#has anyone else played this game that follows me like lemme know if i just wasted $27

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 28 Banking on Murder

Me getting too excited when I get to write an episode with my babi chonkers in it

Anyway Irratino changes his outfit every book, and I've just settled on his Spurdle design :3 lemme know what you think!

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

Logico and Irratino are chilling back home.

IRRATINO: Yearly million! LOGICO: What? IRRATINO: Every year, the Institute holds its million-dollar giveaway to anyone who can prove the occult! I’m withdrawing it now, then we can pick it up and hold the contest!

Logico rolls his eye. Irratino has a stupid amount of money. Goat Lord clicks around on the bank website and gets a pop-up.

IRRATINO: Service denied? Wh- SENDING ASSISTANCE?

He immediately gets a phone call.

PERSON: Fucked-up stuff is going on in your bank account, Mr. Inspector. I demand to speak to you! LOGICO: Oh, who’s that. IRRATINO: Uh… haheheh! Uh… LOGICO: Being rich causing… ⋆˚｡⁺⋆issues?~

Irratino does the biggest sheepish grin. They have to go to the bank right now. When they get there, the person who called Irratino is dead.

IRRATINO: Oh, thank god! Ha ha! 

Logico glares at him.

IRRATINO: I mean yeah. Murder time.

Chalk, Mango, and Emerald are wandering, being some of the richest people alive. Wonder what they’re here for?

EMERALD: I can tell you what I’m here for. LOGICO: Murder? EMERALD: N- LOGICO: Then I’m not interested.

It seems Mango is occupied printing fake money (with mustaches on the presidents!). He is snickering to himself as he watches the bills fly.

LOGICO: Feeling mature, I see. MANGO: EW, Logico. Go do something else, like solve a MURDER. LOGICO: That’s what I AM DOING. IRRATINO: Do you know who I’m supposed to talk to about the money thing? CHALK: [‘I don’t know’-adjacent llama sound]

Everything in the bank is so shiny, because banks are made out of money! Emerald is distracted by every detail, and Logico catches him hanging upside-down from a chandelier.

LOGICO: Excuse me? EMERALD: [wraaack?] LOGICO: Are you trying to steal crystals from the chandelier? EMERALD: No! 

He flies around in a frenzy, whacking Logico in the face. Gico decides to lie.

LOGICO: If you tell me the truth about what you saw, I’ll pretend I never saw you. EMERALD: You would do that… for me? All right… I saw a laptop under ownership of one that people tend to call… CHONKERS. CHALK: [scream] [nervous laugh] Hi!

Irratino gets a lightbulb idea!

IRRATINO: Logico! I just realized something obvious! LOGICO: Hooray. IRRATINO: We can hack into the security footage, and see who did it!  LOGICO: Can’t I solve it myself?

Unfortunately, there’s only footage from the vaults. Chalk is inside!

LOGICO: The bastard! Doesn’t he have enough money?

But no, he’s playing around on his laptop. There are some video game sound effects.

GAME: OBJECTION!!

Chalk giggles and claps. I don’t think he’s interested in what’s in the vault. When shown the footage, he cries.

CHALK: I just wanted a place to play my game… where no one would judge me.

Logico sighs. The only one who retains a guilty conscience is… the mango!

MANGO: That’s correct! LOGICO: You see, Irratino, there is no other way! IRRATINO: Pfft. I knew that in my gut the whole time. LOGICO: Sure you did. IRRATINO: Doesn’t matter, there’s no doubt about it - Mango is peeled! MANGO: EW! Are you saying I deserve to be SKINNED? CHALK: Irratino, that’s horrible! EMERALD: Even if he did this murder, there is nothing warranting that language! LOGICO: Yes, even I think that’s a bit- IRRATINO: All RIGHT I’m SORRY!!! Jesus. MANGO: For the glory of God, murder is permissible! LOGICO: What religion do you even follow??

The end!

nfjnjvkgfdkgbg my llama boi i can't

also to my UK pals BOOK 4 IS OUTTTTTTT I still gotta wait lol

US release date for the board game has changed from Oct 1 to 'soon' hhhhhhhhhh

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[samueldays]

Surely an overview or essay on RPG rulebook length "ecosystem" with regards to player effort exists somewhere already and I don't have to reinvent it. Does anyone know of such a thing to point me to? Searching turned up this D&D book size rules count by Alexandrian but it's not what I had in mind.

Big name RPGs tend to be several hundred pages. Exactly what constitutes "big" is fuzzy when the stats from e.g. roll20 report that the majority of games registered are D&D 5e and everyone else put together is less than that, including "uncategorized", so lemme pick a few examples I'm familiar with.

D&D 1e clocked about 500 pages between PHB, MM, DMG. A few decades later, Pathfinder has a merged corebook that runs to about 600 pages. "Most" of the game is in a sense in the PHB which is 300 pages for D&D 3e and 5e, the MM is almost all examples no rules, the DMG has skippable rules and non-D&D-specific advice, but the design expectation is that you have them.

Chronicles of Darkness (formerly World of Darkness) has a 300-page corebook, but the corebook is kinda weak, it expects you to be playing mundane humans meeting GM-customized horrors, what most people get this game line for is one of the supplements like Vampire that runs to another 300.

Legend of the Five Rings (4e) has a 400-page core rulebook, for what it's worth, but I'm a little unclear on the supplement status. Shadowrun has ranged between 200 and 500 pages by edition. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 300 pages.

Mutants and Masterminds (3e) and Traveller (Mongoose 2e) are both slimmer at 200-page books where one corebook is all you need, the other supplements for the line are truly supplemental and not stealth-cores. However, they both pay for their combination of brevity and flexibility by demanding more player effort (including GM) in building, resolving, designing, rolling, and making decisions during set-up. As much as I love them, they have more time between reading and playing.

A few games squeeze down past that to 150ish, then my experience is that there's very little in the 20-150 range, and below 20 there's quite a bit of short indie games, Skyfarer being one I have to hand. (PDF reader reports 21 page count, but that's with cover page and copyright page so 19.)

There's several gimmick RPGs that run to as little as 1 page but they start to blur the line between "roleplaying game" and "improv theater prompt, with a dispute resolution mechanic". (IMO, since people sometimes resolve things by coinflip outside of games, putting a coinflip-tier mechanic in your improv theater is insufficient to be a game.)

I feel like what one usually gets from under-20-page RPGs is a system that optimizes for easy reading that won't feel like work to learn and remember, at the cost of working to make up content.

The over-300-page RPGs, on the other hand, are work to learn, but they are systems optimized for easy content where the player picks a class and a feat and a skill, rolls the die the book says, and compares to the target number from the difficulty list from the GM reference section.

The 150-300 range seems to be either specialized for a narrow type of specific easy content, or expects one-time set-up work to create some content but gives you tools for that content so you can still follow the book. Assemble-your-own-kit games.

Speculatively, the 20-150 range is so underpopulated because it can't do either sort of easy thing. It is too much reading to pick up the idea and run with it, and it's not enough content to lean on.

To rebut the common "just make shit up" suggestion: I have already made up several pages of stuff and making up more than that as I lose interest is work. I pay for fat RPG books partly because they have done that work for me. The D&D Monster Manual is in this category: very little rules, very much work done for the GM to save on monster-making.

[darlingpoppet]

✨ Get to know me ✨

I was tagged by @alibonbonn a while back (thank you so much!) sorry for the late response but I suppose this is a good way to reintroduce myself to my tumblr followers (hey y’all!)

Current Wallpaper: I don’t wanna take a screenshot of it since it’s someone else’s fanart but it’s this Hades Patrochilles piece by Zeyan. (are they on tumblr? Idk lemme know and I’ll reblog it!) my home screen is a much older eruri fanart whose artist I can’t even remember anymore :’) hopefully they’re out there thriving!

Three Ships: Patrochilles, Eruri, ummmm FrodoSam (idk I’ve been emotional about them again recently) also I feel like this shouldn’t be allowed to count since I haven’t played the game but I’ve been mega eyes emoji over FFXVI ever since I heard about Dion & Terence because I’m SO WEAK for any and all king & lionheart ships (these are all king & lionheart ships!!!!)

First ship: OH GOD it was probably 1x2, Heero Yuy x Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing aka the millennial baby’s first bl amirite folks? Wolfstar was also an early formative ship, from a book series whose name I can’t seem to remember now… hmm weird!

Fave color: mint green! I love wearing it and I love home aesthetics using it as an accent color

Last song: Mr. Kitty - After Dark

Last movie in theatres: ATSV babyyy!! I have half of that soundtrack stuck in my head 24/7 so any of those songs would also easily apply to the previous question

Last show: tv? I don’t know her (I’m pretty sure the last series I actually finished was OFMD but that was over a year ago and I still haven’t finished IWTV orz)

Currently reading: The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (the real answer is “the Iliad for the 84847384th time”. I also just finished reading Plato’s Symposium)

Current obsession: Everyone who knows me knows this by now but I’ve been deep in a Greek mythology rabbit role for about a year & a half now with no hope of escape. Particularly anything Iliad/Trojan War/Achilles/Patrochilles related. I’m sorry for the person I’m about to become when Dr. Emily Wilson’s Iliad translation is released this September 😔

Unrelated obsession: I love watching ASMR videos, especially ones with massages, hair brushing, or 1st person POV where they do your makeup or give you a spa treatment or whatever lol. Also wood soup asmr! I also recently got into keyboard asmr and bought myself some wireless keyboards for my birthday which make nice thocky/clacky noises 🤤

Currently working on: a lot of fic writing for zines, djs, and ao3, but my main WIP is Where The Dead Forget, a memory loss AU Patrochilles fic set in the Hades game universe, which also has a lot of my own retellings of the Achilles & Patroclus myths woven in. The updates have been slow in the last few months but I’m finally close to publishing a new chapter. We’re still in the early game so come join me! ✨

Tagging: @cosmicvoidance @cottonomz-again @johaerys-writes @lostcauses-noregrets @zorthania @erwinsalive, and anyone else who wants to do it! (sorry if you’ve already been tagged or did this I haven’t been around lol)

[gridelincarver]

hey I trust u what are ur top 5 Iorveth songs 👀 im in a creative bind I need inspo (im also @essskel but u know that lmao)

oh my god HI

i know this isn't what u asked but like first off real quick lemme slide this link over... i have a iorveth playlist on spotify (it's meant to be listened on shuffle i know the order i added them is wack)

but uhh ok if i had to pick 5 (also in no particular order)

"Arsonist's Lullabye" - Hozier

"Wretches and Kings" - Linkin Park (i know its linkin park but if you look at the LYRICS)

"Thank You For the Venom" - My Chemical Romance (but i cant not also mention DESTROYA and our lady of sorrows)

"Daniel in the Den" - Bastille

"Satellite" - Rise Against

it PAINS ME to only pick five emblematic ones but i tried lskdghldksjf

(also bonus under the cut some pertinent lyrics. i could do this w the whole playlist and also write paragraphs & more but i am restraining myself)

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against) self explanatory, i think, very scoia'tael

When I was a man I thought it ended When I knew love's perfect ache But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake

All you have is your fire And the place you need to reach Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash

(Hozier) I think Iorveth struggles a lot with feeling like he's incapable of sitting down and being happy (and this lyric plays into how i think his relationship w Cedric went/ended), and the chorus is just very reminiscent of how alone he's always been even among his supposed peers, and also just the strength and power of his character

To save face, how low can you go? Talk a lotta game, but yet you don't know Static on the wind, makes us all say whoa The people up top push the people down low Get down, and obey every word Steady, get in line if you haven't yet heard Wanna take what I got, don't be absurd Don't fight the power, nobody gets hurt

Hear us now, clear and tall Wretches and kings, we come for you

(Linkin Park) I think this is a bit of pointed anger at Francesca Findabair (shakes fist) for acquiescing and betraying her own kind as if that will help any elves besides the few who actually got to dol blathanna, also the "wretches and kings" is reminiscent of "king or beggar, one dh'oine less" (also listen to the speech at the beginning and end of the song. it fucks)

I wouldn't front the scene if you paid me

Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent sun It ain't the mark or the scar that makes you one

You're running after something That you'll never kill If this is what you want Then fire at will

You want to follow something Give me a better cause to lead Just give me what I need Give me a reason to believe

(My Chemical Romance) this goes w MY interpretation of him as someone who wasn't actually gradually made ready for being the face of a movement and instead having it sprung on him by his circumstance (of being the last surviving vrihedd officer), and his own conflicted feelings of nothing getting better while also refusing to give up or do anything else (also it literally says "serpent sun," nilfgaard anyone?)

And you thought the lions were bad Well they tried to kill my brothers And for every king that died Oh they would crown another But it's harder than you think Telling dreams from one another

Oh to see What it means to be free Of the shadows and the dreams That you claim to see

And felled in the night By the ones you think you love They will come for you

(Bastille) the beginning one is I think more self explanatory, and "telling dreams from one another" i think can be applied to all the people who have "allied with" and "helped" the scoia'tael only to really be working for their own gain (like nilfgaard, or even arguably saskia)

the "felled in the night / by the ones you think you love" to ME is more about Francesca Findabair (muffled yelling) and her decision to forsake the Scoia'tael completely from Dol Blathanna

Because we won't back down, we won't run and hide Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall That's why we stick to your game plans and party lines But at night we're conspiring by candlelight We are the orphans of the American Dream, so Shine a light on me

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against)

as u can see i have many thoughts about him all the time and this isn't even all of it for this set of songs but anyway :3

[writingforfun0714]

Would anyone be interested in a full (multi-chapter) Bad Batch reader-insert fanfic with Delta Squad instead of CF99?

It’s no secret that Bad Batch isn’t my favorite SW show. The whitewashing, racism and writing are all problems I have with Bad Batch and while the animation looks nice (aside from character design) and the music has always been 🔥 it’s not enough for me to enjoy because of my problems with this show.

So instead of the Bad Batch that we’ve got, I’ve been toying with the idea of a story about Delta Squad since CF99 is ‘inspired’ by Delta Squad. I believe that there was some sort of copyright thing going on at the time so Dave Filoni couldn’t use Delta Squad (cuz technically DS are Legends characters—Republic Commando video game). Because Filoni couldn’t use Delta Squad, he created his own ‘OC’ characters CF99 (which are pretty much ripoffs of DS). While I haven’t played Republic Commando before, I do know a bit about it from google (so please correct me if I’m wrong about anything said). CF99 is almost an opposite to DS because in CF99, only Crosshair, the sniper, follows O66. In Delta Squad, Sev, the sniper, is the only one not to follow O66.

My fic wouldn’t really follow the video game or the Bad Batch show like my Bad Batch fic Older Sister. I would include ideas from the show that I liked and the video game (bringing in Walon Vau, , but I want it to be mostly original.

I know the fandom is a little divided on Omega. While I don’t particularly dislike her, there are things about her I would change:

—her whitewashed design

—her VA (get an actual Aotearoa/New Zealand child VA)

—her emotional range (she’s just a kid so I think her emotions should be a little more…intense)

I bring this up because in this fic, the reader takes Omega’s place. I do use ‘Y/N’ throughout the story but reader is basically Omega (Female Child Reader).

Idk I just really like Delta Squad and wish we saw more of them in CW/BB. Lemme know what you think about this idea I’m curious if anyone else would be interested.

Thanks!🥰

[anzulvr]

˖˚₊ ★ KARMA AKABANE CHARACTER ANALYSIS by anzulvr hehe ★₊ ˚ ₊

SPOILERS AHEAD ! ! <3 ALSO SORRY ITS LONG

“SADISTIC” 01

People oftentimes interpret Karma as violent and even delinquent-like which isn’t completely true, he does get into fights and sure he shoves spices up peoples noses LMFAO BUT he doesn’t do anything like that unprovoked, firstly why did he get sent to 3-E in the first place? He got into a fight with a bully from main campus, he beat him up because he believed he was doing the right thing, keep that in mind because it’s a reoccurring theme.

He wants to kill Korosensei because he doesn’t want the hard work of his classmates to go to waste, he doesn’t want his own to go to waste and most of all he didn’t want Korosensei’s lessons and efforts to go to waste, He thinks wanting to save him is selfish. Karma isn’t heartless we know he cares about his classmates and even though he cares about Korosensei as much as anyone else in 3-E he has to kill him because In his eyes it’s the right thing to do. He’s willing to sacrifice ANYTHING to follow his moral compass, he was willing to risk his life for an attempt (his final solo attempt on Korosensei) and his relationships when it was time to make the decision.

CC: “There will never be another place like this, not ever. No one else is going to let me be honest about how I feel, but I will kill him, ‘cause like it or not it’s the right thing to do”

JEALOUSY 02

After not getting first place on Midterm exams (aaandd with the help of Korosensei embarrassing him) Karma realizes he needs to try harder at both assassination and his academics (he won’t admit it as we see in the festival episode he hides the fact he’s studying and pretend he was playing video games the entire time.) Karma is known to be one of the most well rounded students (probably the most?) when it comes to assassination because he works his ass off, he’s also doing extremely well academically SOO that brings us to the topic; Who could he possibly be jealous of? NAGISAAA! As we know Karma and Nagisa we’re friends a while before Karma joined E-class but they stopped hanging out for a while.. why?

Karma mentioned Nagisa seemed very non threatening, he wouldn’t get into fights and he wasn’t the type to argue much, he was very easy to be around, Karma said he could keep his gaurd down when he was with Nagisa.. till a simple tap on this back sent him an existential crisisss lmfao

He realized Nagisa isn’t the non threatening guy he thought he was. Nagisa had a very natural and kinda scary bloodlust, for the first time someone caught him off guard and so he decided to distance himself from Nagisa. Karma at some point tells Okuda he’s afraid to not be afraid, When he realized Nagisa wasn’t who he thought he was he decided to push him away in fear. (The cave episode FORGOT THE NAME LOL)

SOO lemme put this simpler bcz IM RAMBLING NOW LOL

BASICALLY Karma is Jealous and feels kind of threatened by Nagisa since Nagisa has Natural Assassination skills that Karma has to work for (not saying Nagisa doesn’t work hard too, of course he does it’s just something’s come naturally to him) and what scares him the most is the fact he would never see it coming because of how sweet Nagisas demeanor is usually!

FEELINGS 03

Honestly this could just be me looking wayyy too into stuff but I feel like Karma tends to hide what he really feels way more than he should, He tries to seem like he does everything easily without trying when it’s really not the case, he definitely doesn’t go out of his way to hide anger or anything like that but I feel like he hides any emotions that make him seem weak , even during the last episode he’s one of the characters who least cries, (kinda like Karasuma) he’s very obviously trying to hold his tears innn. IN CONCLUSION he’s not a heartless freak who sets people on fire for fun (he probably could be if Terasaka pushes enough buttons 😍)

Anyways I love karma so much bye {>*#%

thanks if anyone actually read this tehe.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Lesson 64?

-Lesson 47 Anon

@lesson-anon @bisexualdumbass-world if anyone else wants me to @ them with these lemme know

As Usual;

• Links (to screenshots and theories) are in bold!

• Dialogue is HEAVILY paraphrased & the events are HEAVILY summarised/edited so this is in no way a substitute to playing the actual lesson

• Each paragraph represents one chapter of the lesson, I write each paragraph immediately after playing the chapter and so in one paragraph I might theorise what's gonna happen in the next chapter/paragraph

• Solely gonna focus on "Mammon's Route"

LESSON 64 SPOILERS

MC & Simeon haven't seen each other in months, unlike Solomon & MC (Simeon you little shit) , (Simeon you little shit screenshots) , (Solomon pls show more concern!) Simeon & MC talk for a bit and Luke & Simeon are back in the exchange program (Simeon being cagey) , (RIP Simeon's beautiful shoulders). Luke who's just finished submitting their paperwork (Guys seriously!?) And turns out they temporarily shut down their cafe to come here which Luke is actually happy about (character growth!). MC tells them about the whole student council thing (Luke!!? Where's your character growth!?) and Luke reveals he found a card sticking out from under a pot

The card, a fake, makes them play a game of shiritori which makes them unable to talk until they start their sentence from the last letter of the previous person's sentence (DUDE!?) and MC deliberately loses by ending their sentence with "n" to get outta the curse.

Satan arrives at the room because Diavolo's asked the 2 angels & solomon to the council room. Beel arrives to tell MC they've only got 1 hour to get the card (this isn't cannibalism right? Cause none of them are of the same species...). Instead of going to find the card MC follows the others to the council (Satan, my beloved) and just straight up demands that Diavolo gives them the card. They're all shocked until Diavolo laughs because he told MC that they could ask for help from Student Council Members up to three times and he is a Student Council Member

Diavolo is still laughing his ass off while Barbatos tells him to chill. He says he can't and that while he's always impressed by MC there are times that they completely blow his expectations outta the water but though they found a loophole he hadn't intended he can't just tell them where the card is. MC tells him he can't change the rules like that and Satan agrees. Diavolo tells them he'll instead give them a hint. The card isn't inside the building and there was already a hint buried in the first set of rules. Satan, who was told all the rules by Lucifer, is excited to solve it. Beel and MC go to search outside and find a card in the bushes

Luke comes running up to them too, Simeon & Solomon have stayed back to talk about something with Diavolo (SUS). The card asks Beel to say 100 nice things about someone. If MC suggests Belphie, Beel goes over the 100, if MC suggests Luke, Beel starts listing food and gets hungry, if MC suggest Mammon (BEEL!!!??) They're all however still stuck to the ground and unable to leave and Luke has an idea

Beel starts listing nice things about MC (here are a few that we didn't know already) and Satan sends MC a cryptic ass message before telling them that the hint is in the time limit that Diavolo gave them. They only have 10 more minutes. Do you think it's Serun? It was really odd for Mammon to just mention a random demon outta nowhere during the last lesson. And I deliberately mentioned that part in my last summary because of how odd it was. But then I figured they did it as a way to let us know it was currently 11am and that meant MC had 5hrs to find the card. But if the hint is the time limit then does it all lead back to Serun?

FUCK YEAH! I WAS RIGHT! uhh well partially right. It was the mailbox not Serun but still FUCK YEAH! The 3 Ss turn up and Solomon & Simeon figure out the hint. Saying maybe it's not that the challenge ends at 4pm and rather that the card won't be available after 4pm. Because Serun arrives everyday at 11am & 4pm to collect the mail. MC realises it's in the mailbox but Luke points out that they won't be able to make it there in time. Beel transforms and picks up MC saying he can run them there (after Mammon, he & Lucifer are the fastest) but MC says fuck that and teleports both themself and Beel and they better not fuck this up cause last time they didn't end up in the place they wanted to go

They end up near the mailbox with Beel (like the others had been) shocked that MC was able to teleport both of them. MC brushes it off and tells him to smash the box (their 3rd favour) where they find the glowing card. The others all come running along with Diavolo and Lucifer and MC's congratulated. Lucifer then goes on to lecture both MC & Beel about destroying school property. Satan says Lucifer is actually really happy and that you can see it in his face. Later in town, the Lucifer & Diavolo had to stay back at RAD to finish up some work and the others went to purgatory hall to unpack. Satan asks to read the hint in the card and the lesson ends.

So the locked lesson.....god I can't describe the locked lesson. The look of absolute dissapointment and regret on Barbatos' face after seeing what he walked into? How embarrassed Mammon & Satan are? How Mammon may sound like a cat but still has a mostly human (demon) thought process but was still having fun playing catch with Satan? How Satan understood what Mammon was saying not because he liked cats so much that he understood their speech patterns but because he knew his older brother? How Mammon didn't want Satan to leave him alone? Satan taking multiple pictures because Mammon was cute? It was purrrrfect

Oh yikes the hard lesson. The 3 are happy to be back in Purgatory Hall, comparing it to how MC feels about being back at the HoL and calling it their 2nd home. After Simeon & Luke ward away the looming threat of Solomon's cooking, Luke happily volunteers to cook and runs off. Simeon says he's being getting into cooking recently as well. Things get serious as Solomon asks Simeon if he's told Luke. Simeon, who is hestitant while talking, says he hasn't because he doesn't want to burden Luke with his own issues. Luke comes running back saying the kitchen is fully stoked and asking whether they can invite everyone else over too. The adults agree and Luke runs off again wondering whether he should call MC or Beel. Simeon says that though Luke may not say it he's been really excited about coming back and that Simeon doesn't want to see his smile get wiped off after he tells him and YIKES (Simeon and the Celestial Realm theory) , (Luke and the Celestial Realm)

[vizowrites]

That’s One Hell of a Resume

{Set during the Harvest Moon Festival competitions}

~*~

To  Blitzø’s great surprise, the Harvest Moon Festival was actually turning out to not be a fuck fest invite after all.

He honestly hadn’t been sure when the games initially kicked off.  The horde of imps that had come to compete for the title of “the roughest, toughest, bastard in Wrath” had a proclivity for violence that could easily--and not inaccurately--be described as a passion.  Then of course there was Stolas, watching him thirstily from atop his fancy seat underneath his fancy tent, cooing and cheering out “Blitzyyyyy!!'' at every opportunity he got to speak.  Yet the honored owl prince somehow still managed to keep his pants on throughout each and every event--and even more impressively managed to keep his degrading sweet talk void of any sexual obscenities.  He hadn’t even been able to manage that much on a day trip to a theme park with his daughter.  Yet somehow...this wasn’t even the best part of the festival to  Blitzø.  It was up there to be sure, but it wasn’t the toppiest top.  The “dom of the disco”**, if you will.  

No, the BEST part of the festival--and the thing that kept the imp grinning from ear to ear throughout the entire competition--was that this honkytonk battle royale was shaping up to be the perfect opportunity to show off and be recognized for just how much of a boss-ass bitch Blitz actually was: 2nd to absolutely fucking none.

Well...maybe with ONE slight exception.

“I gotta say, you just keep on impressin’ me every chance you get,” that one slight exception said with a smirk, the tip of his tail flicking forward into a small curl.  “No wonder your killin’ biz is so successful.  You do every kill single-handed there, Boss Man?” The two were standing off on the sidelines together during one of the many interims inbetween contests, where the first round winners had already secured their victories and now were stuck watching the remaining shitty losers battle it out to find out which of them would end up being the absolute shittiest loser.  It was taking a stupidly long-ass time, a hell of a lot longer than  Blitzø would’ve normally had the patience for, but with his present company leaning up against the bleacher stands like that.....there were definitely worse ways he could be spending his down time right now.

“Nah,” he answered with a small flick of his wrist, gesturing vaguely in the general direction of where he’d last seen Moxxie getting his ass kicked and Millie sitting in the stands watching it happen.  “I know he’s not doing a great job of showing it right now--” he said just as Moxxie got elbow dropped by a shark “--but Moxxie’s not completely useless.  He did get me shot on a job once while he was in the middle of being a little bitch, but as soon as he finally found his balls again, he got things back under control pretty fast.  And Millie’s just a straight up badass.  If her parents had allowed her to play in the games, you’d have gotten your ass handed to you three rounds ago.”

“That so?” Striker’s lips drew back into a slight smirk, just enough for the light to catch on the very tip of his fanged gold tooth.  “Because I seem to remember a certain someone else bein’ the one to get themselves all roped up in a hogtie about three rounds ago.”  

“I have no idea what you’re talking about but it sounds like complete bullshit.”

“That’s kinda what I was thinkin’ myself to be honest after that first relay run--” Those snake-like eyes raked in every inch of Blitz’s annoyed face, feeling the corners of his own pleasantly sting as his grin spread even wider. “Right up ‘til I saw some o’that nice red color risin’ up in their face--”

“IT’S HOT--THERE ARE FUCKING VOLCANOES NEARBY OKAY!!” Blitz realized, very quickly, just how loud and defensive those words sounded, but he also realized just as quickly that there wasn’t anything he could do to take them back now.  Instead, he straightened himself up, cleared his throat, pretended that there wasn’t some of ‘that nice red color’ in his face now, and said in what he thought was a much more nonchalant voice, “Anyway, I’m starving, and since these last few dipshits are taking forever to get their asses kicked, I’m gonna go find something deep-fried to shove down my throat.  Catch you at the awards ceremony or whatever the fuck they do around here to finish themselves off.”

The I.M.P. Head made it a grand total of two steps before the unmistakable crunch of boots sounded behind him, followed by a faint scoff of a laugh and the distinct rattling of a tail as Striker joined him at his side.  

“There’s a whole row of food stands back there behind the stage,” he said with a nod, meeting  Blitzø’s stride and starting to veer them off in that direction.  “And now that you mention it, I wouldn’t mind grabbin’ a bite.  Besides--I feel like I might owe you one for bringin’ up such a tender subject.”

The unrepentant but non-malicious smirk he sent Blitz’s way wasn’t at all softened by the wink that accompanied it, but it somehow brought a slight smile to the smaller imp’s lips all the same.

“You got fucking lucky and that was it,” Blitz insisted with a sharp flick of his tail, not having the faintest fucking clue why he was smiling about this in the first place but subconscioiusly hoping that swatting at Striker would be distracting enough that the taller imp wouldn’t notice.  “And besides, I could’ve gotten out of it if I had really wanted to.”

“Oh, so you wanted to be all tied up like that?”  The grin that spread across Striker’s face was even wider than the first, his razor sharp teeth now on full display. “Well now, if that’s what you were wantin’ you could’ve just asked.  I’d’ve been happy to oblige right from the start.” 

“Ha! Like I’d ever make it that easy for you,”  Blitzø retorted with a challenging grin, his eyes dancing with a truly impish gleam of delight as he and Striker rounded the stage together, his earlier thoughts of the food shacks that waited beyond almost entirely forgotten as they were overtaken by memories of their constant back-and-forth scuffle throughout the festival. “You beating me fair and square is one thing--even though you still totally just got really fucking lucky and also it definitely never even happened in the first place.  But if you were actually going to beat me...you better believe it’s not gonna happen without a fight.  I don’t just bow out like some sloppy bitch who can’t figure out where they put their car keys and has to take the walk of shame back to their shitty apartment at 4 in the morning.  If you wanna come out on top over me, you better fucking work for it.”  

The black tip of his pointed tail flicked up to poke Striker once in the center of his chest, punctuating the word ‘work’ perfectly. 

Striker’s tail, on the other hand, began to rattle.

“Yeah?” he said, his earlier easy tone starting to become weighted with something softer, but deeper.  Neither he nor  Blitzø made any indication that they were aware that he was guiding them both right on past the front of the stand that they had originally been headed toward, and instead had them disappearing into the shadows behind it. “You’re okay with not coming out on top so long as whoever does earns their place there?”

“I mean...”  Blitzø trailed off a bit as he casually leaned up against the back of the stand, folding his arms over his chest as he eyed Striker with that lingering gleam in his own gaze. “You have been able to keep up with me in all the other games...so I guess it might be possible for you to get the upper hand on me for at least one of them.”  

“Just me?”  The rattling sound intensified. 

“Well there sure as fuck wasn’t anyone else who was able to keep up,”  Blitzø rolled his eyes in annoyed exasperation at just how much everyone else truly sucked in comparison to the two of them, before he slowly looked back up at Striker--and realized that the snake-like imp was suddenly a lot closer than he’d been before.  Much closer.  

“...Striker?”

“Yeah, Blitz?”

“Please tell me we’re not actually talking about the fucking games anymore.”

A short, soft laugh was the initial answer, followed by that still rattling tail coiling around Blitz’s slender waist as Striker propped himself up on one arm against the structure behind them, his hand splayed just to the side of the crimson imp’s right cheek.  

“I haven’t been talkin’ about the games since you got me with your tail, Darlin’,” he whispered, his hooded eyes narrowing to glowing slits of pale gold as he leaned in almost close enough to touch.  “But I don’t know if there ain’t somethin’ to be said about that “fuckin’” part yet...”

Blitz’s words came back to him then, ringing in his head as clear as when he first said them: 

“...Well if you promise this isn’t some fuck fest invite...”

“.....You gonna work for it, Cowboy?” 

“Yessir, Boss Man.” 

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

“So...lemme get this straight--”  Blitzø finally shifted his weight, easing it off of Striker and rolling to rest his back on whatever podunk concession stand they’d spent the last ten minutes fucking up against.  “--You tie me for first place in the games, you ride around on the most majestic fucking horse I’ve ever seen, you take down a hell hog with a single stab while completely and mercilessly humiliating one of my employees in front of his in-laws at the same fucking time, and you called me “Sir” when we first met?  AND you’re a great fuck??”

The quirked eyebrow and smug gold-toothed grin he got in reply said more than words ever could, especially when accompanied by the satisfied rattling of that long, spiked tail.

“That’s one hell of a resume you’ve got there.”  Blitzø didn’t even realize his own face had split into a grin until he saw it reflected in Striker’s eyes, hypnotized by the sheer reckless abandon he felt ignited between them.  “Want to join I.M.P.?”  

Striker couldn’t help but laugh, reaching up to adjust the brim of his hat from where Blitz’s tail had nearly knocked it off, his unwavering gaze sparking into an infernal glow.

“Tell you what,” he said, his tone a warm rumble of amusement meeting temptation.  “You and I head on back to the stage, revel in our well-deserved glory, and--once we’re satisfied it’s been rubbed into the faces of those sorry ass losers enough--I’ll head on back up to the farm and have a little talk with Miss Mildred’s folks about finishin’ things up around here for the season.  Maybe see if they can find another set of hands to join ‘em for the next one if mine are gonna be occupied with--” His hand found its way down to Blito’s face, the sharp claw-like nail of his thumb pressing under the shorter imp’s chin to tilt it up towards his own. “--other things.”

“Believe me, Cowboy,”  Blitzø’s eyes were burning, twin embers of eagerness that ran so deep he could feel the heat of it vibrating through to his very core--and his vocal chords.  “You’re not going to find a more hands-on job than the one you’re gonna get if you come and work for me.  ESPECIALLY in that order.” 

Striker’s tail snaked its way up and along past Blitz’s hip, the pointed tip flicking over his chest as it’s rattle joined in the chorus of that deep, heated purring.  

“Don’t mind if I hold you to that, Sir.”

“Oh fuck me--”

And Striker did. Again.

~*~

Random Notes: 

**My counterpart to the phrase “the belle of the ball”--”the dom of the disco”.  I think I’m way funnier than I actually am. :D

ANYWAY tho I really hope y’all like it!!  This is the first fanfic I’ve posted anywhere publicly in a hot minute so I hope it’s not a bad kickoff to something I’m hoping to really get back into!!  I have plans to post the full fic of this--with the non-censored sex scene to my AO3 oohlala--so if that’s something you’d like to see, feel free to lemme know here and I can get right on that!!  Otherwise have a great day, thanks for reading, and if anyone wants to hit me up for some lovely BlitzStrike talks, I’m always open to messages!!

Thanks again Lovelies!! <3

[thisisgonnafuxkinkillme]

Don’t Call Me That Anymore

Toshinori Yagi  x Reader 

Warnings:

Angst, body insecurity, big sad 

Alcohol

SPOILER UNDER THE CUT!

(Post Retirement All might)

You walked alongside your boyfriend, your hand being loosley connected to his via your pinky. You dragged him to your favorite thrift shop, where you often liked to try on fancy abandoned ball gowns and take photos. Or, on days where you felt a little more casual, you’d search for some interesting clothes to wear.

Everything was fine, the little outing going along as usual. He’d generally stay by your side, his eyes wandering from the dull clothes you often would pick through. 

It was when you heard a small gasp that you knew something was wrong. You glanced at the direction of his gaze, seeing an abandoned All Might figure laying on the floor, the price tag displaying proudly that it was 75% off. 

“Even to be on sale at a thrift store, eh?” he mumbled to himself. His hand clutched his chest, trying to physically push the pain down and out of his frail body. You tried to pretend like you didn’t notice, and guided him to another aisle. Silently, you planned to leave as soon as possible.

---------------------------------------days later---------------------------------

You scrolled through your phone mindlessly, not really caring about the outside world this very moment. All that mattered right now was your loving boyfriend, who was sitting on the other side of the couch. He was mindlessly scrolling through the tv channels.

Suddenly, he paused. You didn’t notice it, that subtle shift in his attitude, the slight tension that grew within him, and the tiny hitched breath.

He clicked on it, and on screen was...him. 

“So, All Might, what’s an average day like for you?” some well dressed reporter asked him. He flashed that crowd pleasing grin as he thought.

He had just finished fighting a villian, and had a small droplet of blood dripping down his forehead, threatening to drop into his intense yet amiable eyes.

“Well, I guess it’s like anyone else’s,” he said thoughtfully, “I just get up, drink some coffee, and-” the man on screen dissapeared, being replaced by a woman showing us the weekly weather. Again, Toshi said nothing, but his eyes were dark and his jaw was clenched. You grasped for his hand as he stood up. His knees popped and his back cracked, only reminding further that he was getting older and weaker. He clenched his fist and dissapeared into the bathroom.

You didnt know what to say or do, knowing that the wrong thing will only make things worse. Your heart ached deeply for him, but how could you help? Could you help?

That night, Toshi came home with something he usually never played with: alcohol. By this time, you had already forgotten about the incidents earlier.

“What’re you gonna do with that?” you teased. He smiled back weakly. Internally, his heart dropped. He’d been caught.

“You want some?” he offered nonchalantly. You nodded, taking a small shot. You never drank either, unlike other people your age, so when the alcohol passed your lips and slid down your throat, you couldn’t help yourself from sputtering and coughing. He patted your back gently.

“You alright there?” 

You nod, smiling a little. If you’re honest, things like that were always so embarrasing. You hated him see you act your age. 

He took a shot, too, smooth and quick. He noticed you stare, and grinned.

“I used to...a little, when I was younger.” 

After the last two words, his eyes grew dark again.

when I was younger.

He poured himself another shot, swigging it down like nothing. You still felt the burning warmth of the shot you’d taken. You couldn’t stop yourself from worrying about how he’d probably be feeling right about now.

“Hey, uh, Toshi... don’t drink too much too fast or you’re gonna get sick,” you gently suggested.

“I will be fine...don’t you worry about me,” he reassured. You nodded, but didn’t really believe him. Is he fine anyway?

You relaxed on the couch, playing a video game on the switch as Toshi occupied himself with the tv and a deck of cards. He loved to play solitaire, even after being mocked by the students at UA when he’d bust out his worn deck during breaks. 

Time passed, swiftly yet gently, but the silence got the better of you.

“Hey, Toshi, lemme get another shot of that stuff”

He didn’t respond. You looked up from the game to see that his cards were all mixed up, reds being on reds and the kings on top of the queens. He had his head gently resting on the cold, wooden table, eyes only staring at the tv blankly.

It’d been quite a few hours since he’d had his first shot, and it definately has worn in. Not too far from his card playing set up was a glass, 1/4 full of what you just assumed was orange juice. You now were suspicious, quietly taking it and giving it a sniff. 

It certainly was orange juice, but there was something mixed with it. The alcohol smell burned your nose. 

Your heart dropped, knowing that that orange juice was to the brim when he brought it in. 

“Toshi...”

He flinched at his name, but still didn’t say anything. His eyes, though glazed over and pitiful, were focused on something. You glanced up at the screen, where an All Might documentary played. 

You bent down to Toshi’s level, where he was sitting on the floor in front of the table, combing your fingers through his hair. 

“Toshi, look at me.”

His eyes lazily found your face. He brought up his hand to your cheek.

“I-I’m ffine, dea-darlin..g..” he stumbled out, his speech slurred and laborious. 

“Let’s get to bed, honey. I can help walk you there,” you offered. He protested futilely, as you pulled his arm over your shoulder and supported his weight with yours. He was mostly deadwight, making his 160 pounds feel more like thousands. You guided him down the hall, slowly but steadily, each step taking exponentially longer than a sober one would. He kept one hand on the wall.

His fingers grazed the frame of a photo. He looked at it.

It was All Might, proudly standing with a group of kids. 

Toshi couldn’t hold it in anymore. He stood up, shakily but on his own, and pulled his fist back, swinging at it. Glass landed everywhere, and a small hole in the wall stared back at him. 

He spit at the now broken photo at his feet.

“yo-you’re not e-ven real...n-no-not any...not anymore...I hate you...” he mumbled drunkenly. His hand fell limp to his side, scarlet blood shining against his pale, white skin. And dripping onto the floor.

You tried your best to hide your shock and you directed him into the bathroom, where the first aid kit was. He laid on the floor, pressing his face into the comforting coolness of the linoleom. You wanted to scream at him to knock it out, and to just get up, but you knew that even if he desperately wanted to, he wouldn’t be sober until the next morning. 

You looked down at his small, skinny form, that lay breathing on the bathroom tile. You'd never seen Toshi, in any form, look as weak as he did now. Your heart ached. This wasn’t him.

Suddenly, he shot up and lurched towards the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach. You rushed over to his side, moving his forelocks away from his face. He was pale, white as a sheet. The bags under his eyes were deeper and darker, and his usually bright blue eyes were dulled down to a muted navy. Tears pooled down his sunken cheekbones.

"n-no...go- get awa...y"

You said nothing, but ran cold water through a washrag, soaking it throughly. He remained hovering over the toilet, violently retching.

The alcohol was attacking his skinnied, sick body more than he thought it would. As you approached him with the rag in hand, he returned to the chilled floor.

You placed the rag on his sweaty forehead gently, rubbing his arm. He pushed you away as best as he could, still crying silently.

"p..ple-please, y/n...d-don't look at me...n-not like...not like this..." He choked out in-between sobs.

"I'm not going anywhere, babyboy. I'm sorry." You apologize, getting out some first aid supplies for his knuckles.

"...please...jus-just..."

You hushed him, gently taking his bloodied hand. He tried pulling away weakly, but to no avail.

"...let me...let me jus...take care of it...I can..." He mumbled. You paid him no mind as you quickly but effectively wrapped him up.

As soon as you were finished, he was back in front of the toilet again. Not much more was coming up, but the sickening retches and sobs still shook within his frail chest.

You bent down next to him, rubbing his back, whispering small words of praise and encouragement. He began to calm down a little as he sat against the wall of the bathroom. He started off into the distance.

"I...why can't I be like...like him anymore?" He muttered,

For a split second, you were confused.

“Like who, baby?”

His eyes stared into you, harsh enough to scald you. Realization hit.

“All Might?” You quietly asked, your hand moving towards his. He slapped it away half heartedly.

“n-no... that’s-he’s not- I-I’m not-“

He began to rip at his hair, his sobs getting louder and more violent. Fear grew inside of you, not knowing how to contain this small man that was so engulfed in despair and grief that he couldn’t see how wonderful he is as a person, not just as a hero.

Toshi got his worth from what he could do for others. He doesn’t feel like he deserves love, especially if he’s not giving it to someone else in just the right way. If he’s not helping anyone, what good is he? And in his smaller form, how could he help anyone?

You grabbed his wrists, making sure he couldn’t hurt himself anymore than he already has.

“Toshinori, please listen to me!” You begged. He went limp. He couldn’t catch his breath, and he was definitely hyperventilating.

“Take some nice, deep breaths for me, okay, sweetie?” You firmly yet sweetly ordered. You set the pace and he followed, his breaths shaky and labored. He calmed down quite a bit, and you loosened your grip on his wrists.

“Do you really love me?” He whimpered quietly.

“Oh, honey... of course I love you. I’ve always loved you, even before I knew who you were. Who you are.”

“You...you were right the first time. Were.”

“No, baby. When you go out in public, people still know you’re All Might, and-“

“Don’t... don’t call me... that name... please, not anymore.”

You didn’t even know how to respond to that. Your heart ached at his pitiful tone.

“Y/n... you don’t know what people... what they say about me now. They laugh and say that I’m just a toothpick. They... they whisper about how I don’t look so good, and about...” he began to cry again. This time, quietly, privately. He curled up into himself, tucking himself away from you and the rest of the world.

“Well, of course people will say things like that,” you began, “did you ever consider that there were some people who criticized All Might, too?”

“...what?”

“Listen, honeybee, people are always going to be saying bullshit like that. No matter who you are. But guess what? There’s always, always going to be more people who are excited to see you, who will always accept you, and who will always see every beautiful gift you have to offer to this world. I know how hard it’s been for you, but you need to know that you’re still so loved, so wanted, so needed in so many people’s lives.”

“Like who? Who could possibly...who could need someone like me?”

“Me. Toshi, I need you here. I love you. We met when you were in this form, in this very body. Don’t you remember?”

He nodded. You wiped away a tear gently.

“I loved you for who you are, not who you were or what you’ve done. For you.”

Shakily, he whispered, “I... I love you, too.”

For the first time that night, he clutched you closer to him. You pulled his head into your chest, as he nestled into you. You couldn’t help but spare a few tears, but he never knew that.

“Are you ready to go to bed?”

He nodded, his grip tightening around your shirt. You helped stand him up on his shakey, baby deer like legs. You led him down the hall, and he paused at the broken photo.

He gestured towards it, mumbling something.

“No, baby, don’t worry about that. I’m going to clean it all up.”

Finally, you arrived at the bed. You pulled back the duvet, readying it for him.

He laid into the soft mattress, sighing in relief.

You tucked him in, standing up. He reached his hand out, begging, “please...don’t leave...me...”

“I’m coming right back, honeydew. I just need to clean up the picture and turn everything off. Okay? Do you need a glass of water or anything?”

He shook his head. “Let... let me clean it up tomorrow, please.”

You ignored all of his pleas for you to leave him be earlier, but something told you that despite his drunken stupor, he really meant this one. You washed your face and tidied up the bathroom, quickly turning off the tv and getting his cards put up, and finally dumping the orange juice cocktail down the sink, along with the rest of the alcohol. Your heart panged, noting the tiny amount remaining in the crystal clear bottle.

Despite him denying his need for water, you brought him a tall glass of ice water along with a smaller glass of ginger ale, as well as a new chilled washcloth.

He was nearly asleep when you got back, but perked up at the sound of your footsteps.

You urged him to drink just a tiny bit of the water, and he obliged. You praised him heavily, placing a kiss on his cheek, before climbing into bed. He turned to face you, pulling you close to him. He kissed you on your forehead before drifting off into a deep, restful sleep.

The next morning, you woke up to an empty bed. You scrambled to get up and rushed into the kitchen, where you found Toshi sipping a modest cup of coffee, the photo of All Might placed in a brand new frame, proudly displayed on the kitchen table.

“Oh, Toshi! You scared me when you weren’t in the bed.”

He looked out the window, sighing deeply. He smiled at you, saying,

“Don’t worry... I am here.”

[rosiehunterwolf]

... Morro

XD y'all really like your Morro, don't you? This is the second Morro request I've gotten (third technically, but there was an issue with the other one so it's not going to be filled) and the first one blew up XD, got way more notes than any fic I've posted before even though it was just a short little thing.

Since I already did a typical Morro fic, though, I decided to try something a little different with this one and tie it into the movie!verse. Hope you enjoy!

Spirit of the Deep

Summary: With Garmadon defeated for good, the ninja are eager to find another way to busy themselves. When Kai finds out about an ancient temple rumored to hold some sort of treasure, the others are immediately in.

Not all adventures are good, though. Before the ninja know it, they are in over their heads with a discovery they will never forget. (Movie!verse AU)

“It’s just through here!”

Kai’s voice rang through the temple, and Lloyd pushed his way through the vines, looking around carefully, his sword drawn. “Kai, not so loud. I don’t have a great feeling about this place.”

“Gee, I wonder why!” Jay squeaked from behind him. “I mean, look at this place!” He waved his hands at the crumbling stone walls, overgrown with weeds and vines. “Kai, what made you think it was a good idea to come here?”

“Oh, Jay, stop being such a coward. It’s going to be fun! There could be puzzles! Or booby traps! And most importantly, treasure!”

“You’re excited about booby traps?”

Lloyd stopped, holding up his flashlight to examine something on the wall. It looked to be an engraving of some sort, like a whirlwind, and below it, some sort of runes that Lloyd couldn’t read.

With a start, he realized the others were far ahead of him now, and he darted after them, desperate to keep up. “Guys! Don’t leave me alone like that! Are you forgetting I don’t have powers to protect myself like you guys do?”

“Fat lot of use powers will be when Kai and Jay inevitably trigger all the traps and the floor disappears beneath us,” Cole grumbled.

“Hey!” Kai yelped, at the same time Jay said, “Do you really think there are traps in here?”

Nya sighed. “If you’re so nervous, Jay, why did you even come with?”

“The rest of you guys were all going! I wasn’t going to be left behind!”

“There does not appear to be any signs of life,” Zane said. “I do not think anyone has been here for a long time.”

“What about traps? Can your sensors detect any traps?”

Zane frowned. “No. There seems to be some sort of interference with my signals.”

Kai suddenly stopped, the others bumping into him at the lack of warning.

“Kai?” Cole asked. “Why’d we stop?”

“There’s something in there.” Kai didn’t elaborate further, stepping over the rubble of the crumbled wall and disappearing from sight.

“Kai, wait!” Nya yelped, hurrying after him.

“So much for sticking together,” Lloyd grumbled as he followed the others into the room. “Seriously, one day this is going to-” he stopped short of walking right into Cole. “What is it?”

The earth ninja simply pointed, and Lloyd went slack.

In the middle of the room, there was a pedestal, intricate carvings in the side of it emitting a faint green glow. Atop it, a scroll was rolled up, the paper worn with age.

“What is that?” Nya breathed.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it one bit. Maybe we should just go-”

“Can it, Jay.” Cole grabbed the lightning ninja by the back of his shirt. “We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”

“What’s an old scroll doing all the way out here?” Lloyd asked. He reached for it, but Kai stopped him with a sharp yelp.

“Lloyd, don’t! I saw something like this in a movie once! This is a trap. When you take the scroll, the weight on the pressure plate will lift, and the whole place will come down around us! We need to find something that’s an equal weight to replace it with.”

Lloyd eyed the pedestal. “I don’t think…”

Nya sighed. “Kai, you’re confusing movies with reality.”

“I’m not! Trust me!”

“Fine.” Lloyd turned to the group. “Do we have anything?”

Cole pulled something out of his bag, holding it out to them. “I have a rock.”

They blinked at him. “Why do you have a rock?”

Cole shrugged. “Maybe I like rocks.”

Kai shook his head. “Okay, whatever. That should work.” Taking the rock from Cole, he positioned himself over the pedestal. He took a deep breath. “Here goes.”

In the blink of an eye, he had switched out the scroll for the rock. There was an ominous creaking sound, and they all held their breath, waiting. A few small stones clattered down from the roof, but other than that, nothing.

“We did it.” Unrolling the scroll, Kai’s relieved expression quickly changed to one of disappointment. “It’s just a bunch of symbols and gibberish.”

“Zane, do you think you can decipher it?” Lloyd asked.

Zane took the scroll from Kai. His brow furrowed. “This does not appear to match the dialect of any of the official Ninjago languages.”

“Lemme look at that.” Jay took the scroll from him, and Cole scowled at him.

“Be careful with it, nitwit! As far as we know, this is a priceless artifact!” As the others squabbled over the scroll, Lloyd approached the pedestal. Now that he was closer, he could see that there was an engraving on the top that he had missed before.

A funnel, sort of like-

A whirlwind. It was that same symbol he had seen near the entrance.

“Hey, guys,” he called. “I think this may be important, I saw it earlier-” Reaching out, he let his fingers lightly brush the engraving. Suddenly, there was a bright flare of light, and a gust of wind that seemed to come from nowhere sent Lloyd hurtling across the room. He groaned, rubbing his head.

“Lloyd!” Suddenly the others were beside him, Kai gripping his arm so tightly his knuckles turned white. Lloyd waved him off. “Kai, don’t worry, I’m fine-” he stopped, realizing that the fire ninja was no longer looking at him.

Lloyd followed his gaze and froze.

Hovering over the pedestal was a young man with long black hair, a green streak running through it. His clothes were ripped and disheveled, and he was examining himself in awe.

Most noteworthy, though, was the fact that Lloyd could see right through his body.

The man looked up suddenly, spearing them with his gaze. “Who are you? Where am I? What happened to me?”

“Oh. Oh my gosh.” Jay gripped Lloyd’s arm. “I think we just awakened a ghost! Oh my gosh, Lloyd, what have you done?”

“What have I done? Kai’s the one who brought us here! Blame him!”

“Me? You’re the one who touched the pedestal after I clearly told you not to!”

“Well, maybe if you guys had listened to me about the symbol, I wouldn’t have!”

“The scroll distracted us! Blame Zane, he’s the one who couldn’t read it!”

“Me? Nya was the one who-”

“Enough!” a voice bellowed across the room, and they all froze, turning to look at the ghost. “I can’t believe a bunch of kids just released me from the dead. I can’t believe I’m dead!”

“We’re not kids!” Nya snapped. “We’re ninja.”

The ghost looked at her. “Right.”

“We are!”

“Um,” Lloyd swallowed. “Mr. Ghost, sir-”

The ghost rolled his eyes. “It’s Morro.”

“Okay, Morro- we could get in a lot of trouble if our master found out what we did. So, um… maybe you could consider… going back? To wherever you came from?”

“Are you kidding?” Morro laughed. “I was trapped in there for years! I’m never going back!”

“Uh, I think you are.” Kai stepped forward, igniting his fist. “Get back in! Or else!”

Morro’s eyes widened. “An elemental master. I’ll be damned.”

“And there’s more where that came from!” Nya shot a jet of water at him, and Morro shrieked, darting out of the way.

“Watch it! Didn’t anyone ever teach you that water kills ghosts?”

“To have a ghost roaming the city would be unwise.” Zane stepped forward, ice crackling between his fingers. “We have you surrounded. Please go back inside your pedestal.”

“Two can play at that game,” he muttered. As Zane blasted him with ice, a powerful gust of wind shot from Morro’s hands, repelling the ice.

Lloyd felt his jaw go slack. Suddenly, the whirlwind symbols made a lot more sense.

“You’re an elemental master, too?” Cole whispered.

“Got a problem with that?”

The others turned to look at him. “What do we do, Lloyd?”

Lloyd glanced back and forth between his team and Morro. “I have a feeling we’re not going to get rid of him. And… Master never told us about an elemental master of wind. He should probably know about this.”

“Alright.” Nya turned towards Morro. “We’re going to take you to our master. Cooperate, or else.”

Morro sighed. “It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, do I? Fine, let’s go.” And, in a flash, he was sliding into Lloyd’s body.

Lloyd screamed, falling to the floor as the chill overtook him, the feeling of a foreign presence taking over his brain-

“Okay, okay kid, I’ll stop!”

Lloyd looked up to see Morro had left his body and was hovering over him, the others just behind, their expressions ranging from horrified to furious glares at Morro.

“Lloyd, are you okay?” Kai reached out, helping him to his feet.

“Geez, kid, you act like you’ve never been possessed before.”

Lloyd blinked at him. “I haven’t.”

Morro snorted. “Look, it’s not going to hurt you. I’m a ghost- I’m weak to water. The city has water everywhere- dripping from the roofs, pooling in the streets- the protection of a human body makes it far less likely that I’ll die on the way there. Besides, a ghost floating around isn’t exactly subtle, and… I have a feeling that attention isn’t exactly something we want.”

Lloyd exhaled slowly. “Fine. Do it.”

This time, he was prepared as the coldness numbed his body, although it still wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

The others looked at him anxiously. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Lloyd?” Nya asked.

“It’s fine, it’ll be over soon. Now come on, let’s go find my uncle and get some answers.”

Let’s hope this guy actually knows what’s going on.

It took Lloyd a moment to realize the thoughts were Morro’s, but he found himself thinking the same thing. If Master Wu couldn’t fix this… he didn’t know what he was going to do.

[thestarrynightslover]

She’s So Pretty

Pairing: Hailey Upton x Fem!Reader

Word count: 1,640

Warnings: Slight mentions of alcohol.

Summary: You and Hailey meet at a karaoke bar one night when you don't even try to hide your interest in her.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the One Chicago shows, or its characters, also not associated with it in any way or know anyone involved with it.

A/N: So… I guess I wrote a Hailey fic? It’s obviously my first but I just couldn’t shake off the idea and had to go on with it. I wanted to see her interactions with the unit and wingman!Jay on this one so, beware! Also, after the finales, I felt like we all could use some fluff (especially Hailey!). Anyways, I hope it doesn’t suck, lemme know what you think!

(y/n) = (your name) (y/l/n) = (your last name) (y/n/n) = (your nickname)

| masterlist |

You and your co-workers had decided on a karaoke bar for that Friday night after shift, which was great because you absolutely loved karaokes! With that in mind, you didn't have any other plans besides hanging out with your friends, getting a little tipsy, and singing until someone decided it was time to kick you out. But all of that changed the second your eyes fell on a cute blonde that had really beautiful ocean blue eyes.

That woman could easily change your plans on any given day. And, convinced that she should know about it, you started to plot flirting moves in your head. First, as usual, you started to give her the sexy stares — not that girls would usually get very impressed by that but you wanted to catch her eye, show her your interest —, which quickly got your friends to get their gossiping started.

"Wait. A. Second. " You heard one of your colleagues say. "Are you really switching teams tonight, (y/n)?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean… You usually prefer girls…" She offered but, seeing your confused expression, she added: "because we can tell you're, you know, on the flirty mode."

"That obvious, huh?" Good. Your plan was working. "But I still don't know what you guys are so surprised about. Who do you think I'm going for?"

"Isn't it that hottie, broad-shouldered, blond guy? The one on that table with three other people?" The other one asked, pointing with her head in the exact direction you had been looking at.

"What? No, no! I mean, I am, indeed, looking at that table but that guy's not the one catching my attention! The blue-eyed hottie beside him is!" Hearing that, they all looked at the girl who was now smiling brightly at something one of the men she was with had just said. Jesus, that smile.

"Okay. She is pretty. Like, really pretty." The only male friend in your group stated while you just threw him an I-know-that look. "You know, you saw her first but, in case she's not your type o' player, gimme a heads up, please!" He asked poutingly while you just rolled your eyes.

"Just because you've already hooked me up before."

"And that is why our partnership works!" He told you with a wink while you just laughed, going back to your job and sort of disconnecting from your co-workers' conversations for the rest of the night.

"Wow, Jay, that shirt must be doing you a lot of service, huh?" Hailey teased her partner in a hushed whispered tone.

"What?" Was all Jay said while trying to conceal his confusion when he saw the smirk on her lips.

"That girl over there! She hasn't gotten her eyes off you the whole night!" Hailey said, as if he was the dumbest person alive. So he followed her gaze to discreetly meet the eyes of a very beautiful woman he'd already noticed before. Except that, unlike Hailey, Jay actually knew who, on their table, she was looking at.

"What? You think she's looking at me?" With that playful look never leaving her face, his partner just said:

"Of course, she's looking at you! Who else?" He couldn't believe it. The all-mighty, badass-detective, Hailey Upton was missing that one? No way.

"Really, Hailey?" He asked, still thinking she was just trying to prank him.

"Uh… I mean…" She stuttered, not really being able to come up with a proper response.

"Oh my God!" Jay squealed out, as he couldn't stop chuckling.

"What?" She asked, starting to fear she was embarrassing herself somehow, "what?" He just kept laughing, it wasn't every day he got to mock Hailey without the certainty that she already had something worse for him in the works.

“She is very obviously looking at you!” He told her with a huge suggestive smile on his face while trying to hold back his laughter.

“What?” She asked him, still mesmerized by that possibility. “C’mon! You’re joking, right?”

“Jesus Christ, Hails. Of course, she’s looking at you! Look again and you’ll see it.” Jay assured her one more time, which got her curiosity in the play, so she looked. And, instantly, you winked at her. Hailey didn’t know what to do with that. How to react. Confusion was all over her face, so you smiled and got out of your seat.

“Oh my God, Jay. Oh my God. I looked and now I think she’s coming here! What do I do?” She nervously hissed at her partner. “What do I do??

“What do you mean what do you do? You talk to her. Smile. Don’t act grumpy. That is, if you’re interested…” Seeing her panicked look, he turned to her to ask: “God, Hailey, what’s the matter with you tonight?”

“I- I, uh, I don’t know… I’m just…” She started rambling once again while tucking a string of hair behind her ear.

“Okay, breathe. Now, tell me, what’s going on? Is she not your type? Or are not interested in meeting anyone? Because, if it’s any of those things, just tell her so. We both know that girls don’t usually have a problem being told no.”

“Right. I know that. And it’s not really because of any of the things you said… I just- I just haven’t been with anyone in a long time. And with the way our jobs are… I’m not sure if it’d be nice to get someone wrapped up with me right now.” She confessed to her best friend.

“Oh, Hails…” He started while offering soft eyes and a kind smile, “I’m not sure if I’m the best person to give you advice on that front-” Hearing that, she had to interrupt Jay to say, in between dry chuckles:

“That you really aren’t! But I’d like your input anyways. I mean, i’s not like I have a clue of what to do, so…” Hailey told him with a glimpse of a smile on her lips.

“Ha ha ha. Well, I just think that you shouldn’t hold yourself back this much. The seule fact that you haven’t been with anyone in a while should settle it!” He exclaimed, raising his hands, as if it was the simplest, most obvious thing ever. Ignoring Adam and Kevin’s curious looks, Jay went on: “I just think that you should try and live your life! You know, what you said about our jobs… Only makes the whole fun-time thing more necessary, if you ask me. Besides, you don’t need to overthink this! We’re in a freaking club, Hailey! You think the girl’s gonna come here and propose?”

“First of all, I don’t see you doing much of that fun-time thing yourself!” She pointed out, to which Jay just responded by taking a sip of his drink. “And, second, look! I don’t think she’s even coming here at all.” So he looked towards the direction his partner was indicating to see you getting on the small karaoke stage the club had. Hailey looked triumphant for not having to decide on whether to live her life or not. And Jay just shook his head in disapproval, which quickly became mock towards his partner when they noticed the song you were singing.

“They’re so pretty it hurts

I’m not talking ‘bout boys, I’m talking ‘bout girls

They’re so pretty with their button-up shirts”

As you sang, you made sure to let the blonde girl know that it was meant for her. And, God, did she know.

Hailey was pretty sure she’d never, once in her entire life! Ever blushed that hard. By then, your flirting had become so obvious that even Adam and Kevin noticed and started to itch with curiosity.

“Say, Hailey, you hiding a big game from us, huh?” Ruzek half-barked while drinking from his beer bottle. She just blushed harder while trying to cover her face with her hands.

“Damn, Miss Upton! Talk about a big game! That girl is fine!” Kevin chipped in and Jay thought it was his moment to go back to wingmanning his partner.

“I told her that! See?” With that, Hailey took a peek from her hands and she couldn’t believe Jay was doing that! Or she could, she just didn’t anticipate it because your voice was distracting from everything else. To her, you were singing beautifully, even though there was already a hint of drunkenness in your voice. And no one had ever done something like that just to get her attention. For her. “Hailey, I’m serious now: give the girl a chance. Give yourself a chance, woman!” Jay spoke again, pulling her out of her thoughts to notice that Kevin was nodding vigorously to it and Adam asking:

“Wow! When did Jay get this wise?” After that, she let out a laugh and prepared herself to go talk to you 𑁋 because, no matter how upfront you could be, Hailey Upton wasn’t about to let you make all the moves 𑁋, like she was getting ready for battle. With more cheers from her fan club, she made her way to the stage, where you were just getting down from.

The minute you saw her there, though, you literally lost your balance 𑁋 being that close to her seemed somewhat more intoxicating than the alcohol you’d drunk. But, just like in the movies, she held your arms before you could go any further. Her soft touch seemed like a dream to you.

“H- hi.” You said nervously, after steading yourself, while biting your bottom lip. Why were you getting that nervous? You didn’t even know the girl yet! But there was just something about her…

“Hi. I’m Hailey,” she said, holding out her hand for you to shake.

“I’m (y/n).” You responded by taking her hand in yours. Yeah. There was definitely something about her. That was why.

[crescentsteel]

Keeping a Secret - Prologue

plot: ehehe lemme leave this blank for now as this is only a prologue genre: fluff, crack, slow burn, eventual smut, sexual tension, angst at some point wc: 2.7k

[a/n]

I am reeling just from finishing this one because Tsukki is my boy (Kuroo ily too i swear)

Who writes 2.7k words of prologue? lol me

I’ll set up the masterlist when I’m done with the 1st Chapter.

Thank you so much @oii-sugasan​ and @haikyuu-is-for-lovers​ for the betaread! :)

Let me know if you wanna be tagged

Chapter 1 || masterlist

You aren’t just annoying. You’re a fucking menace. Every time he goes to the gym, your presence is like a plague. You're just a manager, but sometimes he thinks that you think you’re the assistant coach. There’s nothing he’d love more than to shower you with the nastiest, most off-handed comments, just to shut you up and wipe the cheery grin that taunts him every time he sees you. 

Seriously, you’re all over the place -- you talk to all members of the team as if you’re a player yourself, you nag everyone to take care of themselves outside training like you’re their older sister, you hand out self-gathered information on upcoming matches as soon as matchups are announced, you scamper around the gym tossing balls, assembling the net, doing whatever the hell you can get your hands on, all the while wearing those stupid shorts that distract the majority of the team, especially the new members. 

As his eyes follow you, you suddenly turn around to face him, breaking him from his reverie. Even when you’re halfway across the gymnasium, he can see the sharp playfulness that you always exude whenever you talk to him. 

“Tsukishima!” You wave at him with that disgustingly sweet grin. “If you’re done staring at my sexy back, you can start your blocking drills, okay?!” you shout with a voice loud enough for everyone else in the gym to hear.  Tsukishima feels multiple sets of eyes glance towards his direction and he ‘tsks’ in annoyance under his breath.

He immediately walks away. He refuses to hear more of the unnecessary and untrue prattles directed at him by you.  

He hears footsteps follow him. Judging from its pace and heavy strides, he already knows its Kogane without even looking

“Oi, Tsukki. Do you like our manager?”

He doesn’t understand why Kogane is whispering when you’re half a court away from them. More than that, he doesn’t understand why Kogane assumes he likes you. For one, you were wrong: he wasn’t even staring at you. He was staring randomly at nothing while thinking  about how irritating you are and you just happened to be at his line of sight. 

“I don’t see anything to like about her,” he replies passively. 

“What? Why? She’s super helpful -- and pretty too.” Kogane, just like the rest of the team, believes so. Even Kyoutani is fond of you because of that one time you received his spike on full force. You rolled on your back from the sheer power of it but you were able to receive it perfectly, making the whole team go wild when you did, with him as the only exception as he found it inane. 

“If you think so, go confess or something then.” 

“You know we can’t!” Pink stains begin to surface on his teammate’s cheeks, obviously infatuated with you. Then again, this is not new to him. It was a basic reaction from anyone whose dick is more functional than their brain.  Maybe it’s because you’re the only female so close to everyone else. Honestly, he really doesn’t know. But one thing’s for sure. Kogane has 0 chances with you, and neither does every player of Sendai Frogs. 

He remembers the conceitedness you displayed even in your first year as a manager. You two became part of the team almost at the same time. He was two months in when the former manager introduced you to the team. As she finished introducing you, you whispered to her to add something. It went something like ‘oh, umm. y/n-chan also said that no one from the team can’t date her.’ Even the former manager looked at you weirdly but you were just there beaming as you bowed to everybody. 

They thought it was a joke, but when you became a full-pledged manager in less than six months, you announced it yourself. 

‘I know I’m kind of cute, but I won’t ever consider dating anyone from the team. Okay?’

You announce it with a sickening smile every time there are new members, reminding everyone else that you’re untouchable. 

It’s fucking atrocious, to him at least. Unlike the other players from his team, he’s not shallow enough to fancy you just because you’re not disgusting to look at, or that you did your managerial duties so exceedingly well.

He grits his teeth. He hates it. How can someone so chaotic as you be so effective in managing the team. What grinds him even more is that you go to the same university he does, and even there, your presence stinks. He once had a class with you only to find out that you’re not as dumb as you make yourself out to be. 

It’s infuriating. He can’t wait for the day you mess up -- only then would he finally get the chance to diss you. He’ll turn that shit-eating smile of yours upside down. 

--

Man, nothing boosts your mood better than bugging Tsukishima. When you felt his sinister stare boring at your back earlier, you just couldn’t waste the opportunity to say something about it. He just ignored you, but the scowl on his face was enough response to satisfy you. 

The truth is, you have nothing against Tsukishima. Yeah, he has a sharp tongue and a vile attitude, but hey, he’s a good team player. He doesn’t speak much, but he gets shit done in matches. Despite his foul personality, he’s actually manageable: he listens to you and he rarely shows up late. He’s not particularly motivating to look at, but he still does what’s asked of him. For some reason that you don’t know, he still hasn’t spat out his usual, rancid remarks towards you. You know he’s itching to, and honestly, you’re kind of curious of what he’ll throw your way. 

Still, for the last three years he kept his mouth shut even though he looks at you like you’re the most unpleasant being he’s ever laid eyes on. 

“Y/n!”

You jog towards the team coach, Coach Mira. “Yes, Coach?”

“Do you like Tsukishima?” she asks curiously. The question is funny to you but you hold back the laughter and smile instead.

You like Coach Mira a lot. She’s more like an older sister than a coach to you. You’re free to share a few laughs with her, and she values your input to the team. Maybe it’s because you’re both women drowned in a sea of male athletes that you sort of have that innate connection. 

“No, Coach. Why?”

“Cause you pay attention to him the most.”

“I don’t see what’s to like about him,” you veer your gaze towards his direction, watching his scowling face as he walks away, Koganegawa following closely behind him. You can’t hear them, but the sight is already amusing as it is. “I just like putting him in place whenever he’s being extra nasty,” you add. 

“If you say so, y/n. Honestly, I don’t really care if you go out with one of them.” 

You wave your hand back and forth like you’re swatting a fly. “No way, Coach. They’re like little boys I’m taking care of.”

She sweeps her gaze behind you, scanning all the players present in the court. “Can’t say they feel the same way though.” Then she looks at the same person you’re looking at. “Well, maybe except for Tsukishima.”

“That’s why I like messing around with him the most,” you admit with mirth as you watch Tsukishima get away from Kogane.

--

Everyone in the gymnasium is staring as they enter the arena. If there’s one thing opposing teams remember about the Sendai Frogs, it’s their female tandem of a stone-cold coach and a ‘hot,’ bubbly manager who walk side by side in front of the whole team, not the players.

It’s not really an issue for Tsukishima. He doesn’t really care. Shimizu had the same reputation back in high school. But you? You’re not Shimizu. You aren’t even close.

And you, being the chaotic mess that you are, you milked the attention. Whenever someone blatantly gapes at you,  you’d wave at them. You’d even entertain those who openly flirted with you. In retrospect, he should find it despicable. Rather finds it entertaining. So does the rest of the team.

When the Sendai Frogs reach their spot, a guy wearing a Tamaden Elephants jersey approaches you shamelessly. A brave (maybe a little bit foolish) act, considering you’re with the whole team.

“Hi!”

You turn around and greet him just as enthusiastically, maybe even more.

“I just want to say, great game from last season, he says as he scratches the back of his head. 

Liar. 

If the guy really wants to acknowledge the team’s play from last season, he’d approach one of the players. He also wouldn’t have that stupid blush on his awe-struck face. 

“Thank you! Great game indeed,” you return the compliment.

As soon as the guy starts fidgeting, Tsukishima can already guess what comes next: it’s either a date or your number.

“If you don’t mind, can I get your number?”

Tsukishima sneers at how predictable the scene is, and he can’t wait to see what comes next.

You beam at the guy. “Sure! It’s number 1.”

He still smiles even though he’s obviously dumb-founded. “Sorry, what?”

“My number, right? It’s 1. Cause we’re number 1 in the district,” You say with that fake innocence that isn’t really fooling anyone.

“...Uhh.”

“Go Sendai Frogs!” You cheer out of the blue and as if an automated response, the rest of the team, even Tsukishima (though lifelessly), answers.

“Sendai Frogs fight!”

The loud baritone of deep male voices drew the attention of other people in the area, brightening your face up even more as you focus on the guy in front of you again. He looks scandalized by what just happened. 

“How about you? What’s your number?” you ask, pushing the guy to a mental corner as Tsukishima and his team glares at him while waiting for how he’ll answer. An embarrassed blush replaces the previously infatuated one as he realizes that he shouldn’t have made the mistake of hitting on you. 

“I-I’m not really sure,” his voice loses any shred of confidence it once had.

“Oh. That’s too bad,” you feign sympathy. 

“Yeah.” The guy looks down. “Guess I’ll see you around,” he adds before retreating defeatedly.

“Bye! Nice to meet you,” you wave cordially. ‘Whoever you are, newbie elephant,’ you say to yourself as you watch the unfamiliar member of the Elephants go back to his team, a team you wiped the floor with last season.

Until now, you don’t understand why people still even bother. You welcomed the flirtations, but never really went out with anybody. You’re not really opposed to getting in a relationship, but like -- Gooood! They’re all so uninteresting. Rejecting them is more fun than the mere prospect of dating them.

You feel a familiar touch on your shoulder. 

“Good job boosting the team morale,” Coach Mari says in a volume that only you can hear as she pats you.

“Thanks, Coach!” You grin at her praise. 

You turn around to check your players and your eyes instantly land on Tsukishima who had just put on his white headphones and began scrolling at his phone. Around him, everyone else has already started stretching. 

You bounce your way to him, knowing that you’d instantly get his attention even without saying anything. But even with you ogling when you stopped in front of him, he still doesn’t budge.

“Tsukishima.”

No response.

‘Heh,’ you snicker internally. He never fails to amuse you when he tries to ignore you. 

“Tsu~ ki~ shi~ ma~” You bob your head sideways, popping at the opposing sides of his phone so he’ll notice you.

You don’t miss the minute twitch of his eyes as he drags his phone closer to him in an attempt to shut you out. 

Tsk tsk. He should know better by now that you're not the type to back away. 

You go beside him instead, tiptoeing so you can see what he’s so busy looking at. As soon as your arms touch his, he puts down his phone and irritatedly removes his headphones. 

He’s shooting daggers at you, making you giddy with excitement as he looks like he’s about to say something you. You hold his gaze with a raised eyebrow and subtle smirk that you couldn’t suppress. Did he get fed up already? Is he finally going to say something?

‘Do it. Do it. Do it,’ you chant in your head. 

He takes in a painful deep breath instead. “What?” The single word contains so much disdain that you want to cackle so bad. 

“Shouldn’t you be stretching?” you query.

“In a bit.”

You leisurely shake your head with disapproval. “I know you’re a lazy ass fucker sometimes,” you begin. “But you always help us win. You’re our meanest, tallest, best blocker.” Your gaze drops down to his ankles and travels up.

“So,” you continue, dropping your voice amusedly, “stretch those gorgeous, God-given, legs you have.” Your eyes linger on his thighs before landing up to his face to smile sweetly at him. “Will you?”

This is one of the moments you’re pretty sure he won’t dare talk back at you. Why? Because you’re one hundred percent right, and he knows that too. 

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t hate it.

He glares at you for one second and walks towards the rest of the team to join them. 

--

Playing at the professional level, he always considers one match to be a big win already, even if it’s just the first match of the regular rounds. Ever since he became a starter for Sendai Frogs, he was not allowed to slack off even for one rally. He could take the lecture if it’s from Coach, but he couldn’t stomach it if it’s from you. 

Even before the match started, you were already on his grill, pestering him just because he wasn’t warming up yet. He was pissed the whole game and put extra effort than usual to make sure that you won’t have anything to say after. 

“Um, excuse me.” A girl from Red Rabbits blocks him on his way to the restroom. “Tsukishima, right?”

He can tell that she is trying her best to look nonchalant, but the familiar tint on her face is telling.

Tsukishima had never understood girls who approach him for anything remotely romantic. Does he look like he’s interested? It’s not that he’s not open to the idea of dating, but he finds it unpleasant when people go after him because they like how he plays. Worse, for some obtuse reason like him being ‘cute.’

“Yes. Why?”

She smiles at him bashfully with her arms crossed behind her. “I’m also a middle blocker. I was really inspired with how you read block so well. If it’s okay with you, can you teach me how you do it?”

Why would he do that? He’s already a senior college student who’s also a professional athlete. He has no reason to go out of his way to teach someone read blocking. Especially someone who’s already supposed to know it since (as she claims) she’s also a middle blocker. Judging from where they currently are, someone from Division 1 no less. 

“Sorry. I’m really busy,” he says bluntly. 

“Oh, okay. Sorry for bothering you.” She bows then takes off immediately. 

He watches as the girl from Red Rabbits scampers off as quickly as humanly possible. Did she really think he’d agree to it?

He is too occupied to notice the faint sound of footsteps behind him, and only when you speak does he notice your presence.

“Aww, poor girl going out of her way to ask you out.” 

He groans. Why are you even here? You’re supposed to be checking on the team since their match just ended.

You fall into step beside him as he brushes your comment off and continues heading for the rest rooms.

“I didn’t ask her to,” he calmly responds despite your irksome presence. 

“How are you going to get a girlfriend like that?” you ask exaggeratedly as if not getting in a relationship will lead to his ruin.

“I don’t need one.”

You gasp. “Damn, Tsukishima. Men your age are all about raging hormones. Where do you put all that raging testosterone?”

He purses his lips in a corner, his jaw tensing at your remark. Men his age? You talk as if you’re older when you’re in the same year he is.

Also, what the fuck?

Now you’re nagging about his personal life too? You’re already aggravating as the team manager. Now you’re even sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.

His blatant irritation must have shown in his face because you suddenly let out a giggle. “My bad, my bad. Don’t look so scary. Geez. Where you get action is none of my business. I just followed you to let you know that we’re leaving in twenty minutes.”

You turn around, about to go back but stop before you make the first step. “Oh, and we have a meeting later. I did the stat sheets of the game and gave it to the coach already. Great blocking, Tsukishima!” You pat his shoulder twice with a proud smile, then saunter off back to the arena. 

Damn it. If only you aren’t so good at being a manager, he would actually be able to dislike you to the fullest. Not only that, he wouldn’t feel that silly, tiny contentment he felt upon hearing you.

Chapter 1 || masterlist

Taglist:(those crossed out can’t be tagged)

@ameliaxo @suikrem​​ @akaashisslave @tsumurai​​  @babythotshq​​ 

[excelsi-or]

your type (pt. 9)

Hello wonderful people!! I started a summer job and have been reading a SHIT ton, so I haven’t been writing as much. But I’m kinda back into this story again, and we’re about past halfway so I think we can get this done. :) I hope you’ve all been well~~

w.c. 3.1k (yeah, i’m not apologizing for length anymore. i hope you’re all cool with that lol)

pairing: jihoon x OC/reader

pt. 1; pt. 2; pt. 3; pt. 4; pt. 5; pt. 6; pt. 7; pt. 8

“You have a new boyfriend,” Jungkook says the next time they meet up for lunch in the fall semester.

She shrugs, studying her mug. “I guess so.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “You’re still apprehensive.”

“It’s only been 2 months.”

“That’s enough time to know, don’t you think?”

She shakes her head. “It really isn’t.”

Jungkook rests his chin in his palm. “I told you I loved you after two months.”

“We were young and naïve then.”

With a smirk, he doesn’t bother to point out that that first ‘I love you’ had been only three years ago. “Well, how does he feel?”

“Not sure.”

“Trust your instincts on this,” Jungkook encourages. “You have amazing intuition. You told me before I’d even fully moved in with Taehyung that I’d probably wind up dating him.”

“I said that because Taehyung is a good looking, intelligent man and anyone would date him if they were in his proximity long enough.”

Jungkook snorts. “I guess that’s a fair point. But come on. What’s your gut telling you?”

“My gut says that it’s confused,” she replies honestly. “I can’t gauge how honest he is with me.”

“You can’t compare him and Byunggu. No one knew that Byunggu was going to blindside you like that.”

She chuckles. “Do you know how much he’s come up in the last few months? I haven’t talked about him in forever, and all of a sudden, he’s just the topic of every conversation.”

“New boyfriend will do that. Especially after what happened last time.”

She runs a hand through her hair.

“As someone who has dated you, trust me when I say, you’re an all-in kind of lover.” He nudges her fingers with his. “So just go all in.”

“Go all in? And then?”

“Well, if you get hurt in the end, we’re here. You have people around you to hold you up and take care of you. But you can’t go into every relationship anticipating an end.”

She studies the chai in her mug, the way it ripples when she moves her hands even a little. “I guess you’re right.”

Jihoon (13:41)

Hey, lemme know when you’re done at lunch.

Got some stuff I want you to hear before we head home.

Jungkook nods his head towards the phone lighting up at her elbow. “Is that him?”

She nods.

“Are you going to reply?”

“He wants to know when I’m done with you so he can show me something he’s working on.” She fires off a quick text.

“Works in progress?”

“I guess they’ve been less and less finished, yeah.”

Jungkook hums. “If Yoongi hyung were here, he’d say that means Jihoon really likes you.”

She finds Jihoon in the studio an hour later. Bumzu, one of the TAs, had directed her to the studio when she’d appeared in the music building.

“You’re legendary,” Bumzu had said. “Anyone who’s had Jihoon’s attention this long is legendary.”

She’d had no response for that.

Gently, she touches Jihoon’s arm to make him aware of her presence. Jihoon looks up at her and slides his headphones off. Wordlessly, he passes them to her, and she takes a seat in the spare chair. With her feet up, and her knees hugged to her chest, she listens.

“Can you bring up the sound of the piano? The bass seems to be overpowering it.”

She does this for an hour, and he adjusts as they go along. By the end of it, Jihoon is thoroughly pleased with how the song’s turned out.

“I wish I was as useful for your chemistry research,” Jihoon chuckles. He takes the headphones and puts them on the desk. “You going home?”

“No, I actually have dinner plans.”

Jihoon tilts his head at that. “You do?”

“Correction, we have dinner plans.”

“We do?”

“Jihyo told me to tell you that we’re going for dinner with her and Seungcheol.”

Jihoon’s sweet questioning face quickly changes into something of disgust. “Ew. A double date?”

“I think Jihyo wants to tell me something.”

“And Cheol and I need to be there? Why?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea.” She kisses the top of his head as she stands. “But you need to be ready by 5:30, okay? So, no spending the night here.”

Jihoon hums his agreement. He catches her hand and tugs her back towards him. He pouts up at her until she concedes to a kiss, a bemused smile on her face.

As she closes the studio door behind her, she bumps into someone. Stumbling away from her is a girl she recognizes but can’t place.

The other woman recognizes her first. “You’re Wheein’s friend, aren’t you?”

It takes her a moment. “Byulyi?”

Byulyi smiles at her. Her eyes dart to the door she’d walked out of and the smile on her face falters. “How are you?”

“Good. Just heading home.”

“You taking a music class this semester?” Byulyi asks, her eyes flicking to the door again.

“Oh.” She gets the meaning and the looks. “No. Just visiting someone.”

“Lee Jihoon?”

She holds her breath for another story and Byulyi doesn’t fail her. They start to walk towards the exit.

“If you’re friends with Wheein, you must be a nice person.”

She questions the connection, but doesn’t press that point. “And?”

“So,” Byulyi smirks, “why are you hanging around Lee Jihoon? The man’s manipulative and a swindler. He’ll con you of the love you have to give and leave you heartbroken.”

They push out into the sunlight, enveloped by the dying heat of the day. “He knows the right words to say and he knows exactly when to say them to get to you.”

If she hasn’t learned that already, then she’s an idiot. With a deep breath, she thanks Byulyi for the anecdote and the information. Byulyi is on the list of women Jihoon’s dated. These women follow her around now; the stories are variations of each other.

And at this point, she really doesn’t know what to do with them.

“I heard another one.” She sets her backpack down at the end of the dining table.

Jihyo glances up from her evolution flashcards. “Who?”

“Moon Byulyi.”

It only takes Jihyo a second to place the name. “Wheein’s music friend?”

“Yeah.” She empties her backpack on the table and then takes her water bottle to the sink to refill it. “I don’t know what to make of it. Apparently other people know Jihoon and I are…” She struggles to find a word.

“Dating?” Jihyo chuckles.

“I haven’t told him that his exes keep telling all his secrets.”

“I promise you, the look on his face when he looks at you isn’t one of a man who’s in for the sex or even just for the chase. He’s in. For all of that and all of you. I promise you that.”

The boys are already sat at a table when the girls arrive. Seungcheol pulls Jihyo’s chair out, and Jihoon looks conflicted as to whether he should do the same. Smirking, she slips into the chair next to him. She doesn’t kiss his cheek like Jihyo. She grabs his hand under the table and gives it a squeeze.

“Have you looked at the menu?” she asks him.

Jihoon shakes his head. “Not yet.”

She studies him for a moment. “Do you trust me to order for you?”

At this offer, Jihoon tilts his head. “Go ahead.”

Conversation is light. They play rounds of cards while they wait for the food. When Jihoon wins the last round of Shit Head, Jihyo and Seungcheol roll their eyes.

“You guys can’t win every game.”

She laughs. “You guys just aren’t good at games of speed.”

“Or strategy,” Jihoon adds with a smile.

Seungcheol stacks the cards as the food arrives. She leans towards Jihoon as she names the various foods before him. He’s pleasantly surprised at the range. There are foods that he will definitely eat, and a few that are out of his comfort zone but aren’t off-putting.

“So, what do you have to tell us?” Jihoon asks once everyone’s tucked in.

With his head bowed towards his plate, practically shovelling food into his mouth, Seungcheol answers, “We’re dating.”

Jihyo hits his arm.

“What?” Seungcheol lifts his head slightly to look over at Jihyo. “Did you want to make it a big deal?” He straightens up and looks at the couple across him. “We have decided that we are only going to see each other. Be exclusive.”

It takes a lot of effort to keep from laughing. Jihyo hasn’t had any other man over in the last month and a half. This isn’t surprising. The formal announcement is.

“That’s great.” Jihoon’s focus also seems to be on the food as opposed to the actual conversation. She nudges him with her elbow and he puts his chopsticks down. He mimics Seungcheol’s formality. “Seriously. This is excellent news.”

With a good-natured roll of her eyes, Jihyo meets Jihoon’s gaze. “The way you’ve committed, Jihoon, it’s really made us reevaluate.”

Jihoon furrows his brow at Seungcheol, but his friend won’t look at him.

Later that night, back in the safety of their apartment, Jihoon demands, “What the hell did you tell Jihyo?”

Seungcheol raises his hands in defense. “She asked me last month what my take on your relationship was! I couldn’t just tell her you were in it for a bet! I actually like Jihyo. I wasn’t going to tell her that your relationship was a façade. The only reason she decided to even give me a chance is because you’d been given a chance.”

Jihoon’s gaze could level mountains. “You straight up lied to her.”

“It was that or tell her that we bet on your relationship. You don’t understand how protective they are of her.”

Jihoon shakes his head in frustration. “What?”

“Byunggu?”

“Holy shit. What’s wrong with him? Isn’t he an actor or something?” Jihoon is almost tired of hearing about this ex-boyfriend.

“They threatened to ruin his entire career by blasting it on social media how awful a person he is. The girls have receipts. Even if your girl’s deleted all the messages and rid him from her life, her friends are holding onto them.”

Well, at least Jihoon knows the other man’s definitely not castrated.

“So, yeah, I lied a little about how real your emotions are.”

“Jihyo’ll be furious when she finds out!”

“What else was I supposed to do, Jihoon?” Seungcheol watches Jihoon begin pacing. “I like this girl. Genuinely want to make this work. Even if I only get a few months with her, it’ll be worth it to me. And if I can show her that I genuinely want to be with her in the time before we’re revealed to be the biggest assholes of all time, then maybe I can keep my relationship.”

Jihoon shakes his head in disbelief. “You and Soonyoung put me up to this bet. I told you guys I wanted to back out months ago.”

Seungcheol remembers that day. He was so sure that he would never be one to settle. At least not for years to come. “You can still back out. We can just give up, tell the others that your game isn’t as good as we thought it was. And if we end the bet now while everyone can get away relatively scot free, maybe we should.”

Jihoon shrugs.

Seungcheol catches his friend’s eye. “And I’ve seen the look on your face, Lee Jihoon. You have real feelings you’re scared to admit to.”

He rolls his eyes. “Did it not occur to you that I have to pretend otherwise this won’t work?”

“Whether you’re pretending or not anymore, I don’t know. But what I feel for Jihyo is genuine.”

Hansol (14:21)

You still on campus?

Late lunch?

It’s October and the air is getting crisper. She steps out onto the green with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She finds Hansol at the campus coffee shop. There are two sandwiches on the table, one for each of them.

“Seungkwan?” She slides her bag onto the floor next to her.

“Yeah. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have lunch.” He grins up at her, all gums and bright eyes. “I can’t eat two sandwiches.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that Seungkwan gets upset when you don’t finish all your food?” She starts to eat and nods in his direction. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Hmm?” There’s a ball of food in his mouth and his questioning eyes make him look adorable.

Chuckling, she says, “Well, we’ve rarely eaten out without you asking me something.” She juts her chin in his direction. “What’s up?”

“I, uh…” His cheeks start to redden. “Have a question about a girl.”

Her brow furrows slightly. “That’s new. You’re usually pretty confident about that.” She chews a bit. “Shoot.”

“What made you decide Jihoon hyung was a good idea?”

She tilts her head.

“I have a reputation like hyung’s, but mine’s not real.” He studies the contents of the sandwich. “And I just… I don’t know how to convince her.”

“Ah.” After spending the last four months with the boys, she knows whose reputations are real and whose have been garnered by association. Hansol is the latter, not really dating all that much. The girls he pursues are particular, which must mean this girl he’s interested in is amazing.

“You could just tell her the truth.”

“Do you believe everything hyung says?”

She takes a bite, allowing herself some time to think through her answer. She decides that Hansol deserves her honesty. “Not at the beginning, no.” She lowers her sandwich and holds his gaze. “But a relationship doesn’t work unless you trust that the other person’s being honest. And it gets really tiring to second guess everything your partner’s saying.”

Hansol’s cheeks redden even more this time, the blush creeping up to his ears and down his neck.

“Have you lied to her already?”

Hansol’s eyes widen. His voice is tight, practically squeaking out, “What? No.”

She makes a face. “You’re blushing.”

“Oh.” Hansol’s brain scrambles. “I just… uh…” How does he avoid telling her that her relationship is a bet? “Talking about her makes me nervous.”

She lifts an eyebrow, impressed. It’s rare to see Hansol nervous or outside his comfort zone. “You must really like her.”

“Uhm… yes,” he fills his mouth with sandwich, “I do.”

“Then… just be honest. You’re not your reputation.”

Lettuce gets caught in his throat. “And she’ll just… buy that?” He coughs.

“If she’s smart? No. She won’t. But actions help. Prove to her you’re not your reputation. You’re a good guy, Hansol.”

Hansol stares at this woman who he has grown to like. Her company is great, she’s awesome at games, and her humour matches the group’s well. As conversation veers towards classes and research, Hansol can’t help but think about how the bet will end and how hurt she’s going to be. Four times over the next hour, his tongue almost slips. Almost letting out a secret that will definitely end her relationship. Not just with Jihoon but with every one of them.

She checks her watch. “I gotta get back to the lab. The NMR should be done now.” She slips out of her seat and pats his shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”

“Are you coming for dinner tonight?”

She bends down to pick up her backpack, slinging it back over her shoulder. “It’s at yours, isn’t it?”

Hansol nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

As soon as Hansol walks into his apartment, he says to Seungkwan, “We need to call off the bet right now.”

Seungkwan has his pink apron on that the boys got him as a joke. “I’ve been saying that for about four months now.”

“Well, we really need to call it off.”

Seungkwan waves his spatula at Hansol, but his eyes fall to the iced Americano in his roommate’s hand and he calms down. “We both know that the guys aren’t just going to do that. Not when they know Jihoon’s this close to winning.”

“What?”

“Do you just ignore all of noona’s feelings? The look on her face when she looks at Jihoon hyung? She’s fallen for him already.” Seungkwan huffs and then takes a long sip from his drink. “It’s just a waiting game now.”

Hansol shakes his head as he heads to his room to drop off his things. “Tell everyone to come early. We need to talk about this bet right now.”

Hansol rarely asks for anything from the others, so when they receive his text, they’re there in thirty minutes.

“What’s wrong?” Jeonghan asks upon arrival. He slips out of his shoes, his eyes not leaving Hansol’s face. “Who’s dying?”

“We’re assholes and we need to call off the bet now.” Hansol grabs his hand to help him over the one step into the house. “If you guys want the money, I’ll give you the money. But I don’t want to see noona get hurt.”

Seungkwan counts heads. “Where’s Jihoon hyung?”

Joshua has his phone out. “He got stuck in the studio.”

Hansol immediately calls Jihoon. When Jihoon answers, he puts the phone on speaker and sets it in the middle of the small dining table.

“What’s going on, Hansol-ah?” They can hear a mouse clicking on the other end. “Dinner’s not for another hour. I can’t make it right now.”

“I want to talk about the bet and you need to be here.” Hansol leans closer to the phone. “Can we just call it off? Hyung, you already know that she likes you. And if she,” he glances at Seungkwan, “if she hasn’t fallen for you already, she’s falling now. So, can we just end this before anyone gets hurt?” Hansol tips his head both ways. “Or more hurt.”

“Yes!” Seungcheol pushes through to the front so Jihoon can definitely hear him. “Let’s call it off.”

The ripple of agreement through the group is comforting to Hansol, but everyone listens when Jihoon’s voice comes through again.

“You guys thought I was still faking it?” His voice is soft, vulnerable. He’s even stopped clicking around on the computer. “Guys, I,” he pauses, trying to bring himself to admit it, “I stopped faking months ago.”

Seungcheol slams his hands down on the table. “We got in a fight last month about this. What the hell are you saying?”

“You told Jihyo without consulting me first. I wasn’t going to tell you that you were right.”

Now, Jeonghan slams his hands onto the table. This second smack causes Jihoon to swear. “So, this is real? Lee Jihoon has a girlfriend?”

“Hanging up now.” They can hear the smile in his voice. “See you guys later.”

[writingforfun0714]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to offer an update on my Bad Batch Older Sister fic (link is for all chapters)

Quick summary: Omega finds a Jedi Youngling and CF99 adopt her into the group and Omega gets to be an older sister figure.

After finishing Chapter 6 (which follows the S1 show finale) I wanted to wait and see how S2 would be. We’re 13 eps into S2 as of this post and I have to say, this season frustrates me. I have lots of problems (character design, writing, etc) so I’ve been really conflicted as to how I want to continue this fic.

Honestly I really only liked episodes 3, 7/8, and 11 of S2 (so far—I really hope these last few eps are good). I would’ve put Tribe (e6) and The Outpost (e12) on here as well and I do like those episodes more than most of S2, but they could’ve been better imo.

Because I have problems with the current season, I’ve been toying around with ideas/scenes I liked seeing but adding my own twist/story to it. Honestly this season has been a let down in a few different ways and I definitely expected more. And it’s not like I loved S1 either (I do think it’s superior to S2) so my expectations were pretty low for S2.

What’s frustrating to me is that the premise of Bad Batch isn’t a bad idea. A unique squad of clones on the run from the Empire with an unaltered female Jango clone set just after O66 actually sounds fascinating. It’s the execution. In an ideal world there wouldn’t have been that copyright issue so Dave Felony could’ve used Delta Squad instead of his rip-off CF99. In S1 of Bad Batch it’s clear that CF99 doesn’t really have the same sort of ‘unique personality’ that the other clones have. CF99 are bland stereotypes of their characters (strong silent—Hunter, dumb-brute—Wrecker, social awkward—Tech, forgotten—Echo, grump—Crosshair). I won’t go into all of my problems with Bad Batch (cuz it’d be long af lol) but I’m seriously considering doing a mix of ideas I liked seeing with my own stories.

I guess that’s where I’m at with Older Sister and the more I think on it, the more sure I am of doing my own stories instead of following the episodes like I had been doing.

What else I have planned—these will be multi-chapter fics

I am working on another fic that’s basically my version of Bad Batch. CF99 does not exist in this fic and is replaced with Delta Squad (obviously). This fic is also a reader-insert fic (female child reader) where reader basically takes the place of Omega. Because I have not played Republic Commando, the little knowledge I do know about DS is from google/wiki so I would be doing my own stories as well.

I’m also working on a Jungle book fic that’s basically the jungle book story (human child raised by wolves) but the wolves are Mononoke wolf/direwolf size and there’s skinchanging/warging from Game of Thrones/ASoIaF.

The last big/multi chapter fic I’m working on is an Arcane AU where Reader is the youngest sister to Vi and Powder and grows up as a Firelight w/ Ekko.

*I do have smaller, one-shot stories for clones/set during CW. I also have one-shot ideas I wanna do for PJO and AtLA*

So that’s where I’m at right now writing-wise. I don’t have a particular order or anything I wanna do these in so if anyone wants to see something I’ve listed lemme know.

Also my dad just had shoulder replacement surgery so I’m sorry to those waiting for new content. Thanks for your support🥰

-Maisy

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Fic with an imposter assassin, whether the assassin is successful or not in guessing someone else's role in a meeting it would still probably be very shocking for someone to die in the middle of a meeting.

this is supposed to be the first time the friday night stabby crew encounter the assassin role :)

“Hey, Etho. Etho!”

Etho turns warily away from the trash task in cafeteria. “Skizzle?”

“I can trust you, right?” asks Skizz.

“That’s a bit of a loaded question, but yeah,” Etho says. “Why?”

“Check this out.”

Skizz rushes over to the vent and hops into it.

“Oh!” Etho stares at the vent with raised eyebrows. “You’re the engineer?”

“Yeah!” Skizz pops back out of the vent and dusts himself off. “I’m saving my sabotage fixer thing for later. You believe that I’m legit now, right?”

“I have no reason not to,” Etho replies carefully. “Considering-.”

A meeting is called at that moment, interrupting him. He glances down at his tablet and sees the new button that has appeared on it. Time to give it a try.

“Alright, we got a Tango body in reactor,” Evil reports. “I just came up from electrical with Brody, so he can vouch for me.”

“That’s true, I can,” confirms Brody. “Where was everyone else? Skizz, where were you?”

“Etho and I were in cafeteria,” Skizz says. “I’d just done download and I was heading down to do the upload when I saw him and we chatted for a few seconds. I don’t know what-.”

A loud bang interrupts him, causing several people to either jump or let out a scream. Immediately after, Skizz collapses to the ground.

“Oh my GOD!” yelps Evil. “What was THAT?!”

“Skizz!” Impulse gasps, dashing to his best friend’s side.

Brody has his hands pressed to his ears. “What the HELL?! Is he dead?!”

Impulse quickly checks Skizz’s pulse. “H-He’s dead.”

“Excuse me, WHAT just happened?!” demands Endless.

“How did someone manage to kill him during a meeting?” Brody turns to his friend. “Is this some new role, Impulse?”

“OH!” Impulse blinks as something dawns on him. “It might be the assassin. I think the assassin can kill someone during a meeting if they correctly guess the person’s role.”

“Did Skizz have a role?” Brody glances around the group. “Does anyone know? Etho, Skizz said he was chatting with you in cafeteria, right? Did he mention anything about a role then?”

Etho is quick with an answer. “No, he didn’t. He asked me if I was the imposter and I said no. That’s it.”

Nobody has any reason to suspect he’s lying.

“Well, I’m pretty sure the assassin only has one shot per game, so if anyone else can disclose their role, we might be able to figure out what Skizz was,” says Impulse.

Brody shoots him a look. “Why do we need to know that?”

“Cuz then that’ll eliminate people as suspects.”

“Remember, people could lie,” Brody points out. “What if the assassin just lies by saying they’re the role Skizz actually was?”

“...I guess that’s true,” admits Impulse. “Okay, let’s get back to Tango’s murder. Where did everyone see him last?”

After the meeting, Etho stands at the upload panel in admin to give his cooldown time to tick down, before hitting the lights and rushing off to electrical to wait for people to come.

The first person to arrive is his imposter partner, Impulse, followed closely by Mrs Tango. At Etho’s nod, Impulse takes her out.

Etho goes to stand at the entrance to electrical, keeping watch, giving time for Impulse’s cooldown. A double kill will end the game at this point.

“What are we doing?” whispers Impulse. “Why aren’t we leaving?”

Etho doesn’t have time to explain. “Just be ready. How long?”

“Fifteen seconds.”

Spotting someone else approaching, Etho hides just inside electrical and swiftly dispatches Endless as soon as he walks through the door.

Etho then quickly closes the doors and fixes the lights, before turning to his partner. “Go vent and find one more person. Quickly.”

Impulse nods and rushes towards the back of electrical.

Etho stands guard over the bodies. Even he is starting to get a little nervous now; they’re so close to winning but if Impulse doesn’t find someone in time, someone else might spot Etho next to two bodies and then it’s all over.

But thankfully, the victory screen soon appears and the game ends. As everyone appears back in the lobby, all talking at the same time about the game they’ve just played.

“Okay, okay, wait a second.” Brody’s loud voice rises above the rest, hushing everyone else. “So what exactly happened to Skizz in the meeting? Was it the assassin role?”

Before anyone else can speak, Skizz interrupts, “Wait wait, lemme talk first.” He turns to his friend. “It was you, Etho, wasn’t it? You were the assassin?”

Etho nods. “Yeah.”

“I knew it.” Skizz laughs. “Guys, Etho lied right to your faces. I DID tell him my role in cafeteria; I told him I was the engineer. You assassinated me right in the meeting.”

“I did, yeah.” Etho sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

“No no, it was awesome,” laughs Skizz. “Scared the absolute crap outta me but it was awesome.”

“That’s what you get for trusting the wrong person, Skizz,” Impulse says teasingly.

Skizz gives him a light punch on the shoulder. “Hey, I had no reason to think he was the wrong person.”

“That’s why you just gotta assume everyone is the wrong person until proven otherwise. So what exactly did you experience there, Skizz? When Etho assassinated you?”

“Oh, it was really weird,” Skizz replies. “One second I was talking, the next I heard a gunshot and then just blackness. It was like someone sniper-rifled me from across the room.”

“And Etho?” Impulse asks. “How did that work for you?”

“There was a button on my tablet, like with the morph or camouflager. I could select each person and guess what role they were.” Etho pauses. “Well, I obviously didn’t have to guess for Skizzle.”

Skizz snickers. “Okay, okay, stop rubbing it in. I’ll trust better people next time.”

“Etho, what was your strategy back there?” Tango asks, speaking for the first time in the lobby. “You were just standing there at lights with a dead body.”

“I figured that tasks were almost done so people might not be extremely hasty to rush to lights,” Etho replies. “It was a gamble but it paid off.”

“It really did,” says Skizz. “Good job, buddy.”

“Thank you.”

[psycho-slytherin]

Strangers ch. 47

Hoseok puts his foot down.

Pairing: Idol!Yoongi x Actress!Reader

Word count: 1.7k

Genre: fluff, angst, slow burn, strangers to friends to ???

Warnings: Strong language

|mlist|

<–– Prev Next ––>

You follow Wonho out of the private lounge, your head fuzzy with alcohol and despair. How could you not make the connection sooner? Of course there was a reason the police never investigated Seoyeon for Lisa’s disappearance – and now Lisa’s laptop, the only proof that the two were connected, is in the hands of Detective Kang. Seoyeon’s father. Your eyes sweep the club in search of Yoongi. You have to tell him. Eventually you spot him in a corner of the dance floor, hand pressed to his ear. Alone. For a moment you actually start towards him, before the thought hits you like a brick to the skull. He’s dating Seoyeon. How can you trust him, or tell him anything? Hell, what if the rumors are right, and he’s with Seoyeon because Detective Kang has something on him?

“C’mon,” Wonho yells over the deafening bass, “Let’s dance!”

You trail behind him, your eyes still on Yoongi. You’re about to turn away when you notice Hoseok wade through the crowd, with an expression you can barely recognize on his face. Hoseok looks… angry.

The music shifts, and Wonho takes your hand as he dances. You join in halfheartedly, wanting so badly for him to distract you. But now that the police have apparently abandoned your only lead… Is Lisa lost to you forever?

~~~

“Hyung, may I speak to you for a moment?” Hoseok hisses, tugging on Yoongi’s sleeve. One of Yoongi’s hands is pressed to his ear, the other holding his phone. It takes a moment before Yoongi notices Hoseok, his eyes dazed.

“D, one sec,” he says into the phone before turning to the younger man. “Not now. Weren’t you keeping an eye on the girl?”

“That’s the thing. Hyung, she told me some stuff… I really need to talk to you.” Hoseok’s voice is urgent, but Yoongi looks unconvinced. “It’s about Y/n.”

That changes things. Yoongi holds the phone back up to his ear. “Lemme call you back”, he says before hanging up swiftly and turning back to Hoseok. “What is it?”

Hoseok looks around to make sure no one is paying attention to them, but it’s too much to wish for; even in a club exclusive to celebrities, they are members of BTS. They’re big anywhere. There are several sets of eyes turned toward them. “Shit. I can’t tell you everything now, but hyung… stay away from Y/n.”

“Huh?” Yoongi draws back. “You, of all people-”

Hoseok grits his teeth. “Look, I know what I said before, but think about it, hyung! She gains more than anyone from this – practically got famous off of it! Dating you, the drama, all of it. Seoyeon said she has a video from inside our apartment – who else has had access?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “No, you’re wrong.”

Hoseok pauses. “I know we need to take everything Seoyeon says with a big grain of salt, but think about it. Y/n’s an ARMY, remember. She lied to us, to you, this whole time. You only pretended to date because of that photo on Twitter – hyung, who gained the most from that? You need to ask yourself-”

“Just shut up, Jung Hoseok,” Yoongi snaps, his eyes narrowing. “You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about. None.”

“But hyung-”

“I’m done with this shit. I’m going home.” Hoseok watches Yoongi call their chauffeur and arrange to be picked up. He starts making his way back to the entrance, but Hobi grips his arm.

“I was trying to help, idiot!” Hoseok hisses. “All she’s done is lie to you. Have you ever considered you’re too lovesick to see right through her?”

Yoongi rips away from Hoseok, and for a second Hoseok thinks Yoongi might hit him. Instead he simply speaks, voice cold. “You don’t know anything.”

With that, Yoongi fights his way to the bar through the crowd of bodies, pulling a drunk Seoyeon along with him outside. Hoseok watches him go, mind racing. He had warned Y/n never to hurt Yoongi; Hoseok always protected his family, and the members were as much a part of that as his own sister. Hoseok had trusted Y/n – they all had. Had she truly been lying to them this whole time?

He looks around helplessly, just in time to see Jungkook pulling on Y/n. He and Taehyung join her and Wonho in dancing, and though Y/n is smiling, there’s a stiffness in her movements, and her focus seems far away. Hoseok can feel his blood begin to boil. If Seoyeon was telling the truth, then Y/n arranged her own attack and used it to manipulate Hoseok’s friends.

Almost unconsciously, he makes his way to the group. “Guys, let’s get going home!” He shouts over the music.

Jungkook whines and Taehyung laughs, clearly buzzed. “But we’re having fun!”

“It wasn’t a question,” Hoseok replies. Your eyes flick towards him – have you noticed something is wrong? “C’mon, Y/n.”

“I can drive you back later if you don’t want to leave right now, Y/n.” Wonho offers. Hoseok looks between you and him.

“No, she needs to come back with us.”

“Oh, I don’t mind it if Wonho drives me,” you say, barely heard over the beat.

“In case you’ve forgotten, that outfit you’re wearing isn’t yours, is it?” Hoseok snaps. “You need to return it.”

He sees you blink twice, clearly surprised. “Right. Okay. Let me grab my bag.”

“Taehyung, Kook, grab Joon and Jin hyung. I’ll get Jimin. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

When Y/n and the other members have wandered away, Wonho fixes Hoseok with a stare. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Sorry, why do you care?”

“Isn’t she your friend? Because you didn’t treat her like one just now. Or are you going the way of your asshole friend?”

Hoseok’s eyes narrow. So this is Yoongi’s reputation, thanks to Y/n? “I don’t answer to you.” If Wonho responds, he doesn’t hear him; Hoseok turns to track Jimin down. He’s dancing in the middle of the floor, his loose silk shirt exposing a collarbone shining with sweat. Stars surround him, whooping and clapping. Hoseok pushes his way through the crowd until he’s close enough that Jimin can hear him.

“We’re going,” Hoseok says, pulling at the younger man’s sleeve.

Jimin nods, panting, and follows them. It isn’t long until the eight of them are once more settled in the limo.

~~~

You anxiously twist the handles of your purse in your hands. The ride is much quieter than it was on the way to Club Xyon – although it was only hours prior, you feel like you’ve aged centuries. Taehyung has fallen asleep leaning on your shoulder, and Jimin, Jungkook, Namjoon, and Seokjin are playing some sort of rock-paper-scissors drinking game. You’re impressed by their tolerance. Hoseok sits in the corner, far more quiet than he had been this evening. You can’t blame him – you’ve barely spoken either since the realization that not even the police can help you find your best friend.

The driver stops in the parking garage of the boys’ apartment building. One by one, they stumble out, with Seokjin supporting a still-sleepy Taehyung. You move for the door as well, but for a voice behind you: “Just a minute, Y/n.”

You turn. Hoseok is still sitting in the car, eyes trained on you. The scene feels eerily familiar. “What’s up?”

“I was just talking to Seoyeon earlier,” Hoseok drawls, and you flinch at the name. “She said some very interesting things. That she wasn’t following Yoongi hyung; she was following orders to track you. She didn’t follow hyung to the lamppost – she was told where to go, to take that photo. And that whoever was giving her orders – that she has videos, taken from inside our apartment, of us.” Hoseok crosses his arms. “So tell me, Y/n, who might have that kind of access?”

Your heart is pounding in your chest. “I-”

Hoseok holds up a hand. “Let me ask you another question. Did it feel good, having his pity? Lying to him? That photo did mean you’d have to have a public relationship with hyung. And of course, there’s no better way to get famous, is there?”

“N-No, I didn’t-” It’s getting harder to breathe – is there no more air in the limo? And is this what he really thinks of you? “She’s lying – how could you believe her, over me?”

Hoseok stares at you. “You’ve lied to us too, Y/n.”

The tears you’ve been fighting well up and overflow, falling freely down your cheeks. Your chest heaves, and you feel yourself on the verge of panic. “Hobi, please – I thought we were friends. You said we’d always be friends.”

For a moment, you see Hoseok’s stoic expression crack. “That was before I knew you were the reason hyung is going half-crazy tracking down a girl he’s never met and tolerating the company of a fucking psychopath!”

“W-what?”

“He barely sleeps, barely talks to us…” Hobi’s voice lowers, but it’s still steely. “I warned you, Y/n. You’re our friend, and I really believed in you, but if you used hyung for fame, I swear I’ll never forgive you.”

You reach for the handle of the door and find it locked. “Let me out,” you whisper. Hoseok doesn’t move for a moment. “Dammit, Jung Hoseok, let me out of this car!”

Hoseok knocks on the limo divider, and the car doors unlock. You grab for the handle and stumble out of the car, lip trembling as you walk away. “Your acting career would’ve gotten off the ground without using him, Y/n,” Hoseok calls behind you. “You’re a great liar.”

Once you’re out of the parking garage, you start running. Your feet ache in these boots, and your chest burns with holding off another episode as long as you have. Eventually you stop in a small park, gasping for breath. You’re completely lost, and for the first time, the darkness is more terrifying than comforting. Sinking down at last, you clutch at the Starry Night charm, sobbing freely. You’re so cold.

You’re crying so hard you barely hear footsteps approaching.

“Y/n?”