#like i had prepared for so much but i never expected them to just. rewrite every song so it isn’t a showtune. like

[honkifyourelonely]

i will get tired of talking about it eventually but what if i actually like ended it all guys it’s SO BAD MUSICAL THEATRE IS OVER ENDANGERED SPECIES THEY WANT US TO DIE THEY WANT ME PERSONALLY TO DIE

[starlitrays]

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

starring. pro hero!katsuki bakugo x pro hero!gn!reader

summary. set several months into the fake relationship, bakugo doesn't really like you and you tolerate him, but you both know how to appease an audience | 1.7k words

content. fake dating (obvi), second person pov, bakugo having conflicting feelings, use of 'y/n' and 'l/n' for last name, fluff if you squint, x is still twitter bc i said so, reader has a pet cat, this feels choppy to me

a/n. first time writing in awhile AND first fic post AND and i didn't fully get into the flow until i was almost done so be patient i might rewrite this after awhile

navigation – masterpost

The cameras ate up every helping you two gave them. You and Katsuki were extremely lovey dovey around the cameras no matter where they were, but when there wasn't a camera or paparazzi or a fan around you two, neither of you said much.

It had been arranged by your managers without much input from either of you, to fake date, that is. It was for approval ratings, popularity polls, and although you individually did well enough on your own, together you shot up the charts. Neither of you particularly liked each other but you could be civil to each other, and you knew how to play a camera, so it was working out well.

Now you sat, thigh to thigh next to Katsuki with his left hand held in your lap with both of your hands, smiling at the interviewer talking to the two of you. He wasn't smiling, although that was normal. The crowd, filled with live audience members and other paparazzi looking for the perfect shot, stared in awe at the perfect couple the two of you were.

When the interviewer would ask a question, you'd turn and wait for Katsuki to say something first, and if he didn't or he turned to face you, that meant it was your turn to answer the question.

”Now, there is one question that a lot of your individual and combined fans have been asking a lot lately.” The interviewer, Notaui, began, although he paused, waiting for some kind of approval from the two of you.

You started to nod a yes, and Katsuki spoke up. ”Go on.” He sounded annoyed. He always sounded annoyed though, and you were internally rolling your eyes, although that never poked through to your facial expression. Pure focus in media and PR training had taught you how to maintain an expression while feeling something else entirely.

”Can we expect to hear of a save the date anytime in the near future?” Notaui lifted his brows up at the happy couple. You turn your head to Katsuki, but he freezes, and you squeeze his hand, letting him know you would take care of it. After all, this was bound to come up eventually, and you were prepared.

”Notaui c'mon, wouldn't that ruin the surprise of a proposal?” You say with a laugh, getting the attention off Katsuki for a few moments. At the sound of your laugh, your counterpart dry laughs right along with you. You didn't need a quirk to feel the realisation of the stupidity of the question ripple through the audience. ”Besides we're in no hurry.” You continue, turning and smiling at the crowd with a wink.

The answer you gave was perfect, Katsuki knew that. He also knew that his manager would praise him for letting you handle it, but it still pissed him off a little bit, even if the rewards got him exactly where he'd wanted to be since he decided he wanted to be a pro hero.

Notaui cleared his throat, and his cheeks got a little rosy out of what most would assume was embarrassment, but you could tell, it was disappointment from not getting the answer the producers wanted.

”You just say when.” Notaui laughed, winking at the camera. It made both you and Katsuki question how this guy got his own show, but nobody knew that. ��Oh and guess what, that's time.” He announced, telling you, Katsuki and the audience that the segment of you two sitting there looking perfect, was over.

Katsuki stood up before you did, and with your hands holding his, you were quick to follow suit.

You walked over to Notaui, releasing Katsuki’s hand to shake his, politely thanking him for having the two of you on. Katsuki didn’t shake the guy’s hand, instead just nodding along with your words before ushering off the stage just behind you, barely sparing a second glance at the audience you smiled and waved at. Still, you smiled as you politely thanked all of the behind the scenes crew, just like your manager had told you while Katsuki floated around you, hands in his pockets. 

When you two finally managed your way into the elevator and the doors shut, you both let our heavy sighs almost simultaneously. You glanced over at Katsuki, who had looked over to you at the same time. We’re spending too much time together. You thought to yourself, eyes returning to anything but him.

The ding of the elevator had your smile returning and your hand reaching for Katsuki’s for just a moment longer as you left the building, where a car had been pulled around for you both. Letting go of his hand, you reached forward, pulling the back door open before sliding all the way over to the farthest seat. Katsuki got in, sitting closest to the door he pulled shut. This left just the middle seat between you two.

“Well that was bullshit.” Katsuki muttered, arms crossed while his eyes glared out the tinted window. You turned your head to him momentarily, rolling your eyes as your head turned back to looking out your own window.

“For once I agree with you.” You responded, reaching into your purse for your phone. It’d become routine now, to check your phone after every time you and Katsuki would go out together. First you open your messages, giving a thumbs up response to your manager’s text about doing great. Then you read your mom’s text about how proud she and your father were to see you on TV, which you half-smile at. They didn’t know your relationship with Katsuki wasn’t real. Your mom gets a ‘thanks mom :)’ text back, and you close out of your texts.

Deciding against checking your email, you click on the blue icon with a white bird on it. You ignore the top tweets in your timeline, moving over to the explore page. There it is.

“We’re trending again.” You say into the air, eyes never leaving your phone screen. Katsuki just hums in response. You tap the trending tag, scrolling through tweet after tweet. Of course there were a few people who hated you, or Katsuki, or both of you, but most of the tweets were big hero culture news outlets and fans raving about you guys. Sometimes you did feel a little guilty about the whole thing. Making people happy made you happy, but it’s not like any of it is true. Regardless, you go ahead and like some of the fan tweets. 

Katsuki leans his head back against the headrest of his seat. He mumbles something under his breath and you turn to him. “What?” You ask him, eyes scanning his face.

He huffs, desperately willing himself not to roll his eyes as he always does. “I said, you’re too good at this, (L/n). Better than you should be, anyways.” He says, looking away from you. You quirk a brow up at him. “I mean-” He pauses, as if thinking over his words. “how are you always so cheerful with the fans and press?” The questions echoes in your ears.

“Easy. I think about going home.” You responded, more nonchalantly than you left. Of course the lie was tiring, but being in your own bed, surrounding by blankets and pillows and your cat Zero, his different fur colours always keeping him quite clear in your vision in contrast to the shades of your bedding as your eyes scan over the screen of your laptop, giggling at the youtube video displayed on the screen. 

Katsuki looks at you.. oddly? It’s almost a scowl, but not quite. It’s almost like he’s simply displeased. You stare right back at him and pull your lips tight together, silently reiterating your words. He grunts in response, it’s his nonverbal version of ‘okay.’ 

As the driver rounds the last corner before your apartment, you notice something in your peripheral vision. Was that..? You question, eyes looking into the driver’s rear view mirror. You can’t be sure of what you’re seeing since the angle is meant for the driver, not a passenger, but when the car stops just outside the carpark of your apartment complex, you take the chance to glance back as your readjust in your seat, gathering your purse and looking around for anything else you may have left behind in the car. Cameras. You were seeing cameras, maybe they were fans, maybe they were paparazzi, that you couldn’t tell. 

You reached for the door handle, when you felt your phone buzz. Sighing shortly, you reach for your phone, a text from your manager being the sole notification at the bottom of the screen. Without clicking it, your Face ID unlocks your phone, switching the text from a new message notification, to showing the contents of the text. It tells you that there are eyes on you and Katsuki which, granted, you knew, but it always made you shiver at how she always knew.

While you didn’t like the idea of inviting a man prone to outbursts into your safe haven, you still acted immediately. You couldn’t help how your media-trained mind worked. “Give me your jacket and come with me.” You say into the air, words clearly meant for Katsuki and he looks over to you from the window, confused while you typed back an ‘okay’ text to your manager.

When he didn’t move immediately, you lifted your eyes from the screen and looked at him. “Bakugo, now.” You told him, eyes looking at him almost as if he was crazy. Katsuki began to shed his jacket, handing it over to you with a frown. 

“Why am I going with you?” He asks, rolling his shoulders back. You start to drape the jacket over your shoulders.

“I’ll tell you when we get upstairs.” You huff, offering your hand out to him. “Ready?” 

All he does is slide his hand into yours, interlocking your fingers with a nod and a grunt.

Oh the things you do to remain at the top.

@ STARLITRAYS : please do not translate or repost my works without my expressed consent and permission. please do not copy any of my works.

[banj0possum]

Alistair x (platonically) Teen Reader

In the fic he is like oh my god a bride, he walks in and instead of an adult..or a bride-

They find a teen, who literally threw a pebble at him, an angsty teen💀

I’m very happy to read ur fics and usually pair them with teen/child mc because I find it funny because they expect the love of their life

and teen mc standing there :🧍‍♂️

anyways sorry for the long request, luv ur writing, and ur art :D

Yandere! Evil King x Teen! GN! Reader

CW: platonic relationship, Alistair is a bit of a DILF so do with it as you will, Dads are hot you guys!! READER IS A MINOR.

👑 Who is this sassy lost child?

👑 His minions kidnapped you while you were on a carriage ride back to your kingdom.

👑 He was hoping for like a princess or something to marry and take over the kingdom with or whatever so like...what tf he gonna do with you???

👑 Clearly you were too young to be in a situation like this, but theres no way he's giving you back without a reward, so yes he still holds you for ransom.

👑 "Child, I am Alistair, King of-ACk!"

👑 Did...did you throw a pillow at him?!

👑 "How dare yo- AHK! Stop it!" another one..

👑 You refuse to listen to anything he says, you just wanted to go home

👑 You two had a bit of rivalry for a bit. He hated you and you hated him.

👑 He promised not to show any affection or care towards you since in his eyes, your actions didn't deserve it. How can someone be so rude to a king !?

👑 But he starts to notice you don't eat much. He never sees you in the dining hall and has only seen quick moments of you nibbling on some bread or pastries the servants gave you.

👑 He scoffed, so irresponsible! You must eat a proper meal right this second or you'll starve!

👑 You're surprised to see a meal prepared for you during your routine trip to get a snack from the pantry with a note on the plate.

👑 "Next time, ask for a proper meal. I don't want your parents to think I've been starving you. -Alistair P.S. go to bed early."

👑 Huh...

👑 Alistair smiled from the doorway of the dining hall, watching you eat up with a smile on your face. You might have been too scared of him to ask for food so you've been sneaking snacks while he wasn't looking.

👑 Of course he wasn't doing it because he cared about you, he just didn't want royalty like you to resort to such pathetic means to eat!

👑 Why are you still sad? Perhaps he should get you some things to keep your attention..

👑 He asks (threateningly may I add) about your hobbies or interests.

👑 The next morning your cell (which has been upgraded to a lovely room in the castle because he didn't want you to be filthy and gross in a dungeon) was filled with anything he could find that he thought you'd enjoy.

👑 Don't think he wants you to be happy! He's just tired of seeing you sulk everywhere!

👑 He denies everything, but you swear you could see a tiny smile on his face when you hugged him happily.

👑 You start being a little more open to him, showing him anything you've made or done with pride and he'd receive it gratefully, but he won't show it of course.

👑 "I made you this friendship bracelet!"

👑 "I've seen better jewelry."

👑 "Oh I'll take it back then I guess.."

👑 "No, it's mine now, back off."

👑 Drawings and the like that he said would be thrown out as soon as you left would be seen framed in his room

👑 It would be a..waste of good canvas..

👑 And of course he buys a few books of your choice for you to read, he'd be damned if your brain turns to mush.

👑 Bro bro he'd be the type to let you swing around while holding onto his bicep.

👑 If you ever have any problems, or come to him in a bad mood, he'd have no idea how to help other than to sit down and listen to your troubles.

👑 He's not the most physical when it comes to affection, but you bet your ass he's gonna do everything he can to cheer you up.

👑 At this point he's rewriting his demands for the ransom. Either your kingdom lets him sign some adoption papers or he's starting a war.

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

Finally finished the first part of gai’s 8 gates coma and how kakashi dealt with it rewrite people have been requesting. [tw blood, injury, coma, death discussions, grief]

Kurenai: Kakashi Kks: Ah. Kurenai and...baby, what’s up? Kurenai: You mind if I come in a moment? Kks: Uhhhhh I-

Kks: So what did you need to speak about? Did something happen? K: No, Nothing’s happened. You haven’t gotten to properly see and bond with her yet. Here Kks: You know I’m not fond of kids. K: That’s why I didn’t ask. Hold your arms out. Ok, now, don’t look absolutely petrified.

Kks: She’s ok, I guess [YELP] Oi! Don’t pinch me while I’m holding your baby! K: You wouldn’t drop her. Asuma would haunt you forever! Kks: Terrifying thought, Mirai.... How are you feeling? K: Exhausted. Do you really want to hear how horrifying having a baby is? Kks: No, please don’t tell me.

K: I came over to check on you as well. Any news? Kks: No. He’s still the same. K: Is that why it looks like this in here? Kks: ...Yeah. Doctor said he may never wake up. Since we’re eachother’s medical contacts, Tsunade told me I had to prepare to make hard decisions should it come to that.

Kks: With the council breathing down my neck over a job I don’t want, I had... A bit of an outburst. K: I don’t even blame you. That’s... That they expect you to carry on like normal. Still grieving. The person you love most is gone. But you’re still here. Don’t let them just dust you off and move on again. I’ll always have your back. Kks: You and Asuma always did. Even when I wasn’t grateful for it.

Kks: I can’t tell if they just don’t care or didn’t realize, Gai’s the one who held me together all these years. Only reason I’m still here at all is because of him. I don’t think tenzou, the elders, or the village are prepared for what’ll become of me if I lose him. So, I don’t care anymore. Let them be mad. I won’t give up on him. K: You should talk to him. Kks: huh K: Talk about anything! I’m sure the sound of your voice will help him find his way back. Especially if you sound sad, Kks: uuh

K: I can hear it now, “My eternal rival is sad? Not on my watch!“ Kks: Pretty accurate impression. K: There’s been lots of source material! Kks: Maaa, Your mom’s a huge dork K: Oi! [kakashi chuckles]

K: He’ll be so upset he missed her birth Kks: Oh, devastated. I can’t wait to see the look on Gai’s face, Mirai, when I tell him /I/ held you first! When he wakes up

Kks: Hey, Gai. Kurenai said i should talk to you.

Kks: Feels weird. Most of the people I’m used to talking to like this are all... Dead.

It’s so eerie how silent you’ve been for so long. you’re not even this quiet when you sleep. Your kids come everyday to see you. Naruto and sakura when they can. Lots of others. I’ve been telling them embarrassing  stories from when we were kids since you keep making them wait. Do you remember when I came over while you and Dai were making supper

Dai: Kakashi! Good to see you, my boy! Kks: Id Gai home? Dai: He’s helping with supper! Go on, inside, you’re always welcome! Kks: Ok Dai: Atta boy Kks: Hey, G- !? ummm? Gai: OH!! Rival!! Kks:  Is that a lid?! Gai: Correct!! It stops me from crying while cutting onions! A win for me!!

Kks: Against.... the onions? Gai: Yep! KKs:[snicker] Gai: Laugh all you want! Not everyone can comprehend innovation. Kks: Whatever. You forgot this at the training grounds. I know it’s yours there’s a turtle on it. Gai: See! You’re already tearing up! Kks: Am not Gai: Also, thankyou so much! Kks: Bye, I’m leaving. Gai: Could it be? You’re scared I can cut much faster than you! Kks: I am not scared. Gai: Good, I think we have another lid! Kks: YOU-!

Dai: Great to see growing boys with such a hunger! I’ll never have to prep onions again! Kks: I think about that everytime I chop onions now. You’ve altered my brain with all the ridiculous things you’ve done. Can’t even look at the toys you’ve gotten the dogs without getting emotional

Kks: Just knowing you’re here still, I can barely function. It’s pretty pathetic... Your hair’s getting long. Turning into your dad.

[gai’s heartbeat] Kks: Gai

[gais heartbeat continues]

[gai’s heartbeat continues] Kks: If anything should happen to me, you’ll rush over, right? Gai: Damn right, I will. Dont you worry about that.

[Gai’s heartbeat]

Kks: I miss you

[sunnie-angel]

Part 2: The Decision

part 1 | part 3 | series masterlist | ao3 link

jason todd x f!reader

summary: jason todd easily sees the potential for something more in his friendship with you but resolves to keep his distance.

tags: fluff, self-loathing, off-screen killing

rated explicit (mdni) | wc: 2.8k

a/n: sooo i had planned to get the second chapter out much sooner, wrote it, realized that what i had planned for chapter 3 worked better, had to rewrite chapter 3 as chapter 2, and ended up here (cue the internal screaming). on the upside, that means you’ll all get an update on chapter 3 (formerly chapter 2) much sooner.

Jason Todd has somehow gotten back on track to graduate university, fallen in with a group of friends, and may have found the first person to truly understand him this side of the Pit. He’d been uncertain about finishing university, already dealing with the hassle of running a criminal empire and the tattered threads of his family relationships. But Talia had suggested, “Better not to be consumed by revenge so that one may properly enjoy its results,” and that had been all it took to convince him. Barbara, for all their problems still unresolved, had helped him hide the decision from the bats and hadn’t that been a lovely conversation to have?

Sitting in class that first day had been strange, a sense of deja vu hitting him of all the times he’d sat in classrooms before. A different person answers now when he’s called on to introduce Jason Todd. As part of his time with the League, Talia had arranged for him to take courses by correspondence but none of that had prepared him for it would be like to be in a classroom with a handful of 20-somethings. It makes him feel old to hear them discuss their plans for the future with the surety of a world that will shape itself to their expectations. If he’s honest with himself, it also makes him envious.

He hadn’t expected to be invited to lunch that first day, though he’d at least seen the blonde’s approach. It had been… nice to be noticed, like he was any other 22 year old new to campus and looking for friends. What had really caught Jason’s eye though was Danika’s (that’s what her name was, right?) friend, standing a few rows back. She’d looked downright mortified by her friend’s antics but had smiled tentatively at him anyway. He’d rushed through his meeting with Dr. Okafor, really just confirming a time to discuss his credit transfers. Clearly he’s interrupted yet another embarrassing moment for you, but you handle it with a grace that rivals only Alfred’s ability to deal with inconvenient situations.

That intrigues him though, your kindness even when uncomfortable. Finding out you’re from home, another Crime Alley kid that defied the odds but never forgot your roots endears you to him even more. You bite back, take the attention away from him when you see how flustered he is by Lina calling him pretty and he’s determined now to make you a friend.

You’re smaller than he thought once you’re finally sitting next to him. He’s acutely aware of how the booth forces the two of you together, the long length of him pressed up against your side. The way your knee knocks into his thigh and the soft cushion of where your hip meets his. You’re one of his already, one of those that the Red Hood has claimed as under his protection, but the reality of you drives home who his work is really helping. Your mention of food pulls him out of his thoughts and scrambling to rectify the situation by offering to share his own. He’s positively delighted by your reaction, the way your compliments freely given still have a bite to them that’s honest. A warmth in his stomach that doesn’t originate from the spices in his meal only makes him want to figure out more ways to draw you out of your shell.

You share another class with him in the afternoon and he’s thanking whichever lucky star is smiling down at him that he’ll get you to himself at least once a week for the next few months. Walking into class with an acquaintance, though maybe it's too soon to call you that, is everything he wanted in the time from Before. Lost day dreams of sharing a desk with a friend in high school, hanging out together after, longings for in-jokes and shared histories are rearing their heads. Class passes quickly, a flurry of information and a hyper awareness of how close his body is to yours. It’s only an introductory class, but already he can tell that you’re clever from the few times you speak up. Makes him look forward to the next class when he’d never planned for academics to be his priority.

Class lets out into the evening air just starting to turn crisp with a hint of dampness. He’ll have to go soon, get started with patrol now that darkness was coating the city. He turns to you and distracts himself from the strip of skin where your shirt rides up as you stretch by asking you about your plans for the evening. Walking you to the bus stop is nice, in a quiet kind of way. He stays until he’s sure you’re safely on the bus, doors closing with a pneumatic hiss. Walks off the path and out of the halo of the street lamp until the shadows have swallowed him whole. Takes care to check that no one’s looking and scales the side of the building, gothic stonework rough under his bare palms. Scans the horizon until he’s found your bus again and goes to follow. Thinks that maybe the paranoia that had persuaded him to pack most of his Hood gear in a school bag isn’t the worst thing to suffer from. It’s overboard yeah, but you’re a pretty girl planning to walk alone at night. He just wants to make sure that you get home all right. You weren’t exaggerating when you said the bus stop was only a block from your apartment, but he still breathes easier when he sees the warm glow of lamp light click on through your apartment window. You should have better locks on your window if it’s looking out onto a fire escape, he thinks idly. But its a problem for later and when he’s got a more solid reason to bring it up.

Patrol is quiet most of the night. Buoyed by the unexpected success of the day, his usual route feels brand new. He takes pleasure in the way the wind picks up his jacket and whips it around him, almost laughs out loud at the way his stomach swoops before the grappling line pulls taut. Jason’s managed a full day of normalcy, something that no one thought he could do. Not after everything. He’d talked to people his age that for once weren’t the victim of some terrible crime and came away with the potential for friendships. It’s been a long time since he’s had more than a work related conversation with his men or a cryptic conversation with Talia he doesn’t count all the arguments with his fath— with Bruce. For the first time in a long time being the Hood isn’t the burden it had become. The peace doesn’t last for long though.

A whisper of black fabric on a rooftop just outside of the territory he’s established brings him crashing back down, a reminder of just how badly his attempts at anything other than solitude have fractured. It’s a bracing kind hurt, like when the air’s too cold after a snowfall and you can practically taste the ice crystals as they tear into the soft heat of your lungs. He needs it though, that reminder that no one who knows him is capable of seeing him without the siren call of suspicion following him. That thought follows him through the rest of patrol and the mechanical motions of getting to bed. It solidifies as he drifts off to sleep just as the first rays of light start to clear the skyline. He’ll grasp at this chance to be someone else for a bit, Jason Todd the fresh faced student, but that’s all it’ll be. A façade to keep everyone else from getting too close. Danika, Will, “call me Lina”, Rei, even you. Friends, but at a distance.

Jason doesn’t have any classes on Tuesday, but he runs into you as he exits his meeting with Dr. Okafor. It’s a new building to him, despite the time he’s spent pouring over all of the campus’ blueprints. He turns a corner on a staircase looking for an exit and almost knocks you back down where you’d just emerged from.

“Hey! Are you blind or— oh. Jason.” Your tone goes from indignant to wondering in a second, eyes wide with recognition.

“Not blind, but definitely not paying enough attention. You good though?” And he should probably be a little more sorry about it, but the glee of not having to wait until the next week to see you again outweighs it.

“Oh after the class I just had, it’d take a lot more than that to ruin my day.” A group tries to pass you two on the stairs, buffets the two of you into the railing.

“You wanna take this somewhere else? Give me another chance to ruin your day?” He grins, lopsided but hopeful.

You nod, and he leads the way, hulking figure cutting through the stream of people. He finds a nook on the first floor, big overstuffed chairs surprisingly empty for this time of day. You throw yourself into a chair dramatically, a sigh on your lips as your head tilts back.

“Class really that bad?” He prompts you.

“God I hate assholes that manage to make the most interesting subject painful. Like, at least wait until the second class before you start telling every single student their interpretation is wrong.” You swipe a hand across your face before visibly trying to pull yourself back together. “But as much as I hate Duvall’s teaching it’s mandatory for my program so I’m just gonna have to put up with his shit until next semester. Get my revenge during prof evaluations.”

“Look we don’t know each other that well, but by my reckonin’ you know what you’re on about. Don’t let him shake you, yeah?”

“Oh I know all about not listening to people that think my opinion isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. It just pisses me off that I still gotta deal with it every week for the foreseeable future.”

“Hey I’m all ears.” He offers, and it’s not entirely altruistic. Jason wants to support you, but it’s also a chance to learn more about you. It’s all a chance to be regular civilian he tells himself, and a civilian would do this for a friend.

“I’d love to but I think it’s right about—“ and the alarm on your phone sounds out, “yep, its about time for me to head to my internship.” You start to gather your things together. “But usually our group gets together on Wednesday afternoons to grab lunch and study together. We usually grab the same table in the student union around noon if you want to join us.”

Jason does join the study session, not that he needs to. But it's nice to spend time with people who like who they think he is. He arrives just as you slide into the booth, secures himself the seat next you (and the rest of the bench for himself). Your hair falls as you spread out your books and Jason’s close enough to smell whatever product you used last. It dazes him for a minute, and its only the arrival of Lina and Rei that shakes him out of his stupor. He starts up a conversation with Rei on the Gotham U swim team and gets roped in to come practice with him sometime next week. Not to be out done, Lina gently starts asking him how he’s settling in. He answers noncommittally, more focused on the way you’ve started to twirl your pen between your fingers as you come across a particularly dense passage. Seeming to understand that she won’t get much more out of Jason, Lina nudges Rei and they turn to their own books, though not without a tight-lipped and knowing smile on her face. The four of you work in silence broken only by the scribbling of pens and clacking of keyboards. Danika and Will turn up just as your stomach starts rumbling, causing you to meet Jason’s eyes in embarrassment.

He winks at you, before pulling out two Tupperware containers with chopsticks. Sliding one over to you he pretends not to notice as at first you protest, then guiltily start digging in as soon as you smell it.

Brandishing your chopsticks at him, you say “Don’t think I’m not keeping score mister. This has got to count as psychological warfare, there’s no way a sane person could turn you down after tasting your food once.”

He tucks a smile away and simply keeps eating. Will drags over some chairs for him and Danika, the one extra person throwing off your previously established seating arrangements. Conversation buzzes at the other end of the table but he can’t tear his attention away from you enjoying the labours of his hands. Eventually the table turns back to studying and you slide the container back to him with murmured words of thanks. Even you can only study for so long, so it's no great surprise when your books softly thump closed. You rest your forehead on the table and groan.

“Why is there so much reading? It’s only the first week back.”

“Ooooh, you know what that means though?” Danika exclaims. “We have to celebrate the first week back and that means going out! We’ll get dressed up, I’ll do your makeup, we can pregame at mine. You know you want to.” She wheedles.

You mock groan at her pronouncement, turn to rest your temple on the table to make eye contact with her. “Lina does my makeup and we’re done by 1 AM.”

“Awe, killjoy,” the blonde pouts.

“Lina does my makeup, Jason’s in charge of picking the post-club takeout, and we’re done by 2 AM. Final offer.”

Lina grins at Jason before shrugging. “Fine by me.”

Jason’s not sure what to expect when he shows up to the address Danika had sent through the group text. It’s a nicer part of town, a part of Gotham Heights he’s had no reason to visit as either of his identities. The doorman lets him in without too much fuss once Danika calls down to confirm he’s expected. She lets him in excitedly, limbs uncoordinated with the help of a few drinks. Rei leans forward to pour Jason a drink and at the same time you turn to look for who had arrived. The first thing Jason notices is the shiny red lip gloss you’re wearing as your lips spread into a smile at the sight of them. Something about the colour, bolder than you usually wear, sends heat straight to his groin. He hadn’t even realized that his hearing had gone muffled until Rei asks him for a second time how many shots Jason wants in his drink. Oh, he thinks distractedly. This could be a problem.

It definitely is a problem when he’s washing blood off his hands in the early hours of the morning and the only thing he can think of is that same cherry red lip gloss wrapped around the straw of your drink under the club’s strobing lights. How you’d looked up at him with pupils dilated from the drink and the heat, lips parted and gloss catching the light. The self-loathing hits then, crippling in its intensity. You’re smart and funny and so pretty it makes his breath catch. The last thing you need is him fantasizing after you less than an hour after he’d taken a life. The colour of a man’s life blood shouldn’t be causing him desperate to see if you’d taste as sweet as you look. It’s selfish and cowardly but he doesn’t want to give you up just yet. Doesn’t want to see the little smiles and commiserating looks turn to fear and hatred just yet. No, he can do this. He can smile and play nice, play at the Jason Todd you deserve. The one that won’t make you worry or hurt you with the truth of himself. Rules, he decides, rules are what he needs because it’s oh so easy to get caught up in you.

He can get close, but he can’t touch. It doesn’t matter how soft your skin looks or how tempting it would be to play with your hair. If he lets himself touch he is lost.

He will never let himself enter your home. He’s already followed you there, it’s a lost cause to pretend that he won’t check up on your safety. Better to decide now to never cross that final threshold.

He won’t let you in. He’ll be the best friend he is capable of being but he won’t let you see the truth of him. After all, it’s what’s sent those that know him running.

He will never tell you that he’s ever thought about anything more than friendship.

Part 3

[doctorbitchcrxft]

Another Brick In The Wall | Supernatural Series Rewrite | A doctorbitchcrxft Original | Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem! Reader

Warnings: oh lawd. all the warnings. just. all of them. please be cautious if you are a victim of sexual abuse, verbal abuse, religious trauma, or loss of a loved one. canon gore always applies. i never write anything exceedingly graphic for the sake of shock factor as i feel it is unnecessary, and if any of my content does not accurately warn its readers, please let me know

Word Count: 4005

A/N: Ugh. My heart is so full. Thank you, everyone, for reading and loving my stories. I love you. 

Fair warning: I want this season to feel like laying in bed staring at the wall in the dark wrapped in a big sweater while Preacher's Daughter plays in the background. And perhaps you’re laying on the mattress curled in a ball facing away from an estranged lover who sleeps soundly beside you. Let me know if I accurately evoke that feeling as we go along….

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“Uriel! Get your ass down here!”

“What have I said about your attitude, (Y/N),” Uriel warned, appearing behind you with the sound of flapping feathers. 

“Sorry, but this is an emergency,” you said, pacing around the dark cabin. You pointed to the television with the remote and rewound to the portion of the news covering you. 

Uriel just stared at you blankly with an eyebrow raised. 

You gave him a questioning and expectant look. “Are… you gonna help me?”

“I thought you said you were careful,” the angel droned. 

You scoffed. “I was! I mean—” you pointed to the television that you’d paused on the frame of your face— “I’ve got different hair, and you can’t see hardly any of my face, but this isn’t great that they’ve somehow connected every-fucking-thing to me!” 

Uriel sighed, clearly frustrated with you. “What do you expect me to do, then? In case you haven’t noticed, Heaven’s preparing for war. I don’t have time to handle every inconvenience for you.”

“Whoa, what?’ you asked, startled. “Heaven’s preparing for war?”

“Hell won’t exactly be thrilled about giving up their new plaything,” he replied evenly. 

You swallowed harshly at the degrading mention of your partner. “When’s he coming back?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Uriel answered. 

“What, why?!”

“(Y/N)—”

“No, why can’t you tell me?!” You marched up to Uriel with your finger in his face. “I’ve done so much for you fucking freaks, and you can’t tell me when he’s coming back?!” 

Uriel’s eyes hardened, and a clap of lightning caused you to jump away from him as the shadow of his impressive wings appeared on the wall behind him. 

“Okay,” you said timidly, still trying to appear tough, “I clearly pushed you a little far. I’m sorry.”

“That is your final warning, (Y/N). If you speak back to me again, I won’t be so forgiving,” Uriel stated firmly through gritted teeth. 

****

You drove to the outskirts of Pontiac, Illinois; the town where Dean was buried. You wanted to be there and lay eyes on him when he returned, and you figured it best to keep state-hopping to avoid police and prosecution. 

Much to your surprise, the small little town you’d laid Dean to rest in was completely abandoned. The gas station nearby looked like it had been ransacked, and all of its windows had been completely busted up.

‘What happened here?’ you thought. With your heart in your throat, you approached the little wooden cross Sam had fashioned to mark Dean’s grave and saw a human-sized hole that seemed to have been dug from the inside out. Your body shuddered in relief: Dean was alive! It was then you noticed the perfect circle of trees that had been blown over and away from Dean’s grave. There was no doubt in your mind that that angel Uriel had told you about had something to do with this. You wondered if it was an angel you’d heard of before or found a vessel for. 

You took your phone out of your pocket and found it without reception. 

‘Definitely an angel, then,’ you thought. 

How familiar you were becoming with angels was beginning to frighten you a bit. If only your mom could see you now. A smile crossed your face at the thought.

Even with as complicated a woman as your mother was, you loved her with all of your heart. She never occupied much of your thoughts; the memory of her was far too painful. With all the angel business recently, though, you were thinking of her more and more. 

You thought of the times she’d bandage your bruised knuckles when you’d used the tree outside your motel room as a punching bag to get out all of your frustrations. You thought of her teaching you to read and write, and the way she’d hum while she brushed your hair. You’d grimace and tell her she was tugging too hard, but now, you wished you had just one more lazy morning with her listening to her quiet song. 

She would tell you that god had a plan for your life and to unload all of your sorrows on him. So, you did. You would pray every night for him to take your suffering away; ‘please, god, I want this to be over.’ And it never was. Each new day brought another round of watching Steven, another round of training, or another fight with your father where your mother stood idly by. You felt trapped in an endless cycle. You felt god had abandoned you. 

Now, knowing for sure that all of that was in his “divine plan,” you pitied your mother. Maybe she really believed that god was going to save her and her children. Maybe she really believed that her first commitment was to her partner, and the Catholic doctrine taught that she shouldn’t divorce him. She never spoke much to you about her thoughts on your father’s treatment of you and Steven, but her actions demonstrated that whether she believed he was right or not, she would stand by him. The day you realized your mother loved her religion more than she loved you was the day you lost all faith in god.

****

You knew it wasn’t safe for you and Dean to be around each other. You knew you’d only be endangering the brothers and undoubtedly, Bobby, if you started running with them again. Everything in you screamed at you to go to Dean, but you fought yourself every step of the way. 

Instead, you tried to focus on nailing down their location so you could be sure to stay as far away as possible. Bobby’s number was the only one to remain reachable, so you tracked his. They were still in Pontiac, which meant you needed to get away fast. One last time, you went to the grave site where you’d buried Dean, his amulet feeling heavy around your neck.

Suddenly, you heard wings flapping behind you. “What do you want, Uriel?” You didn’t even bother to turn around.

“I see you’re in better spirits than I left you,” the angel answered.

“That’s not what I would call it,” you said. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, okay? I feel like we’ve progressed far beyond that in our relationship.” You turned to face the angel, who looked stoic as ever. 

“I have another job for you,” Uriel explained. 

You scoffed. “What? Dean’s out. I’m done now. I’ve got enough goin’ on with the feds on my tail.”

“You are done when I say you are,” Uriel asserted. “You are not done.” 

You suppressed an eye roll, knowing it wouldn’t get you far with him. None of the angels enjoyed your petulance; it was in your best interest to simply follow along. “What can I do for you?” 

“What you’ve always done,” the angel responded simply.

You hung your head low, glaring at the ground. “Uriel, I gotta be honest, man,” you sighed. “I’m exhausted. These guys you have me tearin’ to shreds are innocent.��� “It is a test of their faith, (Y/N),” Uriel explained. 

That caught you off-guard. “What?” you breathed out. 

“What, you thought you were our first step? There is a process,” he replied. 

“And you decided to tell me that now?!” you questioned angrily. 

“It wasn’t important for you to know at the time,” Uriel answered simply. “You didn’t need all the details.”

“And why do I need them now?” 

“Because you’re beginning to doubt,” the angel stated. “I have no room for that. We are on a strict timeline.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek. “So, what, you guys ask politely, and then, you use me?” you asked. 

“No, child. We each approach our vessels independently. We allow them an escape from their problems. And we demonstrate to them that their faith will be tested. That’s where you come in,” he explained. 

“I still don’t understand,” you shook your head. “Why not just ask ‘em to kill their only sons up on a mountain, or something?” 

“Primitive,” Uriel dismissed. “And not a strong enough test of their faith. The body endures much when possessed by an angel. At any moment, the angel can be forced out. The pain you inflict acts as a vetting process of sorts. If they can endure whatever you’ve put them through and remain faithful, we won’t have to worry about our vessels betraying us.”

You allowed yourself a moment to process that information. “That’s fucking crazy, you know that, right?”

“You are lucky I have grown a tolerance to your sharp tongue. Zachariah would have cut it out.” 

When you looked back up from the ground, the angel was gone. 

****

That evening as you drove out of Pontiac, you heard the ringing in your ears again. Your head whipped to the right, and you thought, ‘Castiel.’

A man with dark hair and sculpted features was watering his garden while a blonde-headed child rode her scooter around the driveway. 

“Oh, god,” you muttered to yourself. ‘This poor bastard.’

Suddenly, you realized what name you’d heard: Castiel. Your mother’s favorite of the angels. The one she prayed to when she wanted him to give your father the gift of temperance. 

Anger and hurt boiled in your shattered heart. Tears swam in your eyes as you realized that even the angel your mother felt such a close personal connection to never cared. This was a worse reality than you could have ever imagined: he was real, god was real, and angels were real; and yet, none of them cared. 

To make matters worse, a girl was going to grow up without a father because of you. A girl with a seemingly kind and doting father was going to mourn the rest of her life because of you. Your mind and body no longer felt like your own. If Heaven wanted you for their brutal crusade, you were to comply. All you had become was an inconsequential weapon; a means to achieve an end. What would happen to you when Heaven no longer had a use for you? 

The anxiety that clawed at your chest when Dean was gone hadn’t subsided even though he was back. Uriel insisted that he was no longer giving you the nightmares, but they would persist now and again anyway. And on days where you didn’t dream of Dean, you dreamt of the pain you inflicted. You could no longer recognize yourself. Quite literally, you had become a shell of the person you were. Your skin lacked color and plumpness. The life had been completely drained from your eyes. 

More than just not wanting to drag Dean into your troubles with the law, you would be embarrassed to see him. In truth, you weren’t proud of the person you’d become. 

You thought that saving Dean would make you feel whole again. Admittedly, a stupid and naive thing to think, but you were convinced it would help you feel like yourself again. In actuality, you just felt more anxious. You knew that Dean and Bobby had been searching for— and probably found— Sam and would now be turning that attention to you. 

It wasn’t that you never wanted to see Dean again; that was so far from the truth. You just wanted to see him when you were ready. If you had it your way, when you gained a little weight back, had some color in your cheeks, and were completely out of the law’s sights.

For now, though, Jimmy Novak was your project. Castiel had already been testing him, and he was teetering on the edge of ready to give you a “yes.” 

You’d found a location to carry out your task at. It was an abandoned house nestled in the trees about two miles past Dean’s grave. Perfectly remote, especially now since the surrounding town had been wiped off the map by the angel; you just needed to get Jimmy in the trunk of your car. 

His wife brought their daughter to dancing on Tuesday nights, and you knew that was your window of opportunity. As anxiety-inducing as kidnapping should be, it was one of the only times you felt calm. That frightened you a bit, but you assumed it was due to the repetitive nature of your new version of hunting. As much as you hated to admit it, you were good at what you did. 

****

To soothe your complicated feelings toward your current situation, you hummed “Laughing on the Outside” by Bernadette Carroll to yourself on a loop while you waited for Jimmy to wake up. When he finally began to stir, you steeled your nerves and stopped your song. 

“Mornin’, sunshine,” you said. 

Immediately, he began to struggle. “Wh— What is this? Who the fuck are you?!”

“Look,” you sighed. “Relax, okay? Nothin’ bad’s gonna happen to you as long as you do what I say.”

“What the fuck—?!”

“Hey, Jimmy—” his head snapped to face yours when he heard you say his name— “I know Castiel has been reaching out to you; testing you.”

The man stopped struggling. “How— How do you know that?”

“All you have to do is say ‘yes.’ Just let him possess you, okay?” you urged. 

“Are you out of your mind?” he panicked. 

“Listen, buddy, you’re the one who believes there’s a giant man floating around in the sky. Which one of us is really out of their mind?”

That seemed to silence him. You gave him a moment to think. “What do I have to do?” he asked. 

“Wait, really?” you scoffed. “You’re makin’ it that easy for me?”

“I mean, I guess,” he replied. “Castiel said something about being tested. I, uh— I guess this is it.”

You nodded. “Damn. You’ve got way stronger faith than any of the other poor guys I’ve dealt with. Nice to meet you, Jimmy.”

He looked at you, confusion written all over his face, before he looked toward the sky in awe. Then, Castiel took over his body. His eyes flashed a brilliant blue, and he easily broke out of the ropes you had his hands bound with. 

As soon as you could tell the man in front of you had changed to Castiel, tears filled your eyes. 

Castiel seemed confused. “Why are you upset, (Y/N)? You’ve done great work.”

“Don’t fucking talk to me,” you said firmly, turning away from him. 

The angel sighed. “This is about your mother, isn’t it?”

You tried to stifle your cries so you could answer him. “You— You knew she was praying to you? You knew she needed help?” You spun back around to him, angry. “You knew I needed help?!”

Castiel nodded. “I did.”

“And you did nothing?” you scoffed.

“I don’t meddle in human affairs, (Y/N),” he replied evenly. 

“Then what fucking purpose do you serve?” you pressed, your voice rising. 

“I serve Heaven, not humanity. I’m a soldier. You have clearly misunderstood the faith entirely,” Castiel told you firmly. 

You threw your arms out to the side in frustration. “So why now? Why are all of you here?” 

“Something is coming. I am not at liberty to reveal what—”

You cut him off. “All of you fucking angels and your secrecy—”

“—And you should mind the way you talk to me.” He continued to talk over you. “Just as easily as I took Dean out of Hell—”

You couldn’t help yourself. “—God, I am so tired of having to listen to what you freaks say just because you have the biggest metaphysical dicks—”

“—I will throw you back in his place!” Castiel finished. 

Your mouth snapped shut. You knew he would make due on that statement if necessary; you were completely disposable to beings that have existed for millions of years. By the time you raised your gaze from the ground, Castiel was gone. 

****

Your world view was crumbling. Anxiety constantly filled you, leaving you feeling burdened with knowledge you never wanted of the afterlife and the truth behind “god’s plan.” It was becoming more and more clear to you that the only purpose humans served was to stand between Heaven and Hell like Job in the Bible; a man tortured by the devil to prove his faithfulness to the lord. 

With your heart in your throat, you ditched the car you’d kidnapped Jimmy Novak in and began the long walk through the night to the next one you could hotwire. When you made it out of the woods, you walked through a neighborhood you were hesitant to steal from given the many security cameras surrounding almost every house. And so, you continued to the main road. You stopped in your tracks when you saw that familiar Impala across the street from where you were standing. Heart thumping, you made your way to the side of the diner and peeked through the blinds. To your surprise, Sam was there— with a woman, at that. Everyone else in the diner was lying on the floor with blood drying around their eyes. 

‘What are you doing, Samuel?’ you thought. ‘Wait, where’s Dean?!’ If the Impala was there, Sam must’ve snuck out. Either that, or he was with Bobby. Pinning down his exact location wasn’t a true concern of yours, you simply wanted to ensure that you were as far away from them as possible. 

Sam, though, was concerning you. Who was he with? Who were the people in the diner? Had the dark-haired woman across the table from him caused this? All of these questions, you knew you couldn’t get the answers to. It was dangerous for you to be there as it was. And so, you hotwired a car parked around the back of the building and sped off into the night. 

****

You drove well into the next morning with no particular destination in mind. Naturally, your thoughts turned to Dean. What did he think you were up to? Did he feel like you abandoned him? God, you hoped not. If only he knew that everything you had done these past four or five months had been for him. 

Still, an uncomfortable feeling clawed at your chest. You remembered what he’d told you when you tried to torture that demon before he went to Hell. He was angry. He told you never to do something like that for him again. And yet, here you were. 

At this point, motels would be considered a luxury to you. You frequently opted to sleep in whatever car you’d stolen to help you evade any security cameras in the motel lobbies. Each and every move you made had to be carefully calculated, especially now that a ninth man had gone missing by your hand. 

From this moment forward, you knew you would be on the run. Life— and hunting, by extension— was going to become infinitely more difficult. Maybe this would be when you left it all behind. Maybe you’d live out the rest of your days with only a cat and some horrendous rom-coms to keep you company. As much as it hurt you, the chances of you seeing Dean again were growing slimmer and slimmer. 

After catching a few hours rest in the parking lot of a laundromat, you went inside to wash the few clothes you had with you. You always kept your head down, hood on, and sunglasses across your face. Sure, it was a bit suspicious, but you had to keep your identity concealed as well as you possibly could. Who knew what the authorities had discovered about you thus far? You couldn’t risk them gathering any further details on you. 

With that in mind, you cast a glance up at the television in the corner that was playing the local news. As you predicted, Jimmy Novak’s picture was displayed. Thankfully, they hadn’t identified you as a suspect— yet. Perhaps you were being a bit paranoid; Pontiac was far from the other kidnappings. Then again, the angels had selected people that were states away from each other, and they’d connected them in some kind of way.

With your clothes back in hand, you headed to the bathroom to brush your teeth and wash your face. 

‘What have I become,’ you thought, jokingly mocking yourself. Then, Uriel appeared behind you. You were long past startling at his sudden visits and simply sighed. “What’s up, Doc?”

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

“Uh—” 

“I have not permitted you to leave Illinois.”

“Oh, sorry, Your Featheriness, I didn’t realize I had to file paperwork with you when I go on a road trip,” you scoffed, putting your hygiene products back in your duffel bag. 

Uriel was clearly not appreciating your tone. “Go back to Pontiac. Trail the Winchesters. Or join them; matters not to us.”

Your heart dropped. “What, why?!”

“No matter what, they stay alive. They are the priority; even if it costs your life,” he explained flatly. 

Eyes wild, you rambled, “Wait, dude, what the fuck are you talking about? I’m gonna drag them into my FBI disaster if I do that—!”

“There is no room for argument,” Uriel stated. “I’ll send Zachariah the next time you talk back. I have tired of your insolence.”

Your lip trembled, anxiety flooding your body at the thought of potentially putting the boys in harm’s way. “Uriel, please, tell me what’s going on—” 

“That is not for you to know, child,” he answered dryly. 

“I thought you were done with me,” you pleaded, tears streaming down your cheeks. “Please, I did what you asked!”

“And now, we need you to do something more.” His tone was disdainful. “I didn’t take you for the emotional kind. Then again, you humans are all the same.”

Your heart was shattering in your chest. If Dean caught you tailing them, he’d be so angry. He’d immediately question why you hadn’t shown up as soon as he came back from Hell, and he’d be so hurt. Would he feel betrayed? If you were honest with yourself, you would in that situation. Even just the thought of hurting him so bad was causing a pit to form in your stomach. “Uriel, please, don’t make me do this,” you begged. 

The angel’s expression hardened further; if that was even possible. “How many times do I have to tell you that argument is futile? You will do as I say, or Dean will suffer the consequences; seeing as our punishments don’t scare you.”

Whether he was bluffing or not, you didn’t care. You couldn’t stand the thought of Dean being hurt again because of you, and Uriel knew exactly how to get you to comply. It pissed you off that an angel of the lord would blackmail you and that you were so willing to potentially hurt yourself to protect Dean. Everything about your situation made you hurt, and you couldn’t even reach out to the one person you needed most for help. 

“So, I just—” you tried to collect your courage, swallowing a lump in your throat, “stay away until they need help? Then, what? Do I disappear again?”

Uriel nodded. “If that’s how you wish to do things. This is your purpose, (Y/N). This is god’s plan for you.”

You laughed coldly, tears falling once more. As much as you wanted to scream mockeries at the sky, you knew better than to do that in front of Uriel. “Fine.” 

That was all he needed to hear. After your acceptance, Uriel was gone.

Series Rewrite Taglist: @polireader @brightlilith @atcamillanorrman @jrizzelle @insomnia-bookworm @procrastination20 @mrs-nesmith @djs8891 @tiggytaylor @staple-your-mouth @jesstherebel @rach5ive @strawberrykiwisdogog @bruhidkjustwannaread @mxltifxnd0m @sunshine-on-marz @big-ol-boat @mgchaser @capncrankle @chervbs @simpingdeadcharacters @nesnejwritings @stillhere197 @tearsforhan @take-it-on-the-run @iloveyou2mia @maxinehufflepuffprincess @ohgeehowdigethere @seninjakitey @berarenado @s0urw00lf @princessleahorgana @quarterhorse19 @isla-finke-blog @silverdoragon @karacaroldanvers @gayandfairycore @examishbookwyrm @star-yawnznn @real-sharena-h @fandomloverrr @metalmonki @onlyangel-444 @yu-winchester @benniwiththefanni @daisychaingirl @immagods @missmieux @yoongi-holland @littledebbieinabigworld

[kaigarax]

Threads of Affection Masterlist

A series of films featuring Hollywood's leading lady, you, and all your handsome co-stars. Rumors run rampant, especially when your chemistry on screen is undeniable. Nothing is confirmed but at least everyone gets to watch some (cheesy) cute movies. Enjoy you, (Y/n) (L/n), in these 10 different chick flicks featuring classic romance writing tropes in classic romantic writing settings~

The Summer I Met You (coming soon...) First Love x Flower Shop AU Komori Motoya finds his summer plans ruined when his parents drag him over to his grandparents' home for the summer where absolutely nothing happens and practically no one lives. This summer feels like just any other for (L/n) (Y/n). Helping around the garden; taking care of her younger siblings; and getting ready for the next school year ahead. When fate brings the two of them together one can't help but wonder if something more could blossom.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content

Rewriting Our Story (coming soon) Second Chance x Wedding AU After building a successful life in the city for herself, (Y/n) (L/n) makes her way back home to celebrate the wedding of her best friend where she runs into the boy that broke her heart. Porco Galliard didn't want to leave but what other choice did he have but to join the military when his family was in desperate need of some extra income? Can the two of them overcome their differences or risk ruining the happy wedding?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

It Was Always You (coming soon) Friends-to-Lovers x School (Rooftop) AU People had always told Sabito that life moves faster the older you get. He just didn't realize how much faster until it's the final week before you go off to university and he has yet to confess his feelings. (Y/n) has spent the entirety if her high school life preparing for univeristy. Everything has gone perfectly. The only thing left now is to figure out why her best friend, Sabito, keeps on avoiding her. Can Sabito muster up the courage to confess his love or will it forever remain unrequited?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

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Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Fake It 'Til You Feel It (coming soon) Fake Dating x Traveling AU Asagiri Gen, playboy extraordinaire, finds himself in need of a fake girlfriend after accidently getting into a scandal. So he finds himself enlisting the help of you, (L/n) (Y/n). (Y/n) wasn't exactly sure what to think of when she was approached by Gen but the idea of a free trip around the world was enough to get her to agree. Besides, what's the worst that could go wrong? No kissing; no intimacy; and most certainly no feelings involved. Which isn't a problem until Gen finds himself wanting to break all of those stupid rules that he himself made up.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Make Me Fall For You (coming soon) Betting x Coffee Shop AU Everyone on campus knows that Geto Suguru could have whoever he wants. It's so well known that his friends decide to make a bet to see how long it takes for him to woo the girl that walks through those doors next. (L/n) (Y/n), a quiet and respectful student, unknowingly makes a decision that will change her life forever when she chooses to take a detour for a cup of coffee and ends up walking through those doors next. Everything seems to be going according to plan for Geto expect that maybe he's actually catching feelings for you too.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

When Worlds Collide (coming soon) Different Worlds x School (Beneath the Tree) AU Denji has never been the best student at school. Heck, he's never even really been the best at anything. But when the threat of expulsion starts to float over his head he's willing to try anything to stay in classes. Which is how he ends up meeting (Y/n) (L/n). Denji's new tutor and the school's star student. The two of them are polar opposites that can't seem to agree on anything. Luckily, (Y/n) agrees to stick it out as long as Denji willingly helps her with that dreaded extra credit assignment.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Our Defining Moments (coming soon) Forbidden Love x Office AU Kaku spent the enterity of his life knowing that it belonged to someone else. That everything he did was for the betterment of his nation. So, he can't help but start to think that something has gone wrong with him when all of his thoughts find themselves centering around a single woman. Is his heart supposed to beat as erratically as this? Is it normal to stutter this much? (Y/n) (L/n) just wants to do her best. She loves her family and she loves her job. Plus, it helps that her new partner at work is easy on the eyes.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Beat You To Getting Better (coming soon) Rivals x Business AU (L/n) (Y/n) lived her entire life knowing that she would one day inherit her family's business and take over. This of course leads to her fostering a hatred against whoever happened to be on the other side. Gojo Satoru just so happens to be on the other side and can't stand (Y/n). Especially when she happens to be fighting for everything that he's trying to get away from. The two of them end up stuck together after a mix up for an extended period of time and find they might just have more in common then they initially thought.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Memories of You and I (coming soon) Childhood Friends x Going Back Home AU Julian Loki and (Y/n) (L/n) were inseparable as children. One never found without the other. Of course, like all good things, the friendship eventually comes to an end when Loki has to move away. Years later (Y/n) and Loki run into one another again but it seems like many things have changed. Can the two of them overcome their differences and rekindle their friendship or will the time apart prove to be too vast a distance to overcome?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

[leighaltieri]

now i'm in exile; roman bridger x reader

request: hello. Do you think you could tackle a Roman Bridger angst story where he has a boyfreind but breaks up with just prior to his killing spree ….but he knows he has to give them up so can focus on his mission and not be destracted by his feelings. He doesn't want them to know but kind of hints much to their confusion once he’s got himself sorted out ….they can pick up where they left off. Reader has enough at that point and storms off

summary: your boyfriend has been acting shady lately and you suspect he's hiding something from you.

warnings: angst, male reader, brief mention of murder

word count: 935

notes: i've never written for roman before, i hope i've done him justice <3 this was so much fun to write!! i hope you like it <3

read on ao3 | scream masterlist | title from this song

Roman had been acting strange recently. Ever since he’d been given the job directing Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, he’d been a little off. He’d been quiet, keeping mostly to himself and a lot more irritable than usual. You were worried about him.

He came home from work late carrying a plastic bag, dismissing you with “I had to help with rewrites” when you questioned where he’d been. Then he was back to ignoring you, going straight to your shared bedroom to avoid you until you came to bed. So you decided you’d had enough of him isolating himself. You missed your boyfriend. You followed him to the bedroom, and found the door locked when you tried to confront him.

“Roman?” You knocked gently, “Can I come in?”

You could hear a faint rustling noise, then his footsteps getting closer before he unlocked and finally opened the door. He’d taken his glasses off, he was squinting at you in a way you usually found cute. His green eyes met yours and you almost wanted to forgive him.

“What’s up?” He asked, as if he had no idea.

You pushed the door open and stepped into your room. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting kinda… I don’t know, weird lately. I’m worried about you.” You cupped his face, forcing him to turn his head and look at you.

“I’m fine.” He insisted, flinching away from your touch.

“Then why are you avoiding me? Have I done something? Are you… Are you gonna break up with me?”

He sighed, “I didn’t wanna do it like this. But yeah, I think we should take a break.” 

“Oh.” Your heart sank. You didn’t know how to react. You’d sort of expected it, but you weren’t prepared for him to actually say it, “Why?”

“It’s not you,” he said, taking your hand and gently squeezing it, “You haven’t done anything, darling. It’s just… work. I can’t talk about it, I’m sworn to secrecy, but it’s pretty intense, and I can’t be what you need right now” You knew he couldn’t talk about the movie because of spoilers, but you’d hoped he trusted you enough to open up at least a little.

You stepped closer to him, your heart aching. “Roman… Whatever’s going on, let me help you.”

“You can’t. Will you just drop it, please?” He snapped, his tone sharper.

“But-”

“I said drop it!” He raised his voice, and you instinctively stepped back.

“Okay then,” You resigned quietly,

He took a deep breath, “It’s only temporary. Once I’m done with the movie, we can pick up where we left off. I promise.”

You ignored him and grabbed your overnight bag, then opened your shared closet to pack some clothes.

“Babe, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. Let’s just talk about this.”

You continued to ignore him, focusing on grabbing your clothes. Then you saw, stuffed right at the back of the closet, the plastic bag from earlier. A white mask with black eyes and a long mouth fixed in a permanent scream was poking out of it.

“Why the fuck do you have this?” you asked, throwing the bag at him. He caught it and set it down on the bed.

“Relax, baby, it’s just a prop. For Stab 3.”

“Then why is it in our closet and not on set?” You glared at him, those masks were more than props, they’d been used in real murders a few years ago.

“Don’t you trust me? What, you think I’m gonna start killing people?” He looked hurt for a brief moment before the anger took over. 

“Are you?”

Roman was silent. 

“Roman?” You said quietly, disbelief and shock evident in your voice, “No… You wouldn’t.”

“Of course not! Are you that fucking dumb? You really think I would?”

“I don’t know! You’ve been so distant lately, I feel like I don’t know you at all anymore.” You hurriedly packed your bag as you spoke.

He took a step towards you, his eyes narrowing in frustration. “You’re overreacting, it’s just a prop I brought home from work today.” That didn’t explain why it was hidden in the back of the closet, but you shook your head and let it go for now.

“It’s not just the mask, Roman. It’s everything. You’ve been pushing me away for weeks, keeping secrets and lying to me!”

“I know, darling and I’m sorry. As soon as I’m done with Stab 3, we’ll be back together and everything will be back to normal.”

“No…” You zipped up your bag, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore.” You turned around, searching his face for any sign of the man you fell in love with.

“Baby-” He started, but you cut him off.

“Don’t call me that. You broke up with me. It’s over.” 

He stood there, wanting to reach out to you but feeling like he was glued to the floor as you walked out of the bedroom and out of his life. You wanted to turn back, to run to him and tell him you’d wait for him. That you’d love him forever. But you knew leaving was the right thing to do.

“I just wanted to keep you safe. I never wanted to hurt you,” he said, his voice quiet, almost pleading.

“I know. But you did.” 

Roman watched you leave, and as you slammed the door behind you, he picked up the mask. He gripped it tightly, staring into its empty black eyes and wondering if getting revenge on Sidney was worth losing the man he loved. He’d find out soon enough.

[rose-of-gabriel]

My Teammates, My Friends

Set at the end of s1 ep12: Basic Straining

Harold's revenge doesn't go the way he planned. Courtney reflects on what her team means to her.

Beginning of a series of Season 1 rewrites bc I still love Duncney and can't let things go.

It was the breeziest Courtney had ever felt going into a bonfire ceremony. Yes, they’d lost the challenge, and she was fully prepared to start strategizing again in the morning, but for right now everything just felt right. Duncan stood amongst their fellow Killer Bass members on the other side of the fire pit, meeting her gaze before giving a dramatic roll of his eyes at how much Chris was milking his time at the podium. Courtney ducked her head, a heat rising in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the burning embers of the fire.

Even when Bridgette and Geoff were called, leaving her in the usually precarious position of bottom two, she didn’t feel worried. For maybe the first time in this competition, her team actually felt like her friends. It was probably - definitely - sad to admit, but she’d never experienced that before. Every “team” she’d ever been a part of - debate team, model UN, student council - had all been so performative and impersonal for everyone involved. Courtney would call those people her friends but she knew it wasn’t the kind of friendship she read about in books or magazines; friends who made you feel at ease, who had your back unconditionally. Yes, she was aware that this was still a competition, but as long as the teams remained, there was a tentative, hopeful, nearly forgotten part of her that trusted the four people before her more than she had anyone else in a long, long time.

These thoughts wrenched to a halt when she realized Chris had cut himself off mid-monologue. She re-focused, expecting to see military personnel or aliens raining down on them since there wasn’t anything else she could think of that would make Chris surrender the spotlight. There was no surrender, though. The devious, snake-like expression curling across his features opened up a pit in Courtney’s stomach, and from the looks of her teammates she could tell they’d noticed the pause with equal trepidation.

“Now campers,” Chris said, setting the plate and final marshmallow atop the podium before reaching into the placket of his shirt, “we have an interesting development.” He produced a folded stack of paper and held it aloft. “See... according to the ballots we received in the ballot box, every. single. person. voted Courtney off.”

The pit in her stomach imploded, leaving her sick and dizzy. She barely heard the reaction of her teammates over the rush of blood in her ears.

Pressure built behind her eyes as her gaze ricocheted across their faces, landing finally on Duncan, or where he would have been had the punk not already taken several imposing steps in Chris’ direction. “Dude, no fucking way! ”

Chris jumped backwards, raising the ballots high in one hand and throwing the other up in front of him. “ Hey! Hold it, hold it, hold it!”

Geoff and DJ both reached to grab Duncan’s shoulders, and while he did stop, his expression was murderous. Chris continued quickly. “All six ballots were for Courtney, making me and the producers more than a little curious as to why one of our fiercest competitors would vote herself off. So we went back and had a looksie at the confessional booth footage.”

Chris inclined his head to where Chef Hatchet was laboriously pushing an old dolly with an even older projection set up the slope toward the bonfire. While Courtney by no means had her barings back, she still noticed how Harold’s shoulders had hiked up to his ears and he had scooted as far from her on the log stool as he could. Suspicion stirred in her mind but she was too rattled to interrogate it.

“Lights please!” Chris called. The array of tiki torches and lanterns surrounding the fire pit suddenly faded to nothing, the only light now coming from the bonfire and the harsh, white light of the mobile projector. “Chef, if you would be so kind, roll tape!”

Chef arranged the projector so it displayed on one of the massive, flat rock faces that walled in the area. He pulled a VHS tape from the front pocket of his apron and opened a compartment on the side of the projector. Before he inserted the tape, though, Harold burst to his feet. “Wait!” he screamed, throwing his spindly body in front of the lens. “Wait, you don’t have to show it.”

“Oh, don’t we?” Chris grinned.

Courtney’s nerves were frayed to the point of snapping. “ Harold.” She growled, rising to her feet with her fists clenched. “ What did you do?”

Duncan was next to speak, cracking his knuckles. “You are dead, shrimpy.”

Unaffected by their outbursts, Chris continued coolly. “You’ve got a choice here, Harold. We can either play the tape or not, but somebody has to walk the dock of shame tonight.”

Everyone had put the pieces together by now; even Geoff’s usual half-grin was soured in a glare. Duncan started toward their condemned team member, but Courtney beat him to it. Harold shrieked and covered his face, but instead of clocking him Courtney grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. Though he had a good few inches of height on her, Courtney yanked him down with enough force that his knees buckled, putting them at eye-level.

Her voice simmered with intensity as she hissed his name. “You have exactly five minutes to get on that boat. Because if I watch what I think is on that tape and you’re still on this island, I promise that you are never. leaving it. Understand?”

“Yes.” He squeaked, eyes nervously flitting between her and the team.

The instant she released her grip he was gone, sprinting for all his worth back to the cabins. Courtney inhaled deeply through her nose, efforts to calm herself ruined by Chris chiding, “Easy, Courtney. Chef’s gonna escort him to make sure he doesn’t hide out anywhere and to make sure no one tries to deal out their own justice, vigilante style.” He chuckled. “Although that would be awesome. ”

For a second Courtney thinks she might actually punch Chris’ lights out, but the host is saved by Bridgette throwing her arms around her teammate. “Oh my gosh, Court! Those were like the worst two minutes of my life.”

Two minutes? Had all of that really just happened in two minutes. Courtney felt like she’d just stepped off a rollercoaster and her stomach was finally catching up with her. When Bridgette released her, she pressed the heels of her palms against her forehead and closed her eyes. There was sound and movement all around her but nothing concretely registered except for the rough, warm pressure of a hand sliding down her spine to rest at her lower back.

“You okay?” Duncan said into her ear, so quiet she wasn’t sure if anyone else heard.

His voice and his hand on her back were the anchors she needed to feel like she was on solid ground again. She dropped her hands from her face and her shoulders fell with them as she surveyed the teens around her. Bridgette was visibly the most affected, hazel eyes wide like Courtney would vanish if she blinked. Geoff and DJ wore similar looks of both sympathy for Courtney and anger for the situation, and Duncan…

Well, Courtney didn’t know what to make of the look he was giving her. It was somehow soft and warm yet still retained its fierceness from before. She wasn’t sure if it was the intensity of his gaze or the crash of adrenaline that made her shiver. “I’m good.” She tried to sound more confident than she felt.

“Man, that is one sick little dude.” DJ groused, crossing his arms over his chest.

Geoff added, “Yeah, Court, that was wickedly messed up. Sorry, brah.”

Courtney shifted her weight just a fraction to press more firmly into Duncan’s hand, forcing a steady exhale from her lungs. “I’m just glad he was dumb enough to make all of the ballots the same.”

“Seriously.” Duncan agreed, pulling her an inch closer.

She turned her head to look up at him, nerves settling enough to crack a smile. “You have any experience with voter fraud?”

“Pfffft, that’s weak shit.” He dismissed, though the corner of his mouth ticked upward.

The vice in her chest eased, and the airiness from before was returning. These were her friends , friends who were angry on her behalf and happy that she was still here. Friends that surrounded her with support but she knew would give her space if she asked for it. That was the last thing she wanted, though, threading her arm across Duncan's back.

“Anyone up for stealing some brownies from the mess hall while Chef’s distracted?” She asked.

Geoff whistled, “Heck yeah!” at the same time Duncan praised, “Atta girl.”

It was DJ who hesitated. “Sure you don’t wanna see the ginger twerp off, Court? I know I’ll be happy to see him go.”

Courtney hummed thoughtfully. “The look on his face would be pretty satisfying.” Her gaze flickered to Duncan’s with a mirrored grin. “If we’re quick we can do both.”

The expression on Duncan's face turned wolfish as he addressed the group. “You heard the lady.” He said and the five of them took off toward the mess hall, Courtney’s heart soaring with every step.

[grounded-gryphon]

Mad Mentors And Fractured Families draft

Hey, so, Rai and I FINALLY finished the draft for MMFF that we've been working on since September and expected to start posting in October.

It's just been that kind of year.

Anyway, this is the third in a series of DC x DP that we've been posting over on AO3. I was REALLY bad about sharing the first two here. Because life and brain and shit.

But I though to celebrate finally finishing I'd share the draft of the first chapter here, and if folks like I can share the rest?

Let me know what you think

Chapter 1

Danny Fenton

Danny asked Lady Gotham politely to show him where to meet Batman for this chat

Lady Gotham leads him to the Clocktower. Batman shows up before too long.

Danny nods to him. "Batman."

"Your majesty."

"You asked me to convince Hood to talk with you. I've...done what I can concerning your request. There's a...complication." Danny frowns. "What do you know about ghostly obsessions?"

Batman narrows his eyes, "I am learning. I do not trust all my sources."

"Fair enough. In the plainest English that makes sense, an obsession is like a ghost's favorite...passion but also food. Fulfilling the obsession generates energy for the ghost."

Batman nods.

"I won't give you specifics, but just know that Hood's might...go a little haywire at seeing you. I don't actually know how, though. We believe any reunion needs to be handled… gradually."

"I see."

"Nightwing had extended and invitation to your 'family brunch', but right now we think that would be a very bad idea. His obsession would not handle seeing so many people at once and I don't know what it would do to him.

Batman frowns.

"I promise, we are going to help him everyway we can. He wants you back in his life. Not only that, he needs you. But we need to find a way to do it safely."

Batman nods, deeply enough it is almost a bow. "Thank you."

Danny nods. "You're welcome."

"One other thing," Danny said. "Jason… is concerned abuot how you feel about him now. About if you'll even want him in your life. You're no-kill rule…"

Batman hesitates and sighs. "I am... not comfortable with many things Hood has done since returning to Gotham. But he will always be my son."

"Good."

---

Dick Grayson (needs rewrite)

Bruce was surprised to get home to find Dick already de-suiting in the batcave.

Nightwing had mostly been staying in bludhaven the last week, and Dick had said nothing about returning to the manor tonight.

Neither said anything while they showered, checked for injuries, and changed, but on the way up to the manor Bruce asked, "You're staying the night?"

Dick nodded. “Yeah.”

Bruce nodded. "I spoke with the High King earlier. You were right, something is wrong, probably something related to why he stayed away this long." Bruce is bewildered and a bit hurt that Jason would need support. Surely his son knew how much he was loved, welcomed, missed.... but Bruce had never been a good parent, and it was one of his screwups that had sent Jason to his death, so maybe Jason didn't, maybe Bruce was just going to muck things up again, maybe--

"Bruce," Dick shook his shoulder, and Bruce realized that he had stopped halfway up the stairs. "Snap out of it."

"Sorry."

Dick grabbed his arm and started hauling him up the stairs. "Come on, if we don't both get some sleep tonight Alfred will not be happy. And take a break on the beating yourself up, okay?"

"I'll try." Bruce let Dick lead him upstairs to Alfred's waiting presence.

Alfred hands each of them a plate of cookies -- reward or bribe for finishing the night without injuries, Bruce is never sure which. "I have the menu prepared for tomorrow" he says. "Master Tim is in bed and is restricted to one cup of caffinated beverage a day until further notice."

"Thank you Alfred."

"You are welcome, I'm sure. Now. Eat your cookies and get ready for bed yourselves."

Dick gripped Bruce's shoulder before turning away, but n o so fast that Bruce couldn't see the conflicted emotions in Dick's eyes.

Bruce hesitated. H e was so bad at being a parent. "Dick," he finally said.

"Yeah?"

Bruce thought of Danny's words. Of the things he'd noticed Dick carefully /not/ saying the past few weeks. Jason might not be the only one who needed to know he was accepted. "I'm not blind you know. And it's... okay. What your feeling. It's okay."

Dick looked at Bruce and frowned. "Bruce... I..."

"You never had a chance to /be/ his brother, Dick, and that was my fault. If I'd been better, listened more, you would have been around and things might have been different. But they weren't. So it's okay to start fresh with him. Whatever that means to you. Okay?"

Dick blushed. "You've been talking with Wonder Woman haven't you?"

"Ma Kent," Bruce mumbled.

Dick laughed and went up to bed.

---

Jason Todd

Jason woke up and lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The entire mess that was yesterday replaying in his head. Danny surprising him with Batman's... request. Telling the rest of the Fraid his history. Danny identifying his obsession.

/FAMILY/

It beat at his core, which he was starting to recognize. It felt like a solid hunk of granite, but fractured through with fissures that leaked /green/.

The same green that had been poisoning his thoughts and fucking with his perceptions for the past three years.

/FAMILY/ his core pulsed again, stronger even than the /green/ and the /rage/. Fraid was family, or could be. He knew that now, had felt in the way they had all held him yesterday, sending support and understanding -- even Tucker who still didn't entirely trust him.

But he also felt the bleeding ruptures of his lost family. The bonds that he had never fully trusted until they were gone, ripped away when he needed them most. Poisoned by fucking Talia and the /green/. Then ripped out and destroyed by his own actions.

Except that Dick still, somehow, wanted to see him. Except that B -- as Batman of all things -- had sought Danny out and asked for help seeing Jason.

Except that since the night he'd kidnapped Tim and Dick, none of them had crossed into Crime Alley without his permission. They waited. For him.

And maybe that was telling him something.

---

Jazz Fenton

Jazz tossed and turned in bed. Finally, as dawn crept through the smog, she got up, dressed in one of her new outfits from the shopping trip with Lidia, and went downstairs to make coffee. If Jason's obsession was family, and with everything he'd lost already, she knew the Fraid could never replace what was before. And what was she going to do for Danny? He needed a fucking break, and this last week and a half had gone at breakneck speed.

It took everything in her to keep the protective fury bubbling inside at bay. She didn't know what would happen if she lost her temper now, but it felt dangerous. She wanted her baby brother to have a normal life, her new crush to feel some kind of healing, and she couldn't do any of it. She took several deep breaths as she measured out the coffee. Breakfast first. She always felt better in the morning after food.

Jason came down the stairs quietly -- physically, anyway. His ghostspeak was crying /FAMILY-lost-breathe-green/ with only the faintest whispers of /rage/ underneath it all. "Hey Jazz."

"Hey." Her ghost speak answered his with /here for you/ and a whisper of /fury/ and /need to be helpful/. She winced as all of it came through. "Sorry."

She poured the water in the coffee maker and watched it drip through.

He rubbed his chest as his core continued to cry for /FAMILY/ but was calm when he spoke. "Don't be. I don't... Wherever we're going here, Jazz, I don't want any secrets between us." He smiles, and it's the realest smile she's seen from him. "And I think I'm actually doing better."

She smiled a bit at that. "That makes one of us, at least on the doing better part." She leaned against the counter, eyes on him now. "No secrets, huh?"

He shrugs. "As best we can. I think we both know a lot of other people's secrets, but for my stuff, yeah, ask and I'll tell you." His ghostspeak continues to pulse /FAMILY/ and /green/ but also /trust you/ and /mine-fraid-special/

She sighed. "Well, the first thing I'll tell you, Danny didn't try to become High King. He just did what he does. Protected everyone from the last asshole. We had no idea rite of combat was the way a new king would be decided."

/everything's gone sideways/ and /thanks/ and /he needs a break/

"So..." /FAMILY-fraid-mine/ "what can we do to give him one?"

"I think that's why he tried to plan a movie day. Especially since he said he's planning on torturing us all with space documentaries. He wanted to be an astronaut before everything happened." She sighed, scowled, her eyes glowing aqua fire. "I just want my little brother to be okay." /furious at all the trouble/ and /not you/ and /worried about him/

"I think he just needs some time with Sam and Tucker, and he's trying so hard to help you, me, and Dick as well, that he's getting lost again."

Jason nods. "So we need tonight to be as chill as possible." He takes a deep breath. "Which, if I understand how this obsession stuff words, means I should probably pull on my big boy pants and give Dick a call." /FAMILY-lost-green-mine-pain/

"That's a good idea. I can stay while you do." /obsessions are a bitch/

Jason nods. "That'd help, beautiful. You might want to talk with Danny first though." /FAMILY-idea-green-mischief-rage-FAMILY/

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" /what are you planning/ and /curious/

"Well, there's no reason Danny has to be dealing with all the JL stuff. For instance, Nightwing could report to /you/ as the High King's representative."

"You are a fucking genius." She hugs him, pulls away blushing. "Except for your plan to shove your whole life into one room."

Jason blushes at the hug, then blinks at her words. "My what?"

"Sam told me you have all of your stuff in that single room upstairs." She crosses her arms and cocks her hip. "You allowed us into your home, not the other way around."

"Yeah, well." He rubbed the back of his neck. "This place was as new to me as it was to you, you know. But I'll probably start spreading out a bit more now." /FAMILY-fraid-welcome-green/ "It'd be good to have a home again."

She smiles. "I'll go talk to Danny, then."

---

Sam Manson

Jazz and Jason head next door. Sam sees them coming in first thing in the morning while the coffee is still hot and groans. "What now?"

Tucker laughs. "Ever the optimist, huh Sam?"

Danny just rolls his eyes and focuses on not freezing his coffee.

Sam grumbles. Jason gives her a light noggie. "Don't worry, we love you too." /FAMILY-mine-green-intruding?/

Danny shakes his head. "Just hoping this isn't some other major catastrophe." /fuck/ as his mug slips through his hand and thuds on the table, somehow managing to stay upright. He goes intangible to avoid the hot coffee that does splash.

Tucker grabs something to clean up the coffee.

Jazz smiles. "No. Just an idea Jason had."

Sam narrows her eyes. /sugar swans/ "What kind of idea?"

Jason chokes. "Hey, those weren't my idea."

Sam, "You practically dared me to!"

Jason, "Me? I told you not to."

Sam, "Exactly!"

Jason rolls his eyes

Jazz giggles, "You told her not to?" /of course she did/ still not fully grasping the sugar swans debacle, and shrugs. "Anyway, he suggested the JL could report to me as the High King's representative."

Tucker finished wiping up the coffee. "Huh. Representative, huh? Kinda like Nightwing is the liaison?"

Danny looked up from his now-abandoned coffee mug. "That's...huh..."

Jason shrugs, "Something like that. Or an ambassador maybe. Kinda like how the president doesn't negotiate directly with the UN."

Danny leans back in his seat, gives Jazz a considering look.

Sam thinks about it a minute, then nods. "It makes sense, Danny. Is there any reason you need to keep taking to Nightwing about everything yourself?"

Danny frowns. /if I don't/ He shakes his head. "I...I don't think so? Jazz...are you sure you want to do this?"

Jazz nods, determined. "I'll keep you updated on everything, but your first priority is to heal right now. That's why we came here. If I can help you do that by taking on JL negotiations, I will."

Tucker snorts. "You're kinda thrilled about this, aren't you, Jazz?"

She shrugs.

"Yeah, thought so." Tucker nods, "I'm down for that. Give us a chance to give you a break, dude." he rests a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Sam, "I wonder if there are like, ghost rules for something like this." She pulls out one of her notebooks. "We should ask Lady Gotham, since she's offered to explain things. The king has to be able to delegate, right?"

Danny shrugs. "Don't see why I wouldn't be able to, but having some more information couldn't hurt."

Sam makes a few notes, nods to herself, and closes the book.

"You're gonna ask her later, Sam?" Danny eyes the notebook.

Tucker chuckles. "That's where she keeps her questions for...well, everyone and everything, so probably."

Sam, "Well I'm not calling her up right now. But it might help."

"Alright. As far as I'm concerned, Jazz, you are now Ambassador of the High King. The Justice League talks to you for everything that I don't need to deal with directly."

Jason nods. "Alright! I need to give dickhead a call anyway, want me to pass on the good news?"

Jazz smiles. "I was gonna leave these three be, but please do."

---

Dick Grayson

Dick was digging into a bowl of Choco-Nut Puffs with peanut butter when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw "unknown number." His eyes widened when the call cut off after two rings, started again, cut off after one ring, started again. He raced to accept the call, not even bothering to finish swallowing.

"Yasyn?" He mumbled through a peanut butter sticky mouth.

There was silence for a moment. "You remembered."

The wonder and surprise in Jason's voice brought tears to his eyes. Dick hurried to swallow and said. "Of course I remembered, Little Wing. You're -- you've always been -- important to me. I remember all of our codes."

"Oh."

Dick took a deep breath and tried to get a handle on his emotion. "So, is everything okay? I figure you didn't call just to chat."

"Kinda? I mean, Danny asked me to pass on a message, but only because I was calling anyway? Just... some personal shit came up and, and I know I don't have the right to ask. Kinda surprised you're still talking to me really, with... with nearly shooting you and everything--"

"Jason!" Dick cuts Jason off before he can talk himself into the spiral Dick can hear building.

"Jason, no matter what, I will always be here for you, okay? We're family. So tell me what you need."

Jason gasped and said, so quietly Dick barely heard him, "Family."

"Yeah, Jay. That's what I said. So tell me what's going on." He was starting to get worried now. Jason sounded so different from the last time they'd talked. Not as angry. Vulnerable. Almost afraid.

Whoever had made his Little Wing afraid was going to learn a new meaning of fear.

"Family," Jason repeated, louder this time. "That's... I need... family."

Dick held his breath, not sure what to say. What Jason meant. Not daring to hope.

"Talia... When first came back, she told me things, showed me things. She lied, Big Bird."

"What did she lie about, Jay?"

"That no one cared. That I'd been forgotten. Replaced. Abandoned."

Dick's breath caught. He wanted to scream a denial, but he sensed that wasn't what Jason needed now. Jason had said Talia lied. He knew it wasn't true, but that didn't tell Dick what Jason needed.

(Dick was going to destroy Talia. He didn't care what she was to Bruce, or how powerful she was. He was going to find the bitch and make her regret ever being born for how she had hurt his Little Wing.)

"She lied, Dick. She aimed me at Robin, specifically. But she lied about all of it. And I was so angry."

"So angry because I needed yous. I needed my family. And I had no one."

Dick filed the comment about Robin away for later. If Talia had sent Jason after Robin there was a reason for it, but now wasn't the time. "You have me. Whatever you want from me, Jaybird. Whatever you need."

"Can you come over early today? So we can talk?"

[paperhats-and-evil-schemes]

Lovestarved (Rewrite)

Flug couldn’t believe it. Defying all of his expectations, Black Hat actually prevented him from hurting his friends. Not only that, but kept his secret from being exposed. He had been so certain that the eldritch wanted [...], but now, with every manipulative and cruel assumption Flug had made being tossed out the window, he had no idea what to think anymore. When he next spoke, his voice was but a meek stutter. “Th-Thank you, sir...” “’Thank you’?” Black Hat repeated, a ghostly twitch of annoyance betraying his smile for just a moment. “What have I told you, Flug? Your… gratitude…” That last word was uttered with notable disgust, “… is gravely misplaced. I only—“ He was stunned into silence when Flug unexpectedly clutched his hand. “You stopped me from hurting them.” The scientist spoke more firmly in spite of how his own hands trembled. Flug dared not make eye contact, instead staring directly at the floor. “Thank you.” He had almost expected to get lashed out at or shouted at for grabbing Black Hat so suddenly, and when he realized his mistake, he immediately let go… but Black Hat did neither of those things. He just stared, expression completely blank to the point of almost being comical, at where Flug had touched him. That doesn’t happen. People don’t touch him. He touches people. On his terms. After the initial confusion wore off, his cold and calculative eyes pierced right through Flug. “… Well.” He finally spoke, flat-toned, “You can thank me by getting rid of those pests outside.”

Okay look I know the White Hat fic’s been a long time coming and I’m definitely still working on it, but oh my god the complete and utter abomination that was the original Lovestarved fic was driving me completely insane, I HAD to give it a revamp for my own peace of mind lmfao, my GOD, IT WAS SO BAD YOU GUYS IDC WHAT YOU SAY I'M SORRY SZTEFA BUT YOU'RE W R O N G LMAO

So anyway, have the not-perfect-but-still-very-much-improved fanfic of a Monster!Flug x BH slowburn in which these idiots keep idioting around each other 24/7 until things happen lol (Btw one of my mutuals recently got instabanned for merely mentioning a certain phrase, so since I’m not sure how tumblr is deciding to auto-flag posts and I don’t wanna go through the headache of having to get my account reactivated again, this post is only the first half of the fic (the safe portion lol) and then there’ll be a link to the AO3 version at the bottom of this post for when things start to get on the risqué side.)

And of course, this fic series is based on this wonderful fic right here!

Previous works in chronological order: Hired, Don’t Try to Run, Lovestarved, Trial & Trust, Deeper Than Skin, A Small Solace, In Sickness and in Health, Benefit of the Doubt, Just Another Word I Never Learned to Pronounce, Merry (Late) Christmas, Compromise

Flug had never intended for this to happen.

Never in a million years had he planned on revealing this part of him to anybody , let alone Black Hat himself. Sadly, it’s not easy to sweep the unfortunate incident of devouring a test subject right in front of him under the rug. Then again, given his boss’s nature of being able to slip into any room unnoticed, perhaps Flug should’ve prepared for such an inevitable possibility. 

Oh well. Too little, too late, as some might say. At least Black Hat hadn’t reacted as negatively as Flug thought he might. On the contrary, in fact, Black Hat seemed to find Flug’s otherworldly nature quite amusing. Yet another reaction that his scientist perhaps should’ve expected to some extent. 

What he never could’ve expected was the change in attitude, however.

Yes, ever since that day, Black Hat had been treating him differently. It was subtle enough that any bystander likely wouldn’t notice a difference in their relationship. But Flug definitely took notice, especially in how his superior spoke to him.

He was still his usual brash, hostile self, but every once in a while, sprinkled in between whatever myriad of scathing remarks and scoldings Flug would face on any given day (and even those had lessened significantly), Black Hat would sometimes praise him. The first time Flug heard the words “Good work” out of his boss’s mouth, he thought he’d been hallucinating, as that explanation seemed far more likely.

Furthermore, Black Hat continued to surprise Flug by not broadcasting his secret to the rest of the household. He’d been certain that his boss would’ve gotten a kick out of airing his dirty laundry for everyone to see, if only for the sole reason that Flug gravely didn’t want that. Yet, Black Hat held back. Didn’t speak a word about it to 5.0.5. or Demencia. Not that Flug would risk getting too comfortable in that regard, of course. Whatever Black Hat’s motivations may have been, it definitely wasn’t coming out of a place of respect for Flug’s privacy. Knowing his boss, he was probably just waiting for either of their housemates to walk in on him devouring someone so he could indulge in whatever chaos might unfold. Or perhaps there was some other reason that Flug hadn’t considered. He certainly knew better than to try and guess what Black Hat was thinking, regardless.

Not all of the changes in Black Hat’s behavior were so positive, though. For one thing, his unnerving fascination with Flug’s souleater half has led to some rather uncomfortable arrangements. On the one hand, Black Hat providing him with prey saves Flug the trouble of having to sneak around anymore to feed himself, but on the other, his boss had a peculiarly keen interest in watching him eat. That was already bad enough, having to put what Flug had tried so hard to keep hidden all his life on full display like that, but it was made even worse by how handsy Black Hat would sometimes get afterwards.

He had a particular fascination with Flug’s teeth. Whether or not that was out of some twisted sense of humor or out of a genuine curiosity of Flug’s species, the doctor couldn’t tell. All he knew is that it was uncomfortable. Every time those hands crinkled up the edges of that paper bag to expose his bloodied mouth, anxiety spiked within him at the mere thought of his mask being pulled off completely. Luckily for Flug, Black Hat never went that far, for the time being. 

“Why do you always do that…?” He had asked once, during one upon too many fang inspections to count.

There was a click of the tongue, Black Hat tilting Flug’s chin whichever way he wanted, as he gave his unconventional answer. “The soul residue intrigues me. Besides, it's the only part of your face I’ve seen thus far. I like to admire it at its bloodiest.” Then he’d flash one of his many shit-eating grins. “Given how long you’ve hidden this from me, I certainly have the right to catch up on what I’ve been missing.”

What could he possibly have been “missing”? He knew Black Hat to enjoy displays of violence the most when they had some heart in them. Flug’s only ever been timid and reluctant in the way that he feeds, unable to understand what entertainment value Black Hat could possibly be getting out of such mediocre murders.

On one particular day, however, the situation differed.

Their domain had fallen under siege by a particularly persistent team of heroes… It would’ve been an all-out attack if Dr. Flug hadn’t activated an emergency forcefield just in time. But for now, all they could do was wait these heroes out until they came up with a proper plan of retaliation. Their anti-hero merchandise was the best there was, of course, but with the sheer amount of opponents waiting outside, the villains were put in a particularly tricky situation. 

Black Hat could easily dispose of the problem, Flug knew for a fact. These heroes were mere ants to somebody with his unimaginable power. But, in typical Black Hat fashion, he chose to instead put this job on Flug and Demencia. 

While Flug could understand to some extent that such matters were too trivial and boring for his boss to face head-on, he had hoped the demon would’ve made an exception in this case. This situation had cut Flug, Demencia, and 5.0.5. off from the outside world until they could find a way around those heroes, which wouldn’t be a problem if not for the fact that it left Flug without sustenance to keep his monstrous half in check.

Unfortunately for him, Black Hat found more interest in watching how his employees would tackle the problem instead. Because, for him, the slightly-more-interesting route would always be preferred over the easy way out. It’s not like the health of his underlings has ever held priority over his own amusement, so Flug had no right to be surprised. He’d just have to persevere, and he wouldn’t dare complain about his hunger to Black Hat himself. Knowing him, he’d expect Flug to earn his food under these circumstances. The way Black Hat was constantly hanging around the laboratory as he worked further cemented that idea into his mind. 

Instead, he threw himself into his work as if that were an adequate distraction. He did everything he could to keep his mind busy, to keep himself distracted from anything that may lead to one of his episodes, but it was so damn hard when these hunger swings can be so unpredictable. One minute, he would be completely fine, but the next…

“Whatcha workin’ on, doc?”

Hunger making him more irritable than usual, the mere sound of Demencia’s voice had been enough to grate on his nerves these past weeks of siege. It was bad enough that his cravings were already slowing him down far too much, he didn’t need Dem’s constant pestering on top of his current inability to focus. 

Shaking those concerns out of his head, he was none too kind when he answered her. “Oh, I don’t know, Demencia, maybe a solution to our little problem out there?”

Unfazed by the mockery dripping from his voice, her desire for mischief was left perfectly intact. “Oooo, is it cool? Will it blow ‘em up? Liquidize their insides? Lemme see it!” 

She jumped for the flask, and Flug had barely enough reaction time within him to dodge her. “ Stop that! Do you want to get a cloud of knockout gas to the face!?” Flug barked, scrambling to keep his work from falling out of his hands. Once stabilized, he shot her a nasty glare. “Don’t you have anything better to do than bother me?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She deadpanned in response. Dramatically flopping into a nearby chair, Demencia kept up her annoying lamenting. “We’ve been stuck with those dumb heroes outside for like a week, I’m boooored.”

“Well good for you, but since I’m the only one around here that seems willing to fix this damn mess, I need to focus.” Flug snapped at her, voice raising alongside his frustration, “What I don’t need is some brain-dead halfwit breathing stupid questions down my neck the whole time!”

Demencia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at how intensely he came off. Sure, she could get on his nerves with relative ease, but he usually took it with more grace than that, even at times when he’d sic Hatbots on her. Even Black Hat glanced up from his newspaper upon hearing such unusual hostility growing in Flug, though he reserved comment. 

“Ouch,” Demencia remarked, although not especially offended. “Well, sorry Mr. Grumpypants, didn’t realize you were in such a mood today.” She chided him. “You skip your coffee this morning or what?”

Narrowed eyes shot one last dirty look at her before Flug tried to shift his focus back to his concoction at the lab table. Key word being tried , because before he knew it, he was doubling over from pain when his cravings hit him full-force. He was barely able to catch himself against the table, almost knocking over the work he’d previously scolded Demencia for endangering. 

Serving up a confused stare, Demencia frowned at him. “Uhh, Flug?”

The ruckus also woke 5.0.5. who’d been sleeping nearby, a worried grunt coming from him as he wandered over to see what was going on.

What Flug had feared all along was now fast approaching. This sort of thing was exactly what Black Hat wanted, wasn’t it? For him to expose himself to the others in as violent a manner as possible? And if so, then where the fuck was he? Flug could’ve sworn he was in the room a second ago, and hell, maybe he was too disoriented to know for sure, but he couldn’t see the demon anywhere. 

All he could lock his starving gaze onto was Demencia and 5.0.5., the clueless pair coming foolishly closer to check on him. They’d make easy targets. They were practically offering themselves up on a silver platter. How could Flug possibly refuse the instincts that were screaming at him to eat?

“Okay, Flug, this is weird, even for you.” 

For the briefest of moments, he saw his mother, so stupidly drawing nearer in his state of delirium. She should have known better. She made herself too easy of an antidote to his suffering. The exact same mistake that Demencia was making now.

He wished he could tell her to get away. He wanted desperately to warn her of what danger she was in. But he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t stop himself from inching his starving body nearer, itching to dig his teeth into something –

“Demencia, step aside.” Black Hat’s familiar voice ordered from the doorway, yielding immediate compliance from her. With adept swiftness, he strode over to the unhinged doctor and proceeded to drag him away from his coworkers before any damage could be done, exiting the laboratory with Flug in tow, and leaving Demencia and 5.0.5. to their own confusion.

Black Hat dragged him through hallways and corridors, paying no mind to his scientist’s resistance. Flug’s thrashing wasn’t particularly troublesome for Black Hat, although he felt mild surprise to experience a jolt of pain inflicted by Flug’s fangs when they tried to find nourishment in the tendrils that restrained him. Judging from the retching and gagging that followed, Black Hat’s soulless form wasn’t exactly fine dining to him. 

They entered a darkened storage room, the only light source coming from a flickering bulb above that fought to stay lit. Within, there laid a hero, injured and bound in place by whatever impromptu restraints Black Hat could find in the moment. 

“Eat.” Black Hat ordered as he shoved Flug towards the helpless fool.

As if Flug needed any convincing. 

The second he was released from Black Hat’s grip, he lunged for the hero, tearing into him with such ruthless ferocity, ripping flesh out in bloody chunks that were strewn across the room with great fervor. The crackling and snapping of bones that’d dared get in the way of Flug’s relentless fangs was like music to Black Hat’s ears. The only way this could’ve been better was if the hero had remained alive long enough to scream.

Out of breath by the time Flug was through with him, it took almost a full minute for him to regain his composure. 

“My my, what a savage display.” Black Hat purred in amusement, drawing nearer to admire the carnage. “You’ve been holding out on me, doctor.”

“W-Wha… Wait, th-this is a hero f-from outs-side, isn’t it…?” Flug queried as he came back to his senses, casting a hesitant glance his boss’s way.

“They make for easy pickings. You looked like you needed something rather immediate.” Black Hat replied, wiping bloodied claws off on his clothes. With a disapproving quirk of the brow, he added, “You could have said something sooner , by the way. It’s not like I knew where your breaking point was.”

Flug couldn’t believe it. Defying all of his expectations, Black Hat actually prevented him from hurting his friends. Not only that, but kept his secret from being exposed. He had been so certain that the eldritch wanted the drama and chaos that would’ve come with him attacking 5.0.5. or Demencia, but now, with every manipulative and cruel assumption Flug had made being tossed out the window, he had no idea what to think anymore. When he next spoke, his voice was but a meek stutter. “Th-Thank you, sir...”

“’ Thank you ’?” Black Hat repeated, a ghostly twitch of annoyance betraying his smile for just a moment. “We have been over this, doctor. Your… gratitude …” That last word was uttered with notable disgust, “… is gravely misplaced. I only—“

He was stunned into silence when Flug unexpectedly clutched his hand. “You stopped me from hurting them.” The scientist spoke more firmly in spite of how his own hands trembled against Black’s. Flug dared not make eye contact, instead staring directly at the floor. “ Thank you. ”

He had almost expected to get lashed out at or shouted at for grabbing Black Hat so suddenly, and when he realized his mistake, he immediately let go… but Black Hat did neither of those things. He just stared, expression completely blank to the point of almost being comical, at where Flug had touched him. That doesn’t happen. People don’t touch him. He touches people. On his terms.

After the initial confusion wore off, his cold and calculative eyes pierced right through Flug. “… Well.” He finally spoke, his voice flat and rigid, “You can thank me by getting rid of those pests outside.” 

With that, the demon took his leave. Flug watched him go, blinking slowly as he tried to process what just happened…

… No. He can think about this later. For now, he had an order to carry out.

After cleaning himself up and changing out of his bloodsoaked clothes, Flug returned to the lab with newfound energy and determination. He threw himself at his experiment with ultimate focus, not allowing Demencia or even Black Hat’s presence distract him, despite how intently the latter was watching him.

Flug completed the substance within the hour, and it did not disappoint. Everything went according to plan. Firing the gas bomb at their intruders did the trick, knocking them out just long enough for Demencia to dispose of them without a single issue. 

When all was said and done, Black Hat approached the doctor from behind as he disarmed the forcefield, causing him to jump in surprise when the demon patted his shoulder. “Well done, doctor.” He said simply before walking off.

All Flug could do was stare as he left, completely befuddled. 

He had always craved Black Hat’s praise, but now that he’d been getting it, it felt beyond impossible to get used to.

The strange behavior, the way he kept lingering about the lab for no discernable reason other than to watch him, how he’d been keeping Flug’s diet in check, it was all just so… bizarre. Flug racked his brain day in and day out trying to solve this mystery, but nothing ever felt like it made sense. It couldn’t be coming from a place of respect, as he knew Black Hat was incapable of respecting him. He doubted it was coming from a place of any sort of concern, as nothing about their routine had actually changed. If anything, Flug was more healthy than usual these days due to Black Hat’s assistance in keeping him properly fed.

Perhaps it was something more akin to keeping a pet. Of course, that must be it. Black Hat likely had him lumped in the same category as Lil Jack these days, just a pet to feed and maintain.

While that dehumanizing assumption made the most sense so far, Flug still couldn’t be sure…

One day, curiosity finally got the better of him. He knew he should know better than to question Black Hat, but he just couldn’t help himself this time.

It was on another day that, as was becoming usual, Black Hat had joined him in the laboratory, overseeing his work from a distance. Flug couldn’t actually be sure how much Black Hat was actually paying attention to the invention he was building, but he worked as diligently as he could under his boss’s silent supervision all the same.

A handray of sorts laid in pieces on the table while the doctor fiddled a screwdriver inside the mechanism. Black Hat had taken to leaning against the wall by the door, not a word spoken by him this whole time.

Flug nervously glanced back at him for a moment, quickly averting his eyes back to the device when he was caught staring. Finally, he forced himself to say it. “… Y-You’ve been… a-acting strangely since you first saw me feed, sir…”

“Strangely?” Black Hat’s cold voice repeated, examining his claws without a care in the world. “What are you implying?”

That ice, that frosty and bitter manner in which his boss spoke, had always rattled Flug’s nerves. It was almost enough to discourage him entirely from completing his train of thought, but he knew that would likely annoy Black Hat even more. He put his screwdriver down, turning to face the demon. “W-w-well, it’s, u-um… er…”

“Out with it, doctor.” Black Hat snapped impatiently. He cast the other man a challenging stare, as though daring him to say something he’ll regret.

At this, Flug hesitated. A lump had started forming in his throat, preventing him from speaking. Black Hat’s glare was definitely making the doctor have second thoughts about saying anything at all. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to speak through his discomfort. “Y-You’ve been treating me differently.”

Black Hat’s visible eye slowly narrowed, but he decided to amuse his doctor. “Oh really? How so?” He said in a sort of sarcastic, dry tone, taking a step forward.

No backing down now. Straightening his back, Flug tried very hard not to flinch away at his boss’s advances. “Well…” He began, fiddling with his hands, “You’ve been, um… H-How do I put this… nicer …?”

That was a big mistake the moment he said it, Flug’s eyes going wide once he realized his mistake far too late. Rage flashed across Black Hat’s face, the demon’s familiar growl ringing through Flug’s ears as he came closer. Flinching back and shielding his face with an arm, Flug almost fell over the table behind him as he tried to back away. “W-W-Wait, I didn’t  m-mean it like tha–!” He cut himself off with a fearful yelp as Black Hat yanked him forward by the neck of his shirt, his threatening form towering over the doctor.

“How did you mean it , then?” Black Hat snarled, voice dripping with a biting venom.

“Y-You’ve been acting like you think I have more worth now!” Flug squeaked, hiding his face behind his arms with eyes squeezed shut, a clear exasperation lingering among the fear in his words. “Like because I’m half monster, that changes things!”

Expecting to get pummeled in the next few seconds, it was to Flug’s great surprise that Black Hat let him go. Risking a timid peek at his boss, his jaw almost dropped. Why was he laughing all of a sudden?

“Of course it changes things!” Blackhat grinned, as though it were ridiculous for Flug to suggest otherwise. For some reason, that prickled at Flug’s nerves. “Now that I’ve seen what you are– ”

“What I am doesn’t change anything! I’m still the same Flug I’ve always been!” 

In a moment of surprise, Black Hat’s grin faltered. He’d never heard Flug take such a tone with him before, nor had he seen that particular look of frustration, dressed with hints of defiance, within Flug’s eyes.

“Have you been basing my value on species this whole time?” The scientist went on, irritation building, “What, I’m suddenly worth more to you just because I’m less human? Is that why you haven’t been kicking me around as much? Are you seriously that shallow?” With a scoff, Flug looked away, brows furrowed in anger. “If my being a human really disgusted you that much, I don’t get why you haven’t just replaced me with someone more your style.”

There was a tense moment of silence between them, although the tension was likely only on Flug’s side. Eventually, Black Hat spoke again.

“I believe that’s the first time you’ve dared to raise your voice at me, doctor.”

… Wait… 

Shit.

“I’m sorry…!” He squeaked in fear, cringing away from Black Hat in anticipation of being struck. Realization of how badly he screwed up hit him like a semi truck, and he scrambled over his words trying to do damage control in whatever way he could. “I-I don’t know w-what c-came over me! I-I’m v- very sorry, sir…!”

No violence came his way, however. Instead, Black Hat eyed him with what Flug could only describe as intrigue. His head tilted a smidge to the side, not unlike that of a curious animal. When he next spoke, it was with a kind of guileless tone completely foreign to Flug’s ears. “I have always valued you, Flug.” 

A disbelieving snort escaped Flug before he had the chance to stop it, slapping a hand over his mouth the second such a disrespectful noise had come out. How or why Black Hat hadn’t lashed out at him yet, Flug had no idea.

“You think I would have hired some annoying, sniveling little human if you weren’t of significant value to me? I know you’re smarter than that, doctor.” He drew closer, much to Flug’s discomfort. “In spite of what a pitiful sight you made, it was your intelligence that’d far made up for that. Your intelligence, your dedication, your perseverance, I have seen it all. From the day I met you, I knew your talents were exceptional.”

Baffled by such claims, Flug could do nothing more than stare in disbelief as his boss spoke.

“You impressed me that day, Dr. Flug. I can count on one hand the number of humans that’ve accomplished such a feat.” He went on, circling Flug to admire the work he had laid out on the table. “Humans are one of the most irritating and pathetic species I’ve ever come across in all my years. To have ended up relying on one for the sake of my business has been no less than a major frustration to me. Without you, who the hell do you think would be making all of our products?”

“I-I-” Flug started to speak, but was quickly silenced by the raise of Black Hat’s hand. Clearly, he had more to say.

“In a way, you’re not wrong. It does please me knowing that you’re not entirely human. You are something better. But, you’ve always been better than other humans in my eyes.” When he next turned to face Flug, it was with a narrow-eyed stare on his face. “So, don’t you dare suggest that I haven’t valued you until now. If that were true, I’d have left you dead in that alley all those years ago.”

At that moment, Flug had been rendered speechless. This was the first time Black Hat’s ever verbalized any sort of appreciation for Flug’s work, especially in such a direct manner. He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing, tempted to reach out and poke the eldritch to make sure it was actually him and not some sort of caffeine hallucination.

Instead, he averted his eyes. As comforting as that was to hear, it didn’t change the main problem.

“You don’t treat your valuables very well, then.” Flug’s hesitant voice spoke up.

With a boisterous laugh, Blackhat twirled his cane idly. “So what? That’s of no consequence to me.”

“You seem to forget that I’m breakable, sir. It is a consequence if I decide to leave.” If he really is as valuable as Black Hat says... Looking away, he muttered under his breath, “It’s definitely something I’ve considered.”

That came as no surprise to Black Hat. He’s seen the collection of house and apartment ads the doctor’s compiled and occasionally glanced through when his boss’s temper was especially testy. But surely he’d never actually go through with leaving. Not after all the work he put in to get here. It would be absurd.

Not paying the comment much mind, Black Hat decided he was done with this conversation and headed for the door. “Get that ray done. We start filming in two hours.”

Such dismissive behavior was what Flug was used to letting roll off his back. But, this time, it felt like it didn’t matter at all compared to the other things his boss had said.

It was beyond reassuring to know that Black Hat found him important for what really mattered. There had been many a day where Flug had wondered if all of his efforts were actually counting for anything, in that regard.

Now, he won’t have to wonder. 

Something new to wonder about, however, was why this conversation had left him feeling so flustered …

Their uncharacteristically genuine conversation didn’t mean everything was sunshine and daisies, of course. After all, This is the house of evil. Can’t expect much else. What Flug was used to was being yelled at. Though there was one recent incident in particular that had been… strange.

As usual, Black Hat was eager to advertise anti-hero merchandise to their viewers. The demon rarely ever began recording early without first informing Flug, but today was, unfortunately, one of those days. He already had Cam-bot recording before Flug was even in the room. It’s not like he needed Flug there, anyways, so he just went ahead and started without him. The product seemed simple enough, some kind of fireball launcher of sorts.

Black Hat was well into the presentation by the time Flug had gotten there. The doctor had appeared somewhat rushed, and was carrying with him a toolbox.

His eyes widened with terror when he entered the room to see his boss already wielding the product.

“… and with just the click of a button, your local hero will be enveloped in a Hellish blaze!” Black Hat took aim at a target across the room.

“Sir, no!” Flug shouted, darting towards him, “There’s a chemical imbalance that still needs to be–!”

Too late.

There was a flash, then a blast of intense heat as the weapon backfired. Cam-bot went toppling over sideways, making a series of distressed beeping noises, and Black Hat let out a startled snarl as his arm was blown clean off. That wasn’t too much of a concern, however, as a stream of inky black energy quickly formed a new one.

He wheeled around, eyes blazing with rage as he faced the now-shivering Flug. “You IDIOT!!!” He roared, storming over to the scientist and roughly gripping his arm. “Is your job to have our products ready in time or IS IT NOT!?”

“I-I-I’m sorry….!” Flug yelped, cowering. “I-I thought I h-had more time…! I just needed to make one minor adjustmen–” He cut himself off with a pained outcry as Black Hat’s grip tightened, near threatening to break his arm.

“I don’t want to hear EXCUSES, YOU BLOODY– You…” Black Hat trailed off, a whisper of that recent conversation with the doctor echoing in his head.

You don’t treat your valuables very well.

You seem to forget that I’m breakable.

Staring over the terrified doctor now, the way he immediately expected the worst, something felt… off. Black Hat was the one that decided to start early and without Flug’s knowledge… but that still shouldn’t excuse not having it ready before the deadline, so–!

“Sir…?” Flug’s voice, tiny and horrified as it may have been, managed to shake Black Hat out of his thoughts. Fearful eyes gazed up at him with a hint of confusion on top of the pain. Very slowly, Black Hat loosened his grip, then let go altogether and took a step back.

Flug stepped back as well at the first chance he got, gripping his hurt arm close to himself. He gave a puzzled frown. “S-Sir…. are you…. alright….?”

… How could he be asking that? It seemed so… backwards.

… It doesn’t matter.

“Get this mess cleaned up…” Black Hat finally said, his voice unusually low, “… and fix that infernal Cam-bot…” 

Then, he was gone before Flug could even reply.

Watching the door close behind his boss, Flug winced as he rubbed his arm. Sighing, he picked up the dropped toolbox and turned to Cam-bot. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then…”

A flood of blood trickled down the now-lifeless body and onto the floor, Flug’s shaking arm wiping away what dribbled from his chin. With a chunk of neck completely missing from the corpse on the operation table in front of him, it was leaving quite the mess. The doctor tentatively reached up to pull his paper bag back down and cover his mouth, but Black Hat’s cane pulled his arm away before he could. Flug squirmed slightly beneath his boss’s touch as he lifted his chin , discomfort setting in him, but Black Hat paid that no mind.

A gloved thumb lightly grazing across the edge of Flug’s fangs, Black Hat’s expression was oddly monotone today. “… So, tell me.” He said suddenly. “If I’m so unbearable to live with, why do you stick around?”

“S-Sir….?” Flug responded, caught off guard by the question.

“You’re not being forced to stay here.” The eldritch went on. “You said yourself that you’ve considered leaving. Many other villains would be glad to take you. So why do you stay?”

Flug was quiet for a long moment, considering what he should say. Truly, there was only one right answer. “… B-Because the other villains aren’t you.”

At that, Black Hat paused, a twitch of surprise on his features for a second. Then, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Elaborate.”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Flug started to fiddle with the sleeves of his labcoat. “W-W-Well, um… I-I mean, you’re… successful, c-confident, accomplished…” Oh gosh, why did he have to be listing off things he admires about his boss while they were in this position? Hardly any distance between them, and Black Hat leaned in closer with every word! Swallowing again, he tried not to get too flustered as he continued, “I-It’s just… well, you’re Black Hat. You’re one of a k-kind, the best there is. I don’t– I-I refuse to settle for less than the best.” Sheepishly, he looked to the ground, voice quieting. “You’re everything I’m not.”

Silent for quite some time, Black Hat found he was only able to give Flug a dumbfounded stare. The demon’s never had a tendency for modesty, for Flug to be so upfront about both his admirations and insecurities felt strange as can be. It was a combination that Flug likely never would’ve spoken aloud if left unprompted. Then, a smile began to form on Black Hat’s face. “Well, aren’t you the little ego-booster.” He purred, chuckling. “Although…” Stepping back and rubbing his chin in thought, Black Hat tilted his head and looked Flug up and down. “For one thing, if it’s something like confidence you’re wanting improvements on, you really shouldn’t spend your time hiding underneath that paper bag.”

Flinching back, Flug subconsciously ran his fingers across the edge of the bag. “N-N-No. I-I need it.”

“… Tsk. Fine, then. But still, I am curious…” Taking a step forward again, Black Hat brushed at the paper bag with his fingers. Flug jolted back before he could get a proper grip, almost tumbling over the body table in the process. Black Hat simply reached out with his cane, hooked it around Flug’s neck, and yanked him forward. With the other hand, he reached for the bag again.

“No!” In a panic, the trembling scientist grabbed his arm with both hands in an attempt to stop him, eyes squeezed shut.

Surprisingly, Black Hat did stop.

Flug hesitantly opened one eye to evaluate the situation. Black Hat was staring at where Flug had gripped him, same dumbfounded expression on his face as from the last time Flug touched him.

Slowly letting go, hoping that he wouldn’t try to remove the bag again, Flug frowned. “… U-Um… sir… I-If you don’t mind my asking…. W-Why is it you look so… bewildered … when I do that…?”

“Hmph,” Black Hat pulled his arm back after being let go, absentmindedly rubbing the spot he had been grabbed. He tried to cover up the bewilderment with a sly smile. “Maybe because the only time people ever dare to touch me is when we’re fighting or having sex. Why else?”

…. Flug chose to ignore that second part. His frown deepened, a touch of his own bewilderment setting in. “… So you’ve… never been, like… just… casually or platonically touched…?” 

Black Hat took a moment to think about it, looking off to the side. He couldn’t recall any instances of such a thing, aside from maybe shaking hands with clients, if that were to count? But those were more like business obligations rather than anything casual or platonic. “Hmm… No, never.” He eventually concluded. His eyes narrowed just slightly when they pulled back towards Flug. “Well, unless we count you.”

Normally Flug might’ve winced away in response to the slow return of hostility in Black Hat, but he was just… too flabbergasted. The concept of going through life without that ever happening seemed so farfetched for some reason, but he supposed if you’re a guy like Black Hat, maybe it’s plausible…..?

After a long moment’s thought, he hesitantly reached out a hand, pausing near Black Hat’s right shoulder as he examined his boss’s face for permission.

Black Hat’s eyes further narrowed with skepticism at the gesture, but he made no protest. So, Flug continued. His skeptical gaze followed Flug’s hand all the way until it had made contact with his shoulder.

It was strange, how all the malice slowly drained from his boss’s face upon contact. The look in his eyes was no longer one of hostility, but rather, curiosity. Perhaps a touch of confusion, but mostly a genuine sort of curiosity that was, in a way, almost innocent-looking. It was a rather strange expression on him, Flug finding himself unable to look away until Black Hat’s questioning pupils darted to Flug’s own face, wondering why he had gone so still.

Quickly averting his eyes, Flug went back to what he was doing. Very slowly, he ran his hand down the demon’s arm, as if he were simply smoothing out the fabric of his sleeve. Gentle, yet so impactful. If he wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn he felt the slightest shiver from his boss as he had done so. Another sneaking glance to Black Hat’s face confirmed that he was just as confused as Flug was about the whole thing.

Slowly still, Flug raised his other hand to meet Black Hat’s chest, just letting it rest there for a while. Then, as if snapped out of a trance, Flug realized all at once how weird this must be getting and jolted backwards, the sudden movement even startling Black Hat a tiny bit. 

“I-I… um… s-sorry, sir…”  There Flug was, getting all flustered again. Why the hell did these strange interactions with his boss keep stirring up such confusing butterflies in the pit of his stomach?

Black Hat raised an eyebrow slightly, but other than that, his expression remained vaguely passive. He ran his own fingers along where Flug had touched him, quiet for some time. Then, his familiar smile crept back along his face as he looked back towards the doctor. “Seems only fair that I’d get to look beneath that bag of yours now, doesn’t it?”

Crap. Flug was hoping he’d forgotten about that. His gaze fell to the floor, accepting defeat with a very hesitant nod. “I-I-I s-sup-ppose so, s-sir…” He stammered, anxiety quickly on the rise.

A victorious purr rumbled in Black Hat’s throat, and he closed the space between himself and his scientist. Hands once again meeting the bottom of Flug’s paper bag, he took unusual care in how he lifted both the bag and goggles off of his face. As soon as those harsh white lights from the room’s fluorescent bulbs hit Flug’s eyes, a sharp yelp left his throat, and he threw his face in his hands to hide. 

“Seriously, Flug?” Black Hat deadpanned, unimpressed.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry. It’s t-too b-bright.” He stuttered, unable to stop trembling.

There was a moment of silence before Flug heard his boss’s voice again. “Open your eyes, doctor.”

Already feeling dizzy and anxious without the comfort of his bag, the thought of being made to endure such harsh lights on top of that was too overwhelming to handle. But the thought of angering Black Hat frightened him even more. So, he fought back every instinct that screamed at him to protect his eyes, stifled whatever stressful noises tried to escape him, and lowered his hands.

To Flug’s surprise, rather than the headache-inducing brightness he was expecting, he was greeted with a well-dimmed room, black smoke swirling above them to significantly dull the lights. No doubt compliments of Black Hat.

View of his scientist no longer obstructed, the wide-grinning demon took hold of Flug’s chin, lifting his head to get a better look. He could feel the halfling swallow nervously, but was too focused on taking in his appearance to notice or comment. Honestly, Flug looked like any normal human being if you looked past the eyes and teeth. 

But Black Hat didn’t. He was especially focused on those eyes, this being the first time he’s ever actually seen them goggle-free.

Flug’s eyes were without a doubt attention-grabbing. Where a human’s eyes would normally be white, Flug’s were an abyss of pitch-black, glowing white pupils being the only contrast to exist within. 

“Captivating…” Black Hat commented under his breath. While the comment was not specifically addressed for Flug, he certainly reacted to it, feeling an intense heat rise to his cheeks. His boss definitely took notice of that, smirk widening in response.

Embarrassed and feeling like he was going to pass out, Flug quickly grasped for his bag and pulled away from Black Hat, struggling to pull it over his head again through short and shaky breaths.

Evidently, having the bag and goggles was a comfort thing as well as an eye protection thing.

Satisfied, Black Hat gave a firm nod and turned for the door, smoke dissipating with a snap of his fingers. “Clean up your mess and get back to work.” He ordered as he left.

Flug had to take a moment to regain himself, doing everything he could to calm his nerves. With the combination of deep breaths and counting numbers in his head to refocus, the doctor slowly but surely found his composure again.

That was… quite the experience… Almost surreal ….

Placing a hand on the side of his head in confusion, Flug shook it off and went to take care of the body. The entire experience didn’t stop running through his head the whole while.

There were no words Flug had that could describe how their altered relationship had continued to shift and morph since then.

Flug first noticed it with the way Black Hat’s eyes studied him, bore through him right to the bone and stripped his soul bare. There lived no mordacity or annoyance behind his constant gazes, which was unnervingly strange in and of itself. Worse was that Flug couldn’t tell what Black Hat was looking at him with. Was it condescension? It didn’t feel like something that negative... Maybe… curiosity? Interest? But interest in what? No matter what explanation his mind tried to present, Flug knew there was something he had to be missing. Something he wasn’t seeing.

The mystery was only made harder to solve by the way Black Hat would touch him. In the past, the only form of physical contact they’d ever shared was aggressive in nature, as Black Hat had a nasty habit of manhandling anybody nearby in his moments of explosive rage. As such, it was hard not to flinch when the demon would put his hands on him. But, especially after that unusual encounter they’d had, his touches have become shockingly gentle. 

What were once brief pats on the back became lingering touches, claws tracing temperate lines along his meek frame, a hand resting on his shoulder just a bit too long… He’d also just stand far closer than usual whenever they were going over work projects together. Flug thought for a moment that perhaps all this time spent around Black Hat’s eldritch presence was finally driving him insane, but there was no way that he could be imagining these things. Out of all things for his mind to try and play tricks with, why something like this?

Furthermore, as someone who’s always enjoyed his alone time, Flug simply couldn’t wrap his head around why Black Hat kept joining him in the lab for the most benign of times. Even today, all he was doing was reading a newspaper with his morning acid, something he usually did in the comfort of his own office.

Occasional glances in his boss’s direction yielded the same results, those strange stares that made Flug feel so vulnerable being aimed back at him every now and then. He tried to focus on his work, to throw himself into his invention to distract from the outside world as usual, but his rattled nerves simply refused to let him do that today.

The next time he found his boss staring, Flug put down his tools, confronting the issue with a meek question.

“A-Are you ups-set with me?”

A glimmer of curiosity passed through Black Hat’s eyes. He put his newspaper down, that unnerving gaze completely honed in on his scientist. “What makes you think I’m upset with you?”

“W-Well, it’s… uh… I-I don’t kn-know, you’ve just b-been kind of…” Flinching slightly as Black Hat rose from his seat to approach him, Flug greatly struggled to finish that thought, looking all around the lab to avoid any sort of eye contact. “Y-y-you’ve b-been s-st- staring a l-lot lately, a-a-and, um–” He backed up as his boss got closer, just barely catching himself when he knocked into the table behind him, “A-and th-the t- touching … I-I just d-don’t u-und-derstand w-what–”

Flug’s stuttering was cut short when Black Hat took the side of his face into his hand, turning the scientist’s head to make their eyes meet.

“Tell me, doctor,” Black Hat purred, “Do I look upset to you?”

“N-n-no…?” Flug squeaked in response.

“There is your answer.” His head lolled to the side, studying Flug far too closely for comfort. His hand slinked down from Flug's face, the doctor withdrawing a sharp breath as deadly claws traced along his neck before finding its new resting place on his shoulder. “Does it bother you when I touch you?”

“W-Would it m-mat-tter if it d-did…?”

The way Black Hat narrowed his eyes at him, the hints of an annoyed frown starting to tug at his lips, quickly startled Flug into correcting his behavior. He straightened his back, answering the question directly this time. “N-no sir, it’s n-no bother.”

Just like that, Black Hat seemed to relax again. “Good.” He pulled his hand away, returning to the couch to pick up his newspaper. “You look like you’re having trouble focusing, so I suppose I’ll leave you to it for now.”

And, just like that, he was gone.

That… did not answer any of Flug’s questions.

Honestly, it was likely in Flug’s better judgment to stop questioning these changes in behavior to Black Hat’s face. Confusing as their new dynamic may have been, at least it was better than getting thrown around like a ragdoll on a near-daily basis. 

That wasn’t the way Black Hat saw it, however.

The way Black Hat saw it, all of this peculiar behavior had been a simple case of testing the waters. Unfortunately, his next move would be one Flug could’ve never prepared for.

Aaaand here’s where things get a little tumblr-unsafe, so to the AO3 void you go! (Please heed the warning tags over there)

[journish]

It's almost 5 in the morning, but I just finished the first chapter of a Petrigrof fanfiction I've been chewing on for a hot minute. I haven't written fanfic since I was in high school. These two just bring something out of me I guess. I still need to edit it, and I want to drop a few chapters at a time, but let me share a little teaser here if you want the vibe. Warning that things get very sappy and a little bit steamy.

“You should close your eyes.” Betty whispered coyly.

“I don’t want to. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and you’ll be gone again.” Simon responded.

“I don’t want to either. I don’t want to miss out on another second with you.” Betty cooed.

Simon scooted closer to Betty, and wrapped his arm around her waist. She fluttered at the familiar weight and warmth of the man against her. She, too, remembered how long it had been since she’d felt this kind of touch, and her body responded accordingly. She brought herself up to kiss her fiancé once more. This time, things escalated more quickly. Simon initiated the tongue-kissing, and they allowed themselves more fervor, enjoying the taste of their mouths intermingling. It was as if steam were coming from them with every catch of their breath. Betty’s legs rustled beneath the sheets as her body protested in arousal. Simon’s body was becoming needy as well, and a spreading wetness became apparent in the pajamas of both.

“Oh, Betty…” Simon sighed her name in between kisses as she panted, catching her breath.

“Simon…” she replied, lingering as the ‘n’ of his name became a long moan and her mouth crashed into his once again. Her hands traveled from his chest down to the waist of his pants where she discovered his arousal, causing him to gasp and jolt away. Simon’s eyes snapped shut, and he shook.

“Simon, are you okay?” Betty fretted over her lover’s response.

“I don’t know… I’m sorry.” Simon trembled “It’s just been so long, I don’t know if I can…” he trailed off, not even completely sure what he meant. His nerves had officially gotten the better of him and he felt foolish and impotent. The two of them had once enjoyed a vibrant and healthy sex life, but it was hard to reconcile that fact when he felt this much like a pent-up virgin. Obviously, his body was remembering exactly what it was meant to do, but his mind had not caught up. He was cowering in the face of finally coming to hold what he had dreamt about for as long as he could recall, and the pressure of wanting to create something perfect and memorable had become too much to bear. 

“It’s okay, it’s really okay, my love. We don’t have to decide what we want right now, just like you said.” She gave him a firm peck on the lips. Betty had not gone into the room with expectations of her own, and was ready to only go as far as her shaken lover was prepared for. She herself was antsy about all the firsts they would get to redo in this new life they’d been given. Betty loved the idea of getting to know him all over again, rewriting a love story she thought had been lost forever, but she was not one to rush into it. She wanted it to be perfect, too.  “We have all the time in the world. Whenever you’re ready again, just say the word and I’m yours.”

Simon heard her tender reassurance and his eyes became hot with tears, “Betty…” he whimpered. He pulled her close to him again, his cheek against her hair, and small sobs began to surface. He thought that he’d done all his crying when he first saw her again, but the immense relief and comfort that she was alive and in his arms once again was still deep enough to push the tears from his eyes. Betty too, began to cry in his wake. She pressed her cheek to his chest and grabbed onto the back of his pajama shirt with tight fists. They clung to each other with the desperation of frightened animals, and they intended never to let go."

so YEAH, it's going to eventually get smutty, but we're lingering in the fluff right now. Please let me know if you like this and want more, I have a LOT of ideas, so I really hope to keep this momentum going. Anyway I'm going to bed.

[the-bar-sinister]

Deicide (5677 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth

catch up here Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Wano Arc (One Piece) Spoilers, Possession, straw hat pirates polycule, Action/Adventure, Power of Friendship, Established Relationship, Kaidou Lives, basil hawkins lives, caesar clown joins the straw hats, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change

Summary: Realizing something is very, very wrong after the fight with Kaidou, Luffy seeks out Robin for comfort and advice. What he tells her is unsettling.

Luffy is hearing the voice of a god, and he wants it out of his head.

-

King had only been half conscious when Zoro had grabbed him by the throat, eyes blazing.

"The captain says you need to leave. Take Kaidou and your men and go, and never come back to this country."

It was a demand from the victor, an edict from the strong to the beaten. His memory was muddled, most of the way their battle ended told through the lingering pain in slowly mending wounds rather than firm memory.

He’d laughed, breath rasping from his bloodied lips as the swordsman’s fingers tightened around his throat. It was the law of the jungle– he’d said as much when the swordsman finally dropped him. They were beaten, and they would listen.

Wano’s future was in the hands of the victors. As he watched the man’s retreating back, he’d thanked him for the honorable fight and wished him luck on his path following the man he wished to be King of the Pirates.

He’d done as he was commanded. He gathered up the beaten remnants of their crew and the bodies of those Wano wouldn’t respect in their deaths. He’d carried the man who saved him all those years ago in his arms to the ship himself. His captain. His inspiration, the man who gave him purpose.

As the ship of corpses and broken beasts sailed into the rising sun, he kept his eye on Kaidou’s sleeping form.

It still felt like a terrible dream that they’d lost. Something unreal in the haze of pain-clouded memory– like his life before the labs and Government scientists. 

Dawn was blooming on the horizon behind them as they sailed away from Wano, but it was not their dawn. It was the dawn for those who had beaten them.

Kaidou lay there on the hastily prepared cot, his slumbering human form so much smaller than his half-dragon form he'd spent so much time in. Despite his nearly 14 feet of height, he looked fragile this way. Vulnerable.

King never left his side, watching him sleep with a protective ruffle of his feathers and a blaze of the flames over his back. As the Beast Pirates ensured the ship sailed on, as Ulti and Page One organized the last of their forces and took stock of the damages, he ensured his captain lived to see the dawn of their own.

His fingers lingered over the 20 year old scar on his body as he leaned down to touch him. They’d never return to Wano— no matter how much it’d been Kaidou’s homeland. It seemed the two of them now had yet another thing in common. 

-

Basil woke up to the comforting and familiar smell of incense. He hadn't been expecting to wake up to anything at all.

The cards had spoken before that fateful night. A looming percentage of death that hung over his head as the Beast Pirates drank and celebrated the victory that wouldn’t ever come. 99% chance of death– and a 1% chance of survival. It was a fool’s odds in a game he had no choice but to play.

The last thing he remembered was the shock of pain as his arm severed from his shoulder, and the pain of hitting the burning ground before darkness blissfully took him.

“A 1% chance…” he murmured as he took a deep breath of incense. “How absolutely amazing.” 

"Finally awake, huh?" A looming shadow filled in the doorway of the small, quiet room that Basil found himself in.

The voice was familiar. Captain Eustass Kid.

“Miraculously, it would seem I am indeed.” Basil tried to push himself up with an arm he realized simply was not there. Just the tingling presence of nothing in the place of flesh, nerves and bones.

Instead he laid there, looking towards the shape in the doorway with bleary eyes. “Fate was certainly in your favor, wasn’t it, Captain Kid.” 

"Not a big believer in fate, admittedly." The rival captain strode from the doorway closer to the bed where Basil was laying, and he sat down beside it with his legs crossed. "Numbers weren't in our favor, that's for sure."

“And yet.” Basil closed his eyes with a tired smile. “You pulled it off quite admirably. Snatching victory from the jaws of causality. I’d applaud you, but I’m afraid I’ve been rather disarmed!”

The sound he made wasn’t even close to a laugh. It was choked. 

Kid's glance flicked to the bandaged stump of an arm. He touched his own. "I know the feeling."

“Heh.” Basil shifted painfully with his other elbow, enough to sit up and look at him through the pale fringes of his hair. “I can imagine you do…my folly in thinking you were simply wearing makeshift armor.”

His expression sobered when he briefly met Kid’s eyes.

“I don’t know how, or why I am here.” 

"You're here because Killer brought you to me after you passed out," Eustass said. "Through the fire of the waning battle, the wound he carved tied with his own shirt."

“Oh…” Basil murmured quietly. The one percent chance of his life carrying on through another day turned out to be due to the very man who nearly ended it.

“I’ll have to thank him some time soon,” he smiled stiffly. “...the Beast Pirates would have left a defeated foe to drown in the pool of their own blood.”

Eustass nodded. "Killer's a man. Not a beast. How about you?"

“A man or a beast?” Basil chuckled raspily. “I’m a curse doll.”

Straw snaked its way over his bandaged stump, causing him to hiss softly as it began winding around itself 

“...I was never cut out to be a beast, admittedly.” He closed his eyes “Kaidou offered me but one choice after he killed my crew. An attempt to make a man into a beast– though I’d say he’s certainly failed.”

"You were coerced, then." Kid's tone was even. "A choice against your life's not really a choice."

Basil nodded slowly as the straw wound its way down into the approximation of an arm and fingers tipped in sharpened metal nails.

“It was join him as one of his agents, or die. Apoo led us into quite the trap, Eustass.” 

"I'm hoping to still find a way to make him pay for it. There's plenty he owes me." He grimaced, showing teeth, and Basil could tell he was angry. That anger, thankfully, seemed not to be directed at him. "How about you?"

“I’d like to tear him apart, if I’m to speak plainly.” Basil pushed himself up with his straw hand, the nails scraping softly against the sheets, “for treating our alliance so frivolously, and for rigging the game so there was nothing to it but to lose.” 

"We're of one mind on that, then." Kid nodded. "Interested in pursuing a mutual goal?"

Basil lifted his straw hand, holding it out towards Kid with a grim smile set under his dark and serious eyes.

“I’m willing…eager… to see where the strands of chaos lead us, Captain Kid…so long as you’ll accept giving me that second chance.” 

Kid held out his iron scrap arm in return. "You're down a crew, Hawkins. Will you sail under my flag?"

Basil’s ship was sunk to the bottom of the ocean, his crew buried in Wano soil. He grabbed Kid’s makeshift hand with the makeshift hand of his own, and the phantom sensation of fingers clenching shot through the bandaged stump below’s raw nerves.

“It’s as good a flag as I’ve seen. If it means we’ll strike out against Apoo…and if it means we’ll see the One Piece with our own eyes– I”ll sail under it gladly.”

He smiled thinly, a determined look in his often somber eyes “Captain.” 

Metal fingers squeezed straw.

"Welcome aboard."

-

Law had heard that Luffy passed out basically right after he had bested Kaidou– leaving the rest of them to clean up the mess and the chaos for three days by that point.

Onigashima was in the literal damned ocean, and salvage operations were underway to grab important scrolls and tools before they were forever lost. Kaidou was running off with his tail between his legs. The Red Scabbards were left alternatively purposeless and bound to their new lord–and Law had spent the last three days running from bedside patient to bedside patient.

The countless wounded on both sides demanded his and Chopper’s attention as doctors while Luffy snoozed away. 

Doctor privilege meant he was informed right away when Luffy did wake up– but he also knew that he'd be scarfing down food and surrounded by the Straw Hats for who knew how long.

With that massive crew of his, which somehow kept getting bigger every time he fucking blinked, he was sure he wouldn’t get a word in edge wise with him until they’d gotten their fill of doting on their charming captain.

So Law contented himself with waiting, spending a little time wandering the streets of Wano.

As he passed by a dango cart, a familiar croaking and faux-seductive voice rang in his ears.

"Well look who it is! And here I didn't think you were ever going to take a break." 

Caesar Clown turned to face him, coat billowing, little smoked glasses perched in his nose. Despite his words, Caesar, who was for some godforsaken reason still traveling with the Straw Hats had been seeing to patients right alongside Law for most of the past three days– albeit bitching loudly about it the entire time.

“Morning, Clownass.” Law raised his hand in greeting. “I take breaks, you know. Just not as often as some people I could mention.”

It was a lie. He hardly ever took breaks. 

"As often meaning 'ever'," Caesar sneered, snapping down a dumpling from the stick he was eating from. "What's the occasion?"

Law strolled over with his hands folded under his long and billowing sleeves as the ghost of a grin crossed his face. “Buy me some of those dango and maybe I’ll tell you, Caesar. Maybe.” 

"I didn't realize you were looking for a sugar daddy," Caesar drawled back with an over-broad grin. Before Law could protest, money had already changed hands, and he was brandishing a skewer of the treats at him.

Law turned a deep red as he snatched the dango from his hand with a sharp hiss. 

“Oh you think you’re a real comedian, dontcha, Clown?” He sniffed and bit one of the dango off the skewer with a huff “Luffy’s awake. I thought you’d know since apparently he’s your captain now.” 

"Apparently!" Caesar laughed. He pushed his glasses up. "So he's awake, huh? And here I thought he'd make it a full week in that little coma of his. I'm very impressed by his propensity for sloth you know."

“He’s a man who enjoys his sins, I’ve noticed.” Law snorted a fond laugh. “And after a fight like that? I thought he’d be down for a week too. But no. He turns into something…strange…passes out, and gets up three days later eating Wano out of house and home.” 

Caesar blotted his overly voluptuous mouth with a handkerchief and nodded, looking thoughtful, and possibly amused. "Well I imagine he'd eat Wano out of house and home no matter what– but that was certainly a strange phenomenon, wouldn't you say?"

“Like nothin’ I’ve ever seen before.” Law finished off his dango and tossed the stick up and down with a furrow of his brow “I’ve never seen a Paramythia fruit manifest quite like that before. Obviously awakening a power does a lot but that was…I dunno. Odd.”

Law glanced at Caesar Clown with a dubious stare. Somehow he still couldn’t believe that not only did Luffy take one look at this guy post kidnapping attempt and decide to drag him around…but he couldn’t believe Caesar Clown…one of MADS old researchers, and Doflamingo’s former business partner would content himself with traveling around with the lot of them.

It was fucking weird. 

Weirder still perhaps was Caesar's seemingly absolute commitment to acting like absolutely nothing hostile or even strained had even happened between them– either the Straw Hats or Law. If it came up, he laughed it off like it was a petty argument over drinks, and kept on with whatever conversational tangent took his fancy.

"Yes, exactly. Awakening a paramythia should only act on the space outside the body." Caesar chewed on one of his long, black-laquered nails. "The only time you see that type of personal transformation is with a zoan type."

“Stop that, you know where they’ve been.” Law snorted as he twisted his hand to the side…and a fresh dango stick appeared in the place of his empty skewer, which he handed to Caesar after tossing a handful of coins on the startled vendor’s cart.

“But yeah. Only Zoan awakenings completely change the body like that. Don’t get me wrong, Luffy’s been doing fucked up shit to his body this whole time– increasing his blood pressure, that one where he enhances his limbs and coats them with haki– but this was a full on transformation.” 

Caesar made a face, lips twisting as Law called out his dirty habit, and he buffed his nails on his coat, taking the dango in the other hand.

"Yes, it was more than just a physical trick. That blood pressure thing is probably going to kill him one day, you know, I've warned him," he shook off the distracted tangent and nibbled on his fresh dango before returning to the question at hand. "I wish I had a sample from last night. You didn't find any shed hair or anything? No, it'd all be at the bottom of the sea now, wouldn't it…"

“Trust me, I have too.” Law smirked before it dropped away. He paced with his hand on his chin. “any evidence of whatever the hell that was went away with Onigashima, Clown. And frankly, it might have dissipated when his body returned to normal. Turned back into his regular hair.” 

Caesar stood up from his seat at the cart and followed Law's pacing, his lips twisted in a displeased grimace. "Possibly, possibly. But we can't know for sure, can we."

“Not unless he does it again. Or he’s got some hair on his shirt.” He put his fingers to his chin “...but I’m gonna be honest with you, Clown.” 

"Fascinating new strategy from you, Trafalgar, color me intrigued."

Law briefly thought about chopping Caesar’s head off and carrying it around to listen to him flap his gums. The joys of the Op-Op fruit made non-fatal acts of vengeance a snap.

“Ha ha. But something seemed wrong with Luffy. You’ve known him a bit now, haven’t you? Didn’t he seem a little…”

Unhinged. Overzealous? Not his usual kind of intense. 

"A little completely out of his mind?" Caesar finished. "Yes, absolutely. And not the way our deeeear caaaaptain is usually out of his mind. There's something fishy going on."

Law snorted into his hand, before his expression sobered. “Absolutely out of his mind. That ain’t the man I’ve gotten to know. It wasn’t. If I didn’t know any better I’d say it was one of those situations where a zoan devil fruit overwrites who you are…but the Gum-Gum fruit’s paramythia. It’s well documented, ain’t it?” 

Caesar rubbed his chin. "Well enough documented. Of course that's even supposing it was the Gum-Gum fruit that the little freak shoved down his gullet, isn't it?"

“...” Law’s lips tightened. “..it turns him to rubber, don’t it? I mean that’s pretty obvious,right? What else could it be?” 

Caesar threw up his hands dramatically. "I don't know– do you know? There are plenty of things that could imitate rubber, and both of us know that every fruit out there has not been documented. For all we know he could have eaten a zoan fruit with the properties of some horrific undiscovered stretching dog."

“Disgusting thought, Caesar. I’m deducting fifteen points from your likability score for that.” Law drawled. “..you got a point though.” 

"You're damned right I do." He pointed the tip of the empty dango skewer at law. "If anyone knows how unpredictable and bizarre devil fruits can be, it's me!"

“The Gas Man?” Law drawled. 

He nodded in agreement. "The gas ma– No!! The greatest scientist in the world! Do you know how much research I've done on Devil Fruits!"

Caesar stamped his foot on the ground in protest.

“Tragically, I know it well.” Law smirked as his arms crossed over his chest again, “I blew up your lab. I saw just how much Devil Fruit research was goin’ on in there for ‘Dofy’.” 

"Exactly!" The skewer was pointed in his face for a moment again before Caesar cast it aside into the litter along the side of the street and rubbed his hands together. "I can figure this out. What I need are blood samples. You said he's awake?"

Law grabbed ‘the gas man’ by the shoulders. 

“I sure as hell ain’t gonna let YOU be the only one taking blood from him! If you’re getting any samples at all I’m gonna be there right beside you.” He pointed one finger at him. “to make sure you don't go about any funny business on the poor bastard.” 

Caesar grinned widely and put his palms on Law's chest. "Why Trafalgar! It's almost like you care! Marvelous! He'll be much easier to get blood from with someone holding his hand. Come along then."

Clown grabbed him by the wrist abruptly and moved to tug him along back down the street.

Law stumbled, his feet scuffing the ground as he stumbled into step. 

“Not like that you damn freak!” he sputtered. “You’re makin’ it sound worse than it is!” 

"I know, caring! Ick!" Caesar laughed uproariously. "I'm sure it's nothing that serious."

Law stared at the back of the deadly master of war crimes’ head as the two ran through the streets of Wano with an incredulous expression etched across his face.

Somehow all of a sudden he understood. He understood exactly how Caesar Clown had gotten himself adopted by the Straw Hats.

He was just as much of a chaotic freak as any of them had ever been. 

[neofeliis]

Tracing the Scars

Tiefling!Tav/Astarion

Note: a Rewrite of the scar reveal scene, in which I wish we were just able to touch him. Like everyone else I was listening to a lot of Sleep Token when I wrote this. Takes place after allowing him to feed, but before trying to seduce Tav.

----

"What are you doing?"

Her voice, sudden but soft, made the typically composed man jump. Astarion whirled on her, face bewildered and ready to defend himself. As those red eyes landed on the shorter tiefling, her gaze nothing but gently inquisitive, his expression shifted faster than he would have liked. But despite himself she was the least offensive person to have caught him feeling blindly at his back.

In as fast a recovery as he could muster, he slapped on that face of haughty annoyance and responded sharply, "Trying to decipher these blasted scars. I can make out partial lettering, but nothing else." He turned from her again, torn from being able to see that terrifyingly calm face and showing her his old wounds.  

Astarion had expected her to look disgusted, thrown off, or even to have some form of pity. But none of that was on her face, only curious concern. 

Seeing that on her was so very, very frightening. It was a taste of fear that he had not known, or perhaps remembered. Still, she seemed like she was waiting, allowing him to speak first.

"Centuries these have been here and I can't even use a BLASTED mirror!" he shouted, tossing the tunic he had balled in his other hand onto the ground. No, he would not be afraid.  He was angry .  Anger was familiar, anger was self-preserving, and Astarion had anger in excess. An endless well to pull upon when no other emotion made sense.

Tav did not flinch, only tilting her head slightly at him.  She wanted to know more, wanted him to open more to her, but she had to also weigh the possibility he might recoil from that.  A wounded beast, where every hand extended was a threat. He may have thought he hid that hurt well, but his mask was one she knew well.  "Where are they from?" She asked instead, her tone tentative. A hundred other questions lingered on her restrained tongue.

Astarion sneered, looking to the ground. "Cazador. Lovingly, painstakingly carved for a whole night. Quite the artist, didn't stop until it was just right. " He paused, his body tensing as a new memory assaulted him, "He would start over if I made too much noise."  The strength in his eyes guttered, something she had been catching more in recent days.  The man worked hard, very hard to keep those moments covered.  Whether she could see him better, or he was losing hold on his walls, she couldn’t be sure. But in the firelight, she could see how tight his muscles were coiled. Like preparing for a fight but with no idea when it would even begin.

Against his will, she thought, like everything else. 

"And for all of that, I don't even know what it says, or why–," his voice cracked, so soft she almost missed it, "why he did this to me. Other than for his own sick enjoyment." His hand returned to feeling the raised markings, barely able to reach half of them. "Ever since they healed, I've been tracing them trying to decipher what it says, to understand it, but I've never even seen it. I don't even know what language it is."

Tav furrowed her brow, tilting her head slightly. So much mutilation, and he wasn't even given the grace of knowing the tongue. "It's infernal," she finally said matter-of-factly.

"I don't need your–" Astarion started a rehearsed snap, but stopped short, whirling once more on her. This time he did not try at all to school his surprise. "You…you can read this?" Something alive glimmered in that voice, something crawling up from beneath the bitter anger.

She tilted her head, lifting a single brow, and then motioned to herself as her tail swished behind her. 

He looked abashed, knowing it was obvious, and bobbed his head, "Fair point," he conceded, "but why in the hells would it be in infernal?"

Her brows knit together, and he squirmed under her stare. The vampire wanted to flee from it, never look back, while also knowing he likely couldn't if he tried.  "I can't help you with that part, but would you like me to read it to you?"

Astarion balked, thrown off that she would even offer. "I–,” he had played in his head how the rest of this conversation would go, and this wasn’t it.  He had to think faster on his feet with her, and he hated it. But still, she was offering something to him he'd never imagined being given, and that was hard to pass up. “This isn't your problem," he replied, voice soft again. Why the hell hadn’t that come out with the ice he wanted?

Tav smiled.  Smiled, so gentle it cracked something in his chest.  It was the kind of smile you give someone who is hopelessly missing something obvious.  "I know, I'm helping you anyway, Astarion. Turn around," she mimed a small turn with her finger, "please."

The vampire hesitated, doubt flashing across his features. It was an act of trust, to turn his back on her at her request.  But no one had ever done this for him, and two centuries of not knowing was enough motivation. If nothing else, he could convince himself this was just another way he could use her to his gain.

Slowly, carefully, he revealed his marred flash again. 

Tav stepped closer to him, and she watched him tense, peering sidelong over his shoulder at her underneath silvery lashes. If she didn't know better, she'd almost think he stopped breathing, a single ruby eye trying to read her every intention.  It was the look of a predator admitting to a truce, but not betraying a single ounce of the danger to anyone who would violate it. He was on the defense, always, and she couldn't help wondering how exhausting that must be.

The tiefling lifted a clawed hand, but stopped and pulled it back just slightly.  She met his gaze again and held it, making him feel worlds more exposed than he already was.  Mortals were meant to look away, to buckle under that eye contact, but she did not. Still, there was little confidence in her stance now. The moment at hand was tenuous at best, and both felt they were teetering on the edge of shattering it. 

"Have you even been able to touch all of it?" she asked, finally breaking that silence. 

A beat of quiet consideration, a small guttering of his gaze, "No, the last person to touch it was Cazador."

She knit her brows, considering. Considering her present relationship with him; everything they had been through so far, how she felt about him. How she hoped, foolishly, he might have felt about her beneath all that bravado. Hells, he'd already fed on her…but somehow this felt leagues more intimate. 

"Can," the words almost died in her throat, fear trying to claw them back inside. "Can I touch you?"

Something unrecognizable flashed in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant. He quickly flashed that terrible, wonderful, dangerous grin at her. "How sweet of you to ask, darling." That word. He'd used it before, far more than once. It felt like a lie every time, the kind you tell to hide something carelessly broken. It was sickly sweet with an acrid aftertaste. Mostly because she found herself wishing it was sincere the more he said it. Like a fool. "Please do," he all but begged, turning away from her completely. To hide his face or to let her work, she couldn't be sure. 

But regardless, this was as close to permission as she would get.

The writing on his back was fragmented, like a part of a greater whole; something that barely made sense. Regardless, she moved to where she believed was the beginning of the inscription.

Her first touch, featherlight, sent a shock through him that took every ounce of his control to stifle. To give no indication of.  He could try with everything he had, but there was no hiding the tense in his jaw and the way his fangs ground together. He honestly thought she might hear it.

At first, the memory of his old master crashed into him like thunder, an explicit recollection of that pain, the screams he swallowed down that night, the gleefully authoritative tone in Cazador's voice as he carved into his flesh. Mutilating it, claiming it, defiling it.  The man, the monster that had done this to him was still out there, and regardless of how far Astarion ran, Cazador was waiting to take him back, to correct his mistakes. 

His mind whirled, submitting to the maelstrom that awakened with the contact on his wounds, spiralling down into the open maw of the past. It was a hungry beast, an etherious thing that needed to only be patient for the inevitable. It was going to swallow him whole sooner or later; he was a fool to think otherwise or that he had gained any shred of freedom.  Freedom was a lie. Freedom was as foolishly dangerous as hope. He needed only wait for it to be snatched away.

"Breathe."

The images shattered instantly; that simple word banished the darkness from his vision. A sunrise, more spectacular than any he had reclaimed since the infection, warmed over his thoughts. The fears and the horrors of the night found themselves held at bay with one word. 

Oblivious to the magnitude of her sway on him, she began to read his markings out loud, moving slowly to find the words in Common.  With every word, every syllable, her fingers traced across their respective marks, taking care not to touch him with her claws. 

It felt like a banishment.

She was rewriting it. 

The tiefling didn't know it, she might never know it, but every new mark she touched eclipsed the last soul to have touched it. The glide of her fingertips, hot to the touch, and the slow, reverent recitations of his markings awoke something.  Something deep, entombed , hidden in his chest stirred and brushed against old, rusty bars. He should have balked from it, checked the locks that held it in place.  Instead, he found himself deferring to it and his head lolled back, white curls cascading backwards.

Tav finished long before he wanted her to; he would have given her forever to stop. Astarion reveled in his delirium, stoking the feral hunger in his belly. 

He wanted more. 

More of the woman, more of her touch. Her scent. Her presence. Every inch of her, he wanted it.  The hunger made his throat sting, a hunger that should have been familiar, but this one had a different taste.  A long-forgotten flavor that had been tainted. How would it have tasted now?  Now that it would have only been for him?  Now that it was of his own volition, no one else’s?

For so long touch had been soured for him, something he wielded like a weapon for someone else's benefit. He had no value but what he could lure back with everything his body could offer.

But truthfully, Astarion could not recall the last time he had been touched in a way he enjoyed. In ernest rather than lust. In a way that reached beneath the mask to touch the raw, starving creature hidden there.

Perhaps he took too long to snap out of it, because her next word was not one engraved upon his skin. 

"Astarion?"

The beast rumbled within. His name, on her lips, was ecstacy reborn. 

But she couldn't know. And he couldn't trust himself, either to make himself vulnerable or to hurt her…it wasn’t clear.  The only thing that was, was that one of those options was more revolting to him than the other.

With every ounce of his willpower, Astarion swallowed the burning lump in his throat and schooled his face back into control.  Slowly, trying not to tremble, he picked back up his discarded tunic and shook the dust off of it.  He looked over his shoulder again and produced a small grin that he wanted to be a lot more theatrical than it was. "Thank you. I don't know the slightest bit of what that may mean, but it seems we will have no shortage of time to figure that out."

She smiled at him, easy and effortless.  A quiet agreement without an ounce of hesitation. The breath left his lungs, and he saw her how he had not seen her before.  For a brief moment, she looked like something more than a means to an end. Which could just as easily spell his own end, and if he knew what was good for him, he would perish the thought. He would keep her at bay, just enough to get what he needed, he keep himself and only himself safe.

But oh, when did Astarion ever know what was good for him?

I am a winged insect, and you are my funeral pyre. 

[andreai04]

We always look forward; never look back. But this thing ... it's different. It challenges us. It spits in the face of physics, anthropology, religion. It rewrites history. It dares us to question everything we know about ourselves ... about everything.

I want her and everyone involved—that means you too—to understand that the more chips we put on the table, the more difficult it becomes for us to fold.

—If you had an employee you knew was leaving in six months, just how much responsibility would you be willing to give her?

—I don't see your point.

—You work for someone who may lose his job after four years, who has to quit after eight. I am merely pointing out there are many things of interest to this nation that require a more long-term commitment.

—I'll be sure to mention that to the president.

Am I ready to accept all that may come out of this if it works? It might give us a cure for everything. It might also have the power to kill millions. Do I want that on my conscience? I wish I knew where this journey will take us, but I don't. All I know is that this is bigger than me, my self-doubt, or any crisis of conscience. I now truly realize how profoundly insignificant I am compared to all this. Why does that make me feel so much better?

Most people don't really have a purpose, a sense of purpose anyway, beyond their immediate surroundings. They're important to their family but it doesn't go much beyond that. Everyone is replaceable at work, friendships come and go.

Bluffing doesn't mean what it used to. No one wants an all-out war, and everyone knows it. Both sides know the other doesn't want a fight, so we push each other against the wall, a tiny bit further every time. It's all about saving face but, basically, we're playing chicken, and both sides think that they can do whatever they want because the other guy will never use its nuclear arsenal. It probably won't be today, but someday ... someday one of us is gonna be terribly wrong.

No one really wants to fight, but no one wants to be the one to back off either. It's a hundred times worse with military men, and a hundred times more so with politicians.

—What about you? You're fine with that? The end justifies the means, is that it?

—You make it sound as if I were irrational. Yes. I do think this particular end justifies considerable means. I draw the line somewhere, like everyone else. I just draw it based on reason and not emotions.

—So you'd let a few hundred people die? Would you stop for a thousand? How many lives are you willing to sacrifice for this? A million?

—Certainly not. But a thousand seems like a reasonable figure.

…we must draw the line somewhere if we’re to remain human.

You train your soldiers to kill using video games. They blow enough people up on their computer and it becomes easier for them to kill with a real weapon. Why do you think your government funds so many war and terrorism movies? Hollywood does your dirty work for you. Had 9/11 happened twenty years earlier, the country would have been in chaos, but people have seen enough bad things on their television screen to prepare them for just about anything.

War brings out the worst, and sometimes the best, in people.

How can we be accountable for our actions if we do not know what is expected of us?

[monpalace]

So

Im very very very VERY FUCKING SLOWLY rewriting ‘into the woods’ and it’s nothing Juciy yet but, as an offering to my favourite fanfic devil <3

You and the Chain, tired and worn from the long day of travel, cobbled together a campsite in a clearing off the beaten path of the thick forest. It was a wonder that you had found a space of even ground and semi-tame shrubbery, but thanks to the champion’s keen eye you now found yourselves readying for a night's rest, but not before a hearty meal! It was Warriors turn to cook tonight -Wind’s groans of displeasuring caused you to giggle, the pirate was never too keen on the Captain’s broths- yet as he started to set up the cooking pot he was seen scratching his head as he glanced around the clearing, eyes darting from the bags to the forest floor.

Curious, you walked over to the captain, making sure to avoid the lumps of heroes who spread themselves across the forest floor.

“Is everything alright?” You asked, your own eyes following his but finding nothing of interest.

“Ahh, yes,” He huffs with a chuckle, his confusion shifting to a soft smile as he heard your approach. “Just seems that we lack some firewood, both in our own supply and nature’s– but its nothing to worry about. Dinner shall be a tad late, in need of a wood run!”

The captain projected his voice on the last sentence, notifying the scattered members of the new development. A chorus of grunts, hums and other noises of acknowledgement ring out from the camp but the sudden rumble of a very familiar voice catches you off guard.

“No need, Captain.” Time -who was not there a moment ago- hummed, an axe rested on his armored shoulder. “You finish your preparation, leave the fuel to me.”

Time’s presence was…much closer than you are accustomed to, his axe-less shoulder almost brushing with yours, but you’re quick to dismiss it, casting your gaze down to the half built fire as you tried not to steal glances at the hero. A scoff causes your eyes to flicker up, Warriors now standing with his arms crossed with a ladle pointing at the armored man.

“Old man, while I appreciate the aid, I doubt your old bones would handle such weight on top of them.” Warriors smirked. “You’d need an extra set of hands–”

“I can help!”

The words left you before you could stop them but before you could correct yourself a snicker comes from the Captain. His lips part, probably to make a teasing remark about your eager response but when a hand comes to your shoulder and gently pulls you close to a warm -and uncomfortably hard- side the comment dies on his tongue.

“And I believe I found them.” Time remarked, an unseen smirk on his lips. You could hear the way his voice rumbles in his broad chest being so close.

AHH?? fanfic (solar) system i am going to eat you.

i want that old man.

the way he just so happens to be right kn the reader's shoulder is insane to me because he had to have had that planned out? he knew he was tempting them like a harlot 😔

i am very excited for the rewrite and i expect to be tagged the moment its dropped