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redrobin-detective · 4 years ago

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Just one single glimpse of relief

TW: OC death, death themes

“Hey,” Sydnee looked up at the sound of the voice. It was familiar, safe, and it stopped her tears for a moment. She can’t remember where she was or what she’d been doing. All she knew was that she was scared and upset and didn’t know what to do. It felt like she’d been crying forever when the voice appeared. “Hey there, it’s Phantom. Can I come closer?”

Sydnee gasped as the town hero, Phantom, approached her slowly. Syd was a bit of a nerd and she couldn’t get enough of those superhero movies. She always tuned in to Phantom’s fights on TV; he was as close as she’d get to a real life Superman or Captain Marvel. She’d never seen him up close before though. He was younger than he appeared on TV, not more than his early teens. Sydnee, almost 24, was hit by a wave of mortification over how they’d described the hunky, we-thought-he-was-older kid on Margarita Night. This day just got better and better, not that she remembered it.

“How are you doing?” Phantom asked quietly, floating near her but not getting too close. He was watching her warily but not unkindly. She saw how some folks treated him, he was probably worried she’d throw a shoe at him. “What’s your name?”

“Sydnee, with an extra e not a y. Uh Tanner, Sydnee Tanner,” she mumbled. Ugh why were words so hard. Her head felt fuzzy and very far away, she thinks she was going to start panicking again. What was she even so upset about? “I don’t know what’s going on. Where are we and what happened. I don’t- I don’t remember anything.”

“It’s okay,” he said soothingly, floating a little closer. The soft glow he emitted brightened up the dark place they were in. Was she in a collapsed tunnel? What had she been doing here? She’d never been claustrophobic but the debris and rubble of the place seemed to close in on her. “Hey, hey, just look at me.” She turned and met his kind eyes, soft and easy. “We’ll walk through it together. What is the last thing you remember?”

“I was late to work,” Syd said, the memory popping up before her. “I um work at the Donut Delights bakery in that strip mall next to the middle school. My cats had knocked over some of my houseplants in the night so I had to clean them up and was running behind. I open the store on Wednesdays - oh it’s Wednesday! - so I knew I’d be in trouble. But I made it, just barely. I was starting up the ovens when.” Syd furrowed her brow and took in the hero before her. The one who was almost never seen outside a fight. “There was a ghost attack, wasn’t there?”

“Welcome to Amity Park,” Phantom said grimly. “I’ve been here a couple times; the jalapeno bacon topped donuts are my favorite. My mom and sister buy them sometimes if they want to bribe me into doing something.”

“You weirdo, only crazy people eat that weird flavor,” Sydnee chuckled. “You have a family?”

“Of course, we all have a family out there somewhere. What about you?” He asked gently. There was something about the soft way he was talking to her, the way his eyes flickered around the dark like he was looking for something. He had news he didn’t want to tell her and she wasn’t ready to hear it. Not yet. Just a few more minutes of denial before she faced the revelation she couldn’t bear to touch yet.

“Yeah, mom and dad and two younger sibs. Folks divorced forever ago, I barely remember them actually being together. Mom is is living it up in Dubai working as a pastry chef in one of their fancy hotels. Dad’s an auto-mechanic down on Maple street, Duke’s Car Services. Pretty sure you got tossed through the window a year ago.”

“I’ve been tossed through many windows but I know the place you’re talking about. So a big family, any friends? Boyfriends? Girlfriends?”

“I have a boyfriend,” she continued on hastily, taking the distraction for what it was. “I like him, a lot and we’ve been dating since high school. Everyone says I should marry him and we’ve talked about it, casually, but I’ve never dated anyone else and wonder if I should see other people first. You know, test the waters before I settle down with my high school sweetheart like my folks did and look how they turned out.”

“Mhmm,” Phantom hummed nodding, encouraging her to continue.

“DeShawn is great though, he’s very supportive and sweet in his own kind of absentminded way. He’s got epilepsy real bad though, I have to drive him everywhere since he’s always at risk of a seizure. Annoying sometimes but its nice, you can learn a lot about a person from a conversation while you’re alone together.”

“Very true, I’m learning a lot now,” Phantom smiled. “What about your siblings?”

“I have a brother and a sister, Kennedy is finishing his sophomore year of college and Janelle will be a senior in high school. She was a surprise baby, one last attempt of my parents to reconcile before the big D. It didn’t help but I got a great sister out of it, she’s a real firecracker.”

“Janelle,” Phantom’s eyes lit up. “She’s the one always dying her hair. I see her in the hallways of Casper, she’s hard to miss. I think she draws too, she won an art award I think.”

“Yeah!” Sydnee said enthusiastically, she reached out and grabbed ahold of Phantom’s arm. It was cold but solid. It reminded her that she really couldn’t feel anything, nothing but him. “Yeah, I swear her hair is a new color every time I see her. It’s a dark purple now, it looks pretty good on her. She was a peachy orange for picture day last year. Mom called her up screaming when she saw the photos.”

“I thought it looked cool,” Phantom grinned, “not that I was there for picture day. Ghost attack, you know. My mom was upset with me too.” They laughed lightly for a minute before it gently petered off leaving them alone in the dark. Sydnee didn’t have any feeling in her toes, in any part of her. She felt light and disconnected and all over out of sorts. She was pretty sure she knew what had happened but she couldn’t face it yet. But talking to Phantom, it seemed a little easier.

“I remember the attack now,” Sydnee stated quietly. “It was a big ghost bear only it was the size of a pickup truck. It rammed into the store there was chaos and screaming. It was so loud, the screaming of the customers, the bear, building coming down on top of us...” her lips wobbled. “We’re still in the store, aren’t we? I haven’t wanted to turn around because... because I know my body is buried underneath the concrete back there.”

“Yeah,” Phantom breathed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get here in time. Most everyone in the area got out but you and a few others in the store got trapped under the rubble. Mrs. McDaniels who lived on Eustis street and was the first woman in her family to go to college plus Eddie Drake who came down from Chicago to check out the ghost stuff with their boyfriend and was a tattoo artist.”

“Did you talk to them too?” She questioned in surprise.

“Briefly, Mrs. McDaniels didn’t stay long, just long enough to tell me, and I quote, “stop wasting time on her dead ass and get to the others.” She already passed on. Eddie, they didn’t take it well. We talked for a while and I think they need a little more time to accept it, see their loved ones first. I warned them that the longer they delay death, the harder it is and the more you lose yourself. You’re the last, all the way in the back of the store. When you’re ready, I’m going to bring your body out.”

“Thank you,” she whispered before breaking out into hysterical laughter. “God I bet I’m a wreck, I think I put my shirt on inside out I was in such a rush this morning,” she sniffled. “What do I do now, as a ghost? I don’t have to, like, attack people, do I?”

“No,” Phantom sighed. “Most ghosts are just normal people, no one else but other ghosts will see you and you’re not going to be strong enough to interact with the real world for a long, long time. You can stick around a bit if you want, watch over your family but it’s like I told Eddie, you forget things pretty quick. Or you can move on, that part I can’t help you with but I’ve helped a lot of others go that route and I’m told it’s easy.”

“Easy, then why haven’t you?” She questioned angrily, the full weight of the situation crashing over her. She shoved him and he floated back passively. “I’m a freaking ghost and you’re here talking to me like you’re my therapist or something. Who’s gonna take DeShawn to his appointments? Or praise my sister’s creative messes? Or badger Ken into picking major? My life is over and you think you can float there and lecture me about it being easy to move on!”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Phantom soothed, scratching at the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry Sydnee, I wish I could turn back the clock an hour, two hours, and prevent this from happening but I can’t. I’ve tried to mess with time and it doesn’t end well for anyone. I just want, I just want what’s best for you now. You can stay or you can go but I want you to make the decision that you feel most comfortable with. That’s all I can do for you.”

“I think I’d be sad,” she said, crying again, “being able to see everyone but not talk to them, to watch them cry over me. I don’t want to forget them either.” Phantom watched her, easily and earnestly. “What made you choose to stay? Why didn’t you go?”

“I’m a little complicated but I can tell you, when I’ve done all I need to here, I’m not hanging around a second longer than I have to. Being a ghost has it’s perks but it’s also, it’s being stuck in a place you longer fit, watching the world go on without you.”

“Okay,” Syd hiccupped. “Okay, yeah okay.”

“Okay,” Phantom nodded. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, please don’t,” she grabbed his hands again. “Please I don’t, I know I died alone but I don’t want to do... this alone. Please stay, ugh, calling you Phantom is weird sorry.”

“I don’t know if it’s any less weird but you can call me Danny,” Phantom, Danny, laughed. It was an ordinary name for a superhero but it fit. There was a special thrill in knowing the ghost boy’s name but it’s not like she was going to be around to tell anyone. It was scary, to think of not existing but also sort of comforting, like a long nap with nothing pressing to get up for.

“Can you tell them that I love them, in my place? I know it’s a lot and I’m sure you’re super busy saving the town and everything-”

"It’s not a problem. I’m sure they know but I’ll be happy to pass on the message,” he smiled and it made him look so young. For a second she was struck by how sad it was that she was relying on a kid a decade younger than her for support. But he was here and he was kind and he was what she needed right now. Maybe one day, he’d have his own person talking him through this last step.

“Okay, Danny, thanks really. For talking, for staying. I’m scared but I, I think I’m ready.” She closed her eyes and squeezed his hands tightly. “Do you, will it hurt?”

“No,” he said, his voice warm despite his inherent chill. “No, Sydnee. No, the hurting is all over now. All you have left ahead of you is peace. Thank you for all that did, you’ll be missed.”

“I’ll see you on the other side. Goodbye.” The world faded to a pinprick, consumed by light. The last thing she saw before she went into it was a stranger’s smile.

XxX

“Here’s the last,” Phantom said solemnly, delicately setting a broken body he’d carried out of the dilapidated building and on the sidewalk next to the others. “This is Sydnee Tanner, she was the only employee in the store at the time. She has cats at home who will need taking care of. Her dad works at Duke’s Car Services along with siblings and a boyfriend.”

“Don’t know how you know all that but thanks for getting these folks out,” Sheriff Newton sighed. “Damn shame. Keep up the good work kid, we’ll save the next ones for sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some rather unhappy news to break to several people.”

“Do you mind if I tag along? I have a few messages I need to pass on.”

#danny phantom #me: makes up a random OC for the sake of the story #also me: oh my gawd sydney oh my goodd im so sorry baby Im sorry #the exciting continuation of Robin gets weirdly existential and peaceful about death #just the image of Danny saving the living then going on to talk to and help the dead he couldnt save move on #it fucking gets me okay?#he really is the bridge hero for the living and the dead alike #i love him so fucking much #well now Im emo for the rest of forever #title from Taylor Swifts epiphany #amazing a story title that DOESNT come from the 18-19th century death poem #i must be mad #Im reading it over again and its like way longer than it needs to be bc I kept adding more and more to sydnees story

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dragonseattofu · 3 years ago

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NekuShiki question time! :)

1. They meet each other's parents for the first time. What's happening? (Alternatively: How do their parents react once they go steady with each other?)

2. Give us an AU idea with the cuties you would love to see/write/read about (more often).

3. What's their favorite feature about each other?

1. I’d imagine that Shiki brings Neku home for dinner because her Mom wants to meet him. She’s ecstatic to meet the boy that’s been such a positive impact on Shiki. Shiki’s Dad is the classic, love my daughter must protec, hates all boys they are all bad. I feel like her Dad works in security or law enforcement, so he knows a punk when he sees one XD. So Shiki’s Mom is all, “please eat more you are so skinny,” and her Dad’s like, “hm, is that your natural hair, grunt, what do you do for a living, grunt.” (They are older teens at this point, Neku’s probably going through college and creating art on the side, oh this is after NEO by the way.) Her Dad tolerates/warms up to Neku because he also saw how low his daughter’s self esteem was, which worried him, and that Neku helped her manage it. Neku’s obviously nervous to met her folks, not because he wants their approval, but because they are important to Shiki, and that means they will be important to him too. He’s also not used to her mother being to doting and caring. When her Dad finally stops glaring at him and treats him like a son after some years, it emotionally affects Neku for the better.

For Neku, I always thought that his relationship with his parents was complicated, like even before NEO. I headcanonned that his Dad’s some corporate worker, like a banker or works in finance; he doesn’t really care for what Neku does as long as he stays out of his way and out of trouble. Neku’s Mom’s a lawyer, and she is warmer than his father but is equally busy, and can be neglectful at times. She’s the type to send him money for special occasions like his birthday rather than be there to celebrate it. So he doesn’t really bother to tell his folks that he’s dating someone. They might even find out more so from social, like oh the CEO of Gatto Nero’s got a beau, and they see a picture of his orange hair and recognize that he’s their son. When Neku’s Mom realizes that she barely knows her son, and feels like it’s to late, she reaches out to him, and Shiki immediately goes to work trying to help build their relationship. It’s a bit icy, but at least his Mom’s trying and really loves and appreciates Shiki. His Dad comes much much later into the picture. Dang I didn’t expect this to be this long, I hope I answered the question? Lol

2. Sooo I’m not a huge AU fan, (I know I’m sorry) but I’m a big figure skating fan, and during the Olympics I started a figure skating AU. It’s going to be a one shot, and I’m working out the details with a friend, so stay tuned for that. Summary-wise, and this might change when I post it, but Neku and Josh are representing Japan at the Beijing Olympics in Men’s singles, and Neku tears his costume right before the competition, thankfully someone comes to his rescue and helps him but he doesn’t catch her name. He hopes to see her again to thank her of course, and he’s in luck because she seems to be friends with a skater that’s considered the most beautiful in the women’s competition. (Ugh that’s definitely getting revamped).

3. Physical feature wise, Shiki would say it’s his face, (“isn’t he just so handsome and cool,” she coos, smushing his cheeks together.) Neku would say he doesn’t have one, she’s just the way he likes her.

Character wise, for Shiki, Neku’s best feature is his honesty. He’s still as blunt as he was when he was 15, but his delivery is a bit, softer? For Neku, Shiki’s best feature is her ability to see the good in everyone, and her ability to befriend pretty much anybody. She’s a social butterfly in her own right, even if she doesn’t think of herself as one.

#neshiki #nekushiki #twewy #shiki misaki #the world ends with you #phew #I am wordy holy moly #sorry in advance #neku sakuraba #nekushiki question time #neo twewy #don’t get used to this speed guys lol #myfanfic #my fanfic #my fanfiction

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sedge-yells-at-comics · 3 years ago

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Remember That Time... Vol. 01

Remember that time Eobard created giant robot horses from prison in exchange for a pardon, and then released one back into the 20th century in a long con to have an ugly statue stolen for him by Hal while he and Barry vibrated into each other, fusing together to defeat the giant robot horse by stomping it to death, and then Eo accidentally blabbed his whole plan after Hal returned with a dissolved statue and Barry defeated him by stripping his suit off?

This is the cover art to one of Eo’s lengthy Eobarry fanfics, because you know he’s one of those fanfic authors who’s extra like that.

“THAWNYE” sounds like some kind of diminutive if you say it like “Thawn-ya”. Great job keeping track of things, guys. Look at Barry pretending he doesn’t know who Eo is... or maybe it’s just the name thing. I’m not sure how humanity managed to drive horses to extinction, but I’m taking that as an indication that the 25th century is actually a horrid dystopia. I assume Eo does know what horses really look like, and just took some creative license, but it would be funny if he didn’t. I’m also concerned that they gave him a shop to work in, what with him being a mad scientist and all.

LOOK AT THAT OUTFIT. My boy is always out there, bringing the hottest new looks. Since his giant collar is the same color as his pants, and it’s The Future, I’m willing to bet that he wearing a--say it with me--mid-20th century retro-futuristic jumpsuit! And those pirate boots! And that consistently inconsistent hairline!

I kinda can’t help but wonder if Eo has some deep, hidden desire to become a sculptor. And is it the getting of the statues, or the having? Is it the thieving, or the collecting? And is shitty modern art the only art that exists in the future? Oh god, now I can’t get the image out of my head of Eo making a (life-size) reproduction of Blucifer, the 32ft tall patricidal horse statue, in his prison workshop. It just seems like an appropriate thematic progression to the robo-horses.

Side-sidebar: It amuses me that people in the 70s couldn’t imagine that we would move beyond the CRT screen. But I hope to god we don’t move on to the holographic/clear glass screens that Current Year people think we’ll have.

Ugh, the Guardians. If the worst Earth-cops ever did was steal the occasional bad statue, we’d be in a good place.

Also, uhhhh. Folks who are up on the Lantern lore--is time travel a standard feature of the rings, or is this one of those “it happened because we needed it to in this one issue” things?

BRING. BACK. EOBARD’S. SILLY. LAUGH.

Is it me, or does Central City--20th and 25th century--have a lot of movin’ around room? Lots of PLAZAS. Lots of pedestrian spaces. I like it in concept, kinda like how the Europeans do it, but in execution it has the feeling like you could start walking to those buildings on the horizon, and you would never get there.

I’m not going to lie to you. I included this page solely and entirely for the butts.

FUCKING. ANTICS.

Aaaaand FUSION DAAAAAAANCE! I love how Eo’s complaining and doesn’t know what Barry’s doing, but he starts vibe-dancin’ anyway.

+1 for the artist remembering Eo’s nose. I need to create a compilation in celebration of Classic Eo’s nose.

WELL.

I don’t know about you, but. I’m aroused. Not gonna lie, before I’d read this, I’d already been contemplating what a Eo-Barry fusion would look like and. Well, this isn’t what I had in mind. And I kinda got stuck on the resulting costume being ENTIRELY ORANGE.

Eo’s FACE in the 3rd panel is priceless. Is this confirmation that Barry would lead in any hypothetical dances? I’m taking it as that. And they’re doing a great job, considering! Eo seems so excited in the last panel. I want to see these moves at regular speed. They must be... somethin’ else.

Oh, right: Heh heh... the beast with no backs. Pffffff--

I know it’s a mindless robo-horse, but this, uh. I kinda feel like I need to call some sort of humane organization about what I’m seeing here. And that pink cloud HAS to be an environmental hazard.

BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE the grape-crushing potential?

Why Would Hal Jordan Do This?

WHAT IF...? They weren’t able to separate, and just had to DEAL with it for like the next year or so? Don’t think about it too hard, though.

Eo’s FAAAACE in panel 5 is *chef’s kiss*.

An ASTONISHING HR nightmare! I have a love-hate relationship with how the older comics avoid explaining how these suits work. They always pop out like they’re one single piece--gloves and boots and all! Do ya gotta slide yourself in through the neck hole? Where is all this excess fabric on Eo’s suit coming from? It sure doesn’t look like Barry’s making any headway in removing it. He’s a 25th century Draupadi over here. And he’s just wearing regular ol’ clothes underneath a skintight suit, a thing that will continue to baffle me about Flash comics for decades to come.

#the flash #reverse flash #green lantern #barry allen #eobard thawne #hal jordan #robot horse kaiju #ol' time comic reviews #the fun kind of yelling at comics

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ashestospace-fics · 4 years ago

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There's always a little bit of time

Series: Wizards tales of arcadia

Pairing: Hisirdoux Casperan x Male reader

Part1/ ?

Word count:5,234

Summary: After a few Years out of the state for College. Claire's older brother comes back to Arcadia. Only to face the changes from the home town he grew up in, and the thinking time bomb that awaits for him and his new friends. Through out the way determine to help out a Punk wirzard and his Feline helper. They both end up discovering the only time they have left, they want to spend it with each other until the very end.

A/n: heads up, I'm mainly writing this for myself and my own enjoyment. And why not share it with the rest of y'all. I just love Douxie more than anything LOL

"How far away are you?"

Claire's cheerful voice bounce back into your earphones. After a few years away, you were finally coming back home to Arcadia from College. The view of the buildings you grew up with bringing you back nostalgia as you lean back on your spot from in the taxi. You couldn't help but grin even, buzzing with adrenaline as you tap your hand against your lap. "Not far now, I'm passing your school! Hoho Oh man, it looks the same. So around 10 minutes?" You could laugh at her scream of joy as you heard from the other line her fast footstep.

The idea of seeing your Little sister again had you excited. Weirdly enough, the bickering and fights and Chanclas threw at each other have been long forgotten. The idea of seeing your family once again was the only thing in your mind. And as you watch your taxi slowly approach the front of your house and saw the three figures standing on the porch, almost had your heart pumping out of your chest with a strong feeling of happiness. Not even letting the taxi driver say his farewell, you shoved a hand full of a tip in his hand as you jump out of the car with your bags on your shoulders

Bright smiles from your parents and sister as you jogged towards them. The rough sound of the bags falling as you extended your arms open towards Claire as she jumped at you for a bear hug. Both your Dad following along as he spun both of you in his arms as if you two were still little kids, Breaking into a fit of laughter together. "Ayh que fea, you look" it was the first thing that came out of your mouth as you look down at your sister.

"Hey! Really Y/n? that's the first thing you're going to say to me after being gone for so long?" Claire quickly protested. "Ayh Mijo, it's been so, long look, at you- did you dye your hair?" Your Dad caught himself up. Groaning loudly as your head fell back, Claire only laughs as you all let go of the embrace. Ignoring your Dad, you headed straight to your mother with open arms as she holds your little brother. "Hola ma, y little Enrique! Wow, he's so big" You gave her a side hug as and a kiss on the cheek as you pinch your little brother's nose. Her teary eyes quickly caught you off. "Aw ma, come on, The mayor shouldn't be crying-" you wince as she fanned her face.

"I know I know it's just, looked at you! My little boy is back home-"

"Mom please?"

It didn't take much of a few more tears here and there before you all went inside. The lively energy of the house was something you didn't know you needed from being far away from home. To the delicious smell of your Father's cooking, to your sister booming you with questions about college. Everything felt right at home once again. "I leave for a few years and, you're already copping me? The white streak in your hair looks rad," You pointed out as you sat down on the couch. Claire's smile fell slightly for a second as she pushed her hair back. "You wish heh, a lot...of things happened while you were away Y/n" there were such mixed feelings once she said that, your eyes following her hands as she played with them. You pushed her shoulder with your own.

"Hey, I know high school is horrible, but I'm here now for the long part. I was real entertain by your so-called magical adventures with that boyfriend of yours. Dad wouldn't stop calling me about it. What you put on his Arepas?" You joked at the memory, Claire's reaction the complete opposite as she jumps slightly from her spot on the couch. "What? Did he tell you? How much?" She grabbed your shoulders and shook you in distress. "I told them to wait! I wanted to show you firrsst ugh" she stretches her face as she fell back on the couch. You couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

"What? The boyfriend part? You actually thought Dad and Mom were NOT going to tell me? Come on Claire, They both told me they hated him at first. Now they say his some-sort of a knight? It was hilarious. I think they were reading into those fake News of Arcadia," Feeling her froze in place, you looked up at her with a questionable expression. It was weird to see her overreact like this. "Right, boyfriend! Yeah, Jim, haha.., his great" she smiles at you brightly, squinting your eyes at her, you lean forward. "I smell secrets... What's up with your Romeo Claire? Is he acting weird? Do I need to give him a brotherly greeting?" Rubbing your knuckles together as you gave her a grin, she waved her arms around once again.

"Nonono Jim's great! He really is and, I know you'll get along with him just fine but, it's just that..." A deep sigh left her as she pushed her hair back. "I'll...show you tomorrow when everyone's around. This is serious and, I don't want to freak you out, okay? It's nothing bad!" She finishes up reassuring once your expression drops again. "Oh jeez Claire...uh okay, okay, uh sure. Anything that's going on, I can't handle it! I won't freak out if you don't," you pushed your shoulder against her's again. Both of you smile slightly at this. But the sudden worry didn't pass with whatever was going on with your family, especially your sister.

It wasn't like you didn't notice while being away. Of course, you did. You felt it every night as you study for terms. But right now you were back home to your home town. Where everything seemed so different but the same as always. The two of you stood in silence again as you watched t.v. Eyes focusing on the low-quality show as night soon followed. Parents upstairs with your younger brother, Finally deciding to go back to your old room and sleep the days trip off, once both of you got tired of watching the same telenovela the past hours. Saying your lazy good night's your, mind kept on wondering what was waiting up ahead now that you were back. What was the worry that your family and sister weren't telling you yet? That was all soon forgotten as you drifted off to sleep. You were greeted by your pillow, surroundings still the same as you left them years ago when you left. The soft smell of candles that your mom left on days before still lingering. It felt good to be back home, but the feeling of something greater up ahead came back to your mind.

"God, I feel like crying at this," you hummed loud as you took another sip of your coffee. Your mother laughed as she took her cup in her hand. "It's just Coffee Y/n" she gathers her things as she prepares to leave for work. Enrique sat next to you in his little chair. "Si Pero, like it's your Coffee Mom, it's not the same trust me" you place a hand on your chest as she rolled her eyes at you. "Thank you, honey, also for looking after Enrique. Claire will be back after school. I feel bad for leaving you with him just when you got back-" "Mami, it's fine, he is my little brother. I will take care of him all you need since I'm free now. And I'll take him out with me right, Enrique? Aventuras con tu Hermano? Yeaah, you want adventures with me" you wiggled your hand on his stomach, erupting in a fit of laughter you mother took one final sigh as she hugged you.

"Thank you, I will see you later, take care," you hummed once she gave you one final hug. Looking between the door closing behind her, you look back at Enrique. A small staring contest as he blabbers at you. "You know what? Great idea Enrique, We should totally go out," It felt stupid if you stay put in the house doing nothing at all. With so many things supposedly going on in Arcadia nowadays, there was no way you were going to keep missing what everyone kept bragging about to you while you left. So preparing everything in hand for Enrique, it took a lot of figuring out as you place him in the Car seat. Grateful that your old man left you his car for the time being.

"Alright, you seem set to-" a loud thumping sound fell behind you. Jumping at the sound, you turn around. A box had fallen, The sound of your heartbeat against your chest almost had you panting at the scare as you went to pick it up. "Weird...how did this even fell?" You stare at where it was. It was like something pushed it off the counter. It was pretty heavy as it is. "Okay weird..." You mumble once again to yourself as you set the box down and went back into the car, Not noticing the pair of eyes that watched you from behind the shelves. Watching you drove off into the Street. NotEnrique was still peculiar in too when Claire was going to let him bug you once she tells you everything.

The drive down the City felt quiet as you watched people pass by, Choosing to stop in the nearby park to walk around and see what's new. Enrique seemed excited to be out with you, the whole time blabbering as you push his baby cart. A few people here and there from the neighborhood say their hellos once they recognize you. 'the Mayor's son is back' or a 'y/n it's nice to see you back in town' It felt strange but good to see the same folk that you grew up with again. Things have changed that was for sure too, A lot of reconstruction from disasters, new shops here and there. The sound of your stomach slowly brought you back, cringing as Enrique look up at you. "Sorry, Enrique, maybe I should have eaten dad's breakfast," you sigh, stopping in your tracks as your eyes landed on a nearby Cafe.

'bingo'

Making your way over, you felt your face heat up as you recognize some people here and there, their faces more surprise to you seeing you with a child might be giving the wrong idea. It was embarrassing to say as you waited in line, Grabbing your phone to distract yourself as the line move slowly. The day was going quicker than expected, your mind going back to whatever Claire needed to tell you. Multiple things came to mind, but you brush it off. Claire was always a good kid. Even if you two pick on each other, you would know if it was horrible. Still, you couldn't figure it out and, it was driving you insane internally the more you thought about it. You huff as you lean your head on the cart before standing up straight. It was your turn on the counter to order.

You push the cart forward, smiling at the lady as you looked up at the menu for a moment. "Hey, ill have...uh-" you caught yourself off as a stack of cups fell beside you. "Oh, fuzz buckets," you heard someone said as you looked down at the male who bent down to pick them up. "Douxie, really? Again?" The girl at the counter said in a disappointed tone. Crouching down, you help him pick the cups up.

"My bad, they were all too close, oh thank you-" he quiet down as he looked up at you. Hand grabbing the cups you held for him. "No problem Man," you simply said as you help him finish, his yellowish eyes still on you as you handed the last remaining cups. You eyed him from the side as he kept staring at you and down at Enrique with almost a puzzle look. The girl at the counter clearing her throat.

"Douxie, you're holding up the line..." His head shoots up as he looked back at her then at you. "Oh, right! Ha, my bad!" He says with a small nervous laugh as he went off behind the counter. A chuckle left your throat. That was a weirdly cute reaction. "So uh yeah, I'll just get a cup of coffee and a number 6," you ordered once you sat down at a table and placed Enrique in a buster sit in front of you. When you started to look around again, Your own e/c wandered over to the guy who dropped the cups. He had a punkish style, for sure, he was into music at a simple glance. His black hair had dye indigo tips. One thing was for sure, He was a looker. You weren't one to denied when someone was actually attractive. Even though he had such a black sense of style, you felt such a tranquility feeling emitting from him. It was weird, to say the least.

"Pffft-" eyes went over to Enrique. A handful of his shoe in his mouth. "Wh- Enrique, what are you doing?" You blurted out laughing, fighting back between him and putting his leg down. You took a small video of it to send it to Clair or Mom. Every time you put his leg down, he pulls it back up. "Dude, what are you doing??" He just blabbers back at you. Someone else chuckle brought your attention to look over. It was the same guy from earlier with your order. "Foods here?" He simply said with a smile to you. You smiled back slightly as he places the food down in front of you. It all looked delicious, "thanks," "not a problem," he turns around to leave before slowly turning over to you again. His fist pressing against his palm as you looked up to the ceiling before at you. "Hey, uh, weird question?"

"Depends how weird it is," you said back, smiling again at his sudden interest. He chuckled back at your statement, "Well, are you Claire's older brother by any chance? I can be assuming since you're with Enrique or, or you're just the Babysitter," he lifted his hands in defense. You raised a brow at him. How did he know that? You expected any older person to mention you because of your Mother. But from your sister? You imagine at least someone younger. This guy is clearly around your age. "Heh, yeah, I'm her brother, how do you know my little sis?" You lean on the table with a hand supporting your head as you look at him. Suspicions on your tone, he seemed to catch up as he rubbed his neck. He seemed so calm about it.

"Oh, meet her back in the school while I was putting fliers for the battle of the bands. She's really good at the bass. She told me you teach her how to play? You must be a good teacher" you press your lips together, heat raises to your face for a moment. "Yeah, I thought her here and there, most of the things she learn on her own," you fidget with your cup of coffee.

"you in a band?" you asked with a raised brow at him.

"yep, play the bass and other instruments here and there," he responded.

You open your mouth to speak again, "I'm Y/n by the way. I don't know how much Claire told you," you chuckled off the sudden nerves. Why were you nervous? You didn't know, it wasn't like you haven't talked to new people all the time in college.

"Douxie, and don't worry, nothing so bad. You were the only thing she was talking about these past few days. Never seen anyone so excited to see their sibling." You chuckle again, "uh yeah, it's been a few years since I left, so I imagine with how she is," you motion to the chair next to you. Thinking he might be getting tired of just standing in one place. You thought he was going to deny the invitation. Since he did seem like he was still working, but instead, he grabbed the chair, turn it, and sat down. "I imagine I was gonna meet you later today, not in the middle of dropping every cup in the store" you both laugh, he went over to look at Enrique. "Claire is happy to see you back, you know? she's was real nervous,"

You sigh at this, "yeah, and I still don't know why. Though, I thought it was about her boyfriend but looks like it's not. Do you know what it is? It just haves me worry for her" Douxie stood still as Enrique grabbed his finger. "Uh...well I do know, but I think she should be the one to tell you or well show you first" you groan again as you head drop back. "Awe comes on man, it can not be that serious for her and like everyone to hide it. What is she hiding a body?" You waved your hands. Douxie waved a hand as he lowers your own. "Okay, okay, what do you know about the weird news of our City?" You gave him a puzzled look as he smiles at you in return, amusement was written all over in his eyes.

It was weird, the sudden light feeling in your chest. He was so calming in a way you didn't know how to explain. Now that you think about it, you almost miss his accent. "News? You mean the so-called end of the world that happened, in where creatures came out of the ground and aliens appear type of News?" You scoff, He only gave you a little nod. "What? You're not trying to tell me that really happen, are you?" You squinted your eyes at him. He waved a hand at you, "Hey, hey, I know it sounds crazy, but if I were to prove it. Would you believe it?" You press your lips together again.

Okay, maybe this was weirder, prove it? Sounded like a cryptic fanatic, but still... "Only if it involves my sis, or are you just trying to ask me out?" You raised a brow at him. He seemed shocked for a second before brushing it off with another smile. "Maybe, one of the two or both. But mainly so you don't faint when we get all together annnnndd, so you don't get embarrassed, " he grins as he extended his hand. "You can think about it while you finish or you know. Freak out later" he shrugged, now you were looking at him more intently.

Going with a stranger right at the bat once you got back home might not be the best decision you had ever made. But you needed to know what was going on with your family. So you agree, like any mad man who had nothing else to lose. Both of you agree to meet up later, once he was done with work and when both your parents were back at home to look after Enrique. Something felt off not seeing Claire right at the bat after school, she would be home by now, but she texted she was getting everyone ready. Or everything ready, for the big surprise, as she suddenly put it. It has to be special if she's taking so much time for it. So here you were now outside a library where Douxie told you to meet up. A part of you wanted to ask yourself why you even agree to this. Was he just going to show you a theory room of cryptics? It wasn't like you weren't into those things, you love it actually, but right now, it didn't felt like the right time for you to geek out. Taking a deep inhale as you step in, hands in your pockets as you looked around. It was empty.

"Douxie?" You called out as you walk around. Books everywhere, you ran your finger on the cover of an old one that lay on a table. Whatever language it was, you didn't understand a lick of it. Eyes trail up until you were meet with bright yellow ones staring back at you. You let out a curse under your breath as you looked at the cat in surprise.

" Oh jeez, since when are you there little guy?" You place a hand on your chest, trying to ease your heart as you approach it. The feline walks around, avoiding your touch.

"May I help you?" You look around the shop. There wasn't anyone there, but you swore you heard someone.

"Hello?" You blurt out again, "Uh, Douxie?" Okay, a part of you was starting to regret how creepy things were getting. Maybe you were overthinking it.

"Oh, of course, you'll be looking for him, he's in the back," the voice came from in front of you. Turning your head slowly you stare down at the black feline. Now noticing it was... wearing glasses? No way did it just talk.

"Di...did you just talk?..." You whisper out as you stood up straight.

"Of course- oooh... oh no" The cat seemed to regret his choices on speaking now, watching you slowly back away.

"Okay, maybe drinking so much coffee has finally gotten to m-" you jump slightly as two hands hold into your shoulders.

"Y/n?" You looked back at golden eyes staring at you worried.

"Douxie, I think I finally lost it with the coffee-" you blurt out with a nervous laugh.

In return, he just looked down at the cat in front of you two.

"Archie, I warned you Claire's brother was stopping by first!" He scolded the cat, who just seemed to wince as he walked around again.

"Yes, but you can't blame me for not knowing it was him, everyone is used to this-"

"Oh, Virgen Santa, he is still talking. You're talking to him, how is he talking? Did I hit my head? and you two are a dream?" You blurt out rubbing your temples as you backed away.

"Y/n, you need to calm down. Remember when I told you about proving you about the weird things? Well, Archie over there is not even the tip of the iceberg" Douxie scratch his neck as he pointed at the cat again.

Now it was your turn to stay quiet and still as you look at him. Then back at the cat who stares back at you. You inhale deeply as they both waited for you to take a moment.

"Okay...so talking cat....this is what Claire is making a fuss about, or are all those weird stories are something about ten times bigger in where I might have my jaw on the floor?" You mumble out..

Douxie opens his mouth before closing it, eyes trailing all over the place as he started to count.

"Uhhh yep, it will just get even more jaw-breaking when Claire tells her story of her adventures" Douxie motion for you to follow him.

A part of you question why you even follow him, how could this get even more insane. Your brain was all over the place, as you remember the News and pictures online. Another part of you wanted to doubt everything still.

"Adventures? Oh god, please don't tell me my sister somehow got caught in weird alien adventures," you groan as you followed him up the second floor. Eyes looking back at the cat every second as if it were to try and eat you.

"Complete opposite, more of Magic and less of the alien part,"

"Say what now?" You blurt out.

Douxie stops in front of you, extending his hand. Looking down at it, you took it slowly with a raised brow. The sound of ticking was greeted to your ears, as you watched the bracelet in his wrist illuminate, a blue light surrounded his arm. Your eyes meet with his again, It was all a sight to see. It was like all that energy was coming from him as bits of his hair flew up. It was tranquil, like a quiet river. You felt completely mesmerized by him.

"Magic is a basic element that has been on this planet for centuries, Arcadia luckily is a hot zone for creatures and the supernatural. It just so happens that your sister and her friends ended up saving this planet more than once with it." Your eyes were blown wide as things started floated around the room.

"I know this is a lot to take Y/n, but Claire doesn't want to scare you away. She's has done amazing things! And she realllllllly wants to share it with you. And as her teacher, I thought, I'll give a little hand to show you first" you were still blown away with everything. The things that were floated around slowly descended back down on the table and shelves. You look down at both your hands. They were so much bigger than yours.

"W..wha- okay holy cow, give me like a second" you pushed your hair back. Your heart was beating against your ears with adrenaline. You pulled your hand away as you walked around the room before standing in front of him. Douxie stares down at with a nervous smile. Archie, watching everything from his spot where he sat down. Who knew what overcame the wizard to show you before his sister did. He didn't know and didn't want to ask himself where and why the sudden urge took over.

"Okay...magic..is a thing okay that is stupidly cool and I feel like a kid reading his books, but I need to ask, what are you? And you said, teacher? Teaching my sister what? Magic?? You telling me Claire knows how to do magic???" You got closer and closer to him as you spoke. Nose almost touching even as you pin him behind a bookshelf with questions.

Douxies' face didn't fail to go a light pink as he put his hands on your shoulders. Looking to the side to clear his throat, he felt his chest twist at your amazed expression, that he felt like he almost blackout at your question.

"Okay, so I'm a wizard and yes, and yes two both question," he pulled himself not to tilt his head as you look down at the floor.

"Ah...okay, uh, that's crazy but amazing. Also, holy cow again and holy cow and, she didn't call me? She's so gonna get it! How do you do all of that though, is it with that thing in your wrist-" you couldn't help you own curiosity and excitement. Hands darting to grab his own as question fell from your lips like a mantra.

Douxie looks back at Archie, who was just as wide eye as him. You were taking it better than expected, the freak out was short. But Douxie couldn't help but smile ever so slightly at you. In curiosity to learn the unknown, you and Claire had it the same. You didn't even notice that it was a full-on 20 minutes of you rambling and Douxie listening to you. Not once, bothered on how your hand flicker with his bracelet. And how gentle and light it felt against his hand and fingers.

"And can you li-.....oh...oh damn it did I went into a rambling parade?" You blurt out once you notice the sun was starting to set.

"Yeah, but it's fine, I expected you to ask questions. It's the norm of thins things," He laughs it off, both of you feeling heat reach your ears once you finally let go of his hand.

"Sorry about that hah, I still can't believe Claire didn't tell me Like this is insane!" you threw your hands to the air.

"It's gonna get even more insane once you meet some of our friends, trust me," Douxie reassure you. The weird feeling was back, something like that would have you freak out more, But for some reason, it just didn't, like it didn't felt like much of a surprise somehow deep down.

"Can't wait....So...it's the cat, like your-" you trail off slightly, the idea of how this could get more insane was something your mind was still trying to deal with.

"Archie? he's my familiar" both look over at the cat that head raises to look at the two.

"Oh, he's your little assistant," you smile cheekily. He gave you an insulting scoff in return.

"Wizard Associate, thank you very much, Mister Nuñez," Archie corrected as he hops from where he stood.

"Ah, sorry?" You laugh slightly, both of you leaning from a bookshelf.

It fell silent for a moment as you stare up to the ceiling.

"You okay Y/n?" Douxie asked.

"Yeah, just thinking about how crazy my day went and wondering how crazier is going to get now that everything I heard might be true. And what would have happened if I was actually here..." You hummed slightly as you titled your head to look over at Douxie.

"You're pretty cool Douxie, hey if I do end up fainting to whatever my sister shows me, do NOT let her draw on my face or take pictures" you pointed at him with squinted eyes. He places a hand on his chest as he lifted the other one.

"Hey, I promise that I will try and stop her. Claire is way sneaky that you think," Douxie said as if he remembers something horrible before cringing at the thought.

"I know, one time she put glue on my shoes," you groan loudly as you let your head rollback.

Douxie laughs "What? Didn't think she'll be the type of kid".

"Oh, trust me, she was horrible, but I guess so was I," you shrugged off as you chuckle slightly. Douxie crosses his arms as he sighs. You look back at him, catching him staring down at you. Both of you didn't say anything or look away for that brief moment.

The sound of your phone going off alerted both of you, looking down at your new message. It was Claire telling you to come over to where high schoolers used to go for bond fires in an hour. You look out to the nearby window. The sun was going down quickly.

"I guess that's her sign that she's ready for me to see her magical secret" you stretch your arms as you put your phone away.

"Yep, you mind if I take a trip with ya? Since we'll she sent me the text, that's she's ready...and we'll we are going to the same place..." he trails off. Archie rolled his eyes at him as he jumps behind Douxie.

"He doesn't have a car" Archie added as he went between Douxies legs. Your smile dared to grow at Douxies' sudden flustered expression.

"Archie-"

"His bike is very much broken down-"

"Archie!-"

"Hey it's fine, I don't mind. You can come with" you bump shoulders with him, trying to give him a reassuring smile as you walked down the stairs. Douxie closely following behind as both of you made it outside. Guess it was time to see what type of friends Claire has made while you were away.

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monotonous-minutia · 3 years ago

Text

Benvenuto Cellini in 300 lines or fewer

for the lovely and incredibly patient @notyouraveragejulie, as requested! Happy Cellini-versary! took me long enough, but decided to get it done today to honor the occasion :)

Act I Scene I

Balducci’s house

Balducci: Teresa what are you doing looking out the window I told you never to look out the window. Besides I need you to listen to my rant. Can you BELIEVE what the Pope has just told me? He’s hired that delinquent Cellini to make his new statue instead of Fieramosca. I just can’t wrap my head around it.

Teresa: Maybe you could if it wasn’t so big.

Balducci: What?

Teresa: Nothing.

(Balducci exits)

Teresa: Ugh FINALLY I hate listening to his rants. )goes back to look out the window)

Masqueraders outside: LALALALA IT’S CARNIVAL THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR

(Balducci comes back and sees Teresa at the window)

Balducci: TERESA WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT STAYING AWAY FROM THE WINDOW what is even going on down there? I bet it’s that Cellini whipping everyone into a frenzy. Ugh, Carnival. (exits again)

Teresa: (goes to the window and is immediately showered with flowers) I don’t care what my dad says, hanging out by the window is fun. I love flowers. Oh hey, a note from Cellini! What? He’s coming here? Oh, that’ll be risky. But hey, dad’s out of the house, what could go wrong? Y’know, it’s kinda hard, dealing with all this—feeling like I have to listen to my dad, but wanting to indulge in the affections of my beloved. When I’m older, old like my parents, maybe I’ll be responsible, but right now I’m young, and I deserve to have some fun! Girls just wanna have fun!

Cellini: (appearing at the window) TERESA MY BELOVED

Teresa: Cellini, I love you, but it’s too dangerous for you to be here. What if my dad catches us?

Cellini: But look, it’s carnival, and it’s so gay! And I mean that like happy, but y’know, it’s pretty gay too. Besides, I love you. Why do you turn me away?

Teresa: Well, I just got done singing this empowering feminist aria, but unfortunately reality hits and I remember that it’s 1532 and I basically have no rights, so it’s best for you to forget me and move on.

Fieramosca: (sneaking in carrying a huge bouquet) The best way to a woman’s heart is with a cool sneak-in plan and a bunch of flowers. Hang on, is that Cellini talking to my Teresa?

Cellini: How am I supposed to just leave you behind? Let you be forced into the arms of that Fieramosca?

Teresa: I’d rather die than marry Fieramosca!

Fieramosca: …I just came here to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now.

Cellini: Okay, so, how about this: Come to the new opera Cassandro is presenting tomorrow night. While your dad is distracted, my apprentice and I will sneak over disguised as friars and spirit you away! We’ll go to Florence and live happily ever after! Nothing could possibly go wrong!

Fieramosca: Hmm, interesting plan. It would be a shame if someone were to...interfere.

Teresa: Sounds foolproof. But hang on, my dad is coming back. You have to hide!

(Cellini hides behind the door. Fieramosca hides in Teresa’s bedroom. Balducci somes back.)

Balducci: Teresa, what are you up to? Are you talking to people? How many times do I have to remind you that you’re not allowed to have a life?

Teresa: (distracting him so Cellini can sneak out) DAD THERE’S A MAN IN MY BEDROOM

Balducci: What??? Let me see!

(Balducci goes into Teresa's bedroom and comes out dragging Fieramosca) I can’t believe this! This is so inappropriate, Fieramosca, how dare you?

Fieramosca: No, wait, let me explain! I just came to visit! Cellini is the real rascal!

Teresa: Oh the poor man is raving mad.

Balducci: I will not stand for this! Servants, come here! Let’s teach this seducer a lesson!

Servants: OH YEAAAHHHHH LET’S STICK HIM IN THE FOUNTAIN

Fieramosca: NO WAIT

Teresa: This is the best thing ever.

Act I Scene II

Piazza Colonna

Cellini: I can’t wait to elope with Teresa!

(A bunch of Cellini’s friends and students come in)

Chorus: LALALALALA LET’S GET SLOSHED

Cellini: Yes, but for god’s sake none of those ridiculous drinking songs. Let’s sing about the glory of metal-workers!

Everyone: YEAH GLORY TO THE METAL-WORKERS!! WE’RE THE BEST WE WORK WITH METAL THAT SPARKLES LIKE JEWELS AND RIPPLES LIKE FLOWERS AND IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN BOTH OF THOSE PUT TOGETHER

Bernardino: Alright folks, let’s drink up!

Innkeeper: Sorry lads, not until you pay your tab.

Cellini: Okay who’s got the cash? …nobody? Well this is a nice little pickle we’ve gotten ourselves into.

Ascanio: (enters carrying a bag of money) ASCANIO TO THE RESCUE

Everybody: YEAHHH VIVA ASCANIO

Ascanio: Okay hold your horses folks, before you spend this money, you have to realize where it’s coming from. It’s a down payment on that statue you’re supposed to build. Cellini, remember you promised the Pope you’d make that statue?

Cellini: Ugh, don’t remind me.

Ascanio: It’s literally my job to remind you.

Cellini: Fiiiiine I promise I’ll finish the statue.

Ascanio: Okay, cool. Here’s the money.

Cellini: Here you go, you troublesome little man, now give us our drinks.

(He gives the Innkeeper the money.)

Cellini: Okay, now that we all have had our libations, let’s talk revenge. You know that guy Balducci who’s always disrespecting me and trying to keep me away from my girlfriend? Well, I have a plan for Carnival where we can humiliate him in front of everyone as payback!

Everyone else: Sounds like a great time! We’re in.

Everyone: Yeah!! A curse on that guy! And while you’re at it, honor to the metal-workers again!!

Ascanio: That’s such a bop where’d it come from?

Cellini: We made it up while you were gone.

Ascanio: I always miss the fun stuff.

(they all leave to get ready; Fieramosca, who was eavesdropping, comes out into the open)

Fieramosca: Ugh, look at them all, plotting against my future!

Pompeo: (entering) Hey boo! What's with the long face?

Fieramosca: Alas, Pompeo, my only friend! What a week it's been! First off, I got an impromptu and very much unwanted bath at Balducci’s yesterday. And as if that weren’t enough, now Cellini and his apprentice are going to abduct my girl!

Pompeo: That’s actually not a bad idea.

Fieramosca: What do you mean?? You want him to steal Teresa from me?

Pompeo: No, the getting in disguise and abducting her part! Why don’t WE just don those same disguises and get her ourselves?

Fieramosca: Ohhh, I get it! What a great idea! Although I must admit, I am a little scared of what Cellini might do if he catches me in the act.

Pompeo: What you think he’s actually going to stab somebody? Here, let’s practice sword fighting so you’re prepared if he does try to pull anything funny.

Fieramosca: Good idea! (they practice sword fighting) HA LOOK AT ME, WHO WOULD EVER DARE CHALLENGE ME, ALL Y’ALL PEASANTS GET OUT OF MY WAY, I’M THE ROUGHEST TOUGHEST GUY YOU EVER DID SEE. Oh, Teresa, I wish you could know just how much my heart burns for you! I’ll be damned if I let that rascal Cellini come between us.

(They leave to get ready. Balducci enters with Teresa as the Piazza begins to fill with people)

Balducci: Well, Teresa, I hope you’re happy. I’ve decided to suffer through this vulgar comedy so you can stop nagging me about not letting you go to Carnival.

Teresa: I’ll never forget your sacrifice, dad. (Come to think, it DOES make me feel a little guilty to be running away from home...is it fair to leave him all by himself?)

Cellini and Ascanio: (dressed as monks) Quickly and quietly, let’s get down to business! The plot is about to start!

Chorus or Troupers: COME, GOOD PEOPLE OF ROME!! COME AND SEE OUR SHOW!!

People: THIS IS SO MUCH FUN CARNIVAL IS AWESOME

Troupers: Let the show begin! (They start a pantomime featuring a parody of Balducci and the Pope)

Balducci: What fresh nonsense is this?

Teresa: Uhhh maybe we should go?

People: SHUT UP AND WATCH THE SHOW

Balducci: You know what? I’m going to suffer through this whole thing and then go tell the Pope how you’re all mocking him! Because he and I talk all the time I guess.

People: WE SAID SHUT UP JUST WATCH THE SHOW

Cellini: Ascanio, can you see Teresa?

Ascanio: Nope but I see someone else trying to interfere with our plans!

People: HAHAHA WATCH THE SHOW THIS IS SO FUNNY LOOK AT HARLEQUIN LOOK AT THE OLD MAN HAHAHA

Balducci: I’M GOING TO TELL ON ALL OF YOU

Teresa: Dad, stop, you’re just riling them up!

Balducci: THAT’S IT I’VE HAD ENOUGH COME GET A TASTE OF MY WRATH (he runs onstage wielding his cane)

People: HAHAHA THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

Fieramosca: Come on, Pompeo, let’s sneak over and grab Teresa!

Cellini: Come on, Ascanio, let’s sneak over and grab Teresa!

Fieramosca: Teresa, it’s me! Come with me!

Cellini: Teresa, it’s me! Come with me!

Teresa: ??? I don’t know who is who!

Cellini: Come with me!

Fieramosca: Come with me!

Teresa: You know, when I imagined myself falling in love, I never thought I’d have two fake monks vying for my attention.

Ascanio: WE’VE BEEN HAD YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS (starts chasing Fieramosca)

Cellini: Get out of my way! Cut it out! (He and Pompeo fight; Cellini stabs Pompeo.)

Pompeo: Oh, I’m dead! (He dies.)

People: OMG SOMEBODY DIED CALL 911 I CAN’T BELIEVE A MONK JUST KILLED A GUY WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE LIVE IN

Fieramosca: OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST KILLED MY BOYFRIEND

Teresa: OMG CELLINI

Balducci: OMG A DEAD MAN TERESA WHERE ARE YOU

Cellini: OMG I’M REALLY IN TROUBLE NOW

Ascanio: Well, that happened.

(General chaos ensues; Cellini’s students help him escape. Amidst the mayhem Balducci bumps into Fieramosca, and, thanks to his white monk costume, mistakes him for the murderer)

Balducci: I FOUND HIM I FOUND THE MURDERER

Fieramosca: ...are you telling me this is the second time in as many days I’m being accused of something that Cellini did?

Ascanio: Come on, Teresa, let’s get out of here!

Teresa: You don’t have to tell me twice! (They both run off.)

Act II Scene I

Cellini’s workshop

Teresa: Oh my gosh what a catastrophe! I hope Cellini is okay!

Ascanio: Have faith! My master is not one to let a silly little murder accusation get him down. I mean, he did actually kill the guy, but I’m sure it will all work itself out. Have faith!

Teresa: Let’s pray for his safe return! (She and Ascanio sing a very pretty prayer; Cellini busts into the workshop)

Cellini: HONEY I’M HOME

Teresa and Ascanio: OMG YAYY YOU’RE ALIVE

Cellini: It was a close call! Everyone was running after me with daggers and calling out for my blood! I thought for sure I was done for, but I managed to evade the crowd and find a place to hide, but passed clean out in the process. It was just my fortune that as I came to my senses, as group of white monks were walking past! I joined their procession and no one was the wiser. God led them right to you!

Teresa: OMG that’s such a harrowing adventure! I’ve got goosebumps.

Ascanio: And you’re sure this is 100% accurate, with no embellishments?

Cellini: What do you take me for? Now, come on, we’ve got to get out of here before they come after us again.

Ascanio: Whoops, they’re already here.

Balducci: Cellini, you scoundrel, abductor, murderer, and general all-around-annoying person! Relinquish my daughter. It’s time for her to unite with her husband, Fieramosca.

Cellini: OVER MY DEAD BODY

Ascanio: Don’t give them any ideas!

Balducci: Come on, Fieramosca, claim your bride!

Teresa: DAD NOOOOO

Fieramosca: Uh...I don’t want to cause a scene…

(The Pope enters with his retinue)

Everybody: OH SHI--OH DEAR IT’S THE POPE

Pope: Rise, rise, my children! Relish in my holiness, but don’t hurt yourselves.

Balducci and Fieramosca: Oh your Holiness, please grant us your assistance! That rascal Cellini has tarnished Teresa’s honor.

Cellini: Come on, I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.

Pope: Well well, well, Cellini, this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten in trouble with me, is it? For example, where’s my statue? The one I commissioned you to make?

Cellini: Well...it’s not quite done yet.

Pope: Are you saying I should find someone else to cast the statue instead?

Cellini: WHAT?? HOW DARE YOU!! SOMEONE ELSE CAST M STATUE?? I’D RATHER DIE THAN SEE SOME AMETURE DARE TO PUT THEIR GRUBBY LITTLE FINGERS ON MY MASTERWORK

Everyone else: Are you seriously yelling at the Pope????

Pope: Arrest this man!

Cellini: YOU ARREST ME AND I WILL DESTROY THIS MODEL RIGHT HERE THEN NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO FINISH THE STATUE! NOBODY!! NOBODY!!

Pope: How dare you threaten me? What’s it going to take to calm you down?

Cellini: I want full forgiveness for all my crimes up till this point. Wipe my record clean.

Pope: Fine, fine.

Cellini: ALSO I want Teresa.

Balducci and Fieramosca: WHAT??? Your Holiness can’t possibly be considering this.

Cellini: I ALSO want more time to finish the statue.

Pope: …you know my weakness for art; fine, fine, I can’t really say no.

Balducci and Fieramosca: What audacity! But we’ll see who has the last laugh.

Teresa: Oh, what a fateful day!

Ascanio: Look at my master, he’s so clever and devious!

Pope: Okay, Cellini, here’s the deal. Finish the statue by tomorrow, and you’ll get all that you asked for. If you can’t finish it in time, you’ll be hanged.

Cellini: Fine!

Balducci and Fieramosca: He’s on the brink of ruin! We’ll see who wins this one!

Teresa: He’s doomed, alas! There’s nothing left for me in this world! Luckily I'm not going to end my life based on this notion like most operatic heroines, but I still feel dread in my heart!

Cellini: I’ve got to win this!

Ascanio: Come one boss you’re the best you got this!!!!

Act II Scene II

Cellini’s Foundry

Ascanio: TRALALALALALA….idk what I’m feeling...I’m happy, then I’m sad, then I’m crying, then I’m laughing, then I’m singing! Must be the hormones. Or the stress...our little bronze boy is finally getting finished today! But there’s a lot on the line. On one hand, I’m all scared that we’ll fail and my poor master will be hanged; on the other hand I can’t help laughing over how ridiculous the whole situation is...I mean, did you SEE the way my master stood up to the Pope?? Anyway, I better start getting ready. Tralalala! (He exits)

Cellini: What have I gotten myself into? How did I expect to finish this statue on time? All of Rome has its eyes on me

Ascanio: *Hamilton chorus voice* history has its eyes on youuuu

Cellini: What?

Ascanio: Nothing. I’m not here.

Cellini: Ah, why can’t I be a simple shepherd, whiling my life peacefully away in the mountains?

Chorus outside: Oooh!! here’s a grim old sea shanty

Cellini: I wish they’d stop! Nothing good ever happens when they sing that song!

Ascanio: (coming back) Not that song again!

Cellini: Take heart! We’re like sailors ourselves, but our sea is made of metal! Let’s get to work!

Fieramosca: NOT SO FAST!! I demand justice! Cellini, I challenge you to a duel! No need for all those sword-fighting lessons to go to waste.

Cellini: Someone finally grew a pair, eh? Fine, let’s duel right here.

Fieramosca: Not here! If I kill you in your own place, I’m a murderer. Meet me behind St. Anthony’s cloister.

Cellini: I’ll see you there!

(Fieramosca leaves; Teresa enters)

Ascanio: Here’s your sword, boss!

Teresa: Omg Cellini are you going to a duel??

Cellini: Relax, it’s just Fieramosca. (exit with Ascanio.)

Teresa: What if it’s an ambush????

Cellini’s workers (storming in) THAT’S IT WE’RE GOING ON STRIKE THESE WORKING CONDITIONS SUCK

Teresa: Oh heavens! What’s this ruckus? Come on, folks, just wait for Cellini to come back and talk about it!

Workers: NOPE WE’RE OUTTA HERE

(Fieramosca walks in)

Teresa: OMG FIERAMOSCA IS BACK WITHOUT CELLINI THAT MEANS CELLINI IS DEAD HE KILLED CELLINI (faints)

Workers: YOU KILLED OUR BOSS???

Fieramosca: What? No! Geez, this really is not my week. I’m just here to offer you the raise Cellini won’t give you.

Workers: NOPE WE’RE LOYAL TO CELLINI FORGET WHAT WE JUST SAID GET OUTTA HERE YOU RASCAL

Cellini: (coming back) What’s going on?

Teresa: (awake) OMG YOU’RE ALIVE

Cellini: ...was that ever in question? Oh, hey, Fieramosca, you’re just in time to help build the statue! Here’s an apron, get to work.

Fieramosca: What? I--

Everyone else: Get to work, or you’ll be taking another impromptu bath, but this time it’ll be in a sea of molten metal!

Fieramosca: YIKES! Okay, lead the way.

Everyone: COME ON LADS LET’S GET TO WORK

(the workers and Fieramosca head to the forge. Balducci enters with the Pope.)

Balducci: Teresa! What are you doing here?

Teresa: Uh, funny story.

Pope: So, Cellini, is my statue done yet?

Cellini: Nope, but it will be very soon.

Balducci: We’ll see about that.

Pope: You better be right.

Fieramosca: (running in) We need more metal for the statue!

Cellini: What, are you messing up my statue?? Let me go see (he runs to the forge)

Balducci: Fieramosca? What are you doing wearing an apron?

Fieramosca: Would you believe me if I said I got a new job?

Cellini: (coming back) Haha nothing to see here! Everything is going according to plan! We just need a bit more metal, that’s all, no biggie.

Workers: Just one problem: There is no more metal. And the fire’s going out. If we don’t get more metal in there quick, the whole thing will be ruined!

Balducci: Well, well, well, looks like I’m winning!

Cellini: NO THIS IS NOT THE END I REFUSE TO GIVE UP! Everyone, just grab anything metal and throw it in there!

Workers: What?? Even all your old work?

Cellini: I SAID EVERYTHING DIDN’T I

(Cellini, the workers, and Ascanio all start grabbing metal things and throwing them into the furnace)

Teresa: I can’t handle this stress!!

Pope: I can’t believe the nerve of this guy! Is it possible he could actually succeed?

(An explosion comes from the forge)

Cellini: OMG THIS IS IT I’M DONE FOR

Workers: WOOHOO WE DID IT LONG LIVE CELLINI

Cellini: We did it??

Workers: VICTORY! VICTORY!! LOOK AT THE STATUE ISN'T IT AMAZING

Fieramosca: CELLINI WE DID IT HOW ABOUT A HUG

Cellini: ...how about no

Pope: Well, Cellini, I didn't think I was going to be able to say this, but you made good on your word. I officially pardon your sins, and bless your marriage to Teresa. (He leaves.)

Cellini: YAYY TERESA

Teresa: YAYY CELLINI

Everyone: VICTORY!! LONG LIVE CELLINI!! IMMORTAL GLORY! GLORY TO THE METAL-WORKERS!!!!

The End

#Benvenuto Cellini #abbreviated operas #Hector Berlioz #Léon de Wailly #Henri Auguste Barbier #opera #opera tag

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chargetheintruder · 4 years ago

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My one-year pandemic anniversary.

I likely won't have much time tomorrow, the 17th to actually do much online, to honor my fifty-two weeks of strangeness with COVID-19, beyond mark my calendars with something like:

One Year does not equal two weeks, damn it.

But even so, I should likely post something, even if a day early, just to take note of what happened to me, what I've lost, and so on.

Because you see, I went into 2020 on meds for everything (mood disorder, prostate issues and all that) and with plans. I did. I was still thinking I could recover some clothing and furniture for this penalty box of an apartment I'm half-stuck with, and that I could maybe get some new friends or a girlfriend sometime soon.

Then this pandemic hit. Only at first it was an outbreak and I had gotten it twisted because like a lot of folks early on I was working on partial info at best. I live in a blue state and near a University campus, so I jumped to some conclusions about how this was going to be a "campus illness" and how red staters were just partying it up because no campuses meant no outbreak, right?

Wrong. This was a pandemic, at least partially because a) some 5 million people went to the Wuhan province in the PRC to celebrate the Lunar New Year and many of them likely were Patient Zeroes, and b) because a lot of those people spread the thing to Europe first, insuring further spread.

So really, losing my chance to vote on that Election Day in the Democratic Primaries (because of lockdown) so that someone other than Biden would get chosen was the least of my worries. I had to get used to distancing, abusing my sleeves for coughs and sneezes, THEN masks, and also dealing with crazy people and only those being anti-mask for any reason, while LOTS of people were still against WASHING THEIR HANDS.

And also. . . I had the problems I had with my forced moveout of August 28, 2018, largely because I needed to be IN TOWN, since I had no car, true, but also because I had problems with LACK OF HUMAN CONTACT. Guess what this pandemic, then, shoved down everyone's throat (except for people with very nice internet connections)? Right. And here I was desperately trying to keep it together for the longest time with no internet connections because of outdated equipment, but also because I didn't want to give in to Comcast's monopoly power over this entire damned town (right next door) where I was forced to move. Yeah.

Fast-forward to October of 2020. I didn't like Biden but Trump was hellbent on becoming Hitler Lite, and it was clear everyone with half a brain had to stop Trump. So I took my mail-in ballot, filled out and everything, to a ballot box that I thought would be safe. That entailed a short bus ride on a route I was no longer familiar with. I came masked up. I rode in the center of the bus as usual. An older lady up front was coughing up a lung and not, NOT wearing her mask over her nose, and barely over her mouth.

I got sick about a week later and looking back, I'm pretty sure it was COVID-19. I took no chances and self-quarantined for a month to be safe to everyone else around me. I gave in and had internet by then, even if my access to my own Chromebook was super-limited still (thanks Google, you jerks). I could make it. The virus itself seemed to only give me digestive/GI issues and body aches, no big deal, right?

Problem was, I started coughing and feeling tired and dizzy all the time afterward. Long COVID, made worse by my being in a sick-house of an apartment building where the lease said it was a "no-smoking building" but the tenants and especially my neighbors, just gave no fucks and kept lighting it up in their apartments and polluting my own (under and through the baseboards). And it was all I could do to stay online and push others to vote, and support Georgia, and to be patient with Team Victim in the hopes that something would be done about the bastards who got us into the mess. You know, the landlords and rich bitches, and yes, the local University too, who invited all of the Han Chinese exchange students here to my hometown, had out-of-state, red-state landlords show up and pander to them exclusively, to the point that locals were ran out of town wherever possible? Those guys.

Those red-state, Republican guys. But in the process, I got re-addicted to chatting with my long-distance flirt on the internet, among lots of other things, my health got worse and it got to where I barely got out once a week, then once every 2-3 weeks, because of virus surges. Getting out was rough anyway because of the masks--nobody had a face, which made it hard for me to talk to people and not be freaked out and paranoid. The only uncanny valley issue I really have--facelessness--and it was the one I had to deal with. And I had lost my friends, mostly, except for the last pen-pal I have out-of-state, and she's busy with her husband and family too.

Point is, here I am now. A year into this. Worn-out, ragged, depressed when I already had depression, in bad health when I already had old-fart health issues, nothing to do anywhere outside when I had little to nothing to do inside to begin with. No, really, I don't go out to eat, just to eat out of a bag in the parking lot, or to walk it home and it gets cold, sorry. And ordering pizza and cheesy bread really only does so much. My life and finances were already ruined from the forced move-out and now there's literally nothing, no friends locally, no social contact, nothing, nothing, nothing, thanks to this plague, this plague, this plague, and people get to hurt us again, a thousand-plus times as badly as 9-11-2001 did, and they get to walk, and walk and walk. Meaning the Han Chinese, the landlords from Trumps on down, and also the alt-reich supporting the shit-show.

I hope you can see where this would make a fellow a bit crazy. More so than usual. I would hope the vaccines make things all right again, but even that has problems since it lets people off the hook. And also, since I have a bit of a ruined trash-mouth that's maybe half my fault? *lol* Meaning I might look better with a mask on in perpetuity, ugh, even if I don't feel like it.

What do you do?

#One year in #COVID 19 #depression #lonliness #ruined life #ruined society

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blerbdrops · 5 years ago

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bad name (b.h. x fem rdr)

im drunk and thirsty for billy hargrove and i thought of this in the back of an uber lets GET IT

summary: you and billy used to date. emphasis on used to. now, you stay away from him at all costs but keep finding yourself drawn to him, coming back all over again.

warnings: smut (18+),angst if you squint kind of ((i never wrote angst before. forgive me lmfao)), slight praise kink, underage drinking, smoking probably, toxic relationships, billy hargrove in himself counts as a warning right ? unprotected sex. wrap it before you tap it folks!! fluff towards the end i guess. oh everyone in this fic is 18 and older btw bc smut LMAO

song inspo that u should also listen to when reading this: you give love a bad name x bon jovi, i hate myself for loving you x joan jett & the blackhearts

it was another saturday night, and tina invited you to another one of her ragers. again. not like you had anything against partying, as any teenager in a small town like hawkins, but you knew your ex was going to be there and you really werent trying to see him. you knew he was going to be there because he thrives off of attention, no matter how good OR bad it was.

you and billy dated for six months. six months you had tamed the beast in him. but it all came undone when he had some other bitch wrapped around his arm in the school parking lot like grip tape on a wooden baseball bat. you spat at his feet and ended the relationship, right then and there.

or so you thought. between every hookup billy had, and every guy you managed to get free dinner and head from, you two were drawn back to each other but in a sick, twisted way. like a fly caught in a spiders web. sometimes he was the fly, and you the spider.

tonight though, you were two beers and three rum & cokes deep. the bass of the music thrummed through your body. not like you were dancing though. you only came to get drunk and get laid. and you were already drunk.

you smoothed out the crinkle in your denim mini-skirt, leaning against a wall, surveying the crowd. you caught billy in your vision, frizzy blond curls and all, dancing up against some random girl from the cheer team. you didnt get jealous. i mean, how could you? you knew if you wanted him, you could have him. you did have him, at one point.

while he was dancing, he looked around and locked his gaze within yours. he licked his lips at you, to which you returned a sultry wink. you used your tongue to wrap around the straw in your cup of spiked punch to bring it closer to your mouth and raised an eyebrow at him. he took sight of this and eased his way off the dance floor. he slightly stumbled his way over to you. leaning his arm against the wall above you, he looked down at you. he placed his hand on the small of your back, bringing you closer into him. he knew what you liked.

“hey sweetheart.” he purred into your ear. “you look real good tonight.”

you flushed, letting out a laugh. “and so do you. couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

he smirked at you, licking his lower lip. “lets get out of here. you and me, for old times sake?”

you knew fucking him was gonna be bad. so, so bad for the both of you. but the heat pooling between your legs led you to believe otherwise.

“take me to my place, baby.” you purred into his ear. he grabbed you by the hand and led you both to his car, opening the passenger door for you. you both eased yourself into the brown leather bucket seats of his camaro. before he turned on his car, he grabbed the fabric of your shirt and pulled you in for a fervent, needy kiss. it was full of sin, fire, and teeth biting on lips. you both had to exercise restraint, because you both had a long night ahead.

the ride was spent with his hand gripping your thigh, and vice versa. neither of you wanted to lose physical contact with each other. he pulled into your empty driveway, save for your car being in there.

“where are your folks?” he asked, turning to you.

“gone for the weekend. went to go sightsee or something.” you replied. “wouldnt have brought you to mine if they were home anyways.”

“i know doll.” you both exit the car and waste no time in getting to the front door. you fumble with the keys, not being able to concentrate with billy’s hard dick grinding up against your ass. you groaned at the feeling and ground back into him, earning the slightest moan from him.

once you got in and slammed the door shut behind you, it was a wrap.

he smashed his lips into yours, pressing you against the front door of your house. you returned the heated kiss to him. you bit his lower lip, eliciting a moan from him. you took this chance and slid your tongue into his mouth. the both of you becoming more aroused, you untucked his shirt from his pants and threw it off of him. he pulled off your shirt in one fell swoop, exposing your braless chest. he groaned at the sight of your barren chest and began leaving sloppy, drunken kisses down your neck, on your collarbone and breasts. he licked a trail up back to your neck and nipped at the shell of your ear.

“miss me, baby girl? i know you fuckin’ did.” he purrs into your ear, sending shivers down your spine.

“more than anything, daddy.” you bit at his neck, fiddling with the belt buckle at his waist, wanting more of him against you.

he picks you up and you wrap your legs around him, letting his strong arms carry you up to your bedroom. once you two get in your room, he lets you go gently on your bed, and you pull off your skirt and kick off your shoes, leaving yourself in your black thong. he gets visibly harder through his denim jeans.

“ugh you take too long. i want you right now.” you unfasten his black leather belt and cast it off to the empty side of the bed, the side that used to be his. you yank his pants and boxers down, and his erection springs out and bounces against his washboard abs. you throw your hair up into a ponytail and lick down his entire shaft. he lets out a breathy moan at this.

he missed the way you looked with your mouth wrapped around his long, hard member. he loved the way you looked when you’d take his whole length in your mouth and looked up at him with innocent eyes.

he snaked his hands to your ponytail and you raised an eyebrow at him, pulling his hands away from you and pinning them to his sides. he moaned at the way you took charge. you were the only girl who challenged him in bed. you bobbed your head against him as he slowly thrust into your mouth. you looked up at him and met his gaze, smiling as best as you could with his dick in your mouth.

“my god, angel.” he groaned out. “you look so goddamn good right now.”

you hummed against him, feeling his orgasm ever so slightly build up. but you werent going to let him cum just yet.

you pulled off of him, releasing his wrists from your grip and slowly pumping him. “hold out for me, baby boy.” he immediately pulls you off of his knees and places you on the bed, leaving rough kisses along your body, love bites on your collarbone and breasts. he used his teeth to pull down your underwear, discarding of them completely with his hands when they got low enough. he gently kissed along the insides of your thighs, his breaths teasing your pussy as you grew wetter for him.

he gently traces his index finger along your folds, chuckling darkly. “so wet. and its all for me, huh angel?”

you sigh, head hitting your fluffy pillows. “yes baby. all for you. please, please dont keep me waiting any longer. i need you.”

and that was all it took. he dove into you face first, flattening his tongue out and licking along your slit. your hands sunk into his blond mop, gripping tighter at him. you felt the vibration of his moan throughout your entire body and you let a sinful moan escape your lips. he took this as incentive to pull you closer by your thighs and really taste you.

he ate you out like you two were never going to fuck again. his tongue found its way to your clit. he used one of his free hands to pull back the hood on your clit to expose it further. you arched your back into him, moans becoming louder. this only spurred him on as he gently sucked on your exposed clit. he used his other free hand to slide two fingers inside you. your grip on his hair got tighter as you rode his face, essentially. you felt your thigh muscles contract as you almost hit your orgasm. keyword: almost. he stops, and you whine at the loss of his mouth. the sight of him is almost holy.

his blond curls tumbled down and hit his shoulders, his eyes glassy and full of fire, lust, and desire. his lips glistened in the dim light of your room, full, pink and swollen. his smooth skin shone, and you swear you almost came at the sight of him.

“bend over for me sugar.” he says to you, in a sultry and demanding way. you flip over with ease, giving him the perfect view of your ass. you pulled a pillow closer to your face, letting it rest there. he looked at you dreamily.

“atta girl. youre so fucking sexy.” he kissed your ass, which made you moan and push back on him, letting the tip of his dick graze against your wet pussy.

“fuck babygirl. youre so goddamn wet. i love that.” he moaned, teasing you and himself at your entrance. “dripping wet, and all for me. your pussy is so damn beautiful.”

you moaned into the pillow before picking your head up, “my GOD billy! please just fuck me into my mattress already, i cant wait much longer. i need that big, thick dick inside me so fucking bad baby.”

without anymore hesitation, he slid into you with ease. you both moaned at feeling each other like this again. he thrusted into you harder and harder. you bit the pillow as he laid a harsh smack against your ass, watching it redden.

“oh god baby! yes, yes, yes!!” you moan out loudly, throwing your ass back against him as he fucked you. he loved when you fucked him back, loved watching your ass jiggle against his pelvis. he used his knees to push your legs apart, and get deeper into you.

“god, yes princess.” he let out between thrusts. “i love when you push back on me like that. you miss my dick babygirl?”

he ruts into you, you screaming out in pleasure. “AH! oh yes daddy. i missed that dick inside me.” you felt the pressure of your orgasm build in your stomach. he felt your walls clench against his dick, and he slid out of you.

“on your back. now.” he demanded. you threw yourself against your soft blankets as he nudged your legs spread eagle in front of him. he slid into you once more, starting with slow, deep strokes.

“oh baby. go faster, please.” you begged him. he smiled at you.

“hm? you want me to go faster? you mean.. like this?” he picked up his pace, fast enough to arouse you but not to harm you. he knew you too well and you were too stubborn to admit it.

“o-oh fuck yes! just like that. my god baby!!” you screamed out, burying your face into the crook of his neck and biting down. this only made him rut into you harder. he lifted up one of your legs and let it rest against his shoulder, allowing him to hit your g-spot with every thrust.

“oh, you like that babygirl?” he cooed. “i know you fuckin’ do. god, i missed this pussy so goddamn much!” he thrusted into you, not being able to hold out much longer. not with the way you writhed against him, or how his name seemed to roll off your tongue with ease. “who’s pussy is this? who do you belong to?” he demanded an answer, and who were you to deny him that luxury?

“fuck, daddy! its yours, its all yours.” you drew out your moan, clawing into his back. “you feel so fucking good. i missed you inside me so fucking much!” you cried out. your orgasm built up again, your walls tightening around billy.

“look at me, angel. look at me when you cum all over my dick.” he used his free hand to rub slow circles on your clit, sending you to the brink of your orgasm. his thrusts became sloppier and you knew he was going to cum too.

“oh! o-oh fuck DADDY! yes, yes yes!” you screamed out, your pussy spasming around his dick. he continued to rub on your clit as your nails dug into and down his back while you rode out your climax on his hand. you were both certain that those marks would take a while to fade. he didnt care.

“goddamn babygirl. im gonnna cum. where do you want it” he said, edging himself so he could hear your answer. instead of verbal response, you opened your mouth and stuck your tongue out, ready to catch him in your mouth. he groaned at this in response, and felt his abs tighten.

“oh fuck. come here princess.” he swiftly pulls out of you and pumps himself onto your open mouth. you catch every spurt of cum and take the extra measure to lick off the excess that dripped from his tip. you slowly and gently sucked him off, making sure to clean him off in the process. you released him from your mouth with a pop and smiled, looking up at him. he was breathing heavy and so were you, sweaty from the sinful, nasty sex you two had shared.

spent, billy collapsed onto your bed. you throw off the covers, allowing you and him to get underneath them. you cracked a window to air out the room. you reached into your nightstand and pulled out a cigarette from your cigarette box and your cheap lighter and lit one up. you took a nice, long drag and exhaled before passing it to billy. you two shared a cigarette in your post-sex euphoria.

“so.” he began, “when is this gonna happen again?”

“it’ll happen when it happens. you know i cant guarantee anything for you.” you responded, finishing the cigarette and ashing out on your ashtray in the window.

“right. is that why we’re here now? and you’re not my girl?” he responded.

“billy you had some other bitch on you like white on rice when i came out into the school parking lot. thats why im not your girl.” you turned on your side, facing him. “worst part is, you embarrassed yourself, and me. that shit hurt.”

a poignant silence hung in the air. he had nothing to refute your statement with, because you cant argue facts. “(y/n). you know i still love you. right?”

you sighed. “yes. i still love you too. but i cant find it in me to keep away from you. i dont know what it is about you. you’re bad.”

“so i’ve been told.” he replies flatly. “can we- can we just enjoy what this is for now, at least?”

“yeah. we can.” you snuggled into his chest, his arm wrapping around you and pulling up the covers to keep your naked bodies warm, together.

#billy hargrove smut #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x reader #Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove angst #blerbdrops original content

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algernoninwonderland · 5 years ago

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Some more useful facts about France for your fiction to feel “more French” by a Baguette

Metropolitan France is small compared with the U.S. but it doesn’t mean all French people speak the exact same variety of French! And I’m not even talking about the Overseas regions! It’s mostly accents, idioms and a couple of words (some heathens from Southern France say chocolatine for pain au chocolat, a sort viennoiserie sweet roll with chocolate in its centre) but it’s definitely there!

Strikes are a national sport. Demonstrations as well, my first demonstration was when I was like 15, I think?

For a country that is “secular” and that “doesn’t see colours”, it sure is Islamophobic, antisemitic and racist! Not necessarily in a straightforward way, but it’s definitely there, lots of sterile debates about headscarves and ham and “oddly” enough, only white people are invited to discuss that. Even antiracist organisations such as S.O.S. Racisme are overwhelmingly white. Spaces to discuss what it means for people to be biracial or second, third generation immigrants are rare in the mainstream sphere. Intersectional feminism is often demonised.

When you think about suburbs, do you think about a nice house with a lawn? In France, it’s not really that. Sure, those exist, but for the most part, or at least suburbs of big city (banlieues) we’re talking big apartment buildings, often rent-controlled. Some have been built in the late 1950s, some later on, often with materials that aren’t meant to last this long. So there are all the basic things you need to live, the rent is rather cheap but it’s not a great time living there. You guessed it, mostly lower middle-class / lower class people end up there. And because France is a very classist country, living there (even though you can’t afford anywhere else) is not very well seen. More people live in the banlieues around Paris than in Paris itself, unsurprisingly.

Living in the city, and in especially the city centre, on the other hand, is very well seen. It’s where the desk and services jobs are, and the historical buildings and so on. The rent is more expensive of course, but outside of Paris, I guess that means you can get anywhere interesting in a matter of minutes, by foot. Our cities really aren’t that big, and skyscrapers aren’t really a thing.

Trains! We really like those. The main (and until very recently only) railway company in France is state-owned (SNCF). And we don’t use the same trains depending on how long the trip is meant to last (and how much you can afford). TGVs (bullet trains) are more expensive but really fast, TERs (“regular” trains if you will) are cheaper, slower, and often used for shorter distance trips.

Alcohol! You have to be 18 or older to purchase alcohol on your own. De facto nobody cares. Once again, you’ll find your regular cheap vodka-apple juice (ugh) in middle school house parties (as long as the parents don’t know). Though the idea that it’s not a real meal without a bottle of red wine is not as predominant as it once was, it’s still there. Champagne isn’t just any sparkling white (or rosé) wine, but the sparkling wine from the vineyards of Champagne (the region). Doesn’t taste the same as Crémant, for instance. And it’s also a lot more expensive.

Weed! In France, the only people who haven’t smoked weed once in their lives are either over 50 or liars. Almost everybody has smoked tobacco, at least in middle school, and that’s the same for weed. It’s still not legal but that’ll probably change in the next 10 years. The police mostly turns a blind eye when it’s white kids.

Anti-americanism! It’s a complicated story but to oversimplify, the French Communist Party (PCF) was a pretty big deal after WW2 and lots of French intellectuals (even Sartre of all people) joined its ranks. It was pretty close to the USSR, hence that anti-American feeling. Which still remains partly, though it has evolved and the PCF is in a sorry state now.

Did you know? France is not just Paris! (Even though most of the important museums and places of power are located there, hyper-centralisation, blah, blah). Lots of different cities with different moods. Rennes is really nice for university students! Strasbourg is cozy! Marseilles is sunny! (“smaller” cities are depressing as hell and only older people and people who grew up there want to spend their lives there, but there are fewer and fewer commerces and more and more malls, so these basically)

The French coastline: it’s is not just the Mediterranean! Brittany exists too (the Manche is awfully cold but the waves are bigger and crêpes and Kouign Amann are a delight) and Southwest France too for that matter (the Atlantic Ocean is still cold but not as cold, alas, fewer crêpes), and the landscapes are different! Once again, I’m not even talking about la Martinique or Mayotte or so many other Overseas regions.

Not being cishet: not as hard as before but still far from perfect! Sure, mariage for all has been legal since 2013. But “ordinary” homophobia is still everywhere, homophobic and transphobic slurs are still commonplace and barely frowned upon. Only cis straight couples may benefit from Assisted Reproductive Technology. The French government’s anti-homophobia campaigns have been very clumsy, to put it politely. As a wlw, I still don’t feel safe holding hands with my girlfriend in the street, especially at night. In general, mainstream wlw representation is mostly done with a male audience in mind (Blue is the Warmest Colour, anyone? It sure ain’t Portrait of a Lady on Fire). What about mlm representation? Rare and often played as a joke (though both wlw and mlm rep are improving, just not quickly enough and well enough). The very concept of gender is still controversial among the older generations. Institutional transphobia is very much real. Until 2016, trans people had to be sterilised when they had gender-affirming therapy and surgery. Lots of transphobic doctors and psychiatrists. Though t*rfism isn’t nearly as bad as it is in the UK it’s slowly getting there. There is no singular “they” in French so NB, agender and other genderqueer folks had to make their own pronouns that are not widely admitted.

Subbed>Dubbed! More and more people watch their films/series in their original languages with French subtitles, cinemas offer such screenings, foreign TV programs also have that option made available. French people are fond of foreign cinema, and not just ‘Murican stuff. More than 1,7 million people went to see Parasite!!

#writing tips #writing #reference #france #paris #for writers #writer resources #drugs cw #alcohol cw #miraculous #ml #lgbt #lgbtq+#lgbtqphobia cw #lgbtphobia cw

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bluebellhairpin · 6 years ago

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Hush

Loki Laufeyson X Reader

A/N: Get ready for some angst my bro-dudes. Might be fluffy later. We’ll see how much of a bad author I’m feeling today. P.S. We’re bringing back the ‘Old Avengers’ (Thor=pop-tarts, Clint=air vents, etc), hope ya’ll don’t mind, I just really miss those days. - Nemo

Request: 44. "I don't sleep. My mind has a scary capability of being dark and demented." - "So you're scared of your own dreams?" - "Yes." — With Loki saying prompt. - @dicksoutformtl

Prompt: 44. "I don't sleep. My mind has a scary capability of being dark and demented." - "So you're scared of your own dreams?" - "Yes."

Warnings: Mentions of death, nightmares and PTSD. It’s only mild, but I thought I’d mention it just in case. Preparation is key folks.

Summary: Everyone knows Loki has done some bad things in his past, such bad things tend to stay with him for a lot longer then others might think. Lately the lingering thoughts have seeped into his dreams to give him restless nights. You, a new resident at the Avengers building, have noticed how he stays up later and it awake earlier than everyone else. So you decide to try and help the Prince by proving to him that your powers aren’t as lame as they sound.

Masterlist

As a child, you were always quieter than other kids. It wasn’t a sort of disease, and it wasn’t even part of your abilities. It was just how you were.

Your father always told the story of you as a newborn. How a few hours after you’d been born your mother had a postpartum hemorrhage and had to be sent to a hospital with more qualified staff. That hospital was over three hours away from your hometown, and after you mother had been taken to the better hospital via helicopter, you and you father along with your grandmother and aunt were taken afterwards via car.

During that entire time, you were mostly passed through the care of your father and aunt, your grandmother looking after you when she wasn’t with her daughter. Even though most babies might have been crying, hungry, or distressed without their mother for almost a week, you were quiet, only ever making a fuss when it was the exact time you were to be fed, and even then you were still quiet.

You father always said it was like you knew the extent of the situation, that you crying would only make it worse on him and you mother.

You were discerning even as a baby, you knew when you needed to be quiet and when you needed to speak out.

You gained your abilities after a school excursion to a radiotherapy facility. The radiation that was being passed through parts of the building was something otherworldly. Out of your class, five people died, and the rest of you were under testing for the next two weeks for any side effects. They people testing you all were surprised to find there was no signs of cancer, but there was signs of other things.

One kid, name was Harold, got the ability of telekinesis. He was obsessed with magic back then, so you saw that his abilities linked with that. In fact, you found, everyone's abilities linked with their major interests or personality traits at the time.

Jannie got the ability to shape-shift, she was very insecure about her body, so she used it to make herself look better. Some days you wished you had her power instead.

Victor gained a perfect memory, he could remember everything from faces and names to entire dictionaries. He was the classes A+ Student, had been ever since.

Kandice was able to communicate to animals. She wanted to be a vet, and with her new ability she could get answers to questions right from the animals.

Others were able to excel in physical sports, lie without getting caught, freeze time so they could read more books, one could even lift entire buildings so she could be like Superman.

You often compared your abilities to that of the others. Since you were so quiet, you gained the ability to make other things quiet. You thought it was stupid. Why would anyone want to live in a world of silence? But then you found it was useful.

One particular day at school you walked passed a crowd, in the centre of it was Harold, of which had gone down a much darker path then simple hand magic, and a kid two years below you. The kid was helpless as Harold kept ‘grabbing’ his books and spraying them everywhere.

You sighed at the sight, thinking you could again do nothing as other walked on or stopped to laugh. But then in hit you.

You could make things quiet, thinks like music and talking, but what's to say you can’t do that to other things too? There’s that saying, ‘quiet mind’, maybe you could quiet Harolds mind so much his powers stopped working.

So you moved further into the crowd, closer to Harold, and focused on his head, right where his brain was. You didn’t know what you were doing, but you knew you needed to do it fast.

You soon found out that fast wasn’t the best, and that you had definitely not used you powers to that extent before. Within a few seconds of telling Harold’s mind to be ‘Silent’ he had dropped to the ground with a thud. His powers were no longer working, as was his mind.

You rushed over to him, not having meant to make him collapse, and rolled him over so he was facing the sky. His eyes were glasses over with a white gloss, they couldn’t seem to find a place to fix themselves on, but that soon disappeared as you let go of your hold on his mind.

“(y/n), when the hell did you get here?” he said, voice slurred as he moved to sit up. “What am I doing on the ground? Ugh, let me go!” he yanked his arm out of your grasp and you leaned back to give him more space.

“I was helping.” you mumbled, choosing to not say who you were helping, since you did (kind of) help both him and the kid he was tormenting.

“I don’t need your help. Never have and never will.” Harold said, standing with a sway before walking off with his two ‘best friends’ in tow.

Once upon a time you were rather close with Harold. Not after his got his telekinesis. He seemed to figure he was better than a person with the power to ‘make things quiet’.

Looking back you knew he was wrong. Your powers sounded lame, to most they were, but you and SHIELD soon found they weren’t. Instead they were very useful.

As a result, but the time you’d been out of school for three years, you’d been taken in by SHIELD and used for stealth missions, even teaming up with The Captain America on few occasions. Those were fun missions.

Eventually those in charge of the SHIELD remnants viewed you as someone worth adding to the group called Avengers. You felt honoured.

At the same time they added the Asgardian Loki to the team. You felt enshadowed.

You’re powers were cool, at the best. Loki’s abilities we far superior to yours, no matter how repeatedly useful you were told yours were.

Loki thought you were strange, like you had just as much purpose as he did in being an Avenger, and yet you were still so ordinary. He didn’t really understand what you were meant to do.

You were always so damn quiet.

“Where’s (y/n)?” Steve asked, walking into the common room to find most of the over Avengers lounging around wasting time on mediocre tasks.

“Just walked passed me.” You said, looking up from your computer to see a flustered Steve. He always felt bad about not noticing you, even though you always told him it was fine.

“Sorry, I just needed to tell you you’re on for a mission with Loki tomorrow afternoon.” he said, looking over at Loki as he spoke. Loki nodded at his words before going back to the TV, continuing to watch the show playing on the screen. You wondered how he could like watching Shameless so much so often. You decided wondering about other-worldly beings wasn’t the best idea, so you went back to your computer screen as soon as Steve excused himself from the room.

A few hours passed and most others had turned in for the night, or moved to their own places. Clint was no doubt in his ‘cubby hole’ near the air duct near Natasha’s room, Tony would be down in his workshop, while the others would most likely be sleeping.

Loki was still watching Shameless, without too much sign of stopping.

“You gonna head off soon?” You called over to him, closing your laptop with a soft thunk. You’d noticed he was always the last person to go to sleep, and the first awake. It worried you a little to see him not getting a lot of sleep. Thor was Asguardian and got more sleep than Loki did.

“Maybe.” he said. You sighed and walked over to sit on the other end of the couch, kicking his legs off one end so you had room.

“I’ll stay up with you.” You said, letting yourself get semi-comfortable as you ignored Loki’s glare from his new-found slouching position.

“What are you doing here, exactly?” He asked and sat up so his back was less strained.

“Watching Shameless with you. What does it look like?” You scoffed, shaking your head and crossing your arms.

“No, I mean here. With the Avengers. From what I know you aren’t that great.” he bluntly stated, turning to face you more fully as you whipped your head over to look at him.

“Well, no. I guess they’re not - I’m not that great. But I can be useful.”

“Like? Give me something to work with.”

“When I work with Cap- Steve, I focus on stealth. My powers are...” you paused, deciding to say it straight, not worrying about how lame it might sound, “... I can make things quiet, so I can run, unlock doors, smash glass without making any sound while Steve deals with things in a more straightforward manner, like a decoy.”

“What if you run into someone more powerful than you? Smarter? More combat-inclined?” Loki asked, leaning his head on his hand as if her was actually interested in your answer.

“Then my code name comes into play. I tell them to ‘Hush’, and their mind goes to sleep. They drop to the floor unconscious, their powers no longer able to work, and they wake up in about a half hour.” You said, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Why not tell them to be silent? Surely that’d work faster.”

“Silence is more powerful than a Hush. As I grow older and more experience my powers become more powerful. When I was a teenager I would tell someone to be ‘Silent’ and they’d just drop unconscious. Nowadays if I did that the person could suffer severe brain damage, or be sent into a long-term coma, or die. I don’t really want to kill anybody.” Loki looked at you with more wonder then the shock you were used to seeing when you told your story.

“Sounds like you could be rather dangerous if you wanted.” he said, sitting up straighter again and smiling lightly at you.

“I suppose.” You mumbled, looking down at your hands before up at Loki again. You and he stared at each other for a while, ignoring the show as the credits of another episode started to roll.

“What else can you make quiet?” You felt you knew why he asked that question.

When new members of the Avengers join, they are set rooms in the building, usually close to other new members. Yours and Loki’s rooms are right next to each other. When he does sleep you hear him. He shouts, almost screams out at times, usually about how sorry he is, or how he wishes he could turn back time to fix what he did.

Night-terrors were like that. Almost everyone in the building suffered from them, even you sometimes.

“I can quiet-down thoughts. Here.” You said, stretching out your legs and patting your lap. “Put your head here. I’ll see if I can help.” He frowned at you.

“Help with what?” You gave him a ‘are you serious?’ look.

“I know Loki. I know you don’t sleep. There’s no shame in not hiding it.” You sighed, he reluctantly moved down so his head was in your lap. His feet had to dangle off the edge of the couch so he was in the right spot.

"I don't sleep.” he admitted, “My mind has a scary capability of being dark and demented." He finished with a breathy chuckle, you smiled lightly down at him.

"So you're scared of your own dreams?" You said quietly, resting your fingers on his temples.

"Yes." He mumbled, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath as you started to work your magic.

“The mighty Loki, only afraid of himself.” He let out a light laugh at your quip at his ego, not saying anything, partially to not ruin the mood, and partially because he could no longer form any sentences.

You leaned down to press a soft kiss to his forehead, his eyes fluttering open to lock with yours, and unspoken agreement managing to be shared between you both in those few moments.

You weren't useless, not to him.

Because of you he was able to sleep that night without fear.

That night, and a lifetime more after.

#Loki Laufeyson #loki odinson #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki oneshot #marvel x reader #marvel oneshot #shameless reference #avengers endgame

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likeshipsonthesea · 6 years ago

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can i make a klave request for 76? i love your work, btw!

from this list 76. “You’re so weird.” “You have no idea.” I modified it a little for soldier talk, hope you don’t mind. enjoy!

“I need two,” Klaus tells Fitz when he gets to the front of the chow line.

Fitz raises his eyebrows, unamused. “You know the rules, Hargreeves. One ration per soldier.” Klaus flutters his eyelashes, which makes Fitz snort but doesn’t soften the hard set to his jaw. Klaus sighs.

“Fitzy, baby, I’m gonna level with you. I need a second ration, and I’ll tell you why, I’ve done and got myself the shits. Real bad ones. Just, like, fuckin’ geyser shits, but I don’t need to tell you, I’m sure.” Klaus gives him a wink. “So you and I know both know that I gotta eat double to keep something in my body or who knows what could happen. What am I gonna do when I’m out there shitting my guts out and Charlie comes up outta no where to kill me? Now, I’m sure you don’t want me scrambling to get my pants up and gun out with the only the strength of a barren empty stomach to support me, now do you?”

Fitz blinks for a few moments before shaking his head with a sigh. “You’re are so fucking weird, Hargreeves,” he says, filling up a second plate.

Klaus grins, taking it. “You have no idea,” he says, turning and swinging his hips away.

Fitz chuckles. “Say hi to Katz for me.”

“If I had a free hand I’d flip you off!” Klaus yells over his shoulder but he doesn’t mean it. Fitz is of a good sort, as far as the platoon goes. Klaus doesn’t think he knows, but he doesn’t think Fitz would go out of his way to say anything if he did. That’s about the best they can hope for, out here.

“Hey baby,” Klaus purrs, pushing into the tent with the rations. Dave sits up from where he was napping, resting his ankle after hitting it funny on the trek here. “Got you some chow.”

“Aw, canned ham and crackers, my favorite.” Dave smiles, taking the plate. “You’re too good to me.”

“It’s only ‘cause you put out,” Klaus says around a mouthful of crackers and Dave shakes his head, still smiling.

They don’t talk much as they eat. It’s habit, even if they’re far from any enemy territory. Klaus munches on the stale crackers and thinks about Fitz, and the rest of the company along with it.

It’s weird to fight for the lives of people that might turn on him if they ever knew who he loved. Fitz is really an exception to the rule, and though it’s an open secret amongst the platoon that Klaus and Dave are close, implying anything beyond friendship is always meant as a jeer. Even Klaus, with his eyeliner and sashaying and calling everyone and their mother “baby,” still gets roped into the nights when they reminisce about girls back home. The guys still think– refuse not to think– that Klaus and Dave are straight as they shoot.

It makes Klaus think about back home. Not that the Academy was ever home. But he worked alongside his siblings and he still isn’t sure if all of them are okay with his inclinations. He assumes Allison must be, working in Hollywood and all, and Vanya is definitely repressing something under all those button-ups and undiagnosed neurosis.

He knows Ben doesn’t care, at least not more than he cares about not seeing what Klaus gets up to. “I don’t need to see this,” he’ll whine or, more lately, sigh, and drift off to wherever he goes when he isn’t haunting Klaus. He acts as if Klaus never gives a warning, like there isn’t build-up before the actual dicks come out. Though, to be fair, there’ve been many a drug deal that went down downtown, if you catch his drift, so possibly Ben had a point.

Klaus thinks Luther is too repressed to even know what a dick is and Diego might be the straightest person Klaus has ever met– come on, the knives are most definitely compensating for something only someone giving it would worry that much about. Neither of them screams “ally.”

There is Five, though. Klaus wonders. Anyone who hits a Diamond Anniversary with a damned piece of plastic is in no place to judge, but Klaus doesn’t know. He wonders what Five would think, though. Think of Dave.

A foot nudges Klaus’ knee and he looks up. Dave is smiling. He’s always smiling. Typically it would irritate Klaus, someone smiling all the time, but knowing what Dave goes through here, what he sacrifices just to be able to smile, it feels so much more than the empty victories Klaus is used to, in smiles.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Dave says, and Klaus is almost positive that the phrase is out of date, even for today’s date, but it’s so perfectly Dave, so sweet and genuine and– fuck, Klaus is so gone for him.

“Wondering what my family would think of you,” Klaus says, because he doesn’t know how to lie to Dave and doesn’t have any inclination to start. It’s weird, but in the good way. Like pedicures or wax figurines.

“Oh? And what seems to be the verdict?”

Klaus thinks about it. “Luther would be confused by you.” He glances at Dave’s body. “Intimidated, maybe. He doesn’t know what to do with people who aren’t more broken than him.” Dave frowns slightly, so Klaus adds a nice thing. “I think he’d make you laugh, and I think he’d like that.”

Smiling again. Score.

“Diego might pull the protective older brother thing because he likes that kind of stuff. He might threaten you with a knife, we don’t know.” Klaus shrugs and Dave shakes his head. “You’d be too earnest for it, though, and he’d give up and probably make you talk about sports. Ugh. Men things.”

“You’re a man,” Dave says, giggling a little the way he always does when Klaus is being ridiculous.

Klaus waves a hand. “Semantics. Moving on.” Dave chuckles and Klaus smothers his own smile by talking. “Allison would see how drop dead gorgeous you are and congratulate me on the spot.” Dave flushes but doesn’t comment. Klaus goes soft, looking at him. “She’d also like how kind you are, I think. She’s always liked that stuff. Vanya, too. She’d talk music with you I think. You’re both huge nerds for that.

“Ben would love you for much the same, he’s a huge nerd too.” Klaus curls his hand around Dave’s unhurt ankle. “He’d like how much you love me. And how much I love you.”

Dave presses his toes into Klaus hip, smile warm like the first rays of sun after days of rain. “My folks wouldn’t know what to do with you,” he says but it isn’t harsh. “I think they’d like you for how good you are for me. They always said I was too quiet and such, needed someone to balance me out.”

“Well I damn well tip the scales,” Klaus preens, fluttering his eyelashes at Dave, who laughs, again.

“Sometimes you’re almost too much to hold,” Dave says, so damn earnest and heart pounding and Klaus can’t help himself, daylight be damned, he leans in to press his mouth to Dave’s smile, and they keep at it, slow and too much, for minutes longer than they should, but Klaus doesn’t care one bit.

They settle into sleep a mere hour later, needing to be up bright and early to keep moving. It’s cold at nights, always is, so they huddle together for warm, Dave the little spoon because Klaus got to be it last time.

With his cheek pressed to Dave’s shoulderblade, Klaus thinks about Five, inexplicably. How would he react to Dave? Assuming he isn’t a bigot, assuming he cares at all, would he like Dave?

They had so little time together, but that’s not it because the rest of the house dispersed within years of Five’s disappearance. The only thing Klaus can base his other assumptions on is who his siblings became later. He never got to see that with Five.

He suddenly, achingly, wants to. He wants to see Five grow up, see who he is beyond the impending apocalypse. Is he funny? He was funny as a kid, Klaus remembers. The dry kind of wit. He’d say something and have Klaus in stitches while the rest of the group hadn’t caught on to the joke. He’d been a condescending asshole, yeah, but he shared some of his cooler facts with the rest of them.

Klaus remembers mentioning once, halfway into a panic attack or something, that he couldn’t tell if he was awake sometimes because the ghosts haunted his dreams. Within days, Five had read several books on the subject of nightmares and, offhandedly, unimportantly, dropped tips on telling the difference between dreams and reality when he was around Klaus. Klaus wouldn’t have known, but he’d been looking for his mask one day and found a whole stack of books, and Five shooed him out of his room yelling, but Klaus had known.

He’d found out Five’s biggest secret: he cared.

Klaus’ chest clenches thinking back to it. Five had spent decades trying to get back to them to fix the apocalypse. To save them. Klaus couldn’t figure out why, thinking on it, because they were all seven shades of fucked up, but maybe they weren’t, when Five left.

There’d been a time when they were as close to a family as Dad– Reginald had let them be. Sneaking out to play after dinner, sharing comics and inside jokes, fighting over the bathrooms and defending each other from the world. Five had left them a family and come back to find them fractured.

Klaus always thought they were strangers who grew up in a house together, but they hadn’t been strangers, really, until after they’d left. After they’d stopped trying. After there’d been something else to hold onto aside from each other.

Five never had that. Neither had Luther, come to think of it, and Ben only had it tangentially. None of them grew up, and the rest of them grew– wrong.

For a moment, clinging to Dave’s sleepless form and shivering despite the sleeping bags he’s cocooned in, Klaus wants desperately to go back. Go back to a time before they all gave up, before it got too hard. Grab on to each other instead of let go, help each other.

Maybe it’s being in the marines, having Dave and Fitz and all the other guys, but Klaus finally knows what being on a team can mean. What it can be.

“You okay?” Dave mumbles, mostly asleep. Klaus nods against his back. “Go to sleep, matok.”

Klaus squeezes closer. No use wondering over the past now– or the future, or whatever it is. Klaus is here, with Dave, and that’s what matters now. Klaus doesn’t have to wonder if Dave loves him or wants him or any of that. He knows the answer, and the comfort in that is worth more than anything his siblings could give him.

Klaus presses his lips against Dave’s shoulder and quickly falls asleep.

#klaus x dave #klave #klaus hargreeves #the umbrella academy #fic #the umbrella academy fic #my writing #sort of fic #ficlet #angst #fluff #all of the above #i love these two!!!#SEND IN MORE ASKS IF Y'ALL WANT #preferably other characters but klave is fine too #i am loving this!!#also i officially started my first real tua fic today #so that's exciting #telepathy anyone?

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years ago

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Zero One 01: A JUMP TO THE SKY TURNS TO A RIDER KICK

Okay, I’m gonna start liveblogging from the start of a show this time! Because oh wow, just watching this live was a trip… and now I get to properly understand it. >:3

––––

So, it appears that the shot of a HumaGear in the shadows in the trailer was not, in fact, in the satellite, like the trailer implied. Instead, he’s from the Hiden Intelligence sizzle reel.

Said sizzle reel also includes a shot of the “HumaGear Skin Fitting Gate System”. That’s the part of the manufacturing process that gives them their human-like appearance, as opposed to the base robot form.

Interestingly, each of the newly-humanized HumaGear has a rectangular tattoo, with some sort of hexagonal design in it. The male one has it on the left side of his chest, and the lady we see up close has it dead center a little below her collarbone.

The support HumaGear that they show next all have it on the side of their necks. And isn’t that a handy way to tell who’s a HumaGear, if they ever elect to make the ‘ears’ smaller?

Actually, I think the lower part of it has the Hiden Intelligence logo, and the top is the hexagon glyph. Still can’t get a good look at it, though.

Also, it’s probably a very bad idea to have all of your HumaGear managed via a single broadcast satellite. I’m just saying, with tech this advanced and ubiquitous, having some backups might be to your benefit.

–

So, Hiden Korenosuke, Aruto’s grandfather, was 75 when he died. Additionally, he wasn’t just the CEO of Hiden Intelligence – he was the founder.

The news spot about his funeral is being played on a giant hovercraft, via holographic screens.

I really do love how we’re clearly going all-in from the start on ‘this is not the mainline World of Riders.’

Meanwhile, Aruto shows us his dumb puppy nature right off the bat, being late for work despite having set five alarms.

We zoom out on the city, seeing the hovercraft in better detail than the grounds-eye view from before. We also see that the Hiden Intelligence headquarters absolutely dwarves the surroundings.

The logo appears on screen. When it zooms in for the transition, the black of the ‘01’ becomes a tightly layered pattern of binary.

–

There’s no opening credits today, since it’s the first episode and all. Opening Credits on the first day is not how Takashi Yuya-san rolls, as we saw during Ex-Aid.

The sponsor segment, however, does exist. It shows Zero One and his bike – which doesn’t have an individual name yet that I can find, just the term for the phone that has as a primary form. It’s a really cool shot, too. They’re under a blacklight. I’d thought they were glow-in-the-dark when I watched the raw, but seeing this in better quality shows that the blue and red accents are reacting, too.

That is so cool.

–

Aruto nyooms to the amusement park on his bike, because he’s super late. Turns out he’s a comedian in a stage show, with a truly hideous blue sequened suit and oversized red bowtie. His act is supposed to be a Manzai show… excpet for how he’s absolutely terrible.

Like, to the point where his straightman is his phone.

There are exactly two people in the audience… and it’s an older couple, who aren’t even watching. They’re having lunch.

This kills the Aruto.

–

And so does the fact that he’s fired. As his manager says, the era’s more suited to HumaGear entertainers.

Aruto disagrees – how could an AI understand a person’s sense of humor?

And then Ab-cruncher Taro, a HumaGear comedian, comes on stage for his act… and the audience loves it. Including the older couple from Arutos act.

I mean, this might be in part that nobody in World of Zero One likes manzai anymore, too, but also Aruto’s just terrible, and this guy did have a pretty decent pun on ad-libbing… as he exploded his abs off.

The manager points out that everyone is laughing, that having such a lively theme park is his dream. Aruto feels the same – he just wants to make people laugh, that’s all.

…Except that his now-former manager is already walking off. He already has someone who can make the crowd laugh, and Aruto really should find a new dream.

–

A car pulls up to Hiden Intelligence HQ, with Fukuzoe Jun and his HumaGear assistant, Shesta. I really like her red-and-grey outfit, not gonna lie.

Anyway, he’s the vice president of HI, and, admittedly rather justifiably, assumes that he’s the new CEO. He’s got quite an ego on him, apparently, because the funeral was today. He’s already got his portrait commissioned, made, and ready to be lowered over the portrait of the late CEO. And it’s larger, dwarfing the old one.

Dude.

Maybe you should have waited a bit on getting the portrait. Like, at least until after the funeral.

Just saying.

–

We switch to somewhere called ‘Daybreak Town.’

…It’s surrounded by massive, high-tech security fences. And is a bit of a crater. A flooded one.

Entering a run-down, semi-abandoned room, we meet Horobi and Jin. Admittedly, we don’t hear their names, but that’s who they are. Horobi is stoic and calm, and Jin… well, he’s basically an even more hyper Parad.

Horobi says that now that CEO Hiden is dead, they can start the Magear Plan.

…Jin, what was that you were messing around with on that stand?

Jin’s probable attention issues aside, Horobi goes to explain a bit further, while unplugging a pseudo-driver from a cable, probably where it was being programmed. They’re going to use the HumaGear singularity – that is, the hypothetical point when Artificial Intelligences become more intelligent than humans, often including sentience. Bascially, they plan to use that to surpass humanity… somehow. As he’s saying this, he takes a Progrise Key out of a holder, and we get a few shots of the room.

The MetsuboJinrai.NET emblem is on the wall, and we see some of the assorted items. Including a katana, for some reason. And, on a platform with the same pattern as where Jin was messing around earlier? That is a gun right there. Yay!

Horobi hands the driver and key to Jin, while saying that it’s time to annihilate humanity… just like this city was, long ago.

Zoom out from his face, where he stands under a beam of light… that is coming in from a hold in a ceiling. That is to day, the hole in a roof, of a former apartment building.

Zoom out further to see that it’s one of the handful of buildings around the perimeter of the flooded crater.

At the very center of said crater? Underwater?

That sure looks an awful lot like the satellite that controls the HumaGear.

This is why you have redundant backup systems, folks.

–

So, at this point, Aruto’s got Shotaro’s meme faces, Emu’s pratfall humor (although thankfully toned down a bit), and Sento’s phone. Now we’ve also got Kabuto’s Shibuya disaster 2.0.

This is fine.

–

At Hiden Intelligence, we see a room labeled ‘Three Dimensional Printing System’. Like, it actually says that in English, same as the gate earlier. An Ai starts speaking, saying that it’s receiving orders from BS-ZA – the broadcast satellite. What does the ZA stand for? Who knows! The sizzle reel didn’t actually tell us that.

I can not understate how incredibly concerned about the ‘we have a single point of control for all of this technology’ thing that’s going on.

Anyway, a holographic pattern gets displayed inside the printing… room, I guess, and two manufacturing robot arms emerge and start. Uh.

Okay, so. That’s not how 3D printing usually works. You can’t really makes something solid out of beams of light. That’s not how it should have worked with the HumaGear skins earlier, and it’s not how it should work now.

Unless, like, it’s not light? It could somehow be a sort of plasma version of the materials needed? But it was able to make, like, the hair and eyes and such for the HumaGear earlier, so… ugh. I’m putting too much thought into it.

My hangups about how things work aside, they’re making the driver.

Outside of this room, in an office, a female HumaGear in white and teal is sitting, inactive, until she receives orders from the satellite. She gets up, and goes to fulfill her task.

Hi Izu! I didn’t notice that you had little teal highlights in your hair before! There’s just these little streaks hidden in there. It’s cute.

–

A dejected Aruto walks his bike away from the amusement park, lamenting his inability to get the crowd to laugh. Sorry bud, but you’re just not funny.

A car pulls up, Izu stepping out. She identifies her ‘target’ via the object recognition analysis that CEO described in the sizzle reel earlier. I didn’t notice before, but even though they still says peoples names in the ‘family name first’ order, the HUD shows them with given name first. Interesting.

She describes him as a ‘self described’ comedian, who is unknown. We see her face during this, before she blinks and looks downward.

Aruto’s on the ground. He’s collapsed.

Izu has known him for all of less than a minute, has no real personality of her own (yet), and is already roasting him.

When he asks who she is, she tells him that her name is Izu, and she’s the President’s secretary. Please note that she does not say which president, which probably only furthers Aruto’s confusion.

–

Back at the comedy stage, we’ve got… a human manzai duo, who are getting a laugh out of the crowd. So, it’s just that Aruto’s terrible, not that they don’t do manzai anymore.

Backstage, Taro sits, presumably waiting for his next set. He’s playing back the crowd as they laugh at his joke, and oh nooo he’s smiling so widely. He’s so proud that he was able to make them laugh! Taro is a good guy and I feel really bad for what’s coming.

Not!Parad Jin ominously comes up from behind. He doesn’t say anything more than that he’s found him, before taking the imitation driver and slapping it onto Taro’s waist.

I like absolutely NONE of the hacking process! Not the red circle of light around the buckle as the driver activates. Not the fact that the ‘belt’ starts off as fuck-off huge cable strips with ‘connector pins’ on them. Of course, since said cables are basically as wide as an arm, this means the connecter pins are more like giant spikes.

Not the fact that they jam into poor Taro, and he immediately starts seizing up with red sparks everywhere.

Not him dropping to his knees, making pained sounds.

Not Jin saying ‘You’re my friend now, so go wreak havoc on this place!”

Not the fact that he says that with a smile.

–

Elsewhere, a belt has just finished being printed, and is now being assembled and given a spiffy new coat of paint.

–

Taro is trying to not do the thing, because his job is making people laugh.

Jin chuckles. Not anymore. Now his job is destroying humans.

We switch to Taro’s perspective, and see a download progress bar fill and complete. It has ‘metsubojinrai.net’ written underneath it. When it completes, the display is replaced with their logo.

Taro cries in pain, and his memory of the crowd turns greyscale. He reopens his eyes, and instead of the cool blue light they were lit with before, they’re glowing red.

Tonelessly, he says that he is connected to metsubojinrai.net, and the ‘connecting’ lights on his earpieces glitch from blue to red.

Jin hands him the Progrize key from earlier.

–

The driver’s done.

–

We switch to the Hiden Intelligence boardroom. Jun had called a board meeting earlier, and for some reason, Izu received instructions to bring Aruto there.

Nearly everyone in the room has a HumaGear secretary standing behind them. Shesta’s tattoo is on her left wrist, and Izu’s is on the back of her left hand.

The meeting was called to read the CEO’s will. Apparently, nobody even knew he had a grandson, much less one like Aruto. According to Izu, because he is, in fact, related to the CEO, and the CEO had requested he be there, there won’t be problems regarding the legality of all of this with Aruto here. She slides the will in front of him, and walks out of the room.

Jun tells him to hurry up and read it, he’s got to get to work taking over as CEO.

Aruto opens the envelope, and starts reading – forgetting to read out loud, because he’s just a confused puppy. (He’s 22, he’s legally an adult, but that does not stop him from being a dumb puppy.) He looks incredibly distressed over what’s in the will.

It’s ominously shown with a red static overlay, is hand-written, and segments of it are appearing on top to highlight themselves.

And I have no idea why some of the overlaid words are highlighted in red, because I don’t know Japanese.

Jun, frustrated with Aruto’s distress and lack of reading out loud, grabs the paper away from him.

“In the near future, our company will face a serious crisis.” Jun’s brow furrows, and the rest of the room starts muttering, wondering what crisis that could be. “The HumaGears that our company was making will be misused and will attack humanity.” This shot goes from Jun reading to a generic HumaGear, his eyes turning red, and zooming out to show that it’s a crowd of them, in a ruined city. They all crouch down and start. Freaking. Swarming, on all fours. It’s absolutely terrifying, especially when one leaps up at the viewpoint, shrieking. (It’s the same ‘vocal’ sound effect from the bugster unions, by the way.)

Back in reality, the boardroom is starting to panic a bit. Izu comes back through the door, carrying a briefcase. Jun resumes reading. “There is only one counter measure: the Zero One driver and Progrise Key.” Izu opens the briefcase, revealing the items in question. “Built into it is the new era’s security system, in order for human hands to take control of the HumaGear.” Aruto looks at the case and driver, his expression blank.

Jun continues, with us scrolling down the will. “Only the company’s President is authorized to use it.” He can’t restrain his grin. “And my successor whom-” his face falls “I entrust this to is my grandson, Hiden Aruto?!”

Nobody expected this, least of all Aruto.

“I want him to become a part of staff, and overcome the company’s crisis. That is all.”

Jun is not okay with this, and neither is the rest of the board. He’s treating this like a family business, that’s absurd! I mean, never mind that he was the founder.

All of them start protesting over one another, before Aruto yells at them all to calm down. He then says that there’s no way he can be a president. He just wants to make people laugh. Without another word, he picks up his duffle bag and walks out.

Izu tilts her head, blinking confusedly.

–

As Aruto, somber, rides the elevator down, he thinks back to when he was a little kid.

A tiny little Aruto is trying to practice a routine with someone who seems to be his father, who laughs a little. Babby Aruto insists on trying again, because he wasn’t laughing from the heart.

The man says that the result will always be the same. His headphones are white and blue – namely, with blue lights, the same color as a HumaGear’s earpeices.

Aruto swears that he’s going to make his dad laugh – oh no, this is his dad.

An explosion goes off, and blue fire fills the screen.

Little Aruto wakes up, on the ground, his father next to him.

His father, with sections of his skin blasted off, revealing a mechanical, HumaGear face underneath, bleeding blue and dying. “Aruto… head towards your dreams… jump to them…”

The shot zooms out, with elementary schooler Hiden Aruto crouched over his HumaGear father, surrounded by rubble and flames.

–

In the present, Aruto watches as Jun’s portrait is lowered off the wall. He apologizes to his grandfather.

–

At the comedy stage, the manzai act is still going on. Everyone applauds as they finish, the manager included. It looks like Aruto is about to go ask for his job back, but he hesitates, thinking back to what the manager had said. It looks like he’s trying not to cry as he turns back around to leave.

As he turns, someone shouts to be let go.

The hijacked Taro is holding another HumaGear, probably one of the staff, by the collar as he walks on stage, before tossing him to the side. “My job is to make people laugh…” Taro’s viewpoint is shown, red static overlaying the glitching sight of the crowd as they start to back away. “…and to annihilate them.”

He activates the key, and inserts it into his driver. Red ‘wires’ extend from the buckle, breaking into and through the key.

I am not okay with any of this transformation sequence!

Not with the fire burning away his human appearance.

Not with how his normal HumaGear face withdraws and reveals what is basically a robot skull.

Not with how his jaw opens wide, and green… I dunno. Green pipes come out of his mouth, and start surrounding him in what is basically the Mad Rogue transformation.

Not with the orange dna spiral that lights up around him, and turns purple before the whole thing – spiral and pipes alike – burst out of existence, leaving Taro as the Berotha Magear.

As per Rider Wiki: The name Berotha is from Kujiberotha teruyukii, an extinct insect that lived in the Cretaceous period. It’s a recently named type of thorny lacewing, which are closely related to mantises. Aka, the species that Berotha takes his appearance from.

Two HumaGear staffers go to try and stop him, but he tosses both of them to the side, and proceeds to use whip-like extenstions to attack them… and overwrite their programming, shredding their human appearances and causing their original faces to retract. they’re left with the skull appearance briefly, before full faceplates slide down, creating the anonymous mooks of the season. They run off stage to attack.

The manager watches all of this, stunned. Aruto watches, before running at Berotha and tackling him around the middle, trying to stop him. He gets thrown into a sign for his attempt.

–

In another section of… oh lord. In another section of ‘Giggle Dreamland’, we see that there are a lot more than two mooks now. A van pulls up, the body-armored grunts of AIMS grabbing machine guns as they rush out and get in formation.

Yaiba Yua, who will eventually be Kamen Rider Valkyrie, steps out as well, saying that they are to collect data on the rampaging HumaGear and that they need to- she’s cut off by machine gun fire. Fuwa Isamu, who will eventually be Kamen Rider Vulcan, gives the order to destroy all of them.

As Yua says, at least let her finish before you start going all gun-happy!

–

Aruto, now distinctly missing his jacket and bag, gets to his feet, seeing the destruction all around him. MaGear mooks are attacking people, and ohhh nooo I think they’re repeating some of their stock ‘amusement park employee’ phrases as they do it, and that’s just tragic.

The whole area is a shambles, and the manager is on his knees in despair. Aruto remembers how the manager had said that making people laugh with joy was his dream, before Berotha comes up to the manager, extending his arm blade. Aruto tries to tackle him away, but it’s no use – he gets tossed away again. Izu runs onto the scene, carrying the breifcase. Berotha grabs the frozen manager by the collar, saying that a future where humans have dreams will never come, and starts laughing maniaclly.

Theres the sound of a heartbeat as Aruto flashes back to his father’s death.

“Don’t you laugh!” He pushes himself to his feet. “Don’t you dare laugh at someone’s dream, when you know nothing about it!”

“I do know.” Berotha starts rattling off a dictionary description of ‘dream,’ his earpieces lighting up as they connect to the web, before Aruto cuts him off.

Aruto is all but shouting. “A person’s dream isn’t so simple that you can just look it up!”

Izu looks slightly aside, averting her gaze.

“Hey! With that driver, I can do something about this, right?!” We only see Aruto’s lower face as he asks this, same as when he told Berotha not to laugh.

Izu says that yes, though it is available only to the companies president-

Aruto cuts her off, desperation written on his face as he tells her to just give it to him.

“Very well, Aruto-sama.”

She walks up, and hands him the driver and key. (In the distance, we can see that Berotha is charging energy to his mantis sickles.)

“Equip the driver to your waist.”

Glaring furiously at Berotha, Aruto places it at his waist…

There’s the sound of a heartbeat, as blue ones and zeroes glow around Aruto, and…

His soul, glowing that same bright blue, straight up leaves his body, and transports into the satellite.

(Me, a Double fan: YOOOOOOO!)

The similarities to how Philip enters the Gaia Library only increase in his visualization of the BS-ZA’s ‘cerebro’, which is a white void with occasional columns of binary scrolling upward. And written in the same font as the logo, at that.

Izu appears in there, in much the same manner – they’re both in their usual appearances again, though. Whereever they step, the binary ripples out beneath their feet. It’s a nice touch to give a sense of where the ground is, since otherwise it’s all just pure white.

She tells him that his brain is remotely accessing the satellite. He… doesn’t quite take this well.

Also, now that I have a proper back view of Izu, I can see that the earpieces have a headband behind them, so they’re basically behind the head headphones. Except, you know, most likely mounted.

Anyway, she continues. Right now, he has the same thought processing speed as an AI.

Their surroundings change, to have the void show where they are in the real world, while they appear as data projections. Just to drive the point home, she walks through the real-world Aruto.

Who is very much unconscious, standing upright with his head dropped down. Berotha’s still charging his attack, rearing back to fire.

“Left like this, in five seconds, you will die.”

Only an AI could deliver this line so casually. Aruto is not okay with this. He’s not okay with any of this.

The surroundings change again, this time to a grey and purple tinted void with hexagons in the background.

“Until then, you can learn from the manual.”

So. They’re just actually having him read the manual, in virtual form, while his real body is very, very vulnerable, so that he can learn how to use his driver.

Now This Is Kamen Rider.

‘Opening Tutorial Mode’

–

Meanwhile, over with the Zectroopers – I MEAN – AIMS troops, the machine guns do absolutely jack all against the Magear mooks. They can knock them down, sure, sending them sparking to the ground, but they just get right back up again.

Isamu, frustrated with the fact that his bullets do nothing, climbs back into the van and punches his way to grabbing what will eventually be his driver.

It seems that Yua is supposed to be his boss, because she tells him to wait, that he doesn’t have her permission – he ignores her and shoots the gun in her direction.

For a brief moment, the audience assumes he’s shooting her, but he’s aiming right over her shoulder, the ‘bullet’ sending her hair waving, and hitting a Magear mook right in the eye.

It doesn’t get back up.

Also, the top of its foot has a skeletal… well. Foot. Zero One’s going all in on the robot skeleton theme they’ve got going here, then.

Looks like Isamu’s whole attitude is ‘when in doubt, apply a bigger gun.’

–

Aruto snaps awake. “Learning complete.”

As he activates his Progrise key, Berotha launches the energy scythes.

A yellow light beams down from the satellite. It was either rapid-fire 3d printing, or it was actually teleporting, but either way. A silver grasshopper with neon-yellow lines lands in front of Aruto, blocking the attack.

Interestingly, along with the impact dustcloud, there’s yellow and blue circuitry patterns radiating away along the ground.

Hot damn I like this background music. I’d ask when we’re getting the OST, but I know the answer is ‘after the season ends,’ so instead I will just mourn my lack of soundtrack.

The grasshopper starts bouncing around Aruto as he prepares to properly transform, a holographic screen projecting from the driver in front of him. Said giant robot grasshopper is making even more of a mess of the area, and said projection is slightly 3D – the images have depth to them… and are made, of course, of closely-placed zeroes and ones.

The owner of the park is watching all of this, by the way.

“Henshin!”

We actually get to sort of see the driver reading the data on the key – kind of like when we used to see the action inside the Build Driver.

The base Zero One suit is black, with glowing red lines and a disconcerting face plate. We don’t have to see that for long though, because the grasshopper quickly dissassembles itself and turns into his armor.

In a very interesting detail, you can see it breaking down into wires and metal, and the lights that pull it towards Zero One are DNA spirals.

A JUMP TO THE SKY TURNS TO A RIDER KICK

…Hey, didn’t Aruto’s father say he should jump towards his dreams? Just saying. ;)

The grasshopper didn’t just become his armor – it also seems to have turned one of its limbs into the Attache Calibre, which makes its way to Aruto’s hand as the transformation ends.

“Who are you?!”

“Zero One! That’s my name!”

He immediately launches into an attack against Berotha, punching and kicking to great effect. Berotha tries to slash right at his feet – if he can just stop him from moving, he can annihilate him. Except Zero One leaps over the blades.

And by leap, I mean that our good grasshopper boy is now on top of the rollercoaster. Aruto is, justifiably, super impressed by his new leg power.

(I’m just saying… Aruto got the Pink Cure’s ‘WOW I can jump really high now!’ moment for this year, because Cure Star didn’t get it. She had her first fight in space, so it was already a given for her.)

Berotha is decidedly less impressed, and fires an eye beam at him. The eye laser does nothing, as despite it being almost as wide as he is tall, Zero One just tanks it as he jumps back down. As the light breaks apart around him, there seems to be a faint helix pattern there, too.

Aruto’s about to go after Berotha some more, but then he sees the owner getting attacked by a pair of mooks. Mooks who used to be his staff, and can just barely be heard stuttering around their rote phrases, repeating them without context or intellect. He goes to block them, and yells at his former boss to get out of there.

As Aruto redirects the mooks elsewhere, Izu comes running up, carrying the attache weapon that had been abandoned. She calls out to him, and throws him the case…

And it whacks him upside the head.

The mooks just watch as she apologizes, and he, rubbing his head, says he’s okay.

An honest-to-gaim insert song kicks in as they start fighting again. Like, this isn’t the OP. I’ve heard the OP. This isn’t it. This is an insert song. In episode one. It’s only a short part of it, yes, but it’s still an insert.

This is going to be a good season for music, especially since you can actually hear said insert. Not quite clearly, and it’s too brief to really get anything from aside from the tone. But that tone is awesome and I can’t wait oh god it’s going to be a long wait for this soundtrack.

Also, at some point the mooks acquired guns.

–

The insert ends when we see Not!Parad Jin bouncing in joy as he watches all of this happen from a nearby roof. “Yeah! Come on! Get ‘em! This is so fun!”

A damaged mook gets up, stuttering. “A-a-a-attention! A-a-a-a lost child has been reported!” This confirms that the mooks are, in fact, still saying their lines. It tries to attack him, because that’s what they do. He’s human, after all. (Right?)

Still giggling, Jin grabs the mooks arm as it goes to stab him, and in one smooth motion and without looking, twists it behind said mooks back, holds it around the neck, pulls out an honest-to-god gun, and shoots it in the head.

Everything goes silent for a second as the gun fires.

He doesn’t stop giggling wildly the whole time, nor does he even spare the mook a glance.

The mook falls to the ground, broken and unmoving, as he continues laughing.

It’s a normal gun. That is straight up a normal gun. Not a fancy sci-fi one, just a normal gun with normal bullets and a normal bullet casing that ejects in front of him as he laughs.

…Can we go back to our hero, please?!

–

Oh, good, we’re going back to Zero One versus Berotha. Thanks!

And thank you even more for the OP kicking in as Berotha fires a volley of energy blades. These are powerful enough to slice through cars and set off explosions wherever they hit. But they don’t even graze Aruto, not the way he jumps and rolls in mid air to dodge them.

His fighting is super graceful and deliberate, so much unlike how he moves as himself. The intro beats to the song transition into the song proper as he leaps, angled yellow lines of light trailing behind him as he uses the flying cars as jumping points, bouncing from one to the other, dodging blades all the way, before the actual bus that’s in the air comes up toward him.

He just barrels through it, still dodging the blades, using the support bars to flip and spin around and over. He manages to tap the ‘stop request’ button with his foot as he rebounds at one point, which is a hilarious little detail that they didn’t need to put in. But that lets the bus announcement of ‘stop requested’ play as he comes through the rear window right before it hits the ground.

MAN, the attention to DETAIL in this episode. I know that it’s mostly Episode One Budget in action, but damn is this promising.

Those yellow lines start following him again as he resumes his beatdown on Berotha, giving a pre-asskicking one liner. “There’s only one person who can stop you: me!” He activates his finisher.

RISING IMPACT!

A brief projection of the robo-grasshoppers foot appears over his own as he braces himself to start moving. Neat. And move he does, going faster than the camera can follow, slowing down only long enough to deliver a few punches and kicks, tossing Berotha into the air. Zero One follows suit, leaping far higher, and diving down with his Rider Kick.

He goes through the MaGear, shattering it to pieces. Gears, wires, and dark blue hydraulic fluid go everywhere, as the eyes on his helmet have a line go from front to back along the facets. Huh.

A special projection of ‘rising impact’ appears on screen as Zero Ones kick approaches the viewer, and since holo-tech is a thing here, may or may not actually be there. The key that had been used to hack Taro into Berotha, definitely cracked, also flies at the screen.

Zero One lands, digging a gouge into the path, and when he comes to a stop… Aruto twists his ankle, winds up rolling bodily into one of the buildings, and gets covered in rubble. He pulls himself up a bit using some of the debris, saying “Aaaand here’s my stop.” He collapses backward.

–

The AIMS troops seem to be wrapping up their defeat of the mooks, but as Yua says, they’ve still got a lot to do.

Isamu’s stomps on the chest of one of the downed mooks, who isn’t quite as done as he’d looked. It grabs his ankle, before he apparently shoots and shatters it, going by the sound effect.

He glares, hands trembling in apparent rage, saying that history is repeating itself.

–

Jin hands Horobi the damaged key. When Horobi ‘questions’ the damage, he just ‘asks’ “Zero One?”

Implying that there was a previous Zero One.

This implication is only furthered with Jin’s comment, as he pulls down his hood. “Seems like the previous president didn’t simply die, huh?”

We still can’t see his ears under all that hair.

The suspicion that these two aren’t human only grows. Why would Horobi want to turn humans into an endangered species if they, themselves, are human?

The ‘eye’ on the sunken satellite glows red.

–

As they exit the amusement park, Aruto’s going on to Izu about how cool he was. She says she’ll be escorting him home, calling him ‘Mister President.’

“Wait, what?!”

Turns out he completely blanked on the fact that only the president of Hiden Intelligence is allowed to be Zero One, and he accepted the position by putting on the driver.

Our protagonist, ladies and gentlemen. He’s just a big ol’ puppy.

He’s protesting this fact – the president thing, not the puppy thing – to Izu when he hears a child asking the parks owner if he’s going to be closing the park.

“Not at all. A mysterious yellow hero protected it. So we’re going to keep on giving smiles to our guests!”

Aruto looks absolutely touched by his former bosses words, just by the refusal to close, and the ‘mysterious yellow hero’ part. …He has no idea that his boss knows exactly who that hero was.

Not until said boss turns to him, and winks.

Izu lifts one hand. “I have detected many smiling expressions that Master Aruto is responsible for.”

He laughs, just a little, a light chuckle at himself. “There’s more than one way to make people smile, huh…?”

He bounces the driver a little in his hands, and gets into the car.

As he buckles in, and Izu doesn’t – sweetie, I know you’re an android, and thus can’t technically die in the way most people would see death as, you should still use your seat belt and model good behavior for the kiddos watching at home – she hands him ‘the presidents’ Rise Phone. It looks like it’s just an upgraded version of his phone from earlier, or they upgraded that phone itself.

He tries to make a terrible pun about the hassle the board of directors gave earlier… which Izu, now putting on her seat belt, thank you so very much, starts explaining. Aruto cries that she shouldn’t be trying to explain the joke as the car drives away.

The episode title finally appears.

––––

Aaand that’s Kamen Rider Zero One, episode one! This is sure gonna be something, and I’m super hyped!

#kamen rider zero one #sailorcressy says

23 notes · View notes

featherypromises · 5 years ago

Text

RP Transcription Part 1: Flower Boys

Okay folks, I had to break this into chunks to make it readable. We worked on this RP for more than a week. I will post these consecutively before taking any other requests or adding additional fics.

I am so grateful… for so many things:

First, for my friend @sickiebabytae, I am so grateful that you asked me to RP with you. I had such a good time and it will always be my favorite RP that we did.

Second, I am grateful that you are allowing me to make this into a fic to share with our friends. I'm so excited.

Third, to people who are our mutuals and followers, you inspire me to write better, more beautiful stories about these amazing men.We appreciate you so much!

TaeKook shipping happens. I will be leaving the rp as intact as I can. The talented @sickiebabytae is playing the indescribable V and myself, @featherypromises will be playing the role of Jungkook.

Small later roles:

RM: shared between both

Jin: @featherypromises

Jimin: @sickiebabytae

------------------------‐----------------------

Taehyung knew that he was coming down with something for days. He had all the telltale signs: sore throat, stuffy nose, headaches. But, being the stubborn boy that he is, he, of course, wouldn't admit defeat.

Granted, this probably wasn't the best course of action, because a week later, on the day of a photoshoot, all of his previous symptoms had multiplied tenfold. He couldn't breathe through his nose at all, his throat felt like there were knives being stabbed through it, and his head was practically pounding. Not to mention that he'd been sneezing and coughing all morning.

Fortunately for Taehyung, the photoshoot was set for some kind of floral scene. This was a good thing, because it gave Taehyung an excuse for his constant sneezing: allergies.

************************************************

Jungkook was nervous. He normally did really well with photoshoots but he was doing a lot of floral shots today and worse he knew a lot of the shots would be hard on his hyungs, as a lot of them had allergies to pollen. Especially... Taehyung.

The younger man felt strangely protective of his hyung and hated seeing him uncomfortable. He had decided, as he took his own allergy pill today, that he should bring the bottle with him. ...Just in case.

He shook his hands and hopped a few times to get rid of his nerves, before joining the others.

************************************************

Taehyung was mainly standing off to the side as he waited to be given instructions, just looking down at his hands and playing with his fingers. He was sort of worried his allergies WOULD act up, but assured himself that his nose was too blocked to be irritated by anything.

Well, anything but his cold. And that proved to be true moments later when he turned and let out a soft, sickly sneeze into cupped hands. "Heh'KITSHHuh!"

************************************************

Jungkook heard the photographer call his name. Distractedly, he looked through and around the staff and crew milling around the set. The scene was similar to an old Victorian style garden, complete with hanging trellises of real hanging flowers and potted trees. He tried not to rub his nose and wreck his makeup as the heady smell filled it. This would be a long and difficult process.

Standing on his tiptoes, he spotted Suga-hyung and Hobi-hyung with the hair and makeup noonas. Rapmon-hyung was talking with a manager off to one side. He couldn't see...

"Jeon Jungkook-ssi!" The photographer called again, sounding annoyed. Jungkook blushed slightly, embarrassed and bowed an apology before taking his place on a bench beneath a blooming Forsythia bush.

He was supposed to look into the glassy eye of the lens like it was ARMY and he was inviting them to come and spend a "refreshing" time with him in this garden. Jungkook wasn't really sure of what the director meant by refreshing... it made him think about a commercial for soft drinks.

He gazed longingly at the camera and reset himself into a standing position cupping a wisteria blossom in his hand. The strong scent made his sensitive nose twitch, but he just sniffled, trying to will the tickly feeling away.

Looking at the blossom now, he posed again, like he was caring for the plant.

"Now," said the photographer, " I want you to smell the flower and turn to me slowly and smile."

Jungkook swallowed reflexively. Oh, god... He obeyed, bringing the purple flower closer to his face and closing his eyes. He inhaled and managed to turn before he felt the tickle flare up in his nose. Against his will, his mouth dropped open slightly and he froze, caught in limbo, before the feeling faded away to nothing. He sniffled, feeling his nose start to run. He apologized and reset, completing the turn and smiling sweetly.

The photographer was satisfied but reminded him of the group shots that would happen after all the individual members shoots were finished. Jungkook nodded and trotted off set to wipe his nose.

He grabbed a tissue packet off of the makeup noona's cart and went a little ways off to the side to subtly blow his nose. He fought with the tiny pull tab on the packet for a moment before freeing a tissue and pressing it to his nose, jamming the rest into his pocket. He looked up and saw Taehyung ahead of him.

The older man looked tired, even under his makeup. He must not have slept well. Suddenly, the slighter man turned and released a relatively quiet sneeze. Ah, Hyung's allergies must be giving him hell already. But usually Taehyung sneezed openly and loud enough to scare bystanders. Jungkook scratched his head in confusion, a habit from his younger years that he'd never really outgrown, before going up to the other vocalist and asking, a bit shyly,

"Hyung, are your allergies bothering you? I brought extra allergy pills, if you want one?"

*************************************************

Taehyung turned to Jungkook with a small hum and managed a smile. "Ah, thank you, Kook-ah, but I'm alright." He sniffled thickly. "I took a pill at home. If my allergies get worse I might take you up on your offer though."

He sniffed again and sighed, desperately wanting to rub his eyes or his nose, but he didn't want to ruin the careful makeup noona's work. She'd spent enough time already trying to cover his red, puffy eyes and pink tinted nose.

*************************************************

Jungkook frowned, but nodded, his eyes not leaving his hyung's face. His concern made his shyness lessen and he was not as self-conscious as he was around Taehyung normally.

He admired the singer's beautiful soulful voice and his acting skills. More than anything, he wanted to be able to learn from his hyung and to be as good as he was.

Since the older man had turned down the allergy medication, Jungkook decided to let the matter drop... but V's deep eyes looked so tired, he seemed drained almost.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked in what he hoped was a casual way, "You seem tired."

Ugh, he sounded pathetic and like he was trying to baby his hyung. Why couldn't he have Rapmon-hyung's way with words?

Suddenly, he felt his nose start to drip again. He pulled a tissue free and wiped at it, looking away and blushing slightly.

************************************************

"I slept fine..." He lied quietly. He eyed Jungkook with a small smirk. "Looks like your allergies are bothering you too." He said with a small laugh, rubbing the younger's back. "Do the flowers smell strong?" He asked, genuinely worried. For both himself and Jungkook. His nose was sensitive enough without having a cold. Maybe his blocked nose wouldn't protect him after all…

************************************************

Jungkook sniffled into the tissue and nodded.

"You know how I get with flowers and perfume, hyung... I get this tickle and feel like I'm going to sneeze, but..." he blushed again, remembering his embarrassing moments from earlier, and trailed off.

Jungkook suddenly realized his still had the tissue packet and smiled. He could help his hyung at least a little. He pressed the rest of the pack into Taehyung's hands gently. He looked down and said softly,

"Just in case... you might need them. They can always redo part of your makeup. I think they get paid by the hour." He smiled at his small joke and looked at Tae, his dark eyes shining.

*************************************************

Taehyung let out a small laugh and nodded. Bad move. It aggravated the back of his throat and forced out wracking, harsh coughs from him. He turned away from Jungkook to protect the younger from his germs and bent over at the waist from how strong the coughs were.

************************************************

Jungkook jumped slightly. This was not normal for Taehyung at all. He immediately wrapped his arm around Taehyung to steady him and rubbed small circles into his back.

"Hyung! Come on, let's go sit down for a minute." The youngest member swallowed down the panic he felt building inside his chest. This was not okay.

*************************************************

Taehyung sighed and complied, sitting down on a chair nearby. Well, it was closer to collapsing into it.

He ran a hand through his hair and tried not to focus on how dizzy he was.

************************************************

Jungkook knelt down in front of Tae and looked at him, worry and dismay filling his big eyes.

He reached up to gently touch his palm to Taehyung's cheek, but stopped himself part way there.

"I don't think this is just allergies, hyung. You sound sick..." He hesitated and then said, " I should go get Rapmon-hyung. He can get them to let you go home."

*************************************************

"No no no!" He said immediately. "It's fine. I'm fine..." He said softly.

*************************************************

Jungkook took his hyung's hand gently, his sympathetic eyes pleading,

" Hyung, look at me... please?"

*************************************************

Taehyung slowly looked up at Jungkook with tired eyes as he chewed on his lip and held back a sniffle.

*************************************************

"You have to tell me... if you are sick, or anything... please, I... it hurts watching you put yourself through this." Jungkook shook his head to clear his runaway thoughts, " I mean... I just want you to tell me honestly if you start feeling worse." He sighed and released Taehyung's hand from his own trembling one. "I won't say anything but I am going to get you some water at least."

************************************************

Taehyung sighed and thanked him quietly, watching the younger walk off. He ran a hand through his hair again and bit back a groan when his name was called.

He went over to the bench and put on a smile, waiting for instruction. The photographer told him to take one of the flowers in his hand and 'invite ARMY to come with you.' Taehyung wasn't all too sure what that meant, but one of his instructions was to smell the flower. He could already tell that this would be bad.

He took a deep breath, heard that the camera's were rolling, put on a smile, and sniffed the flower. As Jungkook had said, the flower had a strong, unbearable scent, and his sensitive nose immediately decided it didn't like it.

He whimpered and raised a finger, as if to say, 'wait a minute,' and clamped a hand over his mouth as he pitched forward with a few rapid fire sneezes. "Heh'kitshh! Ishh! Ehh'itshhu! Hah'ishhuh!" He blushed and apologized profusely.

************************************************

Jungkook was on his way back with a water bottle, worrying about what he should do about Taehyung. The older man seemed really sick, but didn't want to think that his hyung would lie to him. That thought made his heart feel like it was being squeezed by a vice. His heart dropped into his stomach as he returned to the chair he had left the older man in and found it empty.

"Oh, no!"

He sprinted over to the set, just in time to watch as Taehyung lifted the flower to his face and inhaled. He watched Taehyung's face fall into his hand as he sneezed and Jungkook felt his face flush with anger and frustration at himself, at the photographer, and even the flowers. His hands became fists at his sides.

"Damn it!"

He started forward, and struggling to compose himself, interrupted the photographer with much apologizing and went to Taehyung's side. He blocked the older vocalist from the crew and staff's sight and under the pretext of giving him water, asked in a whisper,

"Are you sure you can keep going?"

************************************************

Taehyung sniffled thickly and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be finde..." His voice was laced with heavy congestion by then.

"Dond't worry about mbe..." He offered what he hoped was a small, reassuring smile.

*************************************************

Jungkook sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Okay... I... guess that's okay then..." He felt so uneasy. What was this feeling in his chest? Kookie walked off set and stood off to one side, watching nervously as the shoot continued.

God, he was being ridiculous... This was Taehyung. His video game partner and his singing partner. Why did he feel so sure that Taehyung was hiding how bad things were from him?

And why did that thought bother him so much?...

************************************************

Taehyung sniffled one last time and turned back to the photographer, apologizing once more. "I-It's just allergies..." He excused.

After a few more tries of the shot (with excessive sneezing, of course), Taehyung's nose was now officially too blocked to smell anything. So he managed to smell the flower, turn to the camera, smile, and wave 'ARMY' over.

The words, "Okay, you're done! Remember the group shots later," had never felt so gratifying or relieving to Taehyung. He practically jumped off the bench, gave a hurried thanks and rushed off to go be miserable in peace.

************************************************

Jungkook followed as Taehyung left the awful pollen-ridden set. He kept a distance from the older man, trying to see some hidden clue that would help him to make this horrible photoshoot better or easier for Taehyung.

Jungkook wished, not for the first time that day, that he could just take the suffering man home and get him to shower to remove the pollen. Then he'd put on a movie Tae loved and let him rest. He thought about how it would feel to have Taehyung propped up against his chest just watching tv or a movie together. He smiled and shook his head. They were close but Taehyung wouldn't be okay with something like that... would he?

He shook himself out of his wonderings and slowed, watching Taehyung with curious eyes.

************************************************

Taehyung leaned against a wall and blew out a breath. He closed his eyes with a grimace and breathed through his mouth to combat the dizziness he was feeling from what he supposed was a fever, judging by how cold he felt.

A fierce, familiar tickle burned in his nose, and he scrambled for the tissue packet Jungkook had given him earlier. Breath hitching, he fumbled with the tab, pulled out a tissue, and held it to his mouth and nose as he shook with two desperate sneezes. "Heh'TSHHuh! Hah'ITSHHoo!" His breath continued to hitch for a few torturous, tickly moments, before he let a last, incredibly unsatisfying sneeze. "Heh'kitshhuh!"

He groaned and rubbed his face, not caring anymore that he was ruining the makeup. He felt awful. He just wanted to go home.

************************************************

Jungkook watched miserably as Taehyung snuffled and sneezed explosively into the tissue. He saw as Taehyung rubbed at his face how much paler he was than the makeup had lead him to believe. Now he was sure, Taehyung really was sick!

He approached cautiously and called out,

"Taehyung, it's just me."

***********************************************

Taehyung turned to him and sighed.

"H-Hey..." He blew his nose, which sounded as awful and congested as it felt. He winced and kept the tissue in his hand, knowing he'd probably need it in the near future.

He coughed lightly and sighed again, rubbing his eyes.

*************************************************

"You sound really bad, Hyung." He reached out and cupped Taehyung's cheek gently, before drawing back in amazement and worry, "You are really warm. I think you have a fever. We need to get you home so you can get the pollen off of you and you can rest." He paced, thinking hard.

"I could tell them that I'm sick, and that you are taking me back home early. That is, if you really don't want to tell the others."

*************************************************

Taehyung bit his lip, feeling tears well up in his eyes. It was probably the fever messing with his emotions, but he just felt so grateful that Jungkook was doing so much to hep. And guilty, because he didn't deserve this much attention and love just because he was sick.

"I-I'll just tell themb I'mb ndot feelig well..." He mumbled congestedly. "You dond't have to lie."

*************************************************

"Hyung... oh, Tae, don't cry." Jungkook felt his heart twinge in his chest. He pulled a tissue from the pack and dabbed gently around Taehyung's eyes, being careful not to aggravate the swollen tissue around them.

"I.. really just want you to feel better, and I will do whatever you need to make sure that happens." Jungkook hesitated but finally got up the nerve to bring the slender vocalist into a warm embrace. He gently rubbed small circles into the older man's back and wished he had thought to bring his hoodie to wrap Taehyung in.

************************************************

Taehyung pretty much melted into Jungkook's arms with a whimper and involuntarily leaned most of his weight onto the younger. He just felt so exhausted and miserable.

*************************************************

Jungkook's heart felt like it could burst through his chest as the older man leaned into his hug. He took a deep breath to calm himself before wrapping his arm around Taehyung and asked,

"Do you want to wait here while I let them know? Or do you want to tell them?" Thinking it over, he added,

"Are you okay to walk? I could carry you?..." he offered this last option shyly, but seeing how unsteady Tae was on his feet, he thought it might be safer that way.

************************************************

Taehyung sighed and closed his eyes. "I-I'll tell themb..." He bit his lip. "C-Can you carry mbe?" He slurred, much too feverish to really comprehend what was going on.

************************************************

Jungkook bent slightly and let Taehyung lean on his arm, he swept the other under the smaller man's knees and raised him up comfortably leaning him against his chest.

The maknae could feel the intense heat rolling off of the older man in waves. He murmured soothingly to Tae as he walked into the main area of the set.

He caught a lot of odd looks on the faces of the crew and staff, but he didn't have the time or the desire to care about that. RM had just finished his set as Jungkook approached him, carrying Tae.

"Hyung... we need to talk to you... right now!" The leader raised an eyebrow at the youngest members but nodded, taking them off to one side, away from the crowds.

************************************************

Taehyung waited until they'd stop and tapped Jungkook so that the younger could put him down.

When he was down, he leaned against Jungkook for support and turned to Namjoon. "H-Hyug... I-I dond't feel well..." He whimpered, coughing as if on cue. "I-Is it okay if I g-go hombe?"

************************************************

Namjoon's eyes widened at this sudden development. He reached out and gently pressed his palm to Taehyung's forehead. He sucked in a breath and nodded.

"Kookie, are you going to take him?"

Jungkook nodded and said, "Yes, hyung. I can't stand the thought of leaving him like this."

Namjoon pulled out his phone,

"I'll let the driver know to come to the side to pick you up. Get him home safely! With Jimin and Hobi's allergies this shoot might take another 3 or 4 hours anyway. Jungkook, I'm counting on you. Take good care of Tae. If he gets worse, call me immediately."

"I will." Jungkook responded gently, picking his hyung up once more and heading to the less busy side door.

************************************************

Taehyung barely understood what the other two had talked about and, frankly, didn't have the energy to keep up.

When Jungkook picked him up, he let out a small yelp, since he wasn't expecting it. "A-Are we going hombe?" He asked, his voice so small and raspy.

************************************************

"Yes, Tae, I'm taking you home. We will get you home and you can rest. I've got you." As he spoke the sprinter van pulled up and the automatic door opened. Jungkook leaned in, lowering the other vocalist into the seat closest to the door and buckled Tae into it. He reached into the back and pulled out a travel worn blanket that the others used to nap with during long rides. He tenderly covered Taehyung with it and took the seat right next to him, holding his hand.

************************************************

Taehyung leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. With his mouth agape so he could breathe, he slowly drifted off into a fitful, restless sleep.

He constantly woke up over the course of the ride only to stir slightly, maybe let out a small noise, and go back to sleep.

31 notes · View notes

lifeofroos · 5 years ago

Text

1984 Gift Exchange Entry

Alright, I did something for the 1984-event by @th0ughtcriminal.The prompt was… strange to me, I have to say, being ‘1984 but Winston is Kermit the Frog.’ Yet, I tried my best. Also, sorry if there are weird mistakes in the spelling or the grammar or if I got some names wrong, my native language is Dutch and I read the book in Dutch as well.

While pretending to look at his typewriter, Kermit scanned the other people in his department. He saw a few of his co-workers doing the same. He felt a little stint of fear whenever he and someone else accidently made eye-contact. Did they know something about him? Did the man in the back of the room know his secret? Did mister Nint know? He swiftly looked back at his typewriter with shaking green hands and whited out a part of the document he was working on.

A few minutes later, he heard the people around him get up . They were whispering to each other. Oh, was it time for the Two Minutes Hate already? Kermit swiftly stood up and walked to the entrance of the room as quickly as his froggy feet allowed. While walking into the room of hate, he caught a glimpse of Her. His blood immediately started to boil in his veins.There was something about… Her. He quickly looked away. Yet, he could feel Her presence in the room, the way you could feel a threat looming around you.

Goldstein begun speaking on the screen. One person started yelling. Three more joined in. Soon, the whole room was yelling, and Kermit couldn't help but join in as well. The pressure became too much every single time, no matter how hard he tried to stay quiet. He noticed that the woman next to him gave him a weird look. Kermit quieted down a bit under her gaze. He knew other people found his peculiar voice annoying. Of course, he couldn't do anything about it. Only the ministry could, if they decided croaking was against the party.

He saw Her again when he walked out of the room. This time, She made eye contact with him. Out of panic, Kermit did not move his head away. She gave him a small wink, before walking down the hallway and disappearing out of sight. Kermit turned around on his heels, and ran back to his desk. He felt the blood rush to his head. He did not care that mister Foor gave him a very suspicious look. Mister Foor gave everyone suspicious looks, it probably meant nothing.

After a long, exhaustion day of work, Kermit retired to his horrible home, if he could even call it that. It was more like a closet that he just happened to have all of his stuff and himself in. Including his most prized possession. Without even pausing to get something to eat (All the good food was gone anyway), he stepped behind his secret sound proof wall, which was just small enough to not be seen by the screen on the wall. There. There it was. His own, sacred banjo. He picked it up and felt a wave of happiness rising up in his chest. He strummed a few notes. He started to feel a stint of peace. He started playing his favourite melody. It was a melody that you could sing two songs on. One was a simple childrens’ tune, the other one was a protest song against the party. Kermit sometimes sang the children's song for his neighbours’ kids, but right now the lyrics of the patriotic song played in his head (he didn’t sing them out loud. Of course he did not sing them out loud).

After a few minutes, he slowly put the banjo down. The fear became to much - he was never sure if someone could hear him, even though he knew the screen was almost completely soundproof. Slowly, he walked into his kitchen to eat some very depressing food. There was only three day old chicken and bad noodles left, plus some carrots with suspicious spots on them. Ugh. Gross. Kermit wondered if even dogs would like to eat it. Still, he threw it into a crock pot with some water. Better something than nothing, he concluded.

While he was cooking his depressing stew, he suddenly thought of Her. She had winked at him. He wildly stirred his soup in order to drive the thoughts away. The smell of the dish hit his… nostrils… (He had never known what to call his frog nose, and now that language got poorer and poorer and thinner and thinner, it did not get easier), and the thoughts of Her disappeared out of his mind while he coughed.

When Kermit woke up the next day, he did not feel any better. All he had to look forward to was yet another depressing day of working in the ministry of truth. Wait, no. What was good for the party was supposed to make him happy, he thought, not depressed. He slowly got out of bed. He ate the leftovers of his so-called meal for breakfast and did some morning gymnastics along with the screen, before stepping outside.

He was surprised. There was nobody in the hallway. Usually, Mister James was there waiting for him. Well, maybe the party had decided that being a blue muppet was illegal now, or he had said something that he really should not have. It was nothing Kermit had to keep thinking about. Slowly, on his own, he walked out of the apartment building. It was a weirdly freeing feeling. He felt like there was nobody looking over his shoulder. Yet, on the other hand, he knew it was just that - a feeling. Of course there was someone looking over his shoulder. There always was.

Yet, he noticed he wandered off. Instead of walking to the ministry of truth, he walked into town, where the regular folks lived. He looked around. The town was quiet so early in the morning. There were only a few women walking around doing some housework - laundry or grocery shopping.

It might have made him a little overconfident. He was so amazed by the new place, without other people to keep him in line, he simply forgot that he was being watched. He felt something bubbling in his stomach. He felt like strumming on his banjo for hours, until he could capture this feeling with the music. He remembered that there was a word for that once. It started with an I, he remembered that too. But what exactly the word had been was completely lost to history.

He took a left turn. He passed a few shops, which sold clothes. They were not very nice clothes, but to Kermit, they looked great (And he didn't even wear any clothes, he did not like the feel on his green skin). It felt like the day was getting better and better.

He took a right turn. The happy feeling disappeared within seconds. He tried to look down. Too late. He had made eye-contact with Her. Kermit felt the blood rushing through his body. He did not know what it was. Was it… shock? Did that word still exist?

He wished he could turn around and act like nothing had happened. But She would give his name to the thought police, and that would be it. Walking away made no difference. He looked up. If this was going to be it, he wanted to look her in the eye. When he did, however, she did something unexpected. She pointed to the house on the corner, then put up three fingers, before scurrying away.

Her appearance had broken the magic. Kermit was running through the street as fast as his feet could carry him, towards the ministry of truth. He knew there must be at least one person who saw him - but maybe not in the street with Her. Were there cameras there? Could it be that, just this once, nobody would have noticed that something had happened?

Oh, no, That was too much to hope for. He reached the door of the ministry of truth just in time - man, he never even noticed how much Mister James talked and slowed them down along the way until he did not walk with him anymore. Kermit walked past his colleagues, until he reached his desk. There were a bunch of articles laying on the desk of which he could swear that he went through them just the day before. He sighed deeply. Well, the word Poor should be scrapped from all of them now, according to the note next to the documents. Kermit felt confused while he sat down on his chair. He felt something rise in his chest, and it was something different then what he had felt while walking through the streets. It felt like his body was refusing to write. Like he was… oh, he did not know. The word was scrapped years ago.

It was 2 O'clock and after the two minutes hate when he remembered what She had signed him. Three O´ clock. The house on the corner. Kermit stood up - his job was done for the day. Slowly, he walked out of the building. He acted like he went towards his home, but instead he took a few odd turns, so that he was back in the town. He did not know if there were many cameras around. If there were, he needed to trick them. So, he walked to a clothing store he had seen before. He randomly pulled something out of a rack and bought it, so that it seemed like he had been thinking about buying it the whole day. That was not illegal. He might even be able to spin it into a lie that he wanted to start wearing clothes now. That would not garner to much suspicion, would it?

While trying to look as normal as he could, he walked to the house She had pointed at. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. Slowly, the door opened about a centimetre. An older man looked at him. At that moment, Kermit felt like turning around and running for the hills. ´Eh…´

´Are you looking for Miss Piggy?´

´Um, Her, yeah…´

´Go upstairs.´ The man opened the door just wide enough for Kermit's small frog body to slip through. Kermit did not dare to look the man in the eye, but instead immediately scurried upstairs.

Miss Piggy was standing by the top of the stairs. ´You actually came. You are even early.´

´…Yes, I came.´

´What were you doing in the street earlier this morning?´

Kermit felt panic rising in his body. How did he not see it? Now he was trapped. Did he not see Her standing next to an higher-up before? Oh, now he would be dragged to the ministry of love…

´I always walk around in this neighbourhood to get a sense of peace. It was freer, is it not? Much better for a star like me, even if it is dirty…´ Miss Piggy mused. She flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. Kermit did not know what to answer. Who´s side was She on?

´I… I felt that too. I felt like making music about it.´ Miss Piggy smiled.

´That sounds so wonderful.´

Kermit slowly began to feel better the longer he talked to Miss Piggy. It felt like everything he had been thinking about the party was finally confirmed for him. After what felt like hours and hours of talking, he jumped up. ‘We must do something about it!’

Miss Piggy gave him an amused look. ‘What do you mean?’

‘We must do something against…’ his words trailed off. He had been hit by a wave of sudden determination, but now he could not say it. Not out loud. Too risky. Yet, miss Piggy understood.

‘Yes, we need to do something. Yet, what then…’ she leaned a little closer. ‘Say, you were married before, right?’

Kermit suddenly felt a little weird. ‘Yes… but she is gone now.’

‘Really?’

‘Eh, yeah. Yet, the party…’

‘Did you get divorced?’

Kermit fell silent. No, they weren’t divorced, because they could not. He started to feel slightly… uncomfortable. He shrugged.

‘It does not matter.’ He reached for the piece of clothing he had bought. He suddenly saw Miss Piggy’s eyes narrow. ‘You bought a dress?’

For the first time, Kermit looked at the piece of clothing he had bought. Oh. Yes, he had bought a dress. A yellow one with pink flowers. ‘Eh… yeah.’

‘So… you are still married, then?’

‘No!’

Her expression changed from happy to thunder within a matter of seconds. ‘Maybe you should leave.’ Kermit picked up his dress.

‘Yes, erm, maybe I should.’ That did not make Her feel better, he could see it. She wrapped Her arms in front of Her chest. ‘Alright.’ Kermit quickly ran out of the room, with the dress.

The next day, he saw Her again. For some reason, She winked. Kermit quickly looked back at his typewriter. He felt confused, more than usual, even. He slowly started to dissociate from the situation. Hm… if only he could play something on his banjo now… He should try to capture that amazing feeling he had, the first time he walked through town… Before everything with Her...

#kermit the frog #this was weird #but I made it #writing #writer #1984 #lit #literature #writeblr #1984 secret santa

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junionigiri · 6 years ago

Text

Boom Clap [bnha: vigilantes one shot]

Story Summary: Haimawari Koichi is quite content spending New Year's Eve alone in his run-down rooftop apartment, but Iida Tensei has other plans.

Relationship: Haimawari Koichi/Iida Tensei

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: haha wtf is a warm-up drabble anyways. this isn’t edited but whatever. gonna go back to my other AU in a bit. Happy new year everyone :)

31 December 20XX, 2154H

Haimawari Koichi watches the night sky alone.

He has cans of beer, one of them already open and half-empty in his hand. His phone is out, but apart from taking piss-poor quality photos of the stray fireworks already colouring the night sky in vivid oranges and greens and pinks, it is glaringly quiet. Almost… annoyingly so. But he can’t complain.

Pop is finally spending time with her family and not with some college-aged vigilante, as proper middle school girls ought to. Makoto-senpai is with her older brother too--she managed to pressure him into going home to see their parents after so long.

His college friends wouldn’t step near here, for obvious reasons. And the kinda-friends he’s met as a vigilante… well, Koichi’s kind of dense, but even he understands that inviting Eraserhead for a beer here isn’t the most genius idea.

Knuckleduster… well who knows where he really is right now. Koichi only hopes that he’s alive wherever he is. He doesn’t have a lot of chances to say that he misses that insane master of his, not even to himself.

And… that’s the extent of his friends, he realizes. Those close enough that he can theoretically ask to spend some time with him on his little rooftop in the city, at least.

That’s… kind of sad. But he tries not to think about that too much.

There’s no one else here.

It’s not so bad, he supposes. Life as a college student by day, a vigilante by night isn’t exactly the most quiet. He made up a stupid University-related excuse not to go home to Mom’s because villains don’t take the holidays off (and also he prefers meeting the new year without being slapped silly like a fly). So he should really enjoy the quiet, while he can.

Another stray firework explodes above his head. He tries to capture it on camera, for what it’s worth. As expected, it looks shitty, exactly what you get from a flip-phone camera.

He deletes it.

It’s quiet. A breeze blows by, cold and biting, but his All Might hoodie keeps him warm.

It’s the perfect time for a villain to strike. If he were a villain, he’d strike now.

He looks at the streets below his complex. Come on. Somebody? Anybody?

Nope. Nada. He sighs, and looks up the sky again. Maybe he should patrol, or something? Ah, but during holidays like this, the younger heroes are out and about, on higher alert than on a normal day. If he ran into any of them, he might just be the one to get arrested. Not the best thing to happen to greet the new year.

His phone rings like a bell, startling him. “Ah--”

He flips his phone open. A single message, a short one, but just enough to make his heart flutter.

Tensei Iida (2201H): Happy New Year to you and your family! Here’s hoping that the incoming year is prosperous! Let’s work hard together! - Turbo Hero Ingenium

He’s two hours too early for the generic new year’s greeting texts, isn’t he? He must have thought ahead and sent the message before the signals got congested. Figures that the Turbo Hero is ahead of everyone, even new year’s texts.

Still… Koichi’s smiling a little too wide just receiving a generic greeting. Ah, frickin’ stupid, really--

Their chat thread isn’t exactly brimming with messages, either. In fact, this is the first message in their log. They exchanged numbers ages ago during one of their runs, but there really isn’t a good reason for either of them to send messages to each other. Besides, Koichi thinks that it wouldn’t be good for one of the more popular heroes to be in close contact with an infamous vigilante--who knows when the police might need to check his text records, or something…

Oh… and also, his crippling shyness gets in the way of making a proper human-like text too, let’s not forget about that.

His fingers tap nervously against the keys of his phone, erasing and re-typing and erasing his messages again. Double-thinking whether it’s too eager or too disinterested or just right for him to text now, or in a minute, or in an hour--

What is he going to say, anyway? Blessings to you too, please keep watching out for us? Yeah, let’s work hard together, you on the legal side and me on the dark shady criminal side? Yeah man I can’t wait til we run again, please wear tighter jogging shorts this year hehe jk lol. Oh, wait, is this the appropriate time to confess his crazy gay crush yet? With any luck, the moment Tensei reads it, there’s fireworks in the sky, boom boom and then--

Koichi, no. Just. No.

He inhales, and lets his thumbs fly over the keypad. Happy New Year, he starts out in Japanese, ending with a :) .

Too plain. He deletes that.

Happy New Year, he writes, in English this time. There, that’s not too plain, that might be something that Tensei will at least be a lil bit amused to read. Right. He thinks about it a little more, and adds another :) .

Well. That won’t make any hearts throb. That’s… seenzoned material, that’s not really-- yeah, that’s really boring, even for a generic new year’s greeting that he’s spent a lot of thought on.

A generic new year’s greeting that he’s spent five… ten… fifteen minutes composing already. What the fuck, Koichi. Just say something, anything, just fill up the screen with some shitty fireworks kaomoji and blame it on Pop if he asks about it.

He takes a deep breath. Okay, so… the past year he’s gotten away a lot with being a little more impulsive, right? So just… say what you want, and just let things happen. Most likely nothing will happen, so.

Me: Happy New Year! Thanks for all your help this year. Hope you and your family are doing well, ‘specially Tenya. If you’re patrolling, I hope you don’t run into anyone too dangerous lol~

Before he berates himself for sounding stupid, he presses send. It gets delivered at 2218H.

Okay. Well that isn’t so bad. But the cutesy ~ makes him cringe.

He shuts his phone with a satisfying snap and takes a sip of his beer. Ugh, his face is getting warm, this beer isn’t cold enough! Come on, isn’t it supposed to be winter, where are the bitter biting winds when you need them?

No cold wind comes, only another message. He almost tosses his phone over the side of the building the moment his phone chimes again.

He takes a deep breath, flips his phone open and reads:

Tensei Iida (2221H): Thanks, Haimawari-kun! Tenya’s doing well, he’s with our grandparents outside the city. Just about to finish my shift now tho, so obviously I won’t be celebrating with everyone ^_^’ Are you patrolling too? Try not to get caught, okay?

Ahhh ahhh a real reply ahhhhhhh a blessed smiley from Ingenium, ahhh. He needs to go in and put his head in the freezer.

But he doesn’t--Tensei replied to him really fast, so surely it’s polite to reply to him really fast too. I mean it’s the polite thing to do. A guy on patrol in a quiet city has the means to reply fast, so he should return the favor.

Trying to will his heart not to go doki doki much like a shoujo manga heroine, he struggles to type, Oh, im not lmao theres a lot of you out there and i dont want to spend the new year in prison.

Tensei Iida (2224H): You’re right! That’s a relief. I don’t want to go to Tartarus just so we can go jogging together! ;) Tensei Iida (2224H): so are you with your folks? Out of town?

The winky face, and the implication that Tensei would visit him in maximum security prison should the opportunity arises almost kills him on the spot. Koichi suppresses another urge to roll over the cement tiles of the rooftop and manages to reply:

Me (2226H): nah. naruhata Tensei Iida (2327H): oh. In the university dorm, by yourself? Me (2228H): haha no lmao i dont live in the university. i live up on the roof in that one rundown apartment two blocks away cant miss it Me (2229H): but yeah by myself Tensei Iida (2331H): !!! on new years eve? Me (2232H): yeah? Tensei Iida (2335H): Oh! Well, that’s not good... Me (2236H): lmao do u feel that sorry for me Tensei Iida (2337H): It’s not that! Sorry hahahaha Me (2238H): its ok haha

Well, that’s a little awkward. Koichi doesn’t know what to say next, and when the minutes pass by, the speedy replies suddenly stops. He tries to type out another reply to tell him to change the subject but he has no clue how to proceed.

And then, the minutes pass in silence. There are more fireworks rising in the skies now, building up a crescendo for the bigger ones scheduled for midnight. They’re really pretty, but Koichi’s guts are in turmoil, giddiness making them churn in one direction, and pure anxiety in the opposite direction.

Fifteen minutes later, to his surprise, his phone chimes again.

Tensei Iida (2253H): 16th st apartment complex?

A firework goes boom behind his head. Koichi blinks. Uh. yeah, he types in dumbly.

Tensei Iida (2254H): Ok. Look down. :D

Koichi stares at the message for another dumb second and almost trips over himself rushing to the edge.

It’s a little hard to see since he’s way down there, but Koichi doesn’t miss the shiny silver and blue of Ingenium’s mecha-inspired hero suit. He’s waving up at him, and Koichi hopes that he sees him waving back.

He’s prepared to turn on his heel and run down to meet him, but he sees Tensei hold his hand up, in a gesture for him to stay right where he is. Koichi tilts his head curiously, raises both arms in a confused shrug.

He’s far away, but Koichi sees him give his trademark grin. He goes five steps backwards…

And Recipro-bursts his way up the side of the building.

“Holy sh--”

It’s less than half a minute when Ingenium makes it up and over the ledge. Smoke rises from the engines of his arms and it’s really concerning, but the way the Turbo Hero is just smiling at him with a salute, like he’s in a mission to rescue him from the burning building of his heart just... makes him melt in a stupid puddle without any sense of comprehension.

“Hey there, Crawler,” Tensei says, stepping closer to him.

“Hey,” Koichi stammers out. “Um… that was neat and all, but you know we have an elevator, so--”

The pro laughs. “Yeah, but elevators are pretty slow, and I wanted to see you faster than they would allow me.”

Anyone who is interested is free to canvass Koichi’s corpse of its vital organs. Just. Say the word.

“Yeah, you were… pretty fast, haha.” His voice catches like he’s still in puberty. He clears his throat. “I didn’t know you could run up the sides of buildings. That’s pretty insane.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know I could too.”

“Uh.”

Tensei collapses on the floor, legs crossed and arms waving in front of him like they’re boneless. “You wouldn’t happen to have any juice there, would you? My arms are feeling pretty wobbly, and--”

Aaaah wtf! “Y-yeah, hang on a sec, Iida--”

Koichi glides in his apartment in the speed of light and rummages through the scanty contents of his fridge. He has to dig a bit to find the stock of grapefruit juice at the back.

(Since that incident with the Catbus, he buys a stock of them on impulse and carries a bottle with him during patrols. In the tiny chance that he runs into Tensei and he needs extra fuel, he’s frickin’ ready. And if he doesn’t, well… grapefruit juice doesn’t taste that bad, so…)

He’s back to Tensei in record time. He tosses the bottle to him, and the pro chugs it down gratefully. He instantly looks refreshed at the last gulp, puts down the bottle with an aahhh and only grins at Koichi’s distress.

“What the heck, Iida! You haven’t done anything like that before?!”

He laughs awkwardly. “I’ve run up two storeys before, but--”

Koichi’s apartment complex is, like, ten storeys high. “Y-you could have gone splat or kaboom on the way up here, man! You could have been a really bloody human firework!”

Tensei shrugs. “I didn’t though! This tells me a lot about what I can do with my quirk!”

He’s a little too chill for someone who could have fallen ten storeys down onto the dirty Naruhata pavement, Koichi thinks. He gives him an exasperated look and collapses next to him. “Yeah, I guess, but… you didn’t have to do all that just to see me…”

He grins at him again, leans his head closer to his, like he tends to do from time to time. Koichi reckons that it’s because Tensei doesn’t have a good sense of personal space, but all the same it makes his heart throb painfully in his chest. “I felt like I did. Let me show off from time to time, Haimawari-kun.”

Ahh you cheesy bastard, Tensei, you bleeding show-off. It’s a good thing it’s so dark, because he’s sure he’s a cherry tomato by that time, and he can’t blame it on the half-empty can of beer next to him. “Hah! Sure, do that… I’d show off my new moves to you too if I could. You’re lucky I can’t, you’d feel like a total slowpoke hahaha--”

What the fuck is he saying, he doesn’t know anymore. This back-and-forth shit-talking thing (Makoto insists that it’s flirting, but Koichi disagrees because hah why would Iida Tensei flirt with a guy like him?) is more natural when they’re running out the streets and out of breath from trying to outdo each other. Without the excuse of physical exhaustion to explain away his stammering, Koichi’s a little worried of how brainless he might have sounded then.

Tensei only looks more and more amused, and doesn’t get any less close. “I dunno about that, Crawler. Been a while since we had a real race.”

“Heh, you’re right.” Koichi has been more careful using his quirk in public, out of disguise. He doesn’t wear his All Might hoodies when he’s around Tensei, unless by accident.

A silence falls between them, a slightly uncomfortable one where Koichi is hyperaware of the steadily increasing proximity between them, of the alcohol in his veins, of his rushing pulse. Trying to distract himself, he reaches out for an unopened can of beer and offers this to Tensei, who accepts.

He pulls the tab off the cheap, lukewarm thing, tilts it close to his. “Cheers.”

Koichi nods. “Cheers.”

They take a swig in unison. Fireworks explode above them, spurts of colors in the sky. The shine of the lights above do something interesting over the steel of Tensei’s suit.

“Hey, so… if you want to take your suit off--”

“Hm?” Tensei looks down on himself. “You want me to strip down? I usually expect dinner first, but for you--”

“That’s not what I--” Koichi stammers, as he flushes in an ever deeper scarlet that he doesn’t think is even possible. Ah, how drunk is he, huh? How Asian is he that he would turn this red, just from drinking this teensy amount of beer?

He takes off the metal plates more carelessly than Koichi reckons he should be handling them, and lets them down on the floor next to him with a sound. Tensei looks grateful for the extra breathing space as he leans back to appreciate the growing noise and lights above them. “This is an awesome spot, Koichi. The view’s great from up here, huh?”

“Yeah, you know it.”

(And the younger boy leans back, away from him, and tries not to appreciate how Tensei looks in just that tight black bodysuit thing he has underneath. Lean, broad, muscly, like a Greek god, and...)

A few quiet moments pass by. Tensei finishes a can. Koichi works on his third one and he doesn’t know why he’s suddenly drinking so fast. He coughs a little to clear up his suddenly tight throat. “So it’s weird because you almost died going up here, but thanks for coming up here, I guess… it’s pretty cool being up here, by myself--”

Perfectly content, and lonely, and quite possibly drunk by himself by this time, but not as drunk as he feels right there next to him--

“--but it’s cool not… looking at all the pretty lights by myself this time,” he struggles out. Stupid, really, he isn’t even looking at the fireworks anymore, just the beer can under his nose, like he’s reading tea leaves and begging for some clarity.

“Yeah. I’m glad I invited myself up here, too,” Tensei says gently. “I’m shameless I know, but knowing you’re alone up here, I couldn’t help myself--”

Koichi laughs nervously. “Yeah, you are pretty--”

When he turns his head, Tensei’s nose is two centimeters away from his. His eyes are looking right into his, freezing him in place.

“... pretty,” he swallows, already lost. “... shameless.”

Tensei makes a sound in his throat, so quiet that he can’t hear it among the sounds of explosions, but he’s so close he feels the hit, like he Shooty-Go-Blammed himself in the chest. He might be agreeing or disagreeing but fuck whatever they were talking about, Koichi can’t remember why the small talk matters anymore.

Tensei puts one gloved hand underneath his chin, a lackadaisical grin on his face showing off that sharp incisor that Koichi thinks is very cute. “Pretty,” he agrees.

He feels the change in the air, feels the charge spark in between them, through his eyeballs and his little brain.

They lean in closer. Eyes flutter closed. Koichi’s heart is beating fast and hot and electric.

Lips touch.

Explosions go off in his brain.

Ahhh, Koichi screams in his head, as the sensation of Tensei’s insanely soft lips on his beery virgin ones immediately makes him question reality. One hand goes up to experimentally touch the back of the older man’s head, fingers threading through that soft, dark hair. He pushes a little, nudges him just a little closer to him. The minuscule distance between them practically disappears.

“Ahhh--” This time his mental scream is an audible gasp when Tensei pushes him down on the concrete, supporting his head and back with gloved hands, and continues the kissing with Koichi underneath him.

Sparks of light litter the night air, like violent blooming flowers against the infinite canopy of darkness, in booms and kablooeys and claps and other ridiculous noises. Koichi doesn’t care to wax poetic about them, not when his heart is probably doing the same shit, with Tensei and his warmth is right there above him, feeling so nice and right.

Yeah, he belongs right here, right in his arms. What the hell has he done all year, the blur that is his 19 years of life, before this?

Eventually they have to break the kiss to get some of that chill air between their lungs. They gasp in unison, a dashing smile on Tensei’s face, and a dopey smile on Koichi’s. The older man caresses the side of his face. “Haimawari-kun,” he says gently.

“Yeah? Ah, it’s Koichi, by the way.”

Tensei nods. “Koichi-kun,” he repeats.

That right there is the stuff of dreams. Koichi feels like he’s overheating, despite the winter night. “Hah, is it new years yet, Iida? We should be counting down, or something--”

He gets another sweet kiss on the lips instead. Moments stretch before him. The concrete under him feels like the softest cloud as he allows himself to melt under his touch once again.

“It’s Tensei,” he breathes sensually into his ear. “And… honestly, I don’t care about the time, Koichi, just--”

There’s jovial shouting down at where the city square is, and more light and noise, far away from their rooftop.

“Yeah,” Koichi agrees with a smile. “Fuck that clock.”

They laugh like a couple of idiots, and kiss some more and damn, he could do with more of this in the coming years.

Soon, it’s January. The air is getting a little colder. They spend the rest of the first day of the new year in Koichi’s humble apartment, warmer than either of them could ever hope for.

#bnha fic #bnha vigilantes #tenkoi #koisei #haimawari koichi #iida tensei #koichi x tensei #new years kiss #let's celebrate everyone

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