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mistaeq · 4 years ago

Note

Hey!! Can I request a reader insert of Polnareff trying to flirt with a girl he found cute/interesting and her reciprocating? I’m missing him already even though I’m not even finished with part 3 yet because (spoiler) I’ve already found out his tragic fate :’( tyia!!

Jean Pierre Polnareff: Mutual Flirting

TW // none

Flirting, this prompt is the cutest, sorry about the ending, fem!s/o

WORD COUNT: 1.93k

What the hell did they want from you? You thought they had stopped wanting money from you, but there you were, running from a bunch of youngsters who only wanted to steal the few money you still had.

You had no idea something like this could happen in a place like Singapore. It felt peaceful, when you moved. But then bad things started to happen. To you only, apparently. You were growing tired of that situation. Sometimes you only wanted to get the first flight and run away. But now you only had your poor feet, to run away from those thieves.

You were running with your head turned back, to see where they were and who was following you. Unfortunately - or not - nobody has eyes behind their head, and you straight up ran into someone.

"Ugh! -.. mon dieu..." the huge man flinched before throwing his arm around you. "Sorry, sorry, mademoiselle, I was in the middle of your way." a french gentleman. Perfect.

You rested for a second on the arm that had caught you, but then you immediately freaked out and started apologizing.

"N-no, you should forgive me, sir, I-..." you lowered your voice to a whisper. "...please, help me." the man heard you. You were such a beautiful girl. Even though he knew nothing about you, giving a help wouldn't have hurt. Plus, Jotaro and Kakyoin were somewhere around the city, and Avdol was with Joseph, looking for hints about Dio with Hermit Purple. So he was all alone, doing nothing.

He noticed you were slowly hiding behind him, a yelling and stomping noise getting closer. A bunch of guys was approaching the two of you. You didn't know what of that man's gaze suggested you he was a sweetheart. But you were deeply right.

"Are they harassing you?"

"They want my money."

"Will you trust me?" not that you had any choice. Running away again was even worse than trying to stay by that man's side. You nodded.

"Oi, y/n, you found a prince charming?"

"Give us your money and cut this bullshit!" the french pushed you in front of him.

"I'm no prince charming. Just take her. None of my business." for a minute, you regretted trusting him. You panicked. The thieves started laughing, one of them approached you to grab your arm.

"This is priceless, you should see the look on your fucking fac-" he stopped, when a deep cut appeared on his cheek. "What the..."

A second guy tried to grab you, and tripped on something invisible, hitting the ground with his nose. Oh, you were confused. You couldn't imagine what was going on. Not you nor those guys could see Silver Chariot.

"Oi, little bitch." those bastards were angry. They truly were. "What the fuck are you doing? Are you a witch or something?" You didn't know what to do. But you were also quite sure that those weird wounds came from the french gentleman.

"You better run." you just said, hoping it would work. But it didn't. When one of them, their leader, apparently, approached you again and obtained a new wound on his arm, they freaked out like five year olds, and ran away, threatening to sue you for it. As if they hadn't just tried to steal your money.

"Au revoir!" the man laughed. When they were far enough to let out a breath of relief, you turned towards the gentleman. "...You gave me a heart attack, but... was it you? That... thing. Those wounds."

"Yes. It was me. Don't ask, please."

"I won't... just... thank you."

"No, thank YOU for bumping into me. Didn't know angels could live on Earth." How. Cheesy. The cheesiest thing you had ever heard. You laughed nervously, but your face became as red as his earrings. Damn, that man was a whole flirt. "So... y/n, uh? Enchanté."

"Do I get to know the name of my savior too, or...?" as you asked the question, he ran a hand through his hair and smiled languidly.

"Jean Pierre Polnareff, just Jean for you." beside him, Silver Chariot was striking poses to impress you. Poor stand, you couldn't see it. It was so used to people seeing stands, that it actually forgot ordinary people couldn't see them. But maybe it was better like this, since Chariot's poses were clearly expressing what Polnareff would have wanted to do with you. This man found you incredibly interesting and cute.

"Okay Jean... thank you... i mean it... a lot." you didn't know what to do. You were completely alone in Singapore, and he was so beautiful and seemed so caring and interested in you. And he was french, so maybe he was just a tourist. Maybe he could bring you with him... no, no, wait, what were you thinking? He looked like he was flirting with you, and you were down for it. But maybe he was just like this with everyone, and you were mistaking pure kindness for flirting. And you had just known each other.

"I'll let you at your business... Jean. See you, maybe... or maybe not..." you were babbling, moving slow steps away from him. He didn't do anything. Just stood there thinking. Come on, Jotaro and Kakyoin just left him without saying anything, Avdol and Joseph were back at the hotel and he was too lazy to already go back there. He had nothing to do. Fighting the Ebony Devil stand user all alone that morning had made him sick of thinking about being careful and stuff. It was his turn to mind his own business.

"I have nothing to do, to be honest. I wanted to go get a drink... but I'd be all alone..." you heard his voice from the back. Was he talking to you? Was he asking you to spend some time with him? "Mademoiselle?" You turned around, he stood there, smiling and running a hand through his hand. Again. You decided to reciprocate his flirts. He was fine.

"Not that I have anything to do right now..." your feet's tips met each other. You looked so shy. But you were actually flirting back. "I get to choose the place. I surely know Singapore better than you."

"I have no objections."

"You're weird, Jean Pierre Polnareff. It's curious."

---

You sat at a table in a cute café you chose. You assured him they made the best milkshake, and Jean Pierre thought that something cold during a warm afternoon would have been perfect. He was eager to ask that interesting girl what happened with those guys before. You never knew that, but during your sweet time drinking and talking, Polnareff had Silver Chariot protecting you behind your chair. Enemy stand users could be anywhere, or also dumb thieves like those before.

He was the one who ordered. When you saw what he was holding, you couldn't believe how much of a tease and a flirt he could ever be. Also, c h e e s y.

"Jean?" you laughed. You weren't planning on turning down his flirt, you just wanted to have a little fun. "Only one glass and two straws?"

He felt his face warm up. His cheeks had the same colour as his earrings.

"Oh... uhm." Jean Pierre swallowed, then avoided your gaze. "Actually... you're right. Just... the price was lower like this."

"Yeah right." you teased him, smirking. You were playing his same game, and he liked it. "No worries, Jean. Guess we'll just have to drink a little closer than I expected..." he played it cool, but his heart was fucking racing.

He'd flirt a lot with lots of interesting girls, but you? You had something different. You played his game, and that was driving him crazy. Every second you were more interesting for him. So impulsive and ready to try out new things, a girl so ready to flirt back to a man who just scared four thugs for her.

"Inviting someone to drink something with you and ordering only one big milkshake instead of two regular ones just because of the lower price..." you sucked up some milkshake from your straw, then waited for him to drink too, on purpose to tease him again. "...rude." He almost choked on the straw. He coughed so hard his eyes were teary.

He knew you didn't really mean that. You two were playing with each other's mind.

"So why are you here in Singapore?" you asked. But you were serious, now.

"Uhm... I'm actually on a trip with friends, we... we have something important to do. In Egypt."

"Egypt?" He was a traveller? He could maybe bring you along? Maybe... "Sounds so cool... you're from France, aren't you?"

"Oh, oui." He raised an eyebrow, and smirked, sucking on his milkshake straw. "You might want to come and visit Paris, once this issue we have to solve will be solved. I'll be there." He was implying he wouldn't have brought you with him on his trip with his friends?

He just couldn't force you in such a situation. He perfectly understood from the look on your face that you would have been interested in following him and the crusaders. But he had found someone who seemes interested in him and his little flirty games. So special. He couldn't expose you to such a danger.

"Why won't you let me follo-"

"Remember what I told you about the mysterious wounds I caused?" You nodded.

"Don't ask."

"Please. It's for your safety. But I actually... oh shit..." Jean Pierre sighed. "...I flirt because I can't express serious stuff easily... just know you're a special one for me, okay?"

"We've known each other for less than two hours, Jean." you put an emphasis on his name.

"You just asked to follow me in a whole ass trip to Egypt, y/n." He played your game. You laughed.

"You're weird, Jean Pierre Polnareff. It's cute."

---

"So here's the part where you go away with your friends and leave me behind?" you teased dramatically, smirking but still holding onto his arm.

Jotaro and Avdol were waiting for him. Kakyoin and Joseph were just peacefully talking. But still, waiting for Polnareff.

"Sadly. This won't be the last time we see each other. I promise." You impulsively hugged him tight. You might have known each other only for few time. But he was the first one to actually listen to you, and the first one to give you such positive vibes after much time of nothing. He knew how to be appreciated. You could swear you almost felt like someone else was hugging you from behind. But nobody was there. Your eyes couldn't see Chariot puppy eyeing Polnareff because it already missed your presence.

"You promise."

"I do." he pulled a small envelope out of his pocket and gave it to you. "And if you do too, this is for you. I'll be waiting."

"Yare, yare... Polnareff, we're going." Jotaro's deep voice broke your little sweet moment. Still, Jean Pierre kissed your forehead, and waved goodbye at you, running a little to reach his friends, who had already started walking away to hurry him.

The envelope in your hands was a bit heavier than you expected. You pulled out the tiny note inside of it, an address was scribbled on it. A French street. He would have been waiting for you to go there, after all. In the back of the note, something else was written.

"You're weird, y/n. It's special."

From the envelope, a red earring in the shape of an half-heart, fell in your hand.

#jojo oneshot #jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo x reader #jojo part three #stardust crusaders #polnareff x reader #jean pierre polnareff #polnareff #noriaki kakyoin #jotaro kujo #muhammad avdol #joseph joestar

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paintalyx · 3 years ago

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Hi alyx! Hope you're doing well 😊 here's my question for you: favourite trip you've been on so far? and/or What's the place you'd like to visit the most?

P.S. I agree with you. Sims 2 supremacy 😄

hi alice!! i'm a little tired, but at least now that my exams are over i can finally get some proper sleep!! (>v< )

anyways, my favourite trip: ~10 years ago there was this huge exhibition in belgrade with life-sized dinosaur models and my family decided to surprise me by taking me (+my sister) there because i was the biggest dinosaur nerd ever. we took so many pics, i spent the whole day wandering around and carefully reading every sign with trivia they put up (despite knowing most of the information from my books and documentaries already). to top it all off, we had dinosaur-shapes corn puffs for lunch (dini smoki, how nostalgic!!! i'm sure my serbian followers know what i'm talking about)

i went to see fossil exhibits a couple of times over the years but old bones and 3d renders from documentaries can't quite compare to seeing what the creature would have looked like if it walked the earth today. needless to say, it left quite an impression!!

next, where would i like to go: awfully cliché, but i'm a weeb and i can't help it! i'd love to visit japan someday. not only for animanga merch, i'd kill to visit the more rural areas and learn about the culture there first hand. oh, and i always wanted to visit animation and comic studios in france because their school of art is very distinct in comparison to eastern and other western schools (i hope i'm using those terms right)

(at the end of the day, i think i'd enjoy any trip where i'd get to mingle with locals, enjoy some quality cultural exchange and go sightseeing in the nature or see all sorts of fun and cool monuments)

sorry i started rambling, i loved the question!! have a cookie for your time (🍪)

#ask #glad to see someone else recognise the masterpiece that is sims 2 #`can't talk right now i'm doing hot girl stuff`#*deletes pool ladder #*deletes doors #*commits arson #*stirs up petty drama in the neighbourhood #*tries to get kidnapped by aliens #should i go on??

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hello-mojo · 3 years ago

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[Ok so the following is a story, (Rise Above This was was a working title) I was working on this completely on my own and I was quite excited about it. I actually had tried to plot out the progression and main plot points, and a few other notes for things I needed to look up and research to mesh the timelines a bit better. I hadn't gotten around to it though and now... well I don't know if I'll ever bring myself to write fanfiction anymore. I loved this story premise though and had such Hope's for it... ah well. The first chapter was completed but there was supposed to be so much more.. Frances having accidental magic and then getting sick and Healer Harry to save her... ah well. If you like the fic let me know, if you want to adopt it, comment.

Oh one other thing... not all the songs are actually nirvana songs, there's a pearl jam song used too but I was looking for songs in the right genre that seemed to work for the plot. It's all fair in fanfic right?

Anyhooty... I doubt I'll post the stories that were completed on my main profile as I orphaned them and they can still be viewedon archive just look up my old. Penname CagedNTorn.

For unfinished stuff I had oh let's see... 3 different charlie/Draco fics I was working on, one that was all but complete... I had a draco/spike crossover fic, plus there was the sailormooon/Harry Potter crossover... that was actually a Drarry fic too, there were a bunch of things that I'll likely never finish. So I'll post them by and by.

Do let me know if there's a better place to post the plot bunnies that are up for grabs.

Now I've blathered enough so here's the first chapter of Rise that can be adopted if someone is interested in finishing it.]

Rise Above This

Draco was backstage at the place he was playing that night. He sat tuning his guitar wearing ripped jeans and a white long sleeve thermal t-shirt with thumb holes burnt in and also a mohair sweater he was particularly comfortable in. Western Washington state was wet and cold pretty much all the time.

This didn't really bother the English man though as England had similar weather. He'd grown his hair out and had it cut shaggy and it hung in his eyes perpetually now but he didn't care. It drove his mother nuts whenever she came to visit.

Narcissa still hadn't quite gotten the hang of blending in with muggles but she was getting better. She was sitting nearby chattering about her trip to France. She was wearing faded bluejeans and a fitted corset top that she'd bought in paris. She also had a posh cashmere sweater on where most of the kids were wearing flannel and converse sneakers, just like Draco.

She had her long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. Draco smiled at her as she nattered-on about wines and the latest runway fashions. At least he still had her. Pansy was floating around somewhere too, probably flirting with someone.

"I just don't understand why you have to look so scruffy though darling. You have such a lovely face! Can't you at least comb your hair back?" Narcissa was saying. Draco rolled his eyes at her but gave her a shit-eating grin.

"Because I like looking scruffy. It pisses off the establishment. Even if it didn't, I'd still do it. Hiding myself away is comfortable." Draco said, handing his guitar to a stagehand.

"Besides, this grungy war refugee look suits him. He's ridiculously hot." Pansy stated with a grin as she sidled up to accompany Narcissa out front to watch the show. Draco could already hear the crowd cheering as the lights went down. Draco and the 2 other blokes, 1 squib and one muggleborn, all cast outs of the wizarding world lined up off stage. They formed a circle and everyone put a hand in and they shook them, clapped and cried out their chant.

"Music and ass, gas or grass. We're here for a good time, not here for a long time. Lets do this!" Draco led the chant the guys all cheered and then took the stage. Dave went first and started a drum beat, Krist was next and began the base-line. Then Draco, carrying his electric guitar, went to the mic. He never looked at the audience. He wasn't here for them, not really. He was here for himself. Because he had something to say. Even if no one really understood him or interpreted his messages clearly.

"Come as you are, as you were

As I want you to be

As a friend, as a friend

As an old enemy

Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memoria."

He strummed the chords and sang the song not really looking at anyone. He was trying quite unsuccessfully not to think about a certain messy haired brunette.

After the war he'd had every single door slammed in his face. Even the most menial of jobs wouldn't hire him. Potter had kept his word and put in a good word for him and his mother but the blonde on stage really didn't know why he'd bothered. No one in the Wizarding world wanted him or any other Slytherin around. Dave was a muggleborn Slytherin in the year below Draco and had also been chased out.

"Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours, don't be late

Take a rest as a friend

As an old memory."

It was hard not to think of Potter when he sang this song because it was about him, at least mostly. There was always a thinly veiled anti establishment opinion mixed in. The fans loved it though and he didn't really mind. It’s not like Harry would ever show up and hear it. He was too busy still saving the world, having babies and whatever else it was that heros did. Not Draco. His long shaggy hair hung in his face as he sang the chorus, and shook his head. Just one word. Memory. His best and worst thing. His respite and the source of his nightmares.

He finished off the song and they hit a heavy chord progression into the next song.

"Load up on guns, bring your friends

It's fun to lose and to pretend

She's over bored and self assured

Oh no, I know a dirty word"

The kids surged forward jumping up and down and shaking their heads as they raised their fists in the air and sang along.

Draco had worked with Dave to put his thoughts on the war into muggle terms. He thought they'd done pretty good honestly. Even if they hadn't, the teenagers in Seattle and California couldn't get enough. He screamed the chorus and the kids screamed it with him.

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous

Here we are now, entertain us

I feel stupid and contagious

Here we are now, entertain us

A mulatto

An albino

A mosquito

My libido

Yeah, hey, yay"

Five years ago Draco had left the wizarding world and his mother behind. Narcissa was more than able to take care of herself. Draco wasn't concerned about her in that respect. His father had been a lot of things but stupid had never been one of them. Misguided certainly, but not stupid.

Luscious had moved money around in various accounts all over the world. He'd taken Draco with him on nearly all of his business trips. Draco had had many private tutors growing up and could speak French, English, Russian and German fluently. He could read in several languages. His father had insisted. Draco learned to balance a ledger when most kids were learning to ride a bicycle.

When the ministry had seized their accounts in Gringotts, they hadn't even seized a tenth of the true fortune. Draco hadn't needed to work. He'd wanted to. However no one would let him. So he'd packed a duffle bag of casual clothes, taken his muggle id and cards and left for America. He'd covered his accent fairly well he thought, and if he came off sounding like a stoned southerner at times… no one pointed it out.

He met Dave hanging around kings cross station panhandling. The two 18 year olds decided to strike out together. Draco and Dave were sitting together at some boardwalk in Seattle, Washington when Draco flipped his skateboard and saw a kid playing guitar near-by. He'd been hooked from the first chord. He'd bought them instruments and they taught themselves to play.

"I think you'll all know this next one."

Draco hit the distinctive chords and the kids in the audience squealed with delight. This was more personal, more singing than the growly screaming. More about his feelings than anything else. He hid in his hair not seeing anyone. In his mind he tried to be back in that skatepark with scraped knees, just him and Dave.

"What else should I be?

All apologies

What else should I say?

Everyone is gay

What else should I write?

I don't have the right

What else should I be?

All apologies."

He sang the words not looking at his mother, not caring about her reaction to that statement. He'd forgotten she hadn’t heard this particular song before. Well she had to find out sooner or later he supposed.

"I wish I was like you

Easily amused

Find my nest of salt

Everything is my fault

I'll take all the blame

Aqua seafoam shame

Sunburn, freezer burn

Choking on the ashes of her enemy."

Draco finished the song and the kids were crying out various songs they wanted to hear while cheering and clapping. Draco loved it. He lived for it. They only had one more song to play. It would end the show on a high note before the next band took the stage. The next song he was about to play was about a lot of things. Various parts of the war, Tom Riddles beginnings, the discrimination in the Wizarding world, his own parents a bit. In hindsight, Draco realized that he likely should have adjusted the set list a bit when he'd found out his mother was coming to the show. 'Too late to do anything about it now.' He thought to himself. Maybe they'd finally have a real conversation for a change. He set his guitar in a stand nearby and took a deep breath.

"At home

Drawing pictures

Of mountain tops

With him on top

Lemon yellow sun

Arms raised in a V

And the dead lay in pools of maroon below."

He shook his head, hiding in his hair and not seeing anyone. Only Dave and Krist, only his guitar. The kids screamed and jumped and sang along. Draco thrashed around stage with them, just the microphone cord wrapped around his hand.

"Daddy didn't give attention

Oh, to the fact that mommy didn't care

King Tommy the Wicked

Ruled his world

Tommy spoke in class today

Tommy spoke in class today"

The guys backed him up intermittently on the chorus and the base thumped throughout the song, a steady heartbeat. Draco couldn’t let himself worry about hurting his mother's feelings. He sang what he needed to say. He knew nothing was ever simple. There were at least two sides to every story and a variety of contributing factors.

"Clearly I remember

Pickin' on the boy

Seemed a harmless little fuck

But we unleashed a snake

Gnashed his teeth

And bit the recess lady's breast."

Draco knew the words painted a vivid picture. He didn't care. Maybe people would learn that bullying others for shit beyond their control was stupid and had far reaching consequences. There were certainly a few chapters in his story that he'd like to rewrite.

"How could I forget

And he hit me with a surprise left

My jaw left hurting

Dropped wide open

Just like the day

Oh, like the day I heard."

There was no possible way he could make up for some of the shit he'd done. He knew that. He tried to just pass on the lessons. Hoping that if he could even reach just one person, it'd be worth it. Exile in the muggle world. They weren't so bad really. Their fashions were quite fun, and much more functional than robes. He missed making potions, doing magic. It was a particular skill set that he was good at. There was no place in the muggle world for magic. He had to be even more careful now that they were getting really famous. People were always watching him. Hiding in the bushes, trying to sneak into his hotel room, everyone wanted pictures of him to sell to the press. He couldn't risk anyone seeing him perform magic. He did little things like casting stasis charms or heating up a hot beverage, or casting a cooling charm on himself and the guy's. He knew his mind was spiraling away from the uncomfortable conversation with his mother that he was anticipating after this.

"Daddy didn't give affection, no!

And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear

King Tommy The Wicked

Ruled his world

Try to erase this (try to erase this)

From the blackboard."

He knew his parents had loved him. They had been very cold, and reserved in all things though. His mother could be formidable when she wanted to be and his father was doting yet terrifying. That was something about Tom Riddle's life that Draco had been able to understand. Feeling alone, as if no one cared, no one understood you. He knew how cruel kids could be, because he had been the one leading the mockery in his day.

He'd never once thought about what it might feel like on the other side of it. Until he'd been on the receiving end of such mockery, ridicule and unfairness did he begin to re-think his actions as a snotty young man. The crowd was going wild.

Draco stood as the lights came up and he bowed with the guys. They all smiled and waved to their fans. Off stage, he saw his mother standing with Pansy. Narcissa looked a mixture of hurt, worried and angry. A reporter from MTV was there, shoving a microphone in his face. Draco smiled his small smile, just a turning up of the corners of his mouth really. He answered all of the questions asked in a rare and rather lengthy interview, glad for the temporary reprieve from his mother for the moment.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar set of green eyes and messy black hair, accompanied by none other than Hermione Granger and a regular. Analese Taylor was no stranger to Draco. She had been a fan since the band's boardwalk skate park days. Now that they were famous, she was their number one fan. The way Granger was clutching her arms, the strong resemblance between the two women, Draco could slap himself for not realizing what was so familiar about the girl. She had to be related to Granger, no other explanation.

Before he could really panic about the three familiar faces another familiar set of arms was thrown around his knees and a very delighted

"Daddy!" Rang through the room as his daughter Frances threw her arms around him. Draco glanced around for his soon to be ex wife. He spotted her nearby with arms crossed, looking furious. He sighed deeply as he scooped his daughter into his arms. The child was his whole world outside of his music. Draco glanced back towards Potter and Granger as his wife stormed over as the press and other onlookers were cleared out by Pansy.

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flvcr · 4 years ago

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— ( harry styles, twenty-five, cismale, he/him ) did you see ETIENNE FLUOR walking down main street earlier? you know who i’m talking about, they’re a POTTER / HOCKEY PLAYER. everybody in town says that they’re IDEALISTIC & INTUITIVE, but have a tendency to be UNPREDICTABLE & DESTRUCTIVE too. ETIENNE has been in town for THREE years. c'mon, they’re always requesting RUNNIN’ WITH THE DEVIL BY VAN HALEN at karaoke nights. well, i’m sure you’ll see them soon! @westmerestarters

hiya! i am kt &+ underneath the read more is a LOT of info about my bb, etienne. ** insert clown emoji but make ‘em yee-haw ** if you’d like to plot you can reach me on here or at space cowboy#8536 on discord !! <33 v excited to interact with y’all and your bbs !!

𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖘

name: etienne ‘ marcel ‘ fluor.

nicknames: goes by marcel, only allowing very few people to call him etienne.

gender / pronouns : cismale / he, him.

age: twenty-five.

birthday: june 27th.

zodiac: cancer !!

orientation: pansexual / panromantic.

occupation: hockey player ( currently injured ) // potter ( for fun ) !!

languages spoken: french, english & italian.

𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

- PINTEREST - featuring his wardrobe, his home, his aesthetic, some character inspo and olive, his german shepard pup !!

- SPOTIFY PLAYLIST - what he is currently listening to !!

personality type: INFJ-T / THE ADVOCATE

moral alignment: chaotic good

style-wise: etienne is v stylish, but isn’t overly flashy by any means. he’s intuitive in the sense of what works and what doesn’t. willing to explore the latest wardrobe craze, but also just likes what he likes and likely won’t venture out unless pressed by another to do so. post coming soon for his wardrobe !!! they say that the cancer man’s clothing is selected to reflect “ sophistication over flash “ but kdgjn i’ll let ya’ll be the judge of that. he’s v much harry inspired clothing wardrobe, but also tones it down with some casual looks, especially when it comes to getting his hands dirty in creative aspects !! but can be a bit on the flashier side as well, especially w/ hockey press and what not !!

𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐𝖌𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉

etienne ‘ marcel ’ fluor was born in montpellier, france to two lovely parents, theodore and estelle fluor ( both born in england themselves ) . he is the youngest of his siblings, having one older brother and an older sister, all of them being roughly two years apart. at the age of eight, his family relocated to montreal, canada as a result of a promotion his mother received, which at such a young age, etienne had no qualms with, despite his siblings’ uneasiness. upon moving to a new country at a young age, etienne truly found himself via escaping into various books and movies. often attempting to write his own and would force encourage his siblings to act his skits/plays out for his parents enjoyment. he continues to be very close with his parents and siblings - recently he taught his parents how to use facetime, so catch him face timing his family on sunday nights.

growing up, etienne also enjoyed playing all types of sports ( his parents signing him up hoping that he’d make friends as a result, which he did ). when it came down to it, athletic abilities-wise, there truly wasn’t anything that he wasn’t ‘ good ’ at, and that’s simply because he’s always been such a competitive individual / as well as a perfectionist. that competitive/perfectionist energy caused him to go home and practice a skill or trick for hours in order to be able to come back the next day and whoop everyone’s asses. overall, he’s very athletic, found alternating between various sports offered not only at school, but as well as through local clubs. ultimately, his love and appreciation for hockey swayed him and soon enough it became his sole focus. due to his perfectionist tendencies, etienne is very dedicated to his craft, he will spend hours practicing specific tricks and skills in order to be the best at what he does, which transcends past hockey and into, really, every aspect of his life.

throughout highschool ; etienne was a v dedicated student. although he’s a bit reckless and loved to goof off, he was always acing classes and applying himself. he genuinely cares for others, you could’ve seen his ass volunteering at a soup kitchen with his mom on sundays and what not, as well as take part in various clubs and sports ! just SOFT and sporty things. during this time, he joined the ontario hockey league and from there was eventually scouted out and recruited to the pittsburgh penguins as a defenseman at the age of eighteen - forgoing his parents desire for him to attend a university. although he enjoyed his time with pittsburgh, he was excited when the idea of being traded came up - eager to explore a new city and immerse himself in a new area.

trigger warning - injury, dislocation ( just in case !!!! ) however, he really didn’t enjoy new york ( hehe ), so he relocated to westmere soon after his initial arrival to nyc - finding a lot of comfort in living in a less populated area. he would commute during the hockey season to nyc, which to him wasn’t very far away, so this is where he’s been residing for the last three years !! however, in the last couple of weeks while training for the upcoming season my lil bb injured himself - not to get into tooooo much detail, i’ll just leave it at shoulder dislocation / joint separation due to a hard hit !! basically he’s out for this upcoming season, already having surgery completed, he’s currently healing for the next couple of months, allowing himself to fully experience that westmere fall !!!

overall, etienne can come off as a bit reserved, and distant whether that be a result of his untrusting nature of others, or simply unfamiliarity. it takes a bit of time before he feels comfortable to share his true opinion / commentary / only doing so when he feels secure to do so. he’s not necessarily unfriendly, just a bit distant / lost in his thoughts. which varies, as with most ppl ofc, upon person to person and his level of comfortability among them. despite his often lack of conversation, he abhors an uncomfortable silence to settle and will fill it with nonsense to simply avoid the feeling altogether. so, if you ever want to catch him rambling, just making him uncomfortable dkjfngdf. he definitely approaches most things with a bit of ‘ tough love ‘ . he doesn’t mind getting into a quarrel or two if he knows its worth the outcome he’s envisioned. etienne will tell others when they are fucking up, and if they are throwing a punch as a result - catch him leaning into it, which explains his bout of reckless antics. he can come off as a know it all, when it comes to advice giving, but more so because he thinks he’s really good at analyzing others and situations they are in, not necessarily because he’s lived through them himself, he’s just rather intuitive and able to empathize quite easily with others despite his verbal admittance of it. when it comes down to this binches reckless bits, he just feels so intensely that he ends up numbing himself in the aftermath of it all ( especially bc he’s definitely not sharing those feelings with the people around him ), therefore he’s willing to put himself into harms way in order to get a bit of that - happiness / pain, it doesn’t matter to him as long as he no longer feels overwhelmed by numbness. so, if ya see him with some scrapes and stitches ~ mind ya business. but he’ll likely try to drag somebody else into it, and make it seem like it was their idea. but if he is truly comfortable with somebody, he walks a fine line of won’t stop talking, especially if it’s an interest of his, and comfortable silence.

_________________________

𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖞 & 𝖍𝖆𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖘

he is a CANCER, therefore in this essay i will..... kidding but here’s some fun cancer info i saw that applies to my bb !! at first he appears to be wistful, sarcastic ( maybe a lil crabby ) , shy, distant and mysterious. this personality remains if he isn’t completely comfortable around somebody. but overall, that’s just his facade, his ‘smokescreen’ of sorts to scare off the world from his outwards persona. underneath that layer ( makes me think of shrek metaphor with onions // don’t mind me ), BUT he’s gentle, kind and affectionate ( if you manage to make it to that level * bell dings * ) !!! overall, etienne is a sensitive soul, a bit emotional although he’d rather d*e than show that to others. likely will internalize anything that can hurt his feelings / a low blow and will do something chaotic as a result later on bc of it. very polite, and a little worldly, he is truly the epitome of old-school gentlemanly manners. chivalry coming as a second nature to him !!

that was getting ramble-y, so continuing HERE. but when it comes to romance, as per the cancer man, the concept of love is a mystery, one that etienne is trying to attain. however, his shyness and innate distrust of others make it difficult for him to allow himself to fall in love. his guard is always up when it comes to his emotions, and it’ll take a bit of prodding before he’s willing to speak up on what’s desired from him. he’s v picky when it comes to finding the “ partner of his dreams “ - but he’s def willing to throw himself into the romance of the situation, i.e. buying flowers, riding white horses, and slaying metaphorical dragons. the traditional side means that he will shower his partner with thoughtful gifts, wine and dine them in the best restaurants, and try to grant their every wish. he will take the garbage out, fix that wobbly shelf, navigate on road trips, and kill more so trap and release bugs for his partner, and most important of all he will do it all without being asked. his loyalty and keen attention to the needs and wants of his potential partner. so basically, more so willing to showcase through actions than speak on it. it’s the little things, right ??!?!?! he def cherishes not just the act of being in a relationship, but what it means to become one with another person in mind, body, and soul.

prides himself on being able to make a mean cup of coffee, likely the worst person to watch a movie with bc he knows exactly how it’s going to end after only watching five minutes of it, he has a godawful sense of direction, will walk in circles for fifteen minutes before even raising a question about it/noticing ( but he refuses to acknowledge it. )

his house, car, workspace, junk drawer, closet….you name it - it’s organized, practically sparkling. often times arranged by color, and / or style. nothing is ever out of place, and if it is - there’s trouble brewing. but, more than anything, if he’s visiting somebody’s place and it’s messy, he will spend a solid thirty minutes picking everything up before doing whatever it is that was intended.

likes : reading, flowers, handwritten notes/letters, deep cleaning, baking, working on his pottery, watching the history channel and true crime docs and playing / watching hockey !!

dislikes : artichoke, clutter, sandals ( fkjgh ), unrealistic plotlines in movies &+ burnt coffee.

habits : likely has a severe caffeine addiction, although he’s now normalized having six cups of coffee throughout his day. he’s an early riser, no matter how little the amount of sleep he’s received, he’s always the first to rise - for his early morning runs !!

strengths: creative, insightful, inspiring, convincing, determined and passionate, decisive, altruistic, intuitive !!

weaknesses: sensitive, extremely private, perfectionist, low-key always needs to have a cause / purpose, can burn out easily !!

overall : etienne truly strives to be kind, and genuinely wants for everyone to get along. treat people with kindness and the like. he has the best of intentions, but often times that can get a bit muddled with the way he goes about things due to his bit of chaotic energy / as well as his often points of getting lost in his thoughts. he won’t realize he’s been quiet for the last three hours unless it’s mentioned to him. he will do anything to lighten a dark mood, and will sacrifice / throw himself under the bus if its needed. however, he also is the type to cause the dark mood depending on the day. wahoo! his more reckless antics increase when he’s feeling a bit emotional !! but he’ll likely try and convince somebody to propose the idea so it’s not on him.

𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖒 𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖉 𝖈𝖆𝖓𝖔𝖓𝖘

he lives with sebastian !! with his commuting to nyc for the hockey season, he wanted somebody to be able to take care of his house / garden and what not, and thus, seb arrived.

he’s v into making ceramics, cups / bowls / vases / etc !! what began as a fun hobby to distract himself in the offseason became something that he truly enjoys. ( laughing about that scene in ghost BUT DKJFNG OKAY ) although he’s pretty low-key about it, you can catch him at the farmers market selling his creations !! some pictures of his work can be found on his pinterest board !!

he is a vegetarian ! he has been since his freshman year of high school and has no plans on eating seafood/meat ever again.

he loves fancy wine ~ he’s cultured.

he can play the drums !!

he collects vintage matchbooks and the stickers off of various fruits ( he puts them in a little notebook - can be found on his bookshelf ).

saves handwritten notes and letters from pals.

he loves to garden !!!! he has a specified rose shearing hat.

HE WANTS TO JOIN A BOOKCLUB PLEASE !!!!!!!! or at least have some casual moments of silence with another reading. plz and tysm.

to make things a bit simple, he has all of harry’s tattoos !! might add more along the way !! stay tuned, folks !!

𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘

i am so up for anything!! please accept this ramble of ideas thrown below. if you have any other ideas, lmk !!!! <3333 :’-) down to start from scratch and PLOT PLOT PLOT !

( 2 / 2 ) - BFFZ : the z for an added emphasis dkfjgnd. somebody who likely has a key to etienne’s house, they can enjoy one anothers company as well as the bouts of comfortable silence. you know how best friends are but kdjfngd still !! whether they are likeminded or polar opposites that just flow ~~ down for anything !! even a trio of sorts ?!

( 1 / 1 ) - RIDE OR DIE / CHAOTIC COMPANION : it would be wrong to say one is the more likely the bad influence over the other, although etienne may just be. these two find themselves bounding into, well hell, ( i guess??? ) together. playing on one anothers impulsiveness and if one ends up in the back of a police car, the other is handcuffed to them. and yet despite the length of their potential injuries, they find themselves thinking of something crazier to subject them to the next time around.

( 1 / 1 ) - GUARDIAN ANGEL / GOOD INFLUENCE : with etienne being a bit chaotic in nature, he needs somebody that is likely going to steer him clear from all the ideas that’ll bring him to the brink of disaster. he’s impulsive and in that desperate attempt to feel again, he’s very likely to bring a bit of mayhem upon himself. so while they may be worrying and attempting to talk his ideas down, he’s trying to get them to go along with his plan. it may be rare that he actually takes their advice, but when he does it seems to be for the best.

( 1 / 1 ) - PARTY FRIEND : these two know how to have a good time together. despite the amount of alcohol they are throwing back and the shenanigans they find themselves in as a result, this is a time where they also find themselves confiding in one another. if you look at their camera rolls, it’s likely they have tons of embarrassing and unflattering videos and pics of one another, in between their sob-worthy confessionals and venting/rants. these two trust one another, and although they love getting wreckT together, they find themselves discussing very raw and personal details. likely the only person etienne confides in, simply bc he’s completely plastered.

( 1 / 1 ) - SIBLING-LIKE RELATIONSHIP : these two have a love/hate relationship, very sibling like filled with pranks, competition, teasing and playful banter. however, when it comes down to it they have so much love and respect for one another. they know that no matter what happens they will always have one anothers back and be supportive of the other. truly a pure content filled relationship.

okay quick mention, ENEMY PLOTS ?!?!?!?!?!? i would live for one. i can’t imagine etienne being hardcore nasty, but i’d like to see whatever version comes out for this. so let’s get it djfngjakdfg maybe they just hold different viewpoints on the world and what not and clash, anything really !!! v open !!

( 1 / 1 ) - MENTOR - etienne needs a bit of structured or unstructured guidance, all depending on what their deemed mentor is wanting to impart on him, a bit of wisdom or slight chaos. kdjfgn he’ll take anything !!

RANDOM LITTLE IDEAS : maybe they’ve heard of one another in town, but haven’t quite met yet! or maybe they see each other around all the time, but have yet to introduce themselves to one another but low-key maybe in some online forum for the town together ?! who knows some fun things kdjnfg i AM OPEN !

ooh maybe a slowburn of sorts ?! something spicy to wreck HIS and my life with. dkfjgn we can base this off of chemistry !!! :’-)

#( & ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ . )#westmereintro

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springomelas · 6 years ago

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Where would EXO and BTS want to take you for spring break vacation? I can’t wait to finally have a break from school! 🙌

A/N: I feel you school has made me dead inside and I got big tests and all that wacky stuff, oh and projects were made by the devil. [I’ll post a BTS version and a EXO one and I will link them so you can find them.]

Where BTS would take you for spring break

EXO version (coming very soon) / Masterlist

Kim Seokjin (Jin)

Seokjin likes spring sunlight so he would take you somewhere warm with a nice view and a beach, but he wouldn’t want the place to be packed and full of trash cause everyone is partying for spring break so he would take you to Boracay White Beach in the Philippines. Beautiful, classy, and over all amazing. You guys would have fun going around the Philippines buying souvenirs.

Min Yoongi (Suga)

It’s your spring break, but Yoongi also gets a break. You’re tried, he’s tried, you guys just decide to relax together for a few days and then you guys go out to deagu to vist his family for the rest of the break until you are forced to go back, sadly. It was comfortable with his family liking you and genuinely excited for you to come by.

Jung Hoseok (J-Hope)

Hoseok on vacation would be a experience of a life time. He would take you somewhere nice that he loves, I’m thinking California, but like the nice part (There are some gettheo parts over here, like sis no, the cailfornia dream is lit but like when it’s winter I don’t know how to act cause all I get is sun- I had to say this don’t know why??). He would get a nice hotel and reserve the penthouse where you guys would bearly be cause you would want to be everywhere. Th beach was first, then peirs, restaurants, shops, boat trip, water games, and you guys would swim in the indoor pool in the penthouse. By the end of the trip you guys would be tan (Tan hoseok, that’s it) and have a euphoric feeling in the air between you two.

Kim Namjoon (RM)

Two words: Sight seeing. You don’t need to travel all over the world and back, cause you guys would just go to different parts of South Korea. He would show you the best places to eat or his favortie places. On the train from Seoul to Ilsan you would fall asleep on him and he would take pictures and videos as little memories he would always keep.

Park Jimin

You were expecting to just be lazy all spring break with Jimin, but no he got plans. You are going to Japan. It was last mintue for you so you had to pack quickly and cancel any plans you made with friends to hang out sometime that week. I Japan you would be so happy to see such a beautiful place. At least one of the days he would take you to a nereby park and you guys would just sit and watch the chest blossom trees, some blossomed and some fell from the trees and it was absolutely beautiful and more than you could ask for.

Kim Taehyung (V)

He low-key extra so he taking you to Paris, France. You guys would go around the whole time seeing places going to museums and having endless fun in a place full of love. By the end of the trip you would be sad to go but you would have so many pictures and videos, you could relive it everytime you look at them.

Jeon Jungkook

Jungkook loves to travel and go many different places, but he would take you to a beautiful place that he never gets tried of: Italy. He, unlike Jimin, would tell you ahead of time you guys were going abroad for spring break. He loves to flim everything so he would, and when I say everything I mean EVERYTHING (; You would leave happy and full of love and well souvenirs but he would have so much tape you knew it would be like you were there everytime you saw it.

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rosesutherlandwrites · 6 years ago

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Tagged by @wilwywaylan AND @kujaku-myoo ANNNNND @petalproufaerie !

Rules: Answer 21 questions and tag 21 (as many as i want) people you want to get to know better.

Nickname: I haven’t really got one and this is A Shame (i will accept suggestions)

Zodiac: Sagittarius

Height: the noman’s land between 5’3” and 5'4

Last movie I saw: In a theatre, Colette.

Favourite musicians: Oh no. I am bad at this because i like too many things and have a bad head for names? Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Tori Amos. Hawksley Workman.

Song stuck in my head: Boats and Birds, by Gregory and the Hawk

Other blogs: my pastry blog @petitepoulerouge

Do I get asks: Rarely, but i do enjoy when they pop up as a fun surprise!

Following: 119…it feels like more?

Amount of sleep: 4-6 hours, but i really ought to fix that, i function much better after 8

Lucky number: 7, 14, 21. Going further smacks of Maths and Will Not Be Tolerated.

What I’m wearing: wooly orange knit socks, my comfy pants, black v-neck, ugly mustard coloured nubbly cardigan. Not exciting, but this is the relaxing time of day!

Dream job: I still wish I was doing musical theatre? But if not that i wish i had my own little bakery, but never had to deal with—schedules, or any of the money, business and math parts. I just want creative pastry freedom, and control over the music in the kitchen.

Dream trip: oh god. It was France, but i am here now! I really want to visit Scotland as thats where my roots are? Also Iceland—i want pony trekking and hot springs.

Favourite food: DONT MAKE ME CHOOSE. Fresh goat cheese, if i must. With wild berries, and basil, in a crepe. I also have a thing for the Nova Scotia Donair, which is not reblicatable anywhere else on earth and is the Ultimate Drunk Food.

Play any instruments: Not well enough to consider it ACTUALLY playing. I’m hoping to be able to start learning one this year—i have always wanted to play fiddle.

Favourite song: I really can’t pick. I’m sorry, I actually can’t.

Random fact: I can talk just like The Chipmunks.

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: Sea wind that whips your hair six ways at once, red wine and laughter by warm candlelight, looking up at the stars in a dead quiet night when it’s so cold you can see your breath and the snow squeaks underfoot, rosy cheeks and fuzzy scarves with matching mittens, a copper pot that gives the most wonderful smelling steam when you remove the lid. And going barefoot, especially on old worn wood. Mismatched antique china plates as a table setting.

I AM SO BEHIND ON THESE. i won’t tag all of you, but would love to see what your responses are if you feel like joining in.

#laughing mistress does memes #about me

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roleplaylogs · 6 years ago

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Johnlock Prince AU

A super original idea where Sherlock and John are both princes who met online yet don’t know one another’s identities. I loved it!

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

You both like Johnlock.

Stranger: [Let me know if I just lost you!!! Royal AU: Sherlock is the Prince of France and John is the Prince of England. They met online about a year ago but never told each other who they were] I need you opinions on some outfits I have. I can't figure out what to wear. [John, 23]

You: This is acknowledging I have better fashion sense than you, so I am all too willing to help. Go ahead. SH [22]

Stranger: Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Stranger: [Attached: An image of John in a very posh bathroom from the neck down. He's got one maroon jacket with gold swirl accents on the shoulders and flaps of the pockets. The lapel is black. His pocket square is black with gold corners, his shirt is white, and his tie is black. He's paired it with a pair of bespoke black trousers] What do you think?

You: Well. That is exceedingly lovely. I adore the accents, the gold sets off so nicely with the maroon. SH It's tailored perfectly, looks expensive. SH

Stranger: It is expensive. But you like it? JW

Stranger: //No JW*

You: I do like it, a lot. What's the occasion?

Stranger: A horribly fancy birthday party.

You: A relation, friend, or barely acquaintance?

Stranger: [...] Relation.

You: Ah, those awful ones you're required to attend. I loathe parties, or any kind of social gathering.

Stranger: Exactly. And this one is just to show off to everyone else how rich we are and how 'better' we are. It's awful.

You: Oh, I'm used to those. My family is the same.

Stranger: I hate it.

Stranger: So this outfit is good?

You: It's gorgeous, John. Promise.

Stranger: Good, okay. Thank you, Sherlock.

Stranger: You know, I'm considering skipping.

You: Oh really? How rebellious of you.

You: Always liked a bad boy.

Stranger: Mm, It's hardly the first rebellious thing I've done.

Stranger: I might even go clubbing instead.

You: Clubbing? What I wouldn't give to see that. Tell me another rebellious thing you've done, then.

Stranger: I can show you my typical clubbing outfit?

Stranger: I've climbed out a window in my house before.

You: Oh, please do.

You: John, I've been doing that since I was seven.

Stranger: My my. I'm not the only rebellious person here, I see.

Stranger: I ditched my family when we were on a trip and explored the city fornmyself. Got caugh snogging a bloke in an alley. My parents were /pissed/.

Stranger: [Attached: A picture of John in his room, again incredibly posh and big. He's got on a pair of jeans sitting low on his hips, the top band of his underwear peaking out. He has on an indecently right white v-neck on as well, showing off his arms and abs. You can just see the hint of a tattoo on his bicep] Tada! Clubbing outfit.

You: Exploring foreign cities is dull when you're confined to the duties of family, I agree. God good. That photograph has rendered me totally incapacitated, I hope you're happy. Is that a tattoo?

Stranger: I am /incredibly/ happy.

Stranger: Mhm. That it is. Another rebellious thing I've done. I have a few piercings too.

You: A true bad boy. Going against your families wishes, reminds me of me. Mmhm, I have my nipples pierced.

Stranger: God that's hot.

Stranger: Ears and an eyebrow for me. I have to keep them out most of the time.

You: If you were mine, I wouldn't let you take them out.

Stranger: Oh yeah? I like the sound of that.

You: I wish that could happen, more than anything.

Stranger: Maybe one day.

Stranger: Now that's all I'll be thinking about at this party.

You: I'll be thinking about it all night. Luckily for me, I have no plans, and can stay away in my room.

Stranger: Oh yeah? Why don't you tell me about your thought while I'm getting ready ;)

You: I'm just thinking about what I would do to you if I was there. You wouldn't be getting dressed, that's for sure.

Stranger: Tease.

Stranger: Trust me, if I had my way I wouldn't be spending my birthday at this awful party.

You: It's your birthday?

Stranger: [...] Possibly.

You: John! Why didn't you tell me?

Stranger: Well I didn't think it was important!

You: Of course it's important!

Stranger: Now you know. It's my birthday and I hate this party.

You: Well. Happy birthday, John. A present, for you. [image attached of Sherlock lying down in some tight black underwear, his face cut out of the shot, sprawled on some cream satin sheets, an open book beside him. Silver barbells are just visible in his nipples the low light]

Stranger: Oh, /Jesus/.

Stranger: A very happy birthday to me.

You: Thought you might appreciate it. Hope it's not too distracting.

Stranger: Distracting in the best way.

Stranger: I can't decide if I want you to fuck me or vice verse.

You: Both. God, both. You can do a lot in a night.

Stranger: Yes you can ;)

Stranger: What do you prefer, in general? With calling me yours I assumed you usually like to top.

You: I prefer the sensation of bottoming, but I inherently find it difficult to keep my mouth shut. Topping from the bottom, it's been called, if you will.

Stranger: Christ. You sound like fun.

Stranger: So you like to tell people how to fuck you, call them good and all that?

You: Yes. I'm never quiet, you know my mind goes a million miles an hour.

Stranger: Yeah, I do.

Stranger: It's amazing.

You: You're one of the few people that thinks that. Most people who like me instantly hate me.

You: *who meet me

Stranger: Idiots, the lot of them.

Stranger: I wish you were here. I'd let you boss me around all night <3

You: Sounds so tempting. I should get the next flight there.

Stranger: So much fun. And if you're so inclined, I may have some toys.

You: Toys? Like what?

Stranger: Things.

You: Come on, John. Tell me.

Stranger: Is that an order? Hm?

You: Yes. Now.

Stranger: Bondage things - ropes, cuffs, a spreader bar for when I was feeling really adventurous. Gag or two.

You: Having you cuffed and gagged while I ride you is a particularly vivid image as of present.

Stranger: Mm, isn't it just?

Stranger: I have a few plugs and vibes and stuff, simply because any man who says they don't like anal play hasn't ever stimulated their prostate.

You: Too right. I have some too. Do you do it often?

Stranger: Mhm.

You: You should take a video for me. Next time you're feeling adventurous.

Stranger: 'Should'?

You: You will.

Stranger: Yes Sherlock ;)

Stranger: Maybe I'll skip going to the club.

You: Good boy. Yes, stay in instead.

Stranger: Fucking hell, Sher.

You: You like that?

Stranger: Course I do. Who wouldn't?

You: I'll keep it up, then.

Stranger: God, I'm not going to survive this party.

You: Not at all. I'm not stopping this any time soon. Not even for your own birthday party.

Stranger: Goddamnit.

You: You thought you could slip that past me? Tut tut.

Stranger: I did for a bit.

You: It was cute. I let you think that.

Stranger: :(

Stranger: You definitely didn't know it was my birthday.

You: Maybe I did. Why didn't you want to tell me? Mysterious John.

Stranger: You'll have to do better than that to get my secrets ;)

You: I want to know everything about you,

Stranger: I know.

Stranger: One day.

You: Why are you so reluctant?

Stranger: I have my reasons.

Stranger: You're not super forthcoming either, ya know.

You: I would tell you anything you asked, you know.

Stranger: [...] You would not.

You: Go ahead. Ask.

Stranger: [Long delay] Damnit. I cant think of anything.

You: No burning questions? You barely know me.

You: Here's one for free. Sherlock is my middle name, well, one of them.

Stranger: Oh, really? I just assumed it was your first.

Stranger: What's your first name, then?

You: William. Dull.

Stranger: Last name?

You: Holmes.

Stranger: [...] Holmes?

Stranger: William Holmes?

You: Yes.

Stranger: As in, French Prince William Holmes?

You: I don't expect many English people to know who I am. But yes. Hello. Please don't sell your story to a paper.

Stranger: Jesus fucking Christ.

You: I can't discern your reaction.

Stranger: [Slight delay] You arse! You're supposed to be here tonight!

You: I don't follow.

You: Oh.

You: Oh, no.

You: You can't be serious.

Stranger: Oh my God.

Stranger: I don't think I've ever been this embarrassed in my life.

You: You're embarrassed? I'm the one who blew off your party because I think you're annoying. Or, I did. I suppose I didn't know I knew you.

Stranger: Hm. Now I'm just offended.

You: Every time we've met we haven't gotten along.

Stranger: I thought you hated me!

You: Everyone thinks I hate them, I just have terrible people skills and I hate official duties.

Stranger: Christ.

Stranger: How the fuck did we end up meeting on here of all places?

You: I have absolutely no idea. The odds are... unlikely.

Stranger: [Slight delay] You know. You could still probably get to the party, if you wanted.

You: I could. The flight is only an hour.

Stranger: Or I could sneak out and come to you. JW

You: I have an apartment in central Paris.

Stranger: Very tempting.

Stranger: I could spend the weekend. JW

You: Celebrate your birthday properly.

Stranger: Mhm. And you could mark me up all you want. JW

Stranger: Or you could always stay in the palace. Up to you. JW

You: [I have to go now, but I loved this concept, super original. Thanks for the great rp!]

You have disconnected.

#Sherlock rp #sherlock #johnlock #johnlock rp

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lisatelramor · 6 years ago

Text

Lay In the Atmosphere Ch1

So as I was writing Not Left To Stand Alone, the idea for this fic, with Kaito's history with the Kudos, was nagging at the back of my brain and the second I was done writing the bulk of NLTSA, I was writing this fic. ^_^;;; Which... emotional whiplash as NLTSA ends on happy notes and this is ANGST-DEPRESSION-TEARS for Kaito. >_> I mean it's not 100% angst, but let's be real, most of this is a grief and anxiety spiral mixed with shit life choices that Kaito eventually manages to drag himself out of. That said, if you haven't read NLTSA this should stand well enough on its own as a separate story.

I was listening to Panic at the Disco almost nonstop when I was writing this so the title comes from “A Casual Affair” which is kind of ironic since Kaito, Shinichi and Ran don’t do casual anything. ^_^;; A more fitting piece of music for this fic is “Smoke and Mirrors” by Imagine Dragons, but that could just be my current music binge talking. :P Hop on the angst train, guys, hope you enjoy sadness catharsis and bittersweet ends since this fic is Kaito at a very low point in his life.

Chapter 1

Kaito shuffled a deck of cards absently as he and Jii leaned over a map. It was covered with Kaito’s notes and annotations about guard shifts, traps, and escape routes. “I think that about covers it,” Kaito said. “It’s only a small role you’ll be playing this time, Jii-chan.” He flashed his assistant a grin, “You shouldn’t have to worry about anything tripping up those bad knees of yours.”

“My knees are perfectly fine, Kaito-sama,” Jii said with a sniff. He was older, much older than when Kaito first met him, and he’d looked old then. His gray hair was going mostly white now, what little he still had left of it, his glasses that much thicker and his hands a bit more gnarled than before. He was still a capable magician in his own right though, keeping up with Kaito like he was half his actual age.

Still, Jii wasn’t getting any younger, and sometimes Kaito worried that he was asking too much. Ever since the divorce with Aoko, Kaito had been holding more heists again, and it was taking a toll on both of them. Kaito sat back with a sigh. “I think we’ll take a break after this one,” he said. “Rest a bit and do some research. Leave the police guessing. Work on some new gadgets to keep them on their toes.”

“Active resting,” Jii commented, amused.

“You know me, always doing something.” It was a joke, but it wasn’t; Kaito hadn’t rested much at all since Takumi was born, not even before then with school and Kid work, but especially not after Takumi. “Buuut, you should actually rest. You’ve been saying you wanted to go on vacation. Why not close up shop for a bit? Go to Okinawa and get that time on the beach, or heck, go to France for a few weeks.”

“I don’t know...” Jii gathered papers together, conflicted. “I couldn’t leave all the work to you to do. You should take a proper vacation too, Bocchama.”

Kaito was hardly as young as he used to be, but he couldn’t help a lopsided smile. He’d always be the ‘young master’ to Jii. “It’s fine. I’m not planning on doing much. Just scouring webpages. I promise that I won’t do any legwork until you’re back.”

Jii returned the smile. “Well, if you insist...perhaps a short vacation would be nice.”

“Of course it would. You’ve earned it.” The deck of cards fanned from one hand to another and vanished up Kaito’s sleeve. “We’ve earned it,” he corrected at Jii’s pointed glance. “I promise to do actual resting.”

“Perhaps take a real vacation of your own?” Jii said pointedly.

Kaito considered. How long had it been since he went somewhere just to relax? Since he didn’t have work or school or Kid or child-rearing? He drew a blank. That was probably Jii’s point. “If I take a vacation I don’t think I’d go anywhere, or not far. I don’t want to miss spending time with Takumi.”

“Then take him with you. A family vacation.”

“That could be fun.” Takumi camping or taking him to visit a zoo or to see the sights in Kyoto. Kaito could show him how to do coin tricks and do every fun thing he could think of that a child might enjoy for a week. Aoko would never go for it though, so it would never happen. Not a weeklong trip like he desperately wanted. Kaito shook his head. Maybe he’d just settle for taking Takumi to an amusement park sometime soon. Take Takumi and Momoi’s kid, Shiemi, since they got along so well, let them get hyped on sugar and run it all off between rides. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Jii said. He smiled, the sort of proud, doting smile that always made Kaito wonder if this was what having a grandparent felt like. Probably not. Grandparents didn’t defer to you.

Kaito stretched. “Get some rest, Jii-chan, we’ll have a lot of work tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Kaito-bocchama.” Jii collected the notes into a neat pile to stash away in his office like so many other heist prep days before.

“Night, Jii-chan.” Another late night, another early morning, but nothing out of the norm for either of them. Kaito fixed tomorrow’s plans in his head one last time as he left. It had been a while since he pulled a supposed teleportation trick. They got harder every time he had to think up a new way to make one work. Thank goodness Jii was still quick as ever. The usual firm resolve solidified around the plan’s concept. He’d get it done. He always did.

***

The jewel-inset mirror in his hands felt abnormally heavy as Kaito raced through prepared retreat paths. His heart pounded overtime with adrenaline and the steely satisfaction of leaving Nakamori-keibu in the dust, cuffed with his own cuffs to a guard rail. “Jii, I have the mirror,” Kaito said, curt as he saved most of his breath for running. “Get yourself out.”

Ideally, Jii would already be on his escape since his role in the teleportation trick had ended, but knowing Jii he’d stuck around. He had the habit of doing it to make sure Kaito had someone watching his back, and it had helped Kaito more than once out of some bad scrapes over the years. There was an affirmative through the earpiece; Jii would take the north route while Kaito kept attention his way a little longer before he pulled his final vanishing act. Good.

Kaito dived down a stairwell leaving a smoke bomb bubbling thick blue smoke behind him. A slap of a hand on a trap trigger, and somewhere his dummy should be taking off, one more diversion.

The number of diversions he needed were ever increasing. There had been no gunshots during the heist proper this time, nor the time before that or the one before that either, and the gap had him feeling twitchy. It was usually every couple heists that there was some sign of the crows he attracted with his shiny displays. Nothing.

A face switch, clothes switch, quick change and makeup in record time for a young woman to emerge around a building and watch for a moment as the task force scrambled by a few minutes later, going straight in the direction Kaito had been headed.

There was a burst of static on the com. “Jii?” Kaito checked the mirror. The gem was dull in the moonlight and the faint neon light a short ways outside the alley Kaito hid in. Not Pandora. He slid it away again. There was another burst of static. Kaito glanced up just in time to see his dummy going down, perfectly silhouetted against the moon. The false glider made a V as it tipped straight down.

The crows or Nakamori? Kaito shivered. “Jii-chan?” Kaito tried again.

Nothing.

That didn’t necessarily mean something was wrong. Jii could be somewhere he couldn’t answer for fear of being caught. Or maybe he hadn’t heard—he was a bit hard of hearing in one ear...the ear that didn’t have the earpiece... Or maybe he’d been forced to drop the earpiece altogether for some reason.

Kaito clenched and unclenched his hands, staring back toward the route Jii would have taken.

He turned back.

No one paid any attention to a young woman dashing down the street—she wasn’t running away from the scene of the crime but toward it after all; Kid wouldn’t run back toward it and ruin his escape. Kaito was glad for the anonymity as he slipped past a few stray groups of officers doing rounds and circled around to Jii’s escape route. The north route had less bolt holes and twists than the path Kaito took, but Jii should have been plainclothes, back to being a seemingly frail old man. Even if the police stopped him, it wasn’t like they’d hold him. He wouldn’t have a mask and Kid was well known to be a young adult.

“Come on, Jii, where are you?” Kaito murmured under his breath. If Kaito was Jii and sure that he wasn’t needed anymore for the heist where would he...? Kaito ducked down an alley. Jii had a stiff knee and a lot lower stamina than Kaito. He wouldn’t have climbed, but he’d probably run until he found a good place to stop. This alley came out on a side street and there was another even narrower alley up ahead with a fence that was easy enough to put between him and a pursuer...

Kaito rounded the corner, inching past an over-full garbage can and froze. “...Jii...chan?” A shape was huddled at the end of the alley near the fence, on its side in almost a fetal position. Kaito took a step forward. “Jii—” He saw the blood. Too much blood. One more step and Kaito recognized the scarf, had given that scarf to Jii a month ago for his birthday, had joked about the four leaf clovers woven into it marked him as a Kuroba in all but blood. The clovers hadn’t brought Jii any luck as part of his face was missing where the bullet must have exited. Kaito’s stomach clenched.

Jii. Jii was on the ground, broken, bleeding. Dimly, Kaito guessed he’d been climbing the fence. When he was hit. The earpiece had fallen out, blood-soaked now. The shot and the fall the bursts of static? Or had Jii realized...? Kaito reached for him—to check what he already knew, move him, cover his face, Kaito wasn’t sure—but as he bent a shot cracked just past his head into the concrete wall beside them.

He dropped on instinct. Jii three feet away, but bullets. But Jii. Kaito bit his lip hard enough to bleed. Another shot made the choice for him, sending him back out of the alley and its deadly narrow confines. Each footfall was a reverberation in him, ache spreading out from his chest like he’d been the one to get shot, throbbing like a bruise. Beat-beat-beat and Jii left behind him.

The alleys and roads were a blur, indistinct and unreal compared to the scene by the fence and yet so sharp in focus Kaito could remember the glint of broken glass on the pavement like dozens of knives and the cold press of metal searing into his palm when he ducked past a fire escape to get to another bolt hole and change identity again.

Nothing from the earpiece, broken, nothing to receive.

Kaito was a middle aged business man when he got back to his neighborhood, inconspicuous. Another person walking home. Another person possibly drunk. He didn’t need to affect his stagger. Each step was heavier the closer he got to his own door.

Change to himself, go home, hide the mirror, check the phone for messages on automatic because maybe Kaa-san or Jii—

Feed the doves. Sit in his childhood bedroom come home again.

Kaito sat and stared at the same walls he’d stared at the night after meeting Jii years ago. On his desk was a note about looking into vacation spots. If Kaito stared at them long enough, maybe it would all prove to be a bad dream and Jii would still be planning a trip south and Kaito would call Aoko and make a bargain to get Takumi an extra night so they could have an adventure.

The moon was still bright and silver out the window. Light enough that it could reveal anything, even what you didn’t want to know.

Kaito wanted to believe Jii was okay. That he’d walk around the corner any moment and apologize for making Kaito worry. But death was a lesson learned young.

—Kaa-san with her hand across his eyes, “Don’t look, Kaito, don’t look,” the impression of a fireball burned into his retinas as tears dripped down his face without him knowing why, yet, just that something was terribly wrong—

Kaito touched his cheek. It was dry. Funny. It felt like he was crying inside.

On the desk, his phone buzzed. He didn’t remember putting it there, but the body would follow routine when on automatic. It showed Aoko’s number. Kaito watched it ring, the phone buzzing and buzzing before it rolled over into voicemail. A minute later it buzzed again with an incoming text message.

The thought of talking to Aoko right now was too much. Kaito left the phone buzzing and headed to the bathroom, stripping out of his clothes and stepping under water as hot as he could bear it. Its sting left his skin red and aching.

If he’d been faster...no, Jii would still be dead. If he’d pressed Jii to go on vacation sooner... If he hadn’t gone with a doppelganger teleportation plan. If Jii had been safe at home tonight. If, if, if. He looked like he had a full body sunburn by the time he shut off the water. It gurgled down the drain, chased by drips and drops as he stayed hunched over the shower knob. He hurt all over, inside and out now, and it wasn’t quite enough still.

Kaito left a trail of wet footprints back to his room, not bothering with a towel. Kaa-san was away. No one would care if he was naked because there was no one there to care. His phone showed several missed calls from Aoko and four texts.

Kaito, what the fuck. They just ID’d a body as Jii. What’s going on? Kaito closed his eyes. Jii... to be found be some unknown person like that... Kaito wished he could have taken him from that alley. But then what? He looked at the next message. Kaito? then, Pick up your phone dammit. The phone started ringing again as he held it. Kaito read the last message with a squirming feeling of guilt inside the numb grief and horror: You’d better not be dead too. The caller was Aoko again of course. He answered.

“Aoko.” There was a long silence on the other end. Kaito wasn’t sure what tone his voice had had.

Aoko let out a breath. “You’re not dead.”

“No.” That was Jii. Kaito wasn’t hurt at all for once.

“What happened?” Aoko demanded.

“I don’t know. He didn’t answer and I found him like that. Had to leave when someone shot at me.”

“...fuck.” There were goosebumps all over his arm and legs now. He ignored the cold, listening numbly for Aoko’s voice. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but they’re reviewing this as a mugging because Jii didn’t have a wallet on him. The only reason he was ID’d is because one of the officers that found him remembered him from seeing him around us over the years.”

“A mugging? With that angle of a shot? And high caliber rifle bullets?” Kaito said, disbelief leaking through the shock that had followed him from the scene of the crime. “Anyone with eyes could see he was climbing the fence when he was shot.”

“Look, I didn’t see the details, that’s just what I’ve heard.” Aoko was tense, upset. She had been close to Jii once too, even if since the divorce they cut contact.

“A cover up,” Kaito said. He could almost laugh because of course. Of course it would be covered up, swept under the rug and dismissed as quickly as possible. Kaito was willing to bet the case wouldn’t even last a month. Old anger curled through him at the unfairness. They took his father and now they took Jii and both of their deaths would be seen as chance happenings instead of the premeditated murder they were. “Dammit.”

“Was Jii at the heist tonight, Kaito?” Aoko asked. There was the cold, judging tone he had come to expect from her. The one that laid blame on his shoulders every time she spoke to him or looked his direction.

Kaito didn’t answer that question. Answer or no answer, it would damn him either way.

“Damn it Kaito,” Aoko said. “It’s not enough to just be you, but Jii?”

Kaito didn’t answer that either and for a while there was just Aoko’s ragged breaths over the line and Kaito’s controlled ones. The world was falling out from under him but he still had control over his body. He could walk out of here and in the path of a bus and die smiling if he felt like it, a convincing smile even as he couldn’t cry. Not tears that were his own anyway.

He licked his lips, mouth feeling dry, swallowing past the lump in his chest. “How soon do you think the body will be released?” It was Kaito who would arrange a funeral. Kaito who was the officiator of Jii’s will. Kaito who had been everything to Jii once he stepped up into his father’s shoes. It felt a bit like betraying Jii, worse than failure, that he was in this position now, stuck fulfilling these roles long before either of them thought he’d need to.

“I don’t know,” Aoko said. “Until they close the case. If they don’t find any leads or if someone is framed...”

“Okay.” He could handle this. He was an adult. Almost twenty-six. He could handle this and Jii’s loss. “Okay, thanks.”

“Kaito—” Aoko’s voice low and sharp with anger or a threat, he wasn’t sure, but he hung up on her anyway. She’d take that out on him some way later, probably when she dropped of Takumi on the weekend. If she dropped off Takumi on the weekend. Fuck.

Kaito scrubbed at his eyes.

Just...fuck.

Jii was dead and it was Kaito’s fault. There was no going back from this.

***

Jii left him everything. His business, his collection of magician paraphernalia, his house, his savings—everything. Kaito wasn’t sure what to think or feel about that. Jii’s body had been released only two weeks after his death when a supposed mugger turned himself in, pled guilty, and got a life sentence. Kaito looked into the mugger, but whatever they had on the guy to make him be a scapegoat, Kaito didn’t find it.

And now here he was, holding a memorial in Jii’s bar for him because his body was already cremated and he hadn’t left any specifications for his burial. There were frequent patrons drinking to Jii’s memory and old magician friends. Not Chikage. Kaito hadn’t been able to get ahold of his mother in the last few weeks. Of all the times for her to pull one of her radio silences, this was the worst moment for it. She should have been here. As Toichi’s wife, one of Jii’s older friends, she should have been here but she wasn’t and might not have even seen any of Kaito’s messages to know Jii was dead yet.

Alcohol burned down his throat. He’d poured himself a glass of Jii’s favorite whiskey to drink for him and hadn’t stopped drinking since the memorial started. It was a bad idea but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

There were two regulars—Ryousuke and Yuuta, both people Jii had been on first name basis with—in front of Jii’s memorial photo at the moment. They had offerings of alcohol and the mochi from a shop a few miles away Jii had loved.

There was something restless rising in Kaito, had been rising for the last few weeks since Jii’s death. He wanted to take a pool stick and shatter it. Jump off a building and wait until last moment to deploy his glider. Bait the police and the organization on his tail until there was no room for thinking beyond what was needed for survival. There were two dozen half-planned heists on his desk in the hidden room at home. Kaito hadn’t slept much lately. The only time the restless feeling was quiet was when he was pushing his body in the small hours of the night, seeking out what he needed for the next heist, the next, the next, however many he had to do.

There’d been a moment where he wondered if it wasn’t better to quit. It got Oyaji killed, got Jii killed. It’d probably kill Kaito too. But that moment had passed quickly and it felt like there was even less reason to stop. They kept taking and taking and he’d have to be the one to stop them somehow. He had to.

The whiskey tasted like nothing. One more liquid swallowed down. At the door, Aoko and Takumi entered, dressed for a proper funeral instead of...this. Kaito swallowed again, though there was nothing in his mouth. “Hey.”

“Kaito,” Aoko said. She looked around the room and the people at various stages of drunkenness with a small frown. “This is...lively.”

“Yeah, well...” Kaito shrugged. He had let whoever showed up, show up. Some of them might only be there for the alcohol. He crouched down beside Takumi to give him a hug. Small arms hugged back. Takumi was six now, already so big, and getting bigger every time Kaito saw him. Aoko who lived with him every day probably didn’t notice little things like how Takumi’s hair was just shy of needing a haircut or how he’d gained a centimeter that month alone. “Hey. You doing okay?”

“Yeah.” Takumi settled back on his feet, glancing at the rest of the room. He’d been here before. Jii had a holiday party most years, and he’d babysat Takumi a lot, especially in the first few years. “Kaa-san said Jii-chan died.”

“Jii-chan did die,” Kaito said, heart heavy. Takumi was old enough to understand death, had been for a while. This was just his first encounter with it being someone he knew.

“Is he like Yuki?” Takumi asked, referring to one of Kaito’s doves that had died a few months ago. She’d died of old age and they had found her body in the dovecote when they went to feed the birds one morning. It had been a chance to talk about life and death. Kaito was glad they’d had that talk because Takumi was glancing around like he expected a body to roll off one of the pool tables.

“Not quite like Yuki,” Kaito said, ��but he’s passed on like she did. There isn’t a body because it’s already been cremated—burned up.”

“Oh.” Takumi bit his lip and Kaito gave him another careful hug. He hadn’t drunk so much that he’d lost control of himself, but he’d had enough that Takumi needed his full concentration. “That doesn’t hurt right?”

“No, he was already dead.” Kaito glanced at Aoko, and from her expression, he guessed that this was something Takumi’d asked already and he was getting a second opinion on. “You can’t hurt anymore if you’re dead.”

“Oh,” Takumi said again.

“There’s a memorial if you want to say goodbye to Jii-chan,” Kaito said. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you. Ok?”

“Ok. I’m going to tell him I’ll miss him and I hope he’s happy wherever he is.”

Kaito forced a smile for Takumi and patted him on the head before Takumi marched toward the memorial with a determined look in his eye. That left Kaito with Aoko.

“He cried when he heard,” Aoko said.

“He loved Jii-chan,” Kaito said. Takumi was in front of the memorial, hands clapped together and his face screwed up like he was trying to will his prayer to reach Jii through sheer determination. It was uncomfortably similar to how Kaito used to stand in front of his father’s memorial as a kid, face screwed up as he promised he was working hard to be a magician.

“You’re drunk,” Aoko said, and Kaito realized she’d been studying him. Sober, he would have noticed immediately.

“I had a few drinks in Jii-chan’s memory,” Kaito said. “He ran a bar, Aoko, it’s how he’d have wanted it.”

“That doesn’t mean you should go get drunk.”

“Maybe you need a drink.”

Aoko glared at him.

Kaito held up his hands. “Fine. Stay sober.”

Aoko crossed her arms, clamped tight around her middle like she was holding herself together. “This shouldn’t have happened,” she muttered.

“No, it shouldn’t.”

“I know he was helping you,” she said, not looking at Kaito at all. “He’s the only one who could have been all these years.”

“I never denied it,” Kaito said tightly. His hands itched to fiddle with his cards or perhaps pour another drink. He settled for rolling the buttons on his cuffs between his fingers. Takumi’s serious expression had softened into something sadder. A bittersweet expression better fitting on an older face than a six year old’s.

“They killed him for it.”

“I know.”

“Like your father.”

“I know.”

“Like they’re trying to kill you.” Aoko gave him a pointed look.

Kaito hissed out a breath between clenched teeth. “I know, Aoko.”

“Hasn’t stopped you from throwing yourself head first into danger.”

“Who the hell else is going to do anything, Aoko? The police? You? The police just arrested a man for mugging Jii when anyone with eyes could see that wasn’t what happened. The police can’t stop a damn sniper from showing up at heists. The police have done jack shit in getting rid of any of the crows.”

“Oh, because committing crimes is vigilantism and everyone knows how effective that is,” Aoko said, scathing.

Kaito’s hands clenched into fists. He didn’t want to have this argument. Not again, and not here. “Drop it.”

“Kaito, Jii’s dead. How many more people are going to die before you’re satisfied?”

“Aoko, shut up,” Kaito said, teeth gritted.

“No. You’re out there on a grudge mission and who the hell is benefitting? Jii-chan was like a grandfather to you and he died for your damned selfishness. Who’s next Kaito? You? Me? My dad?”

“Dammit Aoko, not now!” Kaito’s throat hurt and he realized he’d just shouted. Everyone in the room was looking at them and he couldn’t grip his control at all in that moment. “This is a funeral,” he said, still loud, but not quite shouting, anger burning through him because couldn’t they just...just feel sad about losing Jii together for one moment? “If you’re going to get mad at me, you can leave.”

Aoko stared at him, and he realized this was one of the only times he’d raised his voice at her. Aoko yelled. Aoko was flashfire anger, outbursts that burned quick and died when she let that anger out. Kaito didn’t yell. Kaito tried not to ever yell at all even if he was angry, and he’d screwed up this time. In the mass of faces looking at them was Takumi, eyes wide with something a lot like fear. It hit like one of Aoko’s mop swings to the gut.

“Please,” Kaito tacked on, quiet again. “Not today.”

Aoko’s lips formed a tight line. “I’ll say what I need to say to Jii-chan and we’ll go.” She was across the room in a handful of strides and Takumi was still staring at Kaito like he’d never seen him before.

The other people in the room looked away, trying to pretend they hadn’t been staring and Kaito sat heavily in the closest chair.

It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before Aoko was marching back toward the door. Takumi trailed after her, hesitant.

“We’ll talk later, Kaito,” Aoko said to him before she left. When Kaito offered Takumi a hug, he held on to Aoko’s hand and didn’t accept it.

That was another blow to Kaito’s heart. He’d messed up bad. When the door closed, Kaito buried his face in his hands for a moment. “Fuck.” Years of trying to at least look like he and Aoko didn’t fight in front of Takumi, years of keeping his voice down and not escalating things and he’d fucked it all up in one moment.

Was it the alcohol or his own emotions betraying him? Both? His patience finally reaching a limit? Why didn’t matter, it had happened either way. “What am I supposed to do with this mess, Jii-chan?” he mumbled to himself. Around him the funeral was continuing, people moving on from his family’s outburst and returning to celebrating Jii’s life.

Well, Kaito had already fucked up and he was already halfway to drunk. He might as well bury himself deeper. Kaito poured himself a new glass and forced himself to mingle with the other people. Jii would want to be celebrated so Kaito was damn well going to try.

***

Kaito gripped the toilet as his body did its best to physically remove his stomach via his esophagus. The alcohol burned twice as bad coming up as it had going down and left an even worse taste on his tongue. Ugh. He hadn’t had this bad of a hangover since... since maybe forever. Kaito hadn’t even drank that much at his own wedding. Ugh. Never again. He wasn’t touching alcohol ever again. Sorry, Jii, all of it went to paying customers only. Kaito would leave a bottle on his memorial instead of drinking a glass in his memory...

Ugh.

It would be bad enough to be glued to the toilet with his insides roiling, but Kaito’s conscience was nagging at him too. He’d been drunk when he argued with Aoko last night, but not so drunk that he didn’t remember Takumi’s fear or rejection. Fuck. Kaito was the worst father. He’d scared his kid and lost his temper and for what? Getting shitfaced in an ill-advised moment of trying to forget he existed? He deserved each and every moment of agony he was experiencing.

What had he been thinking?

Kaito had work in an hour. Work and then he had to take Jii’s ashes to his family grave. Kaito wiped his mouth as his stomach twisted again. No vomiting this time. Just a steady nauseated ache that filled his whole body. Tomorrow he was supposed to have Takumi for the day. He’d planned to take the day off work and spend it with his son at the zoo or something, following Jii’s advice to take a break back when they were planning a vacation. Kaito had put in the request for the day off and everything, but it was kind of hollow now. There was still the opportunity to make up for scaring Takumi. Put on his happy mask and do fun things and make Takumi laugh because hearing his laughter always made Kaito feel lighter inside.

He could fix this screw up even if—

Kaito shoved away from the toilet, flushing its contents like it would erase the last half hour from happening. Move, he had to move, get dressed, drink water and get out the door. Don’t linger in the kitchen with its unwashed dishes and the table where he’d laid out dozens of heist plans over the years. Don’t linger on the urn in his bedroom. Don’t linger on the new set of keys or paperwork to be filled out or any of the other official odds and ends that had been dumped on him. Definitely don’t linger on the photo hanging in the hall of Jii and Kaito and Aoko at Kaito’s wedding.

Somehow Kaito made it out the door and to work without being late. The glass of water had had middling success of staying down and the pill he took to counteract the headache only soured his stomach more, but he made it. Another day at work, another day his coworkers couldn’t see him hanging on to his sanity by the skin of his teeth.

He forgot to pack a lunch, but then he wasn’t really hungry anyway.

***

There were three heist plans spread across the table, all of them for the next month. He’d planned to have a break, but now it felt like if he stopped even for a moment, life would shatter apart at the edges. Takumi hadn’t come over on the weekend—Aoko said he didn’t want to come that week, and Takumi had agreed when Kaito asked to talk to him, and this wasn’t the first time this had ever happened, but for it to happen now... So no Takumi and still no Kaa-san around the house and too much time and space to himself just like in high school, Kaito had to fill it with something.

All of the heists were ones he’d started compiling information on a while ago, things Jii had gathered preliminary information on. Now Kaito would have to do all the legwork and research himself. This was fine. This was fine, he could handle it. The first was at the museum and he knew it so well by now that he could plan an exit at any point in the building in his sleep at this point. And the other two were owned by collectors and he’d been chipping away at figuring out the defenses on those for a while. There hadn’t been any callouts from Jiroukichi in a while so he should keep an eye out for challenges soon as that would be on schedule any time now...

Kaito lost himself in minutia, going over things with a fine toothed comb and composing the first of his heist notes bit by bit.

It was easy to lose track of time in Kid’s hidden room. Especially when there was no one there to drag him away from work.

Kaito wasn’t getting much sleep these days.

***

He’d said he wasn’t going to touch alcohol again, but that was a lie. Funny thing about being left a bar; there sure was a lot of alcohol in it. Jii’s whiskey glinted golden in the light, one light in the back because the bar was closed. Just Kaito and a bottle of imported whiskey and a heist note.

He needed to hire someone to run the bar. For now it made a nice place to be when he didn’t want to go home. The back room smelled like Jii—cigars and cologne and a particular brand of aftershave all mixed into one scent that lingered. Jii’d lived out of that back room. The bar was a home and a business and the back room was testament to it with its shelves of collector items and Jii’s futon folded away in the closet and his scent seeped into the tatami. The bar was Western, but the back room was Japanese. Jii’d served them tea under a kotatsu in the corner, peeling tangerines and plotting new magic tricks.

The room spun a bit as Kaito sat up from the floor. He didn’t remember lying down, but he must have at some point. There was the heist note. The note he meant to do something with tonight. Send it?

He used a children’s substitution cipher, worked it into a poetic format that read like a nonsense poem until you pieced its clues together. It mentioned blackbirds. Would anyone notice the significance? Would anyone care if they did? The police didn’t catch his watchers often. They were like literal shadows sometimes, more slippery than Kaito as Kid when they sent out the snipers, the professionals, the assassins, not just the run of the mill thugs.

The golden whiskey—no, it was amber, wasn’t whiskey always amber? Kaito couldn’t decide if that mattered or not—caught the light one last time before it slid down his throat. Gone. (More in the bottle, but—) Kaito set the glass down hard enough to smack over the bottle. It had its cap on though, nothing spilled, wow didn’t want to spill Jii’s whiskey. The room went a bit hazy on the edges, tilting as Kaito stood, or no, that was him tilting and he had better muscle control than that.

Steady. In control. His hands didn’t shake, his body didn’t waver. Deliver the note.

To who? Nakamori—no, too loud, bad choice. Not Aoko. Couldn’t be Aoko, Kaito couldn’t be around Aoko that would hurt worse and if he hurt worse—not Aoko. The owner? Too far, trains weren’t running this late. Maybe the paper, but the paper was last note and there was such a thing as too predictable and maybe he should choose a police member... Kudo! Kaito grinned, wavered in place a moment. Kudo hadn’t been to the last few heists and that wasn’t right, Kudo saw things better and he noticed the shadows even if Nakamori didn’t and Kudo still owed him for helping take out the crime organization a few years back. Give Kudo a note and he had to come and that would make the heist harder, but that just meant Kaito would have to work harder and working harder meant less time feeling and Kaito wanted that even if it was too hazy right now to pinpoint why—

Jii.

Kaito frowned. The room was empty, just a light and a bottle and a glass and Kaito. It smelled like Jii and whiskey where Kaito spilled a bit pouring, though that was his sleeve not the room. Jii wasn’t there and Kaito was alone. His throat went tight and his hands went clammy and the room spun in a way that wasn’t from the alcoholic haze in his head.

Note. Note to Kudo and then home, sleep, work, heist.

Jii’s bar was closer to Beika than Kaito’s home. It was closer, but by the time he reached the Kudo manor, his head was a bit clearer, enough to wonder what the hell he was doing, but not so clear as to change his mind and back out.

Even drunk it wasn’t hard to avoid Kudo’s surveillance cameras. Kaito had visited before, a few times, all the way back in high school, and while the security was better than back then, it wasn’t that much better. A light’s on in the study, and another upstairs. Kaito perched outside a second-floor window, glimpsing Kudo Ran in a night-light lit hallway pacing back and forth with a child in her arms.

Kudo had a daughter. Kaito’d forgotten that, but there she was, still a toddler, so little that it hurt to look at her because it brought up all sorts of memories. That had been Kaito once. Kaito, pacing with a crying Takumi, woken up by nightmares and Aoko living in the police dorms during her training so there had only been Kaito to hold him. Whispered words and hummed songs, little silly stories and soft reassurances in the dark until Takumi had calmed and slept again. Long, achingly exhausting nights that Kaito sometimes wished he could live again because for all that it had been hellishly difficult, it had been happier too. Simpler. Ran’s lips moved and Kaito could make out syllables of a lullaby.

He tore himself away, moving to the next window and the next with a clumsiness he blamed on the alcohol, then back down toward the glow of the study.

Kudo sat at a large wooden desk, paperwork strewn in front of him. Not that anything was getting done. Kudo kept starting to write then stopping and glancing at the door. If he wanted to check on his daughter, he should just check on his daughter.

Kaito fiddled with a pen in his pocket, filled with the urge to add a personal note to the heist note. Kudo should know not to waste what he had. If it was Kaito he’d—

Kaito flattened himself to the wall as Kudo glanced up at the window. The light inside would make it hard to see anything outside, but the mirror effect meant nothing if Kaito was all but pressing his face against the glass.

Kudo stared for a minute before shaking his head. He rubbed at his eyes with the weariness of a man that didn’t get near enough sleep as he should. Kaito knew the feeling well.

Go, Kaito thought. Go to Ran-san. Lo and behold, Kudo did, giving his work a last look of distaste.

The light in the study went dark. It took a matter of seconds to get the window open and land amidst Kudo’s stacks of papers. Kaito staggered a bit on the landing, the room spinning a bit. Still drunk. The papers on the desk were gibberish until Kaito’s brain clicked and the writing resolved itself into English. English case files? He could pick out the words, but the meaning wasn’t forming a whole. Kaito gave up snooping and set the heist notice in the middle of Kudo’s desk where he’d be sure to find it when he went to do paperwork tomorrow morning.

Kaito always thought Kudo would be neater than this. Files, files everywhere, with an organization system only Kudo would know. They’d tell him what Kudo was up to now, but it wouldn’t give Kaito any information he could use. He tiptoed around them, back out the window and into the dark. He should leave now. Instead, Kaito climbed upward again.

Ran was still in the hall with the night light, but Kudo was there too, arms around her and gently running a hand over his daughter’s hair. Kaito ached inside alongside a bitter twist of jealousy. Stupid brain, he had no right to be jealous when he ruined things himself. But Ran forgave Kudo. Why couldn’t Aoko forgive me?

His hands hurt, clenched tight on the window frame. No wonder Kudo hadn’t been to many heists lately. He had this to come home to. This to protect. He didn’t need the distraction of Kid heists like he did once. Didn’t need the danger they could bring either.

Kaito could climb back down and take his note back, plant it somewhere else.

But Kudo dealt with murderers and Kid’s heists were no more dangerous than Kudo’s daily life most of the time.

If Kaito opened the window, waited for Kudo to let Ran put their daughter to bed, waited for him to turn and walk down the hall and find Kaito there, how would he react? With fear? Block off his wife and child and stand defensive in the hallway? Or would it be like in years past, when Kaito had time to bother him more? Would he roll his eyes and complain after that first tense moment of anticipation? Kaito’s hands itched to open the window, to see if Kudo saw Kaito as a threat or not. To see what would happen simply for the sake of curiosity.

He shifted in his perch and—slipped. He was falling before the sensation registered as falling, a beat too late to stop. Only muscle memory had his arm flinging out and catching a thin tree branch to slow the fall. It broke with a sharp crack, wrenching his arm and leaving him to smack face first into Kudo’s azalea bushes.

“Owww....” He hadn’t done something that clumsy since high school when he was constantly flying by the seat of his pants.

Upstairs, the window opened. Kaito flattened himself against the wall.

“...No, I don’t see anything. Maybe a tanuki?” Kudo’s voice said.

Adrenaline pushed the last of the alcohol haze away. Wait...wait... The window closed. Kaito dashed for the walls and was over them in record time. He was two blocks away before he realized he’d taken the tree branch with him. He left it at the next trash site he ran across.

Yet again, Kaito vowed not to drink that much anymore.

***

Normally Kaito felt at least a bit of a rush from heists. Even the ones he was least excited about brought on the adrenaline rush of a performance, the thrill of having eyes on him that would always happen because he was a performer at heart. Since Aoko joined the grunts in the Kid task force, though, that rush hadn’t been as sharp. Since Jii’s death, well, Kaito wasn’t feeling much of a rush at all.

There was still a flow of emotions animating his movements under his skin, but it wasn’t a performer’s high where everything came together in the moment. No, it was closer to desperation and the chilling certainty that he was always dancing on a knife’s edge these days. With Aoko, with Kid’s goals, with his own sanity.

His cape billowed white around him, snapping in the wind. Rooftops felt a bit like freedom. Jumping from them felt a bit like absolution.

Kudo stared him down, there before Nakamori or Aoko, one step ahead as always. That, at least, Kaito could rely on. He’d take what little slices of normality his life could get.

“I see you accepted my invitation,” Kaito said, pulling his hat at a better angle to shade his face.

“Considering you broke into my home to leave it...” Kudo said, trailing off as he narrowed his eyes. “What’s your game this time, Kid?”

“Game?” Kaito smiled. It was easier to smile with Kudo right there, easier to play the part when he had a foil to work against. “Can’t I just miss having you chase me? It’s been, what? Over half a year? You’d think I wasn’t your favorite thief anymore.”

Kudo huffed. “Kid, I work homicides.”

“Then this is like a vacation. With less bodies. Your vacations always end up bloody.”

For a moment Kaito thought he would get a smile from Kudo, but he got an eye roll instead. Pity. Kudo had a sense of humor unlike some other detectives Kaito knew. “Give the gem back, Kid,” Kudo said, one hand held out like he thought Kaito would comply. Oh such optimism. There was open air behind Kaito’s back and even with the search lights combing the wrong direction, there was nothing stopping him from jumping.

“Has that ever worked in all the time you’ve known me?” Kaito said.

“Mm, if you feel threatened enough.”

“You’re not chibi Inspector Gadget anymore; somehow you were more threatening a meter high with a soccer ball.”

That did get a flicker of a smile. Good. Good, something bright to spark a bit more life into the hollow thrill. Kudo had a gun. He didn’t aim it in Kaito’s direction though. Instead he...pointed? “Who says I don’t have any more gadgets, Kid?”

Kaito’s eyes widened as there was a flicker of something— He fell backward off the roof before whatever it was could hit, activating the glider. That had been too easy. What was the catch? The air caught, jerking him from a plummet into a glide. Kudo was left standing on the edge of the roof, watching. No further attacks, no gunshot-cracks or stinging pain from a glancing blow. Far below police lights flashed blue and red in little clusters, lost to his misdirection. Their lights didn’t touch him here, and the bit of him wound tight since the start of the heist uncoiled. Kaito exhaled slowly, letting lingering tension leave his body.

Exhaustion creeped at the edges of his consciousness, but for now it was ignorable. Just fly a bit more, change to something less noticeable, and get home.

Halfway to his rest point, Kaito noticed a small white object on his sleeve, almost unnoticeable except that it was a shade too bright compared to his suit. A tracker, tiny and intricately made, and something that had to be Agasa’s work. Ha. Kudo almost had him there... Kaito made sure to slip it onto a neighborhood cat collar when he changed clothes; they liked to linger near a convenience store a block away and would lead Kudo on a frustrating chase.

***

Aoko was up late again, nursing a cup of coffee from what Kaito could tell from his vantage point. Doing paperwork, writing reports, some of them probably relating to the third heist he’d pulled this month. Kaito could almost feel the beat-up wooden kitchen table under his fingertips and smell the sour scent of coffee brewed too dark too long. Aoko would have her hair pulled back and the tired frown between her eyes and her free hand tapping away as she tried to put things into objective, unemotional accounts. Kaito used to sit across from her and see her get closer and closer to boiling over before doing something little, like a shoulder rub or refreshing her coffee with something better for her to get the persistent frown to melt away into a tired smile. There was no one to do that now.

Takumi slept upstairs, had been asleep for several hours now. He came over to Kaito’s home over the weekend, but he had spent most of his time with Kaito’s birds and none of Kaito’s attempts to engage him in things that would normally brighten his day had worked.

This wasn’t the first time this sort of thing had happened. Kaito knew that it was hard on Takumi whenever Aoko and Kaito were more at odds than usual but... It still hurt.

It felt like he was missing all the important things in Takumi’s life. He was in first grade, and his best friends were Momoi Shiemi and Fujitaka Gen, and right now Takumi loved frogs and sentai shows and anything he could learn on animal origami. Last year it had been kites and things that flew and Kaito had helped him make a giant kite in the shape of a penguin because Takumi had insisted that penguins should get to fly. But Kaito didn’t see the day to day. He didn’t see Takumi get excited on the first day of school or when he made a new friend. He didn’t see him come home every day and hear what he thought about each new thing he learned. Kaito heard it after the fact, on weekends when Takumi would rather draw pictures or go to the park or practice simple magic tricks than talk about things like school.

It was Kaito’s own fault he didn’t have that and life never stopped shoving it back in his face.

At the kitchen table, Aoko made an unhappy face at the taste of cold coffee. That was Kaito’s cue to leave. He could only get away with looking so long. Somehow, eventually, Aoko would notice and she’d be mad.

Sometimes Kaito needed to see them breathing to know what was real though.

***

“I’m so sorry about Jii, Kaito. He was a good man...”

“He was so much more than that,” Kaito said into the phone cradled in his hands. A phone call, not even a video call, but a phone call. He couldn’t even see her face to see how much she meant it, though she had to mean it. Jii was important to Kaa-san too. “Where were you? Where are you, it’s been weeks—” He caught himself before his voice broke.

“I’m so so sorry, Kai-chan,” his mother said, voice soft like it was when he was little. It was too little too late to soothe him now though. “I should have called... My suitcase got lost and I only just got it back. I didn’t know. I didn’t know...”

Kaito stared up at him father’s painting, the side with Toichi, not Kid, and Kaito was almost as old as his father had been when he had Kaito. A few more years and he’d have outlived him age wise. A small, unfair part of him wondered if she would notice if he was the one that died tomorrow, not Jii. Chikage had been globe-trotting for years now, this wasn’t anything new, just a bit longer than they usually were out of touch for, just... He wanted to cry, but there weren’t tears to do so, just a clogged up feeling in his throat and a tight chest like when he’d broken a rib and he’d been wrapped in bandages for weeks. He breathed and it didn’t show at all.

“...How are you holding up? Do you need me to come home?”

Yes, Kaito thought. Yes and Please and I need someone so much right now, but what came out of his mouth was, “No.” Kaito marveled at how calm it came out. “No, I’m fine. I’ll be fine. You’re busy doing...” She hadn’t said what she’d been doing this time, or where she’d been going that led to losing her suitcase. “You’re busy. I can handle things. I’ve been handling them. Jii left me the bar and I hired someone to run it. I was thinking about hiring Momoi Keiko—you remember Keiko?—to keep track of stock and finances...” In his spare time—ha—Kaito was looking into what it took to run a business and what he’d need to know to make sure the bar was running properly. He’d moved anything Kid related far from Jii’s place and he’d managed most of the other trying details that death left behind. Paperwork. Emotional weight. Kaito managed for the last twelve years well enough without his mother to turn to at all times, he could do this now. “I’m fine.”

Part of him hoped she’d insist on coming home anyway.

The rest of him wasn’t really surprised that by the end of the call he still didn’t know when she would be back home.

***

Blueprints and messily handwritten notes laid spread about the table. Kaito’s pencil tapped at an increasingly rapid tempo as he scowled at the executive office diagram. “It’s like they designed the room to be as restricted to get to as possible. Not only is it the top floor, it only has one window of bulletproof glass, and can only be accessed by a private elevator.” The CEO had recently obtained an ornate antique clock set with large gemstones at four quarters of the clock face, and of course he’d chosen to have it displayed in his office. An office that was ridiculously secure. The man had to be paranoid. Maybe justifiably paranoid if he’d risen to his position under suspicious means, but that wasn’t Kaito’s main concern.

“Ugh...” Tap-tap-taptap-taptaptap. “I could probably impersonate an employee to get in there, but that’s the first thing they’d be looking for. Maybe if I climbed the elevator shaft...? Jii, what do you—” The tapping died as Kaito froze, realizing his mistake. He stared blankly at the papers in front of him for a moment. “Shit. Right,” he said. “Right.”

The silence he’d momentarily forgotten felt too loud. The house was too big, the rooms too empty. There were photos of dead men on the walls in the hallway and all the decorations were chosen by a woman that spent less than a full month a year in the house. The pencil lead snapped under the pressure of Kaito’s hand.

“Right,” he repeated under his breath.

He clicked out a new length of lead.

It was harder to get back to work now that he’d remembered he was alone.

***

It felt a bit like when Takumi was a toddler; Aoko at the police dorms and Kaito juggling school, a baby, and Kid all at once. Only now it was Kaito juggling work, attempts at bonding with his son, and filling every spare hour he had with Kid until it felt like he was more Kid than Kaito. Kaito had loss and family struggles hanging over his head. Kid had targets and research and traps to funnel energy into and Kaito was funneling more energy into them than he had in the last five years.

If he held still too long, the world would catch up to him, so he kept going. Delved into gem trade records and museum collection records. Scrounged through rumors and imports and legends. He ran through blueprints and pieced together traps and smoke bombs and a new knock out gas. He constructed new tricks and practiced them until he saw them in his sleep. Mirrors, wires, speakers, training doves to go to new places and carry new things.

Kaito sent his attention in a dozen directions and felt each new task stretch him a little bit thinner. He was caught in the arc of shuffled cards but he didn’t know who held the deck or what card would come out on top.

He’d learned how to balance things, once. He knew how to take breaks and appreciate little moments and build relationships with coworkers and informants and what not. Kaito had learned to enjoy early mornings with cups of coffee and the sound of doves waking up in their roosts and the orange glow of the sun peeking over the horizon. There weren’t any of those moments now. He slept when his body gave out and he woke to the shrill of his phone alarm with enough time to get to work. The ate a lot of take away and instant meals when he remembered to eat at all, and it was only in the moments Takumi was there that time seemed to slow into anything resembling the calm he’d found.

It was better this way though. It was better because Kaito would rather keep busy, burn himself out, than find out what would happen if he stopped moving.

#detective conan #magic kaito #minor character death #fanfiction #lay in the atmosphere #my writing #all aboard the angst train guys

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rusocialpod · 3 years ago

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Can you get French immersion through French social media? Of course you can! In fact, using social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in French. Think about it this way: Cost of a round-trip ticket between New York and Paris by plane? $500-$2000. Cost to open your favourite browser and click on YouTube? $0. Granted, you have to pay your Internet subscription or buy a coffee to use the wi-fi at a local café. If your goal is to learn French, you can either spend all your money on a plane ticket and hope for the best, or save your money and start right now. With social media, it has never been easier to create an immersion environment at home. I’m not talking about passive learning here. No, I’m talking about serious active learning and engaging with online communities in French. By taking part in French social media, you can: Take part in French conversations with Facebook comments. Make connections with French people all over the world on Twitter. Share French videos on Snapchat to practise your speaking skills. Tag your French-speaking friends on Instagram and speak French in the comments. Comment on the lives of French native speakers and ask direct questions with Periscope. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best French YouTube channels, French Facebook Pages, and French accounts on Snapchat, Twitter and Periscope. Plus more! I recommend you start your French immersion on your favourite social network. No need to overwhelm yourself by trying to use them all at once. Keep in mind that the French social media accounts I’m sharing here are only the tip of the iceberg. As you start digging into French online communities, you will discover more and more resources, and your learning experience will become more and more enjoyable! French YouTube Channels [caption id="attachment_20620" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Les Tutos is a funny French YouTube channel.[/caption] Why pay for Netflix or download illegally when you have access to hours and hours of French video content on YouTube for FREE? To me, YouTube is probably one of the best places online to get immersed in a foreign language without breaking the bank. Get started with these three popular French YouTube channels, all of which have the option of French subtitles on at least some of their videos. And if you are a very beginner, I included two other options. You can start learning with these two and then go back to the French YouTubers. Natoo Natoo is a French woman who started on YouTube in 2011. She makes skits and comedy vlogs about common situations from everyday life. For example, she made a video named [La recherche des clés](https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=x8vyGHWRXyo) (in English: Looking for keys). Her channel has French and English subtitles on almost all her videos. SolangeTeParle Solange talks about culture, girl problems and depression among a lot of other things. She called herself a poétubeuse: a mix between poète (in English: poet) and YouTubeuse (feminine for YouTuber in French). She went viral with her video about the differences between French from France and from Quebec in 2015. Some of her videos have French subtitles. Les Tutos This is probably one of my favourite YouTube channels ever. Jérôme makes tutorial videos (tutos is a French short word for tutorials). But you have never seen something quite like this. He uses absurd humour, high energy and exaggeration. You can even cook with les tutos, for example with this recipe for crepes. This channel was first a mini TV show that ran on French television in 2013/14. Nowadays, there are new videos once or twice per year. But don’t worry, there are around 50 videos already uploaded. They are ideal for people who have an intermediate to advanced level of French. The good news is that most of his videos have French and English subtitles. Easy Languages Easy Languages interviews native speakers in the street. You get access to raw content with French and English subtitles. This is one of the best options to start learning French. They also have simple and easy-to-understand videos to teach you the basics. Take a look at the different playlists to find the ones you like most. Disney Songs in French Another option for beginners is to start with Disney songs. You probably have already heard most of them in your mother tongue. This playlist has more than 40 Disney songs in French with French subtitles. Choose a song, listen to it several times and start repeating what you hear. Little by little you will improve your listening and pronunciation skills while learning vocabulary with the subtitles. The Insider Trick for Finding More French Videos on YouTube Now that you know a few French YouTube channels, you can easily find an infinite number of other channels in French. How? Well, I’m glad you asked. Go to the About page of any of the channels I mentioned above. On the right, you will see a list of featured channels. These are channels recommended by the YouTuber. Et voilà ! Now you have access to even more French YouTube channels. French Facebook Pages After reading this section, you will be able to watch funny videos and learn more about French pop culture at the same time. Now that’s how to make the most of your time on Facebook. Say goodbye to cat videos! [caption id="attachment_20621" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Les Lapins Crétins are the French version of Raving Rabbids - and they have their own Facebook page.[/caption] Fallait pas le dire This Facebook page, whose name loosely translates as “you didn’t have to say it”, features questions and thoughts about everyday life and random facts. This way you will learn common words you can use on a regular basis. Les Lapins Crétins Les Lapins Crétins are the French version of Raving Rabbids. Lapin is French for rabbit and crétin is an informal word for stupid. On their Facebook page, you will find short phrases with funny pictures or short videos to illustrate them. Quotidien avec Yann Barthès Yann Barthès became famous in France with his entertaining news show Le Petit Journal (“The little newspaper”). It featured skits and videos making fun of politicians and French society. A few years later, Yann left Le Petit Journal and created a new show, Quotidien (“daily”) on another television station. The concept is the same and on the Facebook page of Quotidien you will discover funny snippets from the show. Random fact: Le Petit Journal team made a banner with the name Cassoulet (a French recipe) and displayed it on Times Square when Obama was first elected. Eric et Quentin Eric et Quentin are two French comedians. They became very popular when they were at Le Petit Journal, but also followed Yann Barthès when he left. Now with Quotidien, they keep doing what made them famous: funny skits during the show. Nowadays, they also make very short videos (like Snapchat stories) called La Story d’Eric et Quentin where they make fun of the news. Martin Weill Martin also was part of Le Petit Journal and then went to Quotidien. He is a young reporter who became famous for going to places like Iraq or dangerous neighbourhoods in Mexico. Rémi Gaillard Rémi is the most famous French prankster. He made videos of himself recreating Mario Kart in real life, playing soccer in the street to annoy cops and even organising a party in a store. You can find his pranks on his Facebook page - and they come with English subtitles. French Twitter Users If you are an absolute beginner at French, I recommend that you start with the first two accounts in the list below (Thomas Pesquet and Cyprien). The other Twitter accounts aren’t as easy to understand. But once you’ve reached an intermediate level, go back to these pages, follow them and get ready to laugh! Thomas Pesquet Thomas is a French astronaut. From November 2016 to May 2017, he is part of the International Space Station as a crew member. On his Twitter account, you follow his journey in space. If you’re a beginner, this page is perfect to start your immersion experience on Twitter as Thomas translates his French tweets into English. Cyprien Cyprien is one of the most popular French YouTubers. On Twitter, he communicates with his audience and shows his everyday life with tweets and pictures. Nain Portekoi Nain Portekoi is a Twitter account that features black humour. He makes fun of the news and politicians with satirical comments. His name can be read as n’importe quoi, which means ”anything” or ”nonsense” in English. Jean-Moundir Jean is another satirical Twitter user. He makes fun of politicians and invents jokes with random pictures. Sam Sam often talks about French grammar with humour. But most of all she retweets lots of funny posts from various accounts. You will be able to see French humour in action from a lot of different people. Discover the Hidden Side of France with French Instagram Accounts [caption id="attachment_20623" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Instagram gives you an insider's view of the beauty of France.[/caption] France is the most popular country in the world in terms of tourism and receives more than 80 million foreign tourists every year. It has more than 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but you don’t have to buy an expensive plane ticket to come to France and see all of these beautiful places. Get comfortable, go to Instagram and admire the great diversity of landscapes from your laptop or smartphone. Le Musée du Louvre The Louvre is one of the most visited museums in the world. It’s the home of Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo among many others. On its Instagram page, you will see the large buildings and different pieces of art. Avia Travel France Avia’s page posts pictures of various cities around France. Follow them for a virtual walk in the streets of Paris, Lyon or even Bordeaux. Le Pays Basque Discover le Pays Basque on this page. It’s a region located in the Southwest of France that is famous for its strong identity. Les Pyrénées Les Pyrénées is a mountain range in the South of France. It is (with le Pays Basque) another region that borders Spain. Enjoy the snow-capped landscapes in winter and the green pasturelands in summer! Janelle & Scott Gould Janelle and Scott help you discover France through the eyes of an Australian couple traveling in the country. Their goal is to bring French style into your life. Follow their page to get lost in the streets of French cities. L’Equipe de France If you’re into sports and specifically into soccer, you will enjoy these beautiful pictures of the French national soccer team. Not only the men, but also the women are featured. The Insider Trick for Finding French Instagram Accounts If you want more pictures of France, google “[name of the city/region] tourisme instagram”. You will find pages dedicated to the cities and regions you want to see, with beautiful pictures and descriptions in French. French Snapchat Stories Snapchat stories are the best place to watch raw content. No editing, no subtitles. A direct contact with the French world! Let these French influencers share their lives with you! Tibo InShape As his name suggests, Tibo is a fitness guy. He’s a YouTube celebrity and he’s a very entertaining character. You will see him training and talk with his audience on his Snapchat account: @tiboinshape. Emma Emma is a young YouTuber with several channels on YouTube. She specialises in DIY, beauty and fashion. With Snapchat (@emmactz), she shares beauty reviews and makeup tips with her unique sense of humour. Malika Ménard Malika was elected Miss Normandy 2009 and then Miss France in 2010. After her year as Miss France, she studied and became a journalist. Since then she has been presenting sports shows and blogging about fashion. On her Snapchat account (@snapmalikamenard), she features the different places she visits in France and around the world, plus her meals and her workout sessions. And all of that exclusively in French! Learn French on Periscope On Periscope, you will find a different type of content, as you can interact directly during live broadcasts. Ask your questions in French and they will answer to you in French during the broadcast. Don’t be shy - join the conversation! [periscopepic] WeScopeTV This is the most popular Periscope account in French. WeScopeTV is a group of talented Periscope users who create various types of content. You will find music, tech reviews, events, food, and more. Kwasi Each morning around 8:45 am (Paris time), Kwasi gives advice and tips about social media. He interacts a lot with his audience to answer their questions. Hone your entrepreneurial skills in French and start the day in a friendly mood! PPC PPC was one of the first French social channels to see the potential of Periscope. Its creator, Pierre-Philippe Cormeraie, was one of the founders of @wescopetv. On his own channel, he features several types of content: interviews, events and walks in Paris and Provence. He also has a show with another Periscope user where they talk about the news. Bonus: How to Find More Social Media Channels to Learn French In reality, this article gives you way more resources than just the ones described here. Most accounts presented above are present on the other apps. For instance, Tibo InShape who I introduced in the Snapchat section has a very popular YouTube channel. Look around and you will find a lot more content! With this post, you just got the blueprints to create your own immersion environment in French. So, what are you waiting for? The post How to use Social Media for Instant French Immersion appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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beatricethecat2 · 7 years ago

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out of place, out of mind - 6

(Read first) one step forward, two steps back (v.2.0): part 1+ part 2, (Previously) out of place, out of mind: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

One last adventure before wrapping this up! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this, I had a lot of fun cobbling it together. To repeat, this is an Instinct replacement-and-forward fix it fic, in six chapters. I'll fix typos later and thanks for reading!

///////////////////////

Myka and Leena make their way through the stacks to the vault of stored agents rooms. Leena cues up the Warehouse 12 sector, and they enter Helena’s bedroom.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Myka says, skimming a hand across Helena’s mahogany desk, in awe of the plans it bore witness to in its day.

“I’m not sure,” Leena answers, pulling a book off of a shelf and flipping through.

“Why did we start here?”

“Honestly? It’s the first thing that popped into my head.” Leena closes the book and looks at Myka. “It’s just a hunch, but I think the Warehouse is guiding me. It didn’t mean to leave Helena behind.”

“Then zap her back!” Myka shouts, waving her fist in the air, eyes darting around the room as if Helena will materialize in front of them.

“It would if it could, but I don’t think it—”

A loud thunk cuts Leena off, and they both turn around. Myka bends down and picks up a book on the floor, taking care to keep it open to the page it fell open on.

“This is one of Helena’s diaries,” Myka says, eyes widening. “This entry starts, ‘Had a lively discussion with a burgeoning architect on the merits of William Burgess and utopian space. And when I say lively, I mean miserable, for the man was an absolute pillock.'”

Leena sniggers and Myka smirks, her eyes skimming down the page.

“Listen to this: 'Oh how I blister under the weight of these so-called 'master builders,' their minds as insufferable as the rat mazes they design. Were I to lord over my own home, walls would be raised according to use, not gender; my genius never hidden behind propriety. I’d strew my tools about willy-nilly, stock my library to the hilt, and share my bed, openly, with another woman. It seems so little to ask, yet brazen considering this society I’m bound to. I dearly hope a future life shall find me settled as such, dwelling in a home of our own. Only then shall my heart be captured by another.'"

“Wow,” Leena says.

“Yeah,” Myka says, noting the exact date. “She was sixteen, maybe seventeen? And pretty miffed.” She turns the page and folds it out, once, twice, three times, then stares, dumbstruck.

“What is it?” Leena asks.

“Um, plans for a house?”

Leena leans forward and studies the drawing. “That open plan looks pretty revolutionary for the time."

“Leave it to Helena to predate the modernists. Hey, is it glowing?”

“I don’t see anything.”

Myka lays the book on the desk and rubs her eyes, but the glow remains. She turns the plans to the left then the right and looks around the room. “We came in there. So if I’m reading this right, we’re here.” She points to the plan. “Which means there should be something over there we can go through.” She points to the bookcase.

“Hidden passage? Very Victorian.”

“I’m sure Helena had an escape route for everything.”

They feel around for a catch or a lever and tip books back, but nothing activates a door.

“What are we missing?” Myka says, kicking the bottom of the bookcase out of frustration. There’s a click, and the case moves an inward an inch. A bright light spills out from a crack.

Myka looks at Leena. “What do you think?”

“I think this is where things get interesting.”

They work their way through a series of rooms, each intimately related to Helena. Bookcases prove portals in every instance including an inn, a ship, and even a yurt. One room, obviously in France, must be the house where Christina died, as a distinct chill fills the air. The one after that leads to Helena’s workshop in Warehouse 12, but the bookcase yields no door.

“Why won’t it open?” Myka says, riffling through plans on a table, squinting to find a glow.

“Anything?”

“Nothing.”

“I think we’ve hit a dead end.”

“There has to be something after this.”

“She was bronzed after this.”

“Then why did the Warehouse bring us here?” Myka says, eyes wild and round.

“It doesn’t know exactly where she is,” Leena says, in her most comforting tone. "Let’s retrace our steps. I bet we missed something important.”

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

Much to Myka’s dismay, nothing of interest pops up, and they find themselves back at square one.

“Should we try Helena’s Warehouse 13 room?” Myka asks. "We could bring this with us.” She holds up Helena’s diary.

“We can’t. Only Helena can take things from her room.”

“Bummer,” Myka says, staring at the tome. She reads over the entry once more, then places it on the desk.

They move back to the controls and Leena cues up the Warehouse 13 section, then make their way to Helena’s room. It's sparsely decorated with few personal items, reflecting the little time Helena spent in it.

“Maybe this isn’t right either,” Myka says.

“Or maybe we follow the same path.” Leena walks up to the bookcase and kicks the bottom panel. It swings open just a crack.

Myka smiles and Leena waves her through.

The next room, if it could be called that, is devoid of any demarcations. It’s grey and vast and wall-less through and through.

“This must be inside the orb,” Myka says. She and Leena stand back to back for fear of losing each other in the vast nothingness.

“How are we going to get out of here? I don’t know what direction I’m facing.”

“Neither do I.”

“Is this what it was like where you were?” Myka asks.

“I don't think so. It wasn’t this cold. Or oppressive.”

No wonder Helena has a hard time knowing who and where she is. “What are we standing on?” Myka says, stamping her foot, the sound echoing throughout the space.

“Good question,” Leena says, crouching down and skimming her hand over the floor. Her fingers catch on the edge of something, and she pries it up.

“Trapdoor,” Leena says.

They peer down into a black hole, then look at each other.

“Can’t be worse than this place,” Myka says.

“Don’t say that out loud.”

They jump into the hole and land somewhere familiar.

“Emily’s.”

“Interesting,” Leena says, quirking a brow as she scans the room.

“I think I know what’s next and I really don’t want to go there.”

“It didn't take us into the bronze, so I doubt it’d take us there. I’ll look for a portal anyway."

Myka hopes Leena’s right but also doesn't, because if she is right, they’ve hit a dead end again. Memories from Emily’s apartment come flooding back, and she grabs at the edge of the desk to steady herself.

"Are you ok?” Leena says, scurrying over to assist. “Sit. I’ll look around.”

Myka does as instructed, breathing deep breaths to calm down.

“No portals,” Leena says as she joins Myka on the couch. “But this place is a trip. In the bedroom, on her nightstand, there’s a picture of her and her cat dressed as twinsies.”

“She loves that cat.”

“H.G.?”

“No, Emily.”

“Emily’s still around?”

“Sometimes. H.G.’s wrestling with a lot of personalities lately. Most are artifact induced.”

“‘Ah, ‘the cowboy.'”

“Yeah. Three years stuck in a western. She disappeared not long after you.”

Myka looks down at her lap and clutches her hands together. Leena lays a hand on her arm.

“We’ll get her back,” Leena says. “But here’s a question: why is her room boxed if she’s here with you?”

“We figured the timeline she died in must have stuck.”

“I bet Mrs. Frederic ordered it boxed, so the Warehouse wasn’t collecting data while she was hiding with the astrolabe. That way Artie couldn’t find her.”

“That makes sense. Maybe it started over, now that she's back. Meaning there's another room being recorded.”

“That’s one possibility."

“Not that she’s ever in her room. She’s always in mine,” Myka points out.

“That’s it!” Leena yelps.

“That’s what?"

“Her first night back, after Sykes, where did she stay?”

“With me. Before the Regents took her away.”

“Would you say her ‘heart was captured by another’ that night.”

“I, um...” Myka smiles sheepishly and looks down at her hands.

“The passage, from the diary, ‘a future life shall find me settled as such—“

“—dwelling in a home of our own.’"

Two pairs of eyes light up.

“She’s in your room. Behind the bookcase. Go, now."

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

“Coffee,” Claudia mumbles as she pads past Pete and Abigail, both staring longingly at their empty plates. She knocks her shoulder into the kitchen door, but the door doesn't budge, so she reaches down to work the knob.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Abigail warns.

“Again?” Claudia gripes but places her ear to the door, face pinching at the muffled sounds of pleasure emanating from behind it. She looks at Abigail and shakes her head. “H.G.’s sure making up for lost time."

“Therapy,” Pete says, in air quotes and Abigail shoots him a deathly glare.

Claudia joins them at the table and slumps down in a chair. “At least she’ll make anything we want after they’re handsy in the pantry.”

“I don’t mind waiting, as long as I don’t have to cook,” Abigail says.

Steve enters and sees the long faces at the table. “H.G.’s making breakfast?”

"Leena had to run an errand."

Steve sits. “Leena’s great, but H.G.’s got her own strengths. Maybe she’ll make those eggs with spinach again.”

“And ham,” Abigail adds, dreamily.

“Waffles,” Pete says, his hands waving as if the word were on a marquee.

“Seriously though, we should move the coffee pot out here,” Steve says.

Everyone agrees and talks amongst themselves. A few minutes later, the kitchen door bursts open.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting,” Helena says, setting a plate of piping hot biscuits on the table. “These just came out.”

Claudia snickers as Helena pours her coffee.

Helena raises a brow. “What?”

“Nothing."

“Today's menu has a Southern bent, a la the Food Channel yesterday, but I’ll take requests as per usual.”

Everyone blurts out their desires and Myka pulls out a chair. She sits next to Abigail, and a silly, crooked grin takes over her face as she watches Helena negotiate.

Helena disappears into the kitchen and everyone grabs a biscuit.

“So how are the house plans going?” Abigail asks.

“They look amazing. Helena's annoyed at all the permits she needs, but she’ll start building soon.”

“I bet the kitchen's specially designed,” Pete says with a wink.

“Why?”

Everyone looks at Myka and raises their brows.

Myka blushes.

Helena emerges with a tray full of jellies and jams.

“You’ll need a big ole’ pick up truck to build your house, H.G.,” Claudia says.

“She'd have to learn to drive better first,” Myka says.

“I drive competently.”

Helena looks around the table. Everyone looks away.

“I have Myka for that.”

Helena smiles. Myka narrows her eyes.

“Fine. Perhaps I’ll get a horse.”

“I thought 'the cowboy' was gone?”

“He is. Left in the ethos of the Warehouse, a trade for Leena. Yet unfortunately, traces of Emily remain.” Helena brushes flour off of her shirt.

“Because Emily <i>is</i> you,” Myka says.

“She most certainly is not.”

“Not this again,” Pete says.

“Let’s go back to the horse,” Abigail says.

“I can totally see H.G. rolling into Home Depot with her covered wagon,” Claudia says.

“Wouldn’t work in the winter,” Steve says.

Helena's face pinches. “Structures were built long before the advent of the combustion engine. And with precision.”

“Maybe not in a South Dakota blizzard,” Steve says.

“Careful Steve, H.G. might take that as a challenge,” Abigail says.

“We’ll do some driving lessons,” Myka adds.

“I’d like Pete to take me. You’re impossible to please.”

“That’s not what I heard,” Steve quips, and adds a coy smirk as he elbows Myka in the arm.

“You’d better hurry up building this house,” Myka grumbles.

“They’re stuck with us for now. Especially if they’d like to be fed."

“We worship at the alter of your breakfasts,” Claudia says, bowing humbly, adding a coquettish blink.

The rest of the group bow as well.

“That’s more like it,” Helena says. She walks towards the kitchen and opens the door, then looks over her shoulder at Myka. “Come along,” she says, raising both brows then throwing her eyes toward the kitchen.

Myka looks on, confused.

“A little help.”

“Oh, help. Right,” Myka says. She stands and scrambles behind Helena into the kitchen.

The door closes, and there’s a thunk up against it.

“We’re never getting breakfast, are we?” Claudia says, reaching for another biscuit.

“I thought H.G. was making it today,” Leena says, waltzing into the room, striding toward the kitchen door.

“Don’t!” everyone chants, frantically waving their hands as Leena pushes the door open.

There’s a clang of pans clattering and high-pitched giggling.

Leena draws her hand back and smiles. “Let’s leave them to it, shall we? Diner? My treat.”

Everyone grabs a biscuit and files out the door.

-FIN-

#BERING AND WELLS #W13 #fanfiction #fix it fic #Myka Bering #Helena HG Wells #yay i finished a thing #and it feels great!#question for the hive mind #when I port this over to AO3 could this pass for T?#I don't think it's M but I thought I'd ask #also a new chapter of if/then will be posting soon #just fyi for anyone still reading

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