#it’ll be a while until I get sent somewhere else with the agency since the only positions Available are way far out

[tariah23]

Unemployment Thursday!!!

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

A prompt idea/suggestion :

Usually Harry is back at home by evening but its almost 10 and he isn't back yet, Draco starts to worry and contacts everyone but got no news of him. Harry arrives just before midnight and draco is not in good state. As soon as draco sees him he hugs him and starts crying. Harry is late because he planning something for draco.

No pressure!

I didn't know how to write this without making this a cliche but perhaps it's supposed to be cliche, I tried my best.

Fidus Amor

Fluff | domestic | Comfort fic

Draco checks outside the kitchen window like a usual routine to see if harry had reached but to his surprise he hadn't, Draco only frowned to himself but didn't thought much about it assuming Harry must be stuck with some last remaining work, he let it be and continued cooking the dinner but lost in making the curry, Draco didn't realise when the clock stroke 10 in the night. He frowned as checked outside the window again but still nothing more unusual than it was 1 hour ago. He turned off the last of stove and placed the dinner on the table, hoping that Harry would enter just then and apologize for being late and ramble on about how there was a chaos at workplace because a niffler left loose but Draco stared at the watch on his wrist, then on the wall, his hand under his chin as he waited for Harry but still no see.

15 minutes later draco picked up a cucumber from the salad and ate, then chewed a few more and ultimately finished the plate of salad but harry still hadn't came home yet. It was unusual of harry to be this late, Draco thought. And just for reassurance when it was finally 10:45, Draco decided to call Ron and Hermione to check if perhaps was at their for dinner that harry might've forgotten to mention this morning but upon calling them, he heard they gave no such invitation and Hermione rambling on behind how they should do the dinner again and maybe go to a new place but Ron had confirmed Draco that Harry left the office pretty soon and nowhere later than 8:30 and wasn't at their place. Reluctantly Draco cut the call ensuring them that everything was fine, when it wasn't.

One by one Draco called everyone on the phone list, the speedial, the people from the pub around the corner, rang the neighbours, called molly too, and for heaven's sake even Ms. McGonagall just in case Harry had managed to reach her out but upon calling almost 15 people at ungodly hour for just a five minute information, he didn't receive any whereabouts of harry because nobody had seen him and told him the same sentence over and over that Harry would come back and Draco had nothing to worry about but that was it, wasn't it, he couldn't help but worry about where Harry had gone.

His mind played the evil card once the clock went beyond 11 and imagined all the worst case scenarios of harry being abducted, fainted on the way that nobody knew of or perhaps harry got lost, or whatever the worst that could happen to him and draco couldn't help but panic and be extremely worried about Harry's whereabouts. He sat alone on the couch, his legs bouncing up and down chewing his fingernails in panic as anxiety washed over Draco like the water at the beach over sand. He remained seated there till the clock stroke 11:20 and just as it went to minute 21, Draco stood up abruptly and paced across the room, opening and closing the door and checking if harry had returned but no matter what he did, nothing offered him peace and that he was nowhere to be seen or heard. He started talking to himself loudly, consoling himself that Harry is absolutely fine and nothing had happened and that he probably just got stuck traveling back in a Muggle transport after all London was a busy City but no matter what he tried he couldn't help but worry more minute by minute. He was just at his last straw almost wanting to burst out and look for Harry himself when the doorknob jingled and harry walked Just Before midnight and stopped dead in his movements and stared at Draco standing in the middle of the living room.

" where the hell have you been ?" Draco snapped loudly knowing he was angry at harry but he couldn't deny the flood of relief that ran through him when and instantly hugged harry almost knocking them both our of the apartment and started crying in his neck.

Stunned by Draco's reaction, he soothed down and tightly wrapped his arms around immediately understanding how he had worried Draco " I'm sorry Draco- I didn't mean to worry you so much "

" well yeah that fixes everything " he sarcastically responded yet didn't release harry even a little bit.

" Draco, I love you but we're at the door " harry smiled

" I don't care " Draco weeped.

Harry sighed lightly and started pushing Draco backward little by little so they could just be inside enough to close the door.

" I had been worried sick about you, you could have just given me a call or owled me or sent a damn mail but you had to be out without telling me. I - I thought- something happened-"

" no- Merlin Draco, no " he sighed as he pushed Draco behind so he could see his face and this time Draco let him.

Harry cupped his face " Its alright, I'm here and I'm so sorry about this. I just- I never wanted you to worry "

" then where were you ? You could've told me instead of all this " Draco whispered.

Harry noticed a dry tear over cheeks and in a sweet moment, he kissed it away then looked at him fondly to realise how much Draco really cared for him and then he said " let me show you something "

Harry took Draco by hands and disapparted to where he had been all evening.

" okay- before you say anything or do, Just know that it's all for good intentions. I wanted to brighten the place up and I know we love our apartment but I know how much you love the big houses, so, I tidied up Grimmauld place " harry explained as he pushed open the door.

" you had been here all this time ?" Draco as he followed behind Harry and into the hallway.

" well yeah but there's more to it. I only started cleaning up this place and I only managed to clean the attic yet, apparently kreacher wasn't very helpful. And I wanted to show you this once it was ready but I think if I don't tell you now, you'd be more worried " harry told.

" tell me what ? Gotta be honest harry, you're scaring me a little bit " Draco said as they walked through the kitchen door and to the backyard and harry disappeared.

" harry ?" Draco called out as soon as he lost sight of harry

" just a second " harry muttered from somewhere and Just then a bunch of scattered lights turned on and harry shone in golden and silver lights from above him.

" harry " Draco muttered as he looked above him, completely awestruck..

" I- know how much you loved those tree house's from the movies and you told me you wished you had one too but since we're obviously too old to be fit into these, but I made one for us and I know we haven't heard from the adoption agency yet but I want that kid to have everything we couldn't have and even everything better. I wanted to show you this after we had heard back from them because I didn't wanted you to get hurt if we get put on hold for long but- I- I think there's no time better. I know I should've waited but ever since we applied I couldn't stop thinking, so I came here almost every night and made this. It's still in progress and it still needs a lot of work but this is a start and I know it would no where be around perfect but it'll be ours- and- I think that's what matters, right ?" Harry hopefully waited for a response but Draco was left speechless, he only suited with staring at harry with such fondness that he perhaps might've never seem him with but just the thought of harry doing this made his heart swell too much that he was worried he'd get a cardiac arrest.

" Draco- say somet-"

" I love you "

Harry's eyebrows spiked up in surprise until his face turned soft and into a grin.

" i don't think I've ever loved you more " Draco said with a small smile and approaching harry.

" well-"

" shush-" Draco placed a finger in his lip with a mischievous smile until he put his hands on Harry's neck and kissed him over the lips softly, showing him in that kiss that he meant the entire world to him, that there was nothing better than this, than them, that how much he loved Harry that he couldn't stop even if wanted to.

" wow " harry chuckled when they separated just as a small joke he could erupt.

Draco rolled his eyes but nonetheless pressed his forehead against Harry's " this is beyond perfect, and that's-because it's ours "

Harry smiled wrapped his arms Draco's torso and pulling him closer if it were anymore possible.

" you could've told me though, I would've loved to help you " Draco said after a while of just having pressed their foreheads together and staring into others eyes.

"I wanted it to be surprise but there's plenty left to do, you can still help " harry shrugged as he turned to the side to watch the tree house.

Draco leaned his head over Harry's shoulder, his arm circling his back " I'd love to "

And harry placed a soft kiss on top of Draco's head, wrapping his arms around the other.

"you'll be a good dad, harry " Draco said after a while, watching harry fondly, his head still on his shoulder.

" so would you. We'll give him or her everything " harry smiled gazing into Draco's eyes.

" everything " Draco said in a faint Whisper only for the words to be delivered just to harry until the wind took it away and they remained there watching the tree house, In each other's presence when there awaited an unnoticed letter in their mailbox from the said agency, but everything could wait, just for this moment, where there was love and nothing else.

My apologies for not having been focused on day prompts in a while but I will try to keep up while working on " Da Capo "

300 followers appreciation dialogue Prompt requests open

Angst prompts request open

[leftonraed]

The Night We Met - Episode 1

pairing : Taehyung x OC genre : bodyguard!au, singleparent!au, idol!au word count : 2.4k summary — Taehyung gets terrible news and finds himself in a delicate situation

Prologue | ep.1 | ep.2 | ep.3 | ep.4 | ep.5 | ep.6 | ep.7 

The past month has been a complete blur. If you asked Taehyung to narrate the course of events after the moment he had been in charge of his niece, he wouldn’t be able to, especially when that small time frame included the one event he thought he’d never attend this quickly in his lifetime —

Hwiin got a little startled after he answered the door. While gauging his mood after several weeks of silence, she couldn’t take her eyes off the sullen man who seemed absent.

He was dressed in a dark suit. His hair was fully covering his eyes and had been dyed black, she was just at that moment able to notice it’d never been that long before.

The small heels of his shoes echoed loudly inside as he shuffled towards the living-room.

The gloomy winter sky, visible through the wide windows, narrowed the penthouse and gave the impression they lived in a black and white movie.

The shades of grey clashed unpleasantly with the barely audible cartoons displayed on the wide flat screen where Hina was sitting in front of. She hardly glanced Hwiin’s way.

She removed her purse and coat and put them on the couch while Taehyung kissed and whispered words to his niece. He didn’t get any response either. He stood up and joined Hwiin.

“I didn’t know how to do this-” he trailed softly as her eyes followed his hands feebly unfolding a paper with her eyes. He cleared his throat constricted with sorrow, “I wrote a couple of things down. If I forgot anything, send a text.”

She took it from him and realised she hadn’t said anything yet. What were you supposed to say in this situation, she wondered. The man she thought she knew so well almost struck her as a stranger and left her struggling for the right words.

Hwiin carefully looked up at him and felt her heart hurting at his sight. She should’ve been there for him those past weeks. She became angry with herself the longer she stared at his forlorn expression.

“Taehyung...” She hugged him tightly, as her way to make it up to him. He remained still. He didn’t want Hina to see him break down and cry.

“Thank you,” he only managed to whisper before she took a step back.

She quietly watched him walk out and never before had she felt a greater need to be by his side. She didn’t do anything of this sort.

She walked around the couch to sit next to the little girl she had been requested to look after for the day and tried to empty her mind. All she wanted was for this day to end.

So did he.  

___________________________________________

He didn’t seem present during the entirety of the funeral.

His parents, he used to be so close to but had drawn away from after his debut as an idol, didn’t even manage to make him say anything. They didn’t bother him about it and respected his own way of mourning the family loss.

Taehyung could sense his brother’s in-laws itching to ask him about Hina but held themselves.

While he made other attendees think he looked elsewhere and “too expressionless” in their opinion, he’d actually been doing his best to keep it to himself. He couldn’t tell what helped him hide his emotions, it was so unlike him but he had held steady.

He was right behind his home’s door when he heard Hina’s cries before he even walked in.

Worry instantly frowned his face as he found Hwiin holding the little girl in her arms, soothing her.

“She’s been crying the whole time since she woke up from her nap,” she informed him with a hint of despair. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Hina looked at him and he felt his feet naturally pulling him towards her when her arms stretched outward in his direction.

He held her closely and she tightened him to herself, burying her face in his neck.

He would never know for sure but she sounded grief-stricken and gave him the impression that he was the only one left capable of assuaging her.

Taehyung felt his legs give in and knelt down.

He was finally giving in.

Tears, held deeply back within, coursed down in an unbroken stream to dampen her dress. His body hiccoughed his ache so violently, it seemed it wanted to retaliate for the strains he’d inflicted himself.

Hwiin watched silently with sorrowful eyes as the two of them sought comfort in each other. She caught herself wondering if his niece somehow understood she’d never see her parents again.

__________________________________________

Taehyung never questioned his brother’s wish to have him take care of his daughter if something were to happen. He isn’t living the ideal kind of life to raise a toddler and there are many to criticize him about it, his manager being the first of them, but having Hina feels surprisingly right.

He’s grateful to have her keeping his mind off things but she also reminds him unintentionally of her father and the other way around will inevitably happen.

He sometimes ponders the doubts he has as a caretaker, unpleasant thoughts that come flooding his mind every time he’d fail doing the right thing or get rejected by her; he gives a chance to others scenarios playing out different outcomes but they never satisfy him.

He seeks comfort in the reality that he needs a lot of time to get better at it and that there’s no reason to rush. It’ll give him enough to make his mind about the way he’ll have to address their reality one day.

One of his priorities is to make sure his home has everything his niece would need. This meant visiting his brother’s empty house. Hwiin had asked him if he’d need her but he preferred to be on his own and planned not to linger longer than necessary.

__________________________________________

“You didn’t tell me what you’re planning to do about the few shows left,” Hwiin suddenly initiates, locking her phone.

Taehyung sighs when Hina whines at his umpteenth attempts to keep her from drawing on the wall. Defeated, he stands up to show his manager out.

“Did you hear from Seojun?”

“Nope. I sent him a text a few days ago. He never answers my calls.”

“I can’t see myself going anywhere with her. And I’m definitely not bringing her with me.”

It’s Hwiin’s turn to sigh, although she does it out of light exasperation. “What about my babysitter idea?”

“Out of question.” She lifts her head at his sudden firm tone. “I don't want her to be around strangers.”

“What will you do if you don’t hear from him anymore? Taehyung, you can’t stay at home indefinitely.”

“If I have no choice-” He cuts off himself. “I’m sure everyone will understand.”

She pinches her lips and cranes her neck up to stare somewhere in the empty hallway, keeping her calm.

Leaning on the hand he’s holding the door with, Taehyung tilts his head to glance at her with a hint of amusement.

“I’ll call him myself.”

She looks back at him and blinks slowly, thankful. They say their goodbyes and he closes the door.

When he comes back, Hina’s still putting the finishing touches to her art and Taehyung ponders the thought of throwing the felt tips away once she’s done with them.

He plops himself down on the couch and takes his phone out of his pocket. He quickly finds his bodyguard’s number and makes a phone call. The line rings once.

“Taehyung!”

“H-hi,” he answers, surprised at the man’s quick answer. “It’s been a while. How are you?”

“I’m happy you called! I’m doing really good. What about you?”

“I’m okay- I think.”

“I know you’ve heard it when we last talked but I’m really, really sorry.”

“Thank you. I’m doing okay, ‘promise.”

Seojun doesn’t need to see him to doubt his words but gives him the benefit of the doubt. He tries to change the subject, “How’s the little one doing?”

“Good…” Taehyung’s gaze is directed at Hina's long hair. “I still didn’t get one word from her though.”

“Don’t worry about it, she’ll talk when she’s ready. You shouldn’t force these things.”

Taehyung hums in thought. “How did your break go? How’s everyone ?”

“Very good. Everyone’s doing great.”

“Glad to hear that!” Taehyung smiles a lazy grin and remembers the purpose of his call. “Seojun, I’m sorry I bring this a little abruptly but- when do you think you’ll be coming back? Hwiin told me she tried to contact you-”

“Ah yes,” he suddenly exclaims. “I actually wanted to talk to you directly.”

Amused, Taehyung’s brows furrow slightly. “Right.”

“I’ve never liked the way she looked down on people. But you do well to bring that up.”

He frowns a little more, anticipating.

“I… I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon, Taehyung.” There’s a short pause. “I've been thinking about it lately and we’ve talked a lot with my wife… The fact is that- my family misses me and I miss them.”

Taehyung doesn’t know what to say immediately, “I’m sorry to hear that... But I understand.”

“Really? It’s just that- they’ve barely seen me the past six years and I thought maybe I needed to extend that break for a little longer while.” Seojun feels terrible now that he’s brought the news. As if the death of his brother wasn’t enough of a change.

“I totally do- I just- I don’t know what to do to keep working and look after my niece at the same time. I mean, th- there’s no one else I trust equally to look after her when I can’t.”

“I know and I’ve made sure you guys wouldn’t be left hanging.” He’s quick to reply, “I found someone to take over. Your agency’s already abreast of it. They’re okay to hire that person but they told me they wouldn’t make any decision until they get your last word.”

“Can you tell me more about him?”

“It’s actually a woman, she’s around your age. She’s attended the same security school I did and was the top of her class. I know her personally and was the one who offered to take the helm. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else to stand in for me.”

Taehyung would never doubt Seojun. They regard each other as family, so if Seojun trusted that woman enough to take charge of his responsibilities, he wouldn’t question him further.

“Okay.”

And it’s not like he could think of a better solution to tell Hwiin.

Seojun is relieved when he hears his answer, however he can feel he doesn’t seem totally convinced.

“I promise you, you won’t miss me once she starts.”

___________________________________________

“Hina,” complains Taehyung. “Why are you being so difficult? I thought you liked mashed carrots.”

He’s helpless and covered in what once has been her lunch. She’s on the verge of crying and shaking her legs, irritated. Her arm sways her small plate and Taehyung catches it before she makes an even bigger mess. She starts whining loudly.

“One second,” he mutters while cleaning her stained face before standing up to take her out of the high chair. She stops crying and leaves to watch cartoons still on T.V.

“I’ll go change. I’ll be in the bedroom,” he announces like he doesn’t know he’ll be ignored and leaves.

The doorbell rings a couple of minutes after, taking both Taehyung and Hina by surprise.

Seeing her uncle nowhere around, she stands up to totter toward the entrance holding onto her soft toy. Taehyung just got rid of his dirty clothes when he decides to come out only dressed in a pair of red boxers, remembering he’s expecting Hwiin to come by.

He finds Hina trying to reach for the handle, perched on her tippy-toes.

“Let me help you,” he smiles lightly at her when he looks down, seeing her small face after she craned her neck to the fullest. He taps in the security code and opens and she hurries to push it wide open.

“Hello.”

Hina walks to go behind him at the sight of a stranger. There’s a short silent while that lasts awfully long the second Taehyung understands he’s in his underwear and that he doesn’t recognize you.

“You’re not Hwiin,” he trails quietly.

You shake your head looking back at him very calmly.

From the corner of your eye, you notice his niece hiding behind his leg, peeking shyly at you. You squat at her level and blood rushes up Taehyung’s cheeks.

“You’re Hina, right?” You look at her. “This is for you.”

He pulls himself together. “You didn’t have to,” he chuckles abashed.

His niece stares at the toy piano you offer her. You press one key to make a sound and lit it up in hopes to get her pleased with it.

Taehyung can’t help but think a gift is the last thing she deserves after the tantrum she threw just minutes ago. “Say thank you, Hina.”

She carefully takes it from you and there’s a hint of a satisfied smile on your lips.

“Who’s Hwiin?” You gaze up at Taehyung.

Shit. You need to get up. He needs to put on some clothes, he thinks.

“My manager. Are you-”

“Y/N, your new bodyguard.” You straighten up with your hands behind you.

“Taehyung. Nice to meet you.” He feels Hina, pulling the hem of his boxers and swiftly takes her in his arms. She keeps an iron grip on the toy. “Uh- Please, come in.”

You step inside when he moves away and closes the door behind you. He stares at you as you take a look around, surprised you remain unaffected by his lack of clothing but still thinks it’s not the appropriate way he should have welcomed you in.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I didn’t know you’d come home so early.” He explains as he puts down Hina. “Make yourself at home. ‘Be right back.”

You watch him disappear without a word, his niece follows him while gazing curiously at you. You bring your eyes back on the splendid view the penthouse overlooks.

When Taehyung comes back, closely followed, you’re still standing nearby the window. He’s intrigued and curious as to what made you so special in Seojun’s eyes.

///////////////////////!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Feedback very much appreciated  Reblog if you wish to read more

[neoheros]

how would haikyuu boys handle falling for someone out of their league? feat. kuroo tetsuro + iwaizumi hajime

kuroo tetsuro

the way i see it, if kuroo is crushing on anybody it’ll most likely be on someone he’s either been close to for a while now or someone who’s really caught his attention in a big boom bam kind of way

when it came to you, it was a mix of both

he knew you from class but never really talked to you since there wasn’t any reason to

but then one 2 am ramen venture in the nearest 7/11 later, the two of you officially met

it was so weird for you to see a classmate in the same convenient store at 2 in the morning buying hot patches and gatorade

you: so are you a really energetic murderer or is that for the volleyball thing

kuroo: somewhere along both but i keep the volleyball part a secret

kuroo was certain that the minute those words came out of your mouth he was GONE

a one way ticket to having the fattest crush on you

he only wanted to get something for the cold since he couldn’t fall asleep and instead he’s met someone from class who’s way too cute in pajamas with yakult and ramen on hand

kuroo: i’ve never had that kind of ramen before

you: if you don’t murder me then i’ll share

kuroo, smiling: you took out the best part

you: i am the best part

after that night, kuroo’s pretty sure that you singlehandedly derailed his thoughts and emotions in a snap

he’d see you wave at him in the halls and sometimes when he’s not too busy you’d let him sit with you at lunch

it was definitely weird to be friends with him since he’s never really talked to you before but the day you two exchanged numbers and the first thing he sent you was a tiktok, you knew how much you’d like being close to him

you’d spent nights on end facetiming or sending each other funny links and tiktoks and it always felt like you could talk about anything

lots of repeats of 2 am in the same 7/11 spot where you two had your first encounter and each time it’s just get more and more memorable

kuroo: the more i see you, the more tired you look

you: i told my aunt who has a modeling agency about you ❤️ she said no 😌

you two became best friends in no time and even though you told him countless times how much you hated the smell of sweat and getting hit in the face by a ball you never failed to attend all his practices and matches

kenma: are you two dating

kuroo: no

kenma: are you lying

kuroo, sighing: i wish :/

when kenma pointed out the obvious that you two should be dating, he was just hit with an overwhelming feeling in his chest

he thought about it and honestly? the more he did the more he felt like he didn’t have a shot

you were so nice and kind, the teacher’s go to when they need help, and he’s basically seen you turn down 2 guys in the midst of walking home together

yaku: we know you’re lame and stuff but shoot your shot y’know

kuroo: how am i friends with you

so one day he decides that he’s just had about enough from staring at you from afar !!! he’s gonna try his luck and if he strikes out then so be it

it was 3 in the afternoon and they didn’t have practice so he asked you to come over— which at this point, something you did every so often

it was chill at first, the two of you watching a movie in the living room together but then he gets up from his seat

a goofy smile on his face as he says, “let’s make a tiktok,”

you’re confused but you agree nonetheless

the two of you have made tiktoks in the past but they usually stayed in the drafts because you never could get past one without breaking into laughter

he never told you the sound or what tiktok to make but as he put his phone against the kitchen cupboard a smile immediately broke into your face

you look at him and he’s anxious which by nature also made you anxious

the audio played and you really didn’t recognize it, you curse yourself for being so out of loop in the latest fyp trends

he stares at the camera as the song played and you’re unsure of what to do except laugh

he turns to you when the beat drops, and your smile becomes nervous with confused eyes

you are out of my league

he mouths along with the song, the smile on his face matching yours as you let out a brighter grin

you realize what he just said and you laugh, softly hitting his arm, “i am not!”

he pulls you into a hug as the video played, the song looping in the process

he’s laughing as he hugs you, “yes, you are.”

you look up at him, pressing a soft quick kiss on his lips and when you pull back, you’re sure he’s got the stupidest grin on his face

kuroo: i can’t believe we had our first kiss on camera

you: i can’t believe i kissed the lamest boy in school

iwaizumi hajime

being friends with iwaizumi immediately means being friends with oikawa too

it’s okay though, you love them both

you forgot when the three of you became that close but at one point in your life, two boys came running around your local playground and hit you with a ball and the rest was history

later on you guys find out that all three of your moms were close also and everything felt like it just clicked yk?

you go to school with them and it’s pretty ditzy how they force you to go to all their volleyball practices and tournaments

you: i don’t want to go

iwaizumi: but we’re not asking you to

oikawa: we’re TELLING you

you’re close to both of them in a level that they’re like your brothers and they knew that

oikawa was really flattered when you mentioned that and he went on and on about how he’s gonna be the best fake brother you can look up to

iwa however ? nah fam he was silent

and (unfortunately for him) oikawa noticed

iwaizumi wasn’t sure why he felt a bit uncomfortable when you told them how you thought of them as family but all he knew was that he had the most bothered look when you said it

oikawa: omfg you’ve got a crush this is so exciting

iwaizumi: a what

it didn’t surprise him that much when his friend told him the possibility of crushing on you because to be honest? it was weird enough to not like you like that

it takes a while for him to get used to the idea but then it clicks and he realizes

all the times he’d take off his jacket in the freezing weather just to give to you

the days when you’d fall asleep on the corner of the gym so he can walk you home

even those annoying 3 am starbucks trip you’d never stop bugging him about until he agrees

now he’s irritated and flustered because all this time when he felt an overwhelming urge to punch the guy that’s been relentlessly hitting on you it was actually because of what he felt about you

oikawa: nope that one was definitely your anger management issues

at this point everyone in the team basically knows about how hard he’s pining even when he’s sure it’s not that obvious?

and it’s true !! he’s really fricken discrete with the entire thing that you feel like he’s physically repulsed by the idea

he had a sharp tongue and he certainly didn’t hold back on comments but whenever you wouldn’t notice, he’d have a soft gaze at you matched with a tiny light red dusting across his face

kunimi and kindaichi had to tell him that if he didn’t do anything about his feelings he’d risk the chance of seeing you date someone else and Boy ! he did Not like that

some guy trying to ask you out: h–hey

iwaizumi, staring them down as he stands next to you:

the guy trying to ask you out: bro nvm lol

you were sick of it !!!!!!!!! even your guy friends were starting to get too scared to be seen with you and you’re just like ?????????

you: stop making my friends too scared to talk to me

iwaizumi, irritated: you said you saw me as an older brother, this is what they do !!

you: when i said that i obviously meant it as a joke ?? brothers are cool not MEAN

iwaizumi: wait what

HE !!!!!! was ecstatic !!! but in his own iwa way so he had to play it cool !!!!

this was it !! he finally had the chance to shoot his shot !!!

so before his confidence could water down, he texted you immediately if you’d be cool with him driving you to school tomorrow

you: omg iwa never offers to do that, thank you sm body snatching alien <3

iwaizumi: due to personal reasons i will be passing away

he arrives at your house at 7 and he’s very nervous because even though he has a plan on what to do, it’s your reaction he didn’t know how to handle

once you got in his car, you were suspiciously quiet and the brim of your nose was oddly coated in a red hue

before he starts to drive, you stop him, a shy smile on your face, one that is easily out favored by your mischievous one

“let’s make a tiktok,” you tell him, and if it was any other time he’d 100% tell you no, but it was 7 in the morning and the sun had just come up and you looked so adorable he just couldn’t resist

he looks aside, softly muttering, “fine.”

you put your phone on the dashboard of his car, softly pressing play as the song started

iwa recognized this song, in fact, he loved this song

he didn’t know much about tiktok but he was very familiar with the ones that oikawa would send him at 4 am

and one of them happened to be this exact trend

his face flushes a dark red as he realizes what you’re about to do and you’ve got a silly grin on your face as you’re looking at him

you are out of my league

you laugh as you mouth it, pointing to him when you looked at the camera again

he playfully rolls his eyes, nudging you a bit to look at him

“you’re so stupid,” he tells you with a smile and you’re still laughing from the song

the rest of the song plays, and he’s got his eyes on you the whole time like !!!!!

you spend the rest of the morning repeating the song over and over again and it’s just you and iwa pointing at each other whenever that specific line comes up it’s 🥺

when you arrive at school, before you unbuckle your seatbelt, he takes your hand and pulls you close, giving you a quick peck on the forehead

you: does this mean you’d finally go with me to starbucks whenever

iwaizumi: no but that’s a nice try ❤️

[jinmukangwrites]

Hi Jin! Since you are looking for some DC hc what's your opinion on Flash? Honestly I like his character and his interaction with other heros, esp. Batman. I like to hc that sometimes Flash says/does something so deep and profound completely accidently but it shocks and touches others and they see him in renewed light. If you don't feel like Flash, what about some grandpa Alfred and his horde of superhero grandkids? xD Just some options for you, have fun and thank you for your amazing writing!

So I... don't reallllly have much experience writing for Flash or the Justice League in general? I based Flash's characterization off from what I remember from watching various cartoons and from pannels I've happened across over the years. I need to read his comics. He's such a dork. Anyway, sorry this took a million years DF, hopefully this is sorta what you were wanting <3

Also if you're wondering when exactly this takes place, just know I am constantly rejecting canon and substituting my own 😤

-o-o-o-o-

When Dick was nine years old, he wanted to join Bruce on a Justice League mission.

Bruce—being the clear-headed, calculative, newly foster father that he was—panicked and said he couldn't go on an official League mission until he was twenty-five years old... which is what Bruce was at the time. When Dick tried to argue back, well, Bruce pulled some strings—meaning he glared at the other League members until they agreed—and made it official.

No one under twenty-five would join an official Justice League mission.

Bruce wishes now he set the bar higher and told the young man to just deal with it. Because Dick is twenty-six now, and that's all Bruce can think about as Batman punches his way through an alien spaceship. Twenty-six, somewhere on this ship where Bruce can't see him with a different team comprising of newer members—not because he's untrained, but because there's no one else Bruce would trust to keep the newer recruits alive.

Meanwhile, Batman and other original powerful members of the League fight their way towards the leader of these attacking aliens. The mothership is large, practically a maze, and filled with soldier creatures with no individual agency to note. They're not an Apokolips level threat, but it would still be preferable to stop them before they enter the solar system.

Batman stops in his tracks, slamming his back against the wall to avoid getting blasted by an enemy soldier around the corner. Then, after a beat, he jumps out and launches a baterang at the attacker and takes them down with a few well placed jabs. There's the sound of something creaking violently somewhere behind him, probably Superman or Wonder Woman deciding doors are too tedious to find and the walls are weak enough for them to just plow through.

Which is why Batman is paired with none other than Flash for the moment. Despite his abilities, he can't go vibrating through walls whenever he finds it quicker to do so. He needs to save his strength; which means he's in the same boat as Batman, finding tedious doorways and navigating winding corridor filled with flashing red lights and steaming pipelines.

There's the sound of a blaster loading up to his right where he didn't notice another soldier hiding in the shadows. He just manages to pull up his cape in an attempt to lessen the damage when there's a blur of red and a flash of yellow lightning, the alien goes flying against the wall with a snap, falling limply to the ground.

"You good, B?" Flash asks, stopping in front of Batman with a grin. His voice is light, a little joking. Batman rolls his eyes. "I mean, it's a good thing I was here, It's not normally me who's doing the saving for destracted teammates."

"Let's move," he replies before moving on.

Behind him, he hears Flash sigh dramatically. "Good talk."

They move further into the ship, the blue glow of a fuzzy, half-detailed map hovering from Batman's wrist computer. Flash is a constant chatter behind him, which only serves to remind Batman further of a certain talkative, pun-slinging acrobat somewhere on the other side of the ship, taking down the ship's main controls.

Then, suddenly, the holographic map glitches violently like an old corrupted silent film as the entire ship jolts. A large boom crashes through the air, creaking pipes and tilting the entire gravitational system, causing Batman and Flash to throw their bodies towards the nearest wall as the ship struggles to realign itself.

Batman keeps his grip firm while Bruce keeps his eyes on the map, his stomach dropping when he sees a flashing red dot appear near the ship's main control room.

Nightwing...

"What was that?!" Flash wheezes as the gravity returns to something similar to what it should be, but it's shaky now, like one wrong move and everything will be sent spinning.

"Something exploded in the control room," Batman growls, pushing all thoughts that don't involve the alien leader and finding said alien leader out of his head.

"'Wing's on the other side," Flash says, his voice suddenly devoid of his constant joking and light tone. "You think they're oka-"

"We need to finish this."

And Batman is moving before Flash can argue. He doesn't say he's sure they're fine, or we should turn back, or let me attempt communications; he just moves forward because the mission is important. The world is important.

Whatever trouble the other's have gotten into... he is positive they can handle it.

Then, just moments later, they run into more trouble. Only this time, it's not just one or two mindless soldiers, but a whole group of them. Immediately, Batman launches himself into battle, cape fluttering behind him like an omen, using the shadows between the flashing lights to his advantage. He can hear the static of a speedster's energy all around him as Flash winds between bolts of enemy fire. Batman pushes his companion to the back of his mind, throwing his fist out into slam the door deformed jaw of an attacker.

The ship jolts again, along with the floor beneath him. He grunts as he's thrown into the wall, the explosion sounding like it came from the same area as before. Everything's sideways now: the ship, the gravity, his train of thought. He just manages to grab at clawing hands as an alien jumps on top of him, snarl in its lips and teeth dripping with drool.

The alien screeches, it's taloned feet digging into the Kevlar over his stomach, practically doing it's damnest to gut him open. Batman growls, his stomach twisting as the ship's gravity tries to fix itself once again, causing Batman and the alien to go rumbling from the wall into the floor. Batman grunts as he crashes through a branch of pipeline, landing harshly on the ground and sucking in a breath as his ribs scream at new bruises.

What is going on over there?!

And he doesn't even have a chance to think more into it, because he realizes he's been laying on the ground, worrying, when he should have noticed the alien finding it's bearings and scrambling forward with a scream to attempt to pin him down again.

He bunches up, preparing himself to defend himself at last moment, before there's Flash, once again, coming in at the perfect time. Flash slams the alien into the wall, it's skull making a terrible thunk noise, before it slides to the ground unconscious.

Batman pushes himself to his feet, his ribs throbbing, and opens his mouth to command they keep going, but Flash—in the blink in an eye—ends up right in front of Batman, his mouth twisted in a rare frown.

"What is wrong with you," Flash demands, grabbing into the clasps of Batman's cape and holding Batman in front of him so he can effective snarl in the other man's face. "I was joking before, about you being destracted, but now I think you actually are."

"I'm not destracted," Batman growls back, moving to shove Flash off of him, but the Flash doesn't back down. He tightens his grasp and glares.

"You are. You're destracted and worried for Nightwing because you're a dad-"

"We have a mission to finish-"

"The mission is a failure if you die, Bruce! I can't watch them be told you've died again!"

Everything goes still, nothing but the flashing lights and creaking pipes exists while Barry clutches the clasps of Bruce's cape and breathes hard. Barry swallows roughly, and then gives Bruce a narrowed look.

"When will you realize that?" He asks, sounding close to hysterical. "That your self preservation is worth more than the world to them?"

And Bruce remembers Wally, and Bart, and Iris, and their plans to have kids and find a better house with a bigger lawn. Bruce takes a deep breath and lets Batman take the backseat.

"What do I do?"

Relief flashes through Barry's face. He lets go of Bruce's cape and a smile twitches in his lips. "Go find him. Check on him. Get yourself un-destracted."

"What about you?" Bruce asks, and Barry shrugs, looking way too relaxed now. Like a weight is off his shoulders. Like he can really run now.

"I'm sure Oli is around here somewhere. I'll meet up with him." Barry looks Bruce right in the eye. "We'll finish the mission, it'll be a done in a flash. Just go make sure your kid is okay first."

And for once, Bruce doesn't groan at the pun or argue the phrase his kid. He just nods and turns back the way he came, his legs pumping, to make sure his kid is okay, which he should have remembered in the first place was always the mission. Always the top priority.

He'll have to thank Barry later... and send Iris some flowers.

[pk-rockinly]

!!   These HCs are my own interpretation of Ness, his backstory, and family, all exclusively made by me and not related to in-game content unless otherwise stated. Don’t steal them :>   !!

I’ll divide it into   “ chapters ”   , so that it’s easier to find the topics.

INDEX 1. Ness’ Family   ( parents, sibling, pet ) 2. Ness’ Family   ( mother’s side ) 3. Ness’ Family   ( father’s side ) 4. Ness’ Family   ( others ) 5. Significant Other   ( Lucas ) 6. Ness   ( a li’l bit about my portrayal of him )

1. - ̗̀  NESS' FAMILY   ( parents, sibling, pet)   ̖́-

For starters, RPing with a Ninten or an Ana muse has always been a struggle for me because I HC them to be his parents   ( I assume that everyone has figured it out by now because I leave hints and I make it SO obvious )   . It’s so obvious because you would often read in my threads that his mother is Christian or that his father is also a baseball enthusiast but because of his asthma, he had to adjust to a different profession. The reason why I don’t straight-up say it is because I know that not many people share this HC and I know that it also makes some uncomfortable. So I leave hints rather than saying the actual thing.

!!   Of course, this doesn’t mean that I won’t interact with any Ninten or Ana muses but understand that it’ll be a bit hard for me since, from my point of view, it’ll be Ness seeing their parents in their childhood   !!

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ FATHER — NINTEN  

It’s canon that Ness’ father works at a hamburger industry. I also HC that, because of the job keeping him busy, he returns home during weekends and holidays — he works abroad. He sometimes takes a week off or two, depending on workflow.

Also, on an important side-note, he paid back the loan to the Minch family!! But they would still hold a grudge on him and on Ness’ family because it took him a while to pay it back.

Ness’ father is … a dork, really. Ness has probably inherited his playful side from him. He’d sit at dinner and crack jokes out of the blue and because they’re so sudden it’s always entertaining. Those dad jokes no one wants to listen to? He’s got plenty!

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ MOTHER — ANA  

It’s canon that Ana likes drama fiction... I HC that Ness does too. You will sometimes see him watch soap-operas either alone or with her, or even discuss characters and their role with his mother. He doesn’t really like to show that he has a certain fondness for drama, so he tends not to say anything about it.

Ana is a skilled cook and every day feels like a Thanksgiving dinner. Every meal she makes is made with love and she will always spoil her kids with their favorite food and treats.

She’s a very loving woman. You will see her kiss her kids’ forehead goodnight every night, even when they’re older.

!!   Both his parents know and can use PSI   ( Ness has inherited it from them )   , but they never use it in public   and / or   in front of their   kids / family .   !!

!!   They haven’t told their kids about their own adventure or about   Giygas / Giegue   but they will when Ness is older   ( when he’s approximately 16-17 )   !!

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ SISTER — TRACY :   

The game doesn’t state Tracy’s age but it makes it clear that she’s younger than Ness, so I HC that she’s at least 4 years younger than him.   

The game canonically has her work at a delivery agency, so that she can help Ness   store / deliver   his items, but she quits it right after Ness defeats Giygas.

I HC that she wasn’t born with PSI but with instead impressive intelligence for someone her age. She’s a child, of course, but she already seems to know how the world spins.

I HC that, when she’s more or less Ness’ age   ( 13 yo )   , she starts developing a soft crush towards Picky Minch, their neighbor, and, because of it, Ness grows incredibly protective and he even sounds bratty when Picky is around or when he’s mentioned in a conversation.   It’s something that any sibling does, no? Squinting when your sister’s crush is home, mmm…

Ness combs and braids her hair before she leaves for school.

!!   Because of Tracy unable of using PSI, the family has set some sort of   ‘ rule ’   in which no one will read each other’s mind nor use PSI between family members.   This rule is for now for Ness only since both he and his sister don’t know that their parents can use PSI   !!

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ PET — KING :   

I HC that King is a Mastiff Tibetan, three years older than Ness. 

Ness’ parents have adopted him when he was only two weeks old and a few months after Ninten’s dog, Mick passed away. The puppy was nameless for a couple of days   ( he had silly nicknames like Mick II or Mick-on-all-fours since Ninten’s dog was capable of standing on two legs for a long time )   , until Ana playfully placed a crown made with carton box on the puppy’s head and called him King.

The puppy grows strong and big and he becomes a well-adored family member ; he gets to be part of many events happening in the family’s life. 

King played a sort of   ‘ nanny role ’   during Ness’ childhood. He was always there, making sure that the kid would avoid getting in trouble when Ana or Ninten were looking away. He would even make sure that the kid got the right amount of rest.

Because Ness could only mutter words   and / or   broken sentences in his early years, saying King was a little hard for him ; he used to call him Pooch and this nickname kinda stayed as he grew up.

King begins to speak with the family almost right away when he’s adopted   ( only people with telepathy can, of course, hear him )   ; so, I kinda like to think that King has also helped Ness to speak when he was a toddler.

//   it started as a joke but then became canon in the blog : King will be part of the family’s events for a pretty long time ; he’s developed a certain fondness towards the family and he will stay alive as long as his body will let him. And let me tell you … he’s going to stay for a very long time, still.   //

2. - ̗̀ NESS' FAMILY   ( his mother's side)   ̖́-

I don’t have many HCs for Ness’ grandparents from his mother's side, individually speaking. It’s still a WIP. But they get to visit the family every now and then, especially during the holidays.

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ GRANDMOTHER :   

she lives with her husband in a snowy town distant from Ness’ homeland.

When Ness will be aware of his parents’ adventure, he will find out that his grandmother had once been kidnapped by Giygas and that Ana joined Ninten to search for her.

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ GRANDFATHER :

he’s a priest living with his wife in a snowy town distant from Ness’ homeland.

3. - ̗̀ NESS' FAMILY   ( his father’s side)   ̖́-

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ GRANDMOTHER — CAROL :

Carol’s character is very similar to Ness’ mother in-game. She also likes to cook and because of it, I like to think that she lends a helping hand in the kitchen when the family is reunited for the holidays.

When she visits, she always brings gifts for the family, plus a few homemade delicacies.

She lives with her husband in Podunk.

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ GRANDFATHER : 

he works full-time in a business agency and lives with his wife Carol in Podunk, a town distant from Ness’ homeland. 

At first glance, he looks secretive but he’s in truth a dork, really ; Ninten has probably inherited his playful side from him, but unlike him, his playfulness is controlled and limited.

!!   His grandparents can’t use PSI.   !!

-ˏˋ ☆ NESS’ AUNTS — MIMMIE & MINNIE

Aunt Mimmie and Aunt Minnie are Ninten’s twin sisters.

Ness doesn’t really get to see them often but only during specific holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year.

They travel a lot, sometimes on their own and sometimes together.

They’re both professional photographers. Writing books and novels is considered a hobby for them, even if their publications have made some numbers around the world.

They share an apartment together but it’s almost always empty because they’re always outside or traveling.

When the family wants to book a vacation somewhere away from Onett, Ness’ aunts are both willing to book tickets for them and plan their vacation, with or without Ana’s consent.

They keep in touch with their brother almost every day. They’re probably the ones who stay the most in touch with the family.

4. - ̗̀  NESS' FAMILY   ( others )   ̖́-

This section is about Ninten’s and Ana’s friends who are not related to them in any way but because they’re their close friends, they’re considered part of the family. Ness grew up calling them   uncle / aunt   .

-ˏˋ ☆ TEDDY   ( uncle )   :

When Ness was only a kid, he felt admiration Teddy. In fact, during those times he visited he even defined him the   ‘ cool uncle ’   ;

Ness owns a couple of CDs made by Teddy, which he listens to every now, and then ; the genre is enjoyable and his songs have a good rhythm. The lyrics are strong and powerful : some songs tell a bit about himself, while others  … he can’t tell ;

Every time Teddy releases a new CD, a copy is sent to Ness two days before its actual release date.

Teddy is also the owner of his family’s repair shop of which he was named after, but because of his singing career, he hired someone else to run the store for him.

-ˏˋ ☆ LLOYD   ( uncle )   :

Ness doesn’t know much about him. His parents say that he used to visit more often when he was younger, but he got busier and busier with his studies and experiments that nowadays it’s very rare to see him in person.

Lloyd grows to be a successful scientist. He, every now and then, writes books about his theories and experiments, and sometimes he can be seen on TV on those scientific channels, guest of an interview or merely stating facts and thesis about a specific argument   ( we could say that that is the only time Ness gets to see him )   .

!!   I don’t HC that Lloyd is Dr. Andonuts merely because Dr. Andonuts is way older than how Lloyd should be in Earthbound, despite the both of them hiding in trashcans, wearing round glasses or having   white / gray   hair.   !!

-ˏˋ ☆ PIPPI   ( aunt )   :

okay, comin’ up with something for Pippi was a bit of a struggle, but I like to think that she becomes a professional painter ; she’s energetic, creative and she likes to give life to a thought through colors on a canvas.

She likes to visit   quiet / abandoned   places to find inspiration, to then paint her own versions of these places visited. Her paintings are famous for the feelings they convey and for the breathtaking and realistic colors she uses.

she would also paint portraits ; she has a few of Ness and his family and her portrait gallery progressively expands as she meets new people.

when she visits, it’s always a good occasion to take a few pictures to paint later.

Farms and quiet villages are often protagonists of her paintings.

5. - ̗̀ NESS' SIGNIFICANT OTHER   ̖́-

-ˏˋ ☆ LUCAS ( it’s canon in this blog )   :

they met in the Smash tournaments and have clicked almost immediately thanks to their similarity and thanks to the fact that they both share PSI abilities.   

Outside of the Smash tournaments, they’re in a long-distance relationship   ( Lucas’ timezone is six hours behind Ness’ )   ;

Ness pays him a visit every weekend by teleporting to his village – only during the weekend because Ness has school during the other days and can’t find free time in between his homework.

!!   Ness is aged up to 16 years old when RPing with pk-lovely’s Lucas only to make it easy for me to RP very soft romance   !! This Lucas’ interpretation is pk-lovely’s ♥

6. - ̗̀  NESS   ̖́-

His full name is Ness Yusha Omoto   ( Yusha is his middle name for   ’ brave ’   given by his father when he was born )   . If we consider his mother’s last name, his full name would be Ness Yusha Hayes Omoto, but we’ll just go with the first one.

It’s canon that he was born with PSI. His parents found out when the baby bottle started to move on its own. He taught himself most of his PSI, starting with recovery ones.

Later on, as he grew up, he taught himself more useful PSI and begun to develop a special one based on his favorite thing. 

-ˏˋ ☆ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE :

Ness weighs 95lb   ( 43kg )   and he’s 5ft tall   ( 150cm )   . He has short, messy, and greasy black hair and he wears a baseball cap to mostly hide this messy mane but to also show his passion towards baseball, his favorite sport.

His eyes are black   ( not as black as his hair but they’re close to a dark grey hue )   and when he uses his psychic powers they turn purple-ish, so you can tell when he’s using them.

His skin is naturally tanned, with very light freckles across his face and under his elbows.

he’s ambidextrous.

-ˏˋ ☆ LANGUAGE(S) KNOWN :

He speaks English and Japanese   ( thanks to his father who has Japanese origins )   , and also ASL language but not very fluently. He’d rather read your mind, honestly … 

-ˏˋ ☆ CLOTHING PREFERENCE :   

[ I wrote a post about it here ]

He wears striped shirts, baseball tees, and hoodies ; jorts, capri jeans, sweats, and sneakers. His preference in clothing tends to vary but he likes to wear comfortable clothes regardless if they look ugly or don’t match well with the others.

He’s uncomfortable in long-sleeved garments, so you will always see him wear short-sleeved shirts even during winter   ( but only indoors ; if he falls sick, he can heal himself, so … )   . He hates winter.

Oh, and let’s not forget backpacks!

-ˏˋ ☆ PROFESSION :   

Student.

He’s the Captain of his school’s baseball team,   “ The Starmen ”   ( which will then become his own baseball team )   . It doesn’t have an actual mascot because of Ness’ discomfort in people wearing large mascot suits.

The uniform has several stars across the sleeves, the name of the player is written on the back, while on the front is written   “ Onett ”   together with the initials   “ SM ”   ; the Captain’s uniform has two stars as background for the initials and they’re light-blue.

The team has its own baseball cap but Ness still prefers to wear his own.

-ˏˋ ☆ FOOD PREFERENCE :   

Ness is a foodie! He LOVES to eat and his stomach is often compared to a bottomless well! There is not a food he doesn’t like and thanks to his high and active metabolism he rarely gains weight despite eating so much.

However, he suffers from indigestion only when he eats too much sugar on a daily basis : the amount he can get is awfully limited, but it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like sweets, because, to be fair, they’re his weakness. But because of his indigestion, he’s very careful with them and grows a little paranoid when eating a tart or any other sweet treat.

Now, though, perhaps because of the lack of sugar in his system, the boy has grown very fond of salty snacks since they don’t cause his stomach to twist in agony ; so, expect this kid to eat a lot of salt.

-ˏˋ ☆ FAVOURITE FOOD :   

Salisbury Steak   ( canon ). It’s basically made from blending ground beef with other ingredients, topped then with bitter-sweet and slightly spicy sauce. His mother serves it with gravy and mashed potatoes as side-dish. But he likes anything that contains meat, honestly …

He also likes Sukiyaki and Mori Soba   ( canon in game )   and Yakisoba   ( my HC )   .

Since we’re on the topic, it’s canon that Ness likes dog food as well   ( it’s in the Japanese version of the game, replaced by salmon in the English version )   ; so I kinda HC that as a kid he ate a can of dog food out of curiosity and kinda liked it …  uh … 

Pretzels are his favorite snack.

-ˏˋ ☆ MUSIC PREFERENCE :   

His genre varies and he’s always open to new hits. He likes rock, hip-hop, lo-fi beats, and instrumental tunes.

Ness has a sort of celebrity crush on Venus but he doesn’t say it openly because he’d feel embarrassed. However, you can hear him hum her songs every now and then - and you can find a collection of all of her albums on his shelves plus a few autographs. She’s his favorite singer and it will never change, not even when he’s older.

He’s also a fan of The Runaway Five and DCMC   ( thanks to his boyfriend who has introduced them to him )   .

Ness can play guitar. He has an acoustic guitar in his room that he plays every now and then ; he’s been playing it since he was five years old and can play any song by just listening to it — and, of course, after a little practice.

-ˏˋ ☆ FAVOURITE COLOUR :   

Ness likes the color pink for reasons he won’t tell   ( it reminds him of his boyfriend’s cheeks when he blushes, hhh )   .

Other favorite colors are: yellow, red, blue, and white.

-ˏˋ ☆ FAVOURITE ANIMAL :   

Rabbits, especially dwarf rabbits with very tiny ears. The boy would scream for a bunny but, because of their sensibility, they might not keep up with his energy — so it’s really not recommended to get him a bunny for the sake of the poor thing’s sanity. But he will sit at a pet shop for hours just to look at the bunnies, hm.

-ˏˋ ☆ DOMINANT TRAIT :   

his courage, of course.

Keep in mind that now because he’s brave, he’s not afraid of anything. Wrong. He has fears as well just like everyone but he doesn’t share them openly   ( and he considers them more states of discomfort rather than actual fears )   .

-ˏˋ ☆ NEGATIVE TRAIT(S) :   

As already mentioned, Ness is a jealous person when it comes to his loved ones because he feels the urge of protecting them and keeping them away from what might hurt them. So, to state an example, when his sister’s crush is around, Ness will keep an eye open on his behavior and on the way he talks to his sister and interfere with annoying jokes or facts that might relate to Picky when he thinks that he’s walking out of the line. But it always ends with Tracy either holding a grudge on Ness or punching his shoulder   ( a light punch, just to make it stop )   . Another example is Ness crinkling his nose   ( please keep this trait in mind for it tells a lot of how Ness is feeling in a certain moment )   when Lucas talks fondly about another person he doesn’t know — he starts saying things like   “uh”, “oh yeah?”, “uh-hu”, “pssh”, “tch” every now and then as he speaks to kinda control his jealousy.  

It starts low but if it grows uncontrollably, he then becomes paranoid ; you can clearly tell when it happens by reading his movements : if he’s sitting down, his legs shake, or if he’s standing up he struggles to find a comfortable pose. he hides his mouth behind his palm, he rubs the back of his head, he begins scanning the area around him, he sighs loudly and sometimes even whines. In worse cases, he starts walking around in circles or even bites his nails.

He calms down on his own without someone else to do anything for him, but it might take a couple of hours if not less. He will feel better and even apologize to you for his behavior afterward.

Greediness   ( only when it comes to sharing his food )   , clumsy and possessive   ( light stage of possession, he doesn’t go all yandere on his enemies, please … )   .

-ˏˋ ☆ POSITIVE TRAIT(S) :   

aside from his negative traits, Ness is in truth a loving and considerate person. When he loves he loves with all his heart and let’s just say that another person’s contact and warmth are always necessary, almost vital, for him.

He’s extrovert, so being in contact with the outside world is fundamental.

he’s adventurous, affectionate, assertive, friendly, fun-loving, and curious. Now, his curiosity is where most of his reckless decisions are made. He’d venture without hesitation in a dark cave because led by his own curiosity ; he’d run outside in the middle of the night to go look at a meteorite that just fell on the hilltop next to his house even if his parents say no ; he would trust his neighbor Lier X Agerate down his basement to look at a statue he dug right under his house …  Just to make it clear, the boy is very curious and if he ever asks inappropriate questions, it’s because his curiosity led him to do so.

He’s also generous, hard-working   (a trait inherited by his mother | canon )   , optimistic, self-assured, and determined.

He likes to spoil his loved ones with gifts ; so, expect him to buy you stuff every now and then. If you ever see something you like, Ness will buy it for you without hesitation.

Loyal, warm-hearted, patient   ( except for the line at fast-foods, he grows really impatient then )   , and playful   ( inherited by his father ; he, much to everyone’s misfortune, very often cracks up jokes even in the most inappropriate moments, especially while shopping : he’d grab food and make jokes out of it.   An example :   Near to the fridge counter section, the raven, smiling with anticipation at the joke forming in his mind, grabs a random portion of meat, which happens to be minced meat but it doesn’t matter and shows it to his boyfriend next to him.   “Nice to meat you!”   )

-ˏˋ ☆ FEARS   ( more like   ‘ stages of discomfort ’   as he would call them )   :

People wearing costumes — it’s the reason why his school baseball team doesn’t have a mascot. People wearing big costumes, in general, make his skin crawl. Although aware that it’s just a person inside a costume, he can’t calm his nerves in the moment. He will act uncomfortable for the entire time until they eventually walk away from them.

Clown & Mimes — although the fear of clowns is almost overcome completely, mimes are still a problem and he cannot explain why. Whenever he sees one, he just has to walk as distant as possible from them.

Tight places — perhaps the most common one. Ness is not claustrophobic as he can stay in closed spaces quite well, but when these closed spaces happen to be tight, he might grow tense and anxious. If he stays in them for a long time, he might go into panic.

-ˏˋ ☆ BAD HABIT(S) :   

swearing   ( only when furious )   , muttering under his breath   ( jealous, paranoid, doubtful )   , oversleeping, snacking between meals, leg jiggling   ( paranoid, nervous )   , gesturing while talking   ( he’s an open book, he expresses himself a lot through non-verbal communication )   , chewing lips   ( nervous, paranoid )   , procrastinating   ( furious )   , rubbing hands through hair   ( nervous, paranoid )   , drinking from the bottle, messy, competitive.

[aja154ever]

BSD Dead Apple Spoilers

There is nothing here but MAJOR MAJOR spoilers, as in the plot summary, in detail as much as possible. Some points are already on @looking-for-stray-dogs post so I decided not to delve into them anymore. ((Gosh Lea and I talked about this for probably more than 2 hrs, making notes and the outline lol, until the restaurant finally told us to go home))

You’ve been warned so if you don’t want any of that, then don’t read this post. Also this is a fan report and is not 100% accurate. Bear with my human memory ability

Also, excuse my grammar, I can’t English damn it I’m tired

Bias - ofc everyone has their own. I have favorites so I might have focused more on some characters, but I did try to report this as objectively as I can. I put comments/feelings tho in some parts I found hard to narrate/describe like action scenes. And yes, I’m a Soukoku shipper but I tried to keep it low here, I’ll make a separate post for them for the sake of people who don’t want to read too much feels here. Also, my Japanese is far from perfect so I may have missed some or a lot of details, especially with Fyodor, Shibusawa, Fukuzawa, and Chuuya’s language.

Lastly, PLEASE DO SUPPORT THE MOVIE in any possible legal way you can. I’ve felt how much the staff put so much work on this movie, how they love it so much, and how they present it as a gift to everyone. The BSD fandom is not big, but we have been blessed to actually have this, because Asagiri believes we deserve more than a compilation film, and because Kadokawa and Bones are willing to produce this thing.

If it will be showing in your country, please, please do make sure to watch it. If not, then please buy official goods. And yeah do continue bugging Crunchyroll or anyone else

Actual Toho Cinemas, Ueno as seen from the Port Mafia Family Official art

So the movie will make you cry just by the first scene because the first character to appear on the big screen was… Odasaku.

It’s the event from 6 years ago, specifically the night before the end of the 88-day Dragon Head Dispute. Oda looks at the mess before him - dead ability users lying on the ground anywhere he looked. He hears a cry out of the blue, and goes to discover an alive child crying in the middle of her dead parents. The girl is Sakura, one of the orphans in the Dark era.

Dazai communicates with Oda thru a transmitter warning him to get away from where he is because it’ll be soon dangerous there.

Chuuya arrives on the scene, driving his motorcycle, when one of the enemies appears and chases him with an ability akin to lightning. So Chuuya gracefully maneuvers his motor around the building walls with his ability. He finally reaches the enemy’s base where Dazai is held hostage. Dazai complains that Chuuya is five minutes late, then goes to kick the enemy who’s pointing a gun at his head He also gets himself free from the shackles without any help. Soukoku starts bickering but Dazai says that the one Chuuya will kill isn’t him. The enemy surrounds them, 

C: The garbage is piling up.

D: Hurry up and finish this.

Chuuya activates his ability and then there’s an explosion after, then cuts to the scene where Soukoku just walks away like nothing (RIP Chuuya bike)

Note: He didn’t use Corruption nor did he touch anyone, but apparently For the Tainted Sorrow also works that way.

Soukoku then found Shibusawa who was tediously chanting, “I will obtain it, I will not”, repeatedly while seemingly counting gemstones. He says there is something he wants but even with all the people who got killed, he still couldn’t get a hold of it or they couldn’t give him what he wants.

Chuuya angrily scowls, “Bring back my comrades.”

Shibusawa just shrugs saying that they all committed suicide, and boring people are still boring even on the point of dying. To this, Chuuya gets very angry because it’s as if his men died for nothing. Red marks start to appear on his skin, signaling Corruption getting activated but he didn’t have to say the chant. He told Dazai not to stop him, and so Dazai just backs off, “Oh, Corruption, huh?”

Then explosion again, and so we didn’t know what happened after. Beautiful Fyodor is seen on top of a building commenting that they’re having so much fun.

BSD Opening - Deadly drive YEESSSS anyway the graphics are soooo good and beautiful

Back to present time

Atsushi goes to find Dazai on a graveyard, sitting on the back of a tombstone, his head lying on top of it. Atsushi comments that it’s his first time seeing Dazai visiting/paying respect to a grave so he assumes that the person is someone important to Dazai. The tombstone is then revealed to be labeled, “S. ODA” Flashback to the Dark era scene of Oda dying when he advises Dazai to go to the side that saves people. ((Ok I didn’t need a flashback of this scene on a big screen damn it my poor heart))

Innocent Atsushi: By any chance, is it the person Dazai-san likes?

D: If it’s a girl that I liked, then I could’ve gone on a double suicide with her.

A: Ah, yeah, if it’s Dazai-san that would be it.

D: Did you say something?

A: Ah, no, nothing.

D: It was my friend. The one responsible for me quitting the Mafia and joining the Agency. If not for him, then maybe I’d still be in the Mafia killing people up to now. Anyway, Kunikida sent you to look for me, right?

A: Yes. There’ll be an important meeting today.

D: Pa-ss. I just found a new method to commit suicide and will go try it.

A: Eh? Again?

ADA Meeting

Kunikida explains the mysterious case of ability users dying of their own abilities around the world (as seen in the PV)

The person behind it is revealed to be Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, who is now starting to move in Yokohama. Something struck Atsushi when he sees Shibusawa’s photo and hears his name - he sees a closed door somewhere in his mind, but chooses to ignore it knowing nothing at the moment.

Fukuzawa orders the Agency to do everything to stop this/Shibusawa.

After that, Kunikida and Tanizaki is seen on the Port going out to meet someone. Worried Tanizaki talks about the ability users’ suicide incident, then they see the man they’re supposed to meet lying on the ground, already dead as Kunikida checked his pulse. On the crime scene, they discovered a knife stabbed on an apple.

Bar Lupin

Dazai sits on the bar alone with two glasses, one for him, and one with the flower on it. “Today what will we toast for?” He reminisces about a time when he talks with Oda about “apple suicide” cases. Oda doesn’t know about it then he guesses it’s like from Cinderella. And Dazai was just like, “Ow, I didn’t expect that answer. Odasaku is really interesting.” He then remembers the poisoned apple story of Snow White, and proceeds to consider that Snow White’s case was actually a suicide. snow white could’ve known that the apple is poisoned but she still took it anyway. Dazai then shares that he actually found an interesting ability user recently who’s making people commit apple suicides. He says that suicide getting popular in Yokohama would be great, with a lovely smile on his face. Odasaku comments that Dazai is indeed interesting. Dazai replies, “Not as much as you.”

Back to the present, Dazai says that Odasaku is actually right, that the side that saves people is indeed better… if only one would continue living. Then he swallows the pill.

“Well then, I’ll go for now, Odasaku.”

He leaves the drinks on the counter untouched, and leaves the bar, a stabbed apple revealed on the counter.

Outside the bar Ango appears to capture Dazai, saying that the one who called Shibusawa to go to Yokohama is Dazai. Dazai smirks (the Mafia smirk), “Do you think you can actually capture me?” Shibusawa shadow appears on Ango’s back and then the Mist (as seen in the PV).

ADA Dorm

Atsushi dreams of the door he saw earlier and a strange mist appearing, then he wakes up.

Kyouka goes to check on him (they’re actually sleeping in one room with Kyouka on the futon while Atsushi inside the closet (smth like Doraemon).

When they opened the window, they discovered that the mist is already spreading. They head to the Agency Office as Kyouka demanded over anxious Atsushi.

On the way

They discovered that the whole city is in a mess, cars everywhere on the streets, but no signs of people, as if everyone disappeared.

Kyouka sensed a strong bloodlust and when they looked for it, they found the white tiger. they called their abilities but to their surprise, they did not activate and so they ran for their lives. Atsushi trips on something, which is then revealed to be Kunikida, injured by a shot on his side. Kunikida says that he found out the cause of the suicide cases. But first, they managed to escape from the tiger.

Kunikida then explains that he got hit by his own ability, and that ability users did not commit suicide rather they got killed by their own abilities. Demon Snow appears all of a sudden chasing them. Kyouka manages to get them a car and they drove all the way to the Agency Office.

Agency Office

Kunikida reveals a communication device beneath the floor under the President’s table, which connects them to Ango. Ango explains the situation, revealing the castle where Shibusawa is supposedly in, and adds that Dazai is also there. He entrusts the agency the mission to capture Shibusawa and that he will not question whatever methods they use. Communication gets cut off. Kunikida’s ability arrives to wreak havoc at the Agency. Kunikida gives Atsushi a weapon while Kyouka refuses since she has her sword. Kunikida tells them to run away while he goes to fight his own Ability.

It was also shown here that the other Agency members are fighting their own Abilities. Kenji’s ability is throwing him cars and hitting him with the street signs, Tanizaki being strangled by Light Snow from behind, Yosano fighting with her big weapon and Fukuzawa sword fighting.

Special Ability Department

Ango commands his subordinate to call Ability user 5058 telling him to return his debt.

White trio in the castle

First scene revealing that this three are “working together” but they all know from the start that they do not trust one another. Interesting exchanges.

More on Lea’s post

Back on the Streets

Kyouka and Atsushi are in the car again. Atsushi’s worrying about a lot of things, but Kyouka is calm and tells him to focus on the mission at hand. Atsushi believes that capturing Shibusawa is enough, because no matter how bad someone is, there is no need to kill.

Demon Snow then appears, slicing the car roof, and so Kyouka and Atsushi ran off again. Kyouka fights Demon Snow with her sword. Atsushi tries shooting but fails to do so in time with the gun safety. Out of nowhere, Akutagawa gets thrown into the situation (like literally), stopping Demon Snow in the process. The three were then faced with their respective Abilities.

Rashomon and the tiger end up fighting anyway, so they used the chance to escape. Kyouka fights against Demon Snow, while instructing the two to enter a Mafia secret passage somewhere nearby. Atsushi hesitates to go with Aku, but Kyouka insists that he go. Atsushi complies.

Passage

They entered the elevator in time before Demon Snow catches up. Aku explains that not even the mist can get through that elevator. They then shared information. Aku says that the way to have their ability back is to beat their own. They also learned that they have the same motive: Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. Aku says that he will kill him, because there is no other way to save Yokohama. Atsushi argues that the Agency doesn’t do such kind of job. Aku says that Kyouka can understand the situation they are in. Kyouka defends that the Agency and the Mafia have different ways of killing.

revealing that Dazai went to the enemy’s side out of own will. Atsushi refuses to believe, “Dazai-san will not do such a thing!” But Aku says that that Dazai is also the one who was part of the Mafia before but abandoned it. “I will be the one to kill Dazai-san.” “I won’t let you do that! *points gun at Aku*” Elevator stops and opens. Aku gets out, while Atsushi says that they will not follow him. But Kyouka demands that they do, so they did.

White Trio - Draconia

Shibusawa presents Draconia to Fyodor and Dazai, his collection of abilities in crystal forms. (Again refer to Lea’s post with the nyaaa and the “do you have friends” lol))

Shibusawa: Do you think there is a single person out there who can beat his own ability?

Fight against their abilities

Atsushi, Aku, and Kyouka fight their abilities separately. The fight with Rashomon was particularly impressive to me, showing how Aku knows his ability well, and how good he is at making strategies. For Kyouka’s fight, refer to Lea’s post again. ((Anyway Kyouka’s mom is a goddess OMG)) Atsushi had to help Kyouka in the middle because she was emotionally hit and needed a second to get a hold of herself, before she beats the Demon Snow in a bad-ass way yayy. Atsushi then somehow beats his own ability too. Anyway the way to beat the ability is to crush the crystal, which is most of the time found on the ability’s forehead. Aku and Kyouka got their abilities back, but Atsushi doesn’t even when he already beat it. “Why?” “Fool! You still don’t know??” “Akutagawa! What do you mean by that?” But Aku doesn’t tell him. Kyouka tells Atsushi to stay there and take a rest as she goes to fulfill their mission.

Special Ability Department

Agent 5158 revealed to be Chuuya. Ango and Chuuya talked about paying debts with Chuuya arguing that it is Ango who has a debt. It’s about what happened 6 years ago. Shibusawa was an important ability user so the government spared his life to be used for something (I didn’t understand), but Ango defends that it’s all for the city’s sake/peace. Chuuya gets angry (well he’s been angry since earlier), and lifts Ango on his collar saying that if not for what happened then his comrades, particularly 6 men, would have still been alive. At the end of the day though, Chuuya accepts Ango’s request to help them in the current situation. In exchange, he will have Ango’s life.

White Trio - Betrayal scenes

Again refer to Lea’s post. This is indeed the start of the movie’s climax - Dazai “dies”,  revelation of Shibusawa’s story, and the ever-beautiful Crime and Punishment scene (which unfortunately I didn’t understand for the most part omg Fyodor)

Shibusawa and Atsushi

Atsushi faces the door earlier, the one that flashed on his mind when mentioned about Shibusawa. When he was able to open it, his memories came to him. Shibusawa also remembers at the time being, as Fyodor sliced his throat and he remembers that dying was a familiar feeling to him. They both watch the scene unfold before them.

Inside the room was a young Atsushi tied on a chair. Shibusawa wants to obtain Atsushi’s ability, because there’s something special about it, but he couldn’t get it in a normal way that he did with everyone. He electrocutes him, until Atsushi’s ability in the form of crystal gets out of his body. However, before Shibusawa could get a hold of it, the tiger goes berserk and manages to free himself then eats the crystal. He then kills Shibusawa with his nails scratching his face.

So yeah, Shibusawa actually died some years ago. When that happened is something we do not know. But his ability still continued to live on so he was risen from the dead (by Fyodor?) Anyway, the skull on top of the apples is actually Shibusawa’s.

Dragon Appears

The dragon was formed from the vortex earlier (white trio scene on Lea’s post), and something that Fyodor did with the Crime and Punishment thing, and then “dead” Dazai also joins the vortex. For your imagination, the Dragon is something that resembles Shenron of Dragon Ball Z. So yeah it’s really big, but this one is red-orange in color.

Dragon vs Chuuya

Chuuya is seen heading out of a plane to go and fight the dragon. Chuuya starts removing his gloves. ((Okay this is no way in verbatim))

Ango: Chuuya-kun, are you sure about this? You still haven’t gotten the end of the deal about my life

Chuuya: Don’t think too highly of yourself

A: Dazai-kun is nowhere to be found. You understand what this means

C: That stupid Dazai is there. I’m sure of that. And I’d feel bad if I don’t go punch him

Tsujimura also appears from the back of the plane, stopping Chuuya.

T: This is impossible. Ability users are humans, the one you’re facing against is a monster!

C: That isn’t a reason to get scared and back out. Do you know of a time to get scared and back out?

T: I don’t.

C: Never. There’s never a time.

Then he jumps off the plane, activating Corruption with the chant.

Okay. Okay. I can’t breathe lol. Here goes bias reporting because this scene is just so fantastically spectacular in a magnificent way wth my adjectives don’t give justice. But I honestly felt like the proudest person on earth because finally Chuuya gets the screen time he deserves. A hero, willing to die to save the city. I’ve always loved Bones’ animation and graphics with BSD and srsly this scene WHOA. Also lots of screaming from Taniyama Kishou yassss

The dragon threw fire from its mouth while Chuuya threw rocks and blackholes. And when they faced head-on, Chuuya hit the dragon’s head repeatedly with a whole building, damn it gravity manipulation is such a coooooool ability. Chuuya shoves the whole building into the Dragon’s mouth and he goes inside along with it. One final beautiful scream and Corruption finally destroys the whole dragon.

The Soukoku scene

It is then revealed that Dazai was inside the Dragon. Chuuya found him and he did punch him (he’s still in Corruption form and was basically growling at Dazai). Chuuya was already coughing out blood though. They were floating and falling from the sky now. Dazai who was supposedly dead got awoken by Chuuya’s punch, and the pill he took earlier, which is apparently an antidote against the poison from the knife, was on his mouth and then it took effect. 

So Dazai was alive and saw Chuuya before him so he reached for him, touching Chuuya’s cheek to nullify Corruption.

Dazai: You believed in me and used Corruption? I’m so touched I could cry.

Chuuya: Yeah, I did. I believed in your cunning schemes and shitty inability to die.

Dazai: Isn’t your way of waking up Snow White a bit violent?

Chuuya: Shut up. You’re the one who anticipated getting punched by putting that antidote in your mouth.

Then they finally fell on the ground. Dazai fell with his butt first, basically sitting on the ground, then Chuuya falls in between Dazai’s legs with his face a few inches away from Dazai’s right thigh. Dazai is holding the back of Chuuya’s head and Chuuya complains, “Let go!” but Dazai said, “Don’t move”, because the enemy is still out there somewhere. They bickered some more, until Chuuya finally lost his consciousness, head falling on Dazai. Dazai stays still, saying that he has predicted everything that would happen up to that point. But it will most likely just be the start from here on. But it is their turn now.

The Last Battle - Shibusawa vs Atsushi + Aku + Kyouka

Fyodor places a crystal on Shibusawa’s skull which then resurrects him again, and he’s in a monster-like form now. Aku appears in front of him, revealing that he’s an ability user who was able to regain his ability. Shibu is quite impressed. Kyouka then appears next. 

Sometime there Agatha Christie also appears telling Ango via a transmitter that she sent troops to assist in the battle

Kyouka claims that Aku and she aren’t the only ones who were able to win against their abilities. Fukuzawa and Mori are shown somewhere in Yokohama fighting their own abilities. Mori is getting frustrated because cute Elise is fighting him. “What a coincidence, Mori-sensei,” Fukuzawa says when they meet back-to-back against their abilities. One single move after, Fukuzawa slashes Elise’s crystal while Mori shoots the crystal on Fukuzawa’s personified ability. So basically, they beat each other’s abilities. ((Hmm, so apparently it’s fine even if you’re not the one who beat your own))

Back to Atsushi, who is still trying to come to terms with himself and the tiger. He was feeling bad about using his claws to kill Shibu. The tiger appears behind him. He realizes that no matter what he does, where he goes, the tiger always follows him. He thinks that it is akin to his heart that keeps beating without stopping. He comes to realize that the tiger is not his ability, but his strong will to continue living. He then calls on the tiger to come to him.

Meanwhile Aku and Kyouka were having a hard time battling against Shibu, until Atsushi appears out of nowhere, transformed in half-tiger state. Shibu is glad saying, “Will you kill me again, Nakajima Atsushi-kun?” Kyouka is shocked at what she heard. Atsushi only responds, “I just have to bring back a thing where it’s supposed to be.” The three fight against Shibusawa, and they conclude that they have to join forces to be able to beat him. Sometime in the middle, Demon Snow gets beaten and disappears, and didn’t appear again when Kyouka called again. In their last attack, Atsushi encourages her to pull herself together and believe that the Demon Snow that she doesn’t want to hate will surely respond to her feelings.She calls on to her ability again and it did appear, pinning Shibusawa on the ground with the sword. Atsushi calls Aku, and Aku yells, “Don’t order me around!” Rashomon makes a big sphere where Shibusawa and Atsushi get trapped to battle (for Shibu not to escape). Atsushi hits Shibu quickly and repeatedly, and while it is clear that he gets hurt, he manages to use his ability to try to collect Atsushi’s ability. The crystal came out of Atsushi, but before Shibu could reach it, Atsushi grabs it shouting, “This is not my ability. This is me!” Atsushi gives the final blows, and Shibu concludes that he finally realizes the reason why he still existed, the reason why he met Atsushi, and what Dazai meant when he said he needs saving. And so it was Atsushi who is the angel who finally saves him. Atsushi crushes his skull and so Shibusawa finally dies, for real.

Aftermath

The sun rises. Dazai appears from behind and tries to explain, but Atsushi cuts him off saying that Dazai is only trying to save the city.

D: Do you see me as a good person who’d actually do that?

Innocent Atsushi: I do.

Kyouka: Are you really okay with what happened? (killing Shibusawa)

A: Yes. I am proud that we were able to protect the city, and being able to live on with Kyouka-chan and everyone, that is so much more wonderful. (as per Lea’s post, this is exactly in reference to Oda’s words)

The Agency members also appear to reunite with them and Atsushi is happy.

A: I see, everyone looks fine.

D: Of course, We’re the Armed Detective Agency after all.

Meanwhile, Chuuya is sitting somewhere in the ruins and sees Akutagawa who just looks at him. He tells him that if he’s looking for Dazai then the bastard is fine. Aku just bows and starts to walk away. Chuuya calls him smiling, “Lend me a shoulder!”

Fyodor - on top of a building again, like the god that he is just watching everything play out in his hands. He mentions that this is just for entertainment, and he really should get hold of The Book.

The following day/s

Mori and Chuuya talk about the past events and Chuuya asks if Mori knows anything about it. Mori just says that if Dazai is on the move, he thinks he would need Chuuya’s power. And it’s an advanced payment for the Mafia and they would just have to wait for the repayment later. Mori tells him, “Thank you for your hard work”, but Chuuya says he doesn’t need it because the boss’ order is his job anyway.

Back at the Agency Office, everyday life seems back to normal and we can hear Kunikida’s whines, and so Dazai goes to call him the Agency mom.

Kyouka and Atsushi are off to a new mission and everyone sends them off.

Okay that’s it. It’s 5AM WTH I need to sleep. This is probably the longest post I ever made for BSD oh my gosh. Sorry if this got confusing and boring somewhere, but I’ll just make other posts in the next days to come. 

Hit me with asks, tho I’m not sure if I can adequately respond to them in time! 

Otsukaresama deshita, myself. Oh the things I do for BSD. 

[inawickedlittletown]

Walking The Wire (163/167)

Summary: Tony Stark always knew about Peter Parker. He didn’t know that Peter was going to get superpowers and become Spider-Man, but he always knew about Peter because Peter was his son.

This will span from pre-Iron Man up through the rest of the MCU (eventually including Infinity War) and will be for the most part canon compliant except where I’ve taken some liberties and interpreted canon a certain way.

Pairings: Pepper/Tony, Tony/Steve (endgame), Tony/Mary (past)

A/N: If you want me to tag you when I post new chapters let me know. This fic is also on AO3

I used Collider’s MCU timeline to stay canon and the title of this fic is an Imagine Dragons song that is just so fitting for Peter and Tony

@findmeinthestarss

Masterpost

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Two

-

Peter: Hey, you guys want to hang out tomorrow? 

Peter sent the text on the drive back to the tower from filming the video at the Avengers Compound. He’d been talking to Ned and Michelle over text and video calls -- well Ned on the calls, anyway -- but he had yet to see them. He’d wanted to give them some time with their families. MJ’s entire family had been dusted and she’d been staying with Ned ever since. Ned on the other hand had had his mom get dusted. 

Peter hadn’t really explained anything to either of them. They would probably see the video that his dad, Steve, and Carol made before Peter got to talk to them, but he could tell that Ned was holding back questions. 

Guy in the chair: Yes. yes. Definitely. We have to catch up -- I have so many questions. You can’t just tell me you’ve been to space and--

MJ: Chill, Ned. 

MJ: But yeah, I’m free tomorrow. Want to meet up somewhere or…

Peter: You guys mind coming by the tower? I have a lot to tell you. I could send Happy to get you if you need a ride. 

He was starting to feel nervous about the whole thing especially since back in the stone he’d had some time to think and he’d thought about Michelle a lot. The kind of a lot like back when he was obsessing over Liz. But he was still a bit conflicted and he was sure that seeing her in person would clear things up for him a little. 

MJ: And miss riding the subway? Yeah, send your driver, Stark. 

Peter: It’s still Parker, you know. 

Guy in the chair: I don’t think Happy really likes me still, but if MJ doesn’t mind then sure.

Peter: Cool. See you both tomorrow, then. 

For good measure and before he could forget, Peter sent a text to Happy to make sure that he could actually go and pick up his friends the next day. Getting an affirmative made him grin. He really had missed Ned and MJ. 

---

“It couldn’t be this week because it’s all too short notice,” Tony said, “but it’ll be next week which is fine. Gives us some time.”

Steve nodded. He was painting and Tony had finally gotten off the phone with Pepper who was amazing and dealing with everything that Tony was throwing at her because his future husband really had no patience to speak of. Steve had decided that his best course of action was to just let him do whatever he wanted and intervene only when it became truly necessary. So far it was working and it had even worked earlier when they were shooting that video for Fury. It had already gone live on YouTube and then of course all the news stations were airing it too and discussing it in detail. 

The whole thing was kind of annoying. Also annoying was how some websites online were taking the whole thing apart. Steve had had to stop looking at the internet and Friday had been more than happy to keep him away. 

“And where is it taking place?” Steve asked. K-9 nudged his foot and dropped the tennis ball next to him for him to throw. 

Steve didn’t know if it was his imagination or just how long they’d spent away from the robot dog, but he seemed a bit more attached to all of them in a way he hadn’t been before. It was especially apparent with Peter. He picked up the ball and threw it in a direction where there was plenty of clear floor space. 

“The compound,” Tony said. “But this is good because everyone’s is sort of already there and there aren’t a lot of people that we need to invite outside of them.” 

Steve hummed and he picked up the ball when K-9 brought it back again. 

“And I sent the stuff to the adoption agency,” Tony said next and Steve had to look at him then because that was big. They had no guarantee that they would be adopting immediately or even within the next year or two or five or seven or nine, but whenever it became possible it was going to happen. Steve was excited and nervous all at once.

“Did you tell Peter about that yet?” Steve asked. 

“He sort of knew before,” Tony said. “Not officially, but as a possibility. I figure we should probably tell him again though. ”

Steve nodded and Tony moved towards him, leaving behind whatever he’d been looking at. He was beautiful this way -- happy and excited and lacking the stress that had followed him before. His hair was a bit messy and as always his hands were a little dirty with the fresh paint that he’d touched and whatever else had gotten on him in the workshop. Most importantly, he was happy. It was a Tony that he hadn’t seen since before he left on that mission and before Tony ended up in space. It was the Tony that he’d been missing for too long and that Steve was glad to have back. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

Tony’s hands cupped his face and he stared into his eyes for a drawn out moment until their lips were pressed together, barely moving like a whisper of a kiss that ended slowly. The next one was quicker and pushier and one that stole all his breath away. Tony’s effect on him would always be palpable. 

---

Peter had had Ned over to the tower only a handful of times and Michelle only that time when they’d talked about Spider-Man on the roof. He waited for them down in the parking area and Happy just kind of shook his head at him and muttered something that sounded like “teenagers”. Peter had meant to go with Happy, but he’d gotten pulled into some of the wedding planning. Namely guest lists. He’d happily added both Ned and Michelle to the list and his dad hadn’t minded. 

“Hey, guys,” Peter said. 

“I still don’t think Happy likes me,” Ned said before they did their handshake. Michelle rolled her eyes but then moved to give him a hug too and she sort of ducked her head afterwards. Peter mostly just felt warm and a little nervous, but he shook it off. 

“Uh, he’s grumpy sometimes.”

“Ned wouldn’t shut up,” MJ said with a roll of her eyes. 

“Anyway, come on,” Peter said. 

“You know, this sort of beats that trip we never ended up going on,” Michelle said. 

That trip seemed like a lifetime away. Peter had almost entirely forgotten about it. He’d left the bus when they were headed to the tower. From what Karen had told him when he asked, the bus had been stopped and turned around once everything started happening with the aliens going after Strange and the Time Stone. 

“Yeah, kinda,” Ned said with a shrug.

The elevator took them up to the penthouse and when it opened, Michelle looked around with some interest. He could sort of tell that she was impressed and yet she was trying to hide it. Michelle really was pretty and Peter often thought that she probably didn’t know it or give attractiveness any real thought. 

“So, this is where Tony Stark lives,” she said. 

“Did I hear my name?” 

Peter sighed. He’d told his dad to stay in the workshop, but he shouldn’t have expected him to listen. Ned despite having met Tony a few times looked a bit startled and surprised. Michelle took it in stride, sticking her hand out first. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Peter’s dad,” she said with an eyebrow raised. 

His dad chuckled as he shook her hand. “You must be Michelle. No, MJ,” Tony said and then looked towards Peter after he left her hand go. “Hmm, yes, you do know how to pick your friends.”

“Tony, stop bothering Peter and come back here. Caterer needs all of this an hour from now,” Steve called from the kitchen. 

Ned was still definitely star struck by Steve and even though Steve was in the kitchen and not visible, his eyes widened. Michelle nudged him and Peter just sort of shrugged. 

“He acts like we don’t see him all the time in those PSAs,” MJ said. 

“What else do you expect from Ned?” Peter asked. He had yet to extend the invitation to the wedding to them and he wondered just how much Ned would freak out seeing the whole team and more there. 

He and MJ shared a smile and that was when K-9 came running with a ball in his mouth. 

“Oh my god,” MJ said and took a step behind Peter, one of her hands landing on his forearm. 

K-9 stopped in front of Peter and barked once. Ned dropped to the ground at once. “That is a robot dog,” he said with awe and K-9 turned to him. 

Peter felt MJ lean around him and her hand relaxed before she let him go entirely. “Oh,” she said. 

“You were scared,” Peter said. 

MJ shook her head at once. “I was not. I just -- I was startled.” She looked indignant and like she was going to keep on arguing. 

“His name is K-9. My dad made him. Anyway, come on, probably better if we go to my room. My dad won’t bother us too much in there.”

K-9 went with them and Peter could tell that Ned was fascinated by the robot dog and Peter’s room was big enough that he could play fetch with him. That kept Ned distracted. 

For a while, they just hung out in his room and Peter got to hear about how things had been while he was gone. 

“It was chaos,” Ned said. “I’m sure you know.”

“Yeah, I do. Sort of.”

“We saw that video,” Michelle said. She was sat on a beanbag chair that his dad had insisted on getting for him. “Did that all really happen?”

“And more. I was in space,” Peter said and began telling them everything. 

Ned interrupted from time to time to ask questions while Michelle kept hitting Ned on the arm to shut him up. At times, Peter thought that she might hit him too for everything that happened, but instead by the end she just threw her arms around him. 

“That’s -- oh, my god, Peter. That’s just...I can’t believe that happened,” MJ said into his shoulder and Peter felt warmth wash over him as he held her back. It didn’t last long and MJ was pulling away. 

“Did you see anyone from school in there?” 

“I did see Flash at one point,” Peter said. “ I wasn’t really looking. But anyway, everything turned out alright in the end.”

MJ nodded. “I’m glad it did.”

They stayed a while longer and as expected, his dad did interrupt to ask him questions about the preference for one thing or another with the wedding. MJ seemed to find it funny, but Ned was still a bit intimidated and he looked like he was going to pass out when Steve appeared. 

“Not a wedding question,” he said, “but I’m making food. Are your friends staying?” 

Peter looked to Ned who couldn’t answer and MJ who just shrugged her shoulders. 

“I think that’s a yes,” Peter said. 

“Is he alright?” Steve asked, looking towards Ned. 

Peter rolled his eyes. “He will be. He’s just a big fan.”

“Oh,” Steve said, and extended a hand out to MJ. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Steve.”

“MJ,” MJ said. 

Steve nodded. He looked to Peter once before he left the room and Peter hoped he wasn’t blushing, but either way, MJ was distracted with pinching Ned. 

“He’s just a person, Ned. Come on,” she said. 

Peter was happy to see Ned relax when they sat down to eat with his dad and Steve. Steve had a way of calming people and his dad seemed to be trying to not scare his friends, but even then MJ wasn’t holding back from questioning him and not letting him laugh things off. Peter could tell that she was impressing him. 

When it was time for them to go, it was his dad that invited them to the wedding and they both agreed to be there. Ned a bit shaky but doing a bit better than before. 

Peter went with them down to where Happy was waiting with the car. 

“I like them,” MJ said, “your parents. You’re a lot like them, you know.” 

The way she smiled at him and how her fingers touched her hair made him nervous and excited and it was a strange feeling in his gut and Peter knew that he definitely for sure had a crush on her. 

---

Tony spent the next few days running around and finalizing everything because apparently weddings took effort especially rushed ones. He’d even spent a good portion of time sitting in Pepper’s office convincing her that she had to be the one to officiate the whole thing when he and Steve realized last minute that they didn’t have anyone to marry them.

“Why don’t you ask Bruce? He’d be good. Or better yet Thor?” Pepper had asked. 

“What and stress Bruce out until we have a Hulk in the middle of my wedding. And I don’t think we want to give Thor that kind of power. Natasha is kinda scary, you have to admit and Scott would make a giant joke of it and then the rest of them are aliens and I doubt that Fury would agree to do it.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Rhodey, then.” 

“He’s the best man.” 

“I thought that was Peter,” Pepper said. “Shouldn’t it be Peter?” 

Tony shook his head. “Peter has the honor or giving me away. He didn’t want to be the flower girl.”

“Because he’s a boy,” Pepper said. 

“And because he wanted to let Rhodey be the best man. Also, he’s underage so he can’t officiate,” Tony said. 

He wore her down eventually, especially after he had Steve ask her. His next step would have been to have Peter ask. As it was, it wasn’t until Tony told her that if she didn’t do it then the talking racoon and Groot would that she relented and Tony was glad because he wanted to give her an important role in the wedding and for her to marry them felt perfect. Poetic in some way that Tony couldn’t necessarily distinguish.

-

Chapter One Hundred Sixty Four

[zabulr]

Jack and the Beanstalk

Rain. I hate the rain. It always seems like the worst people come out to do their varies indiscretions when it rains. They figure it’ll wash away the evidence or something. It never does. The only thing it does is create traffic jams and make you track mud into the house. But they never cease to believe what they want.

It was about noon when the call came into the agency. I was grabbing my hat and coat to go down to the diner and grab a sandwich.

“We got a missing person, Harry.” Ginger tells me, leaning out into the doorway.

“Take a message, I’ll be back in an hour.”

“She says it’s urgent. Can she meet you at the diner?”

Just let me have my lunch, for Christ’s sake. “Yeah, alright.”

The half a block down to Joe’s seems like an eternity in this weather. I’m dripping on Joe’s carpet as I take my hat and coat off.

“You owe me a new rug, Harry!” Joe says, smiling from behind the counter. He’s always so chipper when it rains. Doesn’t he know there are lunatics everywhere?

“Yeah? Why don’t I just pay for the renovations and call it even?”

“Hey,” Joe’s suddenly indignant, “what’s wrong with the place?”

“Nothin’. Let me get the usual.”

“You got it. Hey, there’s a woman waiting for you.” He motions to the blonde sitting in the corner booth. She’s wrapped up in a scarf with large, movie-star sunglasses on. Sunglasses in this weather? Must be some kind of junky. Her boyfriend probably went missing after a bad deal. That or she’s so high she forgot where she left him.

“Alright lady,” I sit down across from her. “Tell me what happened. Try to keep it on the important stuff, yeah?”

She takes a deep, broken breath. “It…it happened a-about a week ago.” Her voice is soft and frail.

“This boy knocked on our door and asked if we had anything to eat. He told me that his mother had sent him to bed without supper.” Joe walks over with two coffees. She takes the opportunity to compose herself before continuing.

“I couldn’t let him go without eating something, you know? I don’t know what kind of mother would let her kid suffer like that.” She takes a sip of coffee and makes a face. She grabs three sugars, dumps them into the cup and stirs before taking another sip. Satisfied, she continues.

“I knew it was risky to let him in, my husband doesn’t like to have company, you see, but I just couldn’t let him starve, could I?”

“Of course not.”

“So I let him in and tell him to eat quickly before my husband comes back.”

“Your husband has a temper?”

“Well not usually, but he’s sort of…” she looks down at her cup, “protective.”

In other words, he’s a brute. A wife beater. “Ma’am, would you mind taking off those glasses? They’re kinda distracting.”

After a few seconds her trembling hand reaches for the glasses and takes them off. Her eyes are swollen. Puffy and red, like she’s been crying all night.

“He takes care of me, and I love him so much!” Her voice breaks at the last word and starts crying. At this point my sandwich is ready, but I can tell Joe doesn’t want to disturb us. I signal to him that I want two doubles. He nods and ducks into the kitchen. A minute later he comes out with two scotches.

“What’s your name?” I ask as I push the drink in front of her.

“Althea,” she says as she takes the drink. “It was my grandmother’s name.” She takes a sip and is surprised to have enjoyed it.

“Joe keeps a bottle of the good stuff for me.” I lift my drink and motion a cheers to Joe. He smiles and nods, going back to his duties.

“So, what happened after you fed the kid?”

“Well, he was just pecking at the food. You’d think a hungry boy would be shoveling the food into his mouth. Well, at this point I hear my husband coming back from hunting, so I tell the boy to hide in the oven.”

I damn near choke on my drink. “The what?”

“Oh no, it’s not what you think. We only use it to make stews on cold days. It was perfectly safe. Anyway, my husband comes in with a few calves on his back and stops in the doorway. He has a great sense of smell, and since we don’t get visitors, he immediately knew something was different.

“I told him to go wash up while I cooked his breakfast. When he left, I told the kid to wait until after breakfast before leaving. My husband always takes a nap after breakfast on account of waking up so early to go hunting.”

“So your husband goes to sleep and the kid runs off?”

“Yeah, and after he left, we realized that one of our bags of gold went missing.”

“The kid sees an opportunity to bite the hand that feeds him, huh? You’re right about the upbringing.” What a disgusting world we live in. This woman lets this kid in out of the goodness of her heart and the kid rips her off.

“Well, I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and we’re pretty well off, so I figured if he needed it so badly, better that he has it. I mean, stealing is wrong, but there are worse things a desperate kid could do, you know?”

What a damn fine lady. I didn’t realize it until now that she’s actually very attractive. Her husband is quite the lucky guy. Well, was a lucky guy.

“So when did your husband go missing?”

“Well, there’s more. A few months later this kid shows up at our door again.”

“Let me guess, he’s hungry and you let him in.”

“You must think I’m a fool.” She looks down at her glass. It’s empty at this point, so I motion to Joe and he brings over a couple fresh ones.

“No ma’am. I think you’re a good soul. You try to find the good in people and want to help when you can.”

She looks at me and smiles. “Yes! I thought that if he saw how good people could be, that maybe he could be good himself. Be the change you want to see, and all that.”

I could tell she really meant that. She’s too good for this world. “So, what happened next?”

“Well, just like before, he sat down and barely ate a bite before my husband came back.”

We’ve been here for an hour and I still don’t know what happened to her husband. I try to speed things along. “Can I assume you went through the same schtick? The boy hides in the…oven. Your husband notices something’s off, you talk him down, he eats and goes to sleep?”

“Yeah, except this time he wanted to see his golden hen.”

Golden hen? No, I must have heard wrong. “I’m sorry ma’am, could you repeat that last part?”

“The golden hen?” She said it again, as normal as can be.

“I’m not really familiar with farm animals, is that just the color of the chicken?”

“No…she lays golden eggs.” She says slowly and looks at me like I’m the crazy one.

“Right…so the kid makes off with this…golden hen?”

“Well I didn’t see him run off with it, but I can only assume, right?”

“Yeah, that seems like a fair assumption.” Two drinks in and we’ve got two robberies, one involving some kind of gold-laying chicken, and still no missing husband.

“You got robbed twice. Why didn’t you call the police?”

She looks down and turns red. “Well, I didn’t want my husband to know that I let anyone in, and besides, the poor kid…” She trails off. She looks through me, wistfully. For a moment she looks like she’s somewhere else. It suddenly hits me. She lost a kid. That explains her eagerness to help this other kid out. This is way beyond my area of expertise. I motion to Joe again, hoping that some more scotch can help her get through the rest of the story, and help me get through this meeting.

I notice she’s starting to tear up again. I hand her my handkerchief.

“Thanks,” her voice is quiet again, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She makes a half-hearted attempt to smile.

“That’s alright, maybe if you can just get through to the end you might feel better.” I know I will.

“Well, a few months after that, about a week ago now, my husband comes home, like always, except he smells the kid again.”

“Why’d that strike you as any different than the times before?”

“The kid wasn’t there this time. At least I didn’t let him in.”

“Hmph.” Not content with just robbery, the kid’s upgraded to breaking and entering. “What’d he steal this time? The Holy Grail?” Why’d I say that? This woman’s obviously distraught, but I just can’t help thinking about that damned chicken.

“Our golden harp. Except this time we saw him running off with it because the harp yelled out for us.”

I don’t even bother questioning this. “Ahh…so your husband runs after the kid this time.”

“Yes, and that was the last time I saw him.” She’s doing her best to hold back her tears.

“Where’s your house? Do you mind if I come over and take a look around?”

“That would be kind of difficult. See, we live in the clouds.”

Of course you do. “Okay, so how’d the kid get up there?”

“The only way for anyone other than my husband and I to get to our house would be to climb a beanstalk.”

She can’t be serious. “Climb a beanstalk.”

“That’s right.” She is serious.

“Please Harry,” she leans toward me and puts her hands on mine, “please find my husband.”

That’s the last thing she says before she puts on her glasses and leaves. Joe walks over with my sandwich. “That looked rough, is she gonna be okay?”

“Well, that’s on me, isn’t it?” I take a bite of the sandwich and don’t even taste it as it goes down. I’m hungrier than I thought.

After I finish my sandwich I go up to the counter and pay the bill. “Hey Joe, you ever hear of some kind of magic beanstalk that grows up to the clouds?” I’m half joking, but I figured I better start unraveling this mess.

“You know,” he takes a second to count the money I give him, “there’s this guy that sells all types of stuff. They say it’s magical, but you know I ain’t got time for that.”

No one does, but apparently I have to find the time now. I take down his name and address and head over. Mercifully, the rain had stopped, though the clouds are still there, threatening me with their presence.

It’s a small shop at the edge of town. Tucked between a dry cleaner and a tattoo shop. The name on the window reads “Krazy Kristopher’s Kurious Kontraptions.” I hate this type of novelty spelling almost as much as I hate the rain.

A small bell attached to the door jingles and I’m hit with the smell of incense like a freight train. I’m dazed for what seems like a minute before I regain myself and take in the shop. There’s clocks everywhere ticking out of sync. Items with price tags and nonsense names like “Glasses of the Heavens” or “Gloves of Fortune”. There are piles of “healing stones” and other garbage one might find in their backyard being sold at exorbitant prices. This guy’s a hustler. A flim-flam man. Mr. flim-flam himself comes out from behind a curtain at the back of the store.

“Welcome to Krazy Kristopher’s Kurious Kontraptions!” He says exuberantly. He’s wearing a purple fedora with a feather in it. He’s also wearing a purple robe with stars on it, like out of a children’s book.

“Are you Kristopher?” I ask.

“One in the same! How can I help you today? You look like you could do with a healing stone or two. Or maybe you’re looking for a love potion?” He picks up the various items as he mentions them.

“Not today. I’m actually looking for some beans. Magic beans.” I feel as silly as I sound.

“Oh-ho! You’re interested in visiting the…” he points to the ceiling.

He’s actually serious. “Yeah. I wanna see what’s what up there.”

“So sorry, my good man! I haven’t had those in stock for months now,” his tone dips for just a second before grabbing a wristwatch from behind the counter. “Perhaps you’d like to visit another timeline?”

“No thanks. Do you remember who it was that you sold them to?”

“Tut-tut. I cannot ever reveal the identity of my customers. Some of the things I sell here are…well, not entirely as they seem.” He winks.

Of course he wants a bribe. These types of people only see dollar signs. “What if I make a donation to the uh…the spirits?” I make for my wallet.

“No sir, you misunderstand. This is not a financial issue.”

“Well one of your items was used in a burglary, and possibly a homicide. Does that change things?”

His demeanor sure did. He’s more intense now. “Again, I cannot reveal the identity of my customers. Now, I’d appreciate it if you left.” His smile’s gone.

I nod my head. As I turn to make for the door an idea hits me. “You know, maybe I could use a healing stone.” I pick up a purple colored rock and take it up to the counter.

He eyes me slightly then picks up the rock and looks at the price. I take the opportunity to grab him by the collar and slam him against the counter. He bounces off and hits the wall. I slide across the counter and straddle him, my knees on his arms and my fist cocked back.

“You listen here, you slimy worm. You’re going to tell me exactly who bought those damned beans or never talk again. So what’ll it be?”

He swallows and looks at me, unable to completely focus. Dazed he says, “Jack. His name is Jack Pavelski.” Now we’re getting somewhere.

“Do you know where he lives?”

“N-No I don’t. But his mother hangs out at the bar downtown.” I don’t even want to know how he knows this. I’ve been in this shop for too long, my clothes must stink.

I get up and straighten my coat. “Thanks for the info.” I grab my hat off the floor and leave the shop.

Outside the clouds seem to have thinned out slightly. The sun is barely visible from behind them. I look at my watch, it’s a quarter past three. I decide to head back to the office before going to the bar.

***

“Any messages, Ginger?” I ask as I put my hat and coat on the rack.

“Yeah, Delany called to tell you he’s got a lead on the arson from last month.”

Good to know things can run without me micromanaging. “Anything else?”

“Stacy called. She wanted to know if you’re going stand her up again tomorrow night.”

I don’t know why I thought I could have a relationship and be a dick at the same time. “What’d you tell her?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She smiles slyly. I’m stone-faced. She sighs, “I told her that you’d try to be available this weekend, but you just got a big case. No promises.”

“Thanks Ginger.” I walk back to my desk.

“You really ought to take her out for real, soon. She’s not going to stick around if you keep ignoring her like that.” She yells after me.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll take a vacation after this one.”

“You always say that.” Ginger says, exasperated. She’s been my secretary and friend for years. She knows me better than anyone.

Before I know it, it’s five o’clock. I change into a suit and walk over to my coat.

“Wow, you look good! Decided to take the night off and see Stacy?” Ginger says, expectantly.

“Nah, I have a lead on the missing person.” I can’t help but feel guilty as I say that.

Outside, the clouds are still there and the sun is setting. I hail a cab and tell him to take me downtown.

I get to the bar at half past five. The place is a dive, with stereotypical green awnings and a half-lit neon sign. Inside the place is dim and the smell of beer and sweat is pervasive. I make my way to the bar.

“I’ll have a double scotch, neat.” I look around and see guys drinking away their paychecks, and two waitresses leaning over tables, flirting with the customers to squeeze out that extra dollar.

“That’ll be five fifty.”

I hand him a ten. “Keep the change.” The drink is terrible, smells like gasoline. “Hey, you know anyone by the name Pavelski?”

“That’s her, over there.” He points to an older woman standing by the jukebox talking to some men. She’s thin, with silver, stringy hair. Looks to be in her sixties, or one hell of a junky.

I walk over to her as the men leave. “Are you Mrs. Pavelski?”

She looks me up and down. “Yeah, who wants to know?”

“I’m looking for your son Jack, you know where I can find him?”

“That good for nothing sack of crap? I haven’t seen him since last week.”

That’s when Althea’s husband went missing too. “Can you tell me where he was going before you lost contact with him?”

“No idea, probably up a tree.” She looks around, not interested in talking about Jack anymore.

I press a little more. “It’s important that I find him.”

“Yeah? What’s he done now?” Sounds like she’s used to him being in trouble.

“Well, he might be implicated in robbery and possibly a homicide.” This clearly hits a nerve.

“I don’t know where he is! Now leave me alone before I call the police on you for harassment.”

“No need for that, ma’am. I’ll leave you alone.” I turn around and go back to the bar.

A few minutes later I notice her go to the payphone and make a call. It’s a short one and she looks around the entire time. Dollars to donuts that’s Jack on the other side. She hurries out the door. I leave my half-glass of gasoline and casually walk out the door.

The clouds have begun to dissipate. I hear the unmistakable sound of high-heels echoing down the alley to the side of the bar. I slowly peer around the corner and see Mrs. Pavelski walking quickly down the alley. I continue to follow her at a distance until she stops at a small dilapidated house at the end of a cul-de-sac. Either they spent all the money or this kid’s actually innocent. Some lights turn on and I see some shadows moving around inside. I make my way to the front door and knock.

“Mrs. Pavelski. I had one last question to ask you.” I call out at the door. I hear some whispers inside and and a window open. Out of my periphery I see something running away. Gotcha.

I make chase. Not a minute later, my legs are already sore. Damn, Ginger told me I shouldn’t skip out on the gym. I try to refocus on the task at hand and push through. If I lose this kid now, I’ll never be able to find him again. Eventually he makes a wrong turn and finds a dead end.

“What do you want from me?” Jack yells with his back against a brick wall. The clouds have completely gone now and he’s bathed in moonlight.

“You know what I want,” I try to make the words come out in between my panting. “Why else would you run away like that?”

He looks up the wall and scans the buildings on either side, trying to find a way out.

“This is the end of the road, Jack.” A cornered animal tends to lash out, and right now Jack is about as cornered as he can be.

“You don’t understand what it’s like!” He yells desperately. “I didn’t want to go back, but I had to.”

“You mean your mother made you?”

He doesn’t answer. He just hangs his head. Finally, he says “She told me that I was too dumb to work. I had to find some way to make some money.”

He looks at me, tears are streaming down his face. “I didn’t mean to kill him, I just panicked when I saw him running after me.” He hangs his head again.

I approach him carefully. He doesn’t move. Looks like he’s smart enough not to fight back.

“You know I have to take you to the police.” I tell him, as I pull out a pair of flex-cuffs and bind his hands together.

“I know.”

***

Jack was booked at the station. Two counts of burglary, one count of breaking and entering, and one count of voluntary manslaughter. Later that night, two uniformed policeman put Mrs. Pavelski in custody. She’s being charged with aiding and abetting. Too bad they can’t retroactively charge her with poor parenting.

Althea was notified about her husband’s death. The funeral is set for later this month.

[cwalshuk]

Doctor Who review - Praxeus

Spoilers! Obviously.

If you haven’t watched the sixth episode of the 2020 series, then go watch it now. Seriously.

This episode is a globetrotting story, which sees the Tardis Team split up to try to get to the bottom of some mysteries involving a missing astronaut, a stricken submarine and some angry birds.

There are basically only two ways to start a Doctor Who episode - with The Doctor, or without. If you start it with The Doctor, then we're probably following the events at the same pace as the companions (if there's any). If we aren't, then we really have to care about whoever’s on screen instead.

In Praxeus, we are introduced to a whole bunch of people across the planet, some of whom eventually get picked up in the Tardis. If you can remember everyone’s names after one watch, without subtitles, then congratulations. But for me it was a little disorientating. Now, last week’s was quite a lot too, but at least it had calmer points. With Praxeus, you have to keep everyone and everywhere you see in mind from the second the title sequence ends to the second the credits roll. As it turns out, this jumping around the Earth, meeting others on their own travels, helps disguise the villain of the episode. So, to summarise - clever, if you can keep up.

I do have an issue with the companions though, and it's one the series has had before. After a while traveling with The Doctor, they can get used to the adventures. They can start picking up Doctorish habits, which can lead to dangerous consequences. In short, they get cocky. But even when this happens, they still have to ask questions. Sometimes it's fine, like asking who the Cybermen are, because that allows you to build tension, as with the exchange last week with Captain Jack. But when you are trying to convey the idea that the companions are experienced, giving them lines like ‘What's pathogen mean?’ ruins the illusion. How many unseen adventures have this Tardis Team been on? And they’ve not had that word mentioned once? I understand that the point is to get some Science into the show, so younger viewers learn a little. But it's inelegant. A minor quibble perhaps, but it took me out of the show. (I’d probably enjoy the show if I could watch it vicariously through a young relative, but they’re all too young at the moment.)

Anyway, back to the plot. We're introduced to British European Space Agency astronaut Adam Lang (Matthew McNulty), on a rough re-entry returning from the International Space Agency, travel vloggers Jamila and Gabriela discovering a Peruvian beauty spot is now full of rubbish, and ex-cop Jake Willis played by ‘that guy from that thing we watch’ Warren Brown, who's just learnt that Adam is missing, presumed dead, but then gets a text, apparently from him. That's four characters in three locations already before we see The Doctor.

Now, as I’ve said, one watch, quite confused. Perhaps we see The Doctor before Jake gets the text message, I’m not sure. In any case, Jake hops on a plane from the UK to Hong Kong as a result, where he meets Yaz and Graham. Meanwhile, Ryan’s in Peru investigating the bird attack, whilst The Doctor pops up in Madagascar, where she tries to help a US Navy Officer who has washed ashore with the same infection that killed Jamila. We don't really introduce the two characters who help The Doctor with poor Zach Olson, but this is deliberate because we're supposed to not notice until later. And anyway, Olson dies, so the fam start using their comm dots (remember those?) to share what they’ve discovered. Y’see, The Doctor had been trying to locate the source of some weird energy readings, so she sent her companions out on errands to help figure it out. Now they've got some information, The Doctor can start putting it all together. If only she had access to a well stocked laboratory…

Oh, wait! The Hong Kong bits! Yaz and Graham help Jake into a locked building (are those skeleton keys Yaz’s or The Doctor’s?), and we learn that Adam the Astronaut is being held there, by some shifty types in gas masks, and that he has the infection too! Also Jake and Adam are married but going through a rough patch. The gas mask people are aliens with deadly guns, but Jake has no trouble fending them off, even stealing a gun from one to shoot them. Having freed Adam, and with The Doctor and her Tardis turning up to investigate/save Adam, everyone piles into the Tardis. Ryan promises Gabriela that they'll stop whatever killed Jamila. Yaz makes a decision. She wants to stay in Hong Kong to investigate the aliens’ tech, having deduced its value during the earlier skirmish. Gabriela volunteers to stay too, as she's up for a fight. Everyone else pops back to the lab in Madagascar to help Adam.

I like that Yaz uses her skills, reading the aliens’ body language despite being under fire, and that she has the guts to stand up to the Doctor. Her little smile of pride when The Doctor agrees is lovely. It doesn't bode well though - see earlier about confidence in companions.

So now we’re cutting between the alien tech in Hong Kong and the lab in Madagascar. The rest of Team Tardis are put to task, with Suki Cheng (Molly Harris), the lab’s owner, deciding with The Doctor on a means of battling the infection. The ‘pathogen’ exchange happens here. Ryan gets to dissect a dead bird he’d picked up in Peru, Graham gets to show off his ability to set up an IV (presumably gained during his treatment with Grace), and Jake is there to support Adam emotionally (as best he can). All this business happens whilst Yaz and Gabriela decide to use a teleport they discover, assuming that a fleeing alien will be going somewhere worth investigating. Again, big, potentially dangerous decision there Yaz, and putting newbie Gabriela at risk too. But they do run it past the Doctor first, thanks, comm dots!

With all that going on, the Doctor’s less action-oriented lines are easily overlooked, especially when they are mostly asides to Suki and humblebrags. Sneaky stuff from writers Pete McTighe and Chris Chibnall. I must say, having Chibnall as a co-writer on this, having co-wrote last week's episode too, makes me wonder if some elements of this story are more relevant to the series plot than might first appear. Three new friends are waved off at the conclusion, promising to protect Earth, so probably.

But we’re not at the end yet! Yaz and Gabriela arrive in a weird, alien-looking location, the second of three places indicated by the alien tech. The fleeing alien got here, but no further. Somehow, Zach Olson’s submarine is here too.

Back at the lab, The Doctor’s piecing things together. Microplastics in the dead bird have an alien pathogen on them, which has spread among the world’s birds, causing them to attack Jamila, passing on the infection. There are great patches of rubbish floating in the oceans, says The Doctor, presumably that’s how Zach got infected? And Adam? Or did they get it via the birds? In any case, Suki and The Doctor have made a potential cure, it could stop the infection from killing more people, but they've no idea if it’ll work without testing it. Adam volunteers. Jake protests. Adam convinces Jake that it's the right thing to do. The Doctor realises that this is what the aliens were doing, using Adam as a guinea pig, a lab rat. Only without his permission. And the Madagascar lab has all the right equipment. It's the third location the aliens were using!

The Doctor confronts Suki, who, under questioning, reveals that she is one of the aliens, from a lab ship that crashed on Earth. They’d decided our plastic-filled world was an ideal place to grow the infection for testing. Planet as Petri dish! They’d tried to save their species but nearly wiped out ours in the process. Suki produces a device to teleport away, and everyone left at the lab pursues in the Tardis.

Unfortunately for Suki, she's tested the potential cure in herself, but not being human, it kills her. She doesn't get to escape in her ship, instead leaving The Doctor and crew with a useful cure-dispersal device, since Adam’s up and about again, cured!

Of course, it is Adam’s husband Jake who ends up at the ship’s controls when autopilot fails, feeling he needs to prove himself. Luckily, The Doctor can save him when the ship explodes.

Big hugs and goodbyes (and no mindwipes), leave Earth with a new trio of protectors, since Gabriela invites herself to Adam and Jake’s belated honeymoon.

With the confirmation of UNIT and Torchwood being gone, and Captain Jack off wherever after last week's episode, perhaps we’ll need them sometime soon.

(Presumably, going by her Tardis’s interior, The Doctor formerly known as Ruth thinks of the 60s or 70s as The Present when she’s on Earth - so could we count on her?)

This episode was a grower for me, looking back over this review from Friday’s perspective (and having seen it anew from various podcasters’ eyes).

I’m intrigued by the ancient setting teased for Sunday's episode, see you sometime next week!

No wait! Aramu, we hardly knew ye! As has been pointed out by other reviewers, it wasn't clear if he was an alien like Suki or not, and whether that matters is up to you, but it was cool to see what actor Thapelo Maropefela can do.