “I always thought he hated me.”

No one replies for a long moment.

“I miss the kids,” Barry says finally, his voice quiet. “They were just… Robin was only 14. The others, even Nightwing, they had… they had their whole lives ahead of them.”

More silence.

“Jason, when he was Robin— do y'all remember? Kid was always my favorite,” Ollie says finally. “Was always so sassy. Roy loves him.”

Loves. Dinah winces, but doesn’t correct him. It’s easier to believe they’re just gone for a little while.

“Bruce was a good man,” Arthur adds. “They all were.”

“Tim was, I believe, the smartest,” J’onn says, somber. “It was his plan that allowed us to save Earth.”

“Damian!” Dinah says suddenly, jumping from her seat. “His… his mother. She shouldn’t have to find out from someone else.”

Everyone freezes, faces tight.

Dinah sighs, looking down. “I’ll do it.”

Then she leaves the room, dragging what feels like a heavy weight tied to her soul. She has to do this.

Roy’s sitting in a corner of his apartment, hugging his knees. All he can think of is Jason.

He’s never coming back.

He can still feel the lingering ‘goodbye’ kiss Jason gave him not two days ago, he can still hear him say, “I’ll be back before you know it, babe.”

He never came back.

He’s dead. Dead— dead dead dead DEAD DEAD—

“Small Red not okay?” A booming voice snaps Roy out of his thoughts. He looks up to see Bizarro’s pale blue skin and cold eyes looming over him. He’s crying. “Red him coming back.”

It takes Roy a second to register that Bizarro speaks backwards. It takes everything in him to not punch him for saying that, for giving him false hope.

He feels something he hasn’t felt in years— feels that whisper in his mind— one hit and it’ll all feel better. Just one hit.

NO! He screams mentally. He feels like bashing his head open.

Instead he lifts his dead eyes to survey the rest of the room— Kori’s on the couch, staring into space. Artemis has a crying Lian in her arms, she’s showing her something— old photos of Jason. Talking, whispering in a broken voice.

No, no he should be the one comforting Lian—

What’s he gonna say?

That— That Jason— That her Papa’s gone forever? That he’s never— he’s never coming back?

No— Jay— Jay deserved so much better, he— he already died once before, he’s been through so much, things were supposed to be better now— not— no, he’s— 

Roy feels Bizarro sit beside him, gently patting his arm.

He snaps out of his thoughts again, turning to Jason’s former teammate, his eyes red-rimmed. His voice raw, he whispers, “Jay’s gone…”

Wally’s standing in the Hall of Heroes, staring up at the holographic projection of Dick— he looks so majestic, so mighty, staring ahead with nothing but hope and courage in his eyes.

Nothing like the cold, dead body that Wally held in his arms just two days ago.

He’s surrounded by his teammates, his friends— Kaldur, M’gann, Artemis, Zatanna, L’gann, Garth— yet he feels so alone.

He sees it again— Dick bleeding out it his arms, his wounds so fatal he died before help arrived. Wally’s the fastest man alive, damn it, yet he couldn’t even save his best friend— his boyfriend. He feels the moment when Dick’s breathing stopped, when his body went limp, when his grip on Wally’s hand loosened.

Everyone’s quiet. M’gann’s stress baking again, L’gann by her side. Artemis and Zatanna are sitting together, Garth’s lingering in a corner, and Kaldur’s standing right beside Wally— close enough for comfort but not so close he’s lurking. He’s shaking.

He can still hear it, hear Dick forcing out his last words, telling Wally it’s okay, that he loves him, that it’ll be fine.

It’s not fine. Not without you.

He wants to scream.

He wants to cry, yell, hit something, do anything.

But he can’t move.

So he just stands there, almost as still as the holographic projection of Dick before him.

Kon is left reeling.

Tim… Tim is…

Tim’s dead.

Tim’s really gone.

He thinks, for just a second, that this is how Tim and Cassie must have felt when he and Bart “died”.

Bart is sitting beside him on the couch, leaning on his side, Cassie’s got her head on his lap. Neither of them speak— Bart’s not even fidgeting— they’re all just trying to be there for each other.

The other Titans are up and about, but staying close for comfort. Jaime and Gar are making food for everyone in the kitchen, Raven and Vic have come back to the tower to make sure the others are okay, and he’s sure Karen’s around too, somewhere.

Yet he feels so empty.

Feels nothing at all.

How can he, when his best friend is dead?

Jon hasn’t spoken in a bit. Not when his Mom brought him his favorite soup, not when Grandma and Grandpa showed up to ‘help’ him and Dad through this, not when Krypto plopped down beside him to comfort him.

He hugs the dog close.

Krypto’s technically Kon’s, but Jon’s sure Kon wouldn’t mind if he stole Krypto for a day.

Another sob escapes him, and he buries his head in Krypto’s back. The dog whines, licking Jon’s hand.

He can’t believe Damian’s gone. 

Really gone.

And he didn’t know just how much he would miss his friend.

Dinah finds Talia Al Ghul on a building in Metropolis, overlooking the city. Her face is tight with sorrow, but she keeps herself in check, her back straight, head held high.

She already knows, Dinah deduces.

“I… I’m sorry,” Dinah starts, unsure of what to say. She knows, from her experience as a psychologist, that ‘sorry’ is the last thing a grieving person wants to hear, but she doesn’t have anything else to say.

Talia doesn’t reply for a long time. Then she says, her voice numb, “I should have known, when bringing Damian into this life, that I would also be bringing him amidst the dangers that come with.”

Dinah’s brows furrow. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything at all.”

“I should have trained him better, I should have kept him close, I should—” Talia takes a shuddering breath. “I should have never brought him into this life.”

Dinah can’t argue with that— she knows how Damian had come to be, and it… wasn’t the best birth ever.

“Now leave, hero,” Talia says, her voice numb and cold. “Go back to protecting the world. Leave me be.”

Dinah wants to say something better, comfort the woman, but she can’t. So she just turns back, and leaves.

By the time Harper Row makes her way to the Clock Tower, there’s already quite a crowd there— Kate, Renee Montoya, Harley, Ivy, Silena, and Helena Bertinili— they’re crowding around Babs, comforting her. Luke Fox and Isabella Ortiz are at the computer, looking through something.

Harper tries to open her mouth to speak, but she can’t get the words out.

She makes her way over to Luke and Izzy, shoulders hunched.

Just three days ago she’d been hanging out with Duke and Izzy and Cass and Steph— they’d all been so carefree, so happy…

And now…

Once she gets close enough she realizes Izzy’s crying, and immediately wraps her arms around the shorter girl. Harper’s trying to hold back tears of her own, too. She feels Luke putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder, squeezing tight.

No one speaks for a long time, they just stand together, seeking comfort in each other.

Then Babs rolls her wheelchair to the center of the room, wiping at her bloodshot eyes. But when she speaks, she sounds surprisingly steady. She’s compartmentalizing, Harper realizes. Putting away Barbara and bringing Oracle back.

“Gotham needs her heroes, now more than ever,” Oracle says, head held high. “We must honor our friends by doing the one thing they’d have wanted— to keep fighting. Keep Gotham safe.”

She sighs, her face tight to fight away tears. “Luke. Batman’s contingency plan, in the Robins’ absence, was to pass you the mantle of Batman. Do you accept?”

Luke’s eyes grow wide slightly, but he straightens himself, looking away. “I… I accept. Dad isn’t going to be happy, but… Gotham needs Batman.”

“Thank you.” Oracle nods at him. “As per Bruce’s will, all Wayne assets, the Manor, and the Batcave are split between Kate, me, Alfred, and Lucius. I… Lucius and I are still figuring out who’s going to take over Wayne Enterprises, but on the vigilante side, I’ve got a plan.”

She turns to Ivy, Harley, Kate, Silena and Helena. “The Birds of Prey are needed here, now more than ever. Dinah— Black canary has offered to help us with Gotham, too.” 

Harley nods, sniffling. Beside her, Ivy speaks up, “The… Most Rogues aren’t happy about this. They’re not rampaging— Bane has fashioned his own version of the Batsuit, he’s going around ‘saving’ people, screaming that Batman never dies. The Joker’s searching for Lazarus Pits and Bruce’s body. Jervis Tetch and Nygma held a get-together yesterday, in the memory of the Bats. I… I think they might help us.”

Harper’s gotta admit, she’s quite surprised about this. Even Babs freezes, taking in this information.

“Gotham needs Robin as much as she needs Batman,” Izzy speaks up from beside her, her voice small but firm. “The Robins can come back, this time you can give us formal training so we can actually help.”

Oracle turns to Luke. “Taking on Robins is your decision, Batman.”

Luke winces at that title— it doesn’t feel like an honor to him, it just feels like an incessant reminder that he’s the last one left. Because his friends are dead. But he nods, anyway, not trusting himself to speak right now.

Then Oracle addresses Harper. “I… would you like to be Batgirl?”

Harper’s heart stops. Memories flash into her head— seeing Steph in the Batgirl costume, seeing Cass in the Batgirl suit, both of whom are now gone.

“N— No,” Harper stutters out, eyes tearful. “I can’t— I’m sorry, Babs. I appreciate the offer, but… Cass was Batgirl. I can’t take her place.”

“I understand.” Babs just nods, lips pursed, misty-eyed. “We will all need to work hand-in-hand until everything settles, we will need to be vigilant. Carry on Batman’s legacy, for as long as we may need to.”

No one speaks again.

They all just let it sink in, hearts heavy.

They’re going to have to do this alone now.

[savethevamps]

Topmew & Subtle Conversations

My favorite scene of Topmew during episode eleven would have to be their bed scene in which they finally talk. However, I wanted to highlight another scene that really stood out to me and subtly shows the cracks they had in their relationship.

So when the scene starts, Top is here alone washing the dishes before Mew enters. Once Mew comes, he tries to take over and even tells Top to leave before Top finally tells him “it’s not a lot, I can handle it.”

This may seem like nothing but in my opinion, they’re speaking about more than just the dishes here. This is showing Mew trying to take control and extend an olive branch. Looking at their relationship at this point, Top has been doing all the work to repair it and Mew has been standing aside. Top says to Mew, “look I can handle this, it’s fine!” Him pretending like he can handle everything is him once again punishing himself and taking all of Mew’s anger in an attempt to fix it or “clean” alone. Mew wants to take over and allow Top a moment, but Top cannot let Mew do that since he feels he has this punishment coming. In other words, Top is the one who got the dishes dirty so he thinks he should be the one to clean them.

We then see them start to struggle over the plate. When I saw this I immediately thought, “they’re fighting for control right now.” Not control as in control over each other, but control over the situation at hand. They both want to take over and take responsibility of fixing the relationship and sorting it out. Top wants to do it alone because he feels he made the mess, and Mew wants to take over to show Top that he’s trying his best.

This push and pull that they find themselves in isn’t good for either of them. Top has been consistently punishing himself for his mistakes, while simultaneously allowing Mew to punish him as well. Mew wants to shoulder the responsibility of saying when and how the relationship starts, but he cannot let go of what happened. Neither of them wants to allow the other to take on that responsibility for their own reasons, but what they need to know is that one person doesn’t need to take it all on their own. The more they struggle and pull against each other, the harder it is to hold a solid grip onto their relationship; leading to it all falling apart.

Now, I look at Top bringing up trust right here a little differently. Top is asking why he doesn’t trust him not just because of how their relationship ended, but also because he believes Mew isn’t trusting him to be responsible for fixing everything. He’s essentially saying, “I’m trying here, why don’t you trust me to make it right?” He knows Mew is still cautious around him, but he’s now asking Mew why he won’t even trust him to clean the mess he’s made.

We get more push and pull with Top saying he’ll buy new ones and Mew saying it’s okay he can do it. Again, they’re both trying to take it all on by themselves no matter the cost (see what I did). My favorite part of this entire interaction is the awkward silence that follows. Neither of them knows what to say, they can barely look at each other at this moment. This little argument has turned into something else and they both know it, but they’re also trying their best to be okay for the sake of their relationship.

I can get into the nitty gritty of the altercation where they discuss the actual problem at hand, but I really wanted to highlight these moments. They are both grasping at whatever they can right now, trying their best to assume responsibility over everything wrong with their relationship. The problem with doing that however, is that we get moments where frustration and hostility build up. We get times where Mew’s anger drives him and where Top’s frustration rears its head. They haven’t figured it out at this moment, but they need to be working together to fix this. One person cannot put in the work while the other watches. Essentially in the end, they both have to try as a team and not take it on by themselves. As another person said, they need to look at it as them versus the problem.

Going back to the dishes, if Top is going to insist on washing, then surely he can allow Mew to dry right? If not, then there really is no point of cleaning the mess at all and they can just throw all the dishes away and start over from scratch alone.

[thevikingwoman]

Fic Authors Self Rec

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the love ❤️

I was tagged by @myreia and @a-shakespearean-in-paris, thank you both! It's hard to pick favorites? (I cheated)

Tagging forward, and to anyone else who wants to!

@galadrieljones @redinkofshame @ubejamjar @roguelioness @galadae

@bearlytolerant @kittlesandbugs @ellstersmash @janzoo @coldshrugs

@gangrelslut @superfluouskeys @buttsonthebeach

- 1. The Lovers

FFXIV | Shadowbringers | Wol x Tansui | Explicit | 4310 words

After defeating the Rak'tika Lightwarden, Warrior of Light (& Darkness) finds time to teleport back to the source, yearning to see her lover again. Tansui is more than happy to see her again, and their need for each other is undeniable. However, after they come together, something weighs on Tansui's mind

This is one of my most recent fics, and I really love exploring both Meryta's and Tansui's POV in this one. I struggled getting it to where I wanted, but I'm so happy with where it ended up and some of the nuances I was able to get in here.

- 1.5 Passing Through

FFXIV | Stormblood patches | Wol x Tansui | Explicit | 4518 words

Warrior of Light Meryta Khatin, while helping Genbu with the Four Lords passes through Onokoro. She can't help checking in on a friend - and Meryta and Tansui can't deny the attraction between them.

Alright, I'm cheating and adding one more Meryta and Tansui fic. This one was the one that settled the idea I had for them in my mind, that made me think of them as ship - even if they're not there yet. I had such fun writing it, and I think it shows.

- 2. Choices

FFXIV | Shadowbringers | Wol | Gen | 736 words

After the reveal and failure of G'raha's plan, Meryta has a moment - angry, hurt, confused and falling apart

I love this little MSQ coda, it was so great to express the feeling about the whole plot, and how it felt to Meryta. I think I expressed her feelings and interiority so well, and put some great images in here.

- 3. Comfort

Dragon Age | Vampire AU | Solavellan | Explicit | 7107 words

"Brooding alone?” someone asks. A woman, an elf, leans on the bar next to him. Her red hair is up in a ponytail, displaying the tawny skin on her muscular back. She is wearing a shimmering white dress, only a scrap of fabric covering her back. “I am just here to enjoy a drink in peace,” he replies. She laughs, eyes sparkling and lighting up her face. Her lips are painted bold red, and he notices her vallaslin, a dull olive covering the right side of her face. Dalish, then. Not many clans do that anymore. “No one comes here to drink in peace,” she says. “Iwyn Lavellan.” She holds out her hand, and he has to take it, bringing it to his lips in a kiss. Later, he blames the alcohol, or her sparkling the eyes, or the way the dress barely covers her ass. “Solas. Pleased to meet you.”

Probably my favorite AU. I love the little plot, I love the world, I love the dynamic between them. I love writing Iwyn as the immortal. I love the images and descriptions I wrote - and he smut is pretty good too!

- 4. Home

Uprooted (Naomi Novik) | post-book | Agnieszka/ Sarkan | Teen | 2175 words

He misses her, just not more than he fears belonging.

This is probably the favorite fic I have ever written. I think I hit the mood of the book so well, and managed to make a believable continuation. I just think this one flows so well and I'm very proud of it.

- 5. Temerity

Dragon Age | post Inquistion | Solavellan | Explicit | 10728 words

Iwyn Lavellan is doing all that she can to stay one step ahead of Solas, opposing him after he reveals his plans. When she runs into her former lover in an abandoned ruin, they start a tenuous and dangerous dance. They can't help but being drawn to each other, no matter how harsh the flames of love or hate will burn them.

I love this one for so many reasons. Though not Iwyn and Solas canon (in my head) reunion, I love the darkness of this, and the way they're messed up. I'm so proud of myself for going there and writing this and putting it out in the world. I love some of the metaphors, I love the intensity. And I love the open ending I left; do they spiral or do they make it through?

[krnsluvvie]

love at first, love at second, love at last

veintitres: te perdono (tal vez) (+ wc: 0.9k)

SUMMARY: sae had chosen his career and that was shortly followed by his and y/n's separation. three years pass by and amongst all the lurking and stalking each other's socials, sae is suddenly found back in their hometown. old feelings are resurfaced, current ones are questioned and a whole load of future ones are found in a blur.

veintidós | masterlist | veinticuatro

an icon pops up on the screen. kurona has joined, ultimately.

“you can stay muted, i’ll make it quick.”

a ding.

i hate you

you briefly laugh before you say, “i love you, too.”

ew

“get to the point, y/n. we don’t have all day.” isagi unmutes himself just to utter those words out and you roll your eyes in pseudo-annoyance.

“once you reach my age, you’ll be pulling all-nighters left and right to get your stuff done.”

or we will get them done during the day, or days before the deadline ! 

“okay, kurona. i get it!”

STOP DIGRESSING.

“yes, everything oliver told you—it’s true.”

both unmute. 

“FOR REAL?”

“NO FUCKING WAY.”

“yeah, i felt almost… hm,” you stroke your chin in thought as you try to think of the exact word depicting how you’d felt in that moment. “forced? obligated? plus, yeah, sure, it was in the heat of the moment but i don’t regret it.”

you expected commotion but the guys pleasantly surprise you as they unmute once again and start talking.

“are you sure?” isagi asks, you can hear the hesitation in his voice as if he was tiptoeing around the topic. he knows when not to pry too deep. 

you nod your head. “yep, positive.”

“even if… i mean, i do try to see it from your view. you’ve always been a good person but some people just don’t deserve second chances.”

silence.

“eh… ehh— i didn’t mean sae exactly. i was just saying.”

“you’re right, yeah.” you say after a moment of stillness. 

“but also—” you cut yourself off.

“hm?” isagi hums almost immediately.

“i don’t know. i’m just so confused right now.”

“speak, we will listen.”

“who said i wo—”

isagi mutes kurona. 

“you shall continue.”

YOU……. WHEN I CATCH YOU…

“i don’t want to keep you here for long so i’ll just go over what’s on my mind quickly. the contract, my kinda job, all of that right?”

“yeah?”

“it’s not even about them at this point. sure, we are still awkward around each other but it’s mostly coming from my side, if that makes sense? i try not to let my guard too much around him.”

“hmm…yeah? yeah. and?”

“and i think i’m starting to accept the reason why i did that in the first place.”

“he hurt you, it was only right to be cautious around him, y/n…” isagi says with his sweet and caring voice. if only he was like this more often. 

“thank you, isagi.”

I AGREE IM HERE TOO.

“thank you, too, kurona.” you say between breathy laughs.

“so what’s the reason?”

“i think,” you inhale, “i think i’m falling down the same hole again.”

HUH?

“kurona, you want me to unmute you?”

NO

no i mean

“what hole?”

“the—”

“oh!” isagi interrupts you. “you’re starting to like him again… is what i’m getting… ?”

HOPEFUKLY YOURE WRONG

“yeah.” you exhale, tension in your body gradually leaving.

*RIGHT

“oh.”

“isagi, it’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. i hate it, too. i’ve been done wrong and now look at me, catching feelings again.”

“i’m really glad you’re aware. but also—”

yet another silence.

“yeah? continue.”

“maybe… give it another shot? i’m not telling you to do it, just consider it and don’t torture yourself more. he explained himself, too, right? again, that doesn’t give him a pass, but yeah, just… him saying that means something! him saying things out of his own will!”

i hate to say this but as much as i don’t like him and despite what i said about not giving second chances… maybe it’s worth a shot ? as isagi said, he also tried to explain himself (DOESNT MAKE IT OK OR EGGZCUSABLE!!) it’s been some years and you both must’ve matured .. to some extent.

“HEY?!” 

i’m just saying🤷

you hate yourself for ignoring their opinion but as you read over the message and heard the words from isagi, you knew that what you were feeling was unmistakably real.

“it’s about to be 3.”

“y/n… think about it, yeah? we will support you no matter what.”

you let a small smile overtake your lips. “thank y—”

“after football.”

“never mind.”

i’m going yall, my eyes r closing🔥

“sleep well. both of you. thank you for listening to me, as always.”

gn!!💝

“good night, y/n.”

“also guys, before you disconnect! the reason why i told him first was!!! because i already expected you to come. so if you don’t, i will be very sad, just so you know!”

isagi laughs, hitting his desk—from what you can hear. “alright, alright. we shall steal all the spotlight.”

“bye!!!!!!!”

and... end call.

you close your laptop and fall face-first in your bed. first time acknowledging your lingering feelings, out loud, too. you squeeze your eyes in embarrassment.

this can’t be real. this can’t be real.

after all the years that you were separated from each other; you desperately tried reaching out while he was living his life, ignoring your calls and messages and giving you his half-assed apology and reason for separation, you still found yourself attached to him. 

oh, god, you can only hope that it doesn’t get any further than this.

(you know you're jinxing it, so you think of reverse psychology as to counter this fact.)

a/n: not proofread i apologize + THE WAY THIS IS DRAGGING ON OMG ILL KMS (theres a reason actually!! ill explain it after the series/2nd act ends!!! eventually yes..) ....... itll end soon i promise pls bear w me :ˇ')

tag list: @kiopanxp @funtuki @silly-ez @asteroskoniiii @keijiqahara @pikibee @tamimemo @kaitfae @biaonww @y-sabell-a @kaiserkisser @winterpein @bloombb @yyoichisgirl

[prettyboykatsuki]

you are back! and hopefully refreshed to hear me gasp at the concept of baby daddy oliver. i am wailing like a town crier at the visions spiralling in my mind’s eye……he is SO babydaddy shaped it’s a bit concerning.

even if you are both diametrically opposed about the state of your relationship bc he’s terrible (overbearing), he would go to the ends of the earth for your kid never doubt that.

him holding a chunky baby wearing a mini jersey?? SEDATE ME PLEASE. i think the coparenting would be where you both hit your stride together pushing through teething and sleepless nights and endless research abt if (insert thing here) is typical for your kid. it’s not a traditional situation or even initially remotely normal but you both can depend on each other to see it through and your kid absolutely feels that care bc ur both good parents doing the best they can.

that being said though he absolutely needs to work on not cussing in front of the baby (set up a swear jar) and not eating the snacks?? i can see how the bastard could inhale the applesauce, gogurt tubes and dinosaur nuggets like a vaccuum lmao

so so happy ur back. (i saw that u want to read more this year so i recommend sampling “legends and lattes”. a comfort fantasy read w/ low-ish mystery stakes and the coziest vibe. idk if it’s what you’d usually go for but it wasnt what i go for either yet felt rlly charmed after giving it a try!)

he is so fkjdhgdjfkfd. GODDD THESE ARE MAKING ME INSANE... THE LITTLE JERSEY

the problem is that i really from the bottom of my wretched heart thing that man is a GOOD father. not an okay or average one but a GOOODD DAD. and i think the whole coparenting thing goes so well with him in all the ways you describe like he is so Present and so There. and you have so much time together

he takes your kid on daytrips and goes with you to the park and he works even harder to train to give your kid a life. and you know you're right it is not traditional at all!!!! but it works so well and i do think thats the reason you end up falling for him

in my. in my Mind. the reason there's this like bump where you have some resentment about him and some gripes w him because he proves himself capable of being committed and devoted and that's like the main conflict of the romance element and it . it is cooking me half to death

ALSO HIM EATING THE SNACKS FJKHSKDJJKFD. hes so real for that... those little yogurt puffs for babies are DELICIOUS

(thank you for the book recc!!!! i am open to everything so i will give it a peep!!!)

[karamfilmare]

Idk why I'm thinking a bit about Ex!Oliver, where you dated and it just wasn't really the right time, and he definitely wasn't ready, but after some time passes, you bump into each other, and he's… no, you should not fall for him again, you heard the rumors, but he's so damn charming as always.

In some ways he's the same-- he's got the same eyes, he's still easygoing, he's still charming.

But you definitely notice a difference. He's always been handsome, but he's even more so. He's always been taller and bigger than most, but he seems even more so. His smile was always big and bright, but now he has really perfected the crooked grin that infuriates you with how attractive it is.

But no, it can't happen. What happened in the past, should stay in the past. It doesn't matter that he says he's changed, it doesn't matter that he looks at you with those eyes with longing, it doesn't matter that his touch lingers and it feels electric. And you tell him that it can't happen, despite the pang in your heart. It'll pass, you tell yourself. But it seems he has changed. And he's changed for the better. He seems ready. But you can't risk it.

But that doesn't stop you from sleeping with him one time, and it just proves that he's not forgotten the way your body reacts, nor what turns you on. And it seems he's just so much more sure of himself with you, his actions are certain. The way he hooks his finger inside and drives you wild, the way he devours you. The way his cock seems to be snug and perfect for you, the way his body fits against yours. It makes both your heads spin. With every thrust, you both slowly unravel. He groans when your walls squeeze around him, he says your name in that breathy whisper that just makes you weak. "Fuck, I missed this so fucking much. No one else gets me like this." He fucks into you like you're his only source of life.

Reasoning and logic are gone at this point, he's just taking this opportunity to make up for all those years he's been away from you. You're crying out for his name, but he's struggling.

Even when he cums and feels so sensitive, he can't bear to separate for you. He's missed you so much, he's been waiting for so long, and if it's the last chance he has, he'll make the most of it.

[ostentumm]

PERMANENT PLOTTER FOR OLIVER~.

I think it's time I start to branch off on what I wanna do for Oliver. He's got a lot to learn, of course, being that he's still a kid. he's tasted freedom and what the world is like with all of its Normalcy like a world with a sun, clear blue skies, and all of that stuff. There are a lot of things I wanna explore with Oliver so here we go!

Both who have interacted with Oliver and have yet to interact with Oliver are welcome to engage in this plotter call! As long as our muses can vibe with mine and they can click in any way, as long as we can see our muses going somewhere, then yes!!! Please, consider meeting my baby boy.

By liking this, I'll safely assume that you're okay with me hopping into your IMS or DMS (if we have each other's Discord) for plotting reasons, Memes on memeday, and sponty starters. I usually already do these (not all the time), but if you'd prefer I ask first before I throw one at you, please let me know ahead of time. I love, love, LOVE sponty starters, but I understand that some may not be down for that. I will always ask and communicate. Anyway, this isn't just for Oliver, this is probably for your character as well!

Let's develop our babies together!!!!!

Under this read more are lists of relationships that I'm looking for.

Friends: Oliver has met a lot of people here since his arrival. He's met ALL kinds of people, really. A lot of them are acquaintances. Maybe he's met just a small handful of people he can call a friend, but I don't know. Anyway, Oliver is pretty easy to get along with, if anything a little different and there's nothing wrong with that. Oliver is the biggest hype boy, so you'll always have him in your corner hyping you up and supporting you.

Enemies: It's hard to make an enemy out of Oliver. Even if you're a monster out there terrorizing people and such, he only does what he does because it is part of his job. It's expected of him. He doesn't really hold any ill feelings toward monsters as he ALSO understands that it is what they do. Anyway, to make an enemy out of Oliver may be a challenging one, actually. Still, it's not impossible. Oliver considers the people he's gotten close to as his family and Oliver is a family boy. So, the quickest way to get on his shitlist is to mess with them.

Sparring Partner: Oliver LOVES sparring. he loves anything that gets his blood pumping like exercises and stuff. Whatever chance he gets, he's always looking for a sparring partner, so if you feel this is right up your character's ally, hit him up! He's always going to say yes to sparring.

Hunt: Oliver is good at tracking things down with his nose. He may be capped right now, but yeah! If you're having a pest problem whether it's monsters or just evil-doers or what have you, Oliver is your guy for hire. In his world, he was a monster hunter anyway, so hunting in general is his thing!

Mentor: There are maybe a small select few he'd call a mentor back home, but here in Spirale he hasn't come across any yet. Maybe Garry. Anyway, he's still a child. He is going to need help being guided and nurtured into a wonderful person. There's always something to learn and there's a shit ton that Oliver does not know about the world and overall just anything in general!

Found family: Garry is so far his found family. He found her all on his own and he's so happy to have them! As I've mentioned in I believe the beginning of (enemies section), Oliver is a family kid. He loves the idea of being surrounded by family whether blood or not. He'll do anything for those he deems super close to him.

Crush/Romance: This goes hand in hand with romance. THIS does not give an open invitation to be a creep. I will block on sight. Anyway, Oliver is a kid. he's 16 and he's going to have crushes here and there and he's going to one day meet someone where he wants to spend his entire life with and that's okay! When it comes to crushes or falling in love with someone, it can be a one-sided thing. Anyway, this isn't really something I'm focusing on. I just thought I'd throw this in there.

IF THERE IS OTHER IDEAS YOU HAVE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

If you wanna know where Oliver frequents in Spirale, please let me know! I haven't gotten around to writing what locations he likes going to on his stats just yet, but there are so many places he'd explore and check out. There are a handful of places he really likes going though.

[captainaikus]

✨Numero dos✨

Note: spicy 🌶✨ warning this is literally just me ranting abt yanderes and my blorbos you’ve been warned 😌

*ahem* yanderes are just muah ✨🤌🏼. You’re so obsessed with me that you want me all to yourself all the time everywhere? My attachment issues and clingy nature say yes 😌. Asfhkjgfdhjhg anyways 💀. I honestly think that the Itoshi brothers, Isagi, and Reo would be the deadliest yanderes. Sae and Rin for obvious reasons.

Sae being oh so controlling and yet everyone loves the idea of him so much but behind closed doors he’s a whole other thing. You keep to yourself abt all the things that seem off abt him but he keeps giving you just enough love to have you wanting more and staying. The game is very fun for him, almost as fun as breaking you psychologically.

And Rin? He’s got attachment issues I just know it. Cant stand the thought of you being anywhere without him. Gets very angry when you don’t tell him abt your day first thing when you guys sleepover. At first it was very cute, awww he cares so much. And he does. But you start to backtrack when you discover the hidden cameras all over the house and the tracker on the inside of your phone case. When you confront him abt it, he freezes and then smiles. Finally an excuse for him to keep ask to move in with him, and he’s not taking no for an answer.

Now Isagi is a very peculiar yandere. He loves you so so so much that he can’t stand it. At first he’s so happy that he’s finally together with you, after careful planning on his part, but after a while it’s not enough. He starts doubting if he’s enough for you and whether or not you’ll ever get tired of him or God forbid start looking at other guys. This feeling festers and grows until one day he finds you waking out of your office laughing with your male coworker. That’s when he decides that maybe it’s time to start talking about how much of a bad influence you’re friends are and how your parents are too controlling and how he makes enough for the both of you anyway so why not just stay at home? He’ll bring up the idea of a baby soon enough.

Reo would be so diabolical from the beginning. Making sure you’re completely dependent on him for everything. Financially and emotionally. You get oh so inconveniently laid off and start living with him, but just until you can find another job you promise. He convinces you to pick a brand new penthouse for you guys when you move in and you shyly and miraculously say yes. He ofc doesn’t tell you where it’s located, the farthest place away from your friends and family, you don’t need to worry your pretty little head over that. He truly does love you and wants you to love him back. The icing on the cake is when one day you wake up after an argument with him abt wanting to visit your parents chained to the bed. You panic and call his name and he enters with breakfast on a tray and a beaming smile.

And Oliver is absolutely a baby girl you’re the yandere in this one every time. Imagine hating how flirty he is with others and thinking up ways to wrap him around your finger. And when he absolutely falls in love with you? He’d do anything you say. Move in with you, go with you everywhere, and even say yes when you quickly propose but it’s not too soon right? You just know you’re perfect for each other. And that there is no one else.

And Shidou? I absolutely agree that he has yandere potential but I truly believe he’s just a huge fluff ball deep deep deep down. Like don’t get me wrong, he’d absolutely leave you bedridden for days after he got jealous of that one guy staring at you. But he’d also stay home to make you a slightly burnt breakfast in bed every morning and take a break from reading his manga to massage your body anytime you asked.

Love how each one got consistently longer than the previous one 💀💀. You’re really out here turning me not only into a switch but also a yandere lover explain yourself 😭😭😭. Shidou and Barou and Raichi have seriously been growing on me lately and I’m over just like 😐😐😐. What??? Cause I’ve never liked the aggressive ones too much you know. And Shidou comes barging in with his stupid PINK highlights and occasional polite attitude. Followed by Barou with his stupid househusband skills and GORGOUS LONG HAIR. And last but not least Raichi just screaming some sense into the team when they need it most and annoying the hell out of Reo. Like excuse you? Who do you think you are to be settling into my heart like this??? No I never said you could???They’re there now and there’s nothing I can do abt it *sighs*. Anyways.

- ✨ anon

Don't blame me if I create a yandere series on ao3 because of this-

imo, Bachira would also be terrifying; cause look at Bachira. Like. Just look at everyone is blue lock. Only difference is that Ego made them yandere after the ball.

Sae is the kind of Yandere to break you slowly, making you know where your place is. he enjoys doing it, making you crumble under him little by little. Rin? He is the obsessed kind of yandere and not even in the good way. he's gonna check the cereal boxes you eat, make a note of all your allergies and fears and make it useful against you. Basically, he uses the push and pull technique and he is smart enough to make you not notice it. If there's anything common among the Itoshi Brothers, its the fact that they know how to play their cards well and are slick enough to not get caught. Isagi is very insecure as a yandere that's for sure. when it comes to playing on the field, he is good at what he does and makes him opponents afraid of him, but as a yandere? he is clingy to the extreme and loses his temper when he sees you with another man or rather anyone. He kind of like Nagi but emotionally manipulative with his tears and words, guilt tripping you into his trap.

Reo *hiss* he is gonna be a very smart yandere if we're going to be honest about this. He is the type to put a camera and tracker in every corner of where you turn and stay, while sweet little naive you is just going to smile naively at the message he sends you, asking you to turn up for work the next morning. His hobby is doing stocks? no his hobby is watching you through cameras setup, a smile playing on his lips regarding your obliviousness. Oliver. *ik i'm gonna annoy people with gushing over this man* But here's the thing. I can't see yandere potential in him cause he is... for the lack of better words, too nice. Like on the field he takes on a different persona, yeah but if we're trying to make him yandere, i can't see that happening cause he doesn't want to be chained down. until you step in. i can imagine Oliver to figure you out but he finds it very amusing. he can't take yandere you serious - its just personality Shidou is the kinda guy who would laugh as you cried. It can go both ways tbh, cause he just wants to be loved, but at the same time he wants to make sure you know that he is not someone to be messed around with. He is a fluffball yeah but he has violent mood swings which can get really scary - literally like 'let me scare you but comfort you' thing. Femdom supremacy (I said what I said, I got tired of submitting and never have i wanted to either) Honestly- I've been into yanderes for a long time but i wasn't sure if people were comfortable with the idea of it or not, cause some take it to the extreme but after i set my boundaries in writing them and the likes i got... you guys are insane (lovingly ofc and blame me too cause i'm one of you ♡)

Oml- everyone's on the Barou train tbh. As of now the only guy i like is oliver... god help me cause ik we're gonna have to WAIT until he comes and I haven't caught up to the anime yet- kinda curious to see what Rin's voice sounds like... is it the way i imagined...? i'm not sure. but ik that i'm looking forward to aiku's voice *crying sobbing and hiccuping cause U 20 is so far away*

[hannshines]

Hunger Games x FlintWood Au

Welcome back to telling my ideas I had for this fic so I don't keep them bottled up and if anyone wants to play with this I'm more than happy.

To recap we are in part 2 of all this and part 1 can be found below by clicking on part 1.

Part.1: Marcus (his first games and how he met Oliver as well as their development while participating in the games for his sister)

Part 2: Daphne (On her attempt to get out as a district escort in the ministry) — here

Part 3: Adrian (In his development in the last games that i had planned for the story, before the fall of the ministry)

Part 2.

Actually for part 2 I have several ideas but maybe not as well formulated as part 1 since it's the middle of the fic but I'll try not to go in circles.

Well in FlintWood terms for the second part it was mostly their development, and initial life in the ministry, Marcus and Oliver after the games are over they hate each other to no end, most of their development is around when they finally share a place again which is on the victory tour, because they both don't even want to see each other in a picture.

A plus for the whole thing that happened in they games and thanks for Oliver's show there were two winners, Oliver's parents are killed in an "accidental" fire in his house about two days after he returns to his district.

There's not much to tell my ideas of the victory tour other than being from different districts, they both had to make it very clear that none of it was propaganda for the districts to unite against the Ministry, not in that literal way but you get the point.

Obviously in the opposite districts of each one they don't let the other one Marcus goes to district 4 to make the speech (which being alone he says that he doesn't regret anything of what he did against Demelza) while Oliver gives his speech in district 7 (which the sentimentality wins him because he didn't want to do anything against Amelia and he apologizes to Marcus' mother).

It's a show because now Katie and Daphne work together, Daphne gets stressed because they don't know where to have the last celebration if in district 6 or 4, fights between everyone and extra stuff, ahhh there's only one bed trop hahahaha and more.

And moving on to the ministry stuff going back to the end of the first part, after it was announced that both Marcus and Oliver had won Daphne was upset, she goes to tell her truths to Percy and Katie thinking that it was something they had planned and that if so they had all just got themselves into big trouble as there have never been two winners in the games, obviously everyone looks worried but the most desperate in this matter is Daphne and Katie.

Both are called in by Tom Ryddle in which he is given the opportunity to tell them if they both had a plan in mind to make them both winners and they both deny everything, and while he believes Daphne by not doing anything to her, he does not believe Katie by torturing her right there and then.

Katie has a necklace similar to the Muggles (who are literally the slaves and servants of the place, who have no word) and that is beacuse the truth is that she is not part of the ministry, her parents and herself were from district six (she know's Leanne and Leanne know her) she will be about four years old when her parents did something and were captured to work as muggles in the Ministry.

The plan was to let Katie as an orphan but they saw potential in her being pretty enough and maybe she could serve, so when she was old enough about two years after Daphne start to work i'm they Ministry they put her to work as an escort but of course without pay and she actually lives day to day.

Katie is given an ultimatum and just gets the hell out of the place, shady stuff between Tom Riddle and Daphne and the reason why i have in the fic THAT tags

A life that Daphne doesn't get used to and really doesn't want, but thanks to Theo who in fact many people are forbidden to get too close to Daphne and one of them is Theo for a few circumstances, she soport that treat.

Obviously they both love each other but can't show it because of the position Daphne is in and that literally looking for a steady partner would surely be branded a betrayal of the ministry itself (Tom Ryddle) and the games.

Back to the districts.

After what is that Marcus recovers because he was badly injured in the games, he returns to the district with his mother which begins to have a little closer contact as they are both the only ones who have each other, the victory tour in which Marcus' own mother tells him that at least Oliver is cute and Marcus may be having a good time faking a romance that is not going at all well.

There starts to be family closeness and a bond between what is Daphne and Marcus, Daphne worries about him and decides again not to change district, that is also because she has always been right there for Adrian but now for Marcus and the problems start because between Marcus and Oliver they start to divide the dealings towards each of them by the ministry.

Both are winners, so Oliver is being treated as what he is, a winner and whom the ministry wants to turn into a hallow doing dirty little jobs ignoring the fact of the romance he has with Marcus because he is pretty (Come on Marcus shared) but strangely enough Marcus does not start to be treated like that, he starts to be included as someone important in the ministry, almost like what Lucius Malfoy had a hard time doing and of course implemented with his son now.

Right, more character introductions in all this journey

Terence Higgs: My pretty pretty boy Terence, habitant of district seven and Adrian's partner, as well as Adrian's emotional counselor, Marcus holds him in high esteem and so does Daphne.

Graham Montague: Marcus's friend, a year older than Adrian and whose turn it is to participate in the 96th games.

Alicia Spinnet: Mentor of District 11, too overbearing for Marcus' liking but seems to get along very well with Oliver as he goes into his first year as a mentor.

Angelina Johnson: Stylist of district 10, has a love hate relationship with Lucian Bole and hates Marcus but loves Katie and Oliver together, hates Percy the same way and calls him a bore.

Lucius Malfoy: Winner of District 1, clearly Death Eater Marcus hates him because somehow he always ends up talking to him.

Draco Malfoy: Winner of district 1 like his father, Marcus tolerates him, he seems to have a great friendship with Blaise and of the Malfoy's he is the only one that Astoria and Daphne like, Marcus makes fun of the little looks he has with Harry.

Harry Potter: The lucky boy who survived from district 9, literally that's his nickname since he was supposed to be left for dead in the games but in the end he appeared as alive, being the first mistake presented in the games, in the end he won but the ministry went against him and killed his parents.

Pansy Parkinson: A distant cousin of Marcus, Marcus never really cared enough about his mother having a sister who left for District 1 after she won the games to marry another winner there.

Tracey Davis: Stylist of district 2, very close friend of Theodore Nott, she doesn't get along very well with Daphne but yes with Astoria.

Joanne Selwyn: A rather quiet girl whom Adrian has known for years, she ends up being a tribute at the 77th games.

Clearly for Daphne and Marcus it is something strange because although they think they treat him like hallow they do not make Marcus do jobs as Oliver who truly by his appearance becomes one of the new favorites of the ministry.

It stops working for them the lovers joke because they try to make everyone take a position and Marcus doesn't like the position they are putting him in and much less his mother who obviously knows why they are doing all that.

In all this plot we know about Marcus dad who is actually not someone from the districts but someone from the ministry.

A backstory to Marcus's mother.

In Marcus's district there have been several winners but most have been older and many years ago, the last winner before Marcus's mother participated in the games died leaving district 7 without a mentor, when something like that happens and the Ministry trying to be fair, is assigned someone from the ministry as a mentor for the tribute who will participate, if it lasts a while the mentor is not repeated and each year is someone different.

When Eleanore Shafiq (Marcus's mother) participates clearly her mentor ends up being Thaddeus Flint (Marcus' father) one of Tom Ryddle's closest friends, both fall in love or more than anything Thaddeus falls in love with her and does everything he can to make Eleanore survive.

He succeeds and it clearly does not happen instantly but what Thaddeus seeks is to leave the ministry to go with Eleanore to the districts and live a "quiet" life at that time if a winner had children, the kid could also skip the reaping, a rule that was discarded two years before Marcus reached the minimum age to participate in his first reaping.

Thaddeus actually did manage to leave the ministry but not entirely, he still had to return to settle certain family "matters" more than anything else and that is why he always returned to the ministry whenever Eleanore go to be a mentor.

Here the Death Eaters do exist and clearly they are the people closest to Tom Ryddle and in this case they may even be winners but it is very rare to see it, so thee problem of Thaddeus being gone is that he left incomplete a personal circle that Tom Ryddle had and in short he was left without one more servant, that's why Marcus being a winner and having access to the ministry fit like a glove to Tom Ryddle to fill that space he was missing and in short to have one more asshole working for him.

All this is discovered long after Marcus gets his first turn to be a mentor (surprise Montague gets his turn to be a tribute and wins).

Obviously as all these problems begin start to create a closer intra-personal bond between Daphne, Marcus and Adrian.

When Daphne learn that Thaddeus Flint managed to leave the ministry for someone he loves, is armed with heat to ask leave from working for the games to be with Theo so that both can live a relatively "quiet" life because she's not leaving the ministry completely but would go step by step.

She asks Tom Ryddle with the faith of a thousand gods after planning very well for a resolution to any roadblock that gets in her way and asks for his resignation from Tom Ryddle himself saying that she will take care of finding someone just as competent for the job and won't even notice his lack once she finds her, even telling him that she will explain everything and no one will have to bother with that problem but her.

Odd as it sounds for Daphne this one agrees and my little girl is very happy to see at least an open window of getting away from things.

But clearly it would not be so easy.

Marcus and Oliver's games were the 95th games, Gramham wins the 96th games (in which here the rule was changed that it is a man and a woman and they start to combine the genders and they can be anyone, one man and one woman, two men or two women) and thanks to the fact that the 100th games are near it is announced that there will be some slight changes and surprises in some details before the so expected 100th games.

In the end Daphne doesn't have to choose who will replace her, but she is told that she will be assigned to someone and her job will be to train her, she finds it strange but accepts thinking that maybe after the games she will have to train someone, but in the reaping her surprise is when she finds her father in the district and more than anything with Astoria in the place.

Astoria tells her that she doesn't know why she is there and her father (who is also close to Tom Ryddle) tells Daphne about the slight changes there will be for the harvest because of the countdown to the 100th games.

The surprise for that game is that apart from the urn of the districts, there is going to be a special urn with other names of people specifically chosen for some characteristic (pure redheads, pure blondes, only people who live in a detailed area of the district, only people who live in a specific area of the district, etc), In this case in this second ballot box only the people from the same district will know who they are, but those from the ministry and the other districts will not know who they are, making them a surprise tribute for the TV, they will not show their face, their name will not be shown, but their voice will be shown and they will be called by a nickname.

For Daphne it's kind of weird because it's nothing like what she knows they had been planning for the 97th games and because it's sound silly and very complicated to do for some simple games but she decides not to fight about it and pay attention to the explanation.

The problem comes when it seems that Astoria's presence is to draw the names of the reaping, leaving Daphne on the side and and obviously the surprise is that Daphne's name comes out.

Which is not his name for confidentiality, but a nickname that Daphne knows that only Tom Ryddle says to her.

Daphne laughs nervously believing that it is a joke and she has to cross in the middle to read the paper on her own and desperate to see that its true she throws away the paper and looks for another name several times realizing that all the names of the special urn are hers.

Daphen's fight is no longer televised and at that very moment she starts to tell her father that how could he do this, that they could not do it because she is a citizen of the ministry and not of the districts and he coldly, rudely and without caring about his daughter tells her that she brought it on herself for trying to leave and that she does not know how angry Tom Ryddle is for that.

Marcus and Adrian are obviously surprised, Marcus promises Daphne that he will not let her die but obviously Daphne understands the plan of why they put her in and for her it would be better to die, because if she survives now she would be completely turned into a hallow and would never be able to escape from the ministry but Marcus tells her that this is something that will be arranged later but what Daphne must think now is to survive, literally worth her other tribute which is a girl named Joanne Selwyn, and she is also surprised that someone from the ministry is a tribute but she doesn't comment anything about it.

On the way to the ministry Marcus realizes that one of the tributes from Oliver's district is Ginny Weasley and Marcus realizes that Oliver is also going to do everything he can to keep his best friend's sister from dying.

Obviously Theo finds out what is going on and leaves his place in district 1 to change to district 7 saying that he will be in charge of dressing Daphne, nobody important but the mentors know that Daphne is participating in the games, comments that she won it and things like that are irrelevant.

Passive aggressive interviews between Daphne and Rita Skeeter beacuse Daphne has hated her for a long time and she finally dropped her mouth in the interview.

Marcus trains Daphne, a small friendship between Joanne and Daphne where clearly Joanne is not bothered by all the attention being given to the blonde some very beautiful moments and emotional conversations between Theo and Daphne in which Theo tells her that there shouldn't have been all that for him but for herself, which leaves Daphne thinking a lot.

Daphne scared by the fact that Astoria is now being used as an escort for the tributes and not as a stylist which is why her little sister had gotten into the games.

And my recommendation was to not get attached to anyone hahaha

Daphne who clearly cannot be accompanied by her mentors to the games is accompanied by Theo and yes, Theo is killed in front of Daphne in which she is sent to the arena leaving Daphne devastated and shocked because literally the person she loved the most and why she is in the games right now just died as a message that she will never really get what she wants.

I've already gone on too long, but let's go quickly.

When Daphne comes out she realizes that the arena of those games ends up being a lake, almost without any land except the cornocopia which is a small island in the middle with a tree, but everything else seems to be just water (jiji the black lake reference).

Marcus is confused because they decided to make the arena that way since they are not supposed to put something similar anymore because not all tributes know how to swim and die fast and Adrian tells him that for sure Tom Ryddle's plan is that these games don't last long thinking about Daphne.

There is not much to tell from the ministry's side only that Marcus has a hard time finding sponsors because apparently no one despite being with more fans after the interviews no one wants to sponsor Daphne (actually everyone was warned not to sponsor her) Blaise ends up being her anonymous sponsor most of the time.

Oh and that Oliver looks a lot more nervous in Marcus's view and Marcus doesn't know why.

Fast forward back to the games, not much interesting to see why they go fast as planned, Daphne traumas, dehydration does its job, hallucinations with Theo and my girl just needs a break.

The important thing that happens in the games is that aside from Joanne dying and Daphne suffering her death as well, Daphne ends up in an alliance with Ginny for most of the games.

Relatively all goes well with that alliance (my favorite wlw) Daphne doesn't really trust Ginny but you can tell she's good at fighting and possibly her only chance to survive, they both become kind of weird "friends" but the most striking thing that happens is when they're both left in the end.

Haha here if there is no drama and starts a fight to the death between Daphne and Ginny in a curiously well positioned place where you can't see Daphne's face very well (because let's remember that the ministry doesn't know who she is) and at the end Ginny ends up drowning Daphne in the lake making Ginny Weasley the winner of the 97th games

And that's they end of Daphne Greengrass🥰

No, it's not true she is still alive but I'll save it for part three because I'm already too long here.

[potterandpromises]

sorry for not winning you an arcade ring: chapter 2

In which our lovebirds (don’t) talk about things. 

See chapter 1

Also on AO3

(Picks up a few hours after the end of the last chapter.)

Mabel sets two mugs and a carton on the table. Gut Milk, it reads.

She pours two cups. Theo takes a tentative sip and chokes.

He foots it to her kitchen, spits it out in the sink. “It’s expired,” he signs, and on second thought: “It’s dead.”

Mabel laughs, her smile wide at his expense. She shakes her head. “No, it’s supposed to be C-R-U-N-C-H-Y.”

Theo narrows his eyes at her.

“You need gut milk L-I-T-E.”

He rinses her sink, barely keeps the fluttering joy off his face despite the aftertaste. He returns to the table, examines the carton. 13% alcohol.

“I don’t drink much, anyway.”

Her smile turns awkward. She nods.

“Just a personal preference.”

Starting when he was about 13, his father let him have a little wine with dinner. As a result, alcohol never had mush allure to it. He and Zoe had experimented with other substances, though.

He hadn’t been drinking that night. Zoe had.

Would she still be alive if she’d been sober? What if she hadn’t wished him a happy new year? Where would they both be, right now? Certainly not here.

“I’ve only been drunk once. It wasn’t fun.” That’d been months afterward. An experiment when he was danger of failing all his classes. 

He changes the subject. “Tomorrow?”

She raises a hand, changes her mind, pulls out her phone, and begins to type.

His pocket vibrates.

Oliver is organizing the event. If you’re free we’ll go to Charles’ in the morning, show you the murder board.

Theo nods. He’d meant what he said, would do anything to aid the investigation, possibly (and only possibly) short of risking life or limb. He asked plenty of questions though, back at his place, and she’d had answers to all of them. Every hole he’d poked in the plan was patched, albeit with duck tape. It was set: Killer Revel Party 2: the Wedding. All that was needed was to announce it. Plus all the insane things that must go into planning a high-ish profile wedding at short notice.

(Does she have a ring to wear for their fake engagement? She must. She hasn’t mentioned it.)

On the table, his phone flashes to life.

I promise I won’t keep showing up at your door just because I want something.

He looks up. She bites her lip.

What does that mean? She won’t ask him for things after this? they’ll never talk? Or just that she’ll text instead of showing up unannounced?

(Or, that they’ll talk more, when life is somewhat normal, and not just when someone’s been murdered?)

“You won’t?”

She shakes her head, clarifying nothing.

Her shoulders stiffen. She says something he doesn’t catch, stands up, and walks to one of the bedrooms.

He follows, unsure if she means for him to, and stands awkward in the doorway.

She opens a wooden jewelry box carved with flowers on vines. He flushes nervous, flushes guilty. Something falls onto the floor. Green.

His ring. Zoe’s ring. Tim’s ring. Her ring.

If he hadn’t known at a glance— and he had— he would know by the way she grabs for it, panicked.

She looks at him, deeply uncomfortable. He takes a step back, quits blocking the doorway.

“Let’s just— time.”

He nods, sort of numb, and heads for the door.

In the middle of the room, she grabs his forearm, stops him, hesitates.

No, not hesitation; thought. She has a natural pokerface. Half the time she can’t manage the expressions that come with ASL. But quickly, he’s learning to read her subtleties. He’s getting to know her face. That thrills him, distracts him completely for just a second.

“Tomorrow?”

He blinks. She’s nervous, too. But there’s something like hope in her eyes. For some reason.

They could talk about it. Should talk about it, probably. He can’t think of anything to say.

“Tomorrow,” he promises, and finds himself riding the elevator down to the sixth floor.

(Of course they won’t see each other after all this is over. Not really. Not like how it’s been.)

(He’d thought the same thing when he dropped her off at the diner after their little B&E at Coney Island, though.)

(Not that he wants the murders to continue.)

20 minutes later, having brushed the gut milk off his teeth, Theo receives a text from Mabel.

Relief washes over him. It has nothing to do with the ring.

I have this thing at the art gallery Thursday night. Would you want to come? It doesn’t have anything to do with the investigation. This would just be as friends.

Friends.

It means something for her to say that now. It means a hell of a lot, actually.

It warms him.

Of course, based on the tentative timeline outlined in Mabel’s proposal letter, that’s only two days before the— can it actually be called a wedding if no vows will be exchanged?

Wouldn’t that draw the wrong kind of attention if this is supposed to be about your art?

I don’t have any pieces on display, comes her reply, then: It could be good practice.

Practice. That doesn’t make Theo’s heart jump at all.

For the attention.

Right.

We’d get a sense of people’s reactions. If it’s too uncomfortable we could just leave early.

He really does want to go, and that surprises him. It’s a date, he types out, then deletes it in favor of: what time?

I’ll send you the details.

An hour later, he lies in his childhood bedroom and goes over every reason he should not enjoy a single second of this absurd arrangement.

Her wording eats at him. Is it possible they’re already friends? He thought he wanted that like water in a desert, now he isn’t sure any good can come of their proximity to each other.

(Her wide grin, the way she tosses her head when she laughs.)

He gets an Instagram notification.

Mabel sits in soft light, faces her propped up phone. The pale blue stone in the gold ring is complemented by her white woven sweater— not what she’d been wearing when he’d seen her.

It’s official: he’s engaged.

[constantviewings]

A (Not So) Weekly Wrap-Up

Saltburn

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

From what I've seen, the opinions of this film are pretty hot and cold and I fall somewhere right in the middle. I had a lot of fun watching it, but it still has it's flaws. Starting off, I love the look of this film, the warm lighting and the film grain just makes me think of a home tape from the 2000s. Also, the cast are great, Barry Keoghan is an obvious standout but doesn't overshadow the great performances from the rest of the cast. I know people read this as a class commentary, but I think it's more about obsession than class as somewhat proven by the reveal at the midway point. My only gripe is that the montage at the end showing Oliver's perspective feels like it's overcompensating, maybe most of those shots could have been left where they take place and we just get to see the monologue?

Rating: 4

Final Destination (all movies)

After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one.

I'm not reviewing these movies one-by-one because, as we all know, they're basically all the same movie. I'm only going to point out two in particular, Final Destination 3 and The Final Destination. The third installment of this franchise is my personal favourite, I like that the mystery changes from the order of death to how each person will die; it helps it feel fresh even though it's the same movie three times over. The Final Destination is my, and most people's, least favourite: the effects are so fake looking and none of the deaths are really that memorable. At least with the others you can remember 'the train one' and 'the eye one' the only half decent death is the guy who dies in the pool, but only because it's so dumb.

Rating: -4

Ghosts (UK)

A cash-strapped young couple inherits a grand country house, only to find it is both falling apart and teeming with the ghosts of former inhabitants.

I binged this entire series in maybe a week (?) after realising I'd spent years putting off watching for whatever reason. Honestly, I love this show, I laughed and I cried. What a great little show and I can't wait to see what the team do next.

Rating: 3

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Since I'll never see the tour live, I guess this is the next best thing! 2023 saw me re-entering my 'Taylor Swift Era' and this movie is the perfect nostalgia trip while also introducing me to the music I hadn't listened to in the meanwhile.

Hell Camp

Out-of-control teens across America were sent to a therapy camp in the harsh Utah desert. The conditions were brutal, but the staff were even worse.

Holy crap, this is actually fucked. Like, I understand the organisers were sugar coating it to the parents, but the fact they didn't believe their own kids is insane...wow.