#the spark cards are so good too i just wish they made Rei smile more. stop trying to make him stoic his smiling cards are the best‼️

[hesperidia]

giggling kicking my feet because my guys got pretty cards good afternoon <- this is like the third variation i make of this same post sorry i'm fond of pixels it will happen again

[reyhansolmaz]

The way Wyatt carried himself was exactly how Reyhan aimed to carry herself. She could still hear her mother's voice telling her to walk into a room with the confidence of an old, white man, and while Wyatt was not old, from the little she had been able to see throughout their casual meetings and interesting conversations, he was a confident white man. It sparked something inside her... some form of desire, of craving, that burned inside her chest when he said he wasn't about to correct whoever said he was trying to make her feel special. That same burning flame streamed straight between her thighs as the blonde made a B line towards the man Reyhan had just mentioned to him.

So... this was happening, huh? She was really going to be introduced to one Walter Harrison. Well, suck on that Colin!

With her drink in hand, Reyhan followed Wyatt. Of course he knew Walter. Was there anyone the blonde didn't know? Somehow she doubted that, but, in hindsight, it would be hard to be involved with politics like he was and not know a lot of people.

Reyhan observed carefully as the duo joked around. Wally sported a friendly smile upon seeing Wyatt, his body language seemed relaxed, so she didn't think any of them were bothering him. When given the room, Rey smiled while looking from Wyatt to Walter and offering the latter a hand. "Not everyone knows how to appreciate a good narrative, I suppose." She chuckled in response to Wyatt's words, joining in on the casualty of things as she shook Walter's hand. "Reyhan Solmaz, it's a pleasure." Yes, she knew that her companion had done the honors, but it didn't hurt to repeat her name. It showed interest.

And just like that, the meek Reyhan was replaced by the professionally confident one. Most days, Rey wished she wore this confidence at all times. She mentioned one of Walter's books... one that had done poorly in sales and praised it, despite not being her favorite. Actually, if she were to be honest, Mr. Harrison was mediocre to say the least, but people liked him. He had a touch of John Green meets Nicholas Sparks, which meant he could speak to both a younger audience and more mature women, but all in all, his writing lacked originality that Outlander had, or even, Phillipa Gregory's books. Alas, she wasn't there to judge. She was there to leave an impression and to get her agency on his radar.

After the opening Wyatt had given her, Reyhan was able to set up a pace of conversation easy to follow. Sometimes lingering on the professional side, others including Wyatt and spilling some bullshit about him, like meeting him last week or something. You know, minor things that wouldn't offer him a reason to be angry at Reyhan. "...But, if you're looking for a new publishing agency, we would love to come up with an offer for you, Mr. Harrison." Rey casually handed Wyatt her glass so she could fish her business card from inside her clutch and then offered it to Walter, quickly retrieving the untouched glass from the other's grasp. She then raised her glass to a random person, who wasn't even looking at her, before taking Wyatt's arm. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I would love to meet up and discuss your work, too." She said her goodbyes and waited for Wyatt to do the same.

Once they were at a safe distance, Reyhan exhaled a breath she'd been holding in and then looked up at the man standing next to her, letting go of his arm. "Thank you." She couldn't remember the last time she felt this excited about something. Electrified, even. "Seriously, thank you. I don't know how I'm going to repay you, but... just know, I owe you one." / @wyattxabhrams

It was a strategy that he kept him alive his whole life. It was what kept him from receiving pitiful looks from everyone when he walked into a room in this event. Because no one here knew of the Wyatt Abhrams of Covington. The poor little boy whose father lost the election and then fell off the wagon. The flighty son who returned to town only to discover that his father was nowhere to be found. The moment his father laid a hand on him was the day that Wyatt knew that his darkest secrets were never to be spilled to anyone. His family knew. Ryan knew. And that was it. Like hope, the secrets of Wyatt Abhrams would always remain caged away in the confines of the very box she analogized him with.

These thoughts no longer caused the stress lines on his forehead to deepen or for his otherwise polite smile to falter. Even when his mind wandered, his expression remained calm. Years of self-indoctrination that his past did not impact him and he had somehow managed to divide his body from his mind. The former obeyed him, even when the latter wandered away from his tight grasp. “Well, I’m in no rush to correct that someone.”

He nodded at the question, because Wyatt never made offers he did not intend to follow through on. He liked Reyhan, but at the same time, he could tell that she felt out of place in this setting. While he was not a typically altruistic man, he was feeling generous that night. His eyes followed hers, landing on Walter Harrison. Even before she introduced him, Wyatt knew exactly who he was. She knew him as a bestselling author of historical fiction. He knew him as the son of Reginald Harrison, the CEO of a company that he’d often promised infrastructure projects to in the Rust Belt.

As the bartender returned with their drinks, he offered her the glass. “Sure, I’ll make the intro.” Motioning for her to follow, he found his way beside Walter with the same confident and charming smile that he wore around everyone in this venue. “Wallie Harrison, it’s been a while. Last I saw you was when—New Years Eve, 2019? The Hamptons.” At his father’s place of course. “How’ve you been? Haven’t seen you on New York Times bestsellers in a while. Waiting for inspiration or have you run out of history to butcher?” The typical masculine joshing that would be expected among a crowd of powerful ( and therefore egotistical ) men aside, Wyatt motioned towards the woman in his company. “By the way, my friend, Reyhan Solmaz, huge fan. I don’t get it, but she won’t hear a word of criticism.” And he gave her the in to introduce herself, falling back as he set her up with the opportunity to speak about her work. | @reyhansolmaz

[dadzawa-adopt-dabi]

Secret baby chapter 4

(I broke my laptop so I'm posting this from mobile and cant hide anything under a cut for a short post, sorry.)

“How did it go?” Fuyumi is waiting for him when she gets home, nearly pouncing on him before the door is fully shut. Touya hesitates and he almost tells her the truth. That he’s taking his baby and running as far as he can, that he's going to build a new life, a safe life. But the more people he tells, the more likely Enji will find out. No. It's safer, for everyone, because if Enji suspects that Fuyumi knows anything he'll hurt her, if he just goes. He’s been planning on running away for a long time, it's time he actually did it. For his safety and his baby’s.

“We decided it was best to abort.” He squares his shoulders and looks her in the eye. The same lie passing his lips for the second time. He wishes it was easier this time.That the thought of abortion didn't make his stomach roll and his eyes water. He already loves this child more than anything. The lie is bitter, but the risk of his child coming to harm because he didn't lie is enough to send panic sparking like fire in his heart. 

“Do you want me to come with?” Fuyumi asks and she, well she sounds half relieved and not at all surprised. Touya knows why. Abortion would be the ‘smart’ thing to do right now. 

He doesn't have an alpha to help him.

Or an understanding mother.

Or a father.

He’s a young omega alone ,with a history of bad parenting and anger issues in his family, about to become a pregnant runaway.

Nothing about this is smart, He doesn't care. He’s going to try his damndest to make this work.

“I don’t want to do it alone and I can’t ask the father.” He nods, because while it would be easier to tell her no, he doesn't want her coming, it would also be too far out of character. She'd suspect something was up.

“I thought you both made the decision is he really going to leave you to do this alone?” Fuyumi sits on the edge of his bed, frowning. She's confused… but there's a hint of anger there too, if his alpha had abandoned him to abort their baby alone. Touya isn’t allowed to make nests so he’d made do with burrowing under his comforter. From what he’s heard a nest is something omega’s make for comfort and stress relief. Most omega’s make one when their instincts tell them they are safe enough. Touya’s never seen Rei have one either. He is going to have to learn for his baby. Maybe there's a library, with those self help books?

“We did. Enji got brought up and he defended him. I don’t want anything to do with him anymore. It was… it was my choice." His voice breaks there, and he doesn't bother trying to hide it.Fuyumi says nothing when he starts crying while cradling his stomach, but her hand rests on his shoulder, and he takes the comfort she offers gratefully. 

She ends up accompanying him to a clinic the next day. He’s told that he’s 4 months along and already has the start of a bump.

He’s got maybe a month before he can’t hide it anymore. He doesn't want to think about what Rei or Enji will say if they notice.

“Has anyone gone over your options with you?” His nurse asks him as she shows him into a private room.

“Kind of and I k-know, that this is dumb,increadibly dumb, but I want to keep them.” He barely gets the words out to the nurse but he does. They sound too quiet. Barely audible. 

“It’s not dumb-” she starts talking in a voice as soft as Touya was using.

“I can’t stay at home and have them, and the father, he thinks I’m getting an abortion.” Touya can’t bring himself to look at the nurse. Staring hard at the floor and trying not to remember the look on Hawks face. 

What if Hawks was here with him instead? He would probably let him hold his hand. Pump out sothing alpha hormones to calm Touya’s fear, like he did after a nightmare. If he wanted to be here at all. If Touya had admitted what he wanted, if Hawks hadn’t told Enji in excitement and gotten him killed or worse at home.

He can’t face Hawks’s anger if he goes back and comes clean. It does no good to wish for something else; he can’t risk his baby now.

“You’ve got a couple weeks until you start showing. We can help you. Does the young lady that came with you know that you're keeping your baby?” The Nurse started looking through some papers on the wall and putting them into a folder. She phrases it like Touya can have anything he wants. Says he’s keeping the baby just because he said he wanted to.

They talk some more about Touya’s options. Adoption is brought up and Touya hesitates but it's not what he truly wants. He turns adoption down and lets himself start believing he can keep his baby. The clinic manages to fit him in for an ultrasound same day and gives him the news that he’s having a baby girl.

Touya cries at the sight of her. He already loves her.

He’s still crying when he meets Fuyumi back out in the waiting room.

“Are you going to be okay,Touya?” she rubs his back.

 Later she helps him dye his hair black.

“I need a change, to keep my mind off her” is what Touya tells her. It’s the first step in his plan to get as far away as he can.

“Her? You got to find out the gender first?” Fuyumi gives Touya a concerned look.

They are alone again. Natsou getting a librarian's help today in filling out applications for highschools far enough away that he has to board.

Rei hasn’t been in the same room as him except for tense ‘family’ dinners since she had found the tests. Touya had tried to pull her aside for a moment when he came back from the clinic and told her that it was taken care of. She hadn’t responded and Touya hadn’t mentioned it again. He hadn’t spoken to her again.

“Yeah, I was far enough along, 4 months so I would have started showing soon. I asked for an ultrasound so I knew first.” He gives his twin a tiny smile. He wishes he could take his sibling’s with him. Raise his baby with free babysitting and her aunts and uncles doting on her every possible minute. Instead he’s dying his hair black while Enji is gone on business. By the time Enji is supposed to be home he’s going to be gone.

Hair dyed and looking nothing like the Touya Todoroki his father last saw,with his new hair and several new piercings and some baby weight, He gets started on finding an apartment close to the clinic.

He could choose one further but he doesn't want to risk finding a different nurse. Or a clinic as willing to hide him as this one has been. His father's influence can spread far and then nowhere will be safe.

He finds a cheap one with a landlord that doesn't ask too many questions.It takes almost a week and he’s anxious about Enji coming home early the entire time.He lies on the application about everything, starting with his name. The landlord must not have ever checked it over because a week later he’s meeting the building manager in person and being given a set of keys.

He buys small things with enji’s credit card and has them sent to the apartment instead of the house. Rei avoids him and he can’t help but be thankful. She would be able to smell the pregnancy and unlike Fuyumi he wouldn't be able to just brush it off as leftover hormones still, almost a full month later.

“You're still getting sick, Touya” Natsou points out one night. He’s rubbing Touya’s back as he gasps in air over the toilet.

“It’s okay Natsou. I promise I'm okay.” He stands up and flushes the mess . rinsing his mouth out for what feels like the 50th time that day.

“You’d tell me if you were sick right? Like sicker than normal?”

“It’s an omega thing Nat, I’m not sick.” he wraps Natsou in a hug. His younger alpha brother quickly outgrowing him doesn't bother him for once.Fuck. his brother thinks he’s dying and he can't reassure him. Can’t risk his baby girl like that. He cries into Natsou’s shoulder and excuses it as his hormones are out of whack.

Everyone piles into his room that night and sleeps on Touya’s bed. It’s his last night at home and he’s so scared that his scent breaks through his blockers. It happens often enough that the Todoroki siblings take it as a sign that they need to be extra close with Touya. He lays awake most of the night trying to control his breathing and watching over his younger siblings for the last time. He truly doesn't want to leave them with enji but he doesn't have a choice if he doesn't want to lose the baby girl growing inside him to a beating or “training”.

The next morning he skips school for the last time and goes home to grab the bag he’s been adding to for years.

Rei is home of course but she stays in her room. She’s never come out to yell at Touya about skipping school.Touya doesn't bother to seek her out now to say goodbye.

He leaves his house key and factory reset cell phone on the table and walks out for the last time. 

He is never coming back. It’s the hardest thing he’s ever done when he leaves but he does.

He’s ready to leave,or as ready as He’s ever going to be. He can’t hide his baby bump much longer.

The morning he moves into his apartment Touya buys himself a bed and the baby a crib. He almost tries to shove up the apartment stairs himself despite being 5 months pregnant now.

“Wait! Where’s your alpha? Can’t you wait until he gets home to get these up the stairs?”

“Don’t have one.” Tou-Dabi mumbles. Dabi is the name on the apartment lease and what he’s been telling everyone to call him. Dabi with no family name and no family.

“Dabi right? What about friends? There's no way I'm letting a pregnant omega carry stuff up by themselves.” The movers looked shocked that he would have them leave the furniture for him to move himself.

“Unless you two want to carry it up for me i'm just going to have to suck it up and do it myself.” Dabi glares at them. Dabi goes to grab a corner of a box and move it up the stairs himself. 5 month baby belly be damend. Its not like anyone is around to help him, he has to do this himself or it won’t get done.

“Penguin, get over here and help me take this upstairs and put it together. Law will understand and I'll tell him when we get back.” The two movers make quick and easy work out of setting the beds up for Dabi. They not only brought it up for Dabi but had put the beds together for him too. Shachi declines payment for the help and tells Dabi to remember to ask for help.The apartment is finally ready to be home.

@ruelukas22

[edogawatranslations]

Danganronpa Kirigiri (3) - Chapter 3, Part 2

Table of Contents | Previous: Chapter 3, Part 1

“...E-Excuse me?”

“Miracles don’t occur without magic.”

“S-Stop joking around.”

“Come on, just a peck on the cheek is fine.”

“A-A peck on the cheek? That’s enough for you?”

Kyoko shot a look at me. “You’re willing to go along with that?”

“N-No way!”

“How disappointing,” Lico sighed. “Then I guess I’ll take my leave.”

“W-Wait!” I shouted as he began to stand up. “Fine, fine. Sit down.”

“Yui, are you sure about this?” Kyoko asked.

“What choice do I have? Besides, a kiss on the cheek is a normal greeting in some countries.”

“Then please, look more like you’re going to enjoy it,” Lico said, looking up at me.

“Can I say something first? A magic kiss, you know, is typically between a prince and a princess... What I’m about to do is just...”

“I know, I know. I wasn’t serious.” He raised up both of his hands in playful surrender. “I don’t need any magic. I was planning on being your ally from the very start.”

“You little...” I resisted the urge to punch the boy in the face. It wouldn’t be good to lose my cool.

“First, to respond to your question about whether or not I am aware of the contents of the Duel Noir, the answer is no. I know nothing about its contents, nor the solution. Think about it for a second. Would Ryuuzouji really divulge his secrets to me, someone he suspected of being Rei Mikagami?”

“You should’ve said so in the first place.”

“I might as well tell you, but I didn’t sneak into Ryuuzouji’s headquarters to pursue the world’s greatest mysteries. In fact, I’m investigating the Crime Victims’ Salvation Committee.”

“Why did you hide that from us?”

Frustration burned inside me.

“I was anticipating that you’d figure it out yourself. But that’s beside the point. Over the past year, I noticed a surge in the number of people approaching me. All of them were detectives sent by the Committee. I found out Mikado Shinsen has been trying to invite me to join his organization, and if I refused, I’d be met with death.”

Naturally, the Committee wished to obtain Rei Mikagami’s power; it made the most sense to scout high-ranking individuals when seeking additional strength.

“And so, I snuck into Ryuuzouji’s castle and have been tracking the Committee’s movements over these past few months. To tell you the truth, I fully intended on joining the Committee if they intrigued me enough.”

“Don’t you have any honor?”

“I don’t follow any guidelines as a detective,” he said with an impish smile.

Well, at least he admits it.

“But the Committee is devoted solely to creating mysteries. I love a good mystery myself, but designing exam questions isn’t exactly my cup of tea. That’s why my interest in the Committee faded. I would much prefer to be summoned to solve a Duel Noir challenge, but that’s hopeless with my rank...”

The greater the cost of a Duel Noir, the higher the rank of the summoned detective. An exorbitant cost would be necessary for a triple-zero class detective to be summoned, but from a psychological standpoint, I couldn’t imagine anyone having the mental toughness to willingly put themselves in such a situation.

“I’ll get to the point—I want to help you with the Duel Noir. I want to solve mysteries. Please, allow me to join you.”

“Geez, you could’ve saved us so much time if you told us all of this earlier!” I ruffled my hair in frustration. “I don’t know if this is just who you are or if something’s messed up with your brain...”

“Your way of thinking is quite simple.”

I punched him squarely in the face for his blunt remarks—in my imagination, at least. Somehow, I managed to muster the willpower necessary to restrain myself.

“But thanks, we’ll gladly accept your help. We’d be in a pickle otherwise,” I replied.

I offered my hand out for a handshake, but Lico just sat there smiling, not reciprocating.

“...What?” I asked.

“Are you satisfied with trusting me so easily?”

“You still got a problem?”

“Kyoko doesn’t appear to trust me the same way you do.”

Now it’s Kyoko, huh...

She was staring—glaring at Lico.

“Kyoko, what’s wrong?” I asked. “You don’t trust him?”

“Mikado Shinsen...” she muttered. “That man can disguise as anyone.”

Her comment took me aback. Mikado Shinsen—the Variationist, a master of illusion and disguise.

“I see, so you suspect me to be Mikado Shinsen?” Lico asked.

“That’s not possible,” I interjected swiftly. “Just look at him. He’s way smaller than Shinsen; he’s even smaller than you! The Shinsen we met at Norman’s Hotel was taller than me. No matter how talented a masquerader he is, he can’t physically shrink his body down to that size.”

“But he can make himself appear larger,” she remarked.

“Well, yeah... But Lico is smaller, so there’s no reason to suspect him.”

“But what if the boy before us is the actual Mikado Shinsen, and he disguised himself at the hotel? Shinsen was wearing some sort of disguise back then.”

“The possibility stands to reason,” Lico admitted.

“I-If that’s your logic, then even I could be Shinsen in disguise too.”

“No, I’m certain you’re Yui,” Kyoko responded.

“How can you be so sure?”

“...Y-Your body was soft,” Kyoko said, averting her gaze.

When she hugged me yesterday, she must have checked to see if I was the real deal...

“Lico, say something to counter her!”

"That’s quite difficult. Her claim can’t be disproven. No matter how much we discuss it, it’ll always come back to ‘Lico might be Shinsen, or he might not’ in the end.”

“Why do you always have to complicate things? All you need to say is that you’re not Mikado Shinsen!”

“I’m not Mikado Shinsen.”

But Kyoko’s piercing gaze showed no sign of relaxing.

“Can you really not trust him, Kyoko?”

“I’d say I trust him about 60%.”

“An oddly specific percentage,” Lico smirked, shrugging his shoulders. “How did you end up with that figure?”

“Your voice. You aren’t altering it. But Mikado Shinsen clearly had an adult male voice.”

“That’s right!” I exclaimed. “No matter how talented he is at disguises, he can’t replicate both a prepubescent voice and an adult voice.”

...But was something like that really impossible for Mikado Shinsen?

I forced myself to ignore the thought that crossed the back of my mind.

“So you’ve decided to trust me?” Lico asked.

“Like I said, I trust you 60%.”

“Both of you, shake hands and make up,” I urged. “At 60% strength is fine.”

Kyoko reluctantly stuck out her hand. Lico politely grabbed onto it and smiled.

“Alright, now we’re all friends. Lico, shake my hand too, since we didn’t earlier.”

I offered my hand out, and he went along. His hand was small like a girl’s. I couldn’t imagine Mikado Shinsen having such a tiny hand.

“Now we can finally get somewhere,” I said.

I started lining up the twelve challenge cards on the floor. The cards detailed cases that were either underway or imminent. And we had to solve all twelve of them.

I grabbed a retractable pointing stick from nearby and started leading the conversation like a commander, with Lico sitting politely on the floor and Kyoko on the edge of the bed.

“If we stick together as a group, there’s no way we can solve all the cases in time. We need to split up and conduct separate investigations. Any objections?”

The two of them shook their heads.

“Fortunately, twelve can evenly be divided by three, so we can each be responsible for four cases.”

As those words came out of my mouth, my head started spinning. Four cases? It took all my strength to solve just one case; how was I going to manage solving four at once by myself?

“First, let’s look up each of the locations where a Duel Noir will be held this time around, and divide them into sets of four based on geographic proximity.”

“Excuse me, Professor.”

“Yes, Lico?”

“If the murders have already occurred, we don’t need to go to each and every location individually. Since I can obtain any and all relevant police information, we might be more effective playing the role of armchair detectives.”

“But that means turning a blind eye and giving up on any crimes that haven’t been committed yet. We can’t knowingly do that!”

These challenge cards also warned of future crimes. Through intuition and reasoning, a detective could successfully prevent a murder from happening.

“But even so, I do think it’s impossible to solve them all,” Kyoko said, slowly shaking her head. “One wrong move and we may end up trapped in one place until the deadline passes, like back at Norman’s Hotel... Among these cases, there’s one set on a cruise liner; it might be stuck out at sea for the whole week once it sails off.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Taking that into account, I believe it would be better to group the cases according to cost rather than location. We can divide them up between us by counting off from lowest to highest cost, and then we can tackle them in any order we want.”

“Then I’ll reorder these by cost...”

“Come on, hurry up,” Lico threw out his hands in boredom. “Just leave them all to me and I’ll be finished by the time limit.”

“Even for you, something like that is—”

“100% doable.” A cheerful expression formed on his face.

Such a task may have been well within his capabilities.

...In fact, this Duel Noir challenge may have originally been intended as a duel between the triple-zero class detectives, plus the Kirigiri family. Rei Mikagami joining the side of the detectives had to have been foreseen by Ryuuzouji, who probably considered the elusive figure, instead of me, as his true opponent. Or perhaps, that role was filled by Kyoko. Her low rank was only because she hadn’t been active as a detective for a long time, but Ryuuzouji and the Committee must have realized her rank didn’t reflect her true abilities.

The more I thought about it, the clearer it was that I had no business being part of this battle.

Maybe I should leave everything to him...

“I wonder which case will be the most puzzling.” Like an eager puppy wagging his tail after having received a new toy, Lico scanned the challenge cards with a spark in his eyes. “It’s not a real mystery unless at least two or three people die... A higher cost must mean a higher chance of a serial murder case. I can’t wait to see how these weapons are used. Haha....” He was getting worked up.

...No, what am I thinking?

While he was unfettered in his actions as a detective, he also lacked ethics and a sense of justice. His interests lay solely in the thrill of solving mysteries, and I bet he couldn’t care less about the outcome of a case.

I couldn’t entrust everything to him. But I didn’t have the skill to solve a case. If I even had a fraction of his genius, I’d go save people all across the world.

“...I’ve kinda lost all confidence.” I retracted the pointing stick and flopped down onto the ground.

“We haven’t even started our investigation,” Kyoko said.

“I know, but...”

My incompetence frustrated me. But if I kept staring at the ground and sulking, I’d truly end up hopeless. For now, I needed to face forward and stand tall.

“Kyoko, no matter what people say, it’s my duty to go out and save people. This is a battle over my pride as a detective.”

“Yui...” She stared at me with concern.

From her perspective, it must have been painful to watch me reaffirm my stubborn convictions like a straight-F student in high spirits right before a test.

But regardless, I resolved to move forward and trust in the hope that lay ahead.

“I have an idea.” Kyoko ran her hand down her braids. “I agree that splitting up is the best way to solve these cases, but how about instead of us investigating individually, you and I work as a team of two? Being together would feel more... reassuring.”

She had some difficulty finishing that last sentence.

I’d only weigh you down... I stopped myself from voicing those words out loud.

Suddenly, it hit me. In a Duel Noir, the criminal couldn’t lay a finger on the detective. As the summoned detective, I couldn’t be harmed.

That’s right—there was a role only I could fill.

I’ll be your shield.

“Let’s go with that plan. You focus on solving the mystery. Leave gathering evidence, beating up criminals, and everything else to me.”

“So I’m all by myself?” Lico interjected.

“We’ll divide the cases equally between us, so six each. You get two more mysteries to solve than if we split it three ways. Sound good?”

“Works for me,” he replied with a wide grin. His way of thinking was perhaps more simple than I imagined.

“Then let’s move on.” I picked up the twelve cards. “So as for dividing these up...”

“They all sound so intriguing, I can’t choose.”

“Don’t describe them like that. Lives are at stake.”

“Sorry,” Lico said with a petulant look. “But choosing one by one will waste time, so how about distributing them at random?”

“Hmm... That’s not a bad idea.”

Staring at the cards wouldn’t tell us anything more about what the cases would be like, so there wasn’t much of a point to pick based on personal preference.

“I’ll shuffle them.” Lico tightly grasped the twelve cards in his hand, before tossing them all up into the air.

And then...

“Hyah!”

Between his fingers were six darts, which he had pulled out of his suit on the floor. In one smooth motion, he flung all of them around.

One of them whizzed by my face, causing me to flinch backwards.

Thud, thud... Soft noises echoed out as the darts struck different parts of the walls and ceiling. Each one had pierced a challenge card. His abilities were truly superhuman. Looking carefully, I realized one of the darts had punctured my coat.

“What have you done?!” I shrieked.

“I’ll take the cases that were hit.” Pretending to not have heard me, Lico fluttered around the room and retrieved the darts.

I gathered the challenge cards that had fallen to the ground. I sat down next to Kyoko, and together, we looked through the six cases we were responsible for.

 Card 1:

Location: The Goodbye Bar — 20 million yen Weapon: Knife — 5 million yen Weapon: Charybdotoxin — 30 million yen Weapon: Rope — 3 million yen Trick: Locked Room — 20 million yen Total Cost: 78 million yen

Card 2:

Location: Museum of Medieval Torture — 30 million yen Weapon: Iron Maiden — 30 million yen Trick: Locked Room — 80 million yen Total Cost: 140 million yen

Card 3:

Location: Takeda Haunted Mansion — 30 million yen Weapon: Dotanuki Katana — 30 million yen Trick: Locked Room — 100 million yen Miscellaneous: Rubber Bands — 1 million yen Total Cost: 161 million yen

Card 4:

Location: Kareobana Academy — 30 million yen Weapon: Candles — 20 million yen Trick: Locked Room — 150 million yen Total Cost: 200 million yen

Card 5:

Location: Libra Girls’ Academy — 200 million yen Weapon: Iron Pipe — 3 million yen Trick: Locked Room — 150 million yen Total Cost: 353 million yen

Card 6:

Location: Twin Abilities Research Center — 50 million yen Weapon: Knife — 5 million yen Trick: Ultimate Locked Room — 500 million yen Miscellaneous: Chains — 3 million yen Miscellaneous: Padlock — 3 million yen Total Cost: 561 million yen

“Hey Lico, we’ve got a case I think you’d really love. Wanna trade?”

Of course, I was referring to the case with the highest cost. I wanted to avoid it, as the difficulty of a case increased with the cost.

Lico shook his head. “Please don’t show me something so intriguing...” he replied, writhing in ecstasy. “We’ll run out of time if we start discussing which one to trade for. It’s best if we call this final. Otherwise, I won’t be able to suppress my desires anymore.”

Showing him a picture of Stonehenge or the Pyramids of Giza would likely push him over the edge. I wanted to test that hypothesis, but now wasn’t the time to be fooling around.

“Only the costliest case has the trick listed as ‘Ultimate Locked Room.’” As always, Kyoko assessed the situation with a calm mind. “I wonder what kind of locked room is worth over 500 million yen.”

“Wait, is something like that really appropriate for my rank?”

A double-zero class detective was summoned for a 1.3 billion yen case. Was a 500 million yen case really within the range for someone without a single zero like me?

500 million yen seemed like enough to do just about anything. With that sort of money, the options for murder were vast. That would be true even if it were the criminal’s own money, but Duel Noirs felt more frightening because the funding came from the Crime Victims’ Salvation Committee.

“Now that we’ve divided up the cases, I should get going.” Lico stood up with the cards in his hand.

“You’re leaving already?”

“Yes, I can’t wait to open the doors to these locked rooms.”

“Wait, do you even have a place to return to?”

“I’ll be heading back to Ryuuzouji’s castle today.”

“Huh? But aren’t you two pretty much enemies right now? Will he even let you back in?”

“Ryuuzouji isn’t such a narrow-minded person. He won’t do anything cowardly like kill me in my sleep. Besides, I still have a duty that I need to fulfill.”

“A duty?”

“Obtain and transmit police information to the two of you. That was my original assignment, after all. If you need me, don’t hesitate to call at any time. I’ll provide you with any information you want.”

“You’re just like a spy. But I wonder if Ryuuzouji will really grant you access to the information under these circumstances.”

“Nothing to worry about there. He’s a fair person.”

Lico was right—I didn’t have any reason to doubt Ryuuzouji. If he wanted us out of the picture, he already had plenty of opportunities to get rid of us. Besides, he challenged me to a fair battle. His simple honesty may have been one reason that drove him to become a savior.

“Let’s do our best,” he said with a smile.

“Right. We’re counting on you, Lico.”

We walked out to the entryway of the dorm and bid farewell to each other.

Next: Chapter 4, Part 1

[bettsfic]

I've just reread "Riptide". It's so good and heartbreaking ;-; are you still planning on writing that Kylux sequel or have you changed your mind? :) have a lovely evening!

i am going to be completely honest with you. i have started this fic over and over again. i don’t know what my hangup is. it’s all in my head. like. all of it. but i just can’t write it down.

here’s the most recent iteration:

The reality of the situation is this: Ben has just undergone a massive breakup with a girl named Rey. He cries all the time now. He lazes about watching action movies back to back even though the glare from the window obscures the screen. He writes lovelorn poetry sometimes on a goddamn typewriter whose keys clack loudly enough to rattle the house, and leaves the tattered shreds of it on the floor beside the trash can. A nest of potato chip bags, Oreos, empty beer cans, and tiny hot sauce bottles make a half-circle around his permanent perch on the couch. He smells. He’s annoying. He’s undisciplined. He’s crass and oblivious and pedantic and cruel and ignorant.

And Hux has been in love with him since they were fourteen years old.

Hux finds Ben’s hulking form curled onto a barstool in the kitchen, tiny iPhone in his massive paw, shoveling Honey Nut Cheerios into his mouth. He’s wearing a rumpled t-shirt and boxer shorts and his pores emanate whatever booze he consumed last night, likely enough to kill most of the population but just enough to put him to sleep.

Hux lumbers past, three-fourths still dozing, and says, “You’re not on the couch.”

This apparently does not warrant a reply. Hux fills the kettle with water, puts it on the stove, and flips the burner on. Ben did the dishes, it looks like--the counter is spotless except for the open box of cereal hiding Hux’s view of whatever Ben is doing on his phone.

It’s been a little over a month since Ben took up residence on Hux’s couch. And it’s not as if his presence is entirely unwelcome; Ben does have some redeeming qualities. He puts Hux’s dirty laundry in with his own and then folds it and puts it away. He pays for all the rented movies they watch with his mother’s emergency credit card (“She’s not going to notice three and four dollar charges,” he says, for the twelfth night in a row). He stays up late with Hux after the movie is over and they talk about it and whatever else until he has one too many beers and starts crying about Rey again, and Hux puts his grandmother’s afghan over him and goes to bed. Some nights after dinner, they sit on the porch and watch the fireflies bumble past while the sun sets, not saying anything at all. Ben cooks decently healthy meals compared to Hux’s norm of take-out, makes playlists for Hux on Spotify to introduce him to new music, and asks questions about, or happily listens to, Hux rant about his job. Ben is the only person alive that Hux knows--with every atom in his pitiful body--loves him.

Ben picks up the bowl and slurps the dredges of his milk. Hux leans against the counter waiting for the kettle to boil, arms over his chest, eying him.

“You look different,” Hux says.

Ben finally looks up at him over the cereal box. “How?”

“I don’t know. Something’s different about you.” Hux reaches over and plucks the cereal box out of the way. Ben slips his phone under the table, still doing something on it with one thumb, swiping one direction and occasionally the other.

“What are you doing?” Hux asks.

“Nothing,” Ben mutters.

“You’re never on your phone. You let it die between the couch cushions most days and I have to plug it in for you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Hux lunges forward and tries to grab the phone. A wrestling match ensues where Ben falls off the barstool onto the ground, Hux manages to straddle his stomach, all four hands are on the phone (which does not have a case because Ben is a fucking savage), and there’s maybe a bit of biting extremities involved. Eventually Ben rolls Hux to his back, and they’ve made their way to some dusty corner of the kitchen where Hux can feel cobwebs in his hair, but Ben’s hips are crushed between Hux’s legs (“Stop it, stop it, just give me my fucking--” “Let me see it, I just want to--”), and Hux realizes:

This is a very bad idea.

Ben seems to come to his own realization and freezes. For one glistening moment, a slat of light shines through the kitchen window into a simulacrum of glass, dusty specs dancing between them, and Ben’s hair is falling out of its ponytail around his face, and their eyes are locked, limbs tangled, wide-eyed and raw.

Then Ben’s face clouds over (or reddens?) and he lets go of the phone.

Victory. Hux presses the unlock button (no password, the idiot) and finds--

“Tinder?” Hux asks. “You’re on Tinder now?”

Ben, settled on his haunches, grabs the phone away from Hux again, who lets him have it. “I just. I need--something. I don’t know. I can’t handle this, okay. This--this emptiness.”

Ben. Ben Organa. Benjamin Lucas Organa. Ben, whose mother forces the most up-to-date iPhones into his hands for Christmas every year, who made a Facebook in 2013 at the insistence of his family and never uses it, who refuses to read eBooks because “paper books are important, Hux,” who only buys and listens to vinyl records except when fiddling with Hux’s Spotify account, who pluralizes “Twitters.” This is the man Hux sees before him, probably swiping right on girls who claim to be laid-back, adventurous, love to travel! Just looking for some fun!! Last pic is my dog!!!

Hux is about to say something when the kettle goes from a whistle to a scream. He climbs to standing, pajamas in twisted disarray, something crumbly falling down the back of his neck, and goes to the stove to take the kettle off the burner.

Once the kettle falls silent, Hux says, “You’re not going to find anyone on there.”

He takes a coffee cup down from the cupboard. Halfway to the counter, he notices Ben hasn’t replied. When he closes the cabinet door, he sees Ben scratching the back of his neck.

“You already have a date, don’t you,” Hux says.

Ben nods. The phone is on the table. It lights up but doesn’t make a sound. Ben picks it up and checks the message.

“What are you expecting, Ben? You’re going to bring her back here to Netflix and chill on my couch?”

Ben types a reply and then says, “No, we’re just grabbing a beer.”

“But--but what if she’s a psychopath? What if she’s luring you to her apartment where some dude twice your size is waiting with an axe to murder you and take your wallet? If you get kidnapped, I’m not paying your ransom. I’d have to take out another mortgage on the house. I’d--”

“And you think I’m obsolete? Jesus, Hux, welcome to the future, where people use the most convenient and readily available technology to find sexual gratification.”

Hux’s lips purse as he puts the filter in the pour-over lid and measures out a tablespoon of coffee.

“Just because you haven’t gotten laid in a thousand years doesn’t mean I have to restrict myself to the same fate,” Ben says.

“I’m not interested in one-night stands,” Hux says. He lifts the kettle and pours the steaming water over the grounds. “I’m looking for a connection, a spark. I’m looking for…” someone better for me than you, he thinks. And he’s not sure that’s possible.

The reality of the situation is this: Benjamin Lucas Organa is a heterosexual who has been in a long-term relationship for nearly as long as Hux has known him. In this time, Hux has dated mostly men but also the occasional woman or non-gender-conforming individual. He’s been on more double dates with Ben on Rey than he cares to count, and eventually in the last few years, dwindled into just hanging out with the two of them as what he perceived to be the third wheel at first, but was in actuality something like being in the presence of a relationship so codependent it was as if Ben and Rey were just two halves of one whole person. Hux never consciously took sides between them, but seeing as how Rey ran off to Europe for a while and Ben ended up on his couch, his loyalties now lie with Ben.

He’s been in love with Ben since the beginning--this beautiful ethereal boy with an uncanny sense of whimsy, an innocent obliviousness, endless love for the most mundane of things, it’s the way he sees the world, Hux thinks, years later, like everything is art--since the three of them were freshmen in homeroom together, and Hux has put up a long-suffering struggle against the feeling, the falling, the this is love, this is love, this is love. Only in the last few years has he given up that struggle, after relationship upon failed relationship where Hux expected his partners to live up to his adoration of his best friend yet fell miles short, and it just never seemed worth it to continue pursuing such a lost cause.

So he’s resigned himself, not to getting over Ben, but getting over the idea of romantic partnership. Curbing his want, like eating less overall so you don’t need to consume as much to feel full. He doesn’t need Ben’s heart, he thinks. He should be grateful enough to have him in his life at all, in any form that takes.

“Looking for what?” Ben asks. His thumb is poised over his phone, paused. Hux can see the glaring white smile of a blonde girl wearing a baseball cap and holding a pomeranian. Left? Right? Outside of Rey, Hux realizes he has no idea what Ben likes.

“I wish I knew.”

[xpwewarchive]

XPWEW Friday Night Pyro (8-24-2018)

Friday Night Pyro August 24th, 2018 Irvine, California @ The UCI Colosseum

Match Card: M1: Eddie Edwards def. Robbie Williams (No Limit First Round) M2: Golden Bryce def. Vinny Testaverde (Golden Bryce debut) M3: Slayer def. Awesome (Guest Ref: Marc Snow & Mick Foley) M4: The McGraws def. Mondo Milk ENT M5: Tanahashi def. Kota Ibushi M6: Jaques Dudley def. Chris Johnson & Champagne Clausen M7: Romeo Roselli def. GG (camerman) after time expires M8: The Truth Infantry (Edwards, Croyle & Blackman) w/ Will Olaffub def. TakaNaka, Pac, Rey Mysterio & Ruckus

Detailed Events:

No Limits Championship Tournament Quarter-Final Match M1: Eddie Edwards w/ Will Olaffub, Steve Blackman & Croyle def. Robbie Williams via submission

*Robbie Williams slow to get up gets medical treatment and has his arm in a sling and as he is getting carted to the back. Steve Blackman grabs Robbie and destroys him in quick fashion, soon Croyle and Edwards even get some cheap shots in and Edwards re-applies his finishing submission hold Crossface as paramedics pull him off

*Troy Clausen with Joel Gertner comes out during the mugging of Robbie and he screams at The Truth Infantry “What are you doing?, Olaffub orders Edwards to stop as The Truth Infantry slowly walk past Clausen with their arms up as if to say they aren’t guilty of attacking a defenseless hurt wrestler. Robbie doesn’t look good.

Troy: (up to Ollafub and Infantry on top of ramp) If you guys all wanna get physical tonight, Well then you got it! 6 man tag match, Truth Infantry versus Ruckus, Pac & Rey Mysterio later tonight.

Olaffub: (answering confidently as the infantry smiles deviantly) Not a problem, as a matter of fact Troy why a 6 man tag, How about 2 on say…..5

Troy: Alright, if you jagaloons got a death wish then fine. 5 is what you want, 5 is what you are gonna get, Ruckus, Pac & Mysterio. Now you got all of them plus, 2. The 2 being men who happen to be the greatest tag team in this industry, Taka Naka on top of that! Good luck

Blackman grabs mic from Olaffub: Troy, you are gonna look stupid at the end of the night. I guarantee it.

M2: Golden Bryce def. Vinny Testaverde

Bryce wins in dominant fashion

Human Resources Help!!!!! *Mick Foley comes out to the ring then brings out Jake Awesome and says he has to be motivated and that one loss and one occurence of him tapping out doesn't mean the world is over

*Jake Awesome responds almost confused as to why Mick has brought him here and gurantees yes indeed, he tapped out at heatwave but if given the chance to take on Slayer again. He wouldn't do it again. Jake thanks Mick for his help and Mick Foley responds claiming "I AM THE #1 JAKE AWESOME FAN!"

*Slayer with Marc Snow comes out at the end. Fine Speech Mick, Jake Awesome to these people will always be the hero. Jake Awesome will always be the champion. Regardless, of who is holding it. and here we are show #2 of the “spark is back” but where exactly is the title. He was the last champion, I made him tap even with a biased officiator. I deserve gold. Mick: Slayer, Mr. Clausen has informed me not to spill this news but I thank the fans RIGHT HERE in Irvine, California (cheap pop) need to know this information. The new XPWEW world heavyweight champion will be crowned at Anarchy Rulz. Next week, more details will be revealed Marc Snow: interrupts, Mick! more details revealed my son should have the belt! Where is it! Where is the belt! My son should have it. Mick: Marc I don’t think we’ve formally met, I do know about the urban legend. The urban legend that this crowd is chanting. Your independent persona of Nick Foley, in the 90’s where you sold counterfeit 8 x 10’s claiming you were me. I don’t hold any grudges against you I get it. You gotta put ice cream in the freezer. I know the stories. but Marc, one thing I won’t tolerate from you is the sass leaking from your quivering lip. Marc: Mick Mick: No, No for 20 years I tolerated you profiting from MY NAME, MY LEGACY, watching you maintain a living pretending to be me! A cheap version of mick foley, So how dare you call me biased. Maybe I’m taking this a little too far na maybe I’m letting my 20 years of aggression against you leak out in this trivial argument: No, don’t bow up at me it’s trivial. You still won the match. You still beat the mammoth. but how dare Marc Snow call me biased. A man who held a bias against his youngest son, a bias for your entire life (pointing at Slayer). I do’t know how you can just apologize with this snake. Marc I don’t even wanna see your face. You can call me bias, but you can’t call me an abusive father. You can’t call me a bias parent and you damn sure can’t teach me a damn thing about being without morals. I broke my body in half on every continent to provide for my family, not take all the loot and leave them for dead and then come back to my sons life twenty years later asking for a handout. I’ve lost respect for you Slayer, so yeah I had a bias against a guy that can make amends with this liar. Marc: Mick, I’m in a decent mood tonight and I’m trying so desperately not to punch you in your fat bearded face but what the hell *Jake Awesome slaps Marc Snow down to the ground and then attacks Slayer repetitively. (Slayer and Marc Snow powder out of the ring.) *Mick: Marc, I know you’ve spilt blood. but I know you haven’t spilled as much as me but tonight. I’m gonna put the Zebra stripes back on (pulls off Red flannel to unveil Zebra flannel)

Heatwave rematch tonight! Slayer vs Jake Awesome

Mick: And Marc Snow, to assure you and your baby boy aren’t a victim of bad officiating. You can wear the stripes too. Jake Awesome will NOT lose again.

Slayer: I don’t wanna wait let’s do this right now

*Guest Referees: Mick Foley & Marc Snow M3: Slayer def. Jake Awesome

so much interaction between Snow and Foley, Slayer mouths a lot to Foley throughout

Slayer def. Jake via submission yet again. Awesome taps and Foley doesn’t know how to react as he hesitates yet still raises Slayer’s hand in victory

Mick: Jake, even Michael Jordan missed a few shots, even Tom Brady lost a super bowl, Jake Awesome, I still think you are the best professional wrestler this industry has ever seen. Jake barely acknowledges Mick and just walks to the curtain looking at the ground.

M4: The McGraws def. Mondo Milk ENT *The McGraws run down the crowd praising Alex Jones to be their manager. The McGraws now dub themselves. 1776. Massive heat basically white heat from their post match promo about Obama being born in Kenya

M5: Tanahashi def. Kota Ibushi with a knee to Kota mid-air going for his shooting star press. Tanahshi sneaks the win.

*Interview: Kandi Khaos speaks with Jaques Dudley tonight on his match with Chris Johnson and Champagne Clausen and where does he stand with Troy Clausen. *Jaques says Clausen claims he’s changed, I’ll guess we’ll see

M6: Jaques def. Chris Johnson & Champagne Clausen in a three way dance Jaques pins Johnson

Troy Clausen and Joel Gertner come out clapping his hands. Jaques that was an impressive victory. What everyone here didn’t realize is what you guys just watched was a number #1 contenders match for the heavyweight title. Congrats Jaques *Clausen winks* Jaques nods unaware if he should believe Troy or not

*Backstage: Clausen walking back behind the curtain to a sweaty Slayer and Marc Snow in his hippie tye die referee shirt. What the fuck was that Clausen? Troy: What? Slayer: So Jaques beat your rookie son and that human scum Chris Johnson and he’s in the damn title chase Troy: Yeah, do you watch the show, thats what I just said. and I’m the boss and well your not. *Marc Snow grabs Gertner’s neck brace tightly choking him *Slayer gets up in Troy Clausen’s face Slayer: I don’t care if your the damn second coming. I want my title. I wanna know why I made the previous world champion. Tap out, TWICE. and I’M not the #1 contender Clausen: Fine, Slayer you are now the #2 contender. Happy? Now if you don’t mind. I’d suggest Colgate, Crest maybe. Clausen walks away Joel Gertner holding his throat coughing

*The Truth Infantry backstage are talking to referee Danny Coleman. Ollafub is up front showing him some papers backstage. Blackman and Croyle shew away our cameraman recording their locker room

In ring: Romeo Roselli: this is the heavens crown championship. Last Sunday at Heatwave I announced that I will be holding the 7 minutes in Heaven Challenge so who wants to be the lucky first challenger

*A camera man gives his camera to another staff member and takes off all his wires and hops in the ring, telling Romeo to bring it *Crowd is really into it* Romeo looking around confused. Are you a camera man? You want to be the first challenger? What is your name: My name is GG and I’ve been a camera man for XPW since this company started

M7: Romeo Roselli def. GG after the seven minute time limit expires but GG was actually in control of the match at the end of the time limit. Crowd chants GG! GG! GG!

Romeo attacks him with a fluorescent light tube in the crowd and scars his head in the audience stands Romeo: you will not embarrass me (Romeo throws GG into a trash can and pushes it down the stadium stairs Romeo: you will not make a mockery of me

(Romeo grabs his title and walks to the back)

Video Package: Joe Gacy & Kirby Lee Covington (small boy on a playground swinging on swing set) We are a disease Plagueground is coming

M8: The Truth Infantry w/ Olaffub def. TakaNaka, Rey Mysterio, Pac, and Ruckus

high spot of the match takes place when Rey Mysterio pins Croyle for a 3 count, Ruckus pins Blackman for a 3 and Taka pins Edwards for a 3 and Danny just gives them a weird look (commentary is confused, the crowd is confused chanting you fucked up, bullshit)

eventually Troy Clausen and Joel Gertner run on down, Troy calls for Danny. Olaffub eavesdrops over smiling. Danny audibly says “I’m just doing my job, doing what I’m told”. The match still awkwrdly going on at this point. Blackman rolls up Tanaka and Danny counts the 1-2-3 Clausen is like what now that 3 count applies *bell rings and your winner: The Truth Infantry (crowd is confused) Truth Infantry powders up the ramp with Olaffub jumping up and down for joy, so much in fact his pony tail comes undone. Troy: Referee Danny Coleman should not be judged for his officiating. Unlike Mick Foley he’s not a biased ref. You see this is the reaction we all wanted. I thought maybe Heatwave would be when the world would find out The Truth!!! Clausen and the opponents in the ring stare intently Olaffub: When XPWEW reformed. I went through these re-sign contracts of all my clients in deep deep detail. I noticed so many loose loop holes here and I made a few minor changes. I thought you were a legal Troy Clausen, I guess not haha I read the trades :) I adjusted the contracts of Blackman, Croyle and Eddie Edwards. That’s right I skewed just one little thing. These contracts were so loose honestly it may have took….5 minutes hahahaha (Infantry laughs in unison) My clients don’t apply to the referees count of 3. In the contracts of my clients. It says clearly and Troy you signed off on all of these. Hell, I don’t even think you read them. I probably could have gotten away with putting a little more zeros on the salaries. Honestly. Troy you are a joke. A negotiating failure. A jagaloon of jargon. Troy my clients must be pinned to the count of 5. to be beaten in that ring. and now these contracts are water tight. And if you were so clevar to just I don’t know fire us on the spot. Good luck, I’ll see you in court if you try because these contracts not only oblige my clients to be beaten with the count of 5. These are guaranteed iron clad contracts. Sealed. You and everyone have made fun of my client Steve Blackman, calling him a thing of the past, a shell of himself. Steve Blackman is more intense with age. More focused and the same applies for Edwards and Croyle as well. My men are focused and now they have the ultimate edge and you or anyone in the back can’t do a damn thing about it. We are here to capture all the gold, and were out for destruction. What Edwards did to Robbie Williams was only the prologue to the story that is THE TRUTH!!! Thnank you Thank you!