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masterwords · 2 years

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ain't no memory that ever gets old (part 1)

Summary: Sean is late to Haley's funeral & Hotch is arrested for the murder of Foyet.

Warnings: Haley's death, grief, mentions of prior abuse, this is a dark one.

Pairing: Will be Hotch/Morgan at some point probably but starts out no pairing.

Words: 6.8k

Sean missed the funeral. Yeah, yeah, he knows. He's a shit brother. But here's the thing.

He'd tried to call in sick.

Even tried to sound sick, and he wasn't a half bad actor. It's just that his boss was an asshole, and maybe he was kind of...sort of...the boy who cried wolf. “You're not fucking sick, Hotchner, the brown bottle flu doesn't work here man.”

“I'm not hungover.” And okay, maybe that was a lie...but it wasn't why he was calling in. He'd worked with worse hangovers plenty of times, in fact he put out some of his best meals with a pounding headache and a sour stomach. Being sick just seemed like the most plausible excuse. He sniffled and stared directly at the dangling light-bulb above his bed until he sneezed. “I think I got what Daisy had...”

Daisy had faked sick a two days ago, so really he was doing her a favor, adding some sort of validation to her story when he knew she was really waiting in line at some scumbag's back alley office to see if she could snag some over priced tickets to Burning Man. Whatever sickness Daisy might get, she would do it at Burning Man and not a minute before. She promised to get him a spot too if he covered for her, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. She hadn't been to work since and was avoiding his texts. Still, she was a perfect scapegoat.

He sneezed again.

“Then take some fucking DayQuil like a man and get your ass to work. I got no one to cook these cops breakfast. Unless you want I should mention a few outstanding bench warrants in your name, huh?”

Sean groaned and agreed to come in, he had no other recourse. He had places to be but one of those places wasn't jail if he could help it. He'd just try to get out early, take advantage of a slow moment. So he wouldn't be there hours before the funeral but he could show up on time...

He wasn't often noble, but this time he thought that the world stacking up against him was just fucking unfair. All he wanted was to go to his fucking brother's ex-wife's funeral, and if that wasn't so damn hard to explain (and such a mouthful anyway) then he would have just been honest. But how do you say “Look, my brother was married to this chick forever and they have a kid together and last week she was murdered by a serial killer who also stabbed him a buncha times in his apartment and I never came home to check on him then so I gotta go now or I'm the world's shittiest brother...”? How do you say that to your boss who wants to turn your ass over to some bacon and egg eating dirt bag in a blue uniform for some unpaid parking tickets?

No. So many things wrong with that. First of all, he was the world's shittiest brother regardless. His showing up would not absolve him of his sins. Hell, he could have shown up at Haley's house in time to save her, maybe even taken the bullet for her, and still earn the title of World's Worst Brother in the grand scheme of things. (His only competition, ironically enough, would be his brother. But Sean knows he's the winner.) He thought about the newspaper clipping his mother sent him in a card with a sad little puppy on the front begging him to call his brother, write to him, go see him. He didn't want to hear from her, but maybe Sean could get through. The puppy stared at him with its huge watery eyes and fat little paws, but her looping cursive turned his stomach and he couldn't do it. A sincere desire for her boys to show care for one another became a heavy expectation and Sean couldn't abide by that. He didn't do expectations, at least not willingly.

Truthfully, he was too afraid of what he'd find if he heard Hotch's voice. Hearing his brother broken, hurting, he'd survived it once and only barely. He didn't think he could do it again. He eventually did send a sympathy card, some brightly colored monstrosity that showcased a teddy bear with bandages all over. He taped a Snoopy band-aid inside and signed his name. Nothing witty or beautiful, just his name.

He never heard back.

So when he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, he worked it all out. He could get Adam to cover for him, Adam could cook scrambled eggs and toast some bread...it wasn't fucking rocket science. They weren't curing cancer, they were making greasy spoon diner breakfast. He could be on the road in time to show up and help with last minute shit, still consider it a win. Or at least a draw. He had no idea what to do at a funeral, the last one he'd attended was his father's and he was a child...but he'd figure it out. Something inside of him just said it was being there that was important.

Like it was his last chance. That was when he figured he could really shine. Pull out all the stops. The Last Chance Kid, that was Sean.

His nicest clothes smelled like smoke even though he'd washed them twice. People smoked in the laundromat, there wasn't much he could do. Maybe he could borrow something of his brother's or Derek's.

Adam didn't buy the family emergency thing when Sean floated leaving early. Argued that earlier he'd claimed to be sick, and now it was a family thing. “What is it really? You trying to go to that orgy in the desert that Daisy's headed to?”

Sean scowled. “That's not today, asshole. And no, I'm not jonesin' to go listen to shitty music, look at shitty art and get some new kind of syphilis and chlamydia mix. My brother had some really bad shit happen and I gotta go help him out.”

“Brother? Ain't never heard you talk about no brother before...” Adam was drunk. At 10:30am, he was drunk. Sean recognized it now, this was a battle he couldn't win. So he went big. He wasn't above begging.

“Yeah, well, he's an FBI Agent so our lifestyles don't exactly...shit man, just help me out. I'll do anything. Name it.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Not only did he not get out early, but as he fucked up and dumped his third attempt at a poached egg for one order of Eggs Benedict into the festering trash can, he counted down the hours and knew there was no way he made it to the funeral even on time now. Before he started the next attempt (something he was usually perfect at, it was how he got the job in the first place...best poached egg on the diner scene) he fired off a quick text to Derek letting him know he was stuck at work.

He wasn't going to be able to carry the fucking casket. Asked to be a pallbearer for a woman who had been a real sister to him and he's making poached eggs for guys who would love to see him behind bars. He ended up working three extra hours after that text, covering the lunch rush for the cook who was puking in the alley with his goddamn brown bottle flu. Fucking assholes.

Sean walked out, stormed out really, and told his boss he worked longer than planned. He fucked up his relationship with his brother probably permanently and for what? So, to compensate, he was taking the next three days off out of spite. An attempted power play by a man who couldn't give a shit about the job. And just as expected, his boss told him he could have all the time off he wanted because he didn't need to come back. “We can find someone else to fuck up a dozen eggs, jackass.”

He'd have some damage control to take care of when he got back, but he still used his last twenty bucks to fill up Wilma's tank and hit the road. Wilma, his forever girl, was a cherry red Vincent motorcycle that had belonged to his grandfather. He cared for her better than he'd ever cared for anything in his life. Not a ding or a dent, he rode her well within the posted limits, paid more to keep her garaged off of the street than he did for his own apartment. Wilma would get him to Virginia on his last dime and she would do it purring.

He'd figure out what they were going to do later.

So he showed up after dark. Parked Wilma where he knew he could see her from Hotch's window and sauntered into the building like he owned the place. Pretending, for only his benefit, that he was showing up somehow right as soon as he expected. Except he wasn't. He'd missed the whole fucking funeral. He was supposed to carry the damn casket, they had to find someone else to do it in his place. His brother would play it off, say it was fine, but he knew there was no way he could ever make that up. It was the sort of thing you got one chance at.

Hotch's apartment was dead quiet, and he almost didn't knock, thought maybe he should wait until morning but he knew his brother wouldn't be asleep. Hotch didn't sleep. He paced and he would say he was fine but he was sore or he couldn't turn his head off or his heart off. He simply couldn't shut off.

He used to have a key, but Hotch changed all of his locks after Foyet's intrusion. It was understandable. His key was useless now. But he listened as his brother pulled the chain and clicked the deadbolt...counted three, maybe four different locks. And then his brother's solemn features, cast in shadow, eyes ragged and red from crying or not sleeping. Deep, dark circles cut through his too pale skin. “Sean.”

Not a question, not a greeting, just a flaccid statement. “I'm sorry, Aaron,” he started but Hotch turned his back and limped back into the apartment, headed for the kitchen. He could barely walk, looked like his face and hands had been broken in plenty of places, and he was going to put on some coffee. Figured. Those Southern manners would kill him and he'd die with an apology on his lips for not getting out the good cake for the guests in time.

“I really am sorry. Did Derek tell you what happened? My boss is a fucking asshole...”

“It's alright, Sean.” He didn't want or need Sean's explanation. He'd heard them all before. It wasn't even that he didn't believe them, it was just...well it didn't matter. Didn't need it. End of story.

Sean felt his heart fall right down into his belly. It was heavier than he'd ever imagined it to be. Fuck. “No, it's not. I should have just come. He fucking fired me anyway, little prick.”

“You really don't have to,” Hotch started, placing his palms against the counter and leaning forward, closing his eyes. He'd had a headache all day and it wasn't any better now that his brother was here. “It's okay.” What he meant was that it was done. It wasn't okay, but it couldn't be changed now.

Sean could read between those lines. Maybe he hadn't wanted him there in the first place. Maybe he was glad Sean hadn't come because what if he'd shown up drunk or high, and then he'd had to explain that. Or he thought Sean was just lying again.

They sat in silence over coffee at the dining room table. Hotch looked haunted, he wasn't there half the time. It was just this vacant stare and Derek had warned him, told him Hotch had a really bad concussion, the fight with Foyet had been violent and really Hotch was lucky to walk away from it at all. He couldn't imagine that being true, not his big brother. Sean tried to fill the silence, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn't wake Jack.

“How's the kid?”

“Why did you come?” Hotch asked bluntly, blinking himself back to reality. He either didn't hear Sean or was ignoring his question, either way Sean couldn't help bristling a little. “You missed the funeral. Why did you bother at all?”

Sean was six when Hotch was sent to boarding school. Six when he went from being the baby to being the only. Six when he was thrust into the knowledge that his family wasn't what it seemed. That, he blamed Hotch for. Hotch had gone to great lengths to protect Sean from it...he would wake him in the morning, make him breakfast, walk him into town for school early. Before the bells rang. They would go to the library, or get a donut, play catch...Hotch just said he wanted to spend a little extra time with his brother, but Sean found out the hard way that it wasn't exactly true. When Hotch was sent to boarding school, Sean became the sounding board. Not a lot of fists, but a lot of nasty words. “Just like your worthless brother,” his father would scowl and Sean couldn't understand what he meant. He didn't have a worthless brother.

“Sean?”

“I'm sorry. I guess I thought you might still want me to be here...help you out...”

“Help with what, exactly? Are you an expert at something I wasn't aware of? Parenting? Grief counseling?”

Sean was seven when he found out his father was sick and dying. Seven when Hotch came home for the summer and the whole family learned the truth. About the cancer, about the infidelity. He was seven when he first saw his brother smoking out behind the shed. Smoking and crying. Trembling hands and scattered butts at his feet. Seven when his brother's stutter came back. He never even knew it had existed before, years of speech therapy had all but torn it out of him until the stress of their father getting sick brought it all back. A father he hated and still couldn't come to terms with losing.

“I'm sort of an expert on you,” Sean offered vaguely. Hotch laughed. It was joyless, and he reached up to swipe at the burn of tears that he couldn't seem to stop. Sean didn't let that deter him. “I know you're standing here pretending to be some macho caveman who doesn't cry for my benefit. Like you always have. But you don't know how many times I've seen you cry, Aaron. You cry more than anyone I've ever known.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying you might fool everyone else with this act of yours, this ice cold frowny face you put on but you don't fool me. I spent all the best years of my childhood following you around, trying to be just like you. Look what it got me.” It was a low blow, he knew it, but sometimes he just couldn't help it. Most people who met Hotch were too afraid to tell him what they really thought, he could be intimidating and cruel looking. Sean knew better.

Sean was eight when Hotch ran himself a hot bath and took a razor blade to his wrists. Eight when he saw the fogged up mirror and the blood pooling on the floor where Hotch's hand hand fallen limp, dangling over the edge of the tub. He screamed so loud he could still feel it vibrating in his bones today. And he was eight when Haley and his mother rushed Hotch to the hospital and Jessica stayed with him. They said the marks were hesitant, that he didn't really want to die, and locked him up for the second time. There was hope...but under their breath Sean heard the doctor say he might not survive a third attempt. To his knowledge, his brother never made that third attempt.

Looking at him now, he wasn't sure it was off the table yet.

Sean cleared his throat awkwardly, shifting in his seat. Hotch stared down into his untouched coffee like he might fall in. “How's Jessica doing?”

“She...” A tear fell directly into his cup. Plop, it hit the surface and sent tiny fractal rings away from its salty core. “She'll be here in the morning. I have some things to take care of.”

“Of course she will. Always bailing you out.” He meant it as a joke, at least he thought he did. It was sort of his thing, joking about the way Jessica was about him. About how she was always there cleaning up his messes. Jessica, his shadow. Maybe there was a ring of truth to it. Hotch didn't seem to find it funny.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Sean leaned forward and tried to drag Hotch's attention to him. To lock eyes, touch the depth of his thoughts and sadness. “Nothing. You need help tomorrow?”

“No, thank you,” Hotch whispered back. They sat in silence over the steaming coffee while Hotch gathered himself back up, swiped at the few escaped tears and pretended they never happened. Sean didn't push any harder. He knew the limits, he'd spent years carefully calculating exactly how far he could push before he went too far. It was easy now.

“Is Derek helping you?” Derek, the only person from his team that Sean knew to mention. The only one he'd met, years and years ago, a lifetime maybe. It seemed like a fair guess, made him feel like he knew more than he did. Hotch didn't get upset or mock his attempt, he only shook his head sadly and stared down at his tear riddled coffee sadly.

“They have a case.”

“So...whatever this is...you're doing it alone?”

Hotch only stared at him and for the first time Sean really took it all in. How thin he was, how pale and drawn his face was, the deep bruises beneath his eyes. “Look, I'm sorry I missed Haley's funeral. I really am,” he said, putting one hand on top of his brother's. “I loved her. She was my sister. You know she still sent me birthday and Christmas cards? Even after she left. So did Jess. I'd like to see her.”

Sean waited, and Hotch remained silent. He wasn't exactly trying to pull himself together, but he wasn't offering anything else either. His headache was preventing much thought, nothing seemed to want to connect, and none of Sean's words really made any sense. Insomnia, concussion, grief, anxiety...he couldn't separate them anymore. They were him and he was them. “Where can I smoke around here?”

“There's a courtyard,” Hotch whispered, sniffling. He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a little white handkerchief, rubbing his nose with it. So careful to keep his thumb over the stitched initials. “I'll show you.”

He walked Sean out the back door and gave him the code, telling him he couldn't stay outside with him because Jack was asleep. He couldn't leave him alone, but he handed him a key and walked away without looking at him. No eye contact. Just sadness. So he started in the courtyard, lighting up one cigarette and then wandering until he was sitting on Wilma's seat and staring up into the sky. He was out there nearly an hour considering what the hell he was even doing. Here with his brother, with his life, he had no idea. No job, no money, he found someone who would sublet his place so maybe he'd stick around in Virginia for a while. Nothing tethering him, he was floating on the wind again.

Hotch was in bed by the time Sean came back inside. The lights were out, but there was a pillow and some blankets on the couch waiting for him. Good enough, at least he could stay. He passed out fast and easy, still in his clothes.

Hotch got up in the middle of the night. Sean remembered that, albeit a little sluggishly. He wasn't sure his brother had ever slept a full night in his life that wasn't drugged and forced. He did his best not to wake Sean, had honestly forgotten he was even there until he was about to lay on the couch and found a body there. He sat himself in the chair, doubled over in pain, his stomach was killing him. Phantom pains, memories like flames trickling over his skin. Each scar seared, screamed to life like Foyet was driving the knife in molten hot. Not real, he knew. None of the pain was real, he was just...sometimes the nightmares just felt too real. Sometimes he woke and still smelled the stink of Foyet's breath, his sweat, his skin. He couldn't scrub his body clean hard enough.

“Aaron?” Sean rasped, half asleep. His mouth was parched and he knew it came out slow and fuzzy sounding. “That you?”

“Go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you.”

Sean sat up. Like a starving zombie, he pulled himself upright with drool dried on his cheek and his hair standing up in unruly blonde spikes. He smacked his dry lips and tried to give them some life. Water, he needed water, so he stumbled to the kitchen and filled two glasses. Manners. Handing one to his brother, he sat back down and opened his throat like he was going to chug a beer. The whole glass went down in one gulp. Hotch had only set his to his lips, sipped enough to wet his tongue and nothing more. He thought for sure he was going to be sick.

“You still don't sleep.”

Hotch had nothing to say to that. He hugged his arms tight against his midsection and willed the pain to ease up. Just a little.

“Wanna watch a movie?”

“No.”

Sean laughed and fumbled around for the remote anyway. The moment the television was clicked to life, he knew his brother would relax or go back to bed. Either way, no awkward attempt at conversation.

He moved painfully slow to the couch, barely standing, still hunched over and Sean shared his blanket. There were plenty of fun action movies on, but he wasn't after watching a movie...this had always been Hotch's trick, and now was his chance to throw it back into his brother's face. Find the most dull, boring excuse for cinema available and turn it on nice and low. Humming quiet. Tonight he chose Jeremiah Johnson, a personal favorite but so slow and so quiet that Hotch was asleep with his head tipped back against the cushions within the first fifteen minutes. They were pressed against each other, and Sean waited until he thought they were all clear before tipping his brother to the side and covering him up. They were too long to share the couch, so Sean took the floor. “Never say I didn't do anything for you...” he whispered, curling up on his side on the rug and using his jacket for a pillow. He could have gone and taken Hotch's bed, or the guest room, but something nagged at him and told him to stay close.

Waking didn't bring any epiphanies, didn't bring any magical enlightenment, it only brought a throbbing headache and confusion. Hotch didn't remember falling asleep on the couch. In a fog, he slid his legs over the side and kicked something on the floor. His eyes wouldn't focus, he could only vaguely make out the shape of his brother there and memory washed over him slowly.

Not just the night before. For a few blissful moments, he'd forgotten all of it. It was all white washed and shiny. And then slowly the darkness began creeping back in until it engulfed him.

Foyet was dead and gone, so everyone kept reminding him. A reality he had to reacquaint himself with each and every morning since it happened. A silly thing, too, because he knew that part. He knew the who, the what, the where, the when, even the why...he just didn't seem to have a firm grasp on the how. Professor Plum in the parlor with a candlestick? Agent Hotchner over Foyet's body with his fists.

So they said. And had the busted up hands that made it hard to argue except he just...had no memory of it.

Hotch wasn't an idiot. He knew Foyet wouldn't be back. He'd never believed in ghosts, and maybe if someone had just told him in a roundabout way that Foyet was dead he might have some doubts...the man had ways. But he'd seen to it himself.

Maybe it had been Derek to slide his finger up under what was presumably Foyet's jaw, what was left of it anyway, and maybe it was him to confirm that no more blood pulsed through his veins. But Hotch's hands and his fury had done all there was to do.

He knew that. Derek and Dave and Emily, they all saw him. And they wouldn't lie to him.

But he had no memory of it. His doctor had said adrenaline would account for much of it, everything went black the moment he saw Haley there. She was a body, no soul, and he'd gone black. Everything between seeing her and the weight of Derek's arms tight around him was an empty void. “It's better that way,” Spencer had whispered to Derek while they finished up in the house. “You saw Foyet's body. It's better that he doesn't remember.”

“Better for who? The Bureau wants to crucify him for the bad press...” JJ interjected, pushing them into a hallway away from the sights of peeping journalists who already knew too much. “We've got to get something out of him.”

They'd tried a cognitive interview. He didn't want to, but the Bureau wanted to know, they needed their facts. They'd already made up their minds, though. JJ could read it on their faces...tired of the rogue BAU team, willing to send him to the firing squad to make everything else go away.

When given the choice of everyone on the team, he asked JJ to do the cognitive. Everyone had expected Dave or Derek, given their years of history, or Emily who had seen his apartment at its worst right after Foyet and already gone through his personal things. Spencer knew it wouldn't be him, and JJ..well, she wasn't even a profiler. Thought she was safe.

JJ was safe. For him. He looked at her, sitting across from him in the conference room, and she gave him those eyes and that smile and he felt safe with her. There wasn't anything to hide, he knew that.

But his mind hid it anyway. “Tell me what you saw, what you smelled, what you felt...” she said and his mind couldn't help flashing on a day that felt like yesterday and ancient history all wrapped up in one. A day when she'd been brand new, and no she wasn't a Field Agent but Hotch had a vision for his team and in that vision they could all pick up the slack for everyone. Each of them would have their specialty, but each of them could back the other up. Others called him crazy for training a Communications Liaison to do cognitive interviews, but he knew better.

“Hotch? What do you see?”

He smiled. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the day I taught you how to do this...”

She couldn't help it, she felt her eyes fill with tears as she pictured the day fresh as summer sun. “I remember.” Strauss had pitched a fit, asked him what reason he could posibly have for training her to do this. But he'd been so gentle. Let her do her first on him. She picked the day Jack was born, had him go through the whole thing. Later, as she was giving birth to Henry, she would reflect on what he'd told her. “Can you tell me what you saw when you walked into your...Haley's...house?”

His smile vanished, and his eyelids twitched while his mind fought against the memory. “Nothing. Everything in its place. The door was unlocked. Haley had redecorated...I didn't...” he paused, frowning. “I didn't recognize the couch. The walls were a different color.”

“Okay, good. Haley had redecorated her house...where did you go?”

He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I went to the kitchen, because I knew...I knew no matter what she changed, she would keep an emergency flashlight in a drawer. I had this list in my office, a checklist of emergency items to keep stocked and where to have them...Haley always likes to be prepared, she wanted to be safe when I wasn't home.”

“Good,” she whispered, swiping at a tear. She wasn't sure she could go through with this. Everything from this moment forward was wrong and she knew it. The flashlight was easy, the checklist was sweet. There would be nothing good after that moment. “What did you do once you had the flashlight?”

“I cleared rooms. One by one. The house was so quiet...”

“What were you thinking?”

“I was trying not to breathe too loud. I didn't want...I didn't know...I thought I should be able to hear Jack or...” His breath was coming in shaky, drawn in great ragged bursts through splintered ribs. “I saw the blood at the...I saw it going up the stairs...”

“Could you smell anything? Was it still silent?”

“I smelled the blood. And the other...” he let out a dragging cough, like he was there now. Like he was going to be sick. “I can smell her. And I thought maybe Foyet was bluffing on the phone, until I smelled it. She's dead, I know it, I know that smell. It happens every time. No one warns you about that smell. I knew it was coming from her. Foyet can fake many things, but not that.”

She felt her gag reflex screaming and clawing at the back of her throat. That smell, that brown and rotten smell of the muscles dying and going limp, everything evacuating that had once been life. That he had to associate that with Haley now and forever...she thought she might be sick. Almost hated him for choosing her to do this, out of any of them. Derek had a strong stomach, Emily barely knew Haley, Rossi...god anyone but her. She and Haley had play dates with Jack and Henry. Babies. She called Haley in the middle of the night when she couldn't get Henry to sleep no matter what she tried. Haley passed all of Jack's old baby clothes and toys on to her, gave her solid advice, was a friend. But he picked her. She sucked in a deep breath and swallowed her sick.

“And then you saw her...”

“She was lying on the floor. She only had one shoe on. Her eyes were open...”

This was it. Was she going to get what she needed? They were hovering on the edge of his memory.

“Did you go to her?”

“I don't....no, I don't...” His eyes shot open, terror stricken and shining with tears. “I don't know. I don't know what I did. I'm sorry JJ. I was there, I was right there, staring at her, smelling her...and then everything is just black.”

“Okay, it's okay Hotch. You're doing great. Can we try one more time? Go right back there to when you saw her.”

He nodded, he was willing but he looked so scared and she went from hating him to herself in an instant. This was monstrous, she was a monster. “Whatever you need.”

“Okay. You're looking at Haley. Her eyes are open, where are they looking?”

“She's looking straight at me. I can see the blood on the floor, on her neck, it's soaking her shirt. It's so much blood.”

“And her shoe, where is her other shoe?”

“Her toenails are black. She's painted them. I've never seen her use that color before, it looks nice.”

“And her shoe?”

“There's blood on her foot. I don't...it's...I don't see it. I'm trying not to cry because I can't see...I'm sweating...I see other shoes, beneath a curtain..my heart, it feels like it's going to explode, it hurts, I can't breathe...JJ I can't breathe...”

He was hyperventilating. She'd heard Emily talk about people doing that in interviews, like they were right there experiencing it all and she hadn't believed her. Sounded ridiculous. “We're not hypnotists,” she'd criticized, but she owed Emily an apology she supposed. She was beside him in a flash, her hand on the back of his neck, her face so close to him. “Open your eyes Hotch, it's okay. We'll try again later.” His chest shuddered beneath her touch and for a minute she thought he was going to cry, really really cry, but he didn't. He let out one enormous sob, the kind that looks like it hurts, and then it was gone. He was staring at his hands again.

“Maybe someone else might...”

“No.”

And that was it, that was all they did. He wouldn't talk to anyone else, but she filled out her report the best she could and returned it to Strauss, leaving out the bit about Haley's toenails. She'd let Hotch keep that one for himself. It was the only moment that seemed to offer him even the slightest reprieve from the hell he was wading through.

After the cognitive failed to give them what they were looking for, Strauss was forced to launch a full-scale investigation into what happened. Not just Hotch under scrutiny but the actions of the entire team. He'd never felt like such an utter failure, such a monster, in his life. This was his problem, this was his responsibility and his loss...not theirs. Strauss didn't see it that way, and he knew it was less that than the higher ups looking at him through the magnifying glass of her eyes.

She'd never liked him. That much was a given. And for the most part, the feeling was mutual, but even he knew there were strings being pulled here. She was the AD's marionette, dancing for him to keep her own job secure. If he was a problem, they could just push him out. But if the whole team was found guilty of abusing their power? That would fall on her, too. She'd find herself packing her office into boxes.

She wouldn't go down for him. That much he knew. And to be totally fair, he wouldn't for her either.

So he took it on the chin and answered her questions. He didn't bother advising the team what to say, how to handle it, they could be honest. He hoped they would be, didn't want them in trouble on his account.

They hadn't done anything wrong. He had. And maybe the committed would find him to be justified...Foyet was trespassing on his property, the house was still in his name, he paid the property taxes and the mortgage. Foyet had murdered Haley in his home and he intended to harm Jack...there were justifications but at the end of the day, two bodies were cold in that house and only one was life was ended by Foyet's hand.

The other was his. With hands that were so bruised and cut up that he couldn't hold a glass of water for any length of time, couldn't flex his fingers around a knife or a spatula to make Jack dinner, couldn't turn a doorknob without multiple attempts. Sean staying with them since the day of the funeral had at least been good for something. He could use a damn can opener and cut the carrots and onions. He could unlock the door and he hadn't dropped the carton of milk all over the floor.

“Get those looked at,” Jessica told him when he tried to grip the fridge door handle. He gritted his teeth, set his jaw, and clasped his hand tight around the handle, pulling it open. Proving her wrong. Sean had rolled his eyes and made a comment about how wrong she was. “See? He can do it himself.”

She glowered at them both, neither liking the refusal to accept reality nor the latent sarcasm. Instead she pushed him out of the way and nabbed a few ice packs from the freezer. “Sit.” That was it. He didn't even grab the milk from the fridge, he was just going to pour some for Jack to go with the meal Jessica was preparing...trying to help out...but he found himself listening to her anyway. Sitting at the table with his hands splayed out before him, an ice pack set gingerly on each. “Fifteen minutes. Do not move.”

She made Sean do the rest.

“Have they come to a conclusion yet?” Dave asked, handing Hotch a glass of scotch. The team had just returned from a case, and he was beat, but he had to see Hotch. In fact each of them, in their own way, had hinted that they might but only Dave actually did.

Derek had a full night of paperwork to finish, and everyone else...well they had their reasons. He would never blame them for a single one. “No, Strauss says they had a few other people they wanted to talk to.”

“They were waiting for us to get back. That's a bad sign.”

“For whom?” He knew, though. Hotch wasn't an idiot. His head was on the chopping block.

Dave leveled his glare. “One of us goes down, we all go down. We're a team.”

Hotch shook his head, setting the full glass of amber liquid down on the table and flexing his sore hand. “No, Dave. Not this time. This was my failure, this was my mistake and if someone other than Haley has to pay for it...”

He didn't need to worry in the end. Strauss managed to find Derek in his office pouring over the case details with a cup of coffee beside him in a mug that read in big bold letters COFFEE MAKES ME POOP thanks to Spencer's wry sense of humor. It was already half empty and there was another brewing in the pot down the hall. “Agent Morgan...a word?”

She shut the door behind her ominously, and Derek sighed. He was absolutely not in the mood for her shit tonight. Or any night, really, but especially not this one. There was no one else in the damn building, why did she need to shut them in like that? No good reason, that was for sure.

“We need to talk.”

He leaned back in his chair and stared at her in silence, waiting for her to continue. He wouldn't say a word. Whatever she was here for, it wasn't going to require his input.

“The committee has just come to a decision.”

“At midnight?”

“It was a serious matter, and they have been working around the clock. Agent Morgan, they are recommending Agent Hotchner's arrest. His cognitive interview is disturbing, and while I advocated that he has always been forthcoming with information even when it would damn him, that he is rarely self-serving...they weren't convinced. They insist that you make the arrest with a member of local law enforcement.”

Derek wasn't sure he was breathing anymore. His fingers were numb. “Me?”

“You are the acting Unit Chief, this is your department. What happened in that house is your responsibility...”

“Then you arrest ME,” he growled through gritted teeth. “If it's my fault, go ahead and mirandize me right now.”

He knew it was really fucking dramatic, but he shoved his hands toward her anyway. Balled into fists, ready to be cuffed. He was the only one in the room who carried cuffs, he knew damn well, but it felt good to watch the startled look cross her face for just a moment.

“Put your hands down, Derek. That isn't how this works. Get in touch with the police and find someone to accompany you, they can make the arrest under your supervision if it's too...personal...for you. I won't be a stickler for whose name is on that paperwork.”

She almost looked emotional, like she as doing him a favor letting him stand back and let Hotch be manhandled by someone else. He nearly thought he saw tears in her eyes...but he also didn't care. “I'm not finished with this, Agent Morgan. I won't let them make him into a monster but this may take time.”

Derek stood. No matter how emotional she seemed, he was furious. Her bright eyes did nothing to abate his anger. Unable to be calmed by her empty promises, no matter how she believed them to be brimming with life. Full. She would get him exonerated and have his name cleared. He wouldn't stand trial for putting down a known serial killer in his own home...they just had to buy some time.

“They can only hold him for up to 72 hours without charging him,” she said quietly, as if it would help. He understood what she meant, they had 72 hours from the time he was booked to find a way to convince them not to proceed. Foyet had no living family, no one to charge on his behalf. They had bigger fish to fry.

“Yeah,” Derek scoffed in return. “You know, I've done some really fucked up things for the Bureau in my life...”

She closed her eyes and willed the tight sting of emotion out of her chest. “Agreed. Goodnight, Agent.”

He snarled. Goodnight. Yeah, for you, he thought. You get to go home and sleep. I get to grab a police officer and head to Hotch's house and destroy a whole family already on the brink.

#aaron hotchner #sean hotchner #derek morgan #jessica brooks #jennifer jareau #erin strauss #criminal minds #fanfiction

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kurt-wagner-official · 1 month

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Post #111: XF issues 27-29 and XF Annual issue 3

Happy endings never last long, something X-Factor will be soon reminded of. But at the start of this issue, everything seems to be fine. The battle with Apocalypse happened right before Christmas, and to celebrate both the holiday and their new level of celebrity, X-Factor take their students to the top of the Empire State building, where Bobby replaces the spire with a festive ice sculpture. The kids then introduce themselves to the gathered reporters, and Rusty still has a mask on, which makes me realize that the woman he burned who then forgave him and ran off to teach the Morlocks about Jesus (I wonder how that's going?) never dropped the charges against him, so he's just gonna be a fugitive forever. Warren watches from a distance, talking about how Christmas is for idiot idealists and they live in a world of monsters, which is one of my new favorite edgy monologues. They then take the kids to downtown New York to look at decorations, and Scott sees the news from Dallas- including Madelyne's goodbye message to him. One issue after he finally moved on, he learns his wife wasn't dead, but now she is, along with his brother and half of his best friends, and his son is also not dead but just missing somewhere. He tells Jean he needs some alone time and runs off. Jean, heartbroken at the death of her friends who didn't even know she was alive, takes comfort in Bobby, who automatically assumes this is some fakeout superhero death and they'll be back soon. She also takes off to have some alone time, deciding privately that she'll offer to help find Scott's son. It makes her realize how much her parents must be hurting this Christmas, so she finally goes to visit them. They talk for a few hours off panel, and she promises that she'll find her sister, who's been missing since her house was firebombed. This leaves Bobby as the responsible adult taking care of the kids and Hank, who's regressed to an adolescent state of cognition. He takes the group back to their ship, where some of their new cop friends have brought them a Christmas tree and a whole buncha people have donated gifts to the kids. Leech suggests they bring most of the gifts to the kids in the hospital, and other than Tabitha, they all think it's a great idea. Not wanting to wake their exhausted teachers, they sneak out with the presents, but Jean comes back, finds they're gone, and chases after them with Bobby and Hank. They catch up and, proud of their students' kindness, help them transport everything. They have a little Christmas party in the children's ward until Scott arrives and tells Jean that he's leaving tonight to go hunt for his son. Far away, Apocalypse tells his Horsemen that the ship is actually an evil Christmas present that'll have evil surprises for X-Factor. This was a sweet issue. I think seeing the X-Men die made Jean finally come to accept her own "death" and how much it's been making her live in fear. Reuniting with her parents was a big moment for her, and I'm glad she's finally allowing herself to embrace living without constant fear of losing it all again. Also, field trip chaperone Bobby is one of my favorite Bobbys. Poor Scott still can't catch a break, but he will soon before his life turns to shit again. I do like that Simonson has been writing him trying to open up, but he still refuses any help from his friends on this next mission. It shows that growth is never linear, especially for someone as traumatized as Scott.

Scott takes off to the airport, leaving Jean and Bobby the only functional team members when Apocalypse's revenge plan starts to make itself clear. The ship has a mind of its own, and starts changing shape and attacking both our heroes and other boats in the harbor. Scott, sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to be scheduled to Dallas, sees the news of what's happening and runs back. He arrives in time to save his team from a rocket launcher that the ship makes to attack them, but Jean is acting cold towards him, saying they need to learn to live without him. I really admire the way Simonson wrote this conflict, which is very in line with their characters. They built their relationship on the basis of Jean's telepathy. It gave Scott an excuse to not learn to communicate and made Jean believe she would always be able to understand Scott. But now that that's gone, they need to actually learn to understand each other, and neither one wants to admit that. Jean as a person is usually pretty confident that she's right, and she very often is, but when she's not she won't admit it and takes it pretty hard. Jean losing her telepathy was introduced by Layton to be a cheap source of drama and make things as similar as possible to early sixties comics, but Simonson turned it into a great allegory for how these people have changed since high school without their relationships changing too, and now they can't figure out how to connect. Anyway, back to the book. Across town, Warren goes to find Candy and discovers she's missing, the only clues being a poison dart on her carpet and a letter from Trish Tilby. Meanwhile, the kids are in the run inside the ship until they find its brain, which has been enslaved by Apocalypse. They free it, and the ship thanks them and stops fighting. But then it says Apocalypse planted a bomb, which X-Factor defuses just in time. Scott and Jean both apologize and explain where their heads are at, taking an important step towards actually healing their relationship, although they're still lost as to what to do next. But they now have a sentient flying ship on their side, so things are looking up a little.

In issue 29, we're introduced to the new villain Infectia, who made a teaser appearance on the last page of the previous issue. She can give humans superpowers, but the first one we see her do it to burns out his power and disintegrates pretty quickly. Across town, reporters have come to ask about the ship and the bomb that almost blew up the city. Bobby takes point on this press conference, which is nice to see and a good use of his talents. He, and the ship itself, assure the reporters that X-Factor will soon be taking to the sky in order to attract less violence to the city and to be better prepared to respond to crises anywhere else. Infectia sees this on the news in a bar and gets upset, wanting the ship for her own mysterious purposes. A sleazy guy says he'd do anything to help her, so she takes him back to her apartment and zaps him to turn him into a powerful monster. Inside the ship, Scott storms away from the press conference to have a breakdown, and Jean follows him and tells him directly that she and the rest of the team will be taking the ship to go find Scott's son with him. This is actually a huge step forward for them. Jean is pretty rarely this honest and up front with Scott, because she never had to be when she could talk to his brain. And Scott needs that kind of clear communication because he can only see the worst when he tries to read between the lines. Of course, the moment is ruined when the news replays Maddie's message to Scott and Jean yells that she's a hypocrite for not contacting Scott before this. I've been on Jean's side for most of this book, but now she's hurling petty insults at Maddie out of jealousy, so fuck you Jean. Bobby walks into the middle of this lovely scene from his press conference and makes a joke about their lover's quarrel. Bobby is becoming my favorite character in this book, which I did not expect before I started. I've read a lot of the big arcs in this book before but never in order and never with all the filler issues. And Bobby's arc is the most subtle; you can't see it in the big moments, but when you read the whole thing you see him slowly become the only chill rational adult in the soapiest X-book. Just then, Infectia shows up with a whole lotta monster minions, which she throws at the ship. Up on a nearby rooftop, Hank and Trish Tilby were having a conversation, their first in a while. It's interrupted by Warren, who learns from Trish that Candy was her informant on Hodge and the Right until she stopped calling. Warren flies off to go find Hodge, even though Trish tells him he died in a plane crash (which we saw in New Mutants but Warren doesn't believe). Back to the fight on the ship, Jean's inner monologue lines up exactly with what I was saying earlier about her and Scott's relationship, which makes me feel very good about my own literary analysis skills. Our heroes beat up all the monsters and Jean and Scott embrace. I know Jean cares about Scott, but this whole issue, including their reunion conversation here, she's been bashing Maddie and calling her selfish for not tracking down Scott. I really don't like the presentation of Maddie as Scott's crazy ex. They had a deeper and more real connection than Scott and Jean ever really did, and the breakup was almost entirely on Scott. But I am glad Jean isn't holding it against Scott's son. To wrap up this issue, Infectia watches from afar and schemes about how she's gonna use Bobby to steal the ship. This has been a great run, proving that Simonson can keep up the momentum the book has had lately even in the aftermath of a big event.

This annual is part of the Evolutionary War, an event that happened when Marvel realized they could turn all theirs annuals into crossover issues to sell a bunch of copies without the scheduling headaches that come with crossovers in ongoings. But the event doesn't interrupt the plots of the main books and each issue is pretty standalone so it's pretty inoffensive. It's about the High Evolutionary and some big plan he has to... I don't know, evolve the Earth? I've never been super clear on his motivations. Anyway, it affects X-Factor when his minions are exterminating the subterrestrial creatures that live with Mole Man and one of them lets out a psychic scream that both Jean and Caliban feel. One of the subterraneans is a mutant with psychic powers, and he's rallying his people to fight back. X-Factor goes to investigate and is attacked by the frightened and confused creatures. Meanwhile, alerted by Caliban, Apocalypse goes to confront the High Evolutionary. Apocalypse doesn't like people who force evolution, preferring to nurture it and fan the flames of war, so he and the Evolutionary start fighting. They have some philosophical debate which is fun but kinda nonsense because they're both insane. There is kinda an interesting dichotomy; Apocalypse sees himself as a force of nature motivating change, like a classical god. The High Evolutionary wants to be an Abrahamic God, in complete control and using his own judgement to change the world. Eventually they teleport down to see the subterraneans and are surprised to see X-Factor has made contact with the psychic subterranean, who's rallying his people against the would be exterminators. Apocalypse laughs at the Evolutionary, saying that by trying to control evolution he's actually pushed it forward the way Apocalypse likes. The Evolutionary leaves in a ponderous mood and the psychic guy thanks X-Factor. It was an okay story. It was nice to see Apocalypse's philosophy a little more fleshed out. I don't get what happened with the subterraeans? Anyway, after I finished there were still like 20 pages and lo and behold, there's another story in this annual! It's about the kids. Or so I thought when I started reading it. They're just hanging out on the ship when they find Hank's old photo album and narrate the history of the original X-Men for each other. It's a cute little story. I know these recaps used to be important before the internet, but I know all this stuff so I'm not getting much out of it. Then there's one more backup story that's some Evolutionary War thing that appears in all the annuals, which I'm not reading. And we're done!

#wes reads xmen

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esamastation · 3 years

Text

Buncha fanfic ideas for buncha fandoms

1. FMA timetravel where the time traveler saves Scar's Brother, and probably a bunch of other people too. Because seriously, Scar's Brother probably could've changed everything just by existing.

2. Yu-Gi-Oh fic where Yugi, shortly after meeting Seto Kaiba and having his grandfather kidnapped and everything, goes full on feral and decides, "Eff this, let's eat the rich." (Unfortunately for everybody, Kaiba is totally onboard having a rival who's out for his blood.)

3. AC X FMA, crossover where the Grand Temple broke through the barrier between realities by basically forcing Equivalent Exchange to its limits. Desmond gets thrown into the realm of Truth. Truth kicks him out and into Amestris. Which would be fine, except thanks to all that tampering by Isu and his close connection with the Calculations, Desmond doesn't come out as an Alchemist - but a Transmutation Array.

4. All those HP crossovers with FMA characters in Hogwarts made me long for one with wizards in Amestris. Trying to figure out how to do spells with Equivalent Exchange in effect. How do you do a stunner when it has a cost? What's the equivalent exchange for levitation charm? Can you do a flying broom with alchemy? What about the Unforgivables - does the Killing Curse have a greater cost in the FMA world, or will it transform into a horrifyingly easy way to create very small Philosopher's Stones?

5. Unbeknownst to anyone, Hohenheim has been using his Philosopher's Stone to go back in time, over and over, trying to prevent the Promised Day. He can only go back so many years, and not past a certain point, and so far nothing he's tried has worked and Father always succeeds in the end. Tired after several failed attempts, Hohenheim decides to take a loop off and just rest a while. This time he'll do the most indulgent thing he can think of - have a wife and children and a normal life. Let the world end, he'll keep on trying to fix it in the next loop. It should be fine. Right?

6. FMA x YGO crossover. In FMA world, Atem being locked in the puzzle is a bit like Alphonse in his armour, only Atem can possess Yugi's body. Ed is determined to learn how, wanting to give his little brother even a small taste of having a human body once more. In the meanwhile, Yugi and Atem try to deal with having seen the Truth and possessing Clap Alchemy - when they don't know anything about Alchemy in the first place. It's a bit like starting to play at the end game and trying to figure out what all the stats do.

7. If you know my fic Second Fourth? That with My Hero Academia, as in, Cloud is All Might from another reality. Mako injections stunted his growth, like, a lot. Everyone thinks he's All Might's clone / child-produced-illegally-from-stolen-dna-sample / basically the Winter Soldier to All Might's Captain America. Cloud is just very confused. (I would seriously write this but I've only read MHA fics, I haven't gotten that deep into the canon itself, so, eh).

8. FF7 x FMA crossover where Cloud finds himself in Amestris. No biggy, he's been summoned into other realities before, and he's got all his gear, all his Materia, he's good. He's just going to lay low, do some mercenary work, nothing to it. Now if the kid and the reanimated armour could stop stalking him, that'd be great. (Materia, it turns out, are basically specialised Philosopher's Stones. And Cloud has a lot of them.)

9. FF7 x YGO crossover where after his death, Vincent ended up in the shadow realm, as one of its many monsters. It's… not great, but manageable. Fitting punishment for his sins. At least, so it feels, until these kids start popping in and out, unknowingly tampering with powers they don't understand. Marik Ishtar, Ryou Bakura, Yugi Muto, all about to have their souls consumed by the darkness. Suddenly his punishment seems a bit more like a duty to keep these young summoners from getting themselves killed.

10. Kaiba Gozaburo and Tony Stark used to be allies. Kaiba Seto and Tony Stark are bitter enemies, who couldn't hate each other more if they tried. Then Afghanistan happens and suddenly the fact that Seto turned one of the biggest weapons manufacturing corporations into a game company doesn't seem so ridiculous - and Tony would really like to know how the hell did a 15 year old kid manage it, when he, at 38, is only getting assassination attempts for his efforts.

#Fanfic ideas #Fma #Ygo #Ff7 #MCU #Mha #Uhh #i think that's it #no wait #Hp

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sukifans · 3 years

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aahhh I’m so excited I love your writing!!! your sokka “help me” fic is one of my favs ever I seriously think about it at least twice a week. in a similar vein, would you be able to combine prompts 10 & 12 for sokka x fem!reader? thank you!!! :)

SOKKA + “can i try that new chapstick? i wanna have a taste” + “i hadn’t noticed but my sweet, funny, goofy best friend is kind of hot, especially since they’ve been on this fitness kick”

⇦ 𝘔𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

“nastiest skank bitches” Group Message

loml: ladies, i need a girls night

loml: desperately

babygorl: god i’m down, this semester blows

fugly slut <3: i’m in!! always here for a girls night 🥰

loml: y/n??

you: gals. pals. as much as i would love to...

fugly slut <3: ughhhhhhhhh

babygorl: you better not be blowing us off for sokka again istg

you: 😅

loml: TRAITOR BITCH

fugly slut <3: HOES BEFORE BROS

babygorl: WHORE

you: bruh.mp3

you: he’s coming by after the gym to help me with my physics homework!!! I NEED THE HELP PLS I PROMISE ILL BE THERE NEXT TIME

babygorl: lying is a sin y/n

babygorl: sinner

loml: if sokka’s gonna b there maybe she’ll be sinning in........ other ways...... ahaha

loml: fuckboy_emoji.jpg

fugly slut <3: when you gonna tap that fr

you: NEVER LITERALLY NO EW

you: HE’S MY BEST FRIEND

you: UNLIKE YOU RATS

fugly slut <3: he do b kinda yummy tho liiiike 👀

you: STOP

loml: yeah he’s hot sorry queen

you: HE’S NOT HOT

babygorl: i almost hate to admit it but...

babygorl: his biceps 🥴

fugly slut <3 emphasized “his biceps 🥴”

loml loved “his biceps 🥴”

you: hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!

fugly slut <3 disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

loml disliked “hey! i hate u guys! jsyk!”

babygorl: uh huh yeah sure

loml: yall hear sumn?

NEW MESSAGE from sokka :^)

“hey i’m omw up!”

you: whatever you guys suck

you: i gtg

fugly slut <3: AND YOU SWALLOW

babygorl: bye girly!! get that bestie dick!!

loml: save a car, ride an engineering major >:)

you: desgostang.jpg

You dropped your phone onto the bed next to you with a groan. Your friends really and truly could be such freaks about your relationship with Sokka—or lack thereof. They’d been especially adament ever since he started some stupid bet with Zuko about who could get the most “gains” by graduation, incited by Aang making the mistake of commenting on Zuko’s more pronounced muscle mass.

Idiots.

That’s what Sokka was. Your idiotic best friend, who was funny, and sweet, and intelligent. You loved him, of course, but not like that. And he was not hot.

Definitely not.

The pounding on your dorm door interrupted your musings before Sokka let himself in, dropping his gym bag on the floor and kicking off his slides. His hair was loose and still damp from his post-workout shower and he wore slim joggers with a loose muscle tee.

“Hey!” He smiled brightly when he spotted you sitting in your bed. “What’s up?”

“The usual.” You moved your legs out of the way so he could flop down onto your mattress. “How was the gym?”

Sokka groaned. “Cardio. I’m already sore.” He stretched his arms up to fold behind his head, pulling his muscles taut.

Hm. He does kind of have nice biceps...

You shook yourself internally. Thoughts like these had been creeping out of your subconscious for weeks now, no thanks to your rabid friends.

“My leg’s been killing me, though,” he continued, rubbing his opposite foot across the skin that covered that metal pins and plates holding his bones together after a nasty break in high school. The leg often still gave him problems, ranging from the dull ache he could ignore on the day-to-day, to throbbing pain that left him limping.

You frowned, looking away from his arms to meet his eyes. “You should probably rest up before you hurt yourself,” you said.

“I’ll be fine.” He shrugged and propped himself up on his elbows. “Gotta catch up to Zuko, y’know.”

“Why? You’re already taller than him.”

“So? I wanna be more yolked, too.”

You rolled your eyes. “Buncha dumbasses.”

Sokka quirked an eyebrow. “You want this dumbass to help with your physics homework or not?”

“Haha,” you chuckled nervously, “just kidding, buddy! I meant Zuko and Aang. You—definitely not a dumbass. Nope.”

“That’s what I thought.” He shot you a smug look as he pushed up to sit cross-legged across from you on the bed. He held his hand out with a dramatic, world-weary sigh. “Alright, give it here.”

You opened your laptop to pull up the website that hosted your homework practice problems. “You know I love you, right?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, grabbing a notebook and pen from your desk to work out the math as you handed over the computer. He paused before standing to retrieve his bag, plopping it on your desk chair so he could root through it and pull out his glasses case. You felt your cheeks warm a little when he set the frames on the bridge of his nose.

Fine—he was kinda cute. You could concede that without having to dig too deep into your somewhat jumbled feelings for your best friend.

But you would certainly not “tap that.”

Well...

No. You would not.

You watched his eyes flick over the screen as he tapped the pen against his chin, catching the cap between his teeth while he thought about the formulas he’d learned in a past semester. He nodded to himself and started scribbling out a diagram and the math to go with it. You found yourself a little mesmerized by the way he simply just knew what to do, confidently scratching away at the paper as easily as one might write the alphabet. Your eyes trailed from his long fingers and calloused hand sweeping over the page, up his toned arm (lingering on his bicep a little longer), and to his face. He chewed at the inside of his cheek in concentration, sometimes parting his lips to murmur the logic to himself.

For someone who often said a lot of stupid shit, he sure had a pretty mouth.

You considered what he might do if you snatched a fistful of his shirt and yanked him into a kiss. Would he shove you away and leave? Awkwardly but kindly reject you? Or, would he kiss you back—throw the work out of the way and grab your face to coax you in deeper? Maybe push you back onto the bed and—

“Okay, so basically—”

Jesus Christ, get a fucking grip.

“—from the problem and draw it out like this to apply the formula, yeah?”

Sokka looked to you expectantly and you blinked at him as your face burned. “Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?”

“C’mon, I know you hate physics but you gotta at least pay attention to me if you wanna pass,” he teased, shifting close enough that the sides of your bodies pressed together. Was it getting warmer in your room, or was it just your best friend?

He launched into the explanation again and you nodded along while internally willing the blood to leave your cheeks. Even as your thoughts ricocheted around inside your skull he managed to break it down in a way that somewhat made sense. He sat back and watched as you slowly worked through the next problem. You glanced up when you heard a soft pop to see him applying chapstick.

“Is that a new flavor?” you asked.

“Yeah, chocolate orange or something.” He held the tube out to you. “Wanna try?”

Fuck it.

Before your rationality could catch up you pressed a hand to his cheek to turn his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Your lips only slotted together for a brief moment before you pulled back to stare wide-eyed at each other. You could feel the fire creeping from your cheeks down your neck, mirrored in the reddening of his tanned skin.

He blinked. You blinked.

The chapstick slipped from between his fingers. Rationality arrived late.

You bolted.

“Uh, see ya later!” you shouted as you threw the door open and rushed out of the room.

“Wait, (Y/N)—“

You didn’t stick around to hear the end of his desperate call. Even thought it was your dorm and you were barefoot you still raced down the hall, wincing at the sound of a door slamming behind you.

“(Y/N)!”

Damn that lanky bastard. You were booking it and he was already hot on your heels. You barreled into the door leading to the stairwell and almost made it down the first step when he grabbed you around the waist and yanked you back. Despite your struggles, the arm hooked across your middle was unyielding until he pushed you into the corner and crowded you against the wall, hands caging you in from either side. Your heart was racing and you weren’t sure if it was because of your escape attempt or that he was close enough you could smell his body wash and deodorant. It was almost enough to make your head spin.

“Sokka, I-I don’t know why—I’m sorry, please, I shouldn’t’ve—“

“(Y/N),” he said firmly and your mouth snapped shut. “Why did you run away?”

“Uh, I—well, um...” You shrunk down against the wall and swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know.”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to respond.”

“Look—“ You paused and stared at him once you processed what he said. “What?”

He laughed, dropping one of his hands to brush against your cheek before threading into your hair to cup the base of your skull. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

With that he surged forwards and kissed you enthusiastically, making you gasp into his mouth. You balled your hands into the front of his shirt to keep yourself steady as you melted into him. His free hand pressed into your lower back to bring you in closer. His tongue slipped out to tease at your bottom lip and he chuckled when you had to quickly grab his shoulders as your knees almost buckled.

“Get that,” he murmured against your lips, pressing his forehead to yours as the two of you gasped for air.

“Oh,” you breathed, “that.” You hummed happily when he kissed you again, his stubble scratching against your chin and under your palms when you cupped his face.

You both looked up when a stairwell door somewhere above you slammed open, followed by a group of jostling male voices. Sokka grinned when you glanced at him with wide eyes and shiny, swollen lips. You tried to hide behind him as the clamor bounded closer and closer. The group of guys rounded the next flight and gave shouts of recognition upon seeing you two standing against the wall.

“Sokka!”

“Hey, man!”

“Hey, guys,” Sokka said, holding his hand up in greeting.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, is that (Y/N)?”

“Nice, dude!”

“Ah, yeah...” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and you raised an eyebrow at his turned head. They all cheered and congratulated him, slapping his back as they passed and disappeared down the next set of stairs. When Sokka met your eyes again you cocked your head.

“Who were they?” you asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

“Sokka.”

“My reputation precedes me, what can I say?”

“Mine doesn’t.”

“Well—“ he suddenly became very interested in the underside of the stairs above you “—my reputation may or may not involve talking about you. A lot, apparently.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t do it on purpose!” he interjected quickly, taking your hands in his. “It’s just—I dunno, I guess I think about you a lot, so...”

“Oh.”

“Fuck, okay, that sounded weird.” You laughed a little at his embarrassed floundering. “I just mean, like, things that remind me of you or, y’know, stories that involve you...” he trailed off, flushing at your amused smile. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?”

“Making fun of me!”

“I didn’t say anything,” you giggled, hooking your arms around his neck.

“You’re still laughing at me,” he whined, lips turning into a frown. His hands slipped back down to your waist.

“You’re cute.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Without preamble, he ducked down and hoisted you over his shoulder as you shrieked in protest. “Sokka! Put me down!”

“No can do, baby; we have unfinished business to attend to.” He said as he marched you back in the direction of your room.

“You’re gonna finish my physics homework?”

“Nope.”

Oh.

A/N: 2k words bc, again, i have no self control. thank you for the request!

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @blazedbakugou @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula @wooscottoncandyhair @chewymoustachio @ohno-caroline @sunflowerr-mami @1vitamin @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @u-4iia @nymeria-targaryen @tommy-braccoli @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @a-sloppy-bitch @nomin-rights @siriuslyslyslytherin @starryncn

SOKKA TAGS: @fiantomartell @avatarayeaye @zvkta @sher-lockedmarvel @grandmascottlang @captainshazamerica @yuesallura

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #x sokka #sokka fluff #sokka imagine #sokka fic #atla sokka #atla x reader #sokka #mine #requests #atla fic #avatar the last airbender

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hyenahunt · 3 years

Text

Lullaby: A Gentle Nightmare - 2

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring

Proofreading: bakemonoremy (JP) & royalquintet (ENG)

Jun: (When I look this scary, all it'll take is one sharp word from me to make kids cry, won't it?)

Location: A memory, or perhaps within a dream

Jun: ......

(.....H-huh? Did I fall asleep~?)

(This looks like... that garden in ES — the Hanging Garden.)

(Why'd I fall asleep in a place like this?)

(Ahh, that's right... Come to think about it, I got hit up for some weirdass gig.)

(I'm kinda obligated to do it, or more like... it's not something I can really bring myself to reject, so I can't turn it down either.)

(I didn't have a clue what to do about it, though, so I figured I'd take a breather to cool my head and mull it over—)

(And since this place is nice and empty, I had a lil' lie-down to think through a buncha things.)

(But man, the more I think about it, the more troubled I get.)

(I just don't think I'm really cut out for something like "Junior Idol Training".)

(Me, passionately teaching lil' baby idol wannabes from kindergarten to elementary age?)

(Being filmed for something like an educational program, where I basically put 'em through Idol 101?)

(I mean, I get it. People need that kinda content too, after all, but why does it gotta be me~?)

(When I look this scary, all it'll take is one sharp word from me to make kids cry, won't it?)

(It's not like I had a decent childhood of my own, anyway.)

(So I dunno what goes through the head of a typical kid.)

(After all, when I was their age I just got put through the mill by my shitty old man.)

(I mean, if that's all they wanted from me, I guess it's not like I can't do it.)

(But to the world that'll just come off as abuse, plain and simple, yeah~?)

(Goddamn!! Aagh, I seriously don't have a clue, man! What the hell should I do~?)

(......My old man was just a foil for the legendary super idol Jin Sagami, forced into retirement after getting set up to lose to him.)

(He couldn't let go of his nasty grudge over that, so he tried to train me up to surpass that very Jin Sagami.)

(And just like that, he tried to get me to avenge him... At least, that's the impression I had growing up.)

(Who knows, maybe what my old man felt for Jin Sagami could've actually been something like love.)

(But from where I stood, it looked no different from hatred.)

(I was trained up for the sole purpose of revenge, and bided my time sharpening my fangs for the day I'd finally use them.)

(Half my lifetime just gone to shit..... My childhood was only drowned in darkness, with nothing but anger and hatred, pain and tears.)

(And they want someone like me to teach some lil' kids with all their idol aspirations and their futures ahead of 'em?)

(Just like how all the teachers at school seem to be imitating Jin Sagami these days, for some reason?)

(Goddamn~! That's dumb as hell—)

(Did some kinda asshole come up with these plans? Either that, or they're plain stupid for not doing their research on me!)

(.... But all the same, after asking Ibara about it 'cause I was totally confused, now I do get why they picked me for this project.)

(Seems like my old man's actually feeling some remorse, and now he's trying to repent or something.)

(So to atone for making my childhood an absolute shithole, he wants to help train up junior idols, huh—)

(Ibara did mention him making some kinda huge investment into an ES-run organisation.)

(Apparently, at one point my old man was an incredible idol himself, one good enough to rival even Jin Sagami.)

(He really raked in the cash back then, so he's got a surprising amount of money.)

(Until I managed to put an end to his quest for revenge, he was never in the best mental state, either....)

(Seemed like Mom wanted to keep that on the down low, though, and managed his assets one way or another.)

(So those savings my old man once earned as an idol are gonna go right into raising the idols of the future, huh.)

(Sounds great, doesn't it? But man, he should've just done that from the start, though.)

(After all, he could give back even more to the idol industry than that Jin Sagami, who retired after such a huge scandal.)

(He could've instead prided himself in having him beat there... and dropped his vendetta way sooner.)

(Damn you, Dad. Just 'cause you overlooked this one simple thing, my life as a kid was just —)

(Ugh, I don't even wanna think about it. It's all stained and tainted now, y'know~?)

(.......Well, I guess things turned out alright. After all, it’s thanks to that upbringing that Ohii-san eventually found me.)

(And now I can go all out with Eden these days, doing the things I want to do.)

(The problem now is that since my old man figured he'd do some investing, I've gotten stuck with this current job 'cause of our relationship.)

(A father-and-son pair, working together for the sake of improving children's futures.... Makes for a sweet lil' story, yeah?)

(Pouring all their efforts into helping kids along — CosPro's been stuck looking like the villains for a while, so this story'd be a good look for 'em....)

(Speaking of which, Ibara was all hyped up about it, and even Ohii-san and Nagi-senpai told me I should go for it.)

(I mean, I wanna do what I can to keep kids from going through what I did, too.)

(My dad's still a bastard, but maybe I kinda want to support him juuust a lil' now.)

(All the same... me in an educational kids' show? They're asking the impossible.)

(Considering how back when I was a kid, I'd never seen even a single ep of that kinda cheery carefree program.)

(Mm, but still... After we had a proper heart-to-heart about it....)

(...Kunugi-sensei, from the Producer Association, dug up some clips of his own children's show appearances and lent them to me, y'know.)

("I believe this'll serve as a good reference", he said.)

(I don't know a thing about him, but he's a pretty nice guy, huh~ Even though he'd been in a similar position to my dad.)

(....Hmm. Guess for starters, I should stop wearing myself out over this and just head back to the dorms to check out those vids.)

(The Reimei dorms are stupidly far from ES, so commuting's always such a pain, though.)

(Well, at least it's more productive than dozing off out here.)

(....Mm?)

(H-Huh? For some reason there's smoke coming out of the USB with the data on it? What's going on? Did I break it or something?)

(Goddamn, and it's not even mine!)

(Wait, what? Is it just me or is the smoke taking the shape of a person.....?)

Jin: Hullooo~ Whaddya need, Master?

Jun: ......Wha?

Jin: Abracadabra, Master. I'm the Djinn of the USB — ahh, the name's Jin. Pleasure to be workin' with ya.

Now, let's hear what you're after. I'll grant any three wishes you have.

It's a pain, but work's work. C'mon, spit it out.

Jun: No, um..... What? What're you playing at? Jin Sagami?

Jin: Huh. No, like I said I'm a Djinn. A Djinn named Jin-san, got it? That's the kinda story we've got going here.

Jun: Story—?

Jin: Oh, by the way. For ease of communication, a Djinn takes the form of whoever most occupies the heart of their summoner.

So strictly speaking, I'm not exactly this Jin Sagami person.

Jun: Wha? Huh? Then why'd you take the shape of Jin Sagami instead of Ohii-san....?

Jin: Hell if I know. ‘Sides, who gives a crap...

Now c'mon, let's get your wishes over and done with already. I wanna go home and crack open a cold one.

✦✦✦✦✦

← prev ✦ all ✦ next →

#jun sazanami #jin sagami #ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #s: lullaby #era: !!#type: event #status: complete #hyenahunttl

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osakaso5 · 3 years

Text

La Danse Macabre

Episode 10

Chapter Index

10-1: The Ambush (1)

???: .......

???: ...Buh-bye.

[Thud]

[Clang]

???: Huh?

Cura: Damn, I guess my insomnia isn't all bad after all!

???: You shouldn't stay up so late. I hear it's bad for your skin..!

[Thump]

Cura: Ugh..! Wake up guys, we've got company!

- - - -

Libel: ......!

Fuga: You've gotta be kidding me! Where'd he come from!?

Arme: ...W-what's going on!?

???: Ah~, what a pain. I was gonna kill you all in your sleep.

Libel: Who are you?

Placer: Placer, from Kokujohyako. You're Rebellion, right?

Fuga: Ugh, not Kokujohyako. Speak of the devil, I guess...

Arme: Kokujohyako...

Placer: So, which one of you's the Celestial?

Arme: ...I-it's me.

Libel: Don't answer!

Placer: 'kay, so I'll kill everyone but you.

[Thud]

[Crash]

Fuga: Holy crap!

Cura: Libel! Fuga! Take the kid and run!

Cura: I'll hold him here..!

Fuga: No way, with all three of us here, we can totally beat one guy, even if he's Kokujohyako!

Cura: Not while protecting the boy, we can't! We'll be done for as soon as one of us gets hurt!

Libel: Fuga, just trust him! Let's go!

Fuga: Ugh... Let's get going, Celestial!

Arme: R-right! Cura, please stay safe!

Placer: Uh oh. They're getting away.

Cura: You don't sound too worried about that...

Placer: I've got plenty of obstacles they'll have to get through first. I'll kill you and then I'll catch up to them in a jiffy..!

[Thud]

[Crash]

Cura: Ugh..!

Placer: You're a pretty agile dude. Good, I haven't killed someone who could put up a fight in a while.

Cura: Heh... Must be tough, waving that big weapon of yours around.

Placer: Not really. I probably just need to kick things up a little...

[Thud]

Cura: Ugh... Huff..! Damn, that was fast!

[Thud]

Placer: Ahahahahaha!

[Thud]

Placer: You're getting slower and slower! Maybe you oughta excercise some more!

[Thud]

Cura: Urk!

[Crash]

Cura: Coff... coff...

Cura: I'm more of a paperwork kinda guy...

Placer: I feel bad for you, I really do. But this is why you don't just walk around in public with a treasure chest in your hands.

Placer: Because we'll never let easy money get away from us.

Cura: Heh... so you wanna sell the little Celestial off? You guys always did have a one-track mind... But our leader's got something else in mind.

Cura: He's trying to use the Celestial to save all of the Surface, like the idiot he is..!

Placer: ...Uh-huh.

Placer: I don't give a rat's ass, just so y'know.

Cura: ......!

Placer: In fact, I think it's stupid.

Placer: If you're trying to help other people, then that just means you guys have it too easy.

- - - -

Arme: Ah..!?

Libel: We're surrounded... Did Kokujohyako always have this many fighters?

Fuga: Most of them are probably hired help. ...Since when do they have that kinda money?

Ruffian: Which one's the Celestial? Is it the tiny one?

Ruffian: In any case, don't let anyone get away. Surround 'em!

Fuga: What's the plan, Libel?

Libel: If this is all of them... Our best bet is to defeat them all as quickly as we can, so we can go back for Cura.

Fuga: Aye aye, sir! Celestial, stand back!

Arme: Wait, there's too many of them..!

Libel: Hah!

[Clang]

Ruffian: Urgh..!

Libel: Next!

Fuga: Take this!

[Ratatat]

Fuga: We don't have time for this! Come on!

Ruffian: T-they're pretty strong!

Fuga: You think you're the first buncha punks we've fought!? Huh!?

Arme: I-I had no idea Libel and Fuga were such great fighters..!

10-2: The Ambush (2)

Cura: Huff... huff... Damn, you really are good...

Placer: Nice dodges. You probably set the record for how long someone's managed to stay alive against me.

Cura: I-isn't your leader even stronger than this..?

Placer: Oh, totally. Vida's the greatest. We're undefeatable, as long as we've got him around.

Cura: ...Undefeatable, eh... Well if he's so undefeatable, why doesn't he just attack the Ark?

Placer: Huh?

Cura: Wait, I know why. It's because he knows he can't take them all on at once.

Cura: They've got an army we couldn't even dream of having, and even the strongest fighter will lose if you throw enough opponents at them...

Placer: Shut up... Vida's stronger than anyone... He could totally take on the Ark.

Cura: Listen to me! If we use the Celestial as a bargaining chip with the Ark, we might not even have to fight! Doesn't that sound good to you?

Cura: We're looking at the big picture here! Just think about it, and if that's too hard, go tell your buddies!

Cura: Think about the long-term effects this will have, instead of chasing after a quick buck!

Placer: ........

Cura: Now's not the time for us on the Surface to fight...

Placer: I don't wanna!

Cura: ...Huh?

Placer: I don't really get what you're saying, but it sounds like you're making fun of me, so I don't like it. I hate your guts. And Vida will win.

Cura: Are you for real..?

Placer: Plus I know you probably won't like if I say "no"...

Placer: We've always had to live in pain, so to make up for it...

Placer: I've decided to make things as hard for everyone else as I can.

Placer: Ahahahahahaha!

Cura: ...Heh. Looks like I hate your guts, too.

Placer: Enough chit-chat! Time to die!

[Thud]

Placer: ...For you, maybe!

[Boom]

Placer: Wha..!?

Placer: Wait, bombs!?

Cura: Hahahahaha! I have a tendency to worry, you see, so I always keep a few bombs where I sleep..!

[Boom]

Placer: Are you trying to die!? You're crazy!

Cura: What do you think..!?

Cura: Can a sane guy even survive on the Surface..!?

[Boom]

- - - -

Fuga: That's all of 'em, Libel!

Libel: Yeah, now let's go to Cura...

[Boom]

Arme: !?

Libel: Explosions..?

Fuga: Could it be, Cura!?

Arme: That building is on fire... D-do you think he's still alright!?

Fuga: D-did he blow himself up..? You've gotta be kidding me... Cura.. He can't be...

Libel: ...No, he's fine. Look.

Arme: Ah... There's someone standing in the flames...

Fuga: Cura!?

Cura: Ahahahaha! Now that hits the spot!

Fuga: You're a mess!

Arme: Still, I'm glad you're safe... Even amid all those explosions...

Cura: Oh, don't you worry. My gear is fireproof. That way, I can start blowing stuff up whenever.

Fuga: I had no idea...

Cura: Woohoo, bombs rule! Feels like all my stress just melted away.

Arme: ...I-is Cura actually the most dangerous one of you all..?

Libel: Of course not. Though people do say that he puts too much gunpowder in his bombs whenever he wants to let off steam.

Arme: T-that sounds very risky!

Fuga: Did you deal with the Kokujohyako guy?

Cura: Nope, I'm afraid he got away. Not before I put him in a world of hurt, though.

Cura: Those guys are no joke. Hahaha, maybe next time I'll get him where it counts!

Fuga: Dude, chill.

Libel: Oh, right...

Libel: Cura. About the thing we discussed earlier...

Cura: Huh? Uh, sure, why not? Do what you feel is best. You're the leader, anyhow.

Cura: Your right hand man's gonna take care of things! Hahahahaha!

Libel: ...Always make sure to ask Cura for something once his stress gauges are emptied out.

Fuga: Ugh...

To be continued...

#idolish7 #la danse macabre #translation #event story

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raywritesthings · 3 years

Text

I Want

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Sara Lance, Tommy Merlyn, Raisa, Quentin Lance Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen (pre-relationship/childhood crush) Summary: Young Ollie gets a change in perspective when he overhears a girl named Laurel's wish list to Santa Claus. *Can also be read on AO3, link is in bio*

Oliver bounced on the balls of his feet, trying not to look too impatient. Good kids probably weren’t impatient, after all. But he was so close to getting to tell Santa what he wanted!

Every year, either Raisa or Mrs. Merlyn took him and Tommy to the mall to read Santa Claus their Christmas lists. This year, it was Raisa accompanying them. She stood to the side by all the other parents, smiling when Oliver caught her eye. He gave a little wave, then refocused his attention on the line. There was one girl ahead of him and another in Santa’s lap who was reciting her list off the top of her head. And it was a long one.

“I want a new dolly, too. The arm came off my last one. And I wanna pet. Like a shark or something cool. We went to the aquarium this year, and I got a stuffed toy, but it’s not the same as a real one.”

Santa laughed but Oliver wanted to groan. Could she hurry up already!

“And,” the girl added, “I want my own room. My sister, Laurel, she stays up reading and it keeps me up. That’s naughty, right Santa?”

“Sara!” The girl ahead of him in line shouted. She had blond hair like her sister, but there were some darker shades mixed in that were almost brown. It was a pretty blend of colors, Oliver thought to himself, watching the back of her head.

“Honey,” a man with bedraggled hair cautioned the girl in line, who tucked her head in and fell silent.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do, young lady,” Santa said. “Now then, how about a nice big smile?” They took the picture, and the girl named Sara hopped off Santa’s lap and ran immediately for the little train ride set up not too far away.

The second girl went up to Santa. Oliver thought she was probably about his and Tommy’s age, but he’d never met her. Laurel was lifted onto Santa’s lap and got an actual list out of her coat pocket.

“Now, you must be Laurel,” Santa said. “And I’m sure you and your sister have both been good girls this year. What would you like to ask me for Christmas?”

Laurel drew in a big breath and began. “For Christmas this year, I want Daddy to have the whole day off and for nobody to call in a one-eighty-seven or a two-oh-seven or a two-forty-six on the radio so he doesn’t have to leave while we open presents and eat dinner. I want all of his cases to be solved so he can keep being the best detective in the whole wide world. And I want all of Mommy’s students to turn in their work on time so she doesn’t worry about grading them. And I want her to get the—” she squinted at her list. “—Estée Lauder perfume she keeps reminding dad she’s running out of.”

Back where the parents stood, Oliver noticed the man that had brought his two daughters give a start, which he snickered into his scarf about.

The girl named Laurel wasn’t done. She and her sister had that in common. “I don’t know if Sara’s been good at all, but I trust your judgment, Santa. And it’s her birthday, too, so I want her to get the stuff she told you because you have to get presents on your birthday.”

Santa chuckled. “Well, I’m sure I can make that happen. But what would you like for Christmas, my dear?”

Laurel blinked and looked up with wide, green eyes. “I thought about it a lot, but I already have a lot of toys. And I can get all the books I want at the library. Mom’s allergic to fur, so we can’t have pets. Our house isn’t big enough for a shark, and they aren’t pets anyway.”

“Perhaps not. But—”

“The teacher at school had us take home a card with another kid’s name and what they wanted for Christmas. I got Tim, and he wanted a new basketball, and we’re gonna buy it today. But I hope he gets other presents from you, too, Santa.”

Oliver looked down at his list with all the things he had written that he wanted. His parents could probably buy it all for him and then some. What was he asking Santa for it for if there were other kids who didn’t get presents at Christmas unless other people were buying them?

Maybe Santa’s business wasn’t doing very well, and that was why Laurel had been asked to buy another kid’s basketball. Maybe that was why all those other Santas at the stores had that pail to drop money in.

“That’s very kind of you, Laurel. I’ll make sure to check my list for Tim,” Santa promised. “But was there anything at all you’d want for yourself? Big or small.”

“Well, maybe my own room would be nice,” Laurel said, a smile causing a little dimple to appear at the corner of her mouth. Oliver felt sort of warm all over seeing it.

Santa gave another big, booming laugh. “A new room might fit a little snug in my sack of presents, but I’ll see what I can do, young lady. Now then, you just keep smiling for our picture, hm?”

They took it, and Laurel hopped off Santa’s lap while chirping a, “Thank you!” She ran out of the little enclosure, and Oliver watched her go.

“Come forward, young man!”

Tommy nudged him in the back. “Ollie, it’s your turn.”

“Oh.” He hurried forward towards Santa, who smiled down at him. Oliver was placed in his lap.

“And what would you like for Christmas this year?”

“Uh…” Oliver looked down at his list again. A lot of what he wanted on it was stuff Tommy was asking for, too. All the movies and games, anyway. He wanted his own, but they could share, couldn’t they?

“I wanted a buncha stuff,” he told Santa, “but I don’t need it if other kids aren’t gonna get presents this year.”

Santa blinked. “Oh. Well, I don’t know that you need to worry too much about that—”

“I got money. If you need to buy more stuff for the elves to make the presents, or if you gotta pay them more for working more.” He knew it was called something, but he couldn’t remember what his dad had said. He tuned out most of what his dad said whenever they were at the office, content to sip his soda and watch the city out the big windows. Oliver unzipped the pocket of his jacket that held the paper bill that meant one-hundred and tried to pass it to Santa, but the old man closed Oliver’s hand around.

“That’s very kind of you, young man, but I assure you that I have everything I need at the North Pole. Now then, let’s see what’s on your list.”

Oliver didn’t see how Santa could be right if other kids had to ask strangers to buy their gifts for them, and he read off his list with much less enthusiasm than he had felt while waiting in line. Santa directed him to look at the camera that he mustered up a smile for, then he jumped off his lap and rushed out of the gated area.

He ran right up to Raisa, who patted his cheek and said, “Mr. Oliver, do you still have your allowance?”

He patted the pocket to check and nodded. “How come Santa didn’t want my money?”

“Because Santa doesn’t deliver toys for money.”

“Then how’s he pay for anything?” Something didn’t make sense with this whole setup, but Oliver didn’t know what.

Raisa shook her head, smiling indulgently after him. “Why don’t you save yourself and Mr. Tommy a spot in the line for the train?”

“Okay.” He turned and walked over there, still stewing over it, and nearly walked right into the back of a girl. “Sorry,” he blurted, backing up a step.

She turned around, and Oliver realized it was Laurel, the girl who had been in line ahead of him, the girl who had said other kids weren’t getting presents unless someone else bought them.

“That was really nice what you did,” Laurel told him.

“You saw that?” For some reason, his cheeks started to burn and he rubbed at the back of his neck.

Laurel nodded. “There’s lots of toy drives in the city. They ask people for money if they can give it. My daddy calls it charity.”

He’d heard that word before. His mom and dad went out at night all the time for charity. Oliver was supposed to do that, too, when he grew up.

“Okay. I’ll ask my dad about it.” If Santa didn’t want money, he’d find someone else to give the other kids presents. Oliver didn’t think the other kids could all be on the naughty list; he’d made the nice list, and he knew he hadn’t been as good as he could have been this year.

The train stopped, and all the kids currently on it got off, Laurel’s sister among them. One of the workers opened the little gate he, Laurel and a few other kids stood by. “All aboard!”

They both walked in, Laurel picking a seat near the middle. Oliver hovered by her, looking back to see Tommy was only just getting his picture with Santa.

A soft thumping sound caused him to look back at Laurel, who patted the bench beside her. “You can sit with me if you want.”

“Okay!” He sat down quickly, trying not to feel too guilty that Tommy was probably running over right now to get on the train. There were still open seats behind them. “I’m Ollie,” he added, realizing he hadn’t actually introduced himself.

“I’m Laurel,” she said.

The train whistle blew, and together they were off.

#lauriver #lauriverholidays2020 #oliver queen #laurel lance #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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mammon-sama · 4 years

Text

Operation: Pluck the Peacock (Fanfiction)

Uhm ... apparently this whole thing got deleted? What? Okay, here it is again. Again, just a super dumb thing I wrote for fun!

Title:

Operation: Pluck the Peacock

Summary:

The demon brothers face the immeasurably daunting challenge of trying to photograph Lucifer shirtless.

Genre:

Fluff/Humor/Slice of Life

Rating:

Word Count:

4958

“Ahem! Ahem! ” Asmodeus chirped from the front of the R.A.D Council Room. He rapped on the podium in front of him and frowned when he noticed the crowd of people that filled the room had yet to dispel their cacophony of chitchat. “I said ahem! ”

With that, the remaining six Student Council members, as well as their President, Lord Diavolo, quieted down.

Asmo raised an eyebrow. “You know, I thought at least you five—” he gestured toward Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Beelzebub, and Belphegor, “—would be eager to get this meeting started.”

Mammon gasped and smirked. “No kiddin’—totally forgot what this was about for a second there, to be honest.”

Lucifer’s brow furrowed as he noticed the mischievous look that passed between Belphegor and Satan.

Asmo grinned at his elder brother’s suspicion.

“I’m only here ‘cause Beel ate the router,” Levi grumbled, his head on his desk. “I can’t play any games without connection and Barbatos said it’d be like, seven hours before he can get a chance to fix everything.”

“Belphie promised me a chocolate-covered cricket chip cookie if I went along with this!” Beel announced cheerfully.

Mammon turned around to face his brother and cocked his head. “Only one cookie, Beel? C’mon, I’d think ya’d rather take a steeper offer than that. I mean—” his smirk only grew as he peeked at Lucifer, “—I think this is gonna be good, but it’ll probably get us in a buncha trouble, too.”

Beel lowered his head and frowned. “I already ate the rest of the cookies in the box. Belphie just promised me the last one if I helped you guys with this.”

Asmo snapped his fingers from the podium. “That’s enough prattling from you two; we’ve got bigger matters to attend t—”

“Okay, I’ve had just about enough of this,” Lucifer decided. He stood up from his chair as Diavolo watched him eagerly. “Why in the world did you call us here, Asmo?”

Asmodeus scowled. “I was just about to get to that.”

“Well, don’t meander about your point and get to it, then.” Lucifer sighed and sat back down.

Feeling rather ruffled, Asmo huffed and said, “I am. In fact, we already sort of discussed this in a text message conversation awhile back.” From his back pocket, he pulled out a small, cleverly folded square of paper. Careful not to chip his nail polish, he unfolded the sheet to reveal a huge poster.

Lucifer rolled his eyes as he read aloud the bright, sparkly pink words on the said poster. “Operation: Pluck the Peacock.”

“Translation—get Lucifer shirtless,” Satan clarified, closing his eyes and smiling in satisfaction.

“And photograph him,” Belphegor added, with an equally devious grin.

“And sell it!” Mammon concluded.

“The last part’s debatable,” Asmodeus admitted. “He’s only saying that ‘cause he got so much cash off of Levi’s shirtless pic.”

Leviathan, who did not like to be reminded of his insurmountable internet fame from the picture of his toned swimmer’s body, scowled at Mammon. “I still am gonna kill you for that.”

Mammon smiled sweetly in response. “Yeah, and ya can bury me in the most expensive mausoleum there is, what with all the cash I made off of ya.”

Levi’s face grew red, but before he could lunge at his brother, Lord Diavolo rose from his chair, his face gravely serious.

Lucifer looked incredibly pleased with Diavolo’s somber expression, while the other six demon brothers exchanged irritated glances, worried that the President would shoot their idea down.

“I must say, Asmo, this is a rather frivolous thing to bring to the Student Council floor,” Diavolo said. As he saw six demon faces fall, he amended, “ But, frivolous is what we’re about here at R.A.D!”

“What? ” Lucifer blanched. “No, we’re not.” Attempting to regain his composure, he coughed and said, “With all due respect, Diavolo, this operation is a waste of time.”

Diavolo chuckled as he saw Lucifer’s pout. “Oh come on, Lucifer, there’s no harm in it. Besides,” he reasoned, “think of it as a test for you. A test to see if you can avoid your brothers’ attempts to ‘pluck your peacock.’”

Asmodeus smirked, while Levi blushed and stuttered, “D—don’t say it like that!”

“Then it’s settled, then!” Mammon cheered. “Operation: Pluck the Peacock is a go!”

“Okay, what’s our first order of business?” Satan asked, sitting at his desk, with Belphegor, Leviathan, and Mammon surrounding him. He peered behind him and sighed. “You can’t eat any of those books, Beel.”

Beelzebub, who was poking around in Satan’s mountain of books, sighed despondently, saying “I was just checking,” before flopping onto the bed.

“If you say so.” Satan rolled his eyes when he realized that the fifth-born demon was missing, as well. “Asmo, come on. This whole operation was your idea.”

“Hold on,” Asmodeus urged, as he too, nosed through Satan’s book collection. “You really don’t have any fun magazines around here, do you?”

Mammon raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, smarty-pants Satan’s gonna read some tabloidy stuff like that. Now, get over here.”

“Oh, calm down,” Asmo replied as he pranced toward the group. “I already have a foolproof idea.”

Belphegor yawned. “Oh, so it’s Mammon-proof?”

“Keep talkin’ like that, Belphie,” Mammon warned. “And I’ll lock ya back up in the attic, again!”

As if on cue, Beelzebub leaped off the bed and curled his hands into fists. “You wouldn’t dare, Mammon.”

“Gah! Cool it, Beel! I was just kidding!” Mammon yelped, backing into Levi, who growled irately.

Satan sighed. “Alright, everyone be quiet. Asmo, what was your idea?”

“Well, it wasn’t an idea, more like, a thought,” Asmo confessed.

Belphegor rolled his eyes. “Do you even know the difference between a thot and a thought ?”

“Yes, good job, Belphie,” remarked Satan drily. “Say two homonyms in spoken dialogue and expect us to know the difference. Very nice.”

Before Belphegor could hiss a reply, Beel sighed. “Can everyone just please stop fighting? This whole thing was supposed to be a fun way to pass the time and this isn’t fun.”

Satan nodded. “Beel’s right. Okay, Asmo, what was your thought ?”

“Well,” Asmodeus began. “A while back Lucifer was helping me get ready—sometimes he has impeccable taste, you know—and when we went through my closet, I remember that he seemed to be especially fond of this dark blue silk undershirt that I have. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he wanted it.”

“That’s it?” Mammon asked. “Ya wanted to brag about buyin’ silk undershirts?”

Satan massaged his forehead and conked Mammon on the head. “How can you and your one brain cell miss the point so badly?” He turned to Asmo and stroked his chin. “So, what you’re saying is, if you can lend him this undershirt and put him in a situation where he could damage it, he’ll take it off, revealing his chest underneath for us to photograph?”

“That’s right!” Asmodeus chirped.

“But what kind of situation would make Lucifer realize that he doesn’t want to ruin the silk and take off the shirt?” Beel wondered.

“We could throw him in a fire,” Belphie suggested, with an innocent grin that absolutely dripped malice.

While the rest of the brothers stared at Belphegor with gaping mouths, Satan snapped his fingers and nodded appreciatively. “He’s got a point. I mean, we live in Hell—fire is in no short supply. It’s economical, at least.”

“… or we could do something milder,” Levi suggested. “How about we have someone pretend to drown in R.A.D’s swimming pool and stage it so Lucifer walks by and has to save them?”

Mammon, who had some faith in his elder brother, wondered, “Would he really take time to strip off a silk shirt if someone was drownin’?”

“He’d better,” Asmo glowered.

“Fine. I suppose that’s a feasible idea, too,” Satan said. “But who will be the one to fake-drown in the pool?”

“Levi’ll do it,” Mammon, who was not thrilled with his younger brother’s constant death threats, offered. “I mean, he’s the one who suggested it, after all.”

“I second that,” Belphie agreed.

“I’m not doing this, guys!” Leviathan argued.

“I third it,” Beel replied.

“Still not gonna do it!” spat Levi.

“I four—” Asmo began before he was interrupted by Satan.

“—We only technically needed two affirmations for this to go through, and we’re wasting time. Sorry Asmo,” Satan explained. “Alright, Levi, get your swim trunks and acting skills on, because it’s time for Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt One: Drown the Fish!”

“I’m not supposed to represent a fis—” Leviathan insisted, but he was cut off as Beelzebub threw him onto his back and the six made their way over to R.A.D’s swimming pool.

“Guys, I just got a text from Lord Diavolo,” Asmo whispered as he, Mammon, Satan, Beel, and Belphie crowded behind the bleachers in the empty R.A.D natatorium, as they watched Leviathan bob up and down in the pool. “He says when we get the shirtless pics of Lucifer, we should send them to him.”

Belphie scowled. “I thought you were supposed to ask him if he could ask Lucifer to do some fake Student-Council-related stuff here by the pool.”

Asmodeus huffed. “I did, and he said he would. I just thought that information would be more interesting.”

“ Shh! ” hushed Satan when a loud rumble reverberated through the room. “I hear something.”

Beel blushed. “Sorry, that was me.”

“No, wait—I actually hear footsteps this time,” Mammon whispered, and sure enough, the group could hear footsteps through the natatorium’s door.

“Levi! Start drowning!” Satan hissed.

“Whatever,” Levi mumbled as he quietly laid his head back in the water and tilted it back. He mimicked gasping and stiffened his legs, remaining for the most part, quite quiet.

The brothers watched this natural display, before Belphie growled, “That’s not ‘drowning,’ Levi.”

“Yeah, you’ve got to play it up more! Start coughing and spasming and screaming ‘n’ stuff!” Mammon called.

Leviathan scowled. “Have you guys ever seen anyone drown before? No one does that!”

“Do it anyway! Lucifer doesn’t know that, and besides, there’s nothing wrong with being dramatique! ” Asmo encouraged.

Levi rolled his eyes and muttered, “Fine.” He took a deep breath, and as soon as the natatorium door creaked open, he began to scream, “ Help! Someone save me! I’m drowning! I can’t breathe! ” He thrashed around in the pool, making the normally stagnant water an array of waves.

Lucifer walked in, deliberately, and ignoring the ‘drowning’ Levi, knelt down by the pool, took out a small beaker and strip from his pocket, and began to take samples of the water.

“Um, hello! ” Levi groused, splashing even more. “ I said I’m drowning, here! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Taking pH samples of the water for Diavolo,” Lucifer replied easily, carefully dribbling a drop of the pool water onto the pH strip.

“Yeah, but I’m drowning! Don’t you see me splashing and dying here? ”

“Levi, you spend an unholy amount of time in your aquarium, are the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy, and not to mention, can breathe underwater. If you’re going to drown, do it with a little more class.”

“Oh. Crap, you’re right.”

From behind the bleachers, Mammon shook his head, disheartened. “I knew we were forgetting something,” he said, which earned him another bonk on the head from Satan. He wheeled on his brother. “Quit it! Also, I’ve got another plan. I call it Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt Two: Boil the Bird!”

“How did you even know the code to get in here?” Satan wondered as he, Mammon, Beelzebub, Belphegor, and Asmodeus huddled behind a bookcase in Lucifer’s private study. Leviathan, who caught a cold from spending so much time in the freezing R.A.D pool in their last expedition, couldn’t attend the next phase of the operation.

“Lucky guess,” Mammon shrugged, modest for once. “And ya did turn the heat up all the way, right, Beel?”

“Yes,” Beel nodded. “It was set to Light Burn in here before, but I switched it to Dante’s Inferno. It’s going to take a few minutes to kick in.”

Asmodeus frowned. “If the heat ruins my hair, Mammon you’d better be ready to foot my salon bill.”

“Hey! Why me?” argued the secondborn demon.

“Because turning up the heat in Lucifer’s study to get him to take off his clothes was your lousy idea,” affirmed Asmo.

“Shut up, you two,” Belphegor hushed in irritation. “Lucifer’s gonna come into his office any moment and he can’t know we’re in here.”

The five demons stood in silence as they heard footsteps approach the door.

As they heard the automated door slide open, Mammon gagged. “Holy Father, I’m feelin’ it now—the heat.” A sweat broke out over his body and he fanned himself with his hand furiously.

Satan, who was considerably less sweaty, frowned at Mammon, as Lucifer walked into the room.

The brothers peeked at the eldest through empty spots in the bookcase and watched as Lucifer raised his eyebrows.

“That’s strange,” the firstborn muttered. “I don’t remember turning the heat on in here.” He shook his head and sat down at his desk. He worked quietly for a few minutes, before succumbing to the temperature and taking off his cape.

“One layer of clothing down,” Asmo whisper-sung. “Two more to go.”

Satan nodded and wiped the perspiration off his brow. “Beel, turn up the heat.”

“Okay. I’ll set it to Inside of a Just-Cooked Pizza Roll—that’s even hotter than Dante’s Inferno.” Beel agreed. “Mmm … Pizza Rolls.”

As Beel turned the heater dial, Mammon slunk to the floor, moving the hair off his forehead and fanning himself even faster, trying to cool himself down. “I’m beginnin’ to think this was a bad idea.”

Belphegor shook his head. “I guess the ‘bird’ in Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt Two: Boil the Bird was a ‘crow.’”

“Look, look,” Asmo ushered and gestured toward Lucifer, who was beginning to unbutton his vermillion vest. “Inside of a Just-Cooked Pizza Roll is hot enough to make him take off another layer of clothing.”

Mammon put his head on his knees, beginning to strip off his clothes, as well. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take, guys. My head’s startin’ to hurt, now.”

“Too bad,” Satan said unsympathetically as he dragged his brother, whose skin was turning red, off the ground. “This was your idea.”

“And it seems to be working,” Belphie admitted. “Beel, turn up the heat; we just need him to take off his shirt, now.”

Beel obediently turned toward the heater dial, again. “The heat is now going from Inside of a Just-Cooked Pizza Roll to Seat Belt Tongue on a Hot Summer Day.”

The five brothers, all completely drenched in sweat, watched eagerly as Lucifer meticulously began to unbutton the black shirt that was the last layer of clothing on his torso.

But, as his red-nail-polished (sausage) fingers fumbled with the last button, there was a muffled gasp from Mammon as the secondborn collapsed.

Satan raised his eyebrows as he realized what had happened. “Heatstroke. We’ve got to get him to the infirmary, now.”

Beel grabbed his brother and ushered the remaining three silently out the door of the study without Lucifer seeing them.

“I guess even demons have their heat tolerances,” Asmo mumbled as the group marched down the House of Lamentation’s corridors, without a picture of Lucifer shirtless to show for their troubles.

“Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt Three: Give Him a Cupcake is a terrible name, Beel,” Asmo sighed. “All the other names for the attempts sounded mysterious—this one is just saying exactly what we’re going to do to him.”

Beel’s brows downturned and he looked down. “Well, it doesn’t say what I’m going to do with the cupcake.”

Satan raised an eyebrow. “The name literally says we’re going to ‘give’ it to him, Beel.”

“He means after that,” Belphie retorted, always quick to defend his twin. “You can’t know that we’re gonna ‘accidentally’ smear the cupcake all down the front of Lucifer’s shirt after we give it to him just from the name.”

Asmo shrugged. “This whole attempt lacks decorum if you ask me, but I guess it’s all we’ve got.”

“Hopefully your plan works, Beel,” Satan said. “Mammon’s still in the infirmary and Levi won’t come out of his room since he’s nursing his cold, so we’re dropping like flies here and we still haven’t gotten the picture.”

Beel gulped, not enjoying the pressure that this whole ordeal put on him. “I hope it works, too.” He fiddled with the frosted pink cupcake that he held in his hands, going against every single one of his instincts to eat it.

The four remaining demons stood aside in the R.A.D hallways, waiting for Lucifer to walk by after his daily meeting with Diavolo.

“Now, Beel,” Satan reminded his brother. “When you end up smearing the cupcake on Lucifer, make sure you smash the frosting so that it gets on both his vest and the shirt underneath—aim for mostly the upper part of his torso. It’s after school hours now, so he should be in his everyday clothes and not his uniform.”

Beel nodded, faithfully ignoring the growl of his stomach as he and his brothers waited for Lucifer to walk past them.

After a few minutes, Belphie spotted a dark figure skulking down the hallway. “There he is. Go, Beel.”

Beelzebub walked toward his brother and greeted, “Hey, Lucifer.”

Lucifer cocked his head in confusion but smiled demurely at him. “Beel.”

Painfully, Beel reached out his hand and offered Lucifer the cupcake. “H—here.” He could barely make out the words; how could he possibly give away food? “You … you can have this.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. “You? Offering me food, Beel?” He made the connection between this gesture and the operation instantly, and his smile widened. He pushed Beel’s hand away, and in his gentlest tone said, “No, thank you. Please take it for yourself.”

Beel’s eyes widened in excitement. “Really?”

Lucifer nodded. “Yes.” He pulled his brother close and spoke quietly. “In fact, Beel, drop this whole operation and I’ll buy you a dozen cupcakes.”

Beelzebub stepped away, realizing Lucifer’s ploy. “I—no, I … can’t.” His stomach growled loudly in protest.

“Two dozen, then.”

“I—I—I can’t—”

“Three dozen. And all of the ‘dozens’ will be baker’s dozens.”

“ … Fine.”

From afar, Satan watched Lucifer walk away with Beel and hissed, “That snake.”

Belphegor frowned and stomped on his foot. “Hey.”

“Not Beel,” Satan reassured. “Lucifer just stole one of our team members.”

Asmodeus shook his head. “And now there’s just us three remaining.” His eyes lit up deviously. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“If you suggest a threesome, Asmo, I’ll end you,” Belphegor warned.

Asmo retorted, “Um, excuse me, if I was going to suggest anything like that, I’d do it when there were more of us together so we could do it orgy-style.”

“Well, what were you going to suggest, Asmo?” queried Satan.

Asmodeus grinned deviously. “Actually I was going to suggest a threesome—Ow! Belphie, kick me again, I dare you! Anyway, but now I just thought of the answer to getting Lucifer to take his shirt off—sex.”

Belphegor and Satan exchanged a look. “ … What?” they chorused.

“Just leave it to me. I propose, Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt Four: Get the Cock!”

“This isn’t going to work,” Belphie remarked drily. He and Satan were poised outside Lucifer’s room, in which Asmo was alone with Lucifer.

Satan shook his head. “I know. I don’t know what he’s thinking, trying to seduce Lucifer like this. We know the only person that can make Lucifer go boing! is D— ”

“Wait—shh … I hear something.” Belphegor had his head pressed up against Lucifer’s door and raised his eyebrows. “Holy Father … I think … I think I hear Asmo’s ‘Sexy Time’ playlist on the speakers.”

The fourth-eldest brother scrunched his nose. “You don’t think …?”

Belphegor blanched as he heard Lucifer’s voice through the door. He repeated the words back to Satan, saying, “‘Oh, Asmo … I’m going to make you feel so many things …’” His eyes widened. “I hear footsteps, and they’re getting closer. Holy Father, Holy Father, someone’s coming to lock the door.” He turned to Satan, his eyes wild. “They’re gonna do it!”

“Oh, my …” Satan gulped as he too, heard the footsteps draw near. “Perhaps we should go.”

Belphie looked conflicted. “I don’t kn—”

Before he could get very far, the door to Lucifer’s room swung open and Lucifer—fully clothed—marched out, not noticing the two eavesdroppers standing sentinel at his threshold.

“And all of those things I said you’d feel—” Lucifer said, his voice menacingly smooth, as he made his way over to Asmodeus’ room, wielding a rather large, rather sharp pair of scissors. “—are all going to be variants of pain .”

Asmo sprinted out after him, his face red with exertion.

Satan flew onto his feet. “What happened?”

The fifth-born demon paused in his race to say, “He was totally into it—I swear! Or at least, I thought he was until he said ‘Oh, Asmo … I’m going to make you feel so many things …’ and then walked out with a pair of scissors. He said he’s gonna cut up all my clothes! I think he knows it was all a plot!” With that, he continued to sprint after Lucifer.

“ … Or maybe he just didn’t want to fool around with Asmodeus,” Belphegor reasoned.

Satan nodded. “That’s more likely. And besides … Asmo should be glad Lucifer’s gonna slice up all his clothes. That way they’re more revealing—which is what he likes, anyway.”

“Yeah, but there goes another member of our team.” Belphie squinted his eyes at Satan. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”

“ … seems that way. Any ideas for the next attempt?”

“No.”

“Hm, well, I think I have one, then.”

“ … I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before,” Belphie sighed. “This way is so much easier.”

Satan bobbed his head. “Yes, Operation: Pluck the Peacock, Attempt Five: Unleash the Magic should be our easiest try, yet.” He flipped open his spellbook. “What’s really impressive is that I’ve magically found a super-convenient, super-specific curse that instantly vaporizes someone’s shirt and only their shirt through a blast of heat but only if its aimed properly at their heart.”

“Better not show that to Asmo,” Belphegor warned. “Vaporizing shirts sounds like something he could easily take advantage of.”

Satan pointed to a section of the text in the book. “No need to worry about that; it says right here that the spell is one-time use only. Once it’s incanted, the spell can never be used again.”

“Huh, the book also says that if the produced heat isn’t directed at the heart, the heat won’t function as it’s supposed to—that is, to vaporize clothes—but will work as regular heat and cause a fire using whatever the user pointed at as fuel,” Belphie read.

“We have to get this right on the first try, then. Asmo’s usually the designated photographer, but since he’s too busy crying over his ruined clothes, you better have your D.D.D out to take a picture of Lucifer as I say the spell,” ordered Satan.

Belphie pulled out his device. “Got it.”

“Alright.” The pair were huddled behind a couch in the Common Room. Lucifer was seated on the couch across from them. “I’m going to incant the spell right here. The tip of my pointer finger should glow fiery orange once I’m done. Then, I’ll get up from behind this couch and point my glowing finger at Lucifer’s heart. I’ll say the release command for the spell, which should cause the heat from my fingers to zoom toward Lucifer and vaporize his shirt. Afterward, you take the picture.”

Belphegor nodded.

Satan continued and muttered aloud from his spellbook, “ In eaque faciam ignis / ignis ardens et lucens tam secura / ut hac flamma quae mando ad conflandum / quem legeret furore libare. ” With this, Satan rose, his fingertip burning hot with the spell.

Lucifer, who had been studying a page of music on the other Common Room couch, widened his eyes in confusion, as Satan pointed his finger at his brother’s heart. “What in the Celestial Realm—”

“Hey, everyone! Your favorite brother Mammon has been released from the infirmary and can now stay in the comforts of his own bed!” was heard from the hallway, just as Satan shouted, “Release command: adolebitque!”

However, when Satan heard the caterwaul that was Mammon’s voice, he turned behind him to see the commotion. This caused his entire body—and therefore, the position of his poised finger—to shift. The heated, released spell burst from his fingers and zoomed toward a hand mirror that Asmodeus had left on the coffee table earlier.

Belphie dutifully snapped a picture of the spell’s effects once it reflected off the mirror and came barreling back at him who incanted it and lit Satan’s hair on fire.

“Belphegor,” Satan said through gritted teeth and he tried to fan out the inferno that was his head. “Delete that photo immediately.”

Well, Operation: Pluck the Peacock was a bust, Belphie thought sleepily, just awakening from a nap in the Music Room. Normally, his favorite spot to sleep was the Planetarium, but he had been doing his schoolwork and the Music Room helped him concentrate. Everyone just gave up, it seems, due to some reason or another. Too bad—having a shirtless picture of Lucifer would be excellent blackmail.

It was nighttime, and Belphegor figured he should be warm in his bed, but he had been kept on his toes all day with the whole operation, and he felt too tired to pry open his eyes and meander back to his room.

So he lay there, half-asleep on one of the Music Room chairs until he heard footsteps wander into the room.

Who the Hell is that? he wondered. Most of those guys are usually asleep by now. He opened one of his eyes slightly and closed it immediately when he saw who it was and what they were wearing. Holy crap, Lucifer doesn’t wear a shirt to bed. Opening his eyes a crack, he stared in amazement at his brother’s shirtless form as he scrounged the Music Room for what Belphegor assumed to be some late-night classical music; Lucifer, being the ex-Angel of Music, was easily soothed by calming tunes.

Careful not to make any sudden movements, Belphie reached into his sweater pocket and pulled out his D.D.D, ready to take a picture. Only, as soon as he clicked the button to capture the image, a loud click resounded throughout the room.

Crap, crap, crap, I forgot to turn off my ringer.

Lucifer, who had just noticed Belphegor’s body slouched in one of the chairs from the noise, sprinted over to his brother as he realized what had occurred.

The firstborn brother grinned maliciously, suddenly transforming into his demon form as he politely spat, “Delete that. Now.”

Diavolo shook his head in disappointment at the Student Council members the next day. “I assume from your faces that Operation: Pluck the Peacock was a bust?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Satan muttered, shaking his head. “Even with all of us together, none of us could get Lucifer to take his shirt off.”

Mammon shrugged. “Hey, the Great Mammon totally could’ve done it, y’know!”

“You literally passed out because of heat. What kind of demon does that?” Asmo retorted.

“And don’t count me among all you who failed,” Belphie argued. “I actually got a shirtless Lucifer picture. Until he made me delete it, that is.” He turned to glare at brother.

Asmo let out a pertinent hmph and grumbled, “Killjoy.”

Diavolo’s eyes widened. “Wait—is that true, Lucifer? Your brothers did complete their challenge?”

“I don’t consider catching me in my pajamas and taking a picture to be ‘completing the challenge,’ Diavolo,” Lucifer reasoned, ignoring the angry stares of his brothers. “I believe the whole point was for them to cause me to have my shirt off, not me having it off regardless.”

“We never really specified the details,” Beel admitted, after a moment of silence.

Levi looked up from his D.D.D, where he had been playing a mobile gacha game, since Barbatos had fixed the router. “Yeah, so that technically means that we can clarify the rules, now, if we want.”

Satan nodded and rubbed his chin. “That’s right. I vote we make it so that we could have photographed Lucifer shirtless, regardless of his reason for being so.”

“I second that,” Belphie agreed.

“I third it,” Beel replied.

“I four—” Asmo began before he was interrupted by Diavolo.

“—Sorry for cutting you off, Asmodeus, but we only technically needed two affirmations for this to go through,” said Diavolo, his face lighting up. “That settles it. Lucifer, since you wrongfully deprived me—I mean, your brothers—of a shirtless picture of you yesterday during Operation: Pluck the Peacock, I hereby declare that you must grace us with your glorious shirtless figure right here and now in the R.A.D Council Room!”

As the six brothers cheered, Lucifer’s eyes widened. “I most certainly will not!”

“You must! It’s an order!” Diavolo countered.

Lucifer frowned and blushed. “ … Fine. Just … don’t take any photographs. I’d rather not have this ridiculous event emblazoned across the internet.”

Once Lucifer had unbuckled the belt of his robelike school uniform and undid the buttons, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor and Diavolo all whipped out their D.D.Ds and captured the most ethereal image of all—Lucifer’s abs.

THE END

147 notes · View notes

five-wow · 4 years

Text

I WATCHED 10.22. HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS UNDER THE CUT. i promise they won’t all be in full caps, but i feel i should also warn you that this was not proofread.

the episode is starting! it has started. the start has started.

lots of flashbacks from 10.21 with VERY dramatic music in the background and it’s very much working on me. EMOTIONS.

oh my gosh we’re now getting a flashback (a new one, not “previously on”) to wo fat and victor hesse planning some evil shit with daiyu mei serving them tea and it is EVEN MORE DRAMATIC than the previously on was. i am IMPRESSED. also maybe laughing a little bit, but in a way where i’m genuinely enjoying the extreme “LOOK, THIS IS BAD” of it, gosh.

fun way to remind us of how it all started, with these two planning anton’s extraction! they get to show us bits and pieces from the pilot while we still get something new.

wo fat: “blood. is blood.” hmmm, the show seems to want us to think he has a point but i’m mostly amused this is coming from the ultimate bad guy because yes, that seems about right. (hashtag you don’t owe people anything just because you’re related to them, shuddup.)

daiyu mei looks all shy and awkward when wo fat asks for her input but i’ve decided that’s an act to keep victor underestimating her.

steve and cole are in a car and fjdkfdjk wait catherine is a super code breaker now? idk, she may have displayed some skills that leaned that way in the past, but now she’s suddenly well-known as one of the best in that field even though that’s not even her field as far as we know? i. i don’t mind catherine getting brought up in conversation but this is such an odd way to do it.

“we were together for a buncha years” hahaha, fandom never really knows how to define the start and end of their relationship and it seems steve doesn’t, either.

“she was the one that got away. what’re you gonna do?” well, look sad and frowny while this guy you barely know throws you a somewhat awkward look because you’re suddenly baring your heart to him, apparently! (for real though, i get that people will be upset at this phrasing and i’m sort of thinking this is a lead in to things i won’t like at the end of the episode and that’s bad but for what it’s worth, i don’t mind this at all! she did slip away from him at a time where he thought they were going somewhere else and he’s talking in past tense now.)

cole is worried he ruined steve’s day by bringing up catherine and that’s sweet, actually! seals emotionally supporting seals.

OOF it is TIME for danny to get ABDUCTED. also: i love that steve immediately drops everything, including the very important super secret difficult to arrange meeting to maybe finally get some insight into this cipher that doris left him, to race to wherever danny is in his car. i feel like alerting hpd (or anyone else in five-0 who might be closer) would be a good idea, but it makes a lot of sense for steve to need to Be There himself.

ohhhhh steve continually nearly crashing his truck while yelling for danny but only hearing gunshots over the line is 👌👌👌. THE ANGST. THE TENSION. very good, very good.

the camaro is BURNING. well that’s one way to smack us in the face with the end of an era, damn.

steve is ALSO BURNING because he obviously tried to get inside the car ahhhh.

fjdkf steve calls tani with instruction about cameras and tani asks if everything is okay because he sounds upset and all he says is “danny’s been taken” and that’s how tani an junior find out, poor dears.

steve, instructing hpd: “we’re looking for detective danny williams. you know who he is, my partner, right? we’re looking for him.” YOU KNOW WHO HE IS. MY PARTNER.

steve is already out of breath from sheer stress and he’s just standing around the tech table with the team, my gosh. (I LOVE THIS.)

danny, bloody and chained up and facing his captor, a woman he already knows is very, very dangerous: [makes a joke about exchanging insurance information because they burned his car] (LOVE HIM TOO.)

OOF though, daiyu mei lets danny know she knows he has two kids and the jokes are over because that’s definitely the line with danny, god.

here’s the scene from the one preview clip i watched! i’m really enjoying daiyu mei, by the way. she’s still a totally bonkers way to bring the threat of wo fat back even after he’s dead, but she is genuinely threatening.

“i have the person you care about most in the world” hello yes i’m still yelling about that one and might not stop soon

daiyu mei telling steve not to make the same mistake he did with his father and “allow a loved one to die” is so mean but so good and narratively pretty darn cool.

we’re not even eleven minutes in and we’re already at “come alone, commander, or your friend dies”. [insert that escalated quickly meme]

steve thinks he has zero options except give in to exactly what daiyu mei wants and it’s very unsteve of him but also fits perfectly with the mindset they’ve maneouvred him into over the past few episodes and with DANNY BEING GONE so i like it. i like that steve is very obviously freaking the fuck out.

never though i would say this, but... steve, you should listen to adam. it’s shocking, especially this season, but he is making an actual good judgment.

steve alone in the elevator on the verge of either a panic attack or breaking down crying and curling up into a ball is A LOT.

steve goes to the meeting alone, gets a location and confirmation that danny is alive and then hands over the cipher, and that’s good but also... i mean, for real, if he had just printed some random symbols on a similar piece of paper (maybe even the same symbols but in a different order!) how on earth would daiyu mei have known?

OH. OHHHH. danny does the badass steve-ish thing where he pulls himself up by his shackles to somehow get himself free, holy fuck, yes man.

IT WORKS. knocked out the guard, got the keys, got a gun - damn son. not only do we get worried out of his mind steve, we ALSO get bamf danny, ahhhh.

AND THEN HE GETS SHOT IN THE SHOULDER, which is where all those promo pictures came from obviously, and also means we’re about to tick off the hurt part of h/c in an even bolder font than we already had.

fdjkfdjkfd steve’s litany of comforting little nonsense lines while he’s dragging danny to the car and getting him into it and NOT GETTING BEHIND THE WHEEL BUT STAYING WITH DANNY IN THE BACK is killing me slowly.

fdjkfd steve hugging danny’s bloody face in his lap oh my god

apparently that wasn’t GOOD ENOUGH YET because then they’re at the hospital and steve tells the doctor’s what’s up and they’re about to roll danny away and danny, half dead and according to steve in and out of consciousness, somehow finds the time to try to grAB AT STEVE’S ARM BLINDLY. steve: “hey, i’m with you buddy, it’s okay.” DEAD. NOT DANNY, ME. I AM VERY DEAD.

the entire team is stressed and worried and just dead quiet, watching danny and steve. ohhhh boy.

oh fuck oh fuck steve is praying and red-eyed and furious and telling god “you wanna take somebody? take me. not him, you take me.” and i have a very big massive weak spot for exactly this.

cole comes to find steve to offer to figure out the cipher thing and steve has a very hard time giving a single flying shit and then HANDS COLE HIS GUN. welllll. just letting go of stuff they never would have normally left and right, here. i was kind of expecting steve’s badge to follow.

tani has a lot of good worried moments and i love that.

danny is out of surgery!!! steve gets to see him!!!

oh GOD we get a sad version of all for one while steve is in danny’s hospital room and grabs danny’s hand and i am. oh. oh. not okay.

STILL ONLY JUST PAST THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE EPISODE.

it’s honestly kind of weird that cole has this much screentime (i know he was supposed to be back for the season 11 that will never happen, but with the way things turned out that’s not very relevant anymore in story), but i mind it less than i thought i would have. i like him, and i’m glad he has quinn with him now, because i always want more of her.

danny wakes up and his slightly loopy conversation with steve has me fjdkfdjkfd. d: [says you’re supposed to be happy when a patient wakes up] s, like he might still be about to cry: “i’m happy.” d: “yeah? yeah, me too.”

steve is hurting and blaming himself for everything (very in character) and danny tells him he’s already annoying and that if he had a dollar for every time steve saved his life he’d have like twenty bucks (also very in character) and i’m glad for that bit of comic relief and they need it, too, but somebody also needs to give steve a good shake until the thought that this is on him leaves his head. if anyone except daiyu mei is responsible here, it’s doris. blame doris, jfc.

danny, after nearly dying and only just waking up in the hospital, while he still has trouble speaking: “put [the call steve is getting] on speaker, would you, i’m bored.” more jokes! but it also makes me go fjdkfdjk because you will not convince me that this is not danny, extremely injured, still trying to take care of steve by distracting him from all the misery they’re in.

fjdkfd OKAY SO. plot stuff: the cipher translates to coordinates that apparently lead to the place where the mcgarretts thought doris was buried. steve says he knows the place because his dad used to take him there and ? because i always thought john sent his kids away pretty soon after doris died so he can’t have had much time to visit her grave a lot with them, but also just, the drama of it, wow, doris. send your son an encrypted message that sends him to your fake grave, why don’t you.

jfkdsjlfksljfds the mcgarretts have a family mausoleum now, apparently, omfg. and there was still a space with doris’s name on it? even though they’ve known for how many years by now that she was still alive oh my gosh

cole is along for the ride to doris’s fake grave and steve keeps dropping these little nuggets from his family history and cole keeps (rightfully!) looking a little confused and/or alarmed, poor guy, hahaha.

daiyu mei is running full tilt and doing some mad parcour shit in a suit and what looks like high heels and there is a whole action scene here with lots of players and constant shooting and some one-on-one fighting, but i am fully distracted by the shoewear.

oh, false alarm, probably! not quite high heels, just something ballarina like with a very tiny heel. that’s better.

fjdkfjdkfd OOF daiyu mei nearly kills steve, steve gets the upper hand, daiyu mei says some things and we’re given another flashback to wo fat and victor hesse and this time also john when he was held hostage, and suddenly we’re told he’s not surprised that doris had a secret son (wo fat) and that he suspected her death was staged.

OH MY GU==fdj

okay so those were typos but i’m LEAVING THEM because “whatever happens next, don’t tell my son. it would be too hard on him.” HELLO JOHN, FUCK YOU JOHN. he wanted??? to keep this secret??? from steve??? and also he doesn’t even acknowledge that he maybe has more than just a son. maybe there is a person called mary out there somewhere? might ring a bell, if you think about it long and hard.

wo fat: “you’re a good man, john mcgarrett.” i really don’t know if we’re supposed to agree with things wo fat says but he’s mostly voicing the opposite of what i feel this episode.

daiyu mei to steve: “you are your father.” oh gosh. oh no.

ahh, here’s a point where cole’s presence really starts to take away from other characters. he shows up to steve and daiyu mei’s confrontation to back steve up, and that obviously should have been any other character that we’ve known for way longer and have way more attachment to (junior! that would have been so good, or maybe lou, who’s also been here for seven years, or tani, who keeps worrying), especially, very very much especially when steve goes “book her, cole”. that’s just confusing, too. so far the cole and steve parallels have been thrown at us and now he’s suddenly in danny’s place.

32 minutes out of 42 and we’re at “one week later” and steve hopping through his garden to get to the beach chairs where danny is sitting. this is good but worrying for how early it comes.

danny says he misses the very nice nurse who brought him jello and steve tells him not to confuse a caregiver for someone who cares and danny goes “yeah? you know jealousy is not uh, pretty on you.” and then they’re both awkwardly quiet for a moment. dear lord.

AND THEN THINGS WENT PEARSHAPED. danny: “you all packed?” my heart is sinking fast. maybe i should just quit here and leave it at danny telling steve jealousy is not pretty on him (which implies other things are pretty on steve - let’s get back to that).

steve to danny, who is talking up hawaii (which is of course very good): “who are you?” i am having FLASHBACKS to junior asking tani that exact same thing just a few episodes ago.

danny seriously questions steve’s decision to just up and leave hawaii a bunch of times and yes, danny, good, grill him. this is a stupid plan.

danny: “you know, it don’t feel like it’s gonna be okay. it feels like- my main dude is leaving me.” HI STEVE. MAYBE DON’T. MAYBE DON’T GO. MAYBE DON’T HURT DANNY.

“you got a phone, right?” we’re seriously at that point. we are. seriously at that point. wow.

steve forces danny to get up to give him the frigging tenderest, dopily smiliest hug and it is so very sweet yet so very wrong.

“I LOVE YOU, MAN.” / “I LOVE YOU TOO.” THEY DID NOT YELL THAT BUT I AM BECAUSE THIS IS ALL I’VE WANTED FOR TWO YEARS and now it’s under these circumstances which ugh BUT I AM STILL HYPED. THEY GOT TO SAY IT AGAIN. GOOD. FUCKING GOOD.

“don’t make me come looking for you” danny says after he sits back down and without another word steve starts walking away and then he stops and looks back and catches danny looking over his shoulder but quickly looking away again and holy fucking damn if this isn’t how stories go when they try to tell us that two characters shouldn’t be parting because they don’t want to. turn around, steve. it’s so easy.

EDDIE. my gosh, ANOTHER blond guy who loves steve to pieces and who steve Should Not Just Leave, wtf.

eddie gets an i love you too and then a kiss and my heart! is having a hard time today!

oh LORD there’s a knock at the door and it’s the whole entire team and lou!!! is making me cry!!! and everyone whispers how much steve means to them at him while they’re hugging him and fjdkfd what. why is he leaving! it’s starting to sound like a worse decision by the second.

i could cry at all of these goodbyes seperately but right now i am also crying at tani immediately hugging noelani when she joins the pile of people who have said goodbye. ohhhh.

EVERYONE IS CRYING. not cool. VERY UNCOOL. also, honestly, i love that danny got to say goodbye seperately and it’s fitting that he just can’t watch steve actually walk out the door but also... he should have been here, gdi. now there’s this huge emotional team moment and he’s absent and it’s weird.

steve boards a plane and sits down and his phone beeps and it’s danny texting him “miss you already” and i cannot believe this is actual canon and had to pause to kind of laugh/gasp for air for a little bit.

and catherine shows up! i’ve been braced for this so i’m not surprised and it’s less bad than i thought in many ways but also. they talk about cath driving danny’s car and steve says they can’t have danny williams driving his own car and if that’s true, then why the hell are you leaving, steve. what are you doing to danny? (also. uh. danny’s car kind of went up in flames? he has a new one already? i. what.)

cath asks if steve is ready and they hold hands and steve turns to look out the plane window and smiles and that’s very suddenly it.

you know what? you know what, for the most part, i absolutely loved this. i was prepared for VERY BAD THINGS and i don’t enjoy steve leaving at the end at all and i have MANY NOTES on how things could have maybe ended even better but i. i am okay with this. i am okay with this! that is honestly more than i thought i would be able to say and i’m just VERY RELIEVED right now.

as for the show ending with steve and cath... that was weird, but... he also held danny’s hand this episode and that was supposedly platonic, and steve and cath did not suddenly have a big romantic kiss or get engaged, so i am choosing to take this as a platonic reunion with a person from steve’s past he still cares about, someone who travels a lot and was in hawaii to break that code and therefore this makes sense. he leaves with cath, and then, in a few weeks’ time, he comes back to danny (the person he cares about most in the world), and canon just, y’know, forgot to mention that little tidbit. it happens.

anyway, i had EMOTIONS and i still need to let all of this sink in and i hope you’re all doing okay after this whirlwind of a thing and ahhhh, it is so very weird that it’s over now. 💖

#h50 #h50 spoilers #10.22 #*#finale #[LOUD SCREAMING]

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rucow · 4 years

Note

"all the questions :)"

Oh dear here we go

1: Which TES games have you played? In order: Skyrim, ESO, Oblivion, and Morrowind :')

2: Favorite TES game They all have their own charm, but Morrowind broke my heart the hardest and has the nicest soundtrack, so it has a special place in my heart now (╥﹏╥)

3: When and how you got into TES I used to watch playthroughs on YT in 2013 and that's how I found out about Skyrim...then I played it myself in 2014 and became addicted ever since lol

4: Favorite race I've always loved and played Argonians, but Morrowind just has this special way of making u love dunmer even tho they're kinda insufferable :')

5: Favorite province M...m..rororowwind..... MUSHROOMS...I love

6: Favorite character Nerevar has my heart forever, I can’t describe how In Luv I am with him... Voryn and the Dagoth bros are all precious, and the adoring fan is a delight I have way more but these three have been on my mind the most recently 👌

7. Favorite faction Usually the dark brotherhood questlines are really nicely written... I have yet to actually join any factions in tes3 tho oops. Should probably do that

8: Which province you would like to live in uhHH if I’m a plain ol’ human then Cyrodiil probably suits me best, tho I don’t really wanna live there :’) I just think that’s where the least deadly Things are LOL

9: Which deity/deities would you worship? I’m not big on worship u_u I will be ~respectful~ to any deity but that’s it

10: Favorite Divine I never had one! I haven’t looked much into them (• ▽ •;)

11: Favorite Daedric Prince Ngl Mephala is pretty neat... All the ~good~ daedra are neat

12: Favorite enemy I like dremora lords they’re fun and I don’t mind them belittling me every time I have to fight them

13: Favorite dungeon I'm biased, but I practically /live/ in eso’s Forgotten Wastes public dungeon

14. You have awakened and you are a Cliff Racer. What do you do? Just hang out in the sky✌️

15: What would you do if you contracted vampirism? Actually that wouldn't be too different from what I'm already like... my life is literally just me living in a dark hole with my windows boarded up to block out the sun entirely ‘cause I hate that Thing. I’d still want a cure tho... :’)

16: What would you do if you contracted lycanthropy? HONESTLY that would be cool for a while I WANT TO BE FERAL... But I wouldn't want to be one forever u_u

17: Are there any characters you have crushes on? If so, who? NEREVAR. Oh GODS I've NEVER been this romantically invested in a character before, especially not a guy who barely has any canon appearances!! But uGH my heart!!! I love him sm...😭😭😭

18: Favorite Great House House Dagoth sounded VERY interesting and seems like it was very chill, also everyone was SO POLITE HOW CAN I NOT LOVE THEM... Buncha artsy well-mannered neets 19: Favorite TES music I could listen to Nerevar Rising forever :') It’s so beautiful 20: In your opinion, what is the scariest thing in TES? Vivec 21: Favorite main quest I can't say I have one... Morrowind's main quest broke my heart, I couldn't finish it. Actually I never finish the main quests... because then I feel like my (in-game) life becomes pointless and senseless...with no purpose 😔 I prefer just leaving the main quests unfinished and adventuring forever instead 22: Favorite side quest THERE'S SO MANY... yet I can’t think of any right now ( ꈨຶ ˙̫̮ ꈨຶ ) 23: Most frustrating experience in a TES game The Glitches™️ And also. having to kill ppl to progress a quest -_- 24: Funniest experience in a TES game Morrowind had some really funny written moments. The guy who had his pants stolen... fantastic 25: Most badass moment in a TES game Honestly, anytime the dragonborn yells at something to defeat it LOL just the concept of the dragonborn itself is so funny/cool 26: Saddest experience in a TES game My first depressing experience was when all of skyrim's dark brotherhood members got rekt lol.. little 15 y/o me kept reloading saves frantically trying to save the characters without knowing it was impossible :') AND tHEN I PLAYED Morrowind this year and it destroyed me. The tragedy of it all makes me cri like a fool (fanfic especially) but I’m getting better at dealing with it u_u imagining that dagoth ur is really smexy/pretty helps to ease the pain LOL 27: Favorite area/region Vvardenfell is home. I love the funky plants!!!!!! 28: Least favorite character Idk just general Bastard characters that are written as unlikable I guess 29: In-game food item you want to eat the most Saltrice because. rice is life (also it took me forever to realize the word is just salt+rice together and that it’s probably not pronounced ‘saltris’ _(:3 」∠)_ 30: If you could try skooma, would you? Nooo 31: If you had the skills and resources to do a perfect cosplay of any TES character who would it be? I could pull off a Voryn cosplay (⌐■-■) Definitely got the hair for it 32: Have you read any of the novels? Any of the what 33: Favorite class to play For eso it's Nightblade, for oblivion and skyrim it was stealth archer (+ daggers dual wield in skyrim), until I discovered magic and now I'm hooked..... Idk what to say about morrowind ‘cause currently I’m doing the Sixth House mod thingy and I’m literally an ash creature with no weapons hah 34: Which type of magic would you most like using? Alteration is really fun. Illusion / Mysticism would be fantastic to have irl 35: Favorite weapon Bow and daggers babey! 36: Favorite spell SKYRIM'S TELEKINESIS IS HILARIOUS.... Also the Mass Paralysis spell is tasty >:) 37: Favorite artifact I’m sry but I have to say Azura’s Star just because of this gem 38: You have awakened to find you’re in Tamriel. How do you react? Uh oh. Get to the nearest town and try not to die I'm gonna have to learn to fight ｡ﾟ+.*(+･｀ω･)９ 39: Thoughts on ESO so far It's Big. I haven't played much since my laptop can barely handle it, but I enjoy the world and all the tasty lore and npcs and ohhh I’m so glad everyone’s pretty and sounds nice. I like all things beautiful uvu Oh except vivec, vivec’s not pretty and looks like a christmas tree decoration in eso (I’M KIDDING..... 40: Character you’d most like to hang out with HMM any of the quieter polite characters, so......any of the dagoths LOL I wouldn’t be able to look at nerevar without passing out (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)

#ask #incoherence babey!!#txt #Anonymous

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crackimagines · 4 years

Text

New Horizons (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Animal Crossing AU

(PART 1)

(PART 2)

Byleth, Megumi, and Kazuma must spearhead their group to safety after being transported to an unknown world…

…Of pure comfort and relaxation, led by talking Raccoons, apparently.

----

DAY 1

When the plane finally landed, Kazuma, Aqua and Megumi stretched and took in the island air.

(Kazuma) “Ya know for a buncha raccoons, they’re really good fliers!”

(Megumi) “It’s strange seeing our world like this. Though...the situation here seems far more ideal than the one I was in...”

(Aqua) “Hm? Whatcha mean?”

(Megumi) “...Oh! I’ll save that story for another time, I think everyone has sea legs...Or would that be air legs?”

Everyone else was shaken after being on a vehicle that defied all of their logic.

(Claude) “Sweet land, how I’ve missed you so!”

Kazuma rolled his eyes and turned around to see three raccoons.

Two of them were Timmy and Tommy and the bigger one seemed to be in charge.

(Tom) “Hello, is everyone here?”

(Megumi) “Yes, sir.”

(Tom) “Perfect! Now, let’s all head over to the plaza, I’ll be making our announcement there!”

After heading to the plaza, the raccoon took names of everyone and checked the names off his clipboard.

Once everything checked out, he cleared his throat.

(Tom) “Welcome everyone, to your new island! My name is Tom Nook, and I’m the founder and president of Nook Inc., yes yes! Today is the first day of your new pristine island life!”

Tom Nook explained to the party that they were to begin their new lives on this deserted island as a getaway package, and that their company would be providing everything they need to be comfortable.

Tommy and Timmy gave everyone tents to set up their first homes.

(Tom) “When you’re done, please head back to the plaza! We’ll see you in a bit!”

He turned around and began speaking to the smaller raccoons, presumably about what to do next.

(Byleth) “I guess we oughtta go head and find somewhere to camp out.”

(Kazuma) “Well, see ya in a bit then.”

Everyone nodded and went off in separate groups.

Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude

(Claude) “Ah, this gives me some nostalgia!”

(Edelgard) “You cannot be referring to the time when we were running away from those bandits, right?”

(Claude) “Course I am! It’s kinda a similar situation. On the move, unknown territory, and all of us together!”

(Dimitri) “I fail to see the connection. These aren’t bandits they’re...talking raccoons! I cannot wrap my head around this, nor the technology they possess!”

(Edelgard) “Megunee Kazuma and Aqua seem used to it though. They did say that this was their world, correct?”

(Claude) “We should ask ‘em next chance we get, I’m getting more and more curious about this place myself.”

(Dimitri) “Well in any case, is this where we are sleeping?”

The three of them were standing near the beach, the view looking right at the ocean waves crashing against the sand.

(Edelgard) “Beachside property, eh? Heh, looks like you do have some taste, Claude.”

(Claude) “I’m the only one who does here.”

Byleth, Darkness, Megumin

(Byleth) “Strange, I thought you would’ve gone with Kazuma and Aqua.”

(Megumin) “We already live with them, so it’s nice to take just a little break now and again! And besides, with how small this island is, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other a lot.”

(Darkness) “This truly is a fascinating world. No war, just peace and quiet...and...talking animals.”

(Byleth) “Yeah, it’s quite the sight. Oh and uh, while we’re here-”

(Darkness & Megumin) ?

(Byleth) “Try...not to weird Tom Nook and the kids out, yeah?”

(Darkness) “I honestly have no idea what you mean.”

(Megumin) “Uh...huh.”

The three of them made their tents nearby the river on the right side of the area.

Megumi, Kazuma, Aqua

(Megumi) “So this is camping!”

(Aqua) “First time?”

(Megumi) “Yes, I’ve never had the chance to do this as a kid. In Japanese cities, there’s not a lot of places where you can do this.”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, it’s a bit claustrophobic. Though, I wouldn’t know too much about that.”

(Aqua) “I’m still trying to figure out how we got here? I can contact Eris and Sothis just fine, so we definitely have access back but...”

(Megumi) “But you don’t know, yes?”

(Aqua) “Right. For Kazuma to get back to his old world, he had to defeat the Demon King. And when we got transported to Fodlan, I think we’re supposed to fight the Flame Emperor or something. As for here?”

(Kazuma) “Meh, I’m fine living in Animal Crossing.”

(Megumi) “So, what is this world? You seem to know this place a bit.”

(Kazuma) “I’ve played a few of the games myself, actually. Basically we just live here in houses and just laze around all day. It’s very relaxing to play, and it’s gonna be even sweeter to live in! Just the life I wanted!”

(Aqua) “Tch, of course the first thing you do is take advantage of it.”

(Kazuma) “Hell yeah, I am! No way I’m gonna let my life of luxury go away like this!”

(Megumi) “Well...Do you know if humans are still around? Tom and the others didn’t seem to react to us that violently.”

(Kazuma) “Oh yeah, it’s supposed to be modern day and everything. Japan, Europe, America, they’re all still here. Only difference is that there’s talking animals that live here in this world too, and no bad war or anything seems to happen.”

(Megumi) “I...I see.”

Megumi’s hand clenched around her necklace for a moment.

(Aqua) “You alright?”

(Megumi) “Y-Yes! Let’s just set our tents, shall we?”

They all nodded and got to work. Their tents were in the middle of a field with barely any trees around.

Everyone made their way back and Tom Nook smiled.

At least they assumed so, all he did was close his eyes.

(Tom) “Alright, with that taken care of, we can move onto more serious business...LIKE THROWING AN ISLAND-WARMING PARTY! We’ll have it right here in the plaza with a roaring campfire!”

(Claude) “Hah, that’s something I can get behind!”

(Aqua) “PARTY, WOOOO!”

(Tom) “I’m glad to see you’re so excited! Now, we’ll just need a couple supplies! Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard, let’s clean up the plaza! Byleth, Darkness and Megumin, you should find some snacks on the trees! I’ve test tasted a few of them and they’re safe to eat. Aqua, Megumi, and Kazuma, if I could have a word?”

Everyone got off to work as the three went up to Tom Nook.

(Tom) “Now, I know it says that Megumi is the Representative of the island, but can I entrust you two to help as well? You all seem the least nervous about the package, and I’m sure everyone would rally behind you!”

(Aqua) “Hah, you made a good choice!-”

(Kazuma) “Can we have Byleth instead?”

(Aqua) “HUH?!”

(Kazuma) “He’s actually our professor, alongside Megune-Er, Miss Sakura here. Aqua is just kinda here.”

(Tom) “A professor you say? Very well, Aqua could you go help Megumin and Darkness then?”

(Aqua) “I WON’T FORGET THIS KAZUMAAAAAAAA!”

She ran off quickly towards Byleth’s group and everyone else looked on in awkward silence.

(Tom) “...She’s a colorful character.”

(Megumi) “Hah, you have...no idea.”

(Kazuma) “Anyways, we’ll be more than happy to help mister Nook!”

(Tom) “Excellent, thank you very much! Now, let’s get to work!”

Kazuma walked off to help Dimitri’s group, but Megumi was still standing.

(Tom) “Is something wrong?”

(Megumi) “Um...is it possible to send a letter out?”

Later...

Once everyone did their assigned jobs, they all stood in front of the plaza as Tom stood in the center.

(Tom) “Now, it’s been a big day for the island of Garreg, and it’s gotten a bit late, so let’s all have a toast!”

Everyone got out their drinks.

(Tom) “These are pear drinks made with the help of Byleth, Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin!”

(Byleth) “Glad to have helped.”

(Aqua) “Hmph!”

(Darkness) “A simple task for a paladin.”

(Megumin) “Insultingly simple for the Crimson Demon!”

(Tom) “And we have this toasty fire thanks to the efforts of Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude, Kazuma, and Megumi!”

(Claude) “No need for thanks!”

(Dimitri) “How modest you sound, Claude.”

(Edelgard) “We appreciate the attention, mister Nook.”

(Kazuma) “My arms are sore as heeeee-...ck.”

(Megumi) “M-Mine as well, but it was well worth it in the end!”

(Tom) “Now, on the count of three, let’s have a cheer to our new life!”

“HERE HERE!”

The party began with everyone chugging down their drinks, and the music played from the nearby radio.

Aqua entertained everyone with her party magic, and for a grand finale, Megumin cast a powerful and colorful explosion in the skies. As everyone mingled and danced to the music, Byleth quietly slipped away from the crowd.

Megumi was the first to notice and followed her, which in turn made Kazuma follow her.

Byleth sat on the beach, watching the waves glisten from the starry sky above.

(Megumi) “Byleth?”

(Byleth) “Megumi.”

She sat down next to him, and Kazuma joined the two by sitting down as well.

(Byleth) “This...is a bit unsettling. I’ve never had an experience quite like this.”

(Kazuma) “After the first time you kinda get used to it.”

(Megumi) “I don’t understand how!”

(Byleth) “I...think I understand how you two feel now. Being transported to some unknown world, not sure what happened to everyone back at home...”

(Kazuma) “Bah, you got the easy end! We’re in a happy cuddly world, lot better to your war torn world!...No offense.”

(Byleth) “Hm. None taken. My world is the Monastery now anyway I don’t care much for outside of it.

(Megumi) “My old world was...enjoyable...until a certain day...”

(Kazuma & Byleth) “Huh?”

(Megumi) “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to bring the mood down! This is supposed to be a party after all!”

(Kazuma) “This have something to do with your letter you sent out?”

(Megumi) “Ah...”

(Byleth) “Letter?”

(Megumi) “Well...When you said that this was a world without crisis, and it was Earth in modern times I...asked Tom Nook to send out a letter to some former students I taught and my mother.”

(Kazuma) “What are their names?”

(Megumi) “Yuki, Yuuri, and Kurumi. In short, let’s just say...something happened to me that I was no longer able to talk to them so...If this world is truly as peaceful as you say, I wish to experience it with them. My family as well.”

(Sothis) “Hah, that’s much like her. Thinking about others before herself.”

(Kazuma) “Wouldn’t be Megunee if she didn’t right?”

(Megumi) “H-Huh? Who said that?”

Byleth and Kazuma’s eyes widened and Sothis faded away quickly.

(Byleth) “Um...Anyways, so what are we in for, Kazuma?”

(Kazuma) “Well...if this is like Animal Crossing, we’ll be living here for a good long while. We can pretty much relax everyday and do whatever we want. But uh...we’ll be in debt.”

Kazuma loudly sighed.

(Kazuma) “Even in a kid friendly world, my ass is still in debt...”

(Megumi) “Wait, debt?”

(Tom) “Oh, I wouldn’t phrase it that way!”

Everyone jumped up, hearing Tom directly behind them.

(Kazuma) “JESUS!”

(Megumi) “GAH!”

(Byleth) “WHOA!”

(Tom) “Sorry, I did not mean to frighten, haha! I just wanted to let you all know that everyone is heading back to their tent for some shut eye. I’ll be telling you all what’s in store for your new lives tomorrow!”

They looked at each other and nodded.

(Kazuma) “Well, we’re looking forward to our lives here!”

(Megumi) “Indeed!”

(Byleth) “It’ll be interesting.”

(Tom) “Good to hear it, good night!”

Tom nook waved everyone off and went back to the plaza.

(Byleth) “New lives...again.”

(Megumi) “I won’t waste the second chance of life I’ve been given.”

(Kazuma) “Same here...Wait, what?”

(Megumi) “Good night everyone!”

Byleth and Kazuma looked concerned for a moment, but decided to ignore it. After saying good night, they all went to bed.

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