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jadeee · 7 months

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Vendetta Ch. 12, Part 1: Cloudy Days

📰 read chapters 1 - 11 here!

Warnings: angst, slight swearing & mentions of murder

Word Count: 3.9k

divider by @saradika ©️

"Oh my God!" You squealed as you hovered over Nicky's shoulder. He spent the last five minutes reading MJ's published piece about the two of you:

While the world gawks at the Valentinos and their upcoming case, the pair find safety and shelter in each other. Most importantly, love which is the greatest comfort of all. They continue to curate a happy home and lovely life in which they celebrate the good, the bad, and the ugly.

"We should frame this."

He set the paper aside "You wanna hang it up in the hall?"

"Why not?!"

"Okay, I've got an idea. How about we get out of this house?"

"Hm.."

"Oh c'mon," he got up from the couch and took your hands in his "we've been hermit crabs until last night."

You chuckled as he pulled you off the couch and into his arms.

"Don't you want to come out of your shell?"

"Okay," you said with a hint of defeat "where do you want to go today?"

"How about the tennis court? I haven't exercised in ages."

"You went for a swim in the pool a few days ago!"

"It's not the same!" He pouted playfully "C'mon, I'll get the rackets and everything else. Just get ready."

He kissed your forehead again before disappearing up the stairs.

Agnes stood outside of Martin's office, "Sir?"

"What?" He asked with an underlying annoyance.

"Your wife is on the line. I told her you were busy but she knows I'm lying."

"Of course she does." He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for a punch from a heavy hitter "Put her on."

"... yes, sir."

His hand rested on the phone in his office and immediately picked it up when it rang. The speaker rested near his lips but he was quiet, timid, and scared all at once.

"Martin? Martin, I know you're there." The woman said on the other end "How are you?"

He licked his lips to wet them since they were suddenly dry, "How do you think?"

She sighed "You can't keep doing this. Why don't you just come home?"

"Why haven't you signed the divorce papers?" He spat back then wiped his lips regretfully.

The line was suddenly silent except for the soft breathing of the woman on the other end.

"Teddy, sign the damn papers."

"You haven't called me that in months."

A crimson red blossomed on his cheeks, "I-- I know."

"I'm surprised you still remember my name."

"Oh Theodora, don't get smart with me!"

"I'm just saying!"

"Just stop it, alright."

"Okay..."

They enjoyed a comfortable silence until she broke it "So--"

"No." he found himself picking at a chip on his wooden desk.

"Sweetheart..."

Tears stung in his eyes as he continued to pick at the spot and held the phone to his ear. He didn't want to hang up but he couldn't bear another second. "Teddy, please."

"What happened.. it's not your fault. We can still be a family. I can turn the nursery into a room for a dog." She chuckled half-heartedly and sniffled.

Martin wiped a fallen tear from his eye "A dog isn't gonna fix this."

"I know but it's not your fault."

"Then how do you explain it? If I didn't take that case, you wouldn't have lost the baby," He shrunk back at his outburst. Hearing the words bounce off the walls made it real again and he felt himself start to crack.

"Martin," she sniffled again and went silent "the doctor said it was only a matter of time."

"Ted-- Theodora, I can't do this. I don't want to put you in danger and you can't be in a stressful environment. That's all this job is and as much as I love you, I can't leave it."

"I don't want you to."

"... just sign the papers, please."

He moved his hand an inch away from his face then brought the phone back to his lips. "I love you. Truly, I do." As his lips stringed together more to say, the sentence fell apart so he hung up the phone. Whatever he felt for his soon-to-be ex-wife, he pushed it deep down to focus on his work.

"Agnes, I don't want to hear from her unless it's an emergency! You got it?"

"I understand."

He fished something out of his shirt pocket then looked at the golden ring before putting it in his desk drawer.

Flo led MJ towards her surprise with his hands over her eyes.

"Flo, what is this?" She laughed with each slow step forward "Why does it smell like..."

"Surprise!" He lifted his hands and she saw the dinner that was spread out on the table.

"I remember one day you said 'when I make it big I want a big boss dinner with lobster and potatoes' so..."

He laughed at his poor impression of her as he gestured to the exquisite dinner he made for her and gauged her reaction. She was silent and unmoving until finally, she turned around and hugged him tightly. The impact nearly threw him off his balance. He grabbed onto a nearby chair to steady himself then hugged her back and smiled.

"Thank you," she muttered against him.

"You deserve it."

She let go of him and recomposed herself "Now, let's eat!"

The two had already shared more than a few laughs as time went by.

"So now that you're a big shot, are you going to forget about me?" Flo teased as he ate a bread roll.

"No!" Bea shook her head "You're one of the few people who believed in me. Besides, who else is going to visit my office."

"Is it still bring your own box to sit on?"

"Actually, I have two chairs now." She grinned and Flo's brows jumped up.

"Did they give you an office?!"

She nodded as she ate some more of her lobster.

"Holy-- that's amazing!" Flo smiled "Does it have those big glass windows?!"

She laughed as she went on to explain her recent promotion at work and what her new life was starting to look like.

As the night progressed, you were playing a game of cards with Nicky and losing horribly.

"Ah, damn!" You threw down your hand after seeing Nicky's winning one.

"Let me give you some tips or something. I'm starting to feel bad."

"Be honest, you're actually loving this right now."

He threw his hands up while you continued your banter. It would've carried on but the phone rang and Nicky offered to get it.

"Yeah, give me a chance to prepare for a rematch."

"You do that!" He teased.

The smile he had lingered on his face as he picked up the phone, "Hello? Who's this?"

"It's Martin."

Nicky's smile started to drop "What's going on?"

"They found a body in New York. It might be Maurizio. They're doing the testing now. I just thought I should let you know."

He nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"If this is it, then we got Floyd. I talked to some people and Maurizio may not be the only one."

"What?"

"You ever heard of Umberto Gavassi?"

A sudden pit had formed in Nicky's stomach "Yeah, I know who he is."

"Y'know if he's still alive?"

"I have no idea. I tried to forget about New York and everything with it. We see how that turned out."

"Hm.. my work's just getting started over here but things are looking up for us."

"Did you get in touch with his mother?"

Martin went quiet for a moment "I'm waiting until it's confirmed. I don't want to waste her time if it's not him."

"Right..." Nicky glanced at the floor then back to the distant room you were in.

"I'll call you when I know the results."

"Okay."

Martin and Nicky hung up at the same time. Both were thankful for the end of the conversation but unwilling to know the truth. He walked back into the room with a solemn step. You rearranged the cards in your hand "Alright, I'm ready this time. I laid everything out."

You glanced up at him and the light in your eyes dimmed. "What happened?"

"That was Martin." Nicky sat on the couch near where you sat on the floor. Where you two were happily playing cards moments ago.

"They found a body in New York and it may be Maurizio's. They're testing it now to see." He looked right past you.

"Hey," you scooted over in front of him and rested your hands on his legs. "Nicky?" you crossed your arms over his thighs and rested your head there. "We'll wait then, okay?"

He focused on you, as if he were coming back from some dark place he was visiting in his mind. He nodded and caressed your cheek. You took his hand in yours and joined him on the couch. Stella traipsed down the stairs and sat at your feet. He bent down to pet her and relished in the comfort he had between you both.

The phone rang for a milisecond and Martin picked it up "Hello."

"Martin Alonso?"

"Yes."

"It's been confirmed. It's Maurizio Botticelli."

Martin hung his head as his heart dropped to his stomach.

"You still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here." Martin said with his eyes still shut as if he were silently praying.

"We'll fax the papers and everything over to you. One of our staff is on a plane now for the court case. We're also contacting the family."

"Okay, thank you. I-" he cleared his throat "I may have another location for you to dig. I'm getting a lead now."

The person on the other end sighed "Okay, we'll be here."

Martin hung up. He was unmoving, like some creature frozen in ice. After a moment, he found the words although he'd rather not speak. "It was him, Maurizio."

Agnes solemnly nodded while her boss rubbed at his face.

"Let's give the family some time to process. I can take care of the rest of this, just go home for today."

"But sir--"

Martin waved his hand. His tall frame walked around the desk "Get a good night's rest. Forget about this case for a few hours, if you can."

Agnes stared at him for a moment then decided to follow instruction. She stood by the door "You do the same."

Martin found himself frowning and locked eyes with her. His mouth tried to form a response but he nodded instead.

You jumped up at the sound of the phone ringing yet Nicky beat you to it. Despite how close you were, you couldn't make out the words. It wasn't until you saw the color drain from his face that you knew. It was Maurizio, the teenager. The boy who's peach fuzz had barely grown in before his life was snatched from him.

Your husband's eyes were cast down at your floors. His words were low, a mere whisper "It's him."

Without thinking, your hand found itself rubbing his shoulder. Before you could speak to offer any comfort, he spoke again.

"I should tell Chris and Rocky." He picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Nicky, do you need a minute--"

"For what?" He glanced back at you while holding the phone to his ear.

You blinked at the obvious answer "To process this."

He only shook his head "There's nothing to process."

The corners of your mouth turned down at how he slightly mocked you, whether he knew it or not. Your hand shrunk back to your side. There was nothing else to talk about. He was already talking to the other person on the line. His voice grew more concerned by the second.

"What do you mean he's not there? Where is he?!"

Your fingers reached for him and he brushed his own hand against them but didn't fully take them in his. He spoke another word then hung up and picked up the phone again to make another call.

You were a shadow standing next to him. The hallway seemed to shrink with each second he spent with his back slightly faced to you. Every now and then he'd turn to his side, allowing you to see his pinched brow and bitten lip.

"Do you need anything?" Your voice was barely audible but he heard you nonetheless.

"No, I just need to make this call."

The half hearted smile he gave you provided little comfort. You returned a sympathetic one then walked off, unsure of what to do while you waited for him.

A few minutes later, he joined you in the living room but he stood nearby rather than sit beside you on the couch. All it took was a glance. The way his hand sat in his pocket, the small twist in his lip, his pinched brow and the far off look in his eye.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine."

Your lips tucked in on themself to prevent you from saying anything else. Those two words made you retreat into the farthest corner of yourself. You, his heart of hearts, could not fix this. You could not do anything and furthermore, he didn't want you to. It felt like you could choke on your heart in that moment but you simply said "Okay."

The silence crept in and made itself at home in your company. Every time you sought to challenge it, it felt.. wrong. You went back and forth in your mind on what to say, how to say it, if you should say it. It wasn't until you felt the heat on your skin, that you realized you'd been turning your wedding ring round and round on your finger. Nicky noticed it, then approached you.

"Don't worry about it," he kissed the top of your head then disappeared into the kitchen.

That small gesture made tears gather in the corners of your eyes.

Nicky busied his hands with whatever he could find in the kitchen. He was cooking. What? He couldn't say since his body was on autopilot. Funnily enough, he remembers when his mom would do the same thing. After her umpteenth spat with his father, she'd often find refuge in the kitchen. Mumbling incoherently to herself in her mother tongue, only to be humming a happy tone moments later.

"Why do you do that?"

"To remember the good times."

He rubbed the seasoning over the meat he'd been working on. Images of Maurizio seeped into his mind. As he continued to work with the meat, he tried not to cringe at the sight of the blood. It was a soft pink like a cherry blossom or a bow on a baby's head. Maurizio's had to be red. An unforgiving crimson splattered across concrete or marble like a nosebleed or busted berry. His hands caressed the meat once last time, unlike Maurizio's mom who didn't get the chance to hold her son one last time. Tears filled Nicky's eyes as he put the meat into the oven.

The doorbell rang and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He heard you shout something but he wasn't entirely sure what it was since he was miles away. "What'd you say?" He shouted back as he walked to the sink to wash his hands. Bits of meat fell off his hands and down the drain. Soft pink, crimson red, death and decay.

His hands were still wet when he shouted "I'll be right there!"

He ran up the stairs to the bathroom where he shut the door behind him and suppressed a silent sob for Maurizio and his own lost youth.

The doorbell rang and you were oddly thankful for the unexpected guests. "I'll get it!"

You were glad that Nicky was busy cooking but also wished he would talk to you. Yet, you knew not to push no matter how loud everything in you was screaming.

A smile spread across your face as you opened the door to see Chris and Rocky. "Hey, you two. Come on in!"

Chris gave you a small smile then tipped his hat before taking it off. Rocky kissed your cheek as he enetered your home. Stella greeted them both and they gave her customary scratches.

"Sorry Stella, I'm afraid I came to see your parents and not you this time." Rocky patted her head.

Chris looked around the house "Where's Nicky?"

"Upstairs, I think." You shut the door behind you and asked the obvious question "So you heard?"

They both nodded solemnly.

"Damn shame," Chris said.

"I was hoping it wasn't true." Rocky added.

"I just hope this gets Floyd for good and we can all rest now."

"Especially his family... poor kid." Rocky shook his head.

The room went silent as you all stood around.

"I'm gonna go look for Nicky. I'll be right back." Chris headed up the stairs leaving you and Rocky.

Rocky noticed the savory aroma filling the air "Oh, what are you cooking?"

You waved your hands "Oh, that's Nicky's doing. Not mine."

Rocky nodded and followed the smell to answer his own question. You trailed behind him.

"Actually, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure thing." He poked his head in the oven to see what Nicky had been up to.

"Nicky kind of shut down after he got the call, and understandably so, but what do I do? I asked him if I could do anything but he said he was fine. He's clearly not but I don't want to push him."

Rocky closed the oven and looked at you with wise, tired eyes "So don't push him."

"But he's not okay."

"Obviously not but he doesn't want to talk about it." Rocky leaned against the counter "Just give him time. This is heavy stuff, kid and all he wants is to be with you, but it seems like everything in the world is pulling him back."

Your brows pinched as you marinated on his words of wisdom "Thanks. I didn't think of it that way."

"When he's ready, he'll talk to you." He patted your shoulder "Okay?"

You nodded and Rocky looked past you at the two men descending the stairs.

"I'm looking forward to this meal, Nicky. It's hard to find a taste of the motherland in this place."

Nicky gave him a half-hearted smile "I hope it tastes as good as you make it sound."

There was soft talk of this and that while the news of Maurizio's confirmed death hung over everyone's head like a cloud. Every now and then, your eyes darted to your husband and you noticed how his food looked untouched. His glass was half full and the only time he sipped from it was when someone started to talk to him. As if the wine would silence him forever so he wouldn't have to utter a word.

His hazel eyes were currently fixated on the oak table. Chris had just asked him a question.

"No, no new projects now. There's just too much going on."

"I know that. I asked if you had any ideas for an upcoming project."

"Oh," Nicky wiped his brow and smiled softly "no, I'm afraid not."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of ideas after everything settles down." You chimed in.

Chris nodded his head "Y'know, I wouldn't blame you two if you took a break from the business."

"You deserve it." Rocky added before polishing off his glass.

The corner of your lip turned up in a suppressed smile. A knot had formed in your stomach. It didn't feel right to talk of vacations when you'd found out hours ago a teenager was murdered. "We'll see," is all you said.

The rest of the dinner was quiet which was unusual. Chris and Rocky took their leave but not before giving you and Nicky tight hugs. Then just like that, you were left alone with Nicky who said he was fine but obviously wasn't. Your hands were drying off the plate he'd just passed to you when he said "I'm going to bed early."

Your throat tensed and you tried to say "Okay," like you normally would but it sounded forced. It sounded candied with a sour center. He dried off his hands and kissed your temple then walked upstairs to your shared bedroom. When you were alone, you sighed and studied your reflection in the window.

About ten minutes later, you walked upstairs. When you made it into your bedroom, it looked like Nicky had already fell fast asleep. The room was a dark, icy blue. His mishapen figured was buried under the comforter with Stella at his side. You didn't feel steam from the bathroom nearby so he must've changed straight into his pajamas and climbed into bed.

The knot traveled from your stomach to your throat. It only multiplied with each step forward and it felt like a six ton weight when you sank into bed.

"Nicky, are you sleeping?"

"No."

You turned to face his back and tried to find your words but it didn't matter because he spoke for you.

"I really don't want to do this. Not right now."

You took a deep breath and exhaled softly. You patted the space between you then got up to get ready for bed.

It seemed like you were fighting sleep that night. Meanwhile, that was all Martin could think about. He and Agnes caught a red-eye to New York for several reasons. The first being to speak to the family of the bereaved. Seeing the mother's face twist when she heard the news was something he'd never forget. He remembered the sister being still as stone, a single tear falling from her eye. They interviewed them and thought they wouldn't get much except they were wrong. The sister had a small booklet of notes she gathered on Floyd's crew before he brother's untimely death. It was that small stack of yellowed, tattered pages that got them where they were now, looking into the trunk of Umberto Gavazzi's car. If you tore away the fabric, you saw a stash of keepsakes. The most noticeable being Maurizio's string bracelet which matched his sister's. Martin only saw it moments ago so when he noticed the red string, he felt sick.

"Sir," Agnes tapped Martin's arm.

"What?" He snapped back to the present.

"It's Cliff's baseball card." She pointed to the faded card peeking out behind Maurizio's bracelet among other keepsakes.

Martin and his assistant had made the most of their time in New York by interviewing Cliff Wallace's family as well. His father told a brief anectdote about how his son carried a baseball card with him everywhere. He got it for his eighth birthday and claimed it was good luck.

Martin dropped the fabric so the items were covered again. He approached one of the officers standing nearby. He locked eyes with Umberto himself who only stood a few feet away with an officer watching him like a guard dog.

"This man is under arrest for the murder of two children and God knows who else. Test everything in the trunk and send me the results as soon as you get them."

The officer nodded and looked back at his coworker and simply nodded. The man read Umberto Gavazzi his rights and clasped the metal bracelets around his wrists.

Author's Note: Martin may be my new favorite character. How do we feel about him? Fun fact, 'Death & Decay' was actually a perfume sold at my old job - not my favorite though lol.

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#nicky valentino vendetta #nicky valentino fictif #fictif nicky valentino #fictif nicky #nicky valentino #fictif #fictif nix hydra #nicky tatw #fictif tatw #fictif two against the world #madebyjade

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toschestationserver · 7 months

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TOSCHE STATION FIC EXCHANGE CLAIMING

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FULLY CLAIMED

Prompt: Finn teaching Poe how to use a lightsaber

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: General audiences

Comfortable with NSFW content: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Bickering

Deal-breakers: N/A

Claimed by a writer: Yes

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2. Prompt: Post-TROS, Rey sets up a home on the most lush-green planet she has ever seen.

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Teen and up audiences

Comfortable with NSFW content: No

I particularly enjoy: Fluff! Quaint slice-of-life type stories.

Deal-breakers: Cross-overs with another universe

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3. Prompt: First interactions of Mace & Depa/how he became her master

Prompter age: Younger than 18

Rating of fic preferred: General Audiences (G): Suitable for all ages. Contains little to no disturbing, violent or sexual content, and no or mild bad language., Teen and Up Audiences (T): Suitable for those aged 13+.

Comfortable with NSFW content: No

I particularly enjoy: Queers (canon or hc), shatterpoint lineage, high republic, angst

Deal-breakers: One-sided jedi characterization, modern au

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4. Prompt: After an exciting day where Luke was offered by multiple Knights/Masters to be their padawan, Luke has chosen. Luke experiences his first night as Mace Windu's Padawan in the Old Order. (The Jedi Order never fell and Palpatine is just dead for some reason, nobody cares about him)

Prompter age: 18+

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I particularly enjoy: Overpowered Luke Skywalker, Master-Padawan Fluff

Deal-breakers: Jedi Bashing, Luke Bashing

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5. Prompt: a character switches to the other side of the conflict they are in (ie. a nihil alles with the republic, an imperial defects to the rebellion, a loyalist becomes a separtist)

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Prompt: Spot has been defeated. Due to extensive multiversal traveling because of cleaning up the last of the Spot’s shenanigans, Miguel O'Hara ends up in the GFFA and meets (Living Legend) Luke Skywalker. Miguel is immediately smitten and feels very hopeful in finally opening up to someone in a romantic interest again, something that Luke also shares 💖💖

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Prompt: Han and Leia take little Ben to visit his grandparents (Ani n padmé) for the first time, both are a little nervous but everybody has a good time

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8. Prompt: "The stars have never looked so bright." Character views the world in a different (better) way when they embark on a new path.

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Prompt: Chewbacca takes Han to Kashyyyk to visit what remains of his tribe and family. Shenanagins ensue as Han has to navigate the cultural and social barriers set up as a human among wookiees.

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I particularly enjoy: Han adopting Chewie's mannerisms and body language as a result of living with him; any references to the Holiday Special (The Bacca household basically just being a '70s house cracks me up)

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Prompt: Each member of the Ghost crew's new beginnings with the crew... so perhaps flashbacks to Kanan's first mission with Hera, Kanan meeting Zeb, Sabine meeting them, etc...

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Rating of fic preferred: Teen and Up Audiences (T): Suitable for those aged 13+. ...

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11. Prompt: Scenes from Anakin and Obi-Wan early on in Anakin's training...Obi-Wan just out of the Trials, his master dead, and a little boy he has to take care of, and Anakin's struggles

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Teen and Up Audiences (T): Suitable for those aged 13+.

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Deal-breakers: NO obikin or lead up to it or anything

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12. FULLY CLAIMED

Prompt: Hera finds Leia alone on Home One in caged-off disquiet in the wake of Alderaan's destruction and the victory over Yavin 4. Family is a sensitive subject for the two of them, but for different reasons too.

Prompter age: 18+

Comfortable with NSFW: No

I particularly enjoy: Leia's connection to her parents and home on Alderaan being contrasted with the strain and disconnect Hera feels for Cham and Ryloth; acknowledgements of Leia's appearance in s2 of SWR

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13.

Prompt: A brutal ending for a soft beginning

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Deal-breakers: If NSFW : Public Sex, Public Humiliation

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14.

Prompt: Sometimes, new beginnings aren't for the best, even when you truly believe that it is

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Deal-breakers: If NSFW : Public Sex, Public Humiliation

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Prompt: Moving to a new home and starting to bond with the community

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I particularly enjoy: Found family

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Prompt: Rey, Rose, Finn and Poe building a life together after the fall of the First Order; can be a (queer-)platonic situation or a ReyRose & FinnPoe one

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Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: (domestic) fluff, hand kisses, Jedi!Finn, found family, trans and/or genderqueer characters, Rey & Finn sibling dynamic, low-stakes action/adventure, mild wlw mlm hostilities

Deal-breakers: all archive warnings, cancer, podfic,

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Claimed by an artist: No

17.

Prompt: Finn/Poe pivotal relationship moment (e.g., declaration of love, proposal, wedding) in the style of the Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner wedding in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (i.e., big relationship milestone in the heat of battle) - movie scene for reference - https://youtu.be/EGE1Y_RwhPA

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Mature (M): Suitable for those aged 18+. ..., Explicit (E): Only suitable for adults.

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: angst, SW-universe

Deal-breakers: reylo

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

18.

Prompt: Rogue One survives AU. Luke is fascinated by Chirrut and views him as a source of answers to all his questions about the Force. But the wounds of Obi Wan’s death are still fresh, and he’s left with conflicting loyalties between his old teacher and a potential new one.

Prompter age: 18+

Comfortable with NSFW: No

I particularly enjoy: Chirrut/Baze, The exploration of faiths other than the Jedi, Rogue One and the Golden Trio becoming something of a “blended unit”

Deal-breakers: TBH I’m not sure what problems would arise from this aside from Luke maybe being portrayed as too naive. Other than that go nuts

Claimed by a writer: Yes

Claimed by an artist: No

19.

Prompt: Through some Force juju, General Anakin Skywalker and Commander Luke Skywalker switched places during the height of their wars. They now have to lead their new troops to victory, with Luke literally building a new beginning with all that he knows from his era, and Anakin forging a new end. Luke faces everything that was lost to him (the Jedi Order, his mother, a Republic - no matter how flawed), and Anakin faces the monster he becomes.

Prompter age: 18+

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Overpowered and highly competent Luke Skywalker, Luke-clones fluff, Luke-Jedi Order fluff, everybody loves Luke Skywalker tbh

Deal-breakers: Anti Jedi rhetoric, Luke bashing, babying Anakin

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

20.

Prompt: Han and Luke do some surveying around Echo Base. Trouble is, Luke’s first encounter with ice made the task a bit difficult. Han wished he had a holocam to capture some of his scrambling.

Prompter age: 18+

Comfortable with NSFW: No

I particularly enjoy: Banter. Lots of banter.

Deal-breakers: Skysolo (No hate if you ship, I just really like platonic bonding), treating Luke’s inexperience with other climates as stupidity

Claimed by a writer: Yes

Claimed by an artist: No

21.

Prompt: Luke in the early days of the rebellion

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Teen and Up Audiences (T): Suitable for those aged 13+. ...

Comfortable with NSFW: No

I particularly enjoy: Aunt Beru <3, Han and Luke (as friends), OT trio hurt & comfort, Luke and Biggs (as friends)

Deal-breakers: People acting like Owen Lars was a good father figure and minimising the fact he was abusive, people acting like Luke was a perfect guy, but also I hate Luke bashing. Nuance please!

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

22.

Prompt: Luke trying to be a teacher for the first time despite not having had a model teacher himself (Owen was an abusive ass, Ben died soon after they left Tatooine, and ESB Yoda was ESB Yoda.) Particularly his relationship with Ben Solo.

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Teen and up

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Angst, Han and Luke (as friends), OT trio hurt & comfort

Deal-breakers: People acting like Owen Lars was a good father figure and minimising the fact he was abusive, people acting like Luke was a perfect guy but also I hate Luke bashing. Nuance please!

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

NSFW PROMPTS BELOW THE CUT OFF POINT - DO NOT SCROLL DOWN IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE NSFW PROMPTS

NSFW PROMPTS

23. Prompt: Former Senior Padawan Luke (Trans/Genderqueer) is pregnant and has to adjust to a new life outside of the Jedi Order after he left his training. He decided to have his child in Naboo with his family, the Naberries. He's adamant not to reveal the father of his child (your choice how to resolve or why - either it was complicated or it was a Mamma Mia AU and he doesn't know who the father is among Boba, Din, and Paz lol)

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Mature (M): Suitable for those aged 18+. ..., Explicit (E): Only suitable for adults.

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Dinluke/Bobaluke/Pazluke or Luke Harem, Humor, Breeding Kink, Smart and Competent Luke, Besotted Mandalorian lover, marriage proposals

Deal-breakers: Jedi/Luke Bashing, OOC Luke (you know), Bottom Mandalorian/Top Luke, Bobadin/BobaPaz/Pazdin

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

24. Prompt: Din Djarin and his son Grogu (human or alien) is on the run from a dark past and bad guys. They seek sanctuary from (Trans/Genderqueer) Jedi Luke Skywalker who keeps them safe and gives them a new life in his Temple. Din and Luke quickly realize they have an undeniable attraction to each other and acts on it, but Din wants more than just a casual relationship.

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Mature (M): Suitable for those aged 18+. ..., Explicit (E): Only suitable for adults.

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Mommy Luke, Besotted Din Djarin, Overpowered Luke Skywalker, Dirty Smut lol go ham!!

Deal-breakers: Bobadin, Bottom Din/Top Luke, Thinking Love equals Attachment, Jedi/Luke Bashing

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

25. Prompt: Boba Fett and Trans/Genderqueer Luke Skywalker (or Luke Fett ?) prepare for their first baby. Boba is an excited father-to-be. (Can be AU.)

Prompter age: 18+

Rating of fic preferred: Mature (M): Suitable for those aged 18+. Explicit (E): Only suitable for adults.

Comfortable with NSFW content: Yes

I particularly enjoy: Obsessive/Besotted Boba Fett, breeding kink, Trans pregnancy, Mommy Luke

Deal-breakers: Anti Jedi Writer/Jedi Bashing (in-character sentiments are understandable to an extent- seeing it's Boba), Bobadin, Bottom Boba/Top Luke, Luke Bashing

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

26.

Prompt: the clones after the war in a no Order 66 AU suddenly finding themselves at the beginning of the rest of their lives; I love all clones (including the Bad Batch), take your pick; clone ships I like are Codywan, Rexwalker/Rexanidala, Quinfox

Prompter age: 18+

Comfortable with NSFW: Yes

I particularly enjoy: (domestic) fluff, found family, trans and/or genderqueer characters (including genderfluid/non-binary/etc.!!), clones accidentally acquiring pets, sweet gentle (and maybe a bit kinky) lovemaking

Deal-breakers: all archive warnings, cancer, x reader or x oc ships, podfic

Claimed by a writer: No

Claimed by an artist: No

#fic exchange #tosche station: new beginnings

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iwajima · 4 years

Text

a red star (bokuto x m!reader)

KINKTOBER DAY 3

summary: you met bokuto when you got recruited into MSBY. Ever since he’s seen you play on court, he’s been in awe at your setting skills. He’d even go as far to say you’re better than Atsumu.

a/n: I THINK I WILL MAKE A PART TWO TO THIS teaser coughmattsuncameocough

warnings: bondage, smut

word count: 2.3k

When he first saw you, he didn’t think much. Actually, he missed you during the welcome ceremony, and only realized that you had been on the team when they asked you to sub in. Of course, no one expected the reserved new guy to be this good. You blew everyone away with your precise setting, bringing out the best out of every hitter. Your style seemed almost… familiar.

Being Oikawa’s apprentice meant that you were bound to be a perfect setter, only getting better and better each time. Atsumu would’ve taken you as a threat, however, you declined the spot as a starting setter and shocked everyone. Really, you joined just because you were bored. Your interest in volleyball peaked in highschool when you got Aoba Johsai first place in your third year, after that, you didn’t really know what to do.

You took a year off of volleyball and upon getting in touch with Oikawa and saying you gave up, he swore at you for wasting his special setter secrets and told you to get back on court, or else he’ll fly back and drag you back into it. It wasn’t like college was fun, you burnt out and was in need of something else to do other than study and sleep.

“___-kun!” Bokuto yells after you as you grab your bag, ready to leave.

You hear a few snickers, knowing where this is going. The members pitied you, you were going to be stuck with him for hours. When you realize what they meant, you notice that Atsumu was already long gone. Ah. The bright eyed man jogs over to you excitedly. His face was beaming, you’ve never met someone this energetic after a long tiring practice. You tilt your head questioningly. The contrast between the two of you was comical, it was like a golden retriever standing beside a cat.

“Say, ___-kun, mind setting for me for a bit?”

You would rather just go home, but what was there to do at home? Besides, it might be a good way to get to know some of the members better. Bokuto struck you as an airhead, that was easy to read. Academically, not the brightest, but with volleyball? He was quite good at what he did.

“Sure, but you owe me a favor. But i’ll warn you beforehand, are you sure you wanna do this?” You look at him with a cunning smile.

Bokuto smirks, not knowing what that meant or what he was getting himself into, “Yea, yea sure, easy.”

You sat down, criss-crossed on the setter sweetspot, making Bokuto question what you were doing. You motion him to get to the cart to toss you some balls to set. He was hesitant, but did it anyway. It wasn’t until he blindly jumped, before he knew it, he had spiked a clean line shot, almost faster than Hinata and Kageyama’s freak-attack back in highschool.

He was left speechless, staring at the spot that was barely in the line. He knew that was intentional. He looks at you before looking back and then back at you. You gave him a lazy smirk.

“Holy shit! That was the best set I’ve hit in a while-” He gushed.

By the end of it, you had tired out Bokuto, something no one was able to do. You however, wanted to keep going but pitied the exhausted outside hitter. You insisted that you would pack up, to which he says he owed you another. He shouldn’t have said that.

Now, everytime after practice, he didn’t have to ask you to do some extra practice with him because you were already standing at your position, waiting for him. After a while, Bokuto begged you to switch spots with Atsumu, claiming his sets weren't as good as yours and didn’t feel as good, however you declined and apologized, saying you’ll make it up to him by giving him a few sets after practice. This only made Bokuto yearn for your setting even more. He grew to love your company, you kind of reminded him of someone.

The team saw you as a pair, you were always being followed by the fond silver head everywhere you went. He even started hanging out with you and going over to your apartment when he had freetime. You were studying at the library? Bokuto would be next to you napping. You were eating lunch? Bokuto would be next to you gobbling down the bento you made him. Surprisingly, you even taught him how to do simple accounting and taxes, so he didn’t need to worry about them anymore. With you, Bokuto learned more about things other than volleyball.

You kind of liked his company, you would’ve thought you hated someone who’s loud and outgoing like him, but you actually liked the noise. It was better than deafening silence. Especially after the incident between you and Matsukawa in highschool.

You look over at Bokuto who had his head in his palm, he worked on the math problems you gave him to keep him occupied since he was bugging you about being bored. By now, you had accumulated over 25 favors, and you haven’t cashed in one of them.

“I’m gonna take a shower, there’s food in the fridge if you’re hungry.” You say, grabbing your towel before proceeding to your bathroom.

He hummed in response, keeping his attention on the paper, eyes growing tired. It was fall and the air was getting chilly. Sadly, you didn’t have a heater, he wondered how you survived winters. As night fell, he grew more cold. Surely borrowing a top wouldn’t hurt right?

He searches your dresser, until finally he pulls out a black sweater. His eye catches onto the bottom drawer next to his feet. Something red was stuck between the wood. He furrows his eyes, curiosity making his hand open the drawer. His eyes widened at the numerous amounts of rope. What did you need all of this for?

He pulls them out, inspecting the red material between his fingers. He opens the neighbouring drawer, where you stored more rope of different colors. You had a special drawer for red rope, how interesting. He truly couldn’t figure out what you needed all of this for.

“Did you finish your math…” You stop in your tracks.

Bokuto flinches at your voice. Blushing when he realizes that he had been caught snooping around. You didn’t know what to say, should you lie or say the truth? You were going to ask him anyways, so you hoped he wouldn’t be too weirded out. You approach him, taking the material from his grasp, staring at it.

“What do you use these for?”

He could see your eyes darken, eyes moving from the rope to his crouched figure on the floor, looking up at you with those big yellow eyes. You were gone. The innocent look in his eyes drew out the monster in you. The monster was born because of him. You had become what you hated yet loved.

“Hey… Bokuto-san, how about I cash in a favor?” You smiled sweetly, pulling out all of the red rope.

Bokuto nervously looked at you laying out the rope from short to long. Well of course, he promised you, and you were his friend. But what were you going to do to him? He only hoped you wouldn’t hurt him, you would never… right?

Your eyes were on him, waiting for an answer. There was something hidden behind your kind face. He didn’t say anything, nodding before getting up from the ground. You motioned him to come sit on your studying chair, and he obliged. You cupped his face, enjoying you proximity to him.

Bokuto’s eyes widened when you pressed your lips to his. They flutter close when he realizes he liked the feeling. You tasted sweet, like the muffins and chocolate you had been eating. Despite you being an athlete, you had a pretty bad diet, you really didn’t care if it would affect your performance.

“Bokuto-san… Are you sure you want to do this favor?” You pull away, keeping a hand on the side of his neck as you stroked his hair and god did it feel nice.

“A-ah… It’s only fair. You spent your free time on me.”

His answer made you smile. You return your lips to his, letting your hands run from his cheeks down to his chest, feeling the hard muscle underneath his shirt. Oh to see him restrained, you wonder what his face would look like. Your hands travel lower before your fingers hook themselves on the hem of his shirt and pull them over his head. He lets his hand ghost over the sides of your thighs until they reach your hips, that’s when he pulls you onto his lap as his lips ravish yours.

“I-i’ve never done this before…” Your eyes widened in surprise, you didn’t think he was a virgin since he was so popular.

“It’s alright, I’ll take care of you.”

“What are you going to do with those?” He questions when you get up from his lap and move over to the variety of ropes on your bed.

“Tie you up of course!” You say happily. Bokuto didn’t know if he should be scared or aroused, strangely both. He didn’t peg you for the freaky type, he joked in his head that it was always the quiet ones.

“Take off your pants.” He looked down at him, he felt small under you, being towered over as if he was prey.

He did so immediately. Something was off about you, he knew to not deny you and did everything you asked. They way you held his wrists together behind his back, silent tying them with the red rope in pretty patterns. He figured you’ve done this many times before by how quick you did it. He looked at the way your fingers made intricate shapes when you moved to his torso, he found it strangely arousing that you were tying him up without much information about what you were going to do to him. He could feel his dick harden, blushing when you notice and smirk at him.

“Bokuto-san, is this fun to you?” You ask in a sultry voice.

He blushed, looking away from you before nodding. You gave him a kiss on the cheek, running your hands over his hard thighs, enjoying the feeling of soft skin under your fingers. You spread his legs, making him redder by how you were exposing him. You grabbed more rope, tying his legs to the chair until he was completely imobile. Bokuto shut his eyes in shame by how much he got hard over this.

Bokuto’s eyes open when he sees a flash of light and the sound of a polaroid being produced. His eyes innocently look up at you as you take another. You had to keep a record of your artwork. You show him when the photo finally develops, making Bokuto flustered when he sees his leaking cock.

“Bokuto-san, you’ve been so obedient and good for me, I should reward you don’t you think?” You carelessly toss the polaroids and camera onto your bed, before getting on your knees, eye level at his throbbing length.

He nods rapidly, “P-please ___ just touch me please…”

You grin, gingerly taking his cock in your hands and letting your forefinger run over his slit, urging it to produce more precum. You hear Bokuto hiss when you slide your thumb around his tip with pressure, spreading his arousal all over the head.

You gave him a few experimental strokes, to which you got breathy moans. He was sensitive. You chuckled, kissing his tip, the bitterness not bothering you when you licked your lips and tasted him. You knew he was trying his best not to buck his hips and beg you, as a reward, you encased his tip in your warm mouth before quickly bottoming out.

Bokuto released the most sinful moans, making you hard at the thought of him cumming down your throat. You didn’t need to use an extra hand, you had no gag reflex meaning you could easily deep throat him. It drove him insane each time you moan around him. You surprise him, every time he hangs out with you, he learns something new about you.

“___-... it feel s-so good…” He chokes.

He was trying to move and run a hand through your hair, however, he whines even more when he remembers he’s tied down by pretty red material. With each drag of your hot tongue against his throbbing cock, he feels his release come closer and closer. To see your senpai fall apart and tremble before you fed the monster inside you and fuel its insatiable lust.

When you felt his cock twitch in your mouth, you released his length with a pop, making the silver haired man whimper at the loss of contact but you quickly replaced your mouth with your hand, stroking his cock vigorously. Your mouth was wide open, tongue dangling out in anticipation for him to paint your tongue and face white. Bokuto releases a loud moan, as his balls and abs tighten, spurting his seed onto your tongue. You keep pumping him, milking him dry. Some of his seed was in your hair, you just took a shower but you didn’t care. You swallowed everything he offered, even collecting the cum from your face and swiping your fingers onto your tongue to lick them clean.

“_-__..” he grunted.

“Bokuto-san thank you for being so nice and willing, you did so well.” Your praises made his heart beat faster.

You look up at the exhausted man through your lashes, with a mischievous smile on your face, eyes drinking in his expression. You let your cheek rest on his thigh, closing your eyes as you think about how much you’re going to enjoy playing with Bokuto more. He looks down at your content figure, his face going red at realization of what you two had done. He let you take control because he had to return your favor. But if the situation wasn’t how it is, he’d use you how he pleased.

#haikyuu imagine #haikyuu smut #haikyuu x reader #bokuto smut #bokuto koutarou smut #bokuto koutarou x reader #bokuto koutarou imagine #haikyuu kinktober #kinktober hq #bokuto x reader #bokuto imagine

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hyrule-kingdom-updates · 3 years

Text

I’ve been doing nothing but prep writing for future arcs these days because the battle of mallory crown and the forearm arc are big hefty hitters, but an actual update to finish off digging in and sinking will be on it’s way this week I hope So in the meantime, have a scene that has yet to come

Or perhaps it already has? :3

Siv shrugged his shoulders and casually walked past Rubeo’s arm. “Eh, he’s a nerd. What are you gonna do?” He tossed the sack of rupees towards him, and he smugly caught it while shaking his head.

“One of these days you’re gonna do something that your baby brother can’t bail you out of, Siv.” Rubeo counted the purple rupees in his hand, and tossed a handful to one of his lackeys.

Siv winked. “And when that day comes you’ll fall even harder for me.” Rubeo scowled, but turned his face away, which only made Siv smirk more.

One of the boys behind him suddenly pointed beyond the alley. “Hey, speak of the devil...”

Out walking around the street was a young boy, blond hair just brushing above his shoulders, with a half ponytail in the back. He was dressed in a ceaseless knight’s uniform, seemingly fresh out of whatever class or tutoring he’d been in as his face was still sweaty. Or...perhaps it was...

“Uh oh, Asivus,” One of the boys said with a shit-eating grin. “The baby’s crying. Better get to the one thing your daddy finds ya good for.” Rubeo immediately punched him in the shoulder—but Siv opted for the more direct approach of kicking him in the balls—the simultaneous pain effectively shutting him up.

“Shut it, Conny.” Rubeo crossed his arms and huffed before turning back to Siv. “Alright, get lost. If I spend any more time with a rich brat like you I’ll get my ass kicked with all the questions. Hylia knows I’d lucky to be dead meat if I’m seen with you.”

“Aw, and I love you too, Rubeo.” Siv gave a fake salute before walking off. “Conny tell your sister I said hi!”

He continued walking out of the alley until he turned the corner where he was effectively out of sight. His smile and confident demeanor immediately dropped and he focused on finding his brother again.

“Link?” Siv called, and immediately a few heads from walking merchants and goofing children turned towards him. He waved his hand and scratched the back of his head. “Sorry, sorry. Bad call.” He continued walking around, again. “Arcadius? Larc?”

He suddenly spotted a blob of blond hair pop up and weave through the nooks and crannies of the crowd.

“Siv!” Larc locked eyes with his brother and started running towards him, and he planted his face in his chest as he wrapped Siv in a tight hug. “Whee werr oo??” came the boy’s muffled voice in his shirt, and Siv patted his back as he thought he heard him sniffle.

“Pfft. What do you mean, ‘where were you?’ I play hooky all the time!” Asivus rubbed his back, before carefully prying Larc off to look at his tear-stained face. They both frowned, but for different reasons. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

The boy sniffed, and rubbed his nose, trying to hide any evidence of misery. “It...It’s Launo’s 13th birthday...from school...”

Siv looked to the side, then back at him. “Okay...knight’s academy birthday bash turned bad...?”

“Nono, I...” He shook his hands back and forth as he started to ramble. “I told myself I was gonna get him a present three days ago but then I forgot father signed me for those horse riding lessons, and then after that I had to go to the woods again for special training, and then remember how I was so tired and sick after it that I got sent home for puking in Darius’ boots? And so by the time I came back I forgot about getting his present and then today at the academy the instructor said, ‘OK it’s time to sing Happy Birthday!’ But then that’s when I really remembered that I forgot about Launo’s birthday so I immediately started crying and then everyone looked at me weird because now it looks like I just hate birthdays or something and then I ran off and I ran into dad and he said it was ok because he said when we forget things it’s because we don’t care about them so it’s not really a loss but,” Larc paused for one and a half seconds to take a breath, “I don’t want everyone to think that I don’t care about their birthdays because I forgot and does that mean that all this time I’ve been valuing my sword lessons and tutoring over my friends because I don’t want that to happen but also father said that it was perfectly fine but then I started crying in front of father so now he probably hates me too because he always hate it when I do that like he doesn’t say it sometimes but I can tell cause I know it’s stupid and I’ve been practicing to hold it in but I used it all up through the day with Launo and Tobias and Conny in class right so I just ran off again but that’s when I realized that I didn’t know where I was going and and and—”

“Okay, Okay...I understand, Larc. I get it.” Siv lead Larc to one of the benches and sat beside him.

“I-I-I just wanted to...to...” He suddenly tilted his head sideways into Siv’s shoulder. “...Where were you?”

Siv was quiet for a moment as he bit his cheek.

“...Bathroom.”

A punch in the gut. “That’s not funny!”

Siv wheezed a bit, but laughed lightly. “It’s a little bit funny.”

“No it’s not! Y-You’re so mean and...”

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m just being a jerk.” He rubbed his little brother’s hair, playfully. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there, I had things to do—”

“Oh yeah? Like what...”

“Er...” Siv rapped his fingers against the bench, thinking, to which Larc looked up again and Siv caught his innocent gaze. Finally he sighed in defeat. “Look, you know I hate that stupid knight school. That’s your lane, and I wouldn’t wanna one-up ya on anything. Much less be equal...” The last part he muttered under his breath.

“You don’t have to be good, but can’t you just be there?” Larc swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the bench with his brother.

“I can’t, Larc. There’s a lot of other crap that...I can’t deal with that chivalry and sword stuff, like you do.”

The people around them continued to bustle about. Autumn leaves fell gracefully onto the pale pathway.

“Isn’t there anything that would convince you to try?” Larc asked, looking at the the leaves falling into the street.

Siv looked at his brother for a moment.

#hku spoilers

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wickedgamesoyaoya · 4 years

Text

❧ part of Jan’s Halloween Circus

❧ about: atsumu hates ghosts, but free food and the company of his friends leads him to the angel inn where he meets a journalist who is seeking more than a cheap thrill.

❧ prompts: Anybody else notice the small child staring at us & wait! its too dangerous to go alone, take this! *puts my hand in yours*

❧ pairing: Atsumu x F!reader

❧ wc: 2.7k

❧ triggers: anxiety, mentions of death and murder, a touch of dark humor, ghost children.

❧ A/N: I hope you guys like this! I had so much fun writing it. I edited this twice but if I missed anything pls ignore. MWAH.

The Angel Inn was not merely famous for their delectable burger, no – its name had been splattered across dozens of newspapers for a reason far more dreadful. In 1954, a tragedy occurred on the property, drawing the attention of locals and foreigners alike. On the morning of October 31st four lifeless bodies were discovered by the unsuspecting housekeeper. She was sent to the room after the neighboring occupants complained of a nauseating smell to the front desk.

After initiating an investigation, the authorities ruled that it was a triple homicide and suicide. The Angel Inn remained closed for months to allow the authorities 24-hour access to the crime scene, and when it was time to reopen, they opted to covert the establishment into a restaurant instead.

During the renovation the owner had received various complaints from the contracted party, who claimed that something was amiss. There were reported sightings of a little pale boy, along with concerns about flickering lights and screeches that would ring through the narrow hallways. Soon the haunting of the Angel Inn was assigned the status of town gossip, alluring ghost hunters and disbelievers alike to the newly opened restaurant. Though, fearful of a potential lawsuit, the owner of the property elected to lock each of the bedrooms – whether it was to keep the humans out or the ghosts in was questionable. Yet, she hoped either way it would save her from enduring another investigation.

When your boss originally assigned you the story for the Halloween edition of the magazine, not a single protest left your mouth. Instead, the sound of excitement crawling up your throat had to be swallowed, to spare your manager from a potential earache. Not only would your dinner be covered, you were being paid to explore a haunted motel, something you would have agreed to do if your boss had simply asked. Ghost stories had always captured your interest as a child, partially due to the fact your grandmother was a self-proclaimed psychic.

Was it bad that communicating with a ghost was on your list of life goals?

Maybe you should aim higher, but the possibility of encountering a ghost child had electricity surging throughout your nerves. It was going to be perfect.

When four vouchers were allocated to the Ace of the MSBY Black Jackals for dinner at the Angel Inn, he naturally decided to invite his closest team-mates. Hinata agreed immediately, oblivious to the reputation of the property. Sakusa declined the invite promptly, until he noticed the colour drain from the setter’s face. The panic flaring in Atsumu’s eyes and the strained smile tugging at the corners of his mouth indicated that at minimum, the dinner would be interesting. He could sacrifice peace for one evening if it meant watching his friend tremor the entire time.

“Tsum Tsum, don’t worry! If any ghosts come, I’ll protect us. I am the Ace after-all.” A teasing laugh rose from Bokuto’s chest as he snuck an arm around the setter’s shoulder. The blonde responded with a low grunt, mumbling something inaudible. Ghosts were not his thing, and he failed to understand how they could be anyone’s thing.

But alas, on October 30th, the setter found himself sat at the Angel Inn with his three team-mates. Earlier in the day, he attempted to bribe his brother to colour his hair and attend on his behalf. While Osamu was certainly tempted – it was food after-all, he was unwilling to colour his hair to match his brothers. Blonde was a colour that suited only a subsection of society, and he was not fortunate enough to be granted permission into that branch. And so, he left his older brother to fend for himself.

Nothing could distract Atsumu from the supposed danger that loomed over him, his senses were sensitive to every noise that vibrated within the confines of the establishment. For most of the night, the setter found himself observing every creak, sneeze or laugh, to ensure that its source was not supernatural. However, the anxiety gripping his heart had released its hold when the sound of a melodic laugh touched his ears. It took him a few seconds to discover the source of the laughter, and when he connected it to you, eagerness brought him to his feet.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you possessed now?” Sakusa raised an eyebrow at the blonde as a small simper formed on his mouth. He had read that the weakest one in the room is the most likely to fall victim to possession, and so it made sense if Atsumu was their first target.

“I’m gonna go talk to that pretty girl.” With his fingers adjusting the collar of his shirt, a flirtatious expression adorned his features, washing away any hint of gloom that was once present. While Bokuto and Hinata strived to detect who their friend was referring to, Sakusa clicked his tongue in artificial distaste.

“Did it ever occur to you, that maybe she is a ghost?” The humour laced into the inquiry could not be successfully disguised by the outsider hitter’s pretentious attitude. It was clear to them all that it was his attempt at a joke.

“Shut up, Omi!” Before stepping away from the table, the blonde administered a glare at his friend. There was no way you were a ghost… Right?

When Atsumu was close enough to catch a glimpse of your face, any concerns on the status of your existence were banished. Although, he was not particularly enthusiastic when he spotted the notebook situated in front of you. Reporters were usually far too intrusive and insensitive for his liking. Yet he still found himself claiming the empty stool beside you.

“Whatcha got there?” Shifting his gaze to the sheet filled with scribbles, his breath caught in his throat at the title. The Haunting of The Angel Inn.

It took you a second to comprehend that the question was aimed at your work. The last thing you anticipated was for someone to seek you out during your little investigation today. Dressed in ordinary business attire, it was surprising that someone of his calibre would consider sparing you a second look, yet alone a conversation.

“Hm? Oh, I’m writing an article.” Despite instructing yourself to not stare, your y/e/c irises refused to leave the stranger’s face. There was something familiar about him – was he a model? As you racked through your mind for an answer to the question of his identity, you blinked in slow intervals.

“About the hauntings?” When his attention traveled from the notebook to you, it finally clicked. Miya Atsumu – pro volleyball player. The realization tempted you to pound your forehead with the edge of your palm.

“Yeah, I’m a journalist. Star here was just telling me about her experience with Haru.” His question about your work returned your mind to the task at hand. Gesturing towards the bartender with the pen nestled between two fingers, a soft laugh was exhaled. Right. You were on a mission tonight to gain an audience with the ghosts of Angel Inn.

“Haru?” Atsumu narrowed his brows, the smile on his lips slipping away into a frown. Who was Haru?

“The ghost kid who haunts this place?” Adjusting yourself on the seat, excitement sparkled in your eyes. It was at this point that Atsumu realized that you were the polar opposite of him – you were seeking a paranormal experience, whereas he simply wanted a burger.

“Well shit. Didn’t know he had a name.” The setter propped an elbow onto the wooden counter, directing artificial laughter to leave his lips.

“They call him that because he apparently looks like the child who was murdered here.” A knowing wiggle was given to your eyebrows. While he may have sought to disguise his discomfort with the topic, it quickly dawned on you that MSBY’s setter was afraid of ghosts.

“Right. So lemme get this straight, you came here willingly? You want to see a ghost?” His eyelids fell into a quizzical slit. He knew the answers to those questions, and still was foolish enough to vocalize them.

“Yeah. I think it would be fun.”

And there it was. Confirmation that you were less than sane.

“Not if they try to kill ya.” There was a bitter edge to his comment, earning him a puzzled titter.

“I doubt a four-year-old ghost is going to kill me.” A shake to your head accompanied the reassurance. His anxieties were rooted in foolish assumptions, but you found the pout on his lips to be oddly adorable. “But if you’re scared, you can sit with me and I promise if a ghost comes, I’ll do all the talking.” An eyelid was then dipped into a wink, which prompted the blonde to break into a laugh.

“Yer the second person to offer to protect me.” Embarrassment flooded his stomach with bees, instead of butterflies. Yet he refused to lower this façade, with laughter continuing to drip from his mouth.

“Hey, we all have our fears. You can protect me if a spider appears. Deal?” The arrangement prompted you to offer out your pinky to solidify the verbal contract.

“Yah. Okay. Deal.” Atsumu curled his pinky around yours, and the smallest touch had calmed the insects inside of him. Maybe you weren’t that bad, even if you were a little crazy.

“I’m l/n, f/n, by the way.”

“I’m Miya, Atsumu.”

The following hour contained various conversations, ranging from past paranormal experiences to locker-room gossip. Atsumu munched away at the plate of appetizers while you supplied him with stories of your childhood. He was beginning to piece together why you were so keen on communicating with the ghostly residences of the Angel Inn. You were halfway through another story when his attention drifted onto a figure in the corridor behind you.

“Err. L/n. Did ya notice the small child staring at us? Please tell me ya see it too.” It was never his intention to lock stares with the almost transparent being that was beckoning him over. The poor male choked on the fry in his mouth, and then dove for a glass of water.

“Hm? Where?!” Spinning around on the seat, you attempted to attain a visual of what had frightened the blonde. To your disappointment, there was no sign of a young child. “I think it ran away. I’m gonna follow it.” The announcement of your plans was followed by a little fist pump in the air. If Haru wanted a playmate, you were certainly available.

“Yer gonna follow the ghost child? Can we talk about this?” After administering a cough to clear his throat, the setter prepared his best impression of a puppy-dog, hoping it would convince you to abandon your endeavours.

“You don’t have to come with me, Miya. I’ll meet you back here when I’m done.” With laughter dancing up your throat, you settled onto your feet then presented a bright beam in the setter’s direction. Atsumu was appreciative of your efforts to reassure him, though he would refuse to allow you to leave without him.

“No. It’s too dangerous to go alone, take this.” Before you could question what he was referring to, the male intertwined his fingers with yours then casted his gaze aside shyly. “Alright. Now ya can go.”

“That was kinda corny and kinda cute. I’ll accept it.” The inside of your cheek was bit as you pushed to conceal the happiness the action brought you. For someone who was notorious for being a ‘bad boy’, he was ridiculously sweet. The circumstances surely called for an eerie chill to fill your bones, and yet warmth engulphed every inch of your skin.

The quest to find Haru was unsuccessful on the lower level. It was only when you proceeded up the staircase did you hear a strange giggle from one of the hallways. It appeared that you had accepted a game of hide and seek with the dead. When you tugged on Atsumu’s hand to indicate that you desired to follow the noise, a low whine vibrated inside of his throat.

“This is exactly what a couple does in those horror films before they get killed. Haven’t ya learned anything from Hollywood?” Despite his warnings and the anxiety swarming his insides, he trailed behind you closely, refusing to release your hand.

“Shh, Miya.” To drown out the laughter threatening to depart, you sunk your teeth into your bottom lip. The sound of varied giggles increased in volume until you reached room 204. What was strange about the guestroom was that the door was cracked open. Based on your research, each of the hotel rooms were said to be double locked. What made the circumstances significantly worse was that 204 was the room where the murders occurred… Not that you planned on sharing any of this information with the blonde male shivering behind you.

“L/n, I am begging ya.” He applied a bit of pressure against your hand, and regretted his decision to accompany you when he knew what was lurking behind the barrier would not be pleasant.

“Just a little peek, and we can go.”

You should have retreated when tiny needles prickled your palm as you ushered open the door, but you were far too stubborn to leave yet. And nothing could prepare you for the horrific sight that awaited you. In the center of the room stood a four-year-old boy with blood splattered across his face and a single hole penetrating his chest. His injured state did not stop the apparition from smiling ear to ear, and frankly that only added an additional layer of horror. Beside you Atsumu blinked wide eyes, unsure how to react to what had melted into view.

“No. Nope. No. We’re done here.” Releasing your hand, the setter scooped you into his arms, then began down the hallway before rushing down the stairs. He continued to utter his denial to the situation and refused to stop until reaching the parking lot outside.

“Miya!” Maybe it was his reaction that prompted laughter to erupt from inside you, or maybe you were terrible at handling distress. But you could not contain the melody that brought your chest to rise and fall, even after he returned you to your feet.

“We are not goin’ back in there. No.” The setter raked his fingers through his hair roughly, struggling to regain his composure. Did he really just see that? More importantly, why didn’t you listen to his warnings? And why were you laughing?! “How aren’t ya scared?!”

“I express my fear through laughter?” Your shoulders were pushed into a shrug as you delivered him a sheepish smile. Disbelief led the setter to lift a finger in your direction, communicating that he required a minute to accept this explanation.

“How about I get my things, then you and I go can grab some hot chocolate for your nerves.” Seconds after the suggestion was posed, you took his hand that was extended forward, cupping it with both of your palms. This was certainly not how you expected the evening to unfold. How could you have known that you would meet someone so fascinating and sweet as Atsumu while writing an article on a haunted motel? But you were glad you did. Not only did you secure details to an incredible story, you also thoroughly enjoyed yourself. It had been a while since you laughed this much – you missed it.

“Yah fine. Jus’ don’t bring back any uninvited guests with ya.” A dramatic sigh was blow out by the male to illustrate his exhaustion. If he saw another spirit today, he doubted his fragile little heart would survive.

“Oh, you mean like Haru?” Allowing your hands to drop to your side, you retreated a step away from him, prior to lowering an eyelid into a mischievous wink. The mention of the spirit’s name brought Atsumu to grimace. “I’m joking. I’ll see if his sister is available instead.”

“L/n! Stop!”

The whining of your name had never sounded more endearing, and for the first time this evening, you accepted that maybe just maybe...you weren’t the sanest.

Taglist: @newfriendjen @haikyuufairy @bringmelily @4fterh0urs @shegrewupwithoutafather @chocolaterumble @aquariarose @tsukkismamagucci @yourstarvic

#atsumu x reader #atsumu x y/n #atsumu imagines #atsumu miya #atsumu scenarios #atsumu fluff #atsumu x you #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu atsumu #atsumu x female reader

106 notes · View notes

kenmasgameboy · 4 years

Text

【ｒｅａｃｈｉｎｇ】

an oikawa x seijoh president!reader

oikawa toru has so many girls falling at his feet, but it wasn’t always like this. when y/n met him there was no one yet to inflate his ego, when he was pure to himself, the person he is when it isn’t performative. she fell in love. after forcing a rejection from him, where he says he never saw her as a girl, she’s determined to become the absolute perfect girl for every one except him.

profiles: [ student council ] [ on the block ]

masterlist

listen to the mixtape while you read

previous ➺ now ➺ memory unlocked: age 15

age 18:

𝕚𝕚. libero hours who up

Meet me at 5:55 by the sports equipment shed,

i have something to ask you

You twirled that note in your hand before shoving it in your pocket. You didn’t think too much of it, it wasn’t your first time getting something cryptic like this but you could handle it. You wondered why the time was so exact, but decided it was a concern for after school. Ito must be in some sports club, you knew nothing about this kid so maybe that was it.

Once your class was released for lunch, you had no time to waste. You waved at a few of your classmates who you promised you’d eat lunch with them another time. You speed walked your way to the faculty office, trying to avoid any questions and interruptions since you only had a few minutes to handle your future volleyball club actions and probably ask your faculty advisor a question or two and maybe eat something.

You opened up the doors to see your Coach Kabakura standing in front of you with Coach Nobutero of the boys team. Upon your entrance they both turned to look at you.

“Hi coach, you wanted to see me?” You asked, becoming extremely awkward at their glances. You still straightened your back, knowing you’d have to fight whatever they threw your way.

“L/N, glad you could make it. Just wanted to let you know, I’m keeping you on the team.” Kabakura explained plainly, almost nonchalantly as if there was no discussion to be had.

“What? Sir I– I love the girls on the team, I love volleyball but I told you I can’t make volleyball a priority anymore as student council president I have a lot of—” you started to argue but soon were stopped with a hand up.

“This team is ready to take nationals, but only with a superstar libero like you to complete our defense, L/N. I already talked to the principal and he agrees. As for your schedule we can work around it. You’ll have to do as much student council work during lunch, come to as many practices as you can and practice games.” He told you, “I’ll understand if you can’t make all of them but try to at least come to 3 a week. The boys team practices on Saturday mornings and Fridays, I want you to go to 2 of their practices a week. If you can receive their hitters, you can receive anything. We can change it as we go but this is how I want you starting your conditioning.”

“But Fridays are our rest days?” You questioned. If you go there you’ll see him, “Besides, Kando is more than prepared to take my spot in the starting lineup anyways.”

“Not yet, she still has a lot of growth I need to see. And you’re right, Fridays are our rest days, but they aren’t yours. Take off Sunday to maintain your studies. The principal will have more work for you on Monday. So I don’t expect you to be there at the beginning of the week.” Kabakura overloaded you with this information, you didn’t really know what you expected. He had always been this way, he’s a very strong-headed man. But you were just as strong willed, you had just as much control over your own life.

“I guess I just don’t see the point of practicing with the boys team, the girls team is a perfectly reasonable training level for me—” you started to argue but you were again cut off by the door sliding open. You turned and shockingly made eye contact with a pair of eyes you had been avoiding all day. His eyes were wide in surprise for just a second, he was always the worst at hiding his emotions from you.

“Ah, there he is!” Nobutero proudly exclaimed, walking toward his new superstar captain. He claps Toru on the back and practically pushes the pretty boy into the faculty room to join you and your own coach. You visibly release a deep sigh of disappointment, feeling your eyes roll as you look over your other shoulder in annoyance. Your coach was too busy preparing to shake Toru’s hand the only person to see your moment was the person who caused it.

Toru tried his best to maintain his composure as the coaches talked over the unspoken thick tension between the two of you. Your dead eyes meeting his as he tried to fill his with passion. He wanted to see the trust return to them so bad, he wanted to reignite what he used to see in those beautiful eyes of yours.

“Here is the reason you will be practicing with the boys a few days a week now.” Kabakura patted you both on the shoulder, “Surely you guys know each other, right?”

“Right.”

“Not really.” You talked over Oikawa, crossing your arms.

“Well, we have the best server in Miyagi at our school. And a large part of our loss last year in the qualifiers was due to our serve receives.” Kabakura continued, swallowing the harm he just did to your ego. Last year was a particularly tough loss against Shiratorizawa, you blamed yourself for all of it. You hated asking for help, even more so when that help was coming from Oikawa.

“Isn’t that right? I’m so proud of this kid, even Watari has a crazy amount of struggle receiving Oikawa’s serve.” Nobutero smiled, seemingly ignoring your state of mind.

“Oikawa, how often do you practice serving?” Kabakura asked, covering his face with his mouth.

“I practice 100 serves a day, sir.” Oikawa relaxed his body. Trying his hardest not to make you feel uncomfortable.

“Think you can receive all of those? Just two days a week?” Kabakura switched his attention back to you.

You balled your fist as he continued, you felt like nobody was listening to you. You just wanted to leave volleyball behind you, leave this all behind you, leave him behind you but nobody would let you. Oikawa was about to cover for you, being the only one to seem to pay attention to your obvious detest of the situation.

“Coach, please.” You exhaled through your nose, before smiling through gritted teeth, “Of course, I could.”

“Alright, that’s the spirit!”

“But I won’t.” You cut him off before it could get any further, you were going to be heard. “At least, not now. You haven’t been listening to me at all. Thank you for speaking to the principal, and figuring out a training regimen that could work, but I never said I would return to volleyball. And hearing that I’m working with him doesn’t make it any better than it was before. I don’t care, working with my own team is a better bribe since I actually love them. Please, just allow me a few days to think about it. I need to figure out for myself if I will have the time in my schedule. Thats a decision I make, not something you tell me. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a lot to think about.”

You turned on your heel, and everyone watched you. What a presence you had, how you managed to wrangle it into this room was incredible. You weren’t like that shy little girl Toru met when you were both six, you had commanded attention the second you were pushed over the edge. You weren’t afraid to speak your mind once pushed out of your nice exterior. You were not the kid he volunteered to be class representative in their first class of middle school, because he knew she wanted to do it even if she never said anything. No, she didn’t need him anymore.

“L/N! Wait–” Your coach ran after you. Waving your jersey behind him, “Just check out their practice once.”

“Oikawa,” You turned your attention to the pretty boy who was watching this scene unfold, for once in his life keeping his mouth shut, “I have to meet with you at your practice anyways, have your budget paperwork for your team ready. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow, Sensei. But I can’t promise you anything now.”

“That’s all I ask today, thank you L/N.” Kabakura sighed, he forgot how difficult you were. Oikawa smiled once you left, out of pure admiration.

“She’s a fiery one isn’t she? I expected her to be excited to work with Oikawa.” Nobutero clapped his star players back, “Most girls would be–

“Not L/N. She’s never really cared about stuff like that. I’ve had to kick out so many guys from our practices it’s disgusting. The girls have some fun with it but I know she hates it. I don’t know what happened to her but she hates boys.” Your coach chuckled at some memory he had of you.

That’d probably be because of me.. Oikawa thought this, but he kept it to himself.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

The bell that excused your class from the last long lecture of the day seemed to be louder in your ears than everyone else. You had too much to do today. This was the longest day of your life it seemed.

After exchanging smiles with a few friends, you ducked out of the classroom again. Rushing to be the first to open the student council room. You got in, dropped off your things and took out the budgeting paperwork. You made 5 copies, one for each of your other student council officers. Leaving them in neat piles by their name tags.

They all strolled in at their own time.

“President, what are you doing here already? The bell rang like 5 minutes ago.” Sora was shocked to see you standing in there, he already had his keys out to open the door but realized you already unlocked it, “That excited to see me?”

“You wish.” You rolled your eyes.

“I really do.” He admits fully, dragging his fingertips across the table to try and meet them up to you. Once he’s only a few inches away from you, he reaches his hand up to take the stack of paper away from you. His fingers overlapping on your hands.

“You need to stop this. Sora, I like having you as my VP and I’ve trusted you, but it’s to the point where my friends are texting me asking what’s going on between us.” You begged, staring at his collarbones just peeking out of his uniform instead of his eyes.

“What is going on between us?” Sora asked, your eyes widened in surprise at the question.

“I–That’s not what I meant. I meant they saw you pulling me into the opening ceremony and assumed we were a thing.”

“Are we not a thing?” Sora grazed his hands up your forearms, daring to try and relax your shoulders, “I thought I’ve been pretty clear about how I feel about you.”

“You’re my VP.” You croaked out a response, you’d never talk about this kind of thing again. It scared you.

“You’re cute when you try to avoid the topic.” Sora cracked a bright smile, you couldn’t help but feel goosebumps rise on you arms from where he touched you. He removed his hands and took the stack of forms from you, finishing off the job you were doing, “We don’t have to do this now. I’ll wait.”

The others came in as soon as that happened. You wondered if he must’ve heard their footsteps.

“I swear, y/n you’re crazy! How’d you already make all these copies?” Naeko dropped her jaw from over Sora’s shoulder. She was shocked at the layout you already spread. She knew. you were awesome, but come on.

“I swear she’s a monster. She’s a monster, a seductress, an sentient being. L/N doesn’t exist–”

“As much as I love conspiracy theories, I’m just really fast.” You chuckled at Riku’s ramblings, they always had their own way of complimenting you. You quickly changed the subject to tell them the game plan. Everyone had different clubs to visit to split up the work. You yourself had 9 to visit today.

It took maybe an hour and a half to visit all except one. You groaned at the last one you had on your list. Naeko offered to switch this one with you but you gratefully refused. You needed to do this, for coach and your own sanity. You can act normal around him. You can be the same old cool president as normal.

You went to the upper level of the boys volleyball gym. At least 15 girls were already up here. You didn’t want to disturb their drills, but you didn’t realize you’d have so much company. But of course you would, all these girls were here to see Oikawa. You had a familiar pang in your chest. This wasn’t your first time finding yourself next to these girls, feeling lost in the masses.

No, this is the first time I’m different from them. You told this to yourself and picked your head up. Even as you exchanged pleasantries with those girls, and knew in your heart they were kind, you couldn’t help but feel that green devil still kicking in the cage of your heart. You leaned against the fences a few feet away from the other girls. Hairs fell over your face and you forced yourself to clear them, your face would never change as you watched your friends.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa were the first to notice your presence, sending waves up your direction. Iwaizumi didn’t notice you yet, but he knocked the back his friends heads for slacking off. Once they explained they all jogged in your direction.

“Y/N! What the hell are you doing here?” Iwaizumi asked you.

“Good to see you too, Iwa.” You laughed off his greeting, “My coach might have me come practice with you guys a few times a week. Something about practicing my serve receives with harder opponents. Plus I need his signature.” You waved your clipboard and stack of forms as a note to what you were doing.

“Serve receives?” Iwaizumi knew exactly what you were talking about, but decided to help, “I could help you with that, you could’ve just asked.”

“Not from you, unfortunately.” You said, your eyes betraying you as they slacked off in a half hooded solemn manner. “You know.”

He did, but decided not to make you uncomfortable.

“He’s outside right now. If you need to talk to him.” Matsukawa announced, suddenly all his fangirls followed suit out the doors and to run outside to talk to him.

“That’ll get him back inside.” Maki gave his partner a high five.

“He hasn’t changed.” You said it under your breath but Iwaizumi heard you. Sure enough, Oikawa snuck back into the gym. Dragging his right leg behind him in a moment of pain.

“Alright, which one of you was it.” Oikawa gritted his teeth in a smile while looking directly at Mattsu and Makki.

“Iwaizumi.” They both said at the same time.

“You alright?” Iwaizumi turns away from you to attend to his best friend. But Oikawa’s eyes drifted up to the last person on the second level.

“Heads up!” you heard an underclassman yell as a ball came flying towards the upper level, it wasn’t coming for your face. But you extended your right arm to the side, angling your wrist in just the perfect fashion for the ball to be angled back downwards.

The slap it made when the volleyball ricocheted off of your wrist satisfied a hunger you didn’t know you had in a long time. It was like getting a difficult answer on a test correct. You smugly smiled, teeth proving to be able to give anyone the perfect amount of serotonin just by looking at them as they were revealed from behind your tight lipped expression.

“Thanks!” The underclassmen hollered, two or three having apparent goofy smiles from their thoughts.

“Are you listening to me?” Iwaizumi snapped Oikawa back from staring intently at you. He looked back over his shoulder, “Are you talking to her or what?”

“Yeah. At 5:55.”

【ｆｕｎ　ｆａｃｔｓ】

➺ Oikawa slipped that note in your desk after he saw you holding hands with Sora

➺ Maki and Mattsu have been coming up with different ways for oikawa to be bothered by his fangirls. Today was the most vanilla of them all. Most of the time its them telling the girls incorrect facts about Oikawa’s likes and dislikes.

➺ Sora admitted his feelings for you at the end of last year after you were elected in your positions. You had known each other from being co-representatives the year before in class. You denied him on the basis of “working together” instead of your normal “I don’t like you, i’m sorry.” He took this as you still have feelings for him to, which is why he doesn’t give up.

➺ Naeko is normally the outsider from the fangirls at practice. He though Maki and Mattsun were waving at his girlfriend, he finds himself being more and more jealous recently.

➺ that was the first time oikawa had seen y/n receive something up close since middle school.

➺ i say up close, because just like he does for his own team, he always gets a copy of the girls vbc matches just so he can cheer you on. He never stopped wanting to be your fan.

➺ one time naeko caught him watching your game in his room and she still makes fun of him for being a “simp” even though she thought it was really sweet.

taglist:

@chibishae34 @bby-bokuto @shittykawaa @1-800-schmacked @artsamber @berriesii @bbyazu @roseestuosity @gaytoasterstrudels @mirdy47707 @trippy-kitty @iwanttogotopluto @hvneymun @a-listaire @princessmidas @glyxiebear @akaashiwife @anejuuuuoy @kiyoojima @deimmortales99 @unstableye @sugawarabby @haikyuufairy @ashaite @bettys-other-shoe @defchamseoul @honeymoneyy @animatedrapture @alexthe80swhore @nellieleverlin @forhyunryu @thosenerdy3amthings @mariachiii @dishonestkilla @notdahyun @angyboibakugo @tuaningly @sxrensxngwrites @anhphunnnn @montys-chaos @toorubread @dawnsbaby @lovinsugamamma @halxma06 @dumbv1rgo @neomemartin8383

135 notes · View notes

caxsthetic · 4 years

Text

Querencia

Oikawa Tooru x F!Reader

(n.) a place from which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are most authentic self.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *. 500 MASTERLIST .* :☆ﾟ. ───

With a large bowl full of popcorn, a little girl, not older than six years old, sat in the living room with her legs crossed. Her eyes focused on the television in front of her, munching the light snack as she waited.

"Mom! It will start in a minute!"

She shouted, informing her mother who was currently sweating due to heat in the kitchen she was in. The little girl shouted for you, her mother that would do anything for the whole family.

"Let me just get this cake out from the oven!" You shouted back, arms trying to get the sweat off from your forehead. With carefulness, getting the tres leches cake out from the oven. Your nostrils twitched, wanting to devour the freshly baked sweets,

"Mom! Dad's appeared!" The shout made you panic, resulting in you almost dropping the cake. Thank god having a hyperactive daughter made your reflexes quite good.

You calmed down when the cake was steady again. Letting out a long sigh, you compose yourself before putting the cake neatly on the kitchen island. With ease, you take off your apron from your body, hanging it on the spot beside the fridge.

Your eyes scanned the kitchen once again before leaving, making sure that everything was under control. When you were sure that there would be no fire, that’s when you strod to the living room, your husband’s voice filled the whole room.

“What took you so long, mom?” Your daughter asked you once you sat beside her, she leaned her body towards you immediately, mouth still munching the snack that you prepared for her before.

“The cake, my princess.” You wrapped one of your arms around her tiny frame. She fed you some popcorn as the two of you looked at the figure who was now being interviewed, “Oohhh! What do you think about dad’s suit today?”

Your daughter squinted her eyes, and you already know what her answer would be when you saw her scrunched up her nose.

“Dad should go with a darker shade of green,” She stated bluntly, watching her father laughing at the television for something that the interviewer said, “Really, with that chartreuse color, he looks like trash.”

You choked on the popcorn when you heard the nickname, making the poor girl panic when you started to cough repeatedly. When you didn’t stop coughing, she immediately got down from the couch, running to the kitchen.

She’s back in seconds with a glass of water in her hand, you grabbed the glass immediately, gulping it down until the bottom of it. Your daughter giggled at how tired you look,

“Trash? Did you just call your father trash?” Your voice was like a dagger to her, but an amused look in your eyes made her know that you were just joking around, “Let me guess, Uncle Hajime?”

“Yes!” She climbed back to the couch, sitting on your left thigh, “I mean, dad’s suit looked like trash on him.” You hummed, acknowledging your daughter and gave her a little peck on the side of her head.

“So, who would be the one that loves to ramble about their own family?” The interviewer asked the whole Japanese Nationals Volleyball Team in front of them, “I mean, most of you already had someone in their life, right?”

“Let say we are all proud of our own family,” The black haired middle blocker stated, body leaned forward a little as a cheeky grin appeared in his face, “But Tooru was the worst, he couldn’t get enough of his wife's attention!”

“Eww,” Your daughter voiced her thought all of a sudden, “I suddenly remembered that one time in the locker room! Bwergh~ I want to puke,” You blushed immediately, closing her mouth with your palm to shut her up.

It’s not that you and your husband having sex in the locker room or something. It was just an intense making out. But of course, knowing your daughter just saw her parents almost devouring each other like that, it’s not really a sight that you wanted her to remember.

“Well, I mean… How could I not not asked for her attention?” Oikawa winked at the camera, knowing well you must be watching him through the television at home, “She’s been with me through everything. Knocking some sense on me when I started to be irrational, putting up with my trashy act, patience enough to follow me anywhere… AND, deliver a child that I love so much…”

“See? This is what I mean,” The middle blocker cackled, “He’s just a hopeless romantic! Either for his wife, or her daughter.”

“He’s saying the truth, Kuroo.” One of your husband’s teammates that used to be his biggest rival, voiced his opinion, “Oikawa was very vocal indeed, sometimes I wonder how could his family survive his antics.”

“I want to bury myself sometimes,” Your daughter voiced her opinion too, making you chuckled at how sinister that sentence was, “Dad was just that bad with his pun.”

“Oh my god,” Kuroo clenched his chest, fakely gasping when he heard the opposite hitter let out a sarcasm, “The Ushijima Wakatoshi? Blessing us with a sass?”

You chuckled at the interaction between those adults on the television. They were just like a bunch of children that were trapped on an adult body. Then your eyes fell to your husband who smiled longingly for a split second, a smile that he rarely shows in his earliest life.

He’s a man full of passion, especially when it comes to volleyball. In his life, it was hard to find someone who could match his pace. So somewhere along the line, he dropped his wish to have someone who would stay with him forever with how much he spent time with volleyball.

Then you came and proved him wrong. You were always there, attending all of his practice and shouting his name on every match he had. Even though he never noticed you for the first two years in high school, you were glad that you could be in his life at the end.

Or in his case, he was glad that he caught you putting milk bread and some supportive letters on his locker on one particular morning.

Dark circles evidence under his eyes. It was still morning, but rain was already wetting the street, making him have to run or he would be completely soaked by the time he arrived at school.

At first, he wanted to go straight to the gymnasium, practising his serve. He felt like he wasn’t good enough, making his team fail to go to nationals. For numerous times already, defeated by none other than the Shiratorizawa.

But since the main building was closer from the gate, he directed his feet to stride there instead. It was still early, the sun barely peeked through the clouds. And the fact that it was raining, making the poor sun hiding again from the sky.

He pouted, realising how soaked his whole uniform was already. When he got into his locker, he would immediately change his clothes after putting his bag there.

Though, he didn’t expect to see a girl standing in front of his locker. He immediately hid behind another locker, peeking a little to see what the girl put inside.

He widened his eyes when he saw milk bread and a letter on her hand. She opened his locker, and didn't actually put the bread inside at first. Letting out a sigh, she arranged the stuff on his locker, muttering about how messy it was.

She was grumbling under her breath, but then she giggled, shaking her head and just tidying up the mess that was in front of her. When she’s done, she puts the milk bread and the letter, closing it immediately.

He saw how the girl closed her eyes and prayed for something that he was curious about. Then she left, skipping inside the main hall towards the classroom.

The brunette even forgot that his whole uniform was still wet. But his mind was now full of the girl. He walked silently towards his locker, opening it up and unfolded a turquoise paper inside his locker.

“You did so well in the match yesterday! You played like a pro and no one should say otherwise! Everyone in the school was so proud with how good our volleyball team is, and you always bring the best side of your teammates. I hope you know that someone would always watch your back. Thank you for all of your service!”

By the time he was done reading the letters, tears streamed down his face. Touched by the support that he got from the mysterious girl with enchanting hair.

He folded the paper, putting it inside his bag. With a milk bread in hand, he walked towards the gymnasium while eating the sweet milk bread that he loves so much.

The sky was bright as he walked, orange colour tinted his face that was now plastered with a genuine smile. He didn’t even know who she was at the time. But if it could make him feel like this now, he wondered what would happen if he finally acquainted the girl.

That time, he was sure he didn’t want to let her slip through his fingers. And so, he would do anything to keep her in his life.

“I am home~!” Oikawa slammed the front door open, making you and your daughter jolted at the sudden burst, “Where’s my queen and my princess?” He took off his shoes, wondering for his little family.

The two of you were now seated inside the kitchen, waiting for him to walk there. You tried to hold your own giggle since you were holding a cake on your hands.

Your husband called out to the both of you again and again, before finally stood in front of the kitchen. He put his hands on his hips, having his back turned towards you.

The little girl, who was now a little bit tired with how slow her father was, decided to clear her throat, resulting in the brunette to whip his head to the kitchen, now knowing where the two beloved humans in his world are.

A wide smile slowly creeped into his face, dark chocolate eyes lit up immediately at the sight that was now unfolded in front of him. You were standing there, with a proud smile on your face, while the little girl brought some bowl in her tiny hands.

“W-Whoa!” He walked up to the two of you giddily, kissing your forehead for a few seconds before kneeling down and hoisted your daughter up to his embrace, “Care to explain what my two best people in my life doing while I am gone?”

You put the cake on the kitchen island once again, cutting it into some small pieces so it would be easier to put on the bowl. A smile never left your face as you heard your husband talking with your daughter, he deadpanned when she told him his suit was like trash on him.

It was a sight that you would always keep inside your heart, him interacting with the little girl he could proudly call his daughter. He was always good with Takeru for as long as he lived, so you knew for sure that domestic life suited him.

"You are not doing something whacky while dad's gone, right?" He booped her nose while he asked with a serious tone, "Your mother right here has enough with me, don't make her run away~"

"I am a good daughter, thank you!" She said with a smug on her face, "While on the other hand, dad seems to make mom worried when you were home late due to practice~!"

"Ouch," You giggled, that was sure to hit a sore spot on your husband's heart. He pouted and just sigh when he realised that his daughter spent too much time with his best friend while he's away for some volleyball tournament.

You walked towards them, eyes glinting with happiness as you thank the deity to ever give such a wonderful husband and an adorable daughter.

“Tooru,” You put your hand on his shoulder, making him stop talking as he almost whined about how cruel his best friend was to make his daughter calling him trash, “Go take a shower first, my king. Then we can eat the cake together.”

He nodded, making his soft brown hair jiggled a little. Squatting down, he made sure that the little girl on his arms hopped down safely on the ground,

“Alright, don’t start eating before me, okay!” He was always energetic, you could only shake your head at his antics before plopping down on the stool. Your daughter who was touch starved for your affection, asking for you to pick her up.

“Hug!” She could be so sarcastic and mean, but the fact that she was just a six years old girl was really showing at the moment. You hoisted her up, putting her to snuggle into your lap.

She was beautiful, having the soft brown hair that your husband had. Her dark eyes shone every time she looked at her father and mother, always warmed your heart since you could understand that she loves the two of you so much.

“I want to cuddle with mom a little while,” She mumbled, wrapping her tiny arms on your figure, “Dad will be done in minutes and I am sure he will be begging for your attention.”

“Pfft, that’s true,” You ruffled her hair, making her smile immediately, “But you are not that different from him. You always cling into me too.”

“Is that bad?” She blinked, making you squeal inside with how adorable she looked right now, “I guess I am really his daughter then!”

The two of you just sat there silently, engulfed by the sweet aroma from the cake. Occasionally, you would find here looking at the cake, ready to enjoy it since there were like three different kinds of milk inside the cake.

“Mom,” She called out, and you answered her with a gentle hum, notify her that you were all ears, “Why you married dad?” You were surprised to hear the question, it was unexpected and downright random.

“Ah, why, huh?” You stare into the empty spaces, a longing look could be seen inside your eyes while you remember as much memory that you could gather, “Mom fell in love with how hardworking he was, you know?” You tightened your embrace a little, a faint smile plastered on your face, “Then as we grew closer, I fell deeper with every little side that I found inside his beautiful facade.”

Your daughter wanted to snort at the words beautiful. But then, seeing how happy you looked right now, she decided to keep it inside. She wouldn’t lie, her father was famous as a heartthrob. Though, the whole world knows who owned his heart already.

She wrapped her arms up to your neck, nuzzling there in your warm embrace as she was grateful to have parents that love each other, to have a family that were caring and thoughtful.

Overall, she was just grateful to be born in this world. Six years, and she already felt like she was the happiest kid alive. She couldn’t wait for more to come, hoping that the two of you would always stick together, just like today.

The air was hot and humid today, sweat dazzled on your skin as you sat in the apartment that your boyfriend rented. You didn’t know anymore what makes you produce a lot of sweat all over your body. Either it’s from the heat of the summer, or the fact that you were sitting here, with news that you were afraid might bring doom on your relationship.

You sat on the balcony, closing your eyes as you tried to arrange the right words. Biting your lips, your eyes fell to the beach in front of you. A lot of people were occupying the sandy terrain. They were all smiling and laughing, enjoying each other's company.

The wave soothing your mind, it was the only sound you were focused on at the moment. And with your mind all over the place, you didn’t hear the sound of the key being turned, a sound that should notify you that he was home.

You tensed up for a second when you could feel his arms wrapped around your neck. It only needs a moment to know to whom the arms belong to. You could feel his lips at the crown of your head, sniffling the scent that your hair pervade.

Your right hand slid into his arms, caressing it gently while your eyes still closed, feeling a lot better, like you finally got the courage to talk to him. You turned your head a little as he gave you a little peck on your lips.

“I need to tell you something, Tooru.” He raised his eyebrow a little, wondering what was the cause of your serious tone, “Would you sit beside me?”

“Of course,” He didn’t wear any of his facade at the moment, so you could see how nervous he was as he sat on the chair beside you, turning it a little so he looked straight at you, “What is it, my queen?”

There he goes, rolling the nickname that you two shared since the two of you started to become an item. It always brings a butterfly in your stomach to flutter even harder as he said it.

“It’s uhm…” You took a deep breath, and he sat there, still worried, “Do you know that I love you so much, right?” He was silent, but then gave you a little nod. You avert your gaze to the ground, afraid to see his expression, “And well, I never planned this to happen… But Tooru, I-”

“P-Please, don’t do this.” You jolted to hear his plea, “Please don’t say that you were going to leave me, please… Anything but that.” Your mouth agape as you lift your head to look at him.

His dark eyes were glossed with tears, “Did I spend too much time on volleyball? Goodness I-” You immediately pulled him to your embrace, showing him that it’s not the topic that you were going to blurt out, “Don’t leave me…”

“I would never,” You cooed at him, kissing his forehead as your hand stroked his hair delicately, “Now, I am going to tell you what is happening.” Hearing that, he straightened his posture, looking at you straight in the eyes.

You took a deep breath, extending your hand at him for him to take. He was confused at first by your gesture. You closed your eyes, guiding his hand towards you, spreading his palm on your stomach.

“What-” You opened up your eyes, terrified to see his face scrunched up in disgust or horror.

But instead of any of that, he looked at you with his jaw dropped and tears brimming in his eyes, “I- Am I going to be a father?” He questioned you, voice as soft as fleece.

When you gave him a nod, that’s when he broke down immediately, “Oh my god, I-” He stood up, cupping your cheek as he smiled, “I am going to be a father, (Y/n).”

“Yes, Tooru.” You bit your lips, tears streamed down on your face as you were so relieved with how he reacted, “You are going to be a father indeed.” His eyes lit up, he walked towards the railing of the balcony,

“I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!” He shouted, making you laugh at how happy he looked right now. A lot of other people who were playing on the beach looked up to your apartment, clapping and congratulating the man.

He turned his face towards you once again, but he stood there, “Oh! And one more thing guys,” He extended his hand, asking for you to stand beside him. You comply, walking there with a wide smile that you couldn’t contain any longer.

Oikawa turned his whole body to face you, eyes scanning your face as you stood there with confusion written on your facade. Then he started to kneel down on one knee, making you gasp when he suddenly had a velvet box on his hands.

You put your hand on your mouth, trying to compose yourself but to no avail. Your eyes were focused on the man who kneel in front of you to even realise how almost everyone on the beach turned their camera on, focusing it on the couple.

“From the first time I read your letters that you gave to me, I know for sure I want to keep you forever.” There’s a longing look in his eyes as he reminisces the first time he ever saw you, “And since then, I am glad that I have you through everything.” He bit his lips, trying to hold his tears for now, “Hell, you even followed me here, (Y/n)! Who else would even do that for me?!”

You were snorting by now, his face was so comical as he said it, “So, I might not be the best husband, or even the best father, but…” He trailed off, taking one last deep breath, “I promise I would never leave,” His fingers were trembling as he opened up the velvet box, “Would you bear my last name and stay with me forever?”

“Say yes, mam!” “Woohoo, you go Tooru!” “Please say yes!” “I am one hundred percent sure she's going to say yes.” “Aww, look at them.”

“You know you already knew the answer, right?” You teased him, making him snort as he stood up, “I love you now,” He leaned in to kiss you as your hand crept to his cheek, “And I will love you forever.”

You closed your eyes once his lips touched yours. People on the beach were shouting with so much joy at the sight, happy to see the couple they adore looked so happy.

While his lips still moulded with yours, he gently slipped the ring into your fingers. It was the start of the new journey, the start of something incredible. Something, that you wished would last forever.

The creaking of the bathroom door woke you up from your daydream. There with a turquoise shirt and dark green boxer, stood your husband who was ready to plop down beside you after a long day.

He slid under the blanket, wrapping his arms around your waist, wanting you to be the big spoon for today.

“Tired?” You stroke his hair that was now sprawled on your chest, “Your teammates teasing you non stop?” He grumbled under his breath, pouting as he recollected the event from today’s afternoon.

“Well, Tetsu wouldn’t stop bickering and teasing me.” He huffed, annoyed with the rooster head, “And today’s fighting was tiring too!” You giggled as he let out a long sigh, “I couldn’t believe I need to fight with my own daughter for your attention.”

The air was cold today, but when the two of you bathed in each other embrace, everything felt so warm with how much love the two of you radiated for each other.

“You know that I love you though, right?” You kissed his forehead, he gave you a faint smile as he absorb the words inside his heart, “I love you now,

And I will love you forever,”

The two of you completed the sentence together, knowing well about the phrase that you always share for each other. He looked up, eyes blazing with adoration as he still couldn’t believe that he would have a life like this.

A life where there was you, a wife that always cared and understood all of his antics. A life where there was the little girl who was now asleep in her room, the girl that he would protect as long as he lived.

He moved his body, caging you between his arms as he looked down at you. There’s no lust in his eyes, just pure love, agape. He leaned in, touching his lips to meet yours as the two of you shared a kiss that would be forever imprinted in both of your hearts.

All his life, he believed that no one would want to be with him, knowing how he prioritized the sport that he loves so much over anything else. But you knocked inside his heart, telling him that it was possible to have someone by his side.

He deserves the love, he deserves to have someone who would be there on every path he took. And as the two of you drowned by the immense feelings the two of you radiate, he knew he wouldn’t want anyone else but you,

The one who proved to him, that everyone deserves to have someone who would stay.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Tagged Lovelies:

@letmeshouyou @nitricflame @vventure @heccingdead @muffins-puffins @miyulovestowrite @nanashinanashi @vlovers-world @proplayer-kenma @kashika @cuddlyasahi @blacckdiamondposts @muffngw @baby-boy-taichi @of-heroes-and-dreams @for-ests @giyuwu-san @oli-imagines @lordeofthunder @miyatsunami @analyze-hq @benewol @allywritesimagines @tendoustan @iwaixiumi

#oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa imagine #oikawa scenario #oikawa drabble #oikawa tooru #oikawa torū #oikawa deserves love #oikawa fluff #oikawa domestic #husband oikawa #look at him #my precious husband #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu scenario #haikyuu drabbles

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srirachvbi · 4 years

Note

Hey I saw your Bokuto with kids post but since I'm on mobile I have no idea if that's recent or not. Anyhow, I was thinking maybe Bokuto's teenage daughter almost murdering one of her brothers, shes the eldest so she has some power in the house and being the only girl *considering the other female apart from reader is her 2 year old sister* she has become a force to be feared. Maybe Bokuto trying to split them apart and just trying to calm her down. His daughter really just wants to cuddle him.

a/n: thank you so much for your request! I am SO sorry for the really late response, but hopefully I understood your request properly hehe. I had AP exams and had to finish the school year, so I couldn’t really look at requests so I feel bad :(( Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this!!

Trouble In Paradise ( dad! bokuto koutarou )

word count: 1534

If you had told him back in high school that he would’ve been a father of four by his late twenties, he would’ve laughed in your face because he was convinced that the only thing he’d ever do was volleyball. It had been the only thing he’d put effort into for the majority of his life, so that was his goal. Go out with a blazing trail of fire as he spiked his last ball. The last thing he would see before death was the large court with his teammates surrounding him.

This dream quickly changed the day his first, precious daughter was birthed into the world. She was so small that he felt like he’d accidentally crush her if he held her too tightly-- she was the light of his world. Little Bokuto Kaori had the 6′3, outside hitter for the MSBY Black Jackals wrapped around her tiny baby hand.

As time went on, she wasn’t the only light in his life. Two twin boys born only a few years after her, and his youngest girl born when Kaori was eleven. Since he had a toddler as his daughter was already a teen, he truthfully couldn’t spend every moment with Kaori. It wasn’t like he ignored her completely, but there wasn’t much he could do with her when he constantly had a sobbing baby in the other room. Kotarou hated it, and he wished he could bring her out every weekend-- it just, sadly, didn’t work out that way.

Kaori hadn’t vocalized anything about his attention being on her sister, so he never really thought about it. If she had a problem, he always taught her to be truthful about it and to say it straight out. So, it was a bit of a shock when he came home to screaming echoing through their fairly large house.

He had left the twins and Kaori alone for only half an hour while he picked up (y/n) from the airport, since she was coming back from a business trip. He assumed they would all be fine since they were nine and thirteen; however, he seemed to be severely wrong.

“How could you go into my room and break something?! I told you that you’re not allowed in there!” Kaori hissed, towering over her nine year old brother’s curled up body. Her dark hair hid her furious eyes, but anyone could tell from her body language that she was furious.

“Kaori! Back away from your brother!” (y/n) scolded her as she quickly slipped her shoes off. Leaving her suitcase by the door, she walked over to her two kids and lightly grabbed the teenage girl’s arm.

“Why are you yelling at me?! He’s the one who broke into my room and shattered one of my pictures!” Kaori gaped, shoving her mom’s arm off. “I’m so sick of you two blaming everything on me! I didn’t do anything, and I especially didn’t ask for three other siblings! Was I just too much of a disappointment that you needed to have more?” She exclaimed, tears streaming down her pink cheeks. Her dark (e/c) eyes stared accusingly at her parents, making both of their hearts shatter. Kaori huffed out a loud sigh and made a quick dash towards the stairs.

“Well fuck.” Kotarou muttered under his breath. With little Kana fast asleep in his arms, he slipped his shoes off and walked further into the house. “What happened while I was gone, Sho? Where’s Keijiro?” He bent down carefully, patting his son’s head.

Sho sniffled as he sat up slightly. “He’s in the backyard ‘cause we were playing volleyball, but he got a scratch and I know that Kaori-nee keeps bandaids in her room... So I went into her room to look for them but I accidentally ran into her dresser a-and a picture fell!” He tried to explain, practically stammering with every word. His golden eyes were full of tears, making his father’s heart ache.

“It’s okay, Sho. I’ll go talk to your sister... Can you bring Keiji in and then mommy will help his scratch?” Kotarou smiled, making his son nod hesitantly. With years of strenuous practice, he had no issues getting up with no hands (since his daughter’s in his arms). Holding out his large palm, he helped the nine year old boy up from the floor. “Babe, I’ll go talk to her. Can you take Kana?”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Taking in a deep breath, Kotarou knocked his knuckles against his daughter’s door. “Kaori? Can we talk?” He asked, resting his ear against the door. Both him and (Y/N) had agreed when they first became parents that if any of their kids’ doors were closed, they’d have to get permission from the kid to open up the door. There would be no barging in— they would give them the privacy that they want as long as they don’t abuse their parents’ decision too much.

“Why? So you can yell at me and then ignore me again since you don’t care about me?” She yelled, her voice muffled from the door in between them.

Koutarou’s heart dropped at her words, and he rested his forehead against the door. “I’m not gonna yell at you,” he said, trying to keep his voice as tame as possible. If he were still as he was in high school, this situation would spiral so much further; however, he knew his kids and how they reacted. He was still that immature, simple-minded ace from high school, but he had matured into a person who he hoped his kids would be proud of. “If you open the door, I’ll teach you how to do a feint~” He tried to lighten the mood.

Instead of a reply, he heard quiet shuffling before the door opened slightly. Kaori’s bright (e/c) eyes meet his and he frowns slightly at how puffy they were. “Are you really gonna teach me how to do a feint?” She muttered, looking down at the floor. Her cheeks were flushed slightly from embarrassment, making her dad chuckle and pat her head.

“Of course! I would never go back on my word, Ri-chan! Can we talk first, though?” He asked, ruffling her long hair. As she slowly pulled her door open more, he walked into her bright blue room. He walked over to her double bed, which was placed in the middle of her room. “Ri-chan, you know I care a lot about you, right? You’re my favorite Kaori in the world~!” He grinned, patting the spot next to him.

Rolling her eyes, Kaori sniffled and sat down next to her father. She still refused to meet his eyes, but it was progress compared to being trapped outside of her door. “What do you want, dad?” She huffed out, playing with her fingers that were resting in her lap.

Koutarou sighed at her serious response and patted her head. “Kaori, there’s nothing in this world I love more than you and your siblings—”

“Yeah, but you love them more!”

“Of course I don’t! Why would I love one of you guys more than the others? You’re all my kids, who I absolutely adore. It may seem like your younger siblings are at the center of attention, but that’s because they’re younger and need more guidance!” He tried to explain without raising his voice anymore. “Kaori, if you walked up to me and told me to stop playing volleyball, I’d do it in a heartbeat! If that doesn’t explain how much I love you, I’m just gonna have to smother you with hugs for the rest of your life, and you can’t complain!” He puffed out his cheeks childishly.

The young teenager looked up from her lap and sniffled at her dad’s words. “You’d give up volleyball for me?” She whimpered softly, unusually touched by his statement. Maybe she got too many of his genes, but what’s the harm in that? The more Bokuto in the world, the better!

“Of course!” He grinned and brought his hand up to her face to wipe away the stray tears. “You and your siblings are the most important thing to me in the world, and I swear on my career that I love you all equally!” Koutarou nodded his head aggressively.

With another sniffle, Kaori jolted forward and wrapped her small arms around her father’s waist. “I love you too dad…”

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

(Y/N) sighed as she walked up the stairs to her daughter’s room. It had been a few hours since her husband had walked in and she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. There had been moments in her life with her slightly (read: very) simple-minded husband where he struggled to get the right words out and caused more harm than he meant to. So, hopefully, nothing awful went down.

The door was slightly ajar but she could see the two of them from her spot in the hallway. The two of them were curled up on Kaori’s bed, fast asleep. Her husband’s big arms were cradling his daughter’s body, making (Y/N)’s heart clench at the sight. Giggling softly, she grabbed her phone and took a picture of them.

‘Cuties…’

#bokuto kotaro #bokuto koutarou #bokuto x reader #bokuto koutarou x reader #hq bokuto #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #hq #hq anime #bokutou imagine #bokuto imagine #bokuto koutarou imagine #bokuto kotaro imagine #bokuto kotarou imagine

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alecmagnuslwb · 3 years

Text

Interruptions

Read on AO3

John stands behind her trailing his lips across her bare shoulders, he moves her hair to one side as his hands work at the ties of her corset. He’s about halfway down when the blaring of alarms freeze his ministrations in place.

“Shit,” Zatanna says pulling away from John’s warmth.

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! The siren blares over and over again.

“I’m guessing that’s not good,” John says as he leans down and retrieves his discarded shirt.

Zatanna shakes her head as she redoes the button on her pants. “More likely an apocalypse.”

John sighs running a hand through his hair. He loves this woman, but ever since she convinced him to join up on the official roster of the Justice League he feels like he’s faced a lot more of those. And he feels especially like they’ve been interrupting moments like this more and more. Batman alone has interrupted them mere moments away from a little slice of heaven three times in the past week.

“You know when you asked me to join up, you promised me we’d spend more time together, it’s feeling like a false advertisement,” John says as he buttons up his shirt hurriedly the emergency signal deafening.

Zatanna chuckles lacing up the front of her deep red corset once again. “Well I mean we won’t be having as much fun, but we will still be spending time together.”

John sighs and slips on his coat before coming to stand beside her. She opens up a portal and he leans down kissing her on the head. Joining was one thing, but he never should have let her convince him to sleep at headquarters, they’ll never get any time alone here.

“Finish what we started later?” he says into her hair.

Zatanna turns her head up and smiles at him. “Of course.”

It’s nearly two days of missions after that before they even end up back in the same bed and by then they’re far too tired to remember where they left off.

***

“Zee,” John chokes out as Zatanna’s hand finds its way underneath the waistband of his sweatpants. It’s been a slow evening at Justice League headquarters. Despite his misgivings about sleeping here occasionally it has its benefits.

Benefits like being a perfect spot to slowly work out the adrenaline from a good fight without portaling somewhere else entirely. It’s been like this for a while now, John in nothing but his sweatpants and Zatanna in a sports bra and shorts that are just the right length for John to reach his hands under and skirt the edge of her panties.

Her hand wraps around him and that’s when there’s a knock at the door.

“Zatanna? Constantine?” a small female voice says. Stargirl knocks quietly again on the door. “Sorry, uh, to bother whatever you may be up to in there. But, uh, there’s a tiny alert and no one else is around and I just, um, are you guys in there or?”

Zatanna sighs and pulls her hand from his pants, he’d be more disappointed if the sound of an innocent kid outside hadn’t immediately made him soft and uninterested in what that hand had been doing.

“Just a second Courtney and we’ll be out the door,” she says already slipping from the bed. She waves a hand over John and up and down herself saying a quick spell to dress them both quickly.

John launches up from the bed now fully clothed and heads for the door.

“Better luck next time,” he sighs with a smile over his shoulder.

“Better luck next time,” she replies pressing the button to open the sliding door. A nervous Stargirl stands there passing her staff back and forth between her hands and looking anywhere but their door.

“Let’s go kiddo,” Zatanna says already pulling up a portal as Courtney gives them a rundown of the situation.

***

Zatanna thinks fondly of twenty minutes ago when she had John in front of her on all fours her fingers trailing down his spine. Just as she’d reached her destination and pulled back tightening the harness at her hips Batman’s voice had boomed into their bedroom with the latest emergency.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding, fuck me,” John grumbled as he fell face first into the pillows.

Zatanna had sighed settling on her knees and falling to his side. “I wish.”

Now here they are in an abandoned old warehouse surrounded with magical evil wraiths with Green Arrow grappling down to stand beside them. Evidently Batman didn’t think this was high alert enough for more than three people to deal with.

They’re all on alert, flames in John open palms, sparks of magic at hers and two arrows ready and knocked in Oliver’s bow.

“So, magic people what’s the plan?” Oliver asks pointing his arrows at a window when one of the wraiths knocks into it hard.

“Well we could kill them instead of just standing around,” a voice says from the shadows. Oliver twists pointing his arrows directly towards the voice and out steps a familiar face. Nightmare Nurse is smiling wickedly her hands at her hips. Zatanna would usually question what the hell she’s doing here, but right now she’s just grateful for any backup that might get them out of here and back to what they’d started at headquarters faster.

“Well hello lover,” she says hands up in surrender with a wink Zatanna’s way. She looks over at John and smirks. “Or should I say lovers.”

“Lovers?” Oliver questions looking between Nightmare Nurse, John and Zatanna.

“We had a thing one time,” John and Zatanna say simultaneously. Oliver raises an eyebrow.

“Not at the same time,” Zatanna corrects with a shrug.

“Wait, you said that way too casually. How many people have you both slept with in common separately?” Oliver says still pointing the arrows at Nightmare Nurse.

“Just Lucifer and Nightmare Nurse as far as we know, right?” John says counting on his fingers. Zatanna nods before gesturing to Oliver.

“You can lower your weapon by the way, she’s tricky, but she’s on our side,” she says and Oliver does as she asks looking startled by Zatanna and John’s admission. There’s a chance he didn’t even know Lucifer was real until right now, let alone know about his active sex life.

“Thank you,” Nightmare Nurse says brushing past Oliver. She pats John on the shoulder on the way then smiles at Zatanna. “Now, shall we kill the bad guys then?”

Zatanna smiles back while Oliver looks on at them still perplexed.

“We shall,” she says looping her arm through John’s and pulling him along to the fight.

***

John groans landing heavily to sit on the curb beside Zatanna. She’s slumped forward her head resting downturned to the street on her hands. He lifts his hand brushing a hand through her long dark hair, catching on something as he works his way down.

“Ow,” she says turning her still resting head to look at him.

“Sorry, luv,” he says still brushing through her hair just a little more gently now. He delicately pulls out the twig trapped in her hair and tosses it to the side.

She lifts her head at that watching as the twig lands and sighs.

“Next time Bats gets to deal with his own rogues,” John says as he twirls the ends of her hair between his fingers. He means it there’s no way someone in this city wasn’t available to fight Poison Ivy. It didn’t have to be them. “The man’s got like two dozen kids by now and they all know how to fight crime.”

Zatanna huffs a laugh and smiles at him in agreement. John’s fingers move to brush her hair behind her ear on one side. He trails his fingers down around the shell of her ear catching slightly on the dragon cuff there before moving further down her neck.

Her breath catches when he hits a particularly sensitive spot. A sensitive spot that has a small enjoyable bruise on it. He’d been working his lips down to make a few more of those when they’d been called to Gotham.

“As lovely as that feels,” she sighs as his fingers trace around the spot again. “I’m exhausted.”

John chuckles, he hates to admit it but he is too. Damn Justice League.

***

John is settled between her knees about to start working on the last piece of clothing that separates them from being skin to skin. They’re in their room in the house of mystery far away from Justice League headquarters. It’s quiet, just the sound of their breathing and her light moans.

So of course that’s when the Justice League alert on her phone goes off.

He groans and not the good kind of groan. “Ignore it,” he says leaning down to kiss her.

She groans as well half in pleasure and half out of annoyance. She grips him tight flipping them over so she’s settled on top of him. She pushes herself up using his chest as leverage and leans over to retrieve her phone.

“Oh, Zee come on,” he starts. She lifts up and then sinks back down moaning and shutting him up. His fingers grip into her hips just tight enough to leave indents like she likes.

She smiles down at him and answers the alert.

“No,” she says and the other end is just silence for a moment.

“There’s an emergency Zatanna,” Bruce’s gruff voice says on the other end.

“Is anyone dead or immediately dying?” He answers in the negative. “Is the world coming to end through magical means that only we are able to stop?” Once again it’s a no.

“Alright, is no one other member of the Justice League available or within range to deal with the emergency at hand?”

“Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Supergirl are on route and,” Bruce starts and she cuts him off.

“That is a line of heavy hitters who I’m sure have whatever crisis is at hand handled,” she says with a smile. “And you’re just making calls so you’re free too if they need backup.”

“Zatanna you know that part of being a member of the Justice League is-“

She once again cuts him off. “I know, I know the oath, but it’s not our weekend on call and Constantine is literally inside of me which I don’t intend changing for at least the next hour.”

Bruce chokes a little on the other end of the line and Zatanna smiles.

“See ya Monday, Bats,” John shouts and takes the phone from her shutting it off and tossing it into the pile of blankets pooled at the side of their bed. He sits upright, just barely suppressing a moan, bringing his arms around her.

“An hour, huh?” he says slipping his hands around to the clasp of her bra. She leans in kissing him slow as he works the last piece of clothing from her body tossing it down along with the phone.

She nods her head their lips brushing with every pass. “We have a lot of almosts to make up for.”

#my fic #johnzee #john constantine #zatanna zatara #magicblazersource

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insidethegiftbasket · 3 years

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Nationals (12-15) at Yankees (16-15)

Note From Evan: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, jabronis and jabronettes, and Yankee fans of all ilk, Sam and I are here to let you know that we now have a third contributor here at Inside the Gift Basket, and this is his first post. Everyone say hi to Julio and from now on you’ll have to bring on more cupcake to class to share with everyone. And with that, onto the good stuff.

Game 1: Friday at 7:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Jameson Taillon (1-2, 5.24 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (1-3, 8.10 ERA)

Game 2: Saturday at 1:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Corey Kluber (2-2, 3.03 ERA) vs. Max Scherzer (2-2, 2.54 ERA)

Game 3: Sunday at 1:05pm EDT on YES and MLBN – Domingo German (2-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. Joe Ross (2-2, 4.39 ERA)

Nationals Injury Report

SP Stephen Strasburg: 10-day IL (shoulder inflammation) – will miss series

RP Wander Suero: 10-day IL (oblique strain) – both he and Strasburg will throw in a simulated game Friday

RP Seth Romero: day-to-day (ribs) – will begin throwing next week

LF Juan Soto: day-to-day (shoulder strain) – should get some at-bats this series, may start at DH

Nationals Pitching

Strong starting pitching was a hallmark of the Nationals during their run of eight straight winning seasons from 2012 to 2019, culminating in a World Series victory the final year of the streak. While their core ace trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin remains intact, only Scherzer of the three has continued to see success in 2020 and 2021, and the starting rotation as a whole has struggled, posting a 4.67 ERA (23rd in MLB). Strasburg has barely pitched as he has been plagued by injuries over the last year and a half.

Clay, NY native and childhood Yankees fan Patrick Corbin will pitch the opener opposite Taillon. In 2018 and 2019 Corbin was one of the better pitchers in baseball, finishing 5th and 11th respectively in the NL Cy Young Award race those years while frustrating batters with his trademark tailing-away slider. To say he suffered a World Series hangover may be an understatement:

What has gone wrong for Corbin? Even he and Nationals manager Davey Martinez aren’t sure as it doesn’t appear to be a physical or mechanical issue, and his velocity is close to the same as in his 2018-2019 peak.

There are a few possible explanations. One is that he’s lost some spin on his slider (from 2398 rpm in 2019 to 2218 rpm in 2021), and it has gone from one of the best single pitches in the game to basically league average, with opposing batters just not chasing it like they used to:

This means that Corbin has fallen behind on counts more than in the past, forcing him to go over the heart of the plate with his sinker to get strikes, and that pitch has been absolutely destroyed this year. It wasn’t a particularly great pitch for him in the past, either, but this year hitters are just teeing off on it (1.091 SLG).

Corbin is not striking guys out like he used to and is giving up hard-hit fly balls at an alarming rate. The average launch angle against his pitches has risen to a career-high 14.7° in 2021, and subsequently he has already allowed 7 home runs in just 23.1 IP. For the sake of comparison, he allowed 15 HR in all of 2018 (200 IP).

There are some encouraging signs as he has looked better lately after a cataclysmic start. He allowed 16 ER in 6.1 IP to the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in his first two starts of the season but has pitched to a 3.18 ERA in three starts (17 IP) since. He hasn’t exactly faced red-hot offenses in that span (Mets, Cardinals, Marlins), and the underlying numbers are still not all that great, but it’s progress.

Max Scherzer will pitch the second game in what could be a very good duel with the surging Corey Kluber. Now in his age 36 season, Scherzer is continuing to put up excellent numbers, and like in recent years, the key to beating him is the long ball. He has allowed a measly 27 hits all year in 39 innings pitched, but 7 of the hits have been homers. He doesn’t walk guys, so the Yankees’ best bet against him is to try to barrel up his occasional mistakes and knock them out of the park.

The finale pits RHP Joe Ross against Domingo German, with both pitchers posting remarkably similar numbers so far this season:

Rather like Corbin, however, Ross’ numbers are inflated by one very bad performance (10 ER allowed to the Cardinals on April 19), and he has pitched well outside of that game. Ross has been a mediocre pitcher most of his career, though, so it’s not like these numbers aren’t indicative of what to expect from him. His slider is his definitive put-away pitch (responsible for 15 of his 21 strikeouts), but his other offerings have been hit hard. He also has a strong platoon split (vs RHH: .241/.287/.394, vs. LHH: .297/.376/.474), so expect the Yankees to give most of their available lefty hitters a start in the series finale.

While the rotation has been disappointing, the Nationals’ pen has been a strength for the team in the early going. Washington relievers own a league-best .185 batting average against, admittedly aided by one of the better defenses in the league (league-leading 24 DRS), and offseason acquisition Brad Hand has been a stabilizing force at the back of games, having yet to allow an earned run this year.

Daniel Hudson, Austin Voth, Sam Clay, and Wander Suero (who is likely going to miss this series) have all posted solid numbers behind him, and their most-used reliever, Kyle Finnegan, threw an immaculate inning in their just-completed series with the Braves. Ex-Astro Will Harris was recently activated off the IL and has very good career numbers, though the Yankees have hit him well historically.

The one major blip is Tanner Rainey, who was one of their most important relievers the last two years but has struggled mightily so far this season. He is likely to be limited to low-leverage action until he gets his act together.

Nationals Lineup

A consistently strong offensive team during their 2010’s run, peaking in 2017 when they led the NL in team OPS, the Nationals have had to weather the departure of important contributors like Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon in recent years. While they still have a few dependably great hitters in the lineup, their offensive output in 2021 has been, at best, mediocre:

As a team they get a lot of hits (for 2021 standards, anyway), as their .247 batting average somehow actually leads the National League. However, they rarely draw walks and have not hit for power so far this year (outside of Trea Turner), resulting in a poor .696 team OPS and a marked difficulty putting up runs – they have yet to score more than 7 runs in any game this season and have been shut out five times. They are coming off a three-game sweep at home at the hands of the Braves in which they only scored six runs.

With Juan Soto battling a shoulder injury, Trea Turner has been their most important and all-around best position player:

While his numbers are a bit down from an outstanding 2020 (163 OPS+) that saw him finish 7th in the NL MVP race, he hits the ball hard to all fields, runs like the wind, and is a plus defender at shortstop. He has been a top 20 player in baseball this year in both bWAR and fWAR.

Antoher bright spot has been Josh Harrison, who signed with the Nationals as a reclamation project after seemingly forgetting how to hit sometime between 2018 and 2019; he has just about revived his career and been one of the team’s best hitters. The same cannot be said for his longtime Pirates teammate Josh Bell, who has been a nonfactor at the plate. While the Nats have been giving him (and the also-struggling Kyle Schwarber) plenty of opportunities to snap out of it, expect them to give more playing time to the hot-hitting Ryan Zimmerman at first base moving forward.

Lastly, keep an eye out for young phenom Juan Soto – he just came off the IL from a shoulder injury and pinch-hit a few times in the Braves series. According to the Nationals, he is ready to start hitting every day, but they are reluctant to let him play the field as his shoulder is not yet fully recovered and he should not be making throws. Luckily for them they are playing in an AL park this weekend, so he may get some starts at DH against the Yankees (which is, of course, bad news for us).

Yankees focus on: Wandy Peralta

LHP “Magic” Wandy Peralta came over from San Francisco (along with a PTBNL) in exchange for beloved backup OF Mike Tauchman, much to the chagrin of certain Yankees fans. Now in his 6th season, the 29 year-old Peralta has, on the surface, been largely unremarkable as a major leaguer to date, with a career 4.66 ERA and 1.477 WHIP. While he is coming off a solid 2020 in which he posted a career-best 3.29 ERA, he struggled to start this season in San Francisco and fell out of Gabe Kapler’s Circle of Trust™.

The raw numbers don’t jump out at you, but clearly the Yankees viewed Peralta as an interesting piece if they were willing to go so far as to part with Tauchman for him. After a bit of digging, it’s not hard to see why they found him appealing:

The underlying metrics have been impressive. In fact, his stuff has looked much better so far this year than it did in 2020, despite posting better standard stats last year.

It may be a microscopic sample size, but Peralta has looked promising in his first few appearances with the Yankees. The coaching staff has encouraged him to spam his wipeout changeup, to great effect:

While he has lost command of the changeup at times earlier in his career, it’s an incredible pitch when he’s throwing it well. So far this season: xBA of .109, xSLG of .133, and a -3 launch angle.

Last year his slider was a very good pitch, but this year it hasn’t been as effective, thus the Yankees have responded by ramping up his changeup usage and cutting back on the slider. In an ideal world, Peralta can learn to use them both effectively to pair with his plus heater. The raw stuff is there, and it always has been; the hope is that the Yankees’ coaching staff can get Peralta to harness his talent and potential.

With Tauchman playing well in San Francisco to this point and providing much-needed support for their banged-up outfield, this could be a trade that proves to be a win-win for both teams involved.

#Yankees #New York Yankees #Nationals #Washington Nationals #Baseball #MLB #Series Preview #Interleague Play #Natinals #Juan Soto #Trea Turner #Wandy Peralta #Everyone Say Hi to Julio

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quickspinner · 4 years

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Killer Combo - Ch 2 Pinch Hitter

She lost. Again. Marinette kind of wanted to scream, but she just put her controller down as calmly as she could and stepped out of her pyrapod, giving herself a little mental pep talk about how she was doing better against him. Not well enough to beat him in the finals, but she’d get there.. This event was a huge con hosting multiple competitions in different leagues, so the pyrapods were all in a row and gated off from the general public. Luka, it turned out, was only a couple down from hers and she nearly ran into him as he emerged.

“Hey,” he said, flashing a grin. Marinette felt the flush beginning as her heart raced. Damn the man, why did he have to be so cute? “You’re still amazing,” Luka commented, shaking his head as he offered his hand to shake as always. “I can always count on you to give me a real fight.”

Marinette’s lips twisted as she shook his hand. “Do you compliment your male opponents this much?”

“I would if they were as good as you,” Luka replied easily, seeming unbothered by her tone. “Not many are.”

“I’m not going to date you,” Marinette blurted, and almost bit her tongue off in horror, but Luka just laughed.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Luka grinned, gesturing for her to go ahead of him down the walkway. “Do you get asked out a lot in competitions?”

Marinette huffed. “Propositioned is more like it. And that’s putting it politely.”

Luka went quiet for a moment, his face suddenly serious. “I’m sorry that’s happened to you. That’s not right.”

Marinette was silent for a moment, struck by his sincere tone. Luka looked like he was struggling with whether or not to say more, but he didn’t. “Thank you,” she said finally.

He gave her a rueful smile. “Please don’t thank me for being a decent human being, it erodes my faith in humanity.”

Marinette snorted. “Try being me for a day.”

Luka nudged her shoulder with his arm as they both moved towards the exit gate. “No thanks. I don’t think I could handle it. You must be tougher than your mech to put up with the amount of crap you get.”

Marinette’s lips twisted as she tried not to smile. He was too sweet, too genuine, and she was horrifyingly close to admitting to herself that she was moving well beyond like and into massive crush territory.

She hated that territory. The last guy had been nice too and it turned out that rejection sucked no matter how nice someone was about it.

“Not from everybody,” she shrugged, avoiding his eyes. “The nice people make the jerks easier to put up with. And the league is cracking down on the nastier trash talk, so that helps.” She was pretty sure he had something to do with that. He’d continued to complain loudly in his interviews about enforcement of the sportsmanship guidelines, and several of the magazines were starting to smell the kind of exposé that made sponsorship committees nervous. Marinette herself had gotten voicemails from media people wanting to talk to her about what it was like to be a girl in the league. Ergo he was at least partially responsible for the current crackdown—and was probably, it occurred to her suddenly, taking some flack for it. She should ask around. Not that she could really do much about it, even if people would talk to her.

On the one hand, she wondered why he cared so much. It certainly didn’t affect him the way it affected people like Marinette and Max. But then, thinking that way felt like a disservice to him. Luka just seemed like the kind of person who didn’t let unfairness and injustice slide.

That might be the crush talking though.

“Good, it’s about time they finally did something,” Luka snorted, snapping her back to reality. “Well, good luck in the two-on-two.” He held open the gate for her as they both exited the player arena.

Marinette’s face fell. “Oh. I’m not playing.”

Luka turned to look at her, eyes wide. “What? Why not, you guys have been rocketing up the ladder, why would you stop?”

“Not by choice,” Marinette shrugged. “Max is sick. Really sick. I can’t play without a partner.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’d be tempted to try honestly but those are the rules.” And without her partner, they would forfeit all the matches scheduled in this event. At the level they were at, that was bad. Very bad.

“Is he going to be okay?” Luka asked, concern furrowing his brow.

Stop being so nice! she thought at him irritably. “He’ll be fine eventually, but he’s pretty miserable right now,” she replied, trying to keep her tone light despite her frustration with the whole situation. “He actually doesn’t get sick very often but when he does it takes him down hard, and we don’t have an alternate. Our friend Adrien used to fill in but he went to school abroad and we didn’t think to find a replacement.”

“Man, that really sucks,” Luka sighed. “I mean I’m sorry he’s feeling so bad, but also for you guys to go down like that after all that work this close to the playoffs. I know how passionate you are about…” He paused, and chewed his lip for a moment. Marinette looked at him curiously as Luka’s eyes flicked to the tournament screen, and back to Marinette. “Let’s do it,” he said.

“What?” Marinette asked, eyes widening slightly.

“You need a partner, I’ll be your partner,” Luka shrugged. “I don’t know how good I’ll be, you know I don’t usually play two-on-two, but I’ll follow your lead and do my best. Even if we only win a couple, that’s better than having to forfeit them all, right?”

“Y-you’d do that for me?” Marinette stared at him blankly. “Why?”

Luka shrugged, flashing that easy smile that made her heart flutter. “It’s not a hardship, I’m hanging around anyway, and I like to play. I can pinch hit for a couple of weeks if you need it, or at least today.”

“But you have your own matches to worry about,” Marinette protested, but Luka just laughed.

“If you can handle both, then so can I,” he told her. “And if I start losing because I’m playing in both, then maybe I’m not as good as I thought I was, since you play both in every event. Come on, let me help,” he added as he saw the undecided look on her face. “I don’t want you to lose rank over something you couldn’t control.” He grinned as he saw her give in. “Where do I sign up?”

“This way,” Marinette said, grabbing his hand without thinking and pulling him through the crowd. Her face heated when she realized what she had done, but he wasn’t pulling away and had even closed his hand over hers. His hands were so big compared to hers.

They didn’t get very far before the sudden crush of the con crowd halted their progress.

“This crowd is insane,” he muttered, nearly knocking into her from behind. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” panted Marinette, too focused on her goal to freak out about him being pressed against her. “But we’ve got to get through here before they close the registration.”

She felt his hum of agreement against her back, and then felt him stiffen. “Cover your ears,” he said, and as soon as she’d done so, he bellowed over the crowd. “Hey, Ivan! I need a way through, can you help me out?”

Marinette looked up at him, and he grinned down at her. “Hang on to your spots and get ready to move, Ladybug, the cavalry's coming,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Luka, what—”

“No time, just follow my lead,” Luka said, watching something that she was too short to see. “Okay, here he comes. Let’s go.”

Suddenly there was room to breathe around them again, but Marinette didn’t have time to, because Luka practically hauled her off her feet and dragged her through the suddenly much thinner crowd.

“You’re the best, man, I owe you one,” she heard Luka call. “Can you get us to registration?”

She didn’t hear the answer but they started moving forward again.

“They don’t call him the Bull for nothing,” Luka chuckled breathlessly. “Sorry for the manhandling, I didn’t want to lose you. We’re almost there.” Marinette got a glimpse of a broad back in a black t-shirt plowing the way ahead of them. Luka followed, pulling her along beside him in the big man’s wake. He was strong under that ratty hoodie, she realized, trying to keep up and on her feet.

Then suddenly they were standing at the registration desk, and Luka let her go, making sure she was steady before he took his hands off her completely. “You okay?” he asked. “That was kind of rough, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, I’m fine,” Marinette said, “Just a little ruffled.” She reached for the hem of her tank top, which had ridden up and twisted as Luka dragged her. Luka’s eyes darted to her exposed stomach and away again quickly.

“Sorry,” he said, though she wasn’t sure for what exactly, and turned away from her to the big man, exchanging a handshake and a shoulder bump that made him stagger. “Hey, thanks Ivan, I owe you one.”

Marinette got her shirt untwisted and pulled it down, resettled her hoodie on her shoulders, and then stepped forward to add her thanks.

“Hey, no problem, Ladybug,” Ivan grinned. “I’m a big fan. Almost as big a fan as this guy.” He slapped Luka’s back, and Marinette looked at him, eyes widening slightly. Luka stared over her head at the registration lines, but she thought he was maybe blushing a little. Maybe it was just the heat from the crowd, though. Or wishful thinking on her part.

“Sorry if this is a dumb question,” Luka began, still staring at the signs over the registration table. “But alphabetically are you registered under Ladybug or Lucky Charm?”

“Lucky Charm,” Marinette said, grinning at him. “But it doesn’t matter, they’re the same line.”

The pink on his cheeks got darker. “Oh. Right.”

“You better sharpen up before game time,” Marinette teased, slapping his arm.

“Don’t worry, Ladybug, I won’t let you down,” he grinned, with a wink that made her knees weak.

It took some time, a little diplomacy, and a little bit of bluster to get Viperion added as an alternate for Team Lucky Charm and then to get them back on the roster for the day. Fortunately, their matches hadn’t been registered as forfeits yet and his individual rank was close enough to Marinette’s that the registrars couldn’t refuse. Marinette silently thanked Max for all of those boring lectures on the rules that she’d only half-listened to at the time, but which had been repeated so often that she was able to quote the appropriate rules back any time they questioned her.

“Team Lucky Charm,” the guy at the computer muttered, shaking his head. “You guys are lucky, it’s been so busy this morning we haven’t had a chance to cancel out your matches. Now that we’ve got him registered as an alternate, I’ll just swap Viperion in for Pegasus...there. And you’re good to go.”

“That was impressive,” Luka commented as they walked away from the table.

“Thanks,” Marinette said, grabbing Luka’s arm so they didn’t get separated. “We should talk strategy. We don’t have time to set up a full code.”

“Code?” Luka asked, squeezing along through the crowd with her.

“All four players are on the same channel, so most players use a code to keep their opponents off guard. But that takes time and practice and we’re not going to have that, but we can come up with a few simple things. Every little advantage we can get is a help. Your ability combo is so unusual and nobody plays like you, so that’s in our favor. Figuring out how we can complement each other, that’s going to be the hard part.”

Luka pulled his arm free and put it around her shoulders, guiding her in a different direction. “Let’s go to the food court, it’s late enough that it’ll have cleared out. We can grab something to eat and get some breathing room.”

“Good idea,” Marinette agreed, glancing at his hand on her shoulder. “We can call Max and see if he has any insight. I’m sure he’s watching the livestream no matter how crappy he feels.”

Luka was right; the food court wasn’t exactly empty but it was significantly less crowded than the rest of the con.

“Why don’t you grab a table?” Marinette suggested. “I can get us some food. My treat, since you’re helping me out.”

“No need, but I’m not going to turn you down,” he grinned down at her, and then pulled his arm back quickly as he realized it was still around her shoulders. “Ah, sorry,” he said. “I’m a little hands on, I know. I’ll be more careful, but please tell me if I make you uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable wasn’t the word she would have used. “You’re fine. I mean it’s fine,” she corrected hurriedly, and wanted to smack herself. She didn’t want to be back in this place. She wasn’t going to let it happen again. Just focus on the game, Marinette told herself firmly, adjusting her Ladybug hoodie around her shoulders. Marinette might turn into a blushing, babbling mess in front of guys she liked but Ladybug played to win.

With that in her mind, she managed to keep it together long enough for them to eat lunch and work out some simple codes for the most important combos.

“Your playing style is so unique,” Marinette fretted, munching on the remains of her fries. “Honestly, it might be best if you just kind of do what you do and let me work around you.”

Luka nodded thoughtfully as he finished his mouthful. “You’re adaptable,” he agreed. “You’re really good at improvising on the spot. I keep thinking I’ve got you and you pull something crazy out.” He grinned at her. “It’s why playing you is such a blast.” He sighed. “I just hope I don’t slow you down.”

Marinette snorted. “Like you do every time we play?”

Luka laughed. “I promise not to do it on purpose this time.”

“I promise to stay out of your way,” Marinette giggled back.

“Despite your different approaches,” Max’s thick, scratchy voice came from the phone on the table between them. “The combination of your abilities presents intriguing possibilities. Whatever happens today, we’ll study the results for the next events.” He coughed and both Luka and Marinette winced at the sound. “Do you require my assistance any further?”

“No, we’ve got it, Max,” Marinette told him. “Get some rest and drink that tea Maman sent over.”

“I’m already on my third cup,” Max replied thickly. “I wish you both best of luck, and Viperion—Luka—I am grateful for your assistance. Please look after my partner.”

“You got it, Max,” Luka said, leaning over the phone slightly. “Glad I could help out. Take it easy and feel better.”

“Goodbye.”

Marinette shut the phone off thoughtfully. “Really, this could work out,” she said, talking almost more to herself than Luka. “Our abilities balance pretty well. We’re going to lack some of Max’s high-powered precision strikes but if you can land your status effects then we’ve got more time to hammer at their weak points, and I’ve got enough armor to make up for yours.” She made a face. “That’s how you always get me, your attacks aren’t that powerful but you hit me with that stupid Slow and—” she made a frustrated noise, and Luka laughed again.

She loved his laugh.

“I can’t really say I’m sorry,” he grinned, pushing the remains of his meal away. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I did.”

“Not for a moment,” she agreed, and his grin widened, and she had to look away. Luka looked at his phone and started picking up their trash.

“We better get going,” he said, reaching for hers. “Are you done?”

“Oh, yes,” Marinette leaned back, letting him take it. “Thank you.”

They cleaned up and made their way through the crowd, and the next few minutes were a familiar whirlwind as they were sorted into their team pyrapods and matched up. Luka and Marinette put on their headsets and picked up their controllers. The match announcers began to read out the rules. Marinette paid very little attention but when she glanced at Luka had a small crinkle between his brows, apparently listening intently. That was good, she supposed. She felt him take a slow, deep breath next to her as the countdown appeared on the screen.

As they had planned, their mechs both attacked in sync as soon as the countdown was over.

“Well, well,” one of their opponent’s voices drawled in their ears. “Viperion himself, come down to join the masses in the co-op? I feel honored.”

“First time for everything,” Viperion murmured back, most of his attention on keeping the damage-dealing mech pinned down while Ladybug’s more powerful attacks slammed into the defender. The taunting and jabs continued, escalating as Viperion and Ladybug held their own. It wasn’t as easy as it was with Pegasus. Pegasus’ weakness as a player was his formulaic approach and rigid strategy; it was part of why he didn’t play one on one. Individually, he was too easy to predict, but Ladybug’s flexibility and creative thinking combined with Pegasus’ precision strikes made them a powerful team.

Viperion was less predictable than Pegasus, and more than once they found themselves in each other’s way despite their hurried planning. They recovered quickly each time, though it was costing them little by little.

It was a close fight and Ladybug was beginning to resign herself to a loss when a flash of inspiration hit her.

“Hey Viperion,” she said suddenly. “You remember our third match?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Can you do that again?

She actually heard the grin in his voice. “Just tell me when, Bug.”

When she’d wondered after that match why he didn’t use that attack more often, Max had theorized that the ability’s short duration required extremely precise timing and that most of Viperion’s other attacks weren’t fast enough to capitalize on the follow up. When he’d used it on Ladybug, the recurring damage from his Venom Strike hit just at the critical moment, and had been enough to finish her off in the short moment before the ability wore off.

The thing was, Viperion might not have a good follow up attack, but Ladybug did.

Marinette concentrated on getting their opponents set up, and then triggered her own attack as she snapped, “Now!”

Viperion triggered his stun attack right on cue. Their opponents tried to counter just as Ladybug had months ago, and it didn’t work any better for them than it did for her. The targeted mecha was frozen in place just long enough for the Bug Bomb Ladybug had triggered to soar in and take the enemy down in a series of dramatic explosions. The other mecha tried to finish them off, but slowed and crippled by the Venom Strike that had been chipping away at it since the first engagement, it couldn’t move fast enough to do the damage needed, nor avoid a repeat of that killer combo once Viperion’s stun ability had recharged.

Luka whooped and threw up his arms next to her. Marinette winced; he was loud when he wanted to be.

“That was amazing! You were amazing. Man, what a rush.”

“Easy Viperion,” Marinette murmured. “That was only the first round.”

“Right, sorry,” he said, bouncing slightly on his toes. “Right. I’m ready.”

Marinette gave him an amused side glance as their mics went dead. “What happened to that chill guy who kept kicking my ass?”

Luka snorted. “I’ve never manage to deliver anything remotely like an ass-kicking when I play you. I always just edge you out, at best. I seem to recall getting beat more than a few times over the last couple months.” He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and admitted, “And there was never anywhere near this much pressure. If I lose, I lose; but I definitely don’t want to be the reason you lose.”

“Hey,” Marinette looked up at him, catching his arm and tugging him until he was looking back at her. “No matter what happens,” she said firmly, looking into his eyes as best she could in the dim light, “You can’t possibly be the reason I lose. You’re the reason I got to play. So thank you for that. Now, I know you play your best when you’re relaxed so do whatever you need to do to get rid of the nerves because we’ve got five minutes until we’re up again.”

“Right,” Luka said, setting his controller down on the counter. “Can you give me a warning when we’ve got about a minute left?”

“Yeah,” Marinette blinked. “Sure.”

Luka’s eyes flicked sideways at her. “Don’t laugh,” he said, “I swear it helps.” He faced forward and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His fingers closed in front of him in what she recognized as a meditation pose.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. Huh. Well, whatever works for him.

Marinette bounced lightly on her toes, trying not to distract her partner, and thought over the match, trying to think of ways she could compensate for their issues. At the one minute mark, she tapped Luka’s elbow lightly, and when he came out of his meditation or breathing exercise or whatever it was, she spoke quickly. He nodded at her suggestions, and then they picked up their controllers as the countdown began.

***

“Well,” Luka sighed, holding his phone between them so that they could both see the rankings after the day’s matches. “It’s...better than a bunch of forfeits right?”

“It’s pretty good, actually,” Marinette agreed, nodding. It wasn’t the kind of jump they usually made, but they had actually climbed just a little bit, though they’d lost the match that would have given them the biggest jump. What mattered most was that they had won the matches that would have knocked them down if they lost. “We held our own. At least we still stand a chance. Hey,” she said, turning to Luka and looking up at him. “Thanks for playing with me today. I really appreciate it and it was incredibly nice of you. I hate to ask for more, but...would you be interested in being our alternate for the next event? Max might be better by then, but honestly I’m not counting on it. Whatever he got just hit him a day or so ago.”

“Sure, you can count me in for whatever you need until Max is better,” he shrugged, that easy-going smile on his face. “I’m assuming you’d rather meet up ahead of time for the next one, though?” He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to her. “I don’t want Max to have a relapse, or worse, at the thought of us winging it again.”

“True,” Marinette giggled, handing him her own phone. They each programmed in their own numbers, and traded back again.

“Cool,” Luka said as he put his things in his pocket. “Pressure aside, that was really a lot of fun. Thanks for—”

“Don’t you dare,” Marinette interrupted him, raising a warning finger. “I’m the only one doing the thanking today. You did me a favor, big time, and I really appreciate it.”

“Well,” Luka looked down for a moment, and then back into her face with a smile. “I was glad to do it. I had just as much fun playing with you as against you, so. I’m looking forward to doing it again. Not that I hope Max stays sick, but…” He grinned and winked as he turned to go. “Call me if you need me.”

At least, Marinette reflected as she watched him go, Max wasn’t there to tease her about her red face this time.

#quickspins #killer combo #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #gamer au #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #ml fics

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danwhobrowses · 4 years

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Ghost of Tsushima: Thoughts, Ideas and Hopes for DLC and Sequels

So I recently Platinum’d Ghost of Tsushima, I finished the story last week after 30 entries of livestreams which saw a whopping viewership of at most 2 people including one asshole that decided to spoil the end of Act II before I got there because I was playing stealthy and the way I wanted to play. But then wrapped up the Achievements on my own time. After a bit of stewing I’m ready to talk gush about it, including what I liked, a small bit of stuff I disliked and stuff I would suggest for future DLC and Sequel(s)

Spoilers for the Game, unlike that Commenter on my Stream I will not Spoil you on this, it is truly something you should experience for yourself

Because Good Lord, What A Game. Easily my Game of the Year, which compared to all the big hitter titles released is amazing, I mean Crash Bandicoot could still blow me away and Cyberpunk, Watch Dogs, Godfall, AC Valhalla and Miles Morales in waiting but probably not in this way. It is a magnificent game, one made with fantastic care and beauty, but before I go all out, let’s get the negatives out of the way 出る杭は打たれる。: A Flawed Masterpiece Ghost of Tsushima is brilliant but not without its faults. Most of these faults are admittedly minuscule and fixable, but until they are fixed they remain flaws. The biggest disappointment for me with the game was the lack of Japanese lip syncing. I loved the Japanese track, it also highly appealed to me to hear One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro voice Jin, but you have to kinda avoid looking at the mouths because it doesn’t match up, the models still speak in English and it’s a heavy shame that can kill some immersion. I guess they didn’t have the finances for it, because they could’ve done the lip syncs at the same time as they did the English ones if they had the Japanese track too. Combat for the most part was great, aiming could be wonky at times and Jin’s attacks didn’t carry on to a 1 foot ledge, but my main gripe with combat was the Camera getting in the way. It was adjustable most times, but other times it was not. Doing standoffs in the tall grass was night impossible at the later stages without the knees giving us a tell, one standoff I had was completely obstructed by a tree - I’m not making it up, a tree was literally all I saw for the Standoff. You lose so much health for failing a standoff too, bit harmful in later levels. The remaining issues are probably more personal, I didn’t quite like some of the sword kit designs - the ones with fluffy sleeves and I didn’t really like the armor dye you get for 100%ing the achievements, some weapons seemed to lose their luster in later parts of the game (particularly the half bow and Explosive Arrow, the former was only good for killing the angry doggos and the latter only killed Mongols if near another explosive to stack), that one Masako quest mission where you have to follow and pick off Straw Hats one by one without being seen, but will fail if you pull a triple assassination before the outpost where Masako’s lesbian lover was leading them all to so there’s more Straw Hats to blow my cover! (it wasn’t difficult it just annoyed me that it failed me for killing them all early) and the completionist in me hates that there are empty slots in the arrow and blowgun sections, but they can be worked in what I’ll talk about a bit later down the line, alongside some minor loose threads. Also you killed my horse man!

Your horse will accompany you on your entire journey - Ghost of Tsushima UI Message

Don’t you dare lie to me like that again Sucker Punch! Just because you’re named that doesn’t mean you can live up to it, we already lost one horse at the beach! Had to spend the final act with Not-Sora and Kaze with a hole in my heart never to be filled. But with that dealt with, let’s talk about some things I loved about the game

花は桜木人は武士 : Living into a Legend With these games it is very easy to fall into the Elder Scrolls prototype of an array fun side quests and exploration and a so-so main story. Ghost of Tsushima though decided to have both the array of side quests and exploration and a great, complex and partly tragic story. There were many times I wanted to get back to the main story but held off because I wanted to be prepared. Long distances didn’t feel too bad to travel when the roads were uncharted either thanks to radiant battles, new settlements, vanity gear and side missions to ease you on the way. Additionally, the characters are for the most part fantastic, I cared for the safety of most of my allies and Jin himself, I wanted the Khan dead in a cerebral villain (albeit one whose final battle fell into cowardice) and I was open to the complexities of Ishikawa and Tomoe. I did feel that Shimura was being a tad ungrateful but I think it was intended for us to be frustrated to the edicts of the Samurai code - my frustration led me so much to deep dive to prove myself justified since the code was subjective and many agreed to aspects of ‘win no matter what’ and ‘do what protects the people the most’. Along with the main quest was paired with the character journeys of our allies as well as the Mythic tales which granted some extra strength and challenges to overcome in order to expand Jin’s arsenal. I particularly liked the observation and killing of leaders to learn new stances, as well as the widely acclaimed Stand-Off and the duels. The Arkhamverse fan in me did appreciate the focused hearing for stealth and that assassination speed could be upgraded. The idea of collecting vanity gear, armour dyes and equipment that are remains of the conflict showed that SP had completely immersed their plot into the world of Tsushima, with a great amount of exploration and nuances nodding to Japanese folklore And Tsushima is certainly stunning, it’s amazing that the PS4 can hold this much when we know how the PS5 is meant to be with ray tracing. The landscapes are beauteous which makes exploration and travel much more fulfilling, as well as the photo mode and the scenic builds to some of the major battles. What’s also wonderful is the calligraphy cutscenes for Mythic Tales and the loading screens, some wonderful artistry. Artistry which is added to by the brilliant uses of Haiku spots, Bamboo Strikes, Lighthouses, Shrines, Altars which you bow to, Fox dens where you can pet the Foxxos and even the Hot Springs for some ‘Man-Butt Action’, each positions that fit to Japanese media in soaking in a moment without killing any pace, especially added to the fact that each one contributes to a purpose. I will admit, I chose wrong at the end, I was thinking more of Shimura (said ungrateful uncle)’s honour rather than what Jin would what, feeling that Shimura would’ve done it himself had Jin not. But seeing the spare ending made me wish I chose that one and it’s something I’ll touch on later. But both endings are fitting and tragic for Jin’s journey from Samurai to the Ghost, being inspired by his allies and his connection to Yuna, there has been conflict throughout regarding the line of protection, honour and vengeance explored through other people’s tales that blend together perfectly with the main plot. It is pretty political as well with the argument presented by Jin and Shimura’s conflict. Samurai while still romanticised were still shown to be bound to the blind loyalty towards the Shogun and Jito, you did not defy because it inspired others to think freely. Jin became a champion of a people by defending the people rather than listening to the jito - represented by the shogunate - and their stringent ideas that the Samurai who failed on the beach would be able to out-muster the force and brutality of the Mongol invasion regardless of the collateral and yet still call that honour. In the current climate in 2020, that hits a chord a little closer than expected. And the main story certainly has their stellar moments, the ups and downs really hit you - like killing my freaking horse! I had to lose Yuriko, Taka and Sora in a single playthrough. Losing Taka was inevitable, but still heartbreaking because of how much we struggled to save him and how much we want to still be Yuna’s friend, but then the highs just blow you away from the opening act, Ghost Stance, raiding Castle Kaneda and Shimura and the final raid at Port Izumi. Also did I mention that you can pet the Foxxos? Because that’s very important, also NPCs walk at your pace most of the time, which is a fantastic addition. I could probably go deeper but there’s other stuff I want to cover, but understand that the world and the story is wonderful and if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed, Arkhamverse and just Japanese culture in general this should tick your boxes. And hopefully there’s more to come.

石の上にも三年 : Strait to DLC The sad thing that happens when a good game is over is the void. Even if its days, having nothing left of the game to play is still a shame, and I know that Legends DLC is announced, but multiplayer involving fighting Oni as mythic legends isn’t my pace, I’m still not done with Jin and I feel like there are things we could still do. There are still 3 conflicts Jin’s story never resolved that could still be resolved now, each as multi-layered quests. The first is this ‘Ghost Army’ mentioned by the wagon guy in Omi, we are not leading this so who is? We may not be able to stop them but we could reduce the amount of people thinking we’re leading them to fight. The second is Daizo, if you don’t know that name it’s because the guy is never seen in the game, you only read about him in the Records of ‘Conversations with the Khan’. This Japanese Monk clearly has a thing for the late Khotun and he feels that the Ghost is being a dishonorable monster, this Khan lover is still at large and a confidant of Khotun, we could link with Norio in a quest to ensure he doesn’t rally or try to spread his appreciation of the Khan to others to try and complete Khotun’s work. The final conflict is one that eats me up: How did the Mongols Know About the Poison? Yuriko died showing me how to make the poisons, made more potent from her own herbal poisons which were crushed down, if she didn’t tell and I didn’t tell, who told? Because the Mongols drank the evidence and we could make a story of an Omi village traitor or even someone from Shimura’s camp leaking the info to the Khan to try and preserve ‘honour’. On top of these loose ends I’d very much like to see our allies again, even if they’re just at their home doing their own thing, as well as some other minor side characters like the Tadayori descendant Kaede, Flame Swordsman Bettomaru (who would’ve both been mighty useful with this Mongol affair beyond their sole missions) and the Yarikawa Archer Daikoku, I also would like to see confirmation on Jin and Yuna - there is clearly something there but that could be just me. What is also just me would be the suggestion of a shrine that can let you redo the Shimura decision, it’s not a too ‘out-there’ thing to do either considering we fought a Tengu. The shrine could be for Omoikane, Kami of wisdom and intelligence or Ame-no-Koyane, the ‘First in Charge of Divine Affairs’ which’d subject the player to a gauntlet of bosses past; Ryuzo, Kotun and Shimura, if the player goes against their initial decision, they will trade their ghost armour dye for the other and get a Charm of Pondering, if they stick to their guns they get both ghost armour dyes and a Charm of Strengthened Stance. In similar vein we could have a master Mythic Tale that stacks the duels of those tales into one for another special attack, weapon or armour. It’s also possible that we could add more duels, some remnants trying to avenge Khotun or even some Samurai sent by the Shogun in promise of becoming Jito. Likewise we can use this to complete the weapons set; for the Half Bow, take the Mongols’ poison arrows (which can be a reward for finding who leaked the poison to them) which can just eat at lesser enemies’ health and take a chunk of stronger enemies’ health before resolving out of it, as well as a sticky arrow that could slow enemies or weaken their armour, or a perfume arrow that can mess with the falcons and angry doggo’s senses. For the Long Bow we could have...okay I’m drawing a blank here but I’m not meant to do all the work XD For the Blowgun at least you could have a Blinding Dart to aid in stealth and a Panic Dart to increase chances of Terrify. We could even have a few more upgrades to our ghost weapons and stance combats, even increase the amount of kills Ghost Stance can yield. In addition to more Fox Dens, Shrines, maybe new resources to bolster upgrades, Sword Kits, Haikus, Banners, Flute Songs, dyes and so on. But I know what you’re thinking, we can’t put that all in Tsushima? We’ve covered the entire island and it’s unlikely that SP would make a fictitious island. And to that I say, I have that covered. In the Tsushima Strait between the island and the mainland there is Iki Island, part of the same prefecture and equally ravaged by the Mongols during the invasion, it’s also the base of pirates which can offer a stop point for a Tomoe reunion or simply travel via Umugi Cove. A small bit of expansion wouldn’t hurt, as long as Iki isn’t planned for something else that is.

能ある鷹は爪を隠す : Hopes for a Sequel Now part of me would be content if this was a one and done, the game shines perfectly on its own. But I would not turn one down. Though many would feel that Jin’s journey is done (I even heard a suggestion of Tomoe, I could see that but not right now, maybe for a third) but not me, there’s still a few glaring issues at hand. For one, the Shogun now wants you dead, new clans are moving in on you and there will probably be a new Jito regardless of the ending choice because of Shimura’s failure, Adachi will also need to look at another clan taking its land. There’s also the vacuum left behind by the clans’ subsidiaries; Nagao particularly but also Adachi’s rival clan Kikuchi, there’s easily possibilities to use canon Sō, Abiru, Shōni and Imagawa, there’s also room for Kikuchi Takefusa, who survived both Mongol invasions . A sequel could offer some clan territorial tensions in that regard as the people of Tsushima side with the Ghost over the mainland. That conflict is one we have touched on in the end of the first, Jin has fought for his country’s safety so how will he act when his country wants him dead? The first was a story of sacrifice perhaps the next can be a story of maintaining his legend, inspiring the mainland Samurai and even redeeming himself in the eyes of the non-Tsushima natives. It’s also worth remembering that Komoda was the beginning of the invasion, and there was a second invasion 6 years later where Tsushima was attacked once more, the death of non-canon Khotun could spark other higher ups of Kublai’s ranks to avenge or clean up for Khotun, Kublai also had counsel from different nations to understand his enemy so we could have an even more vicious and cerebral enemy be made, or even a group of enemies led by advisors like Liu Kan or Yao Shu, maybe even Marco Polo if we move the time after the first invasion. In terms of gameplay we could also see Jin expand from Tsushima to Iki and maybe some more naval warfare, growing in his equipment (like Caltrops, Kusari-Fundo and Suntetsu) and maybe even his weapon, an Ono, Jitte or a Naginata to rotate with his not-yet-made Katana to combat with Samurai or the army of a Mongol threat, maybe even use the Bo-Hiya for ranged fire archery learned from the Hwacha. And like the Mass Effect games (or Dragon Ball Xenoverse if you wanna pick a franchise that didn’t end in a bitter aftertaste) you could have the option to transfer over some data from the PS4 save to the next one, which’d inevitably be on PS5 at the least - also don’t be surprised if this gets a PS5 remaster too, especially if it does win Game of the Year. What I suggested for DLC could be used here too, if there is a sequel with Jin I really, really hope that SP don’t opt for the route of killing Jin (or Yuna) off for effect, I was nervous about the current game ending with Hara Kiri and I’d rather not have that or a downer of a death for the legendary Ghost (I am a happy endings guy after all). An alternative route to go (other than following Tomoe to the mainland to rip off the Ghost) is to work backwards, call it ‘Ghosts of Tsushima’ working towards a story of a more ancient time, where a thief could become a samurai clan. A clan Sakai or Shimura origin would sell in that way too and avoid the idea that we have to start again from zero but still have the more ‘dishonorable’ stealth tactics.

義は険しい山よりも重く、死は大鳥の羽よりも軽い : Conclusion In the end, this game was worth the wait, worth the delays and worth the price tag. I feel like this will be one of the games I’ll fondly remember when thinking of the PS4, which has truly had a stellar library of awesome games like Spider-Man, God of War, the Crash, Ratchet & Clank and Spyro Remasters, DMCV, Jedi: Fallen Order and more. This truly ticked the boxes for the anime nerd within me and the history buff, even the Haikus spurred the poet in me a little too. If anyone hasn’t played this game, they should, and I hope that Sucker Punch realises that people like me want to see more. If it stands alone so be it, but I’m not ready to leave Jin or Tsushima just yet. いってらっしゃい

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mamahanu · 4 years

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fanfic tag game

I was tagged by @dragonnan. Thanks, friend! I love these!

Questions:

Ao3 Name: HanukoYoukai

Fandoms: ~long inhale~ Well... I’ve been writing for a while. A long while. So... I’m just gonna follow dragonnan’s example. Bear with me.

Currently writing fic for (that are posted/going to be posted):

Final Fantasy

MCU

Captain America

Spider-Man

Deadpool

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Currently finished and recently posted (yes... there are WIPs for these fandoms, and yes, I’m still working on them):

Dragon Prince

Merlin

Wrote fics years ago (and I may still revisit the fandom):

Glee (on FFN)

Harry Potter

Wrote 1 or 2 fics but won’t write more:

Diabolo

Weiss Kreuz

Fruits Basket (deleted... it was bad. I’m not sorry it’s gone)

Wolf’s Rain (see above)

Haven’t published any fics yet but have (or had) ideas ~cracks knuckles~:

Doctor Who

The Legend of Zelda

How to Train Your Dragon

FireFly

Split/Glass (crossover idea... it’s outlined...)

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

The Flash

All up and coming plans are subject to change depending on my whims as a creator. ;-)

Number of fics: I’m only going to count the fics that are currently posted between Ao3 and FFN.

Spider-Man/MCU/Captain America/Deadpool: 16 (this includes the crossover with Final Fantasy)

Dragon Prince: 1

Merlin: 4

Harry Potter: 1

Glee: 2

Diabolo: 2

Weiss Kreuz: 1

Total: 27

1. Fic you spent the most time on: Omertà hands down. Wow that fic... I mean, just posting it took 10 months. And I started writing it way before I posted the first chapter so, I think I spent about a year and some change on it.

2. Fic you spent the least time on: So This is Christmas. I was a pinch hitter for an Irondad Secret Santa. I got this one written in a few hours due to the deadline.

3. Longest Fic: Again, Omertà. The final word count on this bad boy is 154,668. 30 chapters. It was supposed to be 10 chapters and about 50,000 words. That did NOT happen.

4. Shortest Fic: I Like Oatmeal. The word count is 652 and it is easily the shortest thing I’ve ever written so far. This was just a fun little crack fic that broke me into the Merlin fandom.

5. Most hits: In all honesty, this is a very difficult one to answer because as far as I can tell, FFN does not record hits very well. My two highest fics for Ao3 are Omertà with 8008 to date, and You are in Control, I Disappear with 5450 to date (but it’s porn, so surprise, surprise.) On FFN, the fic with the highest hits (if I did my month-by-month math right) is The Trouble with Gossip (using the Ao3 link) with 6102 hits to date .

6. Most kudos: Omertà again. Really, y’all should read it. It’s pretty good. ;-)

7. Most comment threads/ reviews: Want to guess? You got it! It’s Omertà! You all are so smart. :-)

8. Fave Fic you wrote: What? These are my babies. These are my blood, sweat, and tears. You want me to pick a favorite? You’re crazy.

...

No, seriously, that’s a really hard question. I love them all and for very different reasons. So I’ll pick one that I haven’t mentioned yet. I’ll say Bear the Burden of Responsibility, which was the fic that broke me into the MCU/Spider-Man fandom (I’d been reading for forever, but this was the first one I wrote). It also was my intro to Irondad and Spiderson, which has been SO fun to write, and the community has been fantastic to be part of, in my opinion.

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Hmm. Well, I’m already expanding on it, just slowly. I have a series called Take My Heart With You which is kind of an alternate reality/alternate universe series for Merlin. It mainly focuses on the gap between seasons 3 and 4, and events in season 4, but there is a relationship between Merlin and Percival that I’m playing around with. I also am touching on the friendship Merlin has with Gwen, so there may be elements from previous seasons added soon. I actually really enjoy that one, but I’ve lacked inspiration for it, so I haven’t been writing much in this universe lately.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: How about both?

Love Runs Deeper than Blood

***SPOILERS! FOR MY READERS WHO WANT TO WAIT UNTIL I POST, SCROLL UNTIL YOU SEE THE NEXT BOLD TEXT!***

“Tarkik.”

“No.”

“Koko.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

“Nanouk?”

Kyra laughed, bouncing the baby boy on her knee. “You have great love for that name,” she said, grinning. Bato shrugged, wiggling his fingers at the boy and making him giggle.

When he brought the child to Kyra, she broke down in tears before immediately thanking the Great Spirits. She fell in love with his soft hair and golden eyes, and she held him like she could never let him go. Bato understood. He was like that with the boy the whole journey back.

“It’s a good, strong, water tribe name,” Bato defended, grinning. “What about Toklo? For your father?”

“My brother was named for my father already,” Kyra replied. “Maybe Tonraq?”

Bato made a face. “No,” he replied, shaking his head.

“Why not?”

“When I went Ice Dodging, the boy manning the main sail was named Tonraq. He’s the reason I have a scar on my boat,” Bato said, darkly. Kyra laughed.

“Well, there’s always Soomool,” she offered. Bato shrugged. They had been going over names for two days now. Even Kya and Hakoda offered input, with baby Sokka in tow. The new boy was fascinated with the chief’s son. Bato hoped they would become good friends. Kyra handed the boy to him and he lifted him up so their noses could touch. The boy went a little cross-eyed, making Bato laugh.

“You know what his eyes remind me of?” he asked Kyra.

“The sun?” she asked, grinning.

Bato shook his head. “No. Well, yes, I suppose. But they look like the sky during a storm, when lightning strikes.”

“You mean when the sky turns to gold for a moment?” Kyra asked, thoughtfully. Bato nodded. Kyra hummed in thought.

“What about Kallik?”

*** OKAY ALL CLEAR***

Story Idea - Spider-Man Villain/Anti-Hero AU:

Plot: What if Peter stopped the convenience store thief instead of letting him run away? Uncle Ben is still alive, and that major guilt he felt that acted as a catalyst for him to become Spider-Man and look out for the little guy isn’t there anymore. Instead Spidey is a wrestler, then a “hero” who asks for donations to his paypal, and then a mercenary. All his bad guys are now neutral contacts, and he frequently teams up with DP, Moon Knight, and Black Cat (among others), working for cold, hard cash. He drives Iron Man crazy, he baffles Captain America, and Black Widow has a soft spot for him (because she gets that double life).

It’ll be fun when I get to writing it. I’ve got some semblance of an outline. ;-)

Tagged: I’ll tag @silentsaebyeok, @reachingforaspark, @blondsak, @jro616 and @kitcat992, as well as anyone else who wants to play. And if I tagged you and you don’t, no pressure! <3

#asks #tag games #dragonnan #friends #fun #writing #fanfics

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capmaverick · 5 years

Text

Day One: Shaky Hands

[Dark/Mature themes, character death, and self abuse]

His head was spinning.

Not as if it was something he wasn't used to. Whether it was from alcohol or taking a sucker punch, his vision was usually always spinning. But tonight wasn't a too-much-to-drink or a too-heavy-a-hitter kind of spinning.

Tonight was a tear-filled, emotionally messy kind of spinning.

Spot Conlon was a Brooklyn kid, born and raised, and he'd been working since the very beginning. These streets were his; he was known by many as the kid who never went down. Spot Conlon was a name to be afraid of. He took hits and dished them out better than anyone, and he'd take a life just to save his own.

At least, that’s what people said.

Most days, he lived up to the rumors, soaking anyone who wasn't Brooklyn who dared step into his turf. He was the kid who put others in the hospital for looking at him the wrong way. The one who'd put another down for messing with his boys. He was tough as nails; stronger than anyone.

He wasn't a baby. He didn't cry.

But tonight? Tonight everything had been ripped away from him all at once. Tonight he failed in the worst way possible; his heart had been ripped from his chest and his body was caving in on itself.

So his head was spinning and his hands were shaking and his body felt like it was going to collapse.

And his hands. His goddamn hands.

Spot Conlon's hands didn't shake. He was steady as a rock and could knock out a man twice his size with one blow. His hands didn't shake.

He didn't think as he brought his fist to the brick wall that had been taunting him. Knuckles cracked into hard brick with a satisfying thud. The pain was instant, but it wasn't enough. He let another fist fly.

Then another.

And another.

And another until he heard a bone crack and felt the blood soaking between his fingers. Spot Conlon's hands didn't shake. He didn't show weakness.

He didn’t break.

Between punches, he didn't hear the door to the roof open behind him or the sound of footsteps approaching. No one should have been coming up here; he’d demanded to be left alone after all.

His vision was so screwed, when a hand dropped on his shoulder, he didn't bother looking at the owner. He redirected his fists, one landing square in the gut of whoever was stupid enough to come up here.

He didn't care who it was. It didn't matter. Nothing did anymore.

So he let another fist fly.

He wanted the fists to fly back, to hit him where it hurts the most. But they never did. The other took one step back, grabbing at Spot’s wrists to try and get him to stop swinging.

"--quit it, Spot!"

That voice broke through whatever violent spiral he was drowning himself in. Spot blinked twice, hesitation in his next punch.

He knew that voice.

Eyes met that of the poor Manhattan boy he had been beating on. Racetrack Higgins didn't look too taken aback by the hits; but he did look worried as hell.

"What the hells you doin' to yourself?" He asked, Manhattan accent thick.

Spot frowned, staggering away from the one real friend he had, looking down at his hands that were still shaking. Of course Race would be the one to come up here; he was the only one who gave a rat’s ass about Spot’s wellbeing. He should have seen this coming.

"Spotty?"

Race's voice was usually sure and steady, without fault. It was one of Spot’s favorite things about him. But tonight it wasn’t. It was quiet and broken.

Because of Spot.

Spot had broken him.

"I--"

But he couldn't bring himself to speak. All he could do was stare at the blood smeared on Race's cheek. Had he hit him in the face?

"I hurt ya."

Race frowned, looking down at himself. As if he just noticed the pain in his body.

"Ya didn't. What the hells happened?"

That was Race. Always concerned about others first and himself last. He was too good that way.

The question hung in the air like a deadly, black cloud, weighing down on Spot’s shoulders. If anyone deserved to know, it was Racetrack. He had been there, through good and bad, and had seen the best and worst of the King of Brooklyn.

"I-- he--" and it all came back. The reason Spot was up here in the first place. The storm and the fight on the bridge. Twelve kids from Queens and three from Brooklyn.

The roaring water and the screaming.

The look on that poor kid’s face as he went up against those Queens boys. The gut wrenching scream as they threw him over.

The last look of fear in his eyes before he hit the water.

The pain in his stomach as Spot tried to jump the railing after him, only to be stopped by his own.

The ringing in Spot’s ears as he was dragged off the Bridge, away from those Queen boys. Away from his drowning body in the river.

"He's dead because'a me!" Spot shouted, turning his back to Race. He wouldn't show weakness. Not here.

Not in front of him.

His hands had never stopped shaking, but it was worse now as he thought about that poor little kid’s face as he went under the drink. It was a violent, unstoppable tremor that carried past his hands up into his arms and shoulders. His whole body was shaking, and it wasn’t from the fever that was sinking its claws into him.

When Race continued, his voice was back to steady, but slow and calculated. As if he wanted Spot to talk, without setting him off further. "Who's dead, Spot?"

"Joey."

Speaking his name took the last ounce of strength he had. Spot balled his shaking hands into fists, kicking angrily at the wall before collapsing to his knees.

Race didn't ask anymore questions.

He moved around to Spot's front, crouching down in front of him. There was no hesitation as he reached out and took both of Spot's shaking, bleeding hands in his own and squeezed them softly.

Almost immediately, the shaking slowed to a minor tremor.

Leave it to Race to know exactly what to do.

“We’s out on the Bridge,” Spot said, voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t know why he started talking but the words just kept flowing. “There was so many of them. Queen’s boys. Angry about… somethin’.” He couldn’t remember why right now. “I only had two fellas wit’ me. Hotshot and…”

Spot shook his head. He couldn’t even think of the poor kid’s face.

“We’s put up a good fight, but he was just a kid. Barely ten. They grabbed ‘im an’ dragged ‘im to the edge. Hotshot and me didn’t notice until it was too late. Last thing I seen was them boys throwin’ that poor kid off the Bridge. I tried to jump in after ‘em, but Hotshot pulled me back. And ‘em boy got away.”

Spot had sworn he’d get revenge for what had happened then and there. And he planned to keep it.

But right now, he hardly had the strength. Race would have to be enough for right now.

The Manhattan boy nodded, but didn’t say a word. He just squeezed Spot’s shaking hands gently, letting him know that he was there for him. And he wasn’t going anywhere.

The sounds of the city around them filled the spacr between them, as the city went to sleep - no one aware of the tragedy that had carved a piece out of the heart of Brooklyn.

They didn't speak for a long time as silent tears fell down Spot's face, the pain of the memory too much for him to bear any longer. Though, it didn't matter.

Race would never tell.

All that was left to remind them were broken bones and a smear of blood on Race's cheek.

Neither said a word as Race pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and slowly started to clean the blood off Spot’s hands.

Neither made eye contact as he wrapped the handkerchief around the worse hand, fingers wrapped so delicately around Spot's wrist.

Neither of them noticed when exactly Spot's hands stopped shaking, but by the time they stepped off of the roof, his tears were dry and his hands steady. The fire had returned to Spot's eyes and the mischievous grin had found its way back to Race's face.

As if it had never happened at all.

The only thing they had left to remind them was the broken bones and the smear of blood on Race's cheek.

#whumptober #whumptober2019 #sprace #newsies #newsies fanfiction #spot conlon #racetrack higgins #character death #fictober19

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